Metro de Madrid: “Transparente” (Updated)

“Transparente” aims at changing people’s perspectives about using the subway in Madrid. Literally.

These kinds of vfx projects are all about restraint. Props to director Gabriel Ibañez for nailing the pacing and subdued palette.

UPDATE: I’ve updated the video with a larger QuickTime. It also appears our initial information regarding the credits for this spot was incomplete. It turns out that effects studio La Huella did a lot of the heavy lifting on this project, including all the 3D and most of the compositing.

Here’s a little more info on the production process form La Huella’s Jerome Debeve:

All the pre-production work involving pre-viz was done by Gabe Ibañez and Vanesa Iglesias at Usert38.

Camera angles / velocity and focal length were worked out in 3D, so we had all the needed information for the shooting.

Actors were shot from below using a specially constructed structure of several hi-density glass panels. These panels were mounted on a metallic armature 3 meters tall and 10 meters wide, forming a bridge so the motorized travelling rig could move freely and repeat the moves as needed.

A green screen was suspended above the set. The wide shots are all CG, and the close ones a mix between greenscreen elements and CGI.

The team at La Huella spent 6 weeks in total on this production, that won quite a few awards in Spain and outside.

Later we used the same technique for a Gas Natural spot where two children run inside a house during its creation ; you can see it at www.lahuellafx.com.

Credits:
Production company : Tesauro
Producers : Pancho Alted/Miki Heras
Director : Gabe Ibañez
Pre-production : Usert38
Post-production : La Huella Efectos Digitales / Serena
Post-production crew :
Supervision : Jérôme Debève / Juan A. Ruiz
3D artists : Antonio Lado – David Gonzalez – Gerardo Arpide – Vanesa Iglesias –
Juan A. Ruiz РJ̩r̫me Deb̬ve
2D Compositing : J̩r̫me Deb̬ve РR̩gis Barbey
Additional compositing / finishing : Emilio Perez / Serena
Agency : Contrapunto
General Creative Director : Antonio Montero
Creative Directors : Jose Mª Cornejo / Fernando Galindo
Producer : Mamen Puyot

Thanks to Miguel A. Salek for the tip!