A knight in shining armor mounts his trusty steed and rides through the countryside with a sense of purpose. You can’t help but pity the enemy he is pursuing. This majestic knight is undoubtedly the master of his domain.
However, a sudden change in landscape and our gallant medieval warrior seems to be without any domain and/or purpose whatsoever. He is clearly out of place and era.
Sprawled out before him is a modern city, which turns out to be Pittsburgh. Undaunted, the knight continues his journey, riding his horse across a bridge and onto a major deserted street and then other urban roadways.
A word appears on screen but doesn’t do much to explain the situation: "Dragons."
We then see the knight arriving at his destination: the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium.
A follow-up super tells us more about the aforementioned dragons: "They’re real."
The knight pulls out his sword from its sheath as we are made aware of the new dragon exhibits at the zoo and aquarium—featuring Komodo and Leafy Sea Dragons—which mingle myth with reality.
So while he might be an anachronism, the knight has clearly come to the right place.
"Crusade" was directed by Rob Groenwold via Boxer Films, Los Angeles, for agency MARC-USA, Pittsburgh. The MARC creative ensemble consisted of creative directors Tony Jaffe and Ron Sullivan, copywriter Jason Fotter, art director Dena Mosti and producer Beth Fornaro.
Executive producer for Boxer was John Clark, with John Barreiro serving as producer. The DP was Stefan von Bjorn.
Editor was Pedram Torbati of b17, Los Angeles. Beth George produced for b17. Rob Williams and Mike Cosola of Encore, Hollywood, were online editor and colorist, respectively. Audio mixer was Mitch Dorf of POP Sound, Santa Monica.
Sound designer was Susan Hartford of North Coast, Pittsburgh. Music was done by Human, New York.
The :30 has run on cable, local network TV and Pittsburgh theaters.
