Award winning boutique design and motion graphics studio, Lifelong Friendship Society (LFS) spent the past 2 months creating the show open and promo packaging for this years VH1 DIVAS music special.
LFS Creative Director Jason Jones and Kaori Sohma (an original LFS cofounder, now freelance) co-directed and led the project for leading music and pop culture television network VH1.
DIVAS is well known for uniting the industry’s most wonderful and talented female artists for years and is arguably one of the most exciting music events from VH1. After being on hiatus (the last one being 2004) the franchise wanted to reinvent and redefine the meaning of the term “DIVA”.
In previous years the lineup consisted of well known and highly established entertainers. With it’s long awaited return, this years roster showcased a fresh troop of top line talent, including Kelly Clarkson, Adele, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Leona Lewis and Miley Cyrus.
“The new Diva is more ‘hand’s-on’, more accessible, and more connected to her fans.” says VH1’s Vice President of On-Air Creative, Amanda Havey, “…in this era of reality television, it’s the fans that have a hand in creating our Divas of today, by choosing them in shows like American Idol. It’s the dawn of a new Diva.”
This current and energetic DIVA mentality was reflected in the fast paced show open which captures the spirit of a girls evening bike ride through Manhattan, over the Brooklyn Bridge and to the historic Brooklyn Academy of Music, where the event actually took place. To view the show open go here: http://lifelongfriendshipsociety.com/site2/flash.php#/id_project/63/
Being the main focus of the opening, the bike ride was one of the bigger physical challenges of the production especially with the late night shooting on the Brooklyn Bridge. For POV shots, the crew rigged a Canon 5D Mark II onto the vintage bike to capture the hero’s POV in full HD motion. The RED camera used throughout the rest of the production returned some jaw dropping imagery for the open sequence. At one point, the DP was riding on back of a motorcycle with the RED attached to a special rig for capturing the action of the bicyclist. This was one of many methods that allowed LFS to obtain the beautiful footage without hurting themselves or their permanent records.
Preproduction also proved to be a timely test with scouting the billboard locations for the artist introductions created by Maximillian Wiedmann. “We scoured the city in search of the perfect billboard” says Jones, “It had to be well lit, large enough to give the feeling these Divas were commanding a presence within a busy city block, and easily shot without obstructing car or foot traffic.”
This society of friends reminds us again of their artistic tale-telling skills with the bevy of dazzling elements that were implemented throughout the show and promo packaging. Graphic elements were either shot in LFS’s studio or created by a brigade of artists in post using Maya and After Effects.
All four cofounders of LFS met while working at VH1 and, as anticipated, the DIVAS project felt like old times again. “The piece was completed by a great support of production crew, artists and friends” shares Sohma, “It was such a special project since we all met at VH1 and it was great to reunite and collaborate on a project again after years later.”
About LFS
Lifelong Friendship Society is a design based directing collective which is renowned for providing groundbreaking visual adventures. LFS moves forward in branding & design consultation as well as a variety of mediums including motion graphics, illustration and live action through commercials, broadcast, print, interactive and music video. These pursuits follow a mutual goal to push the limits of standard video production and give perspective that can only come from Lifelong Friendship Society.
Their clients include Starbucks, Burger King, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Volkswagen, MTV, VH-1, Showtime, Nickelodeon, I.D. Magazine, Tres Logos, BBDO, Saatchi & Saatchi, Goodby SiIlverstein & Partners, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Droga 5, TBWA Chiat/Day, Publicis, JWT & ZIG Toronto among many others.
Lifelong Friendship Society is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY. For more information or to request a reel contact Emily Gleicher at 718-302-3000 of visit LFS at www.lifelongfriendshipsociety.com