The 2013 MTV Movie Awards campaign spoofs Tatum’s upcoming White House Down with spots portraying the action star outrunning his attackers in a bullet-riddled SUV as an obliviously love-struck Wilson tricks and cajoles him into uncomfortable situations. To create these harrowing scenes, Click 3X transformed a windshield-less SUV shot on rollers on a greenscreen stage into a fast-moving battle-scarred escape vehicle, with the help of moving light rigs, stock and custom elements and greenscreen comps melded to background footage from White House Down.
“Making the SUV appear to be battle-damaged as it lurched through a warzone was a priority for the promos,” explained Szumski, who also paid homage to the feature films honored at the VMAs with a color grade specially designed to emulate the feel of a blockbuster action film, grading the footage using multiple Color Warper nodes, among other techniques.
The team was able to maintain this aesthetic even while handling the spots that called more overt visual effects – including one scene in which Wilson’s hair suddenly bursts into flames.
“For me, delivering that action-film look was one of the most rewarding aspects of this project,” said Szumski.
