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HomeCraftsAnimationVideo of the Day: Red Bull Racing Drivers Spur A Stampede

Video of the Day: Red Bull Racing Drivers Spur A Stampede

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Colorist/VFX artist David Cox recently helped create a herd of stampeding bulls for a new ad campaign for PUMA and the Red Bull Racing Formula One Team in preparation for the upcoming Formula One 2016 Season. The commercial was created by Rebel @ Outsider and directed by Max Fisher for Tim Stedman at PUMA.

The concept required a herd of stampeding bulls to charge around the two Red Bull Racing drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat.

“Given the tight turnaround, we looked at the possibility of using stock footage roto-scoped into new scenes. However, this would have heavily restricted the creativity of the rest of the commercial as camera angles would have to be locked to the available footage,” explained Cox. “We therefore opted for CGI bulls and I started to create these before the shoot to get a head-start.”

With the challenges of facing the busy F1 drivers’ schedules, Cox had just two weeks between shooting and delivery to complete the ambitious project. He relied on SGO’s Mistika to complete the project.

“At first, it appeared that shooting against greenscreen would provide the most efficient workflow,” said Cox. “However, director Max Fisher and cinematographer Luke Jacobs were keen on a spot-lit, hazy environment which doesn’t directly suit greenscreen shooting. Although similar looks could be created in postproduction, I felt that it would be better to let the director and DoP keep full control of this aspect by avoiding greenscreen shooting. This resulted in some extra work in post to roto-scope around the drivers, but made the overall feel of the commercial much stronger.”

“The bulls were modelled and animated by referring to You-Tube clips of Iberian fighting bulls,” Cox explained. “In the shots where there were scores of bulls, the masses were created using particle systems with an element of artificial intelligence to create the herding stampede action. Bulls closer to the camera were individually animated. These were then lit and matched to the hazy environment, so that distant bulls would fade to shadow whereas the ones in the spot-lit center were brightly illuminated.”

Cox also created an animation which made a heart-beat monitor morph into the shape of the PUMA/Red Bull Racing brand mark.

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