SANTA MONICA, CA — Ad agency Team Detroit recently called on production company King and Country (www.kingandcountry.tv) to produce and post a new spot for Ford that mixes live-action, 3D animation and design elements. The :30 commercial promotes Ford’s versatile, tough and economical 2015 Transit, which can be configured for any type of business.
K&C came up with a pod concept to clearly illustrate how a diverse range of professionals can use the Transit, whether they are contractors, express deliveryman or IT professionals. The spot takes viewers through a series of stylized environments, where people interact with their customized Transits in fun-yet-functional ways. By using live action and animation, the K&C team was able to visualize the Transit, inside and out.
“The key to transitioning from scene to scene was keeping the tempo of the pod movements dynamic, which we achieved with a range of zooms and perspective shifts, and evenly proportioned so you seamlessly experience the singular flexibility of the model,” notes Efrain Montanez, K&C partner/director.
Red’s Epic was used to capture live action, along with a Gazelle motion control rig. 3D renderings of the vehicles and their custom interiors were created using Autodesk Maya. Adobe After Effects was also used for design elements.
“By varying the van colors and transforming the interiors in CG, as well as the graphic aesthetics, we were able to express the immense versatility of the Transit for the various occupations featured in the spot,” adds Montanez.
Ford Transit "9 to 5'ers" from
King and Country on
Vimeo.
K&C shot the spot over the course of two days at a soundstage in LA, utilizing both greenscreen and practical sets. Interior and exterior van details, props, and talent were captured in-camera with the flexibility to augment them in CG. Rather than use studio lighting, K&C used warm natural light, which vibrantly pops from the graphic background.
Company 3’s Bob Festa handled the color correction. Music and sound design were provided by Sonixphere’s Greg Allan. Stir Post Audio, Chicago, also provided sound design/sound effects. Rob Sayers at Sound Lounge in New York City handled the mix.