cgnews

A tribute to Hyundai new facility in Alabama where over 300 robots touch the car as it goes through production; SWAY Studio brings energy, precision, dance and music to astonishing levels in the new Hyundai Santa Fe commercial. SWAY Studio talented character animators unite the performance of a professionally choreographed live dance team with 362 computer generated (CG) robots to produce a truly unique commercial that evokes the spirit of a live marching band while cleverly generating excitement for the launch of a new car and production plant.

SWAY specializes in taking ideas that would be too restrictive if done in a strictly live-action environment and transforming them into photorealistic 3D, which is one of the reasons why we were eager to work on such an interesting spot,’ said John Allardice, director at SWAY Studio.

‘From the concept to the movement and execution, the Hyundai Santa Fe spot involved working with many detailed and precise elements in order to produce 362 perfectly choreographed dancing robots. It was an interesting challenge and we are thrilled with the end result.’

SWAY started with a live action performance that involved a professionally choreographed dance team. Each member specialized in a particular dance style, including hip-hop, krump and vogueing. Due to the fast-paced routine and individual subtleties of the dancers, SWAY decided not to use motion capture to produce the animation.

Instead, SWAY shot the dancers with multiple high-definition cameras, both at normal speed and in slow motion, to fully capture the details and intricacies of their movements. For the commercial, the dancers’s movements were interpreted by SWAY character animation team to develop the movements for the CG robots.

“In this case, we decided against straight motion capture as the various models of robots had different numbers of arms and legs than the dancers,” continues Allardice. “What we wanted was an interpretation of the dancers’s routines, rather than a straight recording. The final performance of the robots is a blend of the dancers’ skills and our character teams’ inspiration.”

SWAY utilized a variety of off-the-shelf and proprietary hardware and software to compete the spot. The most prominently used tools were 3ds Max¬Æ and Lightwave 3D¬Æ for animation, V-Ray for rendering, NUKE?Ñ¢ for compositing, and SCRATCH for color grading.

The Hyundai Santa Fe spot was directed by John Allardice and produced by Matt Winkel.

About SWAY Studio
SWAY Studio is one of the top visual effects shops in North America. SWAY aim is to help advertising agencies eliminate traditional views of how their products are seen and enable creative teams to dream big ?Äî if it can be imagined, SWAY can make it happen. There is no limit to what SWAY can accomplish in a photoreal world. The goal is to confuse the viewer into believing that everything is real with no thought about effects.

SWAY proprietary software has been used to create stunning visual effects and spots for Chevy, Mazda, Pontiac, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Hummer, Jeep, Lexus, Toyota and Cadillac. The software replicates the performance of any vehicle with complete precision.

Currently located in Westwood, Calf., SWAY is moving its headquarters to Culver City. For additional information on SWAY Studio, visit its website at www.swaystudio.com.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nike have just released a campaign featuring two commercials entitled ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§Defy’s and ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§Endure’s. The spots are both designed to emphasise Nike new 360 Air technology. Both commercials came out of Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam and through Park Pictures.

Defy was directed by Joaquin Baca-Asay and highlights the magical moment in all sports when the athlete is airborne and experiences a sense of weightlessness. The commercial emphasises Nike’s new 360 Air technology. This spot was posted entirely in HD and involved primarily compositing backgrounds and crowd behind the athletes.

Endure was directed by Joaquin Baca-Asay and Lance Accord and portrays the athletes overcoming both the mental and physical pain of sport. It emphasizes the moments many athletes endure in order to reach the high levels of excellence and success within their sports.

The commercial ends with the ultimate payoff of Nike Air cushioning, helping to soften the physical impact on your body. This spot is set to the poignant Johnny Cash version of Nine Inch Nails track Hurt. Athletes included in the spot are Brazil Ronaldinho, Lance Armstrong and Paula Radcliffe.

All the material for Endure was stock footage that was conformed and cleaned up in flame and then filmed on 35mm by the director both projected and on HD screens. The commercial was then re-cut using the new material which was in turn was re-graded and conformed.

