Escape from reality

Brickyard VFX has just completed work on the new “Yahoo! Lip Sync” campaign, featuring Maya and flame work and on-set VFX supervision duties

Set to tracks from artists such as Kanye West, Motley Crue and Lionel Richie, the campaign promotes Yahoo!’s search engine through three 30 second spots: “Flashing Lights”, “Home Sweet Home”, and “Hello”. The campaign is via ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Hungry Man director Bryan Buckley.

Patrick Poulatian, VFX supervisor, was on location in Prague where all of the spots were shot in a historical mansion over a period of 6+ shoot days. While Brickyard was on set to support the creative vision, a bulk of the team’s work came after the shoot, as they completed transitions and additionally designed CG elements in Maya and composited using Autodesk Flame.

The project did not come without challenges. “Bryan took an organic filmmaking approach to the shoot and used a handheld camera. This gave him the freedom to shoot whatever he needed, but it also posed quite a technical feat when it came to tracking,” noted, Patrick. “With no motion control, it was a challenge to track elements; however our team of artists was relentless to circumvent the obstacles and ultimately achieve the look and feel Goodby had envisioned.”

Each spot paints a picture of a man or woman discontent with their daily routine and introduces a purple door with a Yahoo! Ringer as a gateway into an exciting world conjured up by its dreamer.

“Flashing Lights” transports a bored office employee from his cubicle into a world of limos, ladies, paparazzi and stardom. “Home Sweet Home” transports a man from his living room into a surreal alternate universe — complete with a Nascar driver playing the piano while on fire, a western brawl, a mechanical bull ride and more. In “Hello” a woman escapes from a mundane dinner date into a universe of grandiose dating options. At the end of each spot the dreamer is slowly brought back to reality as a Yahoo! search page appears behind them to “reveal” their customized search results while characters from the music videos interact with them in their original environments.

“We love collaborating with Goodby and always look forward to working with them, because the quality of their creative is always inventive,” said Jeff Blodgett, Executive Producer, Brickyard VFX, Santa Monica. “Working side by side with director Bryan Buckley helped guide us in delivering effects and compositing work that contributes to the quirky humour of these spots.”

See more work by Brickyard VFX on Fired By Design

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