Production Spanned Four Locations in One Day, Captured at Nant Studios’ LED Volume in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, January 3, 2024 – World-building creative lab Impossible Objects (IO) has produced the latest spot for legacy company John Deere, which for 150+ years has been a go-to for agricultural, construction, forestry machinery, and technology. To highlight its various offerings, “ All Kinds of Fields ” takes the viewer on a journey through the eyes of one little girl with big dreams.
Out of Agency Signal Theory, the team at IO and director Jay Walker were tasked with bringing a child’s imagination to life using virtual production. IO combined their technical expertise, from CG work to shooting on an LED volume to traditional VFX, to create a seamless integration of virtual and physical elements from previs to post. From the John Deere toy tractor in the little girl’s bedroom to her drawing on the wall in the virtual garage, these subtle details enriched the narrative, connecting the dreamlike sequences with the real world.
The tight shooting schedule posed the most significant challenge, with only two days to capture three virtual environments and a practical set. The Impossible Objects Virtual Art Department team created the industrial garage, the engineering room, and mission control, along with a set extension for the LED volume, and a few fully CG assets such as the tractor and the branded John Deere satellite based on CAD files using Autodesk’s Maya, Adobe’s Substance Painter, Unreal Engine from Epic Games, and SideFX’s Houdini. Once the virtual assets were complete, the team built the bedroom set, prepped the shots, and rigged the lighting one day before the shoot. Impossible Objects Executive Producer Sarah James adds “With our LED volume approach, we can shoot in breathtaking places, a mission control viewing room, and an enormous factory in a single day. By pairing this impressive and innovative technology with practical, real-life set design to give us depth and foreground, the results are stunning and, most importantly—grounded in realism.”
Director Walker has a commitment to mentorship and diversity in the industry and wanted to bring a shadow director on for the shoot. After receiving close to 500 applications for the role, Walker ultimately chose an aspiring female director found through the non-profit Free the Work. By immersing the shadowing director in every aspect of the production, from pre-pro to post, Walker aimed to provide the full spectrum experience.
“John Deere is making a conscious effort to support women in STEM fields, and as one of the few female directors versed in the technically complex LED volume shoot process, this was an inspiring campaign to work on,” said Walker. “It was doubly rewarding to invite a ‘Free the Work’ mentee to shadow this shoot making it a full circle female empowerment experience, true to the creative concept.”
About Impossible Objects
Impossible Objects was founded in 2019 by Joe Sill and Jerad Anderson. A self-described world-building lab, the company is made up of a team of artists and engineers who specialize in building projects that marry the physical and digital worlds to build commercial projects and original IP. Combining expertise in CG visualization and animation, real-time performance capture and navigation of green screen and LED volumes, the company is uniquely positioned to fill a burgeoning demand for virtual production.
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CREDITS
Signal Theory - Agency
Executive Producer: Lauren Langfitt
GCD: Staci Meyer
CD/Copywriter: Brendan Kennedy
CD/Art Director: Shaun Crockett
Producer: Paul Rainer
Account Director: Tim Landwehr
Account Supervisor: Hannah Stiner
Impossible Objects - Production Co.
Director: Jay Walker
Founder & Creative Director: Joe Sill
Founder & Executive Producer: Jerad Anderson
Executive Producer: Sarah James
Producer: Eric Ro
Production Supervisor: Valerija V Mizula
Production Coordinator: Tyler Voss
1st AD: Lewis Rangel
2nd AD: JD Banks
Cinematographer: Jon Chema
Steadicam Op: Nick Muller
1st AC: Joseph Soria
2nd AC: George Arevalo
DIT: Issac Guy
CLT: Marlon O’Brien
Key Grip: Marlow Nunez
Production Designer: Maxwell Newton-Smith
Sound Mixer: Joe Hettinger
NantStudios - Volume Stage Partner
Head of Production: Chris Williams
Head of Technology: Martin Rushworth
Virtual Production Supervisor: Jennifer McSpadden
Senior Producer/Technical Producer: Kristin Mihara
Associate Producer: Tyler White
Sr. Stage Manager: Adolfo Sanchez
VP of Virtual Production: Gary Marshall
Virtual Production Technical Support Engineer: Mike Feser
Technical Content Operator: Preston Altree
Impossible Objects - Post Production Company
Head of Tech: Luc Delamare
VFX Supervisor: Morgan McDermott
Post Producer: Kylie DeVries
Sr. Production Coordinator: Kim Bifulco
Editor: Jakub Jelínek
Offline Producer: Krystof Burda
Assistant Editor: Tyson Johnston
Technical Director: Mark Allen
VFX Artist: Juan Gonzalez
VFX Artist: Josiah Reeves
CG Artist: Brian Tang
VAD Artist: Rodrigo Castro
VAD Artist: Erik Castellanos
Look Dev: Matt Redding
Lighter: Kevin Stewart
Ethos Studio - Color Grade
Colorist: Dante Pasquinelli
Assistant Colorist: Ben Cichowski
Executive Producer: James Drew
Head of Production: Natasha Sattler
Producer: Nat Tereschenko
JSM - Music Composition and Mix
Chief Creative Officer: Joel Simon
Co-Composer: Joel Simon
Co-Composer: Jarrett Farkas
Sound Designer: Nathan Kil
Executive Producer: Jeff Fiorello
Senior Producers: Norm Felker & Andrew Manning
Producer: Sharon Cha