“State of Turbulence” is the latest in a series of State Farm ads to pass through Filmworkers’ postproduction pipeline before making their way to air. Colorist Michael Mazur performed final color grading while VFX director Rob Churchill handled visual effects and editorial finishing.
Churchill had a hand in the reappearance of a character from Rodgers’ past spots for State Farm: a roly-poly cheesehead who mimics the quarterback’s discount double-check hand gesture. In this instance he does so while clinging to the plane’s wing. Churchill composited the actor into the shot and added sky and wind effects to create a sense of over-the-top realism. “DDB comes up with great concepts that consistently challenge us to do our best work,” Churchill said.
Turbulence follows an earlier State Farm ad titled “Billboard,” where Filmworkers created a cast of 5,000 digital actors. Promoting the company’s new auto loan program, the spot features a pair of bank executives on a rooftop attempting to take down a billboard advertising the program. They are stopped when a huge crowd forms on the street below.
With the exception of a few real actors appearing in close ups, the crowd of gawkers is made up of digital actors, produced by Filmworkers with the crowd-generating software Massive. “We’ve created crowds before to fill sports stadiums, but this was a much more complex application,” Churchill said. “We have people looking up, taking pictures with cell phones, talking with other people, fidgeting. Some walk, some run. They weave around each other…all in a random manner.”
Churchill and Michael Anderson used Flame Premium systems to composite the live and digital elements. Colorist Fred Keller applied the final grade in a Baselight system to ensure a perfect match. Illustration specialist Giannini Creative and digital studio Vitamin, both Filmworkers affiliates, also contributed to the project.
