Archive for February 6th, 2008

The Brief
Team One Los Angeles recently finished a powerful and innovative campaign for Lexus Hybrids that examines what the world would be like without the letter ‘h’. The :60 spot directed by MJZ’s Dante Ariola takes us through a series of humorous and visually vexing scenes looking at what major landmarks, news stories, classrooms, and typical office environments would look like if all the h’s were mysteriously missing. We see Los Angeles’ ‘OLLYWOOD’ sign, outdoor signage for a local ‘otel,’ and the naked keyboard button one spot removed from our left index finger’s starting perch. In the story, the h’s have abandoned our society after simply finding a better place to live-on the back of Lexus’ lines of hybrid cars. Naturally, these h’s deserted their previous posts in favor of zipping around town on the rear badging of an environmentally-friendly luxury Lexus vehicle. more

The Brief:
The VFX team from Smoke & Mirrors New York brings us another stunningly calculated masterpiece for the music video I Feel It All from singer/songwriter Feist. As the music starts, we find the soloist alone in a field of barrels. She runs in and around the casks as they rhythmically explode with a visual cacophony of fireworks. Feist is accompanied beautifully with a dazzling illuminated display throughout the video that culminates in a grand finale of both sound and light. more

Sound Lounge Radio’s 4th Annual Olives Radio Awards are back and with an environmental twist. This year, writers submitting scripts in a new “GREEN PSA Category” have the chance of actually hearing their spot on the radio. The Olives are buying airtime on stations across the country for the Grand Prize-winning spot — and to help spread an eco-friendly word.

Plus, everyone automatically gets 2 energy-friendly light bulbs and a t-shirt just for entering. Cash prize of $2000 also awarded to each winner in the PSA and Dead Scripts category. more

New York City – Multi-disciplinary creative studio Thornberg & Forester recently completed a modern network redesign and the “Brain Chain� package of interstitials for the Science Channel and international Science Channel, treating both these leading players in global cable television to a facelift. Banished is the “globe� icon used since the launch of network in 1996. In its place is an eye-catching graphic logo with a vivid orange-dominant color palette. The new design, built upon an agile and gridded layout was created by T&F creative directors Justin Meredith and Scott Matz. more

VENICE, CALIF.—American Gladiators is back, and it’s looking bigger, badder and bolder thanks to an infusion of adrenaline supplied by Fish Eggs. The Venice, California design studio created an all-new graphics package for the classic competition show, which recently began a successful comeback run on NBC. more

SANTA MONICA, CALIF.—Company 3 helped to conjure a vision of sheer terror in providing digital intermediate post services for Paramount Pictures’ newly-released horror hit “Cloverfield.” The studio handled dailies processing, visual effects integration, final compositing and color grading for the film about a group of young New Yorkers trying to escape a giant creature that is laying waste to the city. Company 3 ultimately delivered a 1920×1080 (HD) digital master that was used both to produce film copies for theatrical screenings and a full list of post-theatrical digital deliverables. Produced by J.J. Abrams and directed by Matt Reeves, “Cloverfield” has set box office records for a January release, taking in nearly double its estimated budget of $25 million in its first weekend alone. more

Chicago—The New York Giants and New England Patriots weren’t alone in making great plays during this year’s Super Bowl thriller. Filmworkers Club also turned in a star performance, although all of its nifty moves appeared during the game’s commercial breaks. The Chicago post house created visual effects and performed other post work for six Budweiser and Bud Light spots that premiered during the game—including Clydesdale “Team�, the spot that topped USA Today’s Ad Meter as the game’s most popular spot.
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Director Scott McCullough, represented for commercials by Chicago-based STORY, has completed his first feature film. 3 Days Gone is a thriller about a man who wakes up after being buried alive for three days to find that he is being pursued by the mob and is a suspect in the murder of his best friend. more

Post House Teams With 3D Production Company Melrae Pictures To Deliver Ultimate 3D/HD Theatrical Experience

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – “You are going to see a star; an astrophysical object; in three dimensions, with great resolution; for the very first time!” So begins 3D Sun, a fascinating new look at something each of us sees every day. Featuring extensive offline/online 3D editing, visual effects, color-correction and finishing by Splice Here (www.splicehere.tv), 3D SUN envisions and explains the “how and why” behind images that will be captured by STEREO, a still unfolding two-year NASA mission that relies on two nearly identical space-based observatories to provide the first-ever, high definition 3D stereoscopic images of the Sun. more

San Jose, California, USA – February 6, 2008 – Blackmagic Design today announced that its new Multibridge Pro and Workgroup Videohub were an integral part of the online workflow for “Fields of Fuel, â€? winner of “The Audience Award: Documentaryâ€? at Sundance 2008. Blackmagic Design products enabled the highest quality capture, layback, monitoring and deck control, and easiest hardware switching in the challenging online for the film’s final post production phase prior to premiering at Sundance for Digital Neural Axis (DNA) and thesandbox. more