This spot places us in chained captivity, subject to the whims of a female dominatrix who’s donned in black leather lingerie. Whether or not we are a willing subject is for the moment subject to interpretation.
Our POV is looking through the eye openings of a mask. Through one eyehole, we see handcuffs. Through the other slit we see the dominatrix who’s verbally abusing us as she seemingly prepares to physically do the same, picking up various implements, including a riding crop. It appears that we’re in a garage that’s been converted into an S&M chamber of horrors.
“You worthless scum. You’re nothing but a useless maggot,” she declares. “You disgust me.”
At that point, she strips off our mask, which reveals not a person but a living human brain.
The dominatrix’s verbal barrage continues. “You maggot. You useless piece of garbage. You disgust me.”
A supered piece of advice puts this offbeat, on-the-edge scenario into context. It reads, “Discipline the creative side,” followed by an end tag, “Art Center at Night.”
The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., is one of the industry’s leading educational institutions, turning out graduates who have gone on to become influential advertising creatives and filmmakers. Part of the school’s success lies in its ability to help develop students’ creative sensibilities, housed in the right side of the brain. This dominatrix-spiced commercial, titled “Chamber,” is one of three in a humorous campaign from WongDoody, Los Angeles, and production house harvest, Santa Monica, to help promote Art Center as a place that positively nurtures the creative mind.
WongDoody producer Dax Estorninos approached harvest partner/executive producer Bonnie Goldfarb with a series of commercial scripts for this latest Art Center campaign. Goldfarb then presented the scripts to harvest directors, asking them to pick the piece that most appealed to them.
Harvest partner, director Baker Smith, chose “Chamber.” His colleagues, director Michael Downing and the helming duo Big TV!, selected “Office” and “Graveyard,” respectively. “Office” shows a woman fleeing from authorities with a bundle, which we at first presume is a baby. She eludes her pursuers, and it’s revealed that the bundle contains a large pulsating human brain. A super reads, “Rescue the creative side.” In “Graveyard,” an obsessed man digs up the cemetery ground. But instead of a corpse, he unearths a human brain, as an accompanying super implores us to “Resurrect the creative side.”
For “Chamber” director Smith was backed by a harvest support team that included exec producer Goldfarb and producer Mala Vasan. The DP was Eric Treml.
WongDoody’s creative ensemble consisted of creative director/executive producer Tracy Wong, art director Eric Goldstein, copywriter Tom Hamling, and producers Estorninos and Melia Leidenthal.
Editor was Lucas Spaulding of Bug Editorial, Los Angeles. Arrow Kruse produced for Bug. Online editor was Josh Kirschenbaum of Cake, Santa Monica. Tatiana Derovanessian executive produced and JP Patterson produced for Cake. Audio post mixer was Stephen Dickson of POP Sound, Santa Monica.
Nico Mansy and Josh Marcy of Mo-phonics, Venice, Calif., served as music composer and sound designer, respectively. Michael Frick was exec producer for Mo-phonics.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More