The Mill NY leaves no frame untouched for Barclays

22nd July 2009 - The Mill NY leaves no frame untouched in Barclays’ new US TV spot, ‘Fake’, via Venables Bell and directed by MJZ’s Nicolai Fuglsig.

Increasingly confused, the man rushes on, pausing to check a pile of newspapers on the street corner only to find that even this isn’t real. Attempting to run into the subway, he is shocked to find that the stairs are merely a picture – an optical illusion. Next he tries to run up the stone steps of the NYSE building, but they crumble underneath him, also an illusion; as is the usually busy Wall Street, which smashes to pieces when he tries to run down the road. Even the newspaper stand isn’t real and the man easily pushes it over which in turn tears down a fake backdrop revealing a film set behind it. Finally he arrives at a building which does not disintegrate at his touch and a man emerges asking, “Can I help you?”. At this moment, the city around him returns to normal – people, noises, cars and movement. The camera reveals that the man has arrived at Barclays. The spot closes with the tag line ‘Barclays – Bank on Substance’.

To create the impressive spot—both the grand and more subtle, atmospheric FX shots—The Mill NY’s Lead Flame Dan Williams explains, "We put together a large team to produce the spot. Angus Kneale and I worked hard to maintain a consistent look across the commercial. Nicolai, as always, delivered us fantastic material to work with. The spot is loaded with visual gags -- it's a pleasure to work on pieces where the effects are such an integral part of the narrative. Perhaps the standout scene is the wide shot where the backdrop falls to reveal a desolate back-lot. It's a great example of cloth simulation from the 3D team. A lot of care was taken in giving the massive drape the correct weight and gravity so that it had the proper sense of scale and fell correctly. Naomi Anderlini created the back-lot from stills taken from an abandoned airfield and she then added large plumes of dust, generated birds and light effects to tie the composite together.

"The invisible wall shot was approached with the same level of research and tenacity," Williams continues. "We did several iterations of the wall being displaced by the main guy, really working small rips and tears into the poster as well as crinkles into the paper which caught the light when the wall moved. The subway scene at the beginning is another good example of how we dialed-in folds and textures to create the illusion of a papered floor. In addition to the main effects shots, almost every scene was touched in some way; there was a lot of cleanup involved to remove real people and cars from the background; we also added exhaust smoke to the cabs and other atmospherics throughout. Fake camera moves were finally added to any lock-offs to enhance the spot's voyeuristic feel."

Agency: - Venables Bell / Co-Creative Directors: - Paul Venables, Greg Bell / Associate Creative Director: - Tom Scharpf / Copywriter: - Crockett Jeffers - - Director of Broadcast Production / Producer: - Craig Allen / Production Company: - MJZ / Director: - Nicolai Fuglsig / DP: - Ellen Kuras / Producer: - Emma Wilcockson / Editing Company: - Final Cut LA / Editor: - Rick Russell / Post Production: - The Mill NY / Producer: - Bethan Thomas / Colourist: - Fergus McCall / Lead Flame: - Dan Williams - Naomi Anderlini / Flame: - Iwan Zwarts - Corey Brown - Gigi Ng / 3D Supervisor: - Ben Smith / 3D: - Mike Dunkley - Wyatt Savarese - Alek Vacura - Tom Bardwell - Naotaka Minami

Site by Engage.