Director Tony Petrossian’s first project at his new roost, Rhythm + Hues Commercial Studios, underscored one of the reasons he joined the Los Angeles-based company earlier this year (SHOOTonline, 3/6)–the opportunity to tap into the talent and resources of visual effects/animation facility Rhythm + Hues Studios.
He did just that to charming comic effect in Cape Cod Potato Chips’ “Seagulls” out of Baltimore ad agency GKV.
The spot opens on a man as he reaches into a bag of Cape Cod Chips. A voiceover contemplates different scenarios and stages of potato chip nirvana.
The v.o. first asks, “What could be better than Cape Cod Chips?” He then answers his own query with, “Maybe if you ate them on a beach.”
The camera then reveals the guy is enjoying the chips on a serene beach in concert with the v.o.’s “what if?” scenario,
“Maybe if you ate them on a beach while a flock of seagulls sings peacefully.”
Sure enough, we then see seagulls gliding by in the distance, chirping over an idyllic sea and shoreline.
“Maybe if you ate them on a beach while a flock of seagulls sing A Flock of Seagulls.
Indeed the next sight consists of four seagulls on keyboard, drums and two guitars rocking out and crooning the Flock of Seagulls hit, “I Ran (So Far Away).”
The v.o. then affirms that this impromptu concert is indeed the best scenario, segueing to a slogan that positions Cape Cod as the “Home of Ridiculously Good Chips.”
Characters welcome The aforementioned mesh of Petrossian’s live action/visual effects acumen with the skillsets and tools at Rhythm + Hues Studios was indeed brought to bear in “Seagulls.” The director was able to harness the power of the Visual Effects Oscar-winning studio (for The Golden Compass in 2008) in designing and creating the seagull characters. Petrossian worked hand in hand with Rhythm + Hues animators to bring the seagulls to life as an all-bird CG version of the iconic 1980s group Flock of Seagulls. Among those collaborators were Rhythm + Hues’ animation supervisor John Goodman, head of CG/visual effects Lisa White, visual effects supervisor Nik Titmarsh, CG/post producer Caroline Heyward, 2D supervisor John Heller and Flame artist Tim Miller.
Petrossian cited Rhythm + Hues’ artists and proprietary technology as helping him to realize “every detail exactly how I saw it.” He then quipped, “The only difficulties here were the seagulls themselves, who wouldn’t exit their trailer without plates of smelly fish. Plus the drummer kept poking holes in the snare. And don’t get me started on their sandpiper groupies.”
Petrossian also collaborated closely with the GKV creative team which included chief creative officer Jeff Millman, associate creative director/copywriter Dave Broscious, associate creative director/art director Mark Rosica, and sr. broadcast producer Kelly Gould.
The commercial was shot in Malibu, Calif., with CG and post work completed in-house at Rhythm + Hues.
“Once Rhythm + Hues agreed to bring our spot to life, we stopped worrying about whether or not we could achieve the level of realism we wanted,” said Broscious who’s also a sr. VP at GKV. “Instead, we were free to work with Tony and everyone there on the storytelling, the humor, and getting the most out of every moment in our band’s performance.”
NDS alumnus Petrossian first came to SHOOT’s attention back in 2007 when he earned inclusion into SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase largely on the strength of his branded content piece, Beijing Ballers, for Nike out of Wieden+Kennedy, Shanghai. At the time, Petrossian was with Rockhard Films.
Over the years he has built a body of work that spans commercials (Nike, McDonald’s, Subway, Sony Ericsson) and music videos (featuring such artists as Taking Back Sunday, Rise Against, Slipknot, Ludacris and DMX).
Petrossian fits into a mix of Rhythm + Hues Commercial Studios directors who encompass expertise in live action, animation, visual effects and design. Under the aegis of executive producer Paul Babb, the spot division has among its recent credits work for such brands as Activision, Budweiser, Carrabba’s, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, Crayola, Electronic Arts, Hartford, Kellogg’s, Key Bank, Mattel, Microsoft X-box, NASCAR, Nasonex, Quaker State, Tide and Ubisoft.
Besides the alluded to The Golden Compass, feature film credits for Rhythm + Hues Studios include Moneyball, X-Men: First Class, Chronicle, Big Miracle, Hunger Games and Cabin In The Woods. Films currently in production include Life of Pi, Snow White and the Huntsman, R.I.P.D., The Seventh Son, and Percy Jackson And The Sea of Monsters.
