In “Spirit of the Euro,” director Carlos Lascano and Bent Image Lab crafted a madcap romp through a cast of zany characters for Coke and agency Santo.
Carlos explains one of the challenges in producing the spot:
My proposal was technically very demanding, since it required the use of real eyes on 3D characters with massive head rotations and a wide range of expressions …
There is a saying that goes that eyes are windows to the soul. Well, by using real eyes I am not only animating these characters, I am also providing them with a soul. This technique that I have been developing for the last few years gives me the chance to work with actors and the intention of their gestures. There is a wide range of small ocular moves that cannot be achieved in animation.
Some technical details from Bent Image Lab:
Bent’s CG team, using 3D Studio Max, supplied tracking markers for the character eyes to the compositing department. The pre planning was extensive. Halfway through production, (after blocking the animation) the live action eyes were shot, selected and locked. Using this tracking data, Lascano applied the eyes of his choosing to each CG character using After Effects.
Thereafter, the animators worked with the eyes to add subtle facial expressions to achieve the performance that Lascano was after. Then, using both After Effects and Nuke, the compositors incorporated the eye comps and CG animation into the finished cinema 3D stereo production.
See more making of details here.
Agency: SANTO
Creative: Pablo Minces
Agency Producers: Nadia Lozano
Leandro Sussman
Production Company: Bent Image Lab
Director/Production Designer: Carlos Lascano
Executive Producer: Ray Di Carlo
Creative Partner: David Daniels
Producer: Marissa Weisman
Line Producer: Paula Lema
Louise Barlow
Kevin Sullivan
Sound Design/Mix: Lance Limbocker
Technical Director: Joshua Cox
CG Art Director: Javier Leon
Lead Animator: Eric Scheur
Animators: Austin Hillebrecht
Michael Wilson
Ryan Hayford
Jim Donovan
Anthony Soto
CG Artist: Shirak Agresta
Gina Burgess
Donielle Blanc
Modeling/Texturing: Isabel Garcia Jaen
Alvaro Gasco
Omar Sarmiento
Gina Burgess
Modeling: Arantxa Claudio
Libor Batěk
Martin Ličko
JosefKasal
Pavel Šiška
František Štěpánek
Dan Falta
CG Riggers: Gina Burgess
Joshua Cox
Patrick Dorris
Daryn Olson
Shirak Agresta
Donielle Blanc
Paul Hormis
Character Designers: Carlos Lascano
Colin Batty
Jesse McManus
Abbey Paccia
2D Artists: Abbey Paccia
Dave Manuel
Stephen Bodin
Sally Sherwood
Matte Painter: Nate Hallinan
Lead Compositor: Cameron Carson
Compositors: Evan Phillips
Chris Russo
Lead Editor: Shawn Wight
Editors: Liam Gillies
Brent Heise
Colorist: Jalal Jemison
Elements Director of Photography: Jim Birkett
VO Talent: Sam Mowry
Production Coordinators: Nathanael Horton
Jacqueline Fitzgerald
Eryn Murrie
Shirak Agresta