Wipe off 5


Beginning my visual effects passion, I tried to emulate a prominent, and reoccurring advertisement in Australia. The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) are the body in Australia dedicated to reducing the road toll each year – effectively saving lives.

As I was studying the TAC’s effect on the audience, applying various media theories on their television advertisements, I questioned how an advertisement style like this (the graphic approach) was one they used for a near 10 years.

Pondering through, I assumed it was the easiest way to convey a message: “This could be you”.

Also at that time, a video test project was set to judge our ability to understand how to use a video camera in terms of framing, and eventually aid in our short film.

Author’s note

Looking back, the VFX, framing, and overall quality of this shot appear quite primitive by today's standards. At the time, high-definition technology was still in its infancy and not widely available. Plasma screens were incredibly expensive, and most households only had one computer. In this shot, the mask is visibly thin and the colours are washed out. I remember having to upscale the composition to 720p (the computers couldn't handle 1080p!) in After Effects, which has made it quite pixelated.

The second part of the shot (the running) was my favourite to film and compose. It was one of the first times I experimented with transfer modes in After Effects without any tutorials. In retrospect, I think the impact of this shot is heightened by the point of view. If I were to reshoot it, I would consider using a point of view that shows the impact of the crash to tie all the elements together.

As a side note, the animation of the odometer winding back was entirely recreated. I could have used the original file, but I was determined to learn how to animate the odometer and match the font.


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