View the Spot here!

The Mill, London
40-41 Great Marlborough Street
Soho, London W1F 7JQ
+44 20 7287 4041
moc.llim-ehtnull@ofni

The Mill, New York
451 Broadway 5th floor
New York NY 10013
+1 212 337 3210
moc.llim-ehtnull@ofni

Popularity: 3% [?]

The new commercial for McCain Oven Chips entitled ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§Sunflower Park’s features an all singing, all dancing musical bonanza complete with back flips and cartwheels. Directed by Michael Gracey and Pete Commins for BMB through Partizan, this energetic commercial features a young lad and a cast of smiling dancers and singers belting out a customised version of ‘Oliver!’ classic ‘Food Glorious Food’. Those of you with a beady eye might be able to spot the original costume from the 1968 film version of ‘Oliver’!

After Mick Vincent graded the film to achieve the technicolour look Gracey and Commins wanted, The Mill was given the task of completing the post production on the commercial. Rushes were given some of the shots in the opening sequence to work on and The Mill created the visual effects for the rest of the piece.

This job was particularly challenging due to the fact the entire job was HD, there were a large number of plates that required compositing and there was a short timeframe. Lead Flame Stefan Coory commented, ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§we really had to use all the available resources The Mill had to offer to complete this job ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® it was definitely worth the sleep deprivation!’s

The commercial was shot on a continuous set using a small group of dancers who were filmed on different layers which were then composited together to create the effect of an entire dance troupe. A huge number of mattes were created to achieve the final effect and The Mill employed a large team of artists over the course of the job to solely complete this task.

In addition to the extensive compositing on the spot The Mill also replaced and enhanced parts of the existing background with a digital matte painting, they also added the dancing chimney sweep at the top of the painting and added the puff of smoke. In addition to this they also inserted 3D trees, banners and pigeons.

The Mill pulled out all the stops to create this vibrant commercial for McCain’s with over twelve 2D artists working across six flames suites over two weeks with plenty of night shifts thrown in. The final product is testament to the hard working, adaptable nature of The Mill 2D, 3D and production teams.

View the Spot here!

The Mill, London
40-41 Great Marlborough Street
Soho, London W1F 7JQ
+44 20 7287 4041
moc.llim-ehtnull@ofni

The Mill, New York
451 Broadway 5th floor
New York NY 10013
+1 212 337 3210
moc.llim-ehtnull@ofni

Popularity: 3% [?]

Award-winning Los Angeles visual effects and design company A52 today announced that visual effects supervisor Andy Hall has directed the HD broadcast spots, and overseen development of print/online elements, for advertising agency RPA $20 million national cross-media advertising campaign for Pioneer Electronics.

The campaign first broadcast and print elements ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® each of which conceptually conveys Pioneer’s passion for innovation and best-in-class plasma TV technology ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® have debuted in various media outlets since Oct. 2. Two completely 3D-animated broadcast spots are also being broadcast widely during HD sports programming, and will also appear prominently as part of Pioneer recently announced High Definition Sponsorship of the ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD college football telecasts.

Earlier this month, Russ Johnston, senior vice president of marketing and product planning for home entertainment at Pioneer Electronics USA Inc., shared these thoughts: “Our new advertising campaign represents the essence of what makes Pioneer PureVision(TM) plasmas stand apart from other displays. Our plasmas are built by and for those who demand the very best high definition experience: the HD purist. We are always developing new ways to push the limits in high definition home entertainment.”

Gary Paticoff, senior vice president, executive producer at RPA said, ‘Based on our ongoing relationship with A52 and Andy Hall, we decided to join forces to design and create a total CG developed execution for the two spots. Having worked with the A52 team on various projects, we were well aware of their credentials and abilities to deliver the cutting-edge CGI executions called for. It was important to position the Pioneer plasma products accurately in their appearance and performance while integrating them within the created environments.’

