nasar abich jr. | director / cameraman


	WINSTAR CASINO "DAYTRIPPERS" CAMPAIGN "how was it done?"
	In the Spring of 2008, I received some visually striking boards from Ackerman/McQueen, an agency I had worked with in the past. To promote the newly expanded Winstar World Casino, the agency created storyboards that feature four principal talent visiting the five world cities featured in the casino. While at first, it seems these four are gambling jet-setters, in actuallty, they have never left the casino floor. My first reaction was that we would be traveling the world, photographing at every one of these exciting cities... wishful thinking on my part.

from the original agency boards
	Due to budgetary constraints, our globetrotting plans were axed, and existing stock imagery would instead be used. Research immediately began on selecting the final stock image for each of the five Winstar cities (Paris, Beijing, London, Rome and Madrid). Several factors went into the selection of these images. From the original treatment: "Time-of-day not only adds beauty to these city scenes, but further smoothens the combining of our hero players to their locations. We will select the right time-of-day for each individual city, then carefully re-create each lighting scenario when shooting our heroes as separate plates. This integration is key in convincing our audience that our heroes are actually visiting each locale. In addition, this lighting gives the scenes a similar feel to the more moody and source-based lighting found inside the casino." I also proposed moving away from more clichéd, isolated and tourist-oriented spots, and instead dropping our heroes onto the actual city streets. This also allows for more colorful and vibrant imagery.

final Paris stock image (from Getty Images)
	Once the five stock images were selected, we began to analyze how exactly we could breathe life into these city backdrops. It was quickly apparent that a multitude of plates would need to be photographed to introduce action and movement in the frame, since these background plates have no real life within themselves. But before a single frame of film could be exposed, certain factors needed to be determined, the most important of all being perspective. Since the stock houses were unable to provide the camera metadeta, I needed to perform an "old school" analysis of lens height, angle and focal length. By determining perspective, we could then guarantee that all our elements would drop-in seamlessly into the composite.

lens height test pictures
	So I dragged our fearless producer, Carey Melcher, to a small soundstage in Hollywood. With merely a scissor lift, a still camera, and measuring tape, I photographed a series of height and distance increments. I brought these photographs into Photoshop and began intergrating them into the stock images. By trial and error, I eventually determined the perspective of each of the five city plates. For Paris, the magic number was 4' 8". Every element, and most importantly, our heroes, would be shot at this lens height. Not adhering to this number would create havoc in the compositing stage. Now, I needed to determine which specific elements I would use to bring each stock image to life. Each element would need to introduce some sort of movement and life to the image. For Paris, I chose string lights, native flags and a Parisian kiosk. Flags and string lights already have an inherit movement to them. With the kiosk, I attached loose papers to the kiosk's surface that would add subtle movement within the frame (with the help of an effects fan). In essence, we were always trying to trick the eye into thinking that part of the frame was actually not a still image.

from director's treatment

behind-the-scenes in Mexico City
	For a production such as this, previsualization on set was crucial. Although lens height had already been determined, I needed to constantly verify that my focal distance and focal length were accurate, and with it, the ability to rough-composite live feeds from both the 35mm film camera and digital still camera onto the original stock background plates. On set, I utilized Adobe Photoshop and AfterEffects for the composites, with both Nikon Camera Control Pro and VeeScope Live software providing the live feeds.


behind-the-scenes in Mexico City
	A lighting design now needed to be put in place that would not only match the look and mood of the existing stock image, but also prove flexible within our limited shooting schedule.


	Paris lighting schematics



	behind-the-scenes in Mexico City
	With everything in place, we were finally ready to commence shooting. Filming took place at Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City. All live action plates were shot in Super 35mm (Kodak 5219) with an Arri 435 Extreme and Master Primes.

Paris kiosk plate

Paris string lights plate

Paris flags plate
	These objects were only part of the puzzle. Now it was time to tackle the pedestrian timelapse plates. Timelapse immediately adds another level of energy to the frame, introducing layers of distinct and fluid movement. Previsualization was especially crucial for these plates, as it enabled me to precisely integrate the timelapse movements into the stock background plates, assuring proper perspective and size. One of the main reasons for shooting at Churubusco was the stage size, allowing us to frame wider perspectives of our timelapse shots. Unlike the previous elements, all the timelapse plates were captured as high resolution still images via a Nikon D300 with its Camera Control Pro software acting as a remote intervalometer interface.


behind-the-scenes in Mexico City
	From the original treatment: "It is crucial that the timelapse plates not become two-dimensional. The timelapse flow must go beyond just one flat, single plane. It cannot be limited solely to the background. Because these timelapse plates demand critical control, they will all be shot on stage. Each timelapse “plane” will be shot as a separate sub-element against green. These elements will be photographed with a narrow shutter angle, creating sharp and defined images. This is utilized only to insure the proper keying and compositing of these elements. Once composited, they will be extensively blurred and processed. This technique allows us to layer out the timelapse blurs, exacting complete control over how much blur and timelapse to add in each shot."

background timelapse plate

foreground timelapse plate
	Now we can incorporate the streaking car timelapse, a beautiful and flowing element to integrate into the final composite. Although these streaking light elements are somewhat malleable, some respect to lens perspective and positioning must still be adhered to. Our Parisian street comes directly at camera, so a similar street with comparable traffic must be found. Luckily, a stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard near LaBrea provided a useful median to place the camera. Exposing only for the streaking lights darkened the rest of the image, allowing for an easier comp. Like the pedestrian timelapse, the street timelapse was also captured as a series of intervalometer stills with a Nikon D300 camera.

Paris street timelapse plate
	Last but certainly not least, it was time to acquire our hero talent. As mentioned before, lens perspective is most crucial for this plate. The lighting here is most precise, assuring that it will match the atmosphere... contrast, mood and color temperature... of the original background plate.


behind-the-scenes in Mexico City
	In addition, all the hero plates were shot at 60fps. Not only was this speed used to slow down and heighten reactions, but it also allowed us to better control the performances' speed, exercising precise control over what amount of a particular performance to use.

Paris heroes plate
	Once all these plates were acquired and comped, the remainder of the work involved the direct manipulation of the background plate... adding the "search light" on the Eiffel Tower, the animating of the café awnings and neon signage, and so forth. A subtle grain structure was added to further smoothen the intergration of all the various elements. Then came the final step, the endless tweaking of all the myriad of elements... finding just the right amount of blur for the pedestrian timelapse, the exact scaling for the kiosk, etc. And with the indispensible talents of an amazing Flame compositor, Terry Silberman, at Crush/Voodoo in Santa Monica... it all came to life.

final composite

---------------------------------------- nasar abich jr. los angeles, ca november 2008 ----------------------------------------