PSA directed by Yves Geleyn, produced by Hornet reveals the โMonster in the Closetโ; Spot is the follow-up to Cannes Silver Lion-winning live-action piece
Among the many projects cited by SHOOT when it named Grey NY its Agency of the Year (SHOOT, 12/13/13) was a PSA entitled “Ed–A Petition for Stronger Gun Laws” for States United to Prevent Gun Violence. The live-action spot opens on a man with a blank facial expression who walks by and pays no heed to an office receptionist and former office co-workers. The office intruder is holding what appears to be a rifle. He then reaches a back office where he fires a shot at a man who appears to be in a managerial/supervisorial role. When the first bullet rings out, the supervisor and all the workers flee. But they have ample time to escape as the assailant has a musket-like weapon which requires that he reload and clean out the barrel in order to fire another shot. A super reads, “Guns Have Changed. Shouldn’t Our Gun Laws?”
“Ed” also earned industry accolades, including a Cannes Silver Lion.
Regarding what to do for an encore, Grey this time went the animation route, enlisting director Yves Geleyn and animation/mixed media studio Hornet for a States United to Prevent Gun Violence TV spot/web video titled “The Monster Is Real.”
The beautifully animated :90 PSA features a little boy who fears a “monster in the closet” and is reassured by his parents that there is nothing to be afraid of. One day, though, the lad looks to confront his fear and ventures into the closet where a box with a hat on top of it appears in the dark to be a forboding face. He climbs up, reaches into the box and pulls out a loaded, unlocked handgun. He begins playing with it and ultimately the weapon discharges, gravely wounding him. His unknowing parents can’t hear what’s happening over the din of their lawnmower cutting the grass outside.
A pair of stark messages appear on screen. They read: “The monster is real” followed by “1.5 million U.S. children are living with unlocked loaded guns. The spot concludes on States United to Prevent Gun Violence logo and web address, ceasefireusa.org.
Other sobering statistics not in the PSA include the fact that every day at least six children 18 years or younger are injured in an unintentional shooting, and that 75 percent of gun shot injuries to children under 10 that are serious enough to require hospitalization are due to unintentional shootings.
The Grey NY creative team included worldwide chief creative officer Tor Myhren, deputy worldwide CCO Per Pedersen, executive creative directors Rob Perillo and Rob Lenois, art director Evan Ortolani, copywriter Daniel Alvarez, executive VP/director of broadcast Bennett McCarroll, executive producer James McPherson and producer Zach Fleming.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XRโs offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role heโs held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossanoโs expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the companyโs creative talent network. Rossanoโs career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that companyโs inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More