Using 3D model miniatures, a motion-control camera and a slew of visual effects magic, Command Post/toybox has created a non-existent luxury resort in the middle of a real desert.

The job, through Nevada-based Merica Agency, is for the soon-to-be constructed Lake Las Vegas Resort, a posh, gated community for the rich and famous located in the western desert.

Set to air during the Academy Awards, the :60 starts with an Indiana Jones type trekking through the vast mountains, golf club in hand, with clouds chasing beside him. Upon reaching the perfect peak, he whacks the ball into the sky.

As the ball falls from the sky so do the ‘luminescent seeds’ which cause the grass and trees to grow, fountains, condos and hotels to appear, and people to flourish in the barren landscape.

l.a.-based Meridian Films director/producer Byron Pickett and dop Derek Van Lint got things going with a four-day shoot on the actual Nevada desert site.

Following the live-action shoot it was back to Toronto and into Showline Studio, where the crew spent a day capturing the various elements – people on green screen, model miniatures and tables in a courtyard – with the Milo motion-control unit.

According to visual effects director Jonathan Gibson, every scene in the spot has an effect, whether it be replacing skies, compositing, or creating something from scratch, which works well for Gibson, whose personal mandate is to take advantage of as much cp/t equipment as possible. ‘I’m trying to use as many disciplines and as many people as I can to get as varied and rich a product as possible,’ he says.

To make the clouds look like they are moving alongside the golfer, the effects gurus used stock footage clouds combined with time-lapse footage from the Vegas location shoot, in addition to shots taken of a specially commissioned cloud tank with an impeller at the bottom.

The impeller was used to create a vortex, spinning the water around, which allowed the f/x team to create a bizarre spiraling effect so that at the beginning of the story when the golf ball flies up into the air it appears that the clouds are twisting to accept it.

Once the golf ball is swallowed up, the sky reacts, creating a magical ‘seeding effect’ which is a combination of two elements: big cylinders of strong light hitting the ground and a sparkle seeding effect within the beams.

The luminescent seeds were created using a combination of 3D cgi elements and Inferno tools, all brought together in Henry for final effects compositing.

When the seeds hit the ground, the greening effect kicks in, the cracks begin to heal and grass covers the desert floor, all of which will be achieved using 3D systems to create custom mattes that will travel across a 3D landscape.

Next the now-grassy terrain begins to sink in the center and hills rise on the sides creating a valley. With the help of Maya software, shrubs and palm trees pop up and lakes burst through the ground and fill up, making for ‘a very big, very epic-looking shot,’ according to Gibson.

Working from reference shots taken from a helicopter while on location in Vegas, the cg team created, in Maya, a similar valley to the existing one with the same textures. A matte painting is used for the distant horizon.

Still perched up in the mountains, the golfer watches as houses and hotels start to warp into place. To create a heat haze effect, Gibson says his team will take advantage of some of the tools available in the Inferno for image treatment, warping and manipulation.

Once everything is in place, enter the people – a tourist taking pictures, a mother and little girl, and women carrying shopping bags. All were shot individually on green screen and composited into the spot.

dop on the in-studio motion-control shoot was Jerry Andrews, with Shawn Maher assisting. Tony Willis was senior visual effects director and producer was Joni Dick. Producer on the Las Vegas live-action shoot was Cathy Brink.

Animators Raymond Gieringer, Mark Stepanek, Shane Glading and Paul George make up the 3D department.