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.
“Captain America” Plummets In 2nd Box Office Weekend; Neon Shines With “The Monkey”
"Captain America: Brave New World" soared on opening weekend, but crash-landed in its second go-around with audiences. "Brave New World," the latest sign that the Marvel machine isn't quite what it used to be, remained No. 1 at the box office in its second frame with $28.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. But after a debut of $100 million over four days and $88 million over three days, that meant a steep drop of 68%. While blockbusters often see significant slides in their second weekends, only two previous MCU titles have fallen off so fast: 2023's "The Marvels," which fell 78%, and 2023's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," which dropped 70%. The Anthony Mackie-led "Captain America" installment has been slammed by critics, and audiences also have graded it poorly, with a "B-" CinemaScore. "Brave New World," which fans had hoped would right the Marvel ship, has been largely met as another example of a once impenetrable brand struggling to recapture its pre-"Avengers: Endgame" aura of invincibility. Still, "Brave New World" has quickly grossed $289.4 million worldwide, with international sales nearly reaching $150 million. And with few big-budget offerings arriving in theaters in the coming weeks, it will have scant competition through much of March. The biggest new release of the weekend was Oz Perkins' "The Monkey," the director's follow-up to his 2024 horror hit, "Longlegs." Adapted from a Stephen King short story, "The Monkey" opened with $14.2 million for Neon, the second-best debut for the indie distributor. The best? "Longlegs," which launched with $22.4 million. Neon had much to celebrate over the weekend. Its top awards contender, "Anora," by Sean Baker, continues to gather momentum into next Sunday's Academy... Read More