Pennzoil Products Canada is ready to do battle on the international market with a commercial looking like the last five minutes of a Stallone action movie that features two futuristic David and Goliath warriors. They’re competing on a tennis court the size of a football field in a contest that makes the Wimbledon final look like a picnic, strawberries and all.

The spot cost $500,000 plus, says executive producer Carlo Trulli and was filmed in Australia’s outback on the Mondi Mondi Plains where Mad Max and Priscilla Queen of the Desert were also set. The unusual Mars-like, red-clay terrain provides a timeless environment, not to mention a challenge for the film crew who shot all day in intense, dry heat with temperatures reaching 50 C and mini-sandstorms that come and go without warning. What the crew came up with was a spectatorless dual on the barren plain.

Over the sound track of a primitive, spiritual chant, David returns a blistering serve into the net, sending a burst of sparks streaming from the ball. Game Goliath, who looks at his opponent with red pupils that glow through his black sunglasses.

David walks to his bench, but don’t expect any Gatorade or fancy electrolytes at this venue. He’s reaching for Pennzoil; the music fades out as he shakes the empty bottle. He fills his cup with Pennzoil from what looks like a water cooler. Down the hatch – the one in his head, that is. A prosthetic trap door in the back of his head slides out of the way to reveal a metal iris that opens to receive the product. The movements of these real elements were done using Flame.

The music fades in as the image of the chair umpire’s head – superimposed using Flame over a shiny metallic sphere – appears and calls time. David aces Goliath, who’s left sliding in a massive cloud of red dust as the tennis ball passes just out of reach. The strategy line, ‘There are no limits,’ appears before a digitally composed cloud of red dust.

Having the ball zip past at the proper speed and location was done using Flame and the close-up image of a ball.

Since many scenes were shot from a helicopter, the talent couldn’t play on an actual court. The lines on the court were created and defined by senior Flame artist James Cooper at Mad Dog to avoid the scale distortion real lines would cause, appearing too large close up or too small far away. Cooper added desert dust and heat shimmer to complete the effect.

Using a 3D studio, Mad Dog’s Brynley Cadman and Aaron Weintraub created the net for the same reason, not to mention the fact a Goliath-sized net would have been needed to cover the massive court.

Strangely enough, one scene from the ball’s eye view heading towards Goliath was filmed from a real helicopter flown by a real precision pilot who flew just three feet over the talent’s head.

The dop was Gary Wapshott, a well-known independent director/photographer from Down Under. At SPY Films, Peter Henderson was the director. At MacLaren McCann, David Innis was senior coproducer, David Snider was creative director and Deborah Narine was executive producer.

At Mad Dog, Brian Cole did the special effects and post digital effects were done by Richard Unruh who, along with Henderson, put the puzzle together in editing. The sound track is by Jody Colero at The Einstein Bros. MC