One-upmanship reaches new heights–or depths, depending on your perspective–in this humorous :30 for the Massachusetts Lottery.
The spot opens with two guys in the living room: a young boy on the couch, a man laid out on a recliner. Clearly, both are sick as dogs, looking listless and forlorn.
Carrying sandwiches and some orange juice on a tray, a woman comes into check on her two men–presumably her hubby and son. “Okay guys, how are we doing in here?” she asks.
She pulls the thermometer out of the mouth of her teenaged son. She reads out aloud his temperature: 101.
Next, she approaches her spouse, grabs the thermometer from his mouth. “Oh no, 102. Oh, baby,” says the wife, trying to be of some comfort. She then goes upstairs, leaving the sick ward behind.
Though pretty much wiped out from the flu or some sort of virus, the dad musters enough energy to look up and say to his son, “In your face!” The celebratory declaration is in reference to the fact that papa “won” the temperature battle by a single degree.
A voiceover the provides context to this silly victory: “If you love to win, play Cash Windfall: the new jackpot game where one out of six tickets win. From the Massachusetts State Lottery.”
“Thermometer” was directed by Stephen Kessler of bicoastal Sandwick Films for Hill Holliday Connors Cosmopulos, Boston. The job was co-produced by Sandwick Films and Boston-based Element Productions.
The Hill Holliday team consisted of executive VP/group creative director Spencer Deadrick, VP/associate creative director/art director Doug Champan, VP/associate creative director/copywriter John Simpson, executive producer Bryan Sweeney and senior producer Kellie Heartwell.
Bill Sandwick of Sandwick Films and Eran Lobel of Element served as executive producers. Heather Holladay was the producer. DP was Andrzej Bartkowiak.
Editor was Michael Coletta of 89 Editorial, New York. Assistant editor was Megan Swados. Bob Cagliero and Kris Polinsky were executive producer and producer, respectively, for 89 Editorial. Colorist was Dave Pickett of Finish Editorial, Boston. Smoke artist was Matt Rogers of Finish. Audio post mixer was Brian Heidebrecht of Soundtrack, Boston.
Principal actors were Michael Buscemi, Daniel O’Neill and Marylee Graffo.
8 Aspiring DPs Receive Emerging Cinematographer Awards
The International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) presented eight aspiring DPs with 2024 Emerging Cinematographer Awards (ECA) during a ceremony, screening and reception held on Sunday (9/29) in the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood.
Also during the ECA proceedings, Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC accepted the Distinguished Filmmaker Award. Prieto is a four-time Best Cinematography Oscar nominee--for Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, and Martin Scorsese’s Silence, The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon.
In his opening awards ceremony remarks, Stephen Poster, ASC--who co-chairs the Guild’s ECA committee with Jimmy Matlosz--estimated that over the 26 years of the ECA, more than 200 up-and-coming lensers have garnered invaluable exposure and recognition early on in their careers. Submissions are open to Local 600 members who are not yet classified as DPs, and a panel of established ICG members from across the country assess the short film entries. The competition has intensified over the past two-plus decades. This year’s eight honorees and their short films were selected from 118 submissions.
The class of 2024 ECA honorees are:
–Dominic Bartolone for the short film Sweet Santa Barbara Brown
–Adam Carboni, INCOMPLETE
–Matthew Halla, The Unreachable Star
–Jessica Hershatter, Pirandello on Broadway
–Allen Ho, Iron Lung
–Nick Mahar, Sands of Fate
–Dylan Trivette, Bearing Witness: A Name & A Voice
–Andrew Trost, Bloom
These emerging cinematographers benefited from more than just the Sunday showcase in North... Read More