Venice, CA-based visual effects studio The Mission taps into the internal heat of competition in the glacial new :30 “Frozen” for Nike and Dick’s Sporting Goods out of Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, OR. The spot features a variety of impetuous athletes, fiercely battling the frozen elements to train for their respective sports. The Mission handled comprehensive VFX for the spot, including on-set supervision, color correction, extensive composite work and CG enhancements of the practical snow.nnTo heighten the crispness of the icy elements featured throughout, The Mission‘s Creative Director Rob Trent and team employed meticulous CG including an entirely CG shot with CG ice crystals comped onto a CG fence, CG mist and breath for the athletes and CG snow. Background textural elements including skylines and trees were comped in throughout the spot as well as “winterizing” a green field with a CG blanket of snow.nn nnNotes Trent, “Sitting there in the 90 degree heat of the Detroit summer and watching the athletes sweat through their 2-hour shoot windows, it was fun to imagine the transformation we would achieve in the end. Humid, green grass and sunny dusk skies would become crusty snowpacks in a cold, moody void. Careful preparation with the DP was taken so that the natural lighting was diffused enough to match the end environment.”nn”Frozen” opens on ominous rolling grey clouds and a chain-link fence with a layer of frost just beginning to crystallize. We see a Dick’s Sporting Goods bottle on the frigid grass with the water inside turning to ice. We cut to the preparatory breaths of three athletes, readying themselves for winter outdoor lacrosse, soccer and football training. The intensity of the athletes increases as the wintery elements surge around them. As we intercut between the players reaching the peak of their training ferocity, a voiceover intones, “This is not when the games are played, but it’s when the games are won.” Each of the three athletes rush the camera, cutting to a moment of darkness before we see the football player retreating into a thick sheet of falling snow. The voiceover concludes, “Nike Pro Combat Hyperwarm. Gear up with the best of Nike cold weather at Dick’s Sporting Goods.” The spot closes on the Dick’s logo and super, “Every condition. Every workout. Every game. Every season starts at Dick’s Sporting Goods.”nnCreditsnClient: Nike, Dick’s Sporting GoodsnTitle: “Frozen” :30nnAgency: Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, ORnAgency Producer: Andy MurillonCopywriter: Tom SebancnArt Director: Ken MeyernCreative Director: Guy SeesenCreative Director: Rob ThompsonnAccount Supervisor: Dave HubbardnAccount Director: Courtney NelsonnBusiness Affairs: Connery ObengnnProduction Company: Anonymous Content, Culver City, CAnDirector: Malcolm VenvillenExecutive Producer: Eric SternnEP/Production: SueEllen ClairnProducer: Karen SproulnProduction Supervisor: Marisol Aragon-HeroldnnEditorial: Joint Editorial, Portland, ORnEditor: Kyle ValentanEditorial EP: Patty BrebnernnVFX: The MissionnVFX Creative Director: Rob TrentnCG Supervisor: Piotr KarwasnVFX EP: Michael PardeenFlame: Narbeh MardirossiannFlame: Katrina SalicrupnFX: Eric RosenthalnFX: Tom LynnesnAnimator: Samir LyonsnVFX Producer: Diana ChengnnAbout The MissionnThe Mission is a high-end visual effects studio specializing in commercials, film and digital content. It is located in the middle of the pop-culture hub known as Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA.nnWith the talents of some of the most creative and experienced artists in the industry, working with the latest tools and a top-notch production staff, The Mission is a lean and dynamic powerhouse of a partner to deploy into your creative process.nnFrom concepting, previs, and on-set-supervision, to 2d and 3d visual effects work & design, and on to final mastering, The Mission brings a smart, beautiful and efficient component to every visual dimension of your project.
Contact:Virginia Scripps Press Kitchen 310-392-6682
“Ǝvolution” Comes Full Circle At The Chelsea Film Festival
The Chelsea Film Festival, running from October 16th through October 20th, 2024, at Regal Cinemas here in Union Square, is set to host the East Coast premiere of Ǝvolution, a thought-provoking experimental micro-short film that proves big ideas can come in small packages and in perfect circles.
In just 1 minute 16 seconds, this cinematic gem by Award-Winning Director Romina Schwedler, with original music by Argentine Composer Ignacio Montoya Carlotto, explores a cycle as old as time: life leads to progress, progress leads to destruction, and destruction, well, leads back to life. But is this vicious circle unbreakable? Ǝvolution suggests the answer is yes, unless we decide to open our eyes.
Inspired by the overwhelming number of recent events that threaten human existence, Ǝvolution, possibly the shortest film in this 12th edition of the festival, plays out entirely through the symbolism of circles, cleverly illustrating —in the blink of an eye— the repeating patterns of history, and confronting viewers with the uncomfortable truth that our so-called “progress” may, in fact, be guiding us to our own ruin.Premiering at the Regal 14 Union Square, New York City, on October 18, 2024, at 11 a.m., Romina Schwedler's micro-short, featuring Leah Young with cinematography by Alan J. Carmona, will be sure to spark conversations longer than the film itself! Forcing viewers to reconsider the true meaning of evolution, not just as a biological process, but as a reflection of our collective journey as humans.
With a string of festival appearances across the globe, including CineGlobe at CERN (Switzerland/France), Oscar®... Read More