In “Eyes,” a bell tolls as the spot opens on a close-up shot of a pair of very still and vacant eyes. The camera pulls out to reveal that they belong to the macabre face of a recently slain medieval soldier. Other crime scenes follow, showing the just-murdered faces of corrupt noblemen, criminals and other victims. The final face is that of a cloaked man, his skin dewy and his eyes moist. The Assassin Ezio, who is the main character in the game, blinks and turns, taking viewers seamlessly into Assassin’s Creed II game footage.

 “Our goal was both to give Douglas’ shot footage a hyper-photorealistic treatment, but to also make the actors appear so believably dead, it really takes the viewer aback,” said Vernon Wilbert, visual effects supervisor, Digital Domain. “We found this aesthetic by re-lighting and adjusting the live-action faces, treating them so they had a waxy, plastic and synthetic feel to them, while retaining the essence of the photography. From our experience creating digital human characters, we built an intimate knowledge of how light affects human skin.  What’s interesting about this project is, we reversed it, using digital tools to relight the skin to take away the appearance of life.”

“It’s interesting how the same issues that happen on a live-action set can also happen within the game engine,” added Wilbert. “The light in the video game would change, or we’d have to wait for the moon to come back into scene, or the shadows would shift. Andrew Douglas was a great collaborator, and was completely at ease directing action in the virtual world. This converging of the techniques and tools of moviemaking and gaming is something we’re going to be seeing a lot of in the future.

About Digital Domain

Digital Domain is an Academy Award®-winning digital production studio with a reputation for innovation and artistry. The studio has created visual effects for 75+ movies that have collectively generated more than $12 billion in worldwide box-office sales, including most recently, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for which it won the Academy Award for Visual Effects. A creative giant in advertising, Digital Domain works with a stellar group of A-list directors including David Fincher, Mark Romanek, Joseph Kosinski, Carl Erik Rinsch and more. Industry recognition for Digital Domain’s advertising work includes many Clio, AICP, and Cannes Lion awards and other industry honors. The company is continually pushing into new territory and is being recognized for its pioneering work in photo-real digital humans and productions that bring the worlds of movies, games, advertising and the web closer together. Digital Domain is privately held and based in Venice, California.  www.digitaldomain.com                              

PRODUCTION CREDITS:            

CLIENT: Ubisoft

PRODUCT: Assassin’s Creed II

“Eyes” :30 AIRDATE: 11/09/09

“Eyes Extended” ::60 AIR DATE: 11/09/09

ADVERTISING AGENCY: Cutwater SF

Chief Creative Officer: Chuck McBride

Director of Broadcast: Jennifer Golub

Interactive Creative Director: Fabio Costa

Art Director: Jay Lorenzini

Copywriter: Eric Boyd

Agency Producer: Bill Spangler

Account Manager: Jason Bedecarre

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Anonymous Content

Director: Andrew Douglas

Executive Producer: Dave Morrison

Head of Production: Sue Ellen Clair

Producer: Aris McGarry

ANIMATION&VISUAL EFFECTS: Digital Domain, Inc./Venice, CA

President of Commercials, Executive Producer: Ed Ulbrich

Executive Producer / Head of Production: Karen Anderson

Visual Effects Supervisor: Vernon Wilbert

Visual Effects Producer: Melanie La Rue

Coordinator: Nathan Bayne

Coordinator: William Lemmon

Integration: Scott Gsop Edelstein

Senior Flame Artist: Jeff Heusser

Senior Flame Artist: Brad Scott

Junior Flame Artist: Matthew J.D. Bramante

Roto Artist: Hilery Johnson Copeland

Roto Artist: Maura Alvarez

EDITORIAL HOUSE: Final Cut

Editor: Nathan Petty

Executive Producer: Saima Awan

Producer: Jennifer Miller

MUSIC / SOUND HOUSE DESIGN: Elias Arts

Creative Director/Composer: Jonathan Elias

Creative Director: Dave Gold

Composers: Kimo Kemp, Dave Wittman

Producer: Kala Sherman

AUDIO POST/MIX HOUSE: One Union Studios

Mixer: Eben Carr

Producer: Lauren Mask