The artwork for all the campaign elements draws from imagery brought to life in its two :30 HD broadcast spots, which are entitled ‘Orbit’ and ‘Wind Tunnel.’ Set inside a futuristic testing facility, both spots feature a Pioneer PureVision(TM) plasma TV being tested: In ‘Orbit,’ when the TV displays the image of a planet, numerous chrome balls get pulled into the planet gravitational force, fly up and move into orbit; in ‘Wind Tunnel,’ imagery of a Formula 1 car on the TV appears so real that smoke flows around the racing automobile ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® instead of flowing around the TV itself. Each frame of footage from both spots was created by A52 artists at 1080p HD resolution, using Autodesk Maya animation software, Apple Shake compositing software and Autodesk Inferno, all under Andy Hall directorial supervision.

‘The brief from Pioneer and RPA was to make the imagery have a sense of reality so that no one would distinguish it being live-action cinematography or CGI,’ Hall explained. ‘The main aspects were to conceptualize Pioneer’s evolution of technology, and to create a believable world in which they test and evaluate the performance of their products.’ Working with RPA creative directors Joe Baratelli and David Smith, art director Hobart Birmingham, copywriter Seth Prandini and executive producer Gary Paticoff, Hall helped to evolve the initial concepts into the finished spots. Artists Casey Schatz and Nigel Phelps worked with Hall to design the rooms and previsualize the spots, and with RPA approval, A52 artists Max Ulichney, Chris Janney, Kirk Shintani, Kevin Clarke and Brandon Jolley began modeling, texturing, coloring, lighting and animating each element. Effects artists James Pastorius and Mike Adkisson used Shake for the initial compositing on both spots.

Hall also relied on the talents of multi-award winning visual effects supervisor and Inferno artist Pat Murphy for final compositing ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® and for his input along the way. ‘Pat contributions to both spots were significant, as he provided a fresh and honest response to my direction. He was the catalyst for translating concept to screen with our compositing team.’

Summing up the experience on this project, Hall added, ‘More and more, we are experiencing a trend of clients coming to us to execute entire jobs, from start to finish, where everything from the initial concept design to the final layoff all happens in the same place, with the same group of people. Such opportunities to contribute our full talents and resources ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® like we have on this campaign ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® are particularly rewarding; we’sre already looking forward to the next ones.’

A52 team also included executive producer Mark Tobin and producer Sarah Haynes, and all print finishing work was handled by Max Ulichney and Brandon Jolley. Sound design for both spots was handled by the team at 740 Sound Design in Santa Monica.

About A52
Established in 1997 as a home for the very latest high-end photo-real visual effects technologies and the industry most innovative and talented graphic design artists, West Hollywood visual effects and design company A52 creates award-winning imagery for the world most visually ambitious commercial and television projects. The company work has earned AICP Show recognition for nine consecutive years along with recent ‘Outstanding Commercial’ Emmy, Andy, BDA, Belding, Clio, British Design and Art Direction, International Monitor, International Automotive Advertising, London International Advertising, One Show and PROMAX awards. For more information, please call Mark Tobin at 310.385.0851 or visit www.A52.com

Popularity: 3% [?]

adolescent developed several IDs for SVT1′s spring and summer seasons, continuing the variations on a versatile style which adolescent originally designed for SVT1′s rebranding in 2003.

SVT1 is Sweden’s first and largest broadcast channel, a trusted and loved national network for fifty years. adolescent’s branding for the station focuses on reflecting the many facets of the network’s dynamic programming and its diverse audience like a room of mirrors. To keep current and connected to its viewers this summer, SVT1 wanted their IDs to express the mood of universal summer moments.

With the golden and radiant colors that have become characteristic of SVT1′s imaging, icons from summer in Sweden, such as a sun umbrella, a kite, butterflies, and beautifully spinning wind turbines, come into view before a magical-realist sky bright with sun and puffy clouds. Each icon is first seen in macro focus so that it is purely abstract, as the view pulls out the icon is revealed along with the SVT1 logo.

