The Skinny

Holden Ute “Evolution” recently hit Australia’s television screens with a bang launching the new VE ute. Directed by Mark Toia from Zoom Film and Television for McCann Erickson Melbourne, the commercial takes us on an amazing journey through the transformation of the iconic Aussie Holden ute: from the classic FJ right through to the new VE model.

The Production

The artistry of Mark Toia was immediately evident as he filmed the early sequences with 8mm/16mm cameras, or at least made the plates appear that way, with the film quality becoming more impressive with time. The idea of ‘evolution’ was then reflected in each car and environment transition with the visual style constantly changing to compliment the feeling of evolution throughout the duration of this creative spot.

Production and post both played a vital role in the construction of the Holden TVC. Although it is a very post heavy commercial, by shooting on locations that suited the eras and physically sourcing all of the car models required also helped in lightening the VFX load considerably. Some research was undertaken to see how weatherboard houses were built, what stickers a petrol station may have had around the register upon entering during a certain time period, and what type of stores operate during the 70s etc.

As it was a four-day shoot, these careful choices of locations saved time and money for both the production and post crew. More importantly, they were authentic.

The Post

Cutting Edge assumed post duties on this visual effects feast, in which all six Holden Utes and each background needed to be created completely; transitions to work flawlessly and help suspend belief. Four of the Utes were modelled from photographs and the VU & VE models were supplied as CAD files by Holden and seamlessly integrated.

The first transition utilises a stop-motion style of animation for the car pieces appearing, which fits with the style of film effect used for the shot. For the HQ to VU transition, the post company aimed to revive the infamous tornado, but update it with extra detail and realistic motion. The final transition would adopt more of a futuristic approach, including mechanical, robotic motion mixed with a fluid, organic style.

The tornado was created with Maya’s Fluid dynamics, whilst the debris within and around the tornado was created with Maya’s nCloth system.

The shake compositing team worked closely with the 3d artists as they tested render layers throughout the process. Most of the final compositing was completed in Shake with all shots being passed over to Inferno for the final online and overall composite.

One of the most memorable scenes for both the work involved and overall finished product were the dashboard transitions. In order to keep the interior dash shots as photo-real as possible, the Cutting Edge team had hoped to create specific 3D elements to bridge the gap between the two cars with what was photographed onset. Instead, the transformation quickly became too detailed to accomplish using this technique. This forced the team to create and render the entire dashboards, including the steering wheels, as computer generated elements.

This was a massive undertaking for the 3d artist who worked quickly breaking down and rigging the CAD model and then modelling the VU dash from reference images. He then developed the animation style that would most effectively transition between the two very different shaped models. The end result was a smooth flowing transition that managed to look fluid instead of messy as the dashboard changed shape.

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