Archive for July 18th, 2012

These days it’s rare that employees are happy with the healthcare coverage provided by their company. But when a good-natured boss selects ‘My Plan’ from Medica for his staff, they’re so thrilled that they show their gratitude with an over-the-top party. That’s the scenario of ‘Thank You,’ a :30 spot created by LEVEL, the Minneapolis-based brand and advertising agency – and woven together into an outrageous comedic vignette by CRASH+SUES’ editorial and color correction team.

The spot features a group of enthusiastic employees throwing a thank you party for the boss and presenting him with stacks of gifts – from a pyramid of ‘Best Boss’ coffee mugs to an enormous cake adorned with sparklers. To top off the festivities, one employee marches in with the party gift that the child in everybody longs for: a pony. The cast of comedic actors, outrageous set-ups and rapid-fire gags makes the spot an explosion of good times.

LEVEL’s creative director, Gregg Byers and senior copywriter, Craig Roads, put together a top-notch team for this project, including producer Wendy Johnson. Director Grady Cooper, best known for directing episodes of the award-winning television series, “The Office” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ as well as feature films and documentaries, purposefully overshot the action, providing CRASH+SUES with an abundance of footage to choose from.

“Greg’s humor and sarcasm always brightens up my dark room,” says SUE, CRASH+SUES’ senior colorist. “For this spot we went for color with a natural look, took down the saturation on some of the brightly color objects, while leaving the skin tones healthy. We also did a few windows to help out dark areas. The footage was very sharp, but the biggest challenge working with the moiré from the office blinds. It looked great in HD but in SD it was a bit buzzy. So I used the DVO tools from my Digital Vision Nucoda FilmMaster to roll off the high frequency’s and calm things down for SD.”

CRASH+SUES began collaborating with LEVEL early in the creative process, when Byers and Cooper were considering various storyline elements and ways the employees could show their thanks that packed the most comedic punch.

Cooper let the cameras roll as a dead-on team of actors improvised and came up with a number of off-the-wall plot situations that provided a wealth of great options during the editing process. Driven by the absurdity of each unfolding ‘thank you’ from the company’s grateful staff, the humor is heightened by keeping the boss a humble and likable guy who is totally surprised by all the adulation. Director Grady Cooper shot a series of whip pans that were key to maximizing the climactic pony reveal.

CRASH+SUES’ Ryan Wheeler on-lined the spot in Smoke, Carrie Shanahan was editors. Kent Militzer of Uproar came on board for audio post and music, recording a trombone riff to get the right feel and end the spot on the perfect note.

CRASH+SUES is a seamlessly integrated animation, FX, motion design, creative editorial, color correction, DI, conform, finishing and multi-media company. Its collaborative team of talent is dedicated to providing advertising agencies, brands and filmmakers with fresh, innovate and cost-effective creative content. For additional information about CRASH+SUES, contact director of business development Erik Therwanger at 612.338.7947, (etherwanger@crashandsues.com) or visit www.crashandsues.com.

About LEVEL
LEVEL is a global brand strategy and advertising firm headquartered in Minneapolis. We help our clients build world-class brands and reputations that inspire stakeholder loyalty, increase revenue and drive sustained profitable growth. LEVEL provides a variety of services and proprietary tools for fully integrated communications strategy and implementation. For further information about LEVEL visit www.levelbrand.com or call (612) 338-8000.

CREDITS:
Client/Product: Medica
Category: Broadcast Spot
Title: “Thank You,” :30

Ad agency: Level/Minneapolis
Producer: Wendy Johnson
Art director/CD: Gregg Byers
Senior copywriter: Craig Roads

Production company: Twist/Minneapolis
Director: Grady Cooper
DP: Steve Speers
Producer: Dave Bellmont

FX/Animation/Post: CRASH+SUES/Minneapolis
Colorist: SUE
Executive producer: Sven Shelgren

Editorial company: CRASH+SUES/Minneapolis
Editor: Carrie Shanahan
Online editor: Ryan Wheeler
Online assistant: Matthew Kroese

Audio post and music: Uproar/Minneapolis
Mixer: Kent Militzer

Billerica, Massachusetts – Broadcast Pix™ today announced that Frost Cutlery is using a Slate™ 1000 Video Control Center™ to produce 16 hours of live programming each week to sell its extensive catalog of products, as well as a Slate Desktop to handle master control. Based in Chattanooga, Tenn., Frost Cutlery offers a variety of knives, swords, and kitchen cutlery, as well as other collectibles.

