Award winning commercial for Mcdonald’s

This commercial for McDonald’s, the global fast-food chain, showcases visual effects and 3D animation crafted for the brand’s advertising. The frame shown here looks straight down onto a small rowing boat drifting across dark water, a carton of fries in hand and the golden arches locked into the corner — the kind of quiet, live-action-led spot where the effects work is meant to go unnoticed. The piece forms part of Terminal FX’s commercial and advertising portfolio and, as its title records, it was an award-winner.

Advertising of this kind leaves nowhere for visual effects to hide. Aerial and overhead plates have to be stabilized and tracked before anything can be added, and water is unforgiving: reflections, ripple detail and the line where a hull meets the surface all have to survive close scrutiny. Rotoscoping and cleanup remove rigging, crew and anything else that breaks the fiction, while set extensions and matte painting open up the horizon. The product carries the whole idea, so packaging, color and light are matched shot to shot, and motion graphics carry the logo endframe. Terminal FX handled the visual effects and animation that hold the spot together.