In a nod to the late onset of summer in Sweden’s northern climate, one ID begins with a close-up of ice that pans out revealing that the ice is not covering the ground -it’s cooling a refreshing glass of water. For spring, Easter eggs decorate delicate branches preparing to sprout leaves, and in another ID, pollen pops forth from a flower.

adolescent’s peaceful and sparkling IDs for SVT1 embody the vitality of a national network which speaks to everyone.

About adolescent
Based in New York with international presence, adolescent creative team has been responsible for producing innovative creative work for a variety of projects for entertainment, government and environmental organizations alike. adolescent has collaborated with VH1, MTV Europe and Ireland, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Adidas Originals and the British Government. The team is working on image and brand projects in the areas of broadcast and print media.

To find out more about adolescent and its image-making projects, visit www.adolescent.tv .

Popularity: 3% [?]

Luma Pictures completed more than 75 visual effects shots for THE COVENANT, the new supernatural thriller from ScreenGems and Lakeshore Entertainment, and director Renny Harlin. Included in the package are the film eerie opening sequence in which four teenage boys leap off a towering cliff, a mystical ‘rite of passage’ sequence, as well as its climactic battle sequence. The studio work encompassed a broad range of visual effects techniques from CG characters and environments to groundbreaking particle effects illustrating strange otherworldly phenomena.

THE COVENANT marks one of the larger, more complex and challenging projects for Luma since UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION, and it required its team of artists to strive for new levels of sophistication. ‘I am most proud of the dynamic supernatural effects that we created for this film,’ said Luma Pictures senior VFX supervisor Payam Shohadai. ‘Once again, our staff stepped up to a big challenge?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üdesigning and executing high concept effects from scratch. Many will leave audiences wondering, ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§How did they do that?’s’

Luma contribution to the film is on display from THE COVENANT opening scene. The film protagonists are four teenage students from a private New England academy endowed, via a 16th century ‘covenant,’ with supernatural powers. During the scene, the boys’s powers are revealed when they proceed to jump off a 400-foot cliff in a sequence of shots comprised of mostly CG environments. Each boy power manifests itself in a different way, but none is more impressive than Caleb, the hero, who leaps last.

For Caleb leap, Luma role was to bridge two live action elements?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üthe beginning of the actor leap at the top of the cliff, and its end point where he joins the rest of his crew on the ground?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üwith a lengthy and wholly fabricated shot of him tumbling through the air. ‘In addition to the CG double of the actor, this sequence required us to create a digital set for the top of the cliff as well as a CG environment encompassing the entire face of the cliff, the sky, ocean, beachfront and opposing cliff with a lighthouse,’ explained Luma Pictures texture and model supervisor Chris Sage.

The CG double fall is tracked by a sweeping virtual camera move that ties into a practical camera move as the artificial shot transitions back to live action. ‘We created a small matte painting to serve as a digital handshake between the 3D set and the live action plate,’ noted Sage. ‘Animators also matched the action of the CG double to the actor at the beginning of his landing to create a seamless transition.’ 3D fog and other environmental effects were added to the shot to match the mood and depth of the practical scenes.

The unique way that the boys’s supernatural powers are displayed is best represented by the film ‘Ascension’ sequence. In that scene, which occurs near the end of the film, magical powers are transferred to Caleb from the heavens. The transfer of powers is represented by what appear to be waves of energy particles that swirl through the scene and, in parts, seem to represent a kind of life form of their own.

As Harlin only had only a general concept for how various powers would manifest themselves (both those featured in the Ascension sequence and elsewhere in the film), Luma was given wide latitude in designing their look. ‘Abstract ideas are inherently difficult to sketch or even describe,’ observed Steven Swanson, senior VFX producer. ‘We went through a great deal of trial and error to arrive at a tangible starting point. Ultimately, we created 25 distinct types of effects that we categorized with quirky terms such as ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§wispies,’s ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§floaties.’s ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§waterbolts’s and ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§super powerballs.’s’

In the Ascension sequence?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üwhich extends some 30 shots?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üthe powerful force that descends from the heavens undergoes a series of transitions as it interacts with, envelopes and ultimately transforms Caleb. The force initially takes the form of particulate matter that collects as shafts of light. Once it reaches critical mass, it strikes Caleb in a whip-like motion, leaving a wispy substance in its wake. This wispy energy itself becomes animated and surrounds Caleb, colliding with a shield that surrounds him. The shield bursts under the force and the energy field penetrates Caleb body briefly transforming him into a water-like state as he completes his ‘ascension.’