Through Frost Media Group, its in-house production company, Frost Cutlery produces four-hour live shows four days per week, which are broadcast live and replayed on various satellite and broadcast channels across the country, including several Ion Television stations. The program, Cutlery Corner Network, is also streamed live at www.cutlerycorner.net. Frost also has plans to ramp up production for Frost Great Outdoors, a 24/7/365 network currently in development.

“Broadcast Pix is effective for Frost Cutlery because it provides unlimited creativity, functionality, and productivity,” said Tim Colvard, director of broadcast operations. Cutlery Corner Network is a four-camera studio production, with two Panasonic cameras on pedestals, one on a jib, and one handheld. Colvard also expects to add a fifth camera, a Steadicam unit, in the near future. Frost Media Group went live with its Broadcast Pix systems in July 2010 and purchased them from Encore Broadcast Solutions in Chattanooga.

While programming is not produced in HD, it is very graphic intensive. Six keys are used during the show (with additional keys utilized from master control) to display the product number, product details, animations produced in Motion, graphics for special segments that highlight multiple knife sets, and more. “The key in the Broadcast Pix is just so clean that the graphics look great,” Colvard added.

Colvard also relies on Fluent™ Macros to transition on-screen formats between sets. “The memories are a godsend. The CG stays on the air, but everything changes upstream,” he said. “It completely changes the function of the switcher with one button. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Using Slate’s built-in Fluent-View, all sources are displayed in front of the director on a 42-inch screen, with a 23-inch touch-screen located to the side for easy access to additional clips and graphics. The configuration is duplicated at master control with two 23-inch monitors.

Frost has a unique setup, with its Slate 1000 and Slate Desktop installed next to each other in the control room for redundancy. Using a built-in failsafe feature, the Slate 1000 feeds master control on Input 1. If master control goes down, it defaults automatically to the production switcher (and the transition is seamless for viewers). Conversely, if the Slate 1000 fails, the Slate Desktop is configured to switch the show live, and the director can continue switching the show by literally sliding his chair to the right.

“With so much riding on the reliability and security of the technology to keep us on the air, it made selecting the Broadcast Pix line of products a no-brainer. We installed both chassis near each other to facilitate interconnection as necessary,” Colvard explained. “We’ve got $15,000 an hour riding on Broadcast Pix for staying in business. If I’ve got a switcher that dies, it can take up to five minutes to get back on the air. In the meantime, I’ve lost viewers and I’ve lost revenue. With Broadcast Pix, I can focus on other things – I don’t have to worry about being off the air.”

About Broadcast Pix Broadcast Pix is the leader in live video production systems. Its Video Control Centers™ empower operators with patented techniques that combine cameras, clips and graphics to create compelling live video. The integration of a multi-format switcher, clip store, graphics system with a Harris or Chyron CG, and device controls provides the lowest cost of ownership at a fraction of the cost of a conventional control room to buy, staff and operate. Systems range from compact systems controlled by a touch-screen or voice-automation to sophisticated 2 M/E control panels. Customers include leading broadcast, corporate, education, religious, government, webcast, entertainment and mobile studios in more than 110 countries. Learn more at www.broadcastpix.com.

Broadcast Pix, Slate, Fluent, and Video Control Centers are trademarks of Broadcast Pix, Inc. Patented.

