American Cinematographer - October 2006 - 94

deliver

high-quality effects without a
previz was also a great
help in production planning, according
to Weisz. "Previz helps a lot for
commercials, because you see what's
really possible to show in 30 seconds,"
he says. "Why shoot 10 angles when
you only need four?"
The production pace was brisk.
All of the main car collisions, except for

Right: In the
Farmer's

ton of CGI." The

Insurance spot
"Indestructible,"
a Cadillac is

impervious to
body damage
from a variety of
hazards. Each

"accident"

was

filmed in two

that were
composited
together by
Brickyard VFX.

passes

the cement-truck finale, were filmed in
downtown Los

Below: The
Cadillac is
readied for

Angeles in one day.
pleasure to work with,
and it's largely because of him that we
were able to get the crash scenes all
done in a day," says Weisz. "He and his
guys were like a well-oiled machine,
and the rigging crew worked their tails
off." Mokri adds, "My key grip, Johnny
London Jr., and 1st AC, Matt Alper,
were essential in making sure all rigs
"Amir was

a

non-contact

ing no damage. Eventually, the Cadillac is
rammed by a gigantic cement truck,
whose mixer barrel flies high over the
miraculously unscathed car. Olmos steps

Brickyard Makes Car

pass.

"Indestructible"

by Noah Kadner
In

a

recent

commercial

for

Farmer's Insurance called "Indestruc¬

out of the

Cadillac, then, in

a

twist,

Edward James Olmos

through a movie screen and onto a stage
to explain that in real life, cars are not
indestructible, and that's why there is car

downtown Los

insurance.

tible,"

a

silver Cadillac driven by actor

careens through
Angeles, colliding with
other vehicles at high speed yet sustain¬

was

both the on-set coordina¬

tor and the lead artist in

post.

The

original "spy-movie chase"
concept was created in consultation with
the client and the agency, Accentmarket¬
ing. Weisz created his own previsualiza¬
tion animatics using Maxon's Cinema 4D
software. He also cut together a DVD

cameras were

particular

the filmmakers were
The Bourne Supremacy, shot by Oliver
Wood, and Gone in 60 Seconds, shot by
use to

Paul Cameron, ASC.
The goal was to
camera

90 October 2006

in order."

primary cameras were three
Arri 435s supplemented by two Eyemos
in crash housings for the really danger¬
ous (to the camera) angles. Because the
crew's time

as

do as much in
possible. By watching the

on

location

limited,

was so

most of the

lighting involved controlling
ambient natural light with silks and
flags. Each camera mount was pre¬
rigged according to the previz. The crew
also timed out the schedule to chase
the

shady side of the main building

location around the

the

corner as

sun

moved. "Careful

planning and

execution

the answers," says

were

proper

Mokri.
Each collision shot

reel of several famous car-chase scenes;
of

real

The

The 30-second spot was directed
by Martin Weisz and shot by Amir Mokri,
whose feature cinematography credits
include Lord of War and Taking Lives.
Visual effects were handled by Brickyard
VFX under Geoff McAuliffe's supervision.

McAuliffe

and

a

was

handled

non-motion-control

composite.
Most were done as locked-off angles.
The first pass consisted of a specially
designed Ford truck rig, which was
essentially a giant slab of concrete with
wheels and an engine. This stunt rig
as

a

built to match the exterior dimen¬

reference DVD, McAuliffe was able to
see that the team "could get away with

was

quick edits, and the audio would really
sell the impact and crash. As a result, we
were able to do very quick shots and

first pass, the other stunt cars would
smash into the Ford rig, and the result¬

sions of the Cadillac

exactly. During the

ing destruction would match the hero

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Phot s
American Cinematographer - October 2006

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