Luma employed a complex assortment of particle effects, fluid simulations and animation techniques to pull off the sequence. ‘Dynamic simulations are difficult to control and producing them is a time-consuming, iterative process,’ noted Luma VFX supervisor Vince Cirelli. ‘The 30 shots in the Ascension sequence had to cut together seamlessly and with complete continuity. In order to accomplish that, we needed to be able to precisely control each of the particle and simulation events. We developed a technique that allowed us to trigger simulations based on key framed animation. As a result, we were able to create aesthetically-sculpted simulations on a shot by shot basis that preserved the pacing and energy essential to the story arc.’

The film climatic scene is a showdown between Caleb and his nemesis Chase. Luma handled the culmination of the sequence (the opening segment of the fight was prepared by another visual effects vendor), beginning with the appearance of a ‘super powerball,’ which becomes a decisive element in the struggle. Luma designed the look of the super powerball. It also created a CG double for Chase and a CG environment replicating the live action location.

For Luma, THE COVENANT was an especially satisfying project both because of the diversity of its visual effects and for the opportunity to aid in their design. ‘Production was very open to our ideas and our key artists responded by grabbing the bull by the horns,’ said Swanson. ‘They showed tremendous initiative and creativity and it resulted in some very aesthetically interesting work.’

About Luma Pictures
Luma Pictures is a leading provider of visual effects services to Hollywood with a reputation for artistic integrity, technical innovation and efficient production. The company served as lead visual effects provider on Underworld: Evolution, one of the biggest hits of 2006 and widely acclaimed for its incredible creature and environmental effects. Some of the studio other credits include Hoot (New Line), The Cave (ScreenGems/Lakeshore), Into the Blue (Sony), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Paramount), Crash (Lions Gate) and Ray (Universal Pictures). Current projects include The Holiday for Columbia and No Country for Old Men for Miramax.

Luma Pictures is located at 248 Westminster Ave., Venice, CA. For more information, call (310) 888.8738 or visit www.luma-pictures.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

Following a successful collaboration with Radium on the GMC Yukon Denali spot “Dot Matrix,” Engine Room VFX has been tapped to extend the complex animated gear sequence for a new version of the spot to run on the Times Square Jumbotron.

Directed by The Cronenweths for ad agency Lowe Worldwide, “Dot Matrix” highlights the precision engineering of the Denali with visual metaphors for which Radium was the lead design and visual effects team. Radium hired Engine Room VFX for the final sequence – the inner-workings of a Swiss watch — because of their experience on a CG open for Lionsgate Entertainment via creative agency Devastudios. The open features a visual journey in and around moving gears to showcase the power of the Lionsgate brand.

“Prior to joining Radium, CG Supervisor Giancarlo Lari worked with Engine Room on the moving gear open for Lionsgate,” explains Engine Room VFX Supervisor Andrew Honacker. “He knew that we already had the experience and pipeline to create photorealistic gears. He provided us with a general overview of what was needed, worked extensively with us on the specific design of the wath and then entrusted us with the delivery of the sequence.”

With basic parameters at hand, Engine Room then dove into the project to produce a photorealistic sequence of believable watch gear design and functionality. Using experience and methodology honed on Lionsgate, Engine Room employed visual effects know-how and talent coupled with a technology arsenal that includes Maya with Illuminate Labs’ Turtle rendering engine and comping in 32bit float within After Effects.

Phase two of the project came to Engine Room following the enthusiastic response from the agency, which chose to extend the spot’s overall length, including the watch gear animation, for the Jumbotron media buy.

