By Ken Liebeskind
HOBOKEN, N.J. --“Click,” a :30 for Unilever’s Country Crock that runs online and on TV, combines live-action and motion-control footage to show a sequence of empty and food laden plates that promote the company’s philanthropic effort SpreadtheSharing.com. At the site, consumers are asked to click on an empty plate and contribute their stories of sharing. For each story, Country Crock will make a donation to America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s food bank network.
The spot begins with a live-action shot of empty plates on place mats on a dinner table. It segues into a motion-control sequence of plates that fill up with food at the click of a mouse. The sequence fuses with the Country Crock logo, which was shot live action as the spot concludes.
The spot relied on “gently applied motion control,” according to Alex Fernbach, Owner/Director/Cameraman of ARF & CO/Hoboken, N.J., the production co. that produced the spot for Stone & Simons Advertising/Southfield, Mich. “We built a large platform designed with an initial series of place mats and food. As the camera tilts down to look at the food we matched the first place mat into the matrix of place mats. As the camera tilted up, we added additional place mats and as it tilted down again we made our change into the sea of place mats. We did 40-50 motion control camera passes with empty plates. They were replaced with food at the post house, so food pops up at the click of the mouse.”
Guy Atzmon, designer at rhinofx/New York, explained how the shots of empty plates suddenly had food on them in response to the click. “They shot one pass of empty plates with multiple passes of different food on the plates, and we brought in the food in post. We switched to the take of food on the plates,” he said, explaining that it was a computer-generated image that used the real shots of food. The spot concluded with separate layers of plates that formed the Country Crock logo that transitioned to the actual logo. “It was a computer-generated transition of the logo made of plates to the live-action version,” he said.
Victoria Webb, vice president/account supervisor at Stone & Simons, lauded the production team on the spot. “Country Crock usually runs traditional commercials. This was a tech departure for us and the team was fantastic,” she said. The spot began running at Spreadthesharing.com and YouTube before its April 2 TV launch date.
Jon M. Chu Named Recipient of The ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award
American Cinema Editors (ACE) will honor Jon M. Chu with the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award, recognizing an artist who exemplifies distinguished achievement in the art and business of film. ACE will also bestow career achievement honors to film editors Maysie Hoy, ACE and Paul Hirsch, ACE for their outstanding career contributions to film editing. All honors will be presented at the 75th annual ACE Eddie Awards on January 18, 2025 at UCLAโs Royce Hall where winners will also be announced in 13 competitive categories recognizing the best film editing achievements of the year in film and television.
โJon M. Chu is a visionary filmmaker who has captivated audiences worldwide with his dynamic storytelling and innovative visual style,โ stated newly elected ACE president Sabrina Plisco, ACE. โFrom the vibrant energy of In The Heights to the sweeping romance of the groundbreaking Crazy Rich Asians, his films are a testament to the power of cinema to transport, entertain and inspire. The highly anticipated Wicked only adds to his exciting cinematic legacy. Jon embodies the spirit of innovation and passion that ACE champions, and we are thrilled to celebrate him at the ACE Eddie Awards.โ
Chu joins a group of Golden Eddie award recipients including John Waters, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, Kathleen Kennedy, Christopher Nolan, Lauren Shuler Donner, Guillermo del Toro, Vince Gilligan, J.J. Abrams, Nancy Meyers, Martin Scorsese, Norman Jewison, Robert Zemeckis, George Lucas, and the Sundance Institute.
โOur Career Achievement Award recipients this year are extraordinary,โ Plisco went on to say. โMaysie Hoyโs career exemplifies the dedication, artistry, and collaborative spirit that defines our craft.... Read More