Digital technology takes flight.(USER FOCUS: MODELING)(Honda Motorcycles ad by Brickyard VFX CG team)

In a recent spot for Honda Motorcycles, a frustrated driver punches through the roof of his car in bumper-to-bumper traffic, sprouts wings, and flies to open-road heaven with help from detailed 3D and effects work by the Brickyard VFX CG team.

The spot opens on an overhead shot of cars driving through gridlocked traffic while horns are heard honking through an underpass. An impatient driver punches a fist through the roof of his sedan, tears open a hole, and climbs through to stand on top of his car. Almost immediately, the man's arms extend out into bright-red, hawk-like wings that propel him up and out through an opening in the overpass, as the tag line "Free Yourself" appears on the screen. The scene then transitions into a shot of the liberated driver speeding away on his Honda motorcycle.

The Brickyard VFX CG team, led by Robert Sethi and Yafei Wu, got involved in the project during the early stages, designing the wing effect and providing on-set VFX supervision; lead Flame artist Patrick Poulatian also supervised the shoot. The team opted to create the wings entirely in CG since the director wanted them to look real, predatory, and large enough to realistically propel a grown man into flight. Practical wing props were too small and fluffy, and since they're largely made of turkey feathers, they didn't create a wingspan that was broad or wide enough.

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The team worked closely with the director on set and in casting to design a wingspan that would suit the performer; the resulting CG wingspan spread 16 feet across when composited onto the actor and fully extended. The color of the wings was chosen to denote the red wing of the Honda Motorcycles logo.

"On set we [established] witness cameras at different points around the actor to capture him from all sides and ensure that our CG would match ...