Imagineer Taps Local Marketing and Product Specialists to Address the Growing Film, VFX and Animation Markets in China, South East Asia

GUILDFORD, UK (July 18, 2012) — Imagineer Systems (www.imagineersystems.com) today announced it has expanded its presence in Asia with the addition of new marketing and product specialist talent specifically to address the growing film, visual effects and animation markets in China and South East Asia. With this announcement, Imagineer has brought on Li Chen as its new Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Asia; and Kent Chen as its new Product Specialist in Asia.

Li Chen brings more than 10 years of industry experience, with several years of channel experience in the Asia-Pacific region. As a former editor and an Apple certified trainer, Li brings a keen understanding of enduser needs and requirements in the region.

Kent Chen is an active SFX technician and a colorist, as well as a mocha expert. Kent is uniquely qualified to begin training customers and prospects in the region, tapping into his broad experience with the product and the market.

“Imagineer Systems and mocha have experienced impressive growth in the worldwide VFX marketplace, with the Planar Tracker technology making a significant impact on the way artists work,” said Li Chen, Imagineer Systems’ new vice president of sales and marketing for Asia. “There are tremendous opportunities ahead for mocha in the world’s fastest-growing film/VFX market throughout China, Japan, Korea and the entire South East Asia region. I look forward to working with the team and our resellers to leverage the full potential of this market.”

The 2012 mocha Product Family

mocha AE is Imagineer’s stand-alone Planar Tracking and roto utility optimized for After Effects, Apple Final Cut Pro and Motion users. The advanced mask creation tools, simple user interface and copy/paste exchange with After Effects helps take the complications out of motion tracking and reduces keyframing tedium.

mocha AE is available in two version: mocha AE CS6, which comes as a free bundle with every copy of the newly launched Adobe After Effects CS6 and is specifically optimized for After Effects; and the mocha AE v3 standalone application, which adds new Camera Solve features and additional support for Apple Final Cut Pro, Motion and Boris FX and is available for purchase directly from Imagineer Systems. mocha AE v3 also is backward compatible with older version of Adobe’s Creative Suite.

mocha Pro v3 is Imagineer’s intelligent Planar Tracking utility for post production and visual effects professionals that combines advanced roto, motion tracking, lens analysis, object removal, insert compositing, stabilization and 3D camera solve features into a single desktop application. mocha Pro integrates seamlessly with industry-popular editing, compositing, and animation applications and is the ideal post production companion software for managing challenging shots and projects.

mocha Pro has gained notoriety as a result of the significant impact the Planar Tracker has made in the production of the Hollywood visual effects laden films such as The Black Swan, X-Men: First Class, and Captain America: The First Avenger.  Additionally, mocha Pro has proven invaluable to customers at major post production and stereo conversion facilities around the world, and has greatly streamlined the stereo conversion pipelines on such 3D blockbuster sensations as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

About Imagineer Systems 

Imagineer Systems Ltd innovates and markets next-generation visual effects solutions for film, video and broadcast post production markets.  Imagineer Systems has made its mark on such marquee Hollywood blockbuster productions as Black Swan, Alice in Wonderland, Iron Man 2, Shutter Island, Invictus, and the Harry Potter series. Imagineer’s desktop product line consists of mocha Pro™ – roto, planar tracking, compositing, and removal utility; mocha AE™ – a planar tracking and roto utility designed for After Effects and Final Cut Pro users.  Imagineer Systems was founded in 2000 and its headquarters is located in Guildford, United Kingdom. For more information visit www.mocha-Pro.com

Sept. 7-11
Stand 8.C51a

Company Overview:
Digigram is at the convergence of professional audio and video with IT, inventing solutions that help its customers increase competitiveness through change. Digigram’s IP audio codecs, sound cards, and network audio solutions are used by journalists, broadcasters, and audio engineers around the world, and the company delivers key technologies and OEM solutions to software vendors and manufacturers. Digigram’s recently introduced all-IP video product lines offer advanced solutions for broadcast, IPTV, Web TV, and OTT operators. more

CBS and Carnegie Hall. Big network, big stage, big success for the annual Upfront Sales Presentation, which previewed the fall program lineup. Once again CBS called on WorldStage, the new brand for Scharff Weisberg and Video Applications, Inc., for video support as Carnegie Hall’s famous stage showcased the latest CBS stars and shows.

