05/17/10 - Summer fun came early this year for the team at Gasket, thanks to ad agency SKAR and their client, the Nebraska Lottery. Asked to create a unique look and vibe for the new “Trucks & Bucks” scratch game ad campaign, Gasket was put to the test to create a 60-second broadcast spot, “C-Store 4 Wheeling,” in an incredible three-week timeline.

As the commercial’s title suggests, Gasket created a high-energy, action-packed, V8-powered spot that utilizes dream sequences to encapsulate the thrill of that signature moment when winners scratch off that final symbol and victory is in their hands. Called on by SKAR partner/VP of Creative Strategy Mark Carpenter, Gasket was asked to not only entice viewers to lay down their hard-earned cash for a chance to win it all: but also to raise visibility; and get people thinking and talking about “Trucks & Bucks.”

According to Carpenter, he had admired Gasket’s work for some time, but needed just the right project for their talent. “When this Nebraska Lottery spot came along, I knew it was a perfect fit.” However, as Carpenter points out, because the client was a government agency, Gasket was among a small hand-selected group of companies that had to pitch for the project. It was Gasket’s approach that pushed them to the front of the line. “We were very impressed with the extensive questions Gasket asked us,” details Carpenter. “They were very thorough about the brand and our plans for this spot and beyond. They came back with new ideas and helped to ‘plus’ our boards.” 
  

 
Gasket partnered closely with the live-action production company, The Great Plains Motion Picture Company. The creation of the spot consisted of a live-action film shoot on location at a convenient store. Prior to production, Gasket created a full-motion, 3D animatic, including the shooting boards and camera direction. On-set to supervise the shoot, as well as capture visual effects reference plates and HDRs on-site, Gasket then took the footage and the tracking data obtained from the shoot, and used 3D so0ware to place and animate a toy Ford F-150 truck in miniature scale throughout the store. In the spot, the truck interacts with other real-life objects from the store itself while careening about on various shelves and displays. Working together, the Great Planes and Gasket teams completed 22 shots in just 12 hours.
 
For Gasket, led by Creative Director Greg Shultz and Executive Producer Tammy Kimbler Weber, this is just the right kind of visual effects project that their team loves to undertake. “Although it was a wild ride, up against a very aggressive timeline,” concludes Shultz,” it was our ability to utilize heavy pre-visualization that made this spot and its schedule possible. We like to think we can execute projects in lightning speed, but this spot for Nebraska Lottery made us prove it!”
 

 

 

 

 
Many of the interactive sections were designed and created entirely at Gasket, post-shoot, and tracked into the scenes.  These included the "Forest Fresh" tree air freshener shot, "Jalepeño Dog" hotdog background (but the hotdogs are real!), and the "Marshmallowphant" gumball avalanche. See if you can find them within the spot. (Tiger Sauce is probably the hardest one to find.)
 

 
On the left is the original shoot footage.  On the right is the final product. 
 

 
Sample of images and setups used for shoot board references.
 

 
Staged at a local convenience store with a model truck, we shot references for perspective, depth of field, lighting and scale. 
 

 
Behind the scenes stills from the shoot. Greg gets the thumbs up from SKAR client, Mark Carpenter.

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