Rhythm + Hues Paints A Moving, Stop-Motion Family Portriat in "Chairs"
By Robert Goldrich
The prospect of a bank spot with no people, only furniture, hardly sounds creatively stimulating. But in a gestalt that is far greater than the sum of its parts, this Regions Bank commercial tells the story of a young law student, his rise professionally and the progression of his personal life, creating a portrait not only of him but his family over the years.
Directed by Steve Beck of Rhythm + Hues Commercial Studios (R+H), Los Angeles, the :30 entitled “Chairs,” part of a seven-spot campaign, simply consists of stop motion animation of furniture, primarily chairs, that fill up and empty various rooms to signify stages in life.
A law student, Clarence, starts investing early with Regions Bank as the spot opens on his modestly furnished, somewhat unkempt law school dorm room. From there, the furniture changes to an office, which reflects the first job he landed at a top law firm. After his office, we see the seating arrangement at a wedding reception as Clarence has married Rebecca. Next is the living room of the happy couple’s first house, a nursery signifying the birth of a baby–actually, twins, as the nursery fills up a bit more before our eyes. The spot then takes us through time to see the dining room of their home, with more seats being added one by one to signify a growing extended family, grandkids and so on. An executive suite conveys that our attorney has indeed moved up the ranks to partner status at the firm. Finally the furniture clutter diminishes as we see a retired, married couple’s living room with easy chairs for two.
At no time do we ever see Clarence, Rebecca or any other person for that matter. All we see is their “Chairs.” An end tag carries the Regions Bank logo, accompanied by the slogan, “Personalized service for every stage of your life.”
The agency for Regions Bank-Miami (with headquarters in Birmingham, Ala.) is Coral Gables, Fla.-based Creative On Demand. The ad shop creative team included partners/creative directors Priscilla Cortizas and Daniel Marrero, senior copywriter Andres Arlia, producer Patty Rodriguez, executive director of marketing Emmie Vazquez and integrated marketing manager Jose Quijano.
“‘Chairs’ was a unique opportunity to tell very typical portrait-style stories in a very atypical way,” said director Beck. The spot was shot by Al “Tiko” Pavoni in Hollywood, Fla., and combined green screen, digital stills and Flame compositing.
Paul Babb executive produced for R+H. Kat Dillon was head of production, live action, with Joel Zimmerman serving as producer.
The spot was edited by Diego Enriquez of Miami Edit, Miami, and Jay Lizarraga of R+H. Online editor was R+H’s Steve Wellington.
The R+H team on the post/effects side included: Lisa White, head of production, commercial digital; post producer Jon Derovan, lead Flame artist Eric DeHaven, Flame artist Hilary Sperling, roto artist Sheri Cruz, and 2D artisans Nathan Brunskill and Jenny McGee.
Audio engineer was Steve Johnston of Outpost Audio, Miami.
Alec Baldwin Urges Judge To Stand By Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Case In “Rust” Shooting
Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Friday to stand by her decision to skuttle his trial and dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin halfway through a trial in July based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be revived once any appeals of the decision are exhausted.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey recently asked the judge to reconsider, arguing that there were insufficient facts and that Baldwin's due process rights had not been violated.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on "Rust," was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
The case-ending evidence was ammunition that was brought into the sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers alleged that they "buried" it and filed a successful motion to dismiss the case.
In her decision to dismiss the Baldwin case, Marlowe Sommer described "egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct" by law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as false testimony about physical evidence by a witness during the trial.
Defense counsel says that prosecutors tried to establish a link... Read More