Repsol Gaz

Todos os diaz

Portuguese production company Tangerina Azul approached us for a big vfx job for the Spanish-Argentinian energy company Repsol.
Director Sergio Henriques -inspired by the famous one taker from Panic Room- selected 5 different locations that had to be welded together seamlessly to give the impression of a single fluent camera move.

Before the shoot began we created a rough pre visualisation of the commercial, providing the director with insights on timing, rhythm and decoupage. We advised to shoot on high speed 35mm and to scan the footage on HD resolution for optimal tracking, reframing, retiming and object placement. Additionally, Condor sent out animator Rob Wuijster and compositor Philip Huis in 't Veld as VFX supervisors to ensure optimal live footage, and to coordinate HDRI and texture shoots.

For the technical execution in Amsterdam we flew in matchmove specialist Heiko von Fintel from our Cape Town office. Heiko 3D tracked the HD footage and imported the tracked scenes in Autodesk's Maya where he cleverly combined several camera tracks into one. Reference photography from the set and HDRI footage allowed us to perfectly match the physical appearance and lighting of furniture, backgrounds and a variety of 3D props.

An additional challenge was the delivery date. While the job was quoted for six to eight weeks of post production, we had to deliver within four. In order to get this done we outsourced small chunks of work to our international offices. By delegating minor modeling, texturing and rendering jobs, the animators in Amsterdam could completely focus on the more crucial match moving and modelling tasks.

The compositing was set up in HD format, ensuing optimal results with stabilizing, reframing and retiming. All 3D was also set up in HD which made the integration of the 3D renders into the final composite much easier to contain.

To service our clients abroad, the NOVA system was used, where progress of the production was posted for evaluation and approval. Automated notification by mail or SMS gave the client flexible overview on the project. This way the Spanish advertiser, the agency and the Portuguese production company could direct and adjust the post production process remotely.

We managed to get this project from pre-viz to final product in a mere 3,5 weeks. The close cooperation with the production company, the backup of our foreign colleagues and the unique approval process made this job's budget and delivery date containable, and both the agency and advertiser extremely satisfied.