QuietMan Does it Better for Pepsi Max
QuietMan is putting an exclamation point on its re-emergence in the postproduction scene with a hilarious Pepsi Max spot via TBWA\Chiat\Day and Director Joe Pytka. The spot, which stars hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg, is the culmination of a longstanding relationship between QuietMan Founder Johnnie Semerad and Pytka, who have collaborated on more than 100 projects over the past 16 years.
The :60 pits a Pepsi Max deliveryman against his Coke Zero counterpart as the two try to outdo one another in an epic grocery store center-aisle showdown. When the Pepsi worker looks down the aisle to see the Coke worker crafting a symmetrically impressive square out of Coke Zero cases, he shapes his own Pepsi display into a more advanced geometrical creation. As the classic show tune Anything You Can Do dances through the background, the constructs grow more elaborate – a life-sized car, a flame-shooting rocket ship, a castle – until the Pepsi man unveils a multi-leveled pyramid ascending dramatically skyward. “Is that all you got?” asks the Coke man. He is silenced, however, as the pyramid lights up and Snoop elevates from within to a shower of sparks and smoothly rhymes, “I’m up to my knees in zero calories.” As a dancing crowd forms around the spectacle, it’s clear which soft drink is supreme.
Pytka shot the entire spot on green screen with a D70 Nikon camera using simple sets, props and the talent. QuietMan had to composite the multitude of shots with pre-existing supermarket plates from various locations into one cohesive environment using 2011 Inferno/Flame and XSI. “We couldn’t simply create one background from one image,” noted EP Carey Gattyan. “Instead, we had to combine multiple layers from multiple plates, bringing together the right combination of extras, talent and pre-existing supermarket scenes to create the spot’s larger-than-life feel.”
In order to streamline the post process, Semerad supervised the shoot, setting the camera angles and lighting to make the footage ideally suited for compositing. “I’ve worked with Joe for so many years that we basically operate as one,” stated Semerad. “We have a truly unique shorthand which I think shows in the end product.”
