By Ken Liebeskind
SAN FRANCISCO --To promote Windows Server 2008, the most recent release of the Microsoft Windows Server line of operating systems, which was released February 27, a series of three video ads starring a computer-generated robot character are playing at www.serverunleashed.com and other sites. The spots were created by McCann Erickson/San Francisco and produced by Digital Domain/Venice, Calif.
“It’s a major launch for Microsoft, an updated version of their enterprise software and they needed a big campaign, so we came up with the metaphor of the robot,” said Michael Furlong, a creative director at McCann. “The campaign is about reliability and manageability, which we represented with the strength and flexibility of the robot.”
In spots entitled “Command Line,” “Crouching Robot” and “Exerciser,” the robot, nicknamed IT247, is the server, which runs and jumps around the industrial space as two men discuss it.
Digital Domain used motion capture to set up the robot’s moves. “We wanted to have the robot be able to do robotic things and have the flavor of a human being,” said Fred Raimondi, the Digital Domain director. “Rather than have an animator do it, we recorded the motions of a guy in a suit with sensors on his body and applied it to the robot model.” Alex Chansky, an actor who doubled for Spiderman in two movies and has appeared in martial arts films, was filmed in the motion capture sequence.
The two men were shot on green screen with everything else in the spots in 3D. The spots were shot with an Arri D4 digital camera. “It’s fully digital and we didn’t use film,” Raimondi said.
The spots are all :30s but they’re not running on TV in the U.S., although they may in international markets. “Different markets will adapt them for their own usage,” Furlong said. “Here, we’re trying to target IT pros and it’s easier to get them online.” The U.S. campaign runs at www.serverunleashed.com and a number of sites in a media buy, including gadget sites Gizmodo and Crunchgear.
The U.S. campaign also includes two-page magazine spreads.
Furlong said he worked with the McCann office in Japan to coordinate the robot movements because “they’re very sensitive to how robots are represented.” Robots have appeared in ads for Honda and Nissan in Japan, “so we had to make sure the robot was unique,” he said.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More