Making real people suddenly turn into the surreal, two-dimensional Nintendo Game Boy Advance characters required some pretty wild filming and post techniques in "Concourse," via Leo Burnett USA, Chicago. It was part of a three-spot package helmed by rad-ish—a.k.a. Moritz Friedel and Christoph Chrudimak, two Austrian directors represented stateside via bicoastal Go film.
"Concourse" opens in an airport waiting area. In the foreground, a man reads the newspaper as other travelers sit or stand around. Through a Game Boy-shaped window in the background, the colors are brighter and the action looks more surreal; airline personnel make their way across the concourse. A loud "plip," and the scene through the window takes over the full screen. Two businessmen are on a people-mover, their backs to each other. One wears a white suit, the other a black one. One of the parading airline personnel remains in frame, but her previously black uniform is now deep purple. A plane descends against a bright blue sky, as random passengers travel along the people-mover.
At the sound of another "plip," the man dressed in white hurls his briefcase at the man dressed in black; the latter falls flat on his back and is deposited at the end of the people-mover. Music starts and the black-clad man, now recovered, does a Super Mario-style jump over the man in white, landing outside of the people-mover. A robotic voice commands, "Pluck things from the ground and hurl them at your enemies," as the black-dressed man rips a large turnip out of a pot and hurls it at his enemy in white, who is running in slow-motion along the people-mover. The turnip hits its target, grounding white-dressed man. "Pluck your enemies from the ground and hurl them at your other enemies," commands the voice, as white-dressed man picks up a gray-suited drone and throws him across the room, where he lands on black-dressed man. The man in white triumphantly makes his way off screen, followed by the man in black brandishing a chair.
The voiceover says, "Super Mario Advance," and the action switches to two human hands, playing a Game Boy. The narrator continues, "Only Full Game Boy Advance," as the camera pans to reveal a young boy whose flight has just been called. The word "Gate" appears on screen in stylized type, followed by "Gate H17 Advanced," and the actual Game Boy product is shown full screen. The voiceover adds, "Four can play off one game pack. Rated ‘E’ for everyone." The words "Life Advanced" appear, and the screen fades to black.
Leo Burnett’s VP/associate creative director/art director Dustin Smith, and associate creative director/copywriter Desmond La Velle came up with the basic concept, which was to have a kid alter a normally dull situation by making the people around him part of his Game Boy. Inspired by childhood trips, Smith and La Velle decided to use an airport waiting room as the setting, and businessmen as the bored child’s playthings. The agency originally envisioned a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon feel, with two businessmen engaged in combat. But rad-ish embraced the Game Boy, deciding to take the instruction literally by using real people, but manipulating shapes and colors so that viewers think they are in a game.
The spot’s opening waiting room scene was kept normal looking, in order to create a sharp contrast with the two-dimensional Game Boy world which can be seen through the window. "At that point everything was shot as separate elements—except for the protagonists, who were filmed together because they make physical contact," explained Los Angeles freelancer Ed Chapman, who was brought in by Go film as visual effects/ post supervisor.
This technique of multi-plane animation essentially involves filming each element as an individual layer and compositing them together in post. "Concourse" has about 48 layers in each scene. Filming took place at a studio in Vienna, with two people-movers set against blue screen. The airport signage and the views from the window were created using a mix of drawings and still photographs taken from actual airports, composed in Photoshop, and then combined with the live action during post. Extras were lensed while walking on a treadmill set against blue screen, or on the people-movers. Filming techniques enhanced the awkwardness of actor movements to mimic the Game Boy characters. For example, some extras were shot walking backwards, then the film was reversed.
In order to jump over the people-mover Super Mario-style, the actor portraying a businessman was attached to a special wire rig. The height of his jump was enhanced in post. The other scene requiring a cable rig was when the gray-suited businessman is thrown, landing on the black-suited combatant.
The cut from Hamburg, Germany-based freelance editor Gerd Berner was then given to Framestore, London. Different artists worked on the post-intensive job, which also included rotoscoping and wire removal.
Thad Spencer and Chris Beaty of Asche & Spencer, Minneapolis, and Venice, Calif., served as creative director and composer/ sound designer, respectively.
