British Airways Shoot For "Knucklehead"
A recent BA commercial used extensive motion control techniques supplied by the Visual Effects Company.
The commercial begins outside the window of
a flat looking at a man inside. With the hero character staying
centre frame, the camera travels in a perfect arc through the
wall, continuing into a living room where the man is sitting on
a sofa using a laptop computer. We pass a fish tank and, as the
camera slows to a rest, we follow the man who stands up and walks
towards the camera and through a doorway before taking a seat
in an aeroplane cabin. Still focused on the man, the camera tracks
backwards through the cabin and out through the tail of the plane.
Senior motion control cameraman for the VFX Co., Malcolm Wooldridge
oversaw the project… "The whole sequence had been planned
in detail using pre-visualisation. 3D Data and dimensions from
this pre-vis were then used to allow the set to be constructed
and positioned in the studio to allow the motion control camera
access to the required areas with the minimum of fuss. It was
important to know well in advance which parts of the set needed
to 'float' and what we would see after we had passed through wall
etc. so that these could be integrated into the set design from
the outset. "
He continues.. "By using our custom 'rig chase' software,
we were able to directly import the pre-vis moves on set and adjust
them as necessary to accomplish the shot. The software is a very
versatile and useful tool, giving us the ability to accurately
predict where the rails should be positioned and which walls needed
to be removed."
The sequence was broken down into 4 main moves
from 3 rail positions. The first two shots were programmed using
a standard Milo motion control system supplied with an Arri 435
Advanced camera recording the takes.
The transition through the wall from outside to inside was used
as a wipe point between the first 2 moves. There was enough overlap
to allow for pre and post roll and an offset pass was also shot
for the fascia wall replacement of the outside of the flat
The second move overlapped the first and used a 3D generated fish
tank as its end wipe point. For the third and fourth moves, an
8 foot tall rostrum was constructed on which the Milo was placed.
The use of a long arm gave the reach to the overlap position and
allowed the rig to pass over the aircraft lockers during the final
track back. Some of the sections required very fast rig movements,
so 'vary-speed' software was implemented to maintain a constant
pace.
The cabin interior was only about 7 seats deep, so replacement
passes were also needed to fill in the other missing rows and
roof sections.
Frame count inserters and 'bloop lights' were
output from the motion control computer and used to edit the video
feed of the camera on set. This enabled an accurate video composition
of the whole sequence to check the pace and position of the wipes.
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