An electric fan is on in an empty room. Clothes tumble about in a washer. An electric coffee maker percolates to make that much needed morning cup of java.
Then something odd begins to emerge from the coffee maker–not decaf but rather a slowly inflating black balloon. Another balloon is then seen inflating from the videocassette slot of a combo TV set/VCR.
A voiceover explains, “Each one of these balloons represents 50 grams of greenhouse gas. You can’t see it but you produce greenhouse gas every time you use energy. The average home produces over 250,000 balloons every year.”
Indeed we then see black balloons ascending to the ceiling in different rooms of the house. The washer door opens to release a batch of balloons, as does the refrigerator door.
A door to the house then flies open to let hundreds of black balloons skyward. The voiceover then advises us to “save energy, money and reduce your impact on climate change. You have the power to make a difference.”
A closing super reads, “You have the power. Save energy. A Victorian Government Initiative,” accompanied by a phone number and a Web site address (sustainability.vic.gov.au).
Mark Molloy directed this spot, titled “Black Balloons,” for the Victoria Government of Melbourne’s Sustainable Energy Authority. The spot was produced by Aussie production house Exit Films, Melbourne, for George Patterson Y&R, Melbourne. (Molloy is repped stateside by Furlined, Santa Monica.)
Wilf Sweetland served as executive producer/producer for Exit. The DP was Robert Humphreys.
The agency creative team consisted of creative director James McGrath, copywriter Sassy Havyatt, art director Frank Muller and producer Pip Heming.
Editor was freelancer Rohan Zerna. Colorist was Edel Rafferty of Digital Pictures, Melbourne. Composer/sound designer was Heather McCurdy via Gusto Music, Melbourne.
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More