Editor Mike Berg of leading production and post house Optimus recently worked with J. Walter Thompson Chicago to cut spots for the Illinois Office of Tourism “Find Something More in Illinois” campaign. The spots start airing this month on cable in 17 U.S. markets. Additionally, they can be viewed at https://reel.io/cYN.
“Tourism spots can easily become a montage of pretty scenery, and then that's it,” said Berg. “From the very start, these pieces were focused on the personal connections that happen when we travel. We had hours and hours of beautiful footage, but my job was to make sure the humanity of the story came first. And J. Walter Thompson was great to work with, as everyone involved shared that vision.”
Most tourism advertising is about the destination. With “Find Something More in Illinois,” J. Walter Thompson wanted to dig deeper and bring to life the actual effect the destination can have on the traveler – how a place can often reconnect travelers to the people with whom they are traveling. Each of the four stories highlights a trip to different regions of Illinois with a story that is relevant to the location as well as the lives of its travelers. The spots reveal why people travel to begin with – not only to see the sights, but also to build memories, stories and deeper connections with the people who mean the most to us.
“This kind of filmmaking requires the viewer to fall seamlessly into the film, so the writing, casting, cinematography, directing, editing and music must all be in sync for the story to feel real,” said J. Walter Thompson Executive Creative Director Dan Bruce. “We assembled a great team including an amazing Illinois crew and chose Mike as editor not just for his ability to tell a story, but for his keen eye for performance. If one scene is not true the whole story begins to unravel and you lose any chance of connecting with the viewer. Together we found those moments of truth and assembled them in a way we believe will connect with the viewer.”
To view the spots, please visit https://reel.io/cYN.
Screenwork Credits:
Client: Illinois Office of Tourism
Director: Cory Jobe
Agency: J. Walter Thompson Chicago
Executive Creative Director: Dan Bruce
Art Directors: Monica Klasa/Dan Bruce
Copywriter: Greg Oreskovich
Executive Producer: Wil Wilcox
Account Team:
Senior Partner, Group Management Director: Erin Clark
Account Director: Chris Palmer
Director: Cric
Production Company: Boxer Films
Post-Production: Optimus
Editor: Mike Berg
Assistant Editor: Luke Sloma
Senior Audio Engineer: Joel Anderson
Audio Engineer: Marina Bacci
Audio Assistant: Ben Treimer
Colorist, Nice Shoes at Optimus: Ron Sudul
Colorist Assistant: Jeff Greco
Effects Director: Glen Noren
Graphics Assistant: Jim Moss
Finish Artist: Matt Bregger
Finish Assistant: Marco Rosas
Executive Producer: Brian Hrastar
Media Agency: Maxus
About Optimus
Optimus is a leading production and post-production house with offices in Chicago, Santa Monica and New York. A true one-stop shop, Optimus offers a full suite of creative services, including production, editing, color correction, visual effects and design, audio mixing and finishing. With ONE, the company’s live-action production arm, Optimus offers all production services, from shoot through post, under one roof – a singular, streamlined creative-driven machine. For more information, please visit www.optimus.com and www.optimus.com/one. Connect with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Optimus161 and www.facebook.com/OneAtOptimus.
