Amidst the whirling dervish of high-profile drivers and in-your-face horsepower, ad agency Jump Co. and Twist Director Matt Pittroff had to tell millions of rabid NASCAR fans that things were going be different this year. The 2011 season offered a brand-new breed of driver, new cars, and rule changes that would produce a never-before-seen NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion. Pittroff collaborated with Cerebral Lounge on visual effects and editorial to create a three-spot campaign via a slightly inept and completely overzealous tour guide who showcases the new faces, new cars and new rules in some pretty unexpected and unconventional ways.
To view the three-spot campaign, please visit: http://bit.ly/TwistNASCAR
“I knew the success of this campaign hinged on finding the right tour guide,” explains Pittroff. “My exploratory approach to casting ultimately uncovered a pretty unique tour guide in Brandon Odell via The People Store in Atlanta. We cast the net wide for the role looking for what amounted to a NASCAR version of Kenneth from ’30 Rock.’ Our ultimate choice is about as far from Kenneth and NASCAR as you can get, but somehow it just worked.”
Pittroff and Cerebral Lounge in Washington, DC collaborated together on editorial and visual effects. “It’s rare to do a spot without some effects these days,” notes Pittroff. “My goal is always to keep as much in-camera as possible and create effects that go un-noticed by the audience. We worked very closely with Cerebral Lounge on the post effects in making the right choices and capturing the right elements. From tire rubs, to car-sized glass trophy cases, to a celebrity face replacement, they nailed it.”
“Matt brought a true strength in casting to this project,” says Jump Co. Copywriter Matt Telthorst. “He has an obvious passion and dedication to his work, and that was obvious to us. He had great ideas that he offered through the entire creative process, including sitting in the edit room to make sure the vision stayed consistent throughout the campaign. We really enjoyed working with him on this unique ad campaign for NASCAR.”
Credits
Client: NASCAR
Spot Titles: “Tram at the Track” :30; “Under Glass” :30; “Video” :30
Shot on location at Charlotte Motor Speedway; Concord, NC
Advertising Agency: Jump Co
Creative Director: Bob Harris
Copywriter: Matt Telthorst
Art Director: Steve Schwartz
Producer: Michael Windler
Production Company: Twist
Director: Matt Pittroff
DP: Andy Lilien
President/Executive Producer: Jim Geib
Executive Producer: Amyliz Pera
Line Producer: Steve Blair
Staff Reps: Rob Neill, Kathryn Lotis
Editorial & VFX Company: Cerebral Lounge
On-Set Supervision: LeRoy Konen, Owen Lang
Editorial/Online Editor: Owen Lang
2D VFX/Animation Matte Painting: Giles D’Souza
Graphic Design: Giles D’Souza, Sheena Callage
Composite/Rotoscope: Andrew Dickenson
3D Design/Animation: Chris DiNardo
Post Producer: Alissa Liebert
Postproduction Company: Out of the Blue
Colorist: Micah Kurz
Executive Producer: Steve Bodner
Sound Design/Audio Post Company: Clean Cuts Music
Sound Designer/Mixer: Andrew Eppig, Cadell Cook
Audio Producer: Jessica Barbot
About Twist
A global production company, Twist has offices in New York and Minneapolis. Headed by EP/President Jim Geib and EP Amyliz Pera, the Twist directorial roster features the diverse talents of Directors Matt Pittroff, Rich Michell, Grady Cooper, Chris Stocksmith and Marc André Debruyne. Recent Twist projects helmed by Matt Pittroff include commercial campaigns for Affinity, Pepsi-Max, Colorado Lottery, NASCAR, as well as Picadilly, which he co-directed with Rich Michell. Pittroff has just finished shooting a hilarious new campaign for Ad Council, due out in January. www.twistfilm.com
