Brief:    Family driving along the Central California 
Coast, interacting within the spacious Mazda MPV.  They travel through a fantasy landscape of the Cool World block motif, winding above a seaside cliff towards a charming lighthouse upon a pastoral promontory.

(1)   The seaside road was a great challenge to 
execute since earth (rocks, dirt, cracks and crevasses) and shurbbery don’t translate very well to the block world vernacular.  Our modus opperendi up to this point had been to go someplace, photographically document it, return, sort the photos into groups or structures, calculate scale needed to apply to the  blocks, print, apply and paint/texture.  Then, we would construct the structures and buildings with some intent, but mostly with an openess to serendipity.

In this case, we resloved the incongruity of images by electing to paint a trompl l’oeil of an actual hillside I photographed in Big Sur, flat onto the blocks, then, assemble the promontory and it’s curves, adjusting the depth and details as we went.

(2)  I really enjoyed the cows.  Quite literally, my 
favorite elements of all the Mazda spots, I just love the “cow-suit” look.

(3-5)  The details were very fun, not only the cows, but also the birds, shrubs, and fence.  The lighthouse was a joy too, it had a Xenon light atop it’s peak, that rotated as you would expect.

(Below)  This is the layout for the set.  The sea below was going to be a composited element, but I suggested using a satin finished dark blue lycra and a series of fans to create wave motions.  It worked wonderfully and saved us a plate shot.