The setting and scenario pique viewer curiosity from the very outset. A man stands alone in a gloomy, cavernous warehouse, surrounded by tables. On them sit what appear to be thousands of metal boxes, each covered with appurtenances—all with protruding eyepieces beckoning him and us.
Predictably drawn to the odd-looking contraptions, the guy picks one up and through its eyepiece watches a scene from a film. Then he peers into other boxes, catching an eyeful of clips from different film genres. We don’t yet realize that these celluloid scenes are from movies screened at past Seattle Film Festivals.
But this bizarre cinematic nirvana, with its multitudinous offerings, is interrupted by an unsettling noise—the metallic sound of a heavy door opening overhead. As our line of sight moves towards the warehouse ceiling, we see a giant eyeball staring down through an immense viewfinder at the man—as if he, too, exists in one of these futuristic magic lanterns. A title card slams into the screen, reading, "Life in Perspective." The spot closes with a logo for the 27th annual Seattle International Film Festival (which runs 5/24-6/17), and a list of the event’s sponsors.
This case of viewer/voyeur-becomes-viewee/voyeuree was directed by the team of Bruce Branit and Jeremy Hunt of Los Angeles-headquartered A Band Apart Commercials for McCann-Erickson, Seattle. Titled "Life in Perspective," the project marks the spot debut of Branit and Hunt, who were signed by A Band Apart last year largely on the strength of their short film 405, which generated considerable buzz on Internet site IFILM (SHOOT, 9/29/00, p. 1). The directing duo’s visual effects, live-action and humorous storytelling savvy exhibited in 405 were bought to bear on this Seattle Film Fest :60 ad—and on a :30 version, as well. Both broke on May 8 in the Seattle market.
Five of the mechanical boxes were physical props, while all of the assorted others were created via CG. "We had this great, huge, dark space to shoot in [the former Herald Examiner building in downtown Los Angeles], but it was mostly empty," related Branit. "We created and cloned thousands of digital boxes and tables to really dress up the location and help enhance the mood. After we had filled the space with digital props for the first wide shots, we added boxes to most of the remaining shots to maintain that tone and geography.
"One of the biggest challenges that we faced was that the actor was working only with a few practical boxes that we had built." Branit continued. "So it was a challenge to blend the digital ones with the physical ones. The integration of live action with digitally created imagery is always an enjoyable process. You get to take what exis-ted only in your imagination and make it real."
"This was a great start for us in the spot world," added Hunt, "because it gave us the opportunity to take an extraordinary idea and make it even bigger. We were first drawn to the project because of the look and feel of the initial concept."
That concept was generated by a McCann-Erickson team consisting of creative director Steve Johnston, associate creative director/copywriter Forrest Healy, associate creative director/art director Zach Hitner and producer Katie Fabbro-Clements.
Branit and Hunt’s support crew at A Band Apart included executive producer Eric Bonniot and producer John Hardin. The DP was Greg Harrington.
Branit and Hunt additionally served as digital artists/compositors and offline/online editors via their Los Angeles shop Strange Engine. Colorist was Artemus Mayor of Post Logic Studios, Hollywood. Audio engineer was Eric Johnson of Clatter & Din, Seattle.
