VFX Supervisor Dave Piedra, creative director Dan Schmit and EP Michael Caplan led the Engine Room design and animation team throughout the intensive process that spanned nine months, from the design phase to the execution of each deliverable in the campaign, which included two complete packages, the first for day races and a second to air during the season’s night competitions.
“Our work with Fox Sports is always incredibly rewarding thanks to the vision and passion of EVP/creative director Gary Hartley and his team,” Schmit said. “We are proud of how our ongoing collaboration with Fox Sports has evolved for more than a decade from a relationship based on our live action skills, to now providing large scale creative branding projects where we have been invited to do it all, from developing original concept, through feature-level visual effects CG execution. Gary saw our potential early on and we look forward to many more years of exciting collaboration and visionary work in support of Fox Sports.”
For the last two seasons, Fox Sports has tapped Engine Room for custom animation pieces involving intensive and rapidly produced, animated comic-style CG recaps of each weekly NASCAR race. This year, the collaboration went into overdrive, with Engine Room delivering an entire broadcast sports package that showcases the thrills, spills and upsets intrinsic to NASCAR, all with a fresh new look.
As part of the open’s signature design, there are animated race cars that reflect the evolution of new 2013 custom body styles from the big three automakers in a wild race to the finish line. Engine Room was also tasked with designing two new branding icons for FOX SPORTS to be used throughout the racing season. The new chrome, energy infused Fox X-Car and its high-tech robot driver Speedus, a 3D animated cousin to FOX Football robot Cleatus, is a lightning-fast racing mascot on wheels.
Nascar on Fox 2013 Open – Day and Night from Engine Room on Vimeo.