“The collaboration between Radium and Engine Room was seamless and the very essence of the way we like to work,” concludes Honacker. “At Engine Room, we specialize in partnering with other creative companies to help bring their visions to life. In this case, we were able to synch with Radium and support them with this specific area of expertise.”

Credits
CLIENT: GMC
Steve Rosenblum: GMC National Marketing Director Mary Kubitskey: GMC
National Advertising Manager

AGENCY: Lowe Worldwide/NYC
Tom Quaglino: EVP, Creative Group Head
Jim Hord: EVP, Creative Group Head
Desirre Jones: Art Director
Adam Fels: Copywriter
Gordon Bennett: Art Director
Claire Capeci: EVP Managing Director
Jimmy Verrett: SVP, Account Director
Val Tyll: VP Management Supervisor
Nathan Tan: Account Executive
KC Fleck: Account Supervisor
Dominic Ferro: Director Broadcast Production Sara Eolin: VP, Senior Producer
Nikki Brancati: Producer Beverly Beach: VP Broadcast Manager Natasha Howell:
Talent Manager Brian Bittker: Product Specialist

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Untitled, LA
The Cronenweths: Directors
Jim Evans: Executive Producer

VISUAL EFFECTS/EDITORIAL/DESIGN: Radium, Los Angeles Lee Gardner: Editor
Rudy Hanks: Producer Dave Skaff: Executive Producer Tony Lipin: Coordinator
Simon Mowbray: Creative Director Melinda Tidwell: Creative Director/Lead
Artist Giancarlo Lari: CG Supervisor Orin Green: Inferno Artist Joe
Censoplano Jr.: Inferno Artist Ty Bardi : Designer Brady Baltezore :
Designer Hettie Zhang: Designer

WATCH GEAR SEQUENCE ANIMATION: Engine Room VFX, Los Angeles Michael Caplan:
Executive Producer Andrew Honacker: VFX Supervisor Steve Cummings, Mike
Romey, Mike Kirylo & Justin Denton: 3D Artists

Popularity: 3% [?]

Gap’s new KEEP IT SIMPLE TV spots juxtapose classic footage of Audrey Hepburn from the movie FUNNY FACE dancing in skinny black pants to the 1980 AC/DC hit song ‘Back in Black.”

The ad opens as Hepburn dances through a Parisian caf?¬¨¬© in FUNNY FACE. It continues as she jumps out of the movie and onto a backdrop resembling the look and feel of an iconic Gap ad. VFX and graphics help her navigate her way across the screen in a series of energetic dance steps. She then jumps back into FUNNY FACE as the spot concludes with the tagline “It’s Back?‚àö√ë‚àö√Ü The Skinny Black Pant.”

Celebrating Gap’s re-launch of the perfect black pant, the ads mark Gap’s third and final marketing campaign of the fall season.

Laird+Partners, Gap’s creative agency, developed the KEEP IT SIMPLE marketing campaign. The TV spots were developed using visual effects by Method Studios and graphic design and animation by Logan and print ads were photographed by famed fashion photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

The “Keep It Simple” television campaign features :30 and :60 spots that will air in the U.S. on all major networks, spot markets and cable from Sept. 7-Oct. 5. The spots will premiere on network television shows, including GREY’S ANATOMY (ABC), CSI (CBS) and STUDIO 60 (NBC). Gap.com will also feature the new KEEP IT SIMPLE television commercial, as well as exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the ad.

“Gap has a rich history of integrating memorable choreography and music into our advertising, but we’ve never done anything quite like this before,” said Trey Laird, creative director of Gap. “We wanted to do something really special to re-launch our skinny black pants and thought who better to showcase them than actress Audrey Hepburn ?‚àö√ë‚àö√Ü an iconic woman famous for dressing with sophistication and classic style.”

Gap became known for fabulous “must-have” black pants more than a decade ago ?‚àö√ë‚àö√Ü they flew off shelves and helped millions of women across the country dress with sophistication and style. Gap’s reintroduction of the perfect fitting pair of skinny black pants this fall is a celebration of this classic, iconic piece. Named after timeless fashion icon Hepburn, “The Audrey Hepburn Pant” is sleek and simple with modern details that are undeniably cool.

