‘Imagine you could protect everything you purchase

‘Every time you rent

‘And your family

‘Every time you travel’

This is the life. Warm golden sunlight is streaming through the large bay windows of a villa in the mountains of Acapulco, and a dreamscape of images accompanied by a soothing voice offers you financial freedom and peace of mind. All this with a Gold Card from Mastercard.

Well, all except the $7 million villa, but you get the idea.

Layered over what comm.bat films’ executive producer Susi Patterson calls ‘Enya-like music,’ this 30-second spot is a series of intriguing visual effects. Whether it’s the cd portable stereo, the airline ticket and passport, or the excited little blonde girl grabbing her beach blanket for a day by the pool with her family, all these images are in sharp focus except the surrounding area that’s diffused – a technique that comm.bat director Boris Damast recalled from a video he had seen.

‘More benefits

‘More financial freedom

‘More peace of mind’

The girl rejoins her impossibly stunning blonde parents and sister who are looking off into the sunset. Even the final product shot of the Gold Card and strategy line, ‘Mastercard. Your card for life,’ against a dark green marble background with an exotic flower peeking into the frame lends itself to the artistic design of this commercial.

Now for the magician’s secrets. The crew had a heavy prep schedule, with only two days to shoot, explains Patterson. Two pieces of tracking were built across the large swimming pool outside the villa’s bay windows while stationary lights, one 20k and two 18k Xenons, were shone into a reflector with shards of mirror and mylar attached to it, giving the light a natural shimmer.

The reflector was tracked up to 40 feet across the pool giving the illusion of the passage of time through the windows.

Post-production took about two weeks, during which digital artist Mike Morey and producer Steve Lynette, both of Dan Krech Productions, enhanced some of the lighting effects. The supers near the end of the commercial were done using sgi and Infinity Optics software, as was the hint of amber that was added to the light to give it a warmer, softer glow. K-scope/Kadenza hardware was used for image processing.

In Toronto, comm.bat’s Bob Ganz was the dop, and Andrea Kikot the producer. Communique Group’s creative director was Chris Stavenjord, the art director was Brian Dolinski, the writer was Melissa Weber, and the producer was Karen Field. Alex Eaton at Third Floor Editing was the editor. Rick Shurman at Lonesome Pine Studios at Pirate Radio did the music design and sfx. MC