Park Pictures, Bicoastal/London, director Benzo Theodore and agency Cutwater achieved the brass ring of viral success for the helmer’s viral video “Guitar Baby!” for Ubisoft’s upcoming Rocksmith video game out of Cutwater, San Francisco, which eclipsed 2,500,000 YouTube views since its early summer launch.
“Guitar Baby,” received worldwide media attention, including a Father’s Day appearance on Good Morning America, after surging past a million views during its first few days online. The lovable spot is shot in a hand-held, home video style and narrated by an off-screen Mom character.
“Part of what we wanted to capture was a sense of awe from the viewer, who initially questions whether the baby’s performance is real. The hundreds of comments posted that posed this question proved that we were able to accomplish this suspension of doubt,” notes Theodore. The spread of the video, mainly through social media, sparked a great deal of online conversation about how the baby’s virtuoso performance was acheived, with many viewers incorrectly theorizing that the effect involved CGI. Adds Theodore, “It was really entertaining to see the arguments sparked as a result of the spot. I particularly enjoyed stumbling upon one comment reading, ‘Jimi Hendrix, welcome back mi lord.'”
The viral opens on a dad in pajamas, noodling with an electric guitar on his couch as his infant child sits beside him. He stares at the television screen, following along as the game – which allows players to plug in a real guitar and play along – gets started. He struggles to keep up with the game’s rendition of the Black Keys song, “I Got Mine”, before handing the guitar over to his beckoning baby. The baby proceeds to play the song’s hard-rocking guitar riff expertly for several seconds before handing the guitar back to his amazed father with a high-five and a flash of the rock ‘n roll “horns”.
The video is merely the latest in a string of viral triumphs for Theodore, who first made his mark on the viral landscape with 2007’s wildly popular “Sunglasses Catch” video for Ray-Ban, which racked up over 15 million views online and won recognition at Cannes, D&D Awards and the Saatchi & Saatchi New Director’s Showcase. The Park Pictures-repped director has also created pieces for Verizon’s Droid, Lexus and Honda among many others.
Credits
Client: Ubisoft
Product: Rocksmith
Title: “Guitar Baby!“
Agency: Cutwater
Founder, Executive Creative Director: Chuck McBride
Principal, Executive Creative Director: Travis Britton
Integrated Producer: Daniel Tuggle
Production Company: Park Pictures, Bicoastal & London
Director: Benzo Theodore
Executive Producer/Owner: Jackie Kelman Bisbee
Executive Producer: Justin Pollock
Executive Producer: Anne Bobroff
Line Producer: Ron Cosentino
DP: Ross Harris
Editor: Ross Harris
VFX Companuy: a52, Santa Monica, CA
VFX Supervisor: Glyn Tebbutt
About Park Pictures
Founded in 1998 by Executive Producer Jacqueline Kelman Bisbee and renowned filmmaker/cinematographer Lance Acord, Park Pictures has an auspicious track record of discovering and mentoring new filmmaking talent and infusing all projects with big screen production values. Park Pictures has forged strong partnerships with agencies and clients by engaging all members of its team in creative problem solving.
In March 2010, Park Pictures and director Joachim Back won an Academy Award for their short film, The New Tenants. More recently, Park joined forces with writer/director/producer Galt Niederhoffer under the moniker ParkPlum. The division will develop feature films, documentaries and short. For further information visit http://parkpictures.com.
