Directors William Campbell and Will Johnson of Gentleman Scholar craft a new viral video for Ray-Ban’s “Never Hide” campaign. Edited by Steve Prestemon of Whitehouse Post, the piece follows a young Russian couple on an adventure into an abandoned house where they stumble upon a bug metamorphosing into a very unusual creature.
Campbell and Johnson sought to strike the perfect balance between believable and wonderful in the spot. In order to push the intrigue of the story, the directors introduced the idea of the couple speaking in a language that wouldn’t be easily recognizable. They found a couple who not only had on-screen chemistry but spoke Russian fluently.
Next on the docket for the Gentleman Scholar creative team was the creation of the insect. They wanted to make sure that the bug had a dimension of wonderment while still staying fundamentally grounded in reality. As the creature molts and evolves–creating and shedding sunglass lenses, Campbell and Johnson were able to show a variety of different features of the stylish Ray-Ban Clubmaster model, as well as develop an interesting-looking creature.
In order to create that “lost footage you found in the attic” feel, Gentleman Scholar transferred the piece to VHS tape, then pulled the tape out of the VHS cassette, crumpled it, kicked it down the hall, and wound it back up.
“Se7en” Turns 30, Gets A Special Restoration From David Fincher For Its Re-Release
For David Fincher, seeing “Se7en” in 4K was an experience he can only describe as harrowing. That or a high school reunion.
“There are definitely moments that you go, ‘What was I thinking?’ Or ‘Why did I let this person have that hairdo’?” Fincher said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
He’s OK with the film being a product of its time in most respects. But some things just could not stand in high-definition resolution.
“It was a little decrepit, to be honest,” said Fincher. “We needed to resuscitate it. There are things you can see in 4K HDR that you cannot see on a film print.”
Ever the perfectionist, he and a team got to work on a new restoration of the film for its 30th anniversary re-release. This weekend the restored “Se7en” will play on IMAX screens for the first time in the U.S. and Canada, and on Jan. 7, the 4K UHD home video version will be available as well.
The dark crime thriller written by Andrew Kevin Walker and starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as a pair of detectives looking for a serial killer was somewhat of a career-reviver for Fincher, whose directorial debut “Alien 3” had not gone well. “Se7en” was not a sure thing: It was made for only $34 million (and only got that when Fincher managed to persuade studio execs to give up $3 million more). But it went on to earn more than $327 million, not accounting for inflation, and continues to influence the genre.
Fincher has over the years overseen several restorations of the film (including one for laser disc) but decided this needed to be the last. It’s why he insisted on an 8K scan that they could derive the 4K from. He wanted to ensure that it wouldn’t have to be repeated when screens get more... Read More