BRICKYARD VFX COMPLETES NBA PACKAGE
The spots feature NBA superstars Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, Dr. J, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal, and recall iconic moments in playoffs history. In the spot featuring the Lakers' duo of Shaq and Kobe, the players are first shown in an empty arena. Opposing players then appear, as does the capacity crowd, which erupts in cheers upon the winning dunk. The crowd and opposition then fade away leaving only the victorious player - Shaq in this case - and the viewer gets a feel for the exciting history that's taken place in the home team's arena. The spots wrap with the "Where will amazing happen this year?" graphic before finally ending with the NBA logo and "Where amazing happens" tag.
Brickyard VFX worked with photoreal CG stadium backgrounds, painstakingly recreating the recognizable location from each event. The studio also provided pre-viz services to establish timing and camera tracking angles, along with rotoscoping of players, referees, equipment and crowd elements. Their compositing work brought it all together.
Geoff McAuliffe supervised visual effects for Brickyard VFX. The studio used Synth Eyes for tracking, Silhouette for rotoscoping, NewTek LightWave for animation and Autodesk Flame and Flint for effects and finishing.