Having partnered with CBS since 1994, the WorldStage team has finely honed its upfront skills, especially as far as Carnegie Hall is concerned. “CBS has used Carnegie Hall as its upfront venue for sometime now. Over the last three years, the production team has taken the path of using more of the proscenium and larger projections,” notes Shawn Oatey, WorldStage account manager/project manager. “This year’s upfront continued the process of moving away from the traditional rectangular widescreen-look, allowing speaker support content to live anywhere in the projected space of the proscenium.”

WorldStage was charged with expanding display beyond the hero screen to incorporate the architectural elements of Carnegie Hall’s celebrated proscenium stage. The network wanted to paint content across the big canvas of a stage more accustomed to hosting symphony orchestras than upfronts.

“The overall project was very demanding from a logistical and schedule standpoint,” says Oatey. “Working in a landmark venue like Carnegie Hall presents numerous challenges, and the entire CBS team really did an amazing job in a very compact period of time.”

CBS Executive Producer Jane Gottlieb comments, “WorldStage’s engineering expertise and client service are the reasons why CBS relies on them for our most prestigious and high profile events. We’re impressed with and grateful for the amazingly complex work they are able to accomplish within very restrictive parameters of space and set-up time at Carnegie.”

Oatey describes the array of display surfaces, which worked separately and in tandem to dazzle guests. “A hard-wall scenic element painted white created the lower projection surface. There was a large white muslin hero screen surface for the main content. And white muslin scenic elements above the hero screen area, left and right of the center audio speaker cluster, which were also dressed in white. In addition, there was a rear-projected, 21×12-foot screen, which formed a beautiful backdrop for the center-stage ‘Mousehole’ entrance and main camera shot.”

WorldStage used 18 projectors to cover the complex display surfaces: 16 brand new J-Series Christie Roadster HD20K-J projectors, plus a pair of Christie HD10K-M projectors for rear projection on the ‘Mousehole’ entrance.

Projection design called for two separate 2×2 quadrant projection spaces, one inside the other, to create a seamless overall look that encompassed the entire stage and proscenium arch. “The larger outside quadrant projection was 80 feet wide and 51 feet tall and covered by four double-stacks of projectors,” Oatey explains. “The inner quadrant, for the hero screen, was 61 feet wide by 24 feet tall and covered by another group of four double-stacked projectors.”

Switching was performed with three Christie Vista Spyder X20s, which managed and distributed the content from 22 Dataton WATCHOUT servers. WorldStage used projection positioning, warping and masking to create an almost 3D projection mapped feel to the overall set.

“This show is truly a collaborative effort and all of us on the CBS team work hard to create something special and a little different each year,” Oatey notes.

The CBS team included Executive Producer Jane Gottlieb and Creative Director Lacy Daigle; Scenic Designer Bruce Rodgers of Tribe Inc.; WATCHOUT Technical Producer/Programmer Keith Tromer; Lighting Designer Mike Baldassari; and Technical Director Duane VanderWerf.

Beirne Lowry at Mr. Wonderful spearheaded the complex and challenging graphic design. The scenic elements were built by longtime WorldStage collaborator, Atomic Design.

From WorldStage Engineering and Video Village were managed by Shane Zinke, JasonSpencer and Bryan Dominick with projection handled by Terry Nakamura and Scott Goegebuer.

WorldStage Inc., the company created by the merger of Scharff Weisberg Inc and Video Applications Inc, continues a thirty-year legacy of providing clients the widest variety of entertainment technology coupled with conscientious and imaginative engineering services. WorldStage provides audio, video and lighting equipment and services to the event, theatrical, broadcast and brand experience markets nationally and internationally.