Venice, Calif.-based VFX studio The Mission recently finished a campaign for Puma, featuring the fastest man on the planet, Usain Bolt.
In the :60, the camera tracks to find Bolt training on an moody stretch of seaside road in his native Kingston, Jamaica as he transitions from walk, to jog, to blazing-fast run. But something unexpected begins when his pace hits its peak – with each of his foot strikes, the tread of his shoe starts to ignite the gravel beneath it with bursts of spark and gas.
Collaborating with JWT creatives and director Omri Cohen (Anonymous Content), The Mission’s creative director Rob Trent was able to oversee the project from beginning to end, and was involved from an early point in pre-production to develop the aesthetic. He and the director were able to sit in the previs suite at The Mission with animation director Piotr Karwas to work out otherwise time-consuming production decisions with efficient, accurate previs tests. Capturing such a dynamic performance in a single take properly would have left too much to chance without smart planning.
Everything from lens choice and camera car speed, to Technocrane moves, to even cost-saving decisions about what gear to ship from the states were solved ahead of time in previs so that Cohen and the Anonymous crew could get the best creative results out of their time with Bolt.
Trent then traveled to Kingston to ensure a smooth transition from previs to production, and to consult on ways to streamline the creative process when he returned with the director to Venice Beach to complete the spot.
He continued to work closely with Cohen at The Mission throughout the post schedule in order to hone the look.
Previs was done in Maya, and all VFX elements, compositing and finishing were done in Flame.
