TORONTO - Topix Mad Dog, here, and Astropolitan Pictures in Hollywood worked together to provide visual effects for Budweiser's latest race-inspired spot featuring dragster champion Kenny Bernstein. Blast Off puts the Bernstein-driven dragster on a NASA launch pad as he prepares for his next conquest - outer space.
Director Mark Dippe and Complete Pandemonium in San Francisco produced the :30 commercial out of agency DDB Chicago. Astropolitan created digital matte elements and Topix handled compositing , which included original and stock footage, 3D material and pyro plates. The result is an explosive lift off that features all of the realism of an actual Space Shuttle launch.
Topix credits include Discreet Inferno artists Dominik Bochenski and Lee Towndrow, producer Cheyenne Bloomfield and executive producer Sylvain Taillon.
Andrew Honacker supervised visual effects for Astropolitan Pictures. Sean Capone was lead 3D animator and Dan Bigelow was digital matte painter. Compositor Jakub Hryniewicz and digital artist Talon Nightshade also contributed.
Brian Williams of Panic and Bob in Toronto handled the editorial