VFX Details Go Wild features those 11 real beasts transformed into 137 'real' (ie Inferno-cloned) creatures, which are in turn joined by some 302 purely CG animals. Of the eight creatures seen in the spot, two (the Orang-Utan and the Hyenas) were the product of real animals being multiplied in the Inferno, two (the sea lions and penguins) were purely the creation of the 3D team, and the remaining four (bison, mandrill, chimp and bear) were a blend of real animals and digital duplicates.
Allender, using a flexible combination of 2D and 3D elements, gradually built up the scenes. This mixture of live action and 3D – and the options to choose whichever worked best – were another key to the success of the project. For example, the crowd of mandrills on the sidewalk waiting for their pal to come down were initially done using shots of the real creature. Murro decided that they were too inert, so they were replaced by a CG group who offered more interaction.
"We had a weekly conference call with everyone, to share feedback and ideas," says Allender (Murro was abroad throughout the post process), "Adjustments to animation were made following those. The agency and the director seemed to trust us completely - to the point where it was up to us to populate the scenes with the creatures, virtual or not. It was a fantastic creative experience for the team."
One last element that helped to bring it all together was the Telecine, created by Senior Colourist Steffan Perry. The grade was a discrete, non-showy one, and Perry's role was to keep the look filmic and real.
