Capital One
Chasm
Director Spike Lee
Agency DDB Chicago

Case Study

We worked with our friends at DDB Chicago, Pony Show Entertainment, and director Spike Lee to create “Chasm” for Capital One, which features Samuel L. Jackson walking across a giant cavern on a bridge made of levitating stepping stones.

External

  • Production Company Pony Show Entertainment
  • Director Spike Lee
  • Producer Helga Gruber
  • Director of Photography John Schwartzman
  • Agency DDB Chicago
  • ECD #1 John Maxham (CCO)
  • ECD #1 Mike Ackerman (GCD)
  • AD Travis Parr (GCD)
  • Copywriter Brittany Drucker (AD)
  • Producer Sean Collander (Writer)
  • Producer Matt Cragnolin (AD)
  • Edit Company Whitehouse Post
  • Editor Meg Kubicka
  • Mix DDB In-house
  • Sound Design Nicholas Papaleo

Carbon

  • Creative Director Rob Churchill
  • Producer Derek Goldsmith
  • Colorist Jeff Altman
  • Lead Flame Artist Michael Anderson
  • Nuke Artist Rob Churchill
  • Nuke Artist Daniel Pernikoff
  • Nuke Artist Thomas Horne
  • Nuke Artist Jon Jamison
  • Nuke Artist Brad Moore
  • CGI Artist Jon Bello
  • CGI Artist Kevin Lim
  • CGI Artist Grace Pederson
  • CGI Artist Jamie Sawyer
  • CGI Artist Quin Barclay
  • Animator Danny Noren (Nuke)
  • Animator Adam Thompson (CG/Nuke)
  • Concept Artist Reid Souther
  • VFX Supervisor Rob Churchill

For the production, Rob Churchill designed a rig that simulated an unsteady stone bridge for Jackson to walk across. In post, Churchill supervised the company’s dedicated team of visual effects artists and compositors in creating the monumental, photo-realistic environment that surrounds Jackson. That included meticulously detailed 3D worlds showing layers of canyon and mountains receding to the horizon, passing clouds, waterfalls flowing into rivers, cloud shadows, and other details that cement the illusion.

The entire environment was previsualized prior to production allowing Spike Lee and his team to design the shots and choreograph Jackson’s movement. The pre-viz gave us a head start with post, providing us with more time to focus on creative refinements with VFX and comp.

“Rob and his team did a wonderful job in developing concepts and looks for the digital environments,” says Pony Show Executive Producer Helga Gruber. “That helped Spike Lee in designing shots and telling the stories, and it helped Sam Jackson visualize the worlds he was inhabiting.”