Audi Quattro 'Urban Carver'

When considering how best to approach the effect they wanted for Urban Carver, director Daniel Kleinman and Framestore VFX Supervisor William Bartlett found that a swift glance at youtube (where else?) showed evidence of urban rollerblade skaters traversing towns and suburbs at high speed very much as they saw the spot’s hero doing. Bartlett felt that doing as many of the shots as possible using one of these skaters (rather than, for example, trying to match shots with material captured on a ski slope) would give them an invaluable freedom of movement for the cameras.

 

Shooting was carried out over three days during September 2008 in the city most famous for its slopes, San Francisco. Bartlett attended the shoot and was filled with admiration for the ‘can-do’ attitude displayed by the skater, who took everything they threw at him in his stride (if that’s the phrase), from death-defying slopes to sudden crash-mat stops. 

 

Post involved the painting out of the rollerblades and their replacement with CG skis and spray elements, which last underwent several changes of look during post – from wetter to drier, coarser to finer.