Eight
VFX supervisor Jean-Marc Demmer and CG supervisor Fred Hopp joined Barber on location
in Miami for the live action shoot with the entertainer."The
objective was to take this out of the traditional motion of a Newton's Cradle,
instead conveying a big swinging series of balls, keeping the momentum
building," Hopp explains.
To
accomplish this, Eight created a new cradle design, with only one string. While
most of the ball movement was done in CG, the team built the cradle out as a
practical piece, in two sizes, small and large, for close-ups with Pharell.Barber,
Demmer, Hopp and Final Cut/Santa Monica editor JD Smith orchestrated all the
shots to complement the different moods in the music. Eight VFX's Stefan
Gaillot, Nicolas Cadorette Vigneau and Amalia Luyet-McMahan handled compositing
for the commercial.
The spot's
3D was created using Autodesk 3Ds Max, while 2D was executed using Combustion
and Flame.