Artist-owned-and-operated effects company Brickyard VFX provided visual effects on Diamond Foods’s ‘Goulet’ commercial for its Emerald snack brand, which aired during Sunday Super Bowl XLI game. Directed by the Perlorian Brothers for ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the :30 commercial is the third Emerald spot created especially for the Super Bowl.

The spot opens to reveal a large wall clock reading three o’sclock, and an office worker struggling to keep his eyes open. He falls asleep just as venerable star of stage and screen, Robert Goulet appears from above sliding down a velvet rope. Accompanied by a show tunes-inspired number, Goulet gleefully goes through the office, dancing on desks, shredding papers, throwing files in the air and pouring coffee over keyboards past workers sleeping on the job.

A voiceover says, ‘Around three in the afternoon, when your blood sugar and energy are low, some say Robert Goulet appears. And messes with your stuff.’ But then Goulet comes across an office worker who isn’st sleeping. He eating some Emerald nuts. Because of the nuts, the worker has enough energy to stay awake and possibly spot the intrepid entertainer, who quickly escapes, crawling out of frame Mission Impossible-style, on the ceiling. The voiceover finishes with, ‘Just one handful of Emerald nuts is enough to keep Robert Goulet away. Until tomorrow anyway.’

Brickyard VFX created a series of invisible effects consisting primarily of compositing and image manipulation to turn gravity 180 degrees on its head. A majority of Brickyard work was centered around the final shot where Goulet appears to be crawling on the ceiling. Goulet was actually filmed on a green screen stage, crawling across the floor. Brickyard VFX Pacific Co-Owner and Flame Artist Patrick Poulatian extracted Goulet frame from the green screen, altered the flow of his clothing to give the illusion that he was inverted and seamlessly composited him into the shot, crawling out of frame along the ceiling.

About Brickyard VFX
Located in Boston and Santa Monica, Brickyard VFX is an independent visual effects boutique specializing in top quality visual effects from 3D characters through to compositing. Completely artist owned and operated, the company was founded in 1999 to bring clients a level of customer service, craftsmanship and focus difficult to find at facilities today. Brickyard problem-solving expertise on set and in the studio has been applied to model, animate, light, texture, track, rotoscope, color correct and render seamless digital effects for Hummer, Visa, ESPN, AT&T, Comcast & Timberland and many other accounts.

www.brickyardvfx.com

About Diamond Foods, Inc.
Diamond is a leading branded food company specializing in processing, marketing and distributing culinary nuts and snack products under the Diamond, Emerald and Harmony brands.

CREDITS

Spot Title: “Boogeyman”

Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
Creative Directors: Steve Simpson, Jeff Goodby
Sr. Art Director: Will Hammond
Writer: Chris Beresford-Hill
Agency Producer: Alex Lind
Directors: The Perlorian Brothers
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks, LA / Reginald Pike, Toronto
DP: Richard Henkels
Executive Producers: Shawn Lacy Tessaro, Eric Stern
Production Executive: Colleen O’Donnell
Line Producer: Tuula Hopp
Editorial: Mackenzie Cutler, NYC
Editor: Ian MacKenzie
Assistant Editor: Marrian Cho
Sound Designer: Marc Healy
Executive Producer: Melissa Miller
Telecine: Stefan Sonnenfeld, CO3, Santa Monica
Visual Effects: Brickyard VFX, Santa Monica
Flame Artist: Patrick Poulatian
Executive Producer: Diana Young
Music: Beacon Street Studios, Venice
Composers: Andrew Feltenstein, John Nau
Mix/Sound Design: Jeff Fuller, Eleven Sound, Santa Monica
Additional Sound Design: Beacon Street Studios, Mackenzie Cutler