All the great ones have it: Pele had it. Nadia Comaneci had it. Michael Jordan still has it. And as the top-scoring player in soccer history-male or female-Mia Hamm certainly has it. To paraphrase late 1980s grunge-band forerunner Faith No More: What is it? Could it be a multi-million-dollar endorsement contract with a sports beverage company? No.
It is simply "ice in the veins"-that time-honored cliche bestowed on only the coolest of athletic cucumbers.
Gatorade Ice’s new :30, "Defining Mia," explores the ice water in Hamm’s veins, and in doing so, offers up some striking detail, both athletic and anatomic. Created by Element 79 Partners, Chicago, the spot was directed by Phil Joanou of bicoastal Villains. It combines live-action soccer footage filmed by DP Jeff Cronenweth, and CGI renderings by A52, Los Angeles, of what we might imagine to be Mia Hamm’s ice-cold endoskeleton during a crucial moment on the pitch.
CLIENT
Gatorade Ice.
PRODUCTION CO.
Villians, bicoastal.
Phil Joanou, director; Jeff Cronenweth, DP; Robin Benson, owner/executive producer; Richard Goldstein, executive producer; Joby Barnhart, head of production; Laurie Boccaccio, producer; Alexis Ross, art director; Kerry Lane, production coordinator; Christien Tuttle, production supervisor. Shot on location in Los Angeles. Shoot Online subscribers may read this week’s Top Spot of the Week in full by accessing the Current Issue in the Members Area.
AGENCY
Element 79 Partners, Chicago.
Dennis Ryan, creative director; Doug Behm, executive art director; Canice Neary, copywriter; Jeff Felter,
executive producer; Jeff Drooger, and Jeff Felter, producers.
EDITORIAL
FilmCore, Santa Monica.
Paul Norling, editor; Kevin Anderson, assistant editor; Therese Hunsberger, executive producer; Christie Price, producer.
POST/VISUAL EFFECTS
Company 3, Santa Monica.
Stefan Sonnenfeld, colorist.
A52, Los Angeles.
Simon Brewster, visual effects supervisor/on-set visual effects supervisor/Inferno artist; Ron Cosentino, on-set visual effects supervisor; Scott Johnson, online editor; Mark Alan Loso and Marguerite Cargill, Flame artists; Denis Gauthier and Jeff Willette, 3-D animators; Darcy Parsons and Rick Hassen, executive producers; Scott Boyajan, producer.
Vision Crew Unlimited,
Los Angeles.
Evan Jacobs and Doug Miller, high-speed element photographers.
AUDIO POST
POP Sound, Santa Monica.
Mitch Dorf, mixer; Noah Lifschey, assistant mixer.
MUSIC/SOUND DESIGN
Machine Head, Venice, Calif.
Stephen Dewey, creative director/sound designer;
Chris Neilman, composer;
Shari Christensen, producer.
