Runs In The Family
Any one of Toyota’s vehicles can turn an ordinary car-ride into something extraordinary, and Framestore’s campaign for the company, created with Saatchi & Saatchi and directed by Sebastian Strasser, really drives this home.
Whether following a bored office crew running out to lunch or a father and daughter grabbing breakfast on the way to school, the spots amplify the excitement of the range by turning these everyday excursions into wild, cinematic journeys fit for a blockbuster action film. Surrounded by stealth helicopters, special ops motorcycle riders, volcano explosions and massive avalanches they escape normality for a brief moment - while getting to enjoy the ride.
Lead by VFX Supervisor Michael Ralla, the spots were a collaborative effort between Framestore’s New York and Los Angeles offices. Framestore worked closely with Strasser from the bidding stage, exchanging ideas, brainstorming and sharing references, and even catching up with him in Berlin, to ensure the entire project ran smoothly from start-to-finish.
The rapidly paced spots feature a slew of environmental effects, including an exploding volcano, a wall of dust, and most difficult of all, an avalanche, as the team had to add full snow coverage to a mountain scene that was shot during one of the hottest days of summer in California. A small but selective team offered the right combination of skills and talents, and using a procedural and modular approach, they were able to dissect and simplify the process. Building a proper foundation through extensive data collection during the shoot helped to alleviate time concerns and potential trouble at the tail-end of the job.