It has an updated bi-stretch fabrication, which allows for greater flexibility and movement and helps the pant keep its shape. Gap’s new skinny black pants are destined to become a modern day classic.

In celebration of the launch of the KEEP IT SIMPLE ad campaign, Gap is making a generous contribution to the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund. The Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund is a non-profit organization created to continue Ms. Hepburn’s international appeals on behalf of children around the world.

About Method Studios
Santa Monica, California-based Method (www.methodstudios.com ) is a visual effects studio that design and creates visual effects for commercials, music videos and feature films.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Filmworkers Club provided post production services for a moving 8-minute documentary film on Dallas Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Oscar Oboza handled final color correction for the piece which highlights the school program, history and illustrious alumni. Conceived by Dallas communications and marketing firm R&D Thinktank, the film will be used as part of the school fundraising efforts.

Interview segments with Booker T. Washington alumni Norah Jones, Edie Brickell, Roy Hargrove and others are woven together with scenes of current students engaged in painting, dance, music and other fine art activities. The narrative tells some of the history of the school?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üit is the successor to Dallas’s first school for African Americans?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üits role in the community and the impact it has had on students’s lives.

Oboza worked with R&D Thinktank creative director Doug Rucker in setting the film final color values and drew a sharp contrast between the interview segments and the scenes of school life. ‘We used the Norah Jones segment to set the tone for the interviews,’ Oboza recalled. ‘The composition is very much like portraiture; the colors are stylized and we used vignettes to give it a cinematic look.’

In the school segments, color values are pushed in the opposite direction. ‘We made it very colorful and bright to capture the energy of the school,’ Oboza said.

Oboza added that he was very pleased with the way color helps shape the film mood and how it complements the work of the director and cinematographer. ‘We were in tune with each other,’ he said. ‘We let the footage breathe on its own.’

The film was created by R&D Thinktank, Doug Rucker, owner/creative director. It was produced by John Gilliland for Directorz, Dallas. Editorial was performed by Doug Bryan of Post Op.

About Filmworkers Club
Filmworkers Club, is located at 3400 Carlisle Street, Suite 105, Dallas, TX 75204. For more information, contact Executive Producer Rachael Turnage at (214) 754-9333 or visit www.filmworkers.com. Filmworkers Club also has locations in Chicago and Nashville.

http://filmworkers.com/

Popularity: 2% [?]

Encore Hollywood provided post production services to TNT for two 1-hour episodes of its limited series Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King. Colorist Laura Jans performed final color correction for Umney Last Case and The Fifth Quarter, both directed by Rob Bowman (THE X-FILES). The former stars William H. Macy as a mystery writer who attempts to switch identities with his prized creation. Jeremy Sisto stars in the latter as a newly-freed convict in search of lost loot.

Jans worked directly with Bowman in setting the films’s final look, employing a Spirit 2K Datacine and a Da Vinci 2K color corrector. Both films were shot in Australia with cinematography by John Stokes.

For Umney Last Case, Jans and Bowman used color to draw a sharp contrast between the mystery writer real world and the fantasy world of his fiction. ‘The fictional environment is very soft, warm and appealing,’ recalled Jans. ‘It a world out of a book. It looks set up?‚àö√묨‚àÇHollywood. The ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§real’s world is drab and flat. You can understand why the writer is trying to escape.’

The look Bowman wanted for The Fifth Quarter is bolder and more contemporary. ‘We Slamdanced it,’ said Jans. ‘It heavy, inky, black and contrasty. We kept the skin tones so that the talent looks great.’

Jans added that the goal for both films was to avoid looks that appeared contrived or manipulated. ‘We wanted to preserve the integrity of the film that the director and the DP captured on location,’ she observed.

About Encore Hollywood
Encore Hollywood is located at 6344 Fountain Avenue, Hollywood, California 90028. For more information, call (323) 466-7663 or visit www.encorehollywood.com.

Popularity: 3% [?]