Summary
“Two Worlds” Portrays Versatile World of Toyota’s 2012 Camry
Toyota "Two Worlds" features the 2012 Camry traversing a stretch
of road that literally depicts two worlds-one that is light called
"eco-friendly," the other darker and sportier called
"performance-driven." From agency Saatchi & Saatchi LA and
director Phil Joanou, the captivating spot takes viewers on a ride
through the hybrid landscape. Wild mustangs, hang gliders,
motorcycles and fighter jets are among the spot's visual eye
candy.
The Mill L.A.'s team crafted VFX for "Two Worlds," as well as
two other commercials in the "It's Ready. Are You?" campaign:
"Built," featuring the reinvented Camry being created from scratch
to accommodate the protagonist's every whim; and "Crew," an
entertaining look at the Camry's Entune system with mobile app
offerings represented by celebrities Chris Berman, James Lipton,
Kelly Clarkson and Andrew Zimmern.
"We did a very heavy pre-vis for 'Two Worlds,'" explains Andrew
Proctor, VFX Supervisor/Lead 3D Artist on the spot. "Phil [Joanou]
wanted to get a fluid edit that switched between these two worlds.
One side dark and moody, the other green and idyllic. This required
multiple locations and meant the action had to be at exactly the
same speed, so our edit would flow smoothly."
Joanou and his team filmed in Mammoth, Lone Pine and Death
Valley. "To create a sense of two worlds, we ended up replacing
backgrounds with matte paintings," Proctor explains. "Some of the
shots involved stacked plates. For instance, we shot plates of
black mustangs running free, but we couldn't shoot them next to
moving cars. We'd do a plate of the car and a plate of at least one
horse. Then we tiled up one or two horses, and repeated. For the
white horses, we shot the car practically and the horses in
different locations. We used a similar angle, then composited and
graded together. We then composited over the matte painting
emphasizing the green lush organic world."
"The wide shot at the end of 'Two Worlds' is intended to sum up
the idea by combining both worlds in one image," explains Paul
O'Shea, VFX Supervisor/Lead 2D Artist on the spot. "The challenge
was to reconcile things that are supposed to be in contrast into
one picture. The end shot is entirely CG. We based it on a camera
move in a real shot but ultimately replaced everything in the
scene. Things like the birds, the horses and the jets are enjoyable
touches that echo the details found throughout the entire spot.
Everything you see in the 'Two Worlds' vignettes is in the end
shot, so it makes a nice summary."
While the "eco-friendly" world included a variety of atmospheric
touches such as CG flowers, birds, mist and rainbows, the
"performance-driven" world's flourishes included CG Jet fighters,
dust and fog. Much of "Two Worlds" overall environment was created
with sky replacements, road replacements, matte paintings, set
extensions, heavy rotoscoping and multiple telecine passes.
O'Shea adds, "Another part of the project that was quite nice
was heightening the contrast between the locations, creating
something based on reality but sweetened to the point of fantasy.
For instance, we used photo reference the agency's art director
supplied from his home village in Switzerland to make the rocks and
the mountains more aggressive."
"We've worked with Phil a few times now, and it's a very open
process," both Proctor and O'Shea concur. "We're getting to a place
where we can compliment his photography and collaborate with him to
be a real creative resource."
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