That elusive intangible known as chemistry–typically referring to a magical interaction between actors–is what often makes a great spot. But in this case the finished :30 has no human actors and the chemistry literally turns bad, still making for a most poignant ad message.
We open on a pristine body of water upon which we see element building blocks–one carrying the letter H, the other O, linked by a 2 to result in H2O, hydrogen plus oxygen creating water. But the water turns murky before our eyes as the O has been replaced by Hg, the element sign for mercury (H2Hg). The camera then pans left to show the H now paired with Pb, the sign for lead, creating H2Pb, as we see a discarded lead barrel sitting in what looks like a dirty swamp.
The next camera moves couples H with Co (cobalt), forming an H2Co in the midst of a pollution ravaged environment. The next chemical reaction is the coming together of the H with Ind, which stands for “Indifference.” And captured by the camera is the result of H2Ind: a dead fish. A parting tag carries the slogan, “Oxygen makes a difference, even underwater,” accompanied by the logo and website address (www.ondaazul.com.br) for Brazilian ecology organization the Onda Azul (English translation: Blue Wave) Foundation.
‘Indifference’
Aptly titled “Indifference,” the spot was directed by Gualter Pupo of bicoastal/international Hungry Man’s Rio de Janeiro office for agency QUE, also in Rio.
Pupo had to work within the constraints of a tight budget. This led him from the original plan of finding different locations to reflect each chemical change to instead having all the filming done at one site, a polluted swamp in Rio. This location facilitated Pupo going with a hand-held camera approach with DP Pedro Faerstein executing a seemingly continuous move, helping to capture in dramatic, documentary-like fashion the impact of an ecosystem’s disintegration happening right before our eyes. “I liked the simplicity of the approach,” said Pupo, “because I often find that simplicity helps the viewer get closer to the idea.”
Pupo additionally deployed Photoshop, 3D elements and After Effects animation in post–working closely with his art department comprised of freelance animators Denis Netto and Glauber Vianna–to help create the desired looks, ranging from the beautiful blue sky reflected in the water in the opening H2O shot to the degradation of that very same environment.
The soundtrack–composed, performed and mixed by Pupo’s colleague Marcel Dadalto, who has his own band–also proved key in bringing the concept to life. “I wanted the music to be slightly out of rhythm,” related Pupo. “This wasn’t your typical case of the sound ‘matching’ the images to advance the story. But by being out of rhythm, the music kind of underscored that we were watching a situation that was different and out of rhythm with what should be the natural order of things.”
The QUE creative team consisted of creative director/copywriter Eduardo Almeida, creative director Francisco Lucchini, art director Durval Filho and producer Carlos Rocha.
Steve Orent and Alex Mehedff executive produced for Hungry Man. Editor was Rodrigo Thurler, with Isabela Diniz serving as postproduction coordinator. Both Thurler and Diniz are in-house at Hungry Man in Rio.
Production design roots
An accomplished production designer–as evidenced by the production design category honor he earned in this year’s AICP Show for Burger King’s “More Mayo” directed by Hungry Man’s Bryan Buckley–Pupo diversified into spot directing with his first solo ad helming assignment in Sept. ’06. That initial directorial gig was an offbeat comedy piece, “Meaningless,” for 89FM, a radio station in Sao Paulo. Like “Indifference,” the 89FM spot combined live action with elements of animation and post/effects.
While Pupo continues his production design exploits, he has seen his directing endeavors multiply with such credits as an ambitious live-action/animation/effects spot for petroleum company Petrobras (Lubras motor oil), a mixed media music video titled “Garoa” for performer Carlinhos Brown and a recently wrapped spot for a Latin American Internet service.
And at press time Pupo was in the midst of diversifying further as a filmmaker, directing all four episodes of Strange Detective Tales, an animation series which debuts on Hungry Man TV this month. The Hungry Man web channel was launched in May by Hungry Man. Thus far five series and dozens of episodes have premiered on the channel.
