NEXUS ANIMATES PARENT/CHILD POVS
Director Woof Wan-Bau of Nexus Productions, London, throws us on a crazy merry-go-round of child rearing, from birth to troublesome teen in “Le Cri,” a spot for the Volkswagen Touran out of Agence V, Paris.
Wan-Bau deployed a mix of live-action and stop frame animation, making rotational transitions that shift us from the child’s perspective to that of the parents and back again. Through pretty much all of this chaotic upbringing, a key constant is the child (actually different children to reflect the changes in age as he grows up) crying, screaming and otherwise making his feelings known, often at a high decibel level.
“Shooting a combination of stop-frame and live action with a gang of very young children in two days was a tall order, but we somehow managed it and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Maybe it was the fact that we had to endure a lot of screaming that we all worked so fast,” quipped Wan-Bau.
Finally the parents get a reprieve from their now teenager’s garage band, which is screeching out its version of what’s supposed to be music. Mom and Dad seek refuge in the Touran parked in the driveway. They roll up the windows and hear utter blissful silence.
Nexus and Paris house Les Telecreateurs teamed on the production. The DP was Sebastian Milaszewski. “Le Cri” was cut by Paul Hardcastsle of Trim Editing, London. Sound design came out of 750MPH, London.
The agency team included creative director Christian Vince, art director Romain Guillon, copywriter Pierre Riess and producer Corinne Persch.
SINGER RETURNS TO SPOTS VIA SAVILLE Director Bryan Singer has returned to the commercialmaking arena and is once again available through Beverly Hills-headquartered Saville Productions for select ad projects. Singer had what amounted to a five-year hiatus from spots, during which time he directed the feature films X2: X-Men United, Superman Returns, and Valkyrie. Singer’s storytelling versatility spans actor-driven work, special effects and comedy….
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS…. Production house Prodigy, with offices in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, as well as Auckland, N.Z., has signed director Matt Palmer for representation. A veteran helmer, Palmer started his career as an art director. He transitioned to the director’s chair and has over the years worked for such clients as Steinlager, Yellow Pages and Twisties. Palmer’s directorial reel spans subtle comedy as well as visual storytelling…..
McCann Erickson, Los Angeles, has hired Michael Rice as senior VP/director of digital. He will be charged with further strengthening the agency’s digital capabilities, including digital strategy and production, and will play a key role in business development and talent recruitment. Rice previously was executive VP, digital, for Integrated Media Solutions, a leading direct response agency in Beverly Hills, Calif. At Integrated, he was responsible for managing and growing interactive accounts, as well as supporting sales efforts to generate incremental interactive business. From 2005-’08, he was senior director of marketing for LeadPoint, Inc., an online acquisition exchange for direct response marketers, serving as a high level marketing strategist. He also has entrepreneurial experience, having built the interactive agency Citrus from the ground up from 1998 to 2004.
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