Issue: April 1, 2002

Spool fools

NEW YORK - Chelsea Pictures (www.chelsea.com) and director Simon Blake - known for integrating effects and live-action in his commercials - knit together a new spot for AT&T titled Spool. The spot opens with six spools of blue thread spinning on the screen. The spools begin to rapidly unravel, spinning around in orbit as the six strands intertwine to create a sphere in the shape of the AT&T logo.

To get real images that could then be composited, Chelsea built six oversized wooden spools and the string was braided together to provide texture to the thread. The real elements were photo-mapped and then set in motion using Discreet 3D Studio Max by a team of freelance effects artists working at Chelsea.