Directed by Jay Walker, the spot tapped studios’ technical expertise using CG, LED volume shoot and traditional VFX to visually realize a young girl’s dream.
Creative lab Impossible Objects (IO) produced the latest spot for legacy company John Deere, which for 150+ years has been a go-to for agricultural, construction, forestry machinery, and technology. To highlight its offerings, All Kinds of Fields takes the viewer on a journey through the eyes of one little girl with big dreams.
Out of Agency Signal Theory, the team at IO and director Jay Walker set out to bring a child’s imagination to life using virtual production. IO used its expertise, including CG, shooting on an LED volume, and traditional VFX, to seamlessly integrate virtual and physical elements from previs to post. From the John Deere toy tractor in the little girl’s bedroom to her drawing on the wall in the virtual garage, the subtle details enrich the narrative, connecting the dreamlike sequences with the real world.
The tight shooting schedule posed the most significant challenge, with only two days to capture three virtual environments and a practical set. The IO Virtual Art Department team created the industrial garage, the engineering room, and mission control, along with a set extension for the LED volume and a few fully CG assets, including the tractor and the branded John Deere satellite based on CAD files using Autodesk’s Maya, Adobe’s Substance Painter, Unreal Engine from Epic Games, and SideFX’s Houdini. Once the virtual assets were complete, the team built the bedroom set, prepped the shots, and rigged the lighting one day before the shoot.
“With our LED volume approach, we can shoot in breathtaking places, a mission control viewing room, and an enormous factory in a single day,” shared IO executive producer Sara James. “By pairing this impressive and innovative technology with practical, real-life set design to give us depth and foreground, the results are stunning and, most importantly, grounded in realism.”
The director, Walker, is committed to mentorship and diversity in the industry and decided to bring a shadow director on for the shoot. After receiving close to 500 applications, Walker chose an aspiring female director found through the non-profit Free the Work. By immersing the shadowing director in every aspect of the production, from pre-pro to post, Walker aimed to provide her with the full spectrum experience.
“John Deere is making a conscious effort to support women in STEM fields, and as one of the few female directors versed in the technically complex LED volume shoot process, this was an inspiring campaign to work on,” said Walker. “It was doubly rewarding to invite a ‘Free the Work’ mentee to shadow this shoot, making it a full circle female empowerment experience, true to the creative concept.”
Source: Impossible Objects
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
