In-Sight Pix And Sight Effects Crack Up In Morton-Directed Spot.
Top Spot Credits
CLIENT
SegaSoft.
PRODUCTION CO.
Morton Jankel Zander, Hollywood. Rocky Morton, director; David Zander, executive producer; Tami Reiker, DP. Modelmaking by Anatomorphix, North Hollywood. Robert De Vine, co-owner/principal sculptor; James Clark, co-owner/principal painter; Fred
Kramer, pyrotechnician. Shot on location.
AGENCY
Ground Zero, Santa Monica, Calif. Patricia Phelan, producer; Armand Briones and Pat Harris, art directors; Michael Burdick, copywriter; Court Crandall and Kirk Souder, creative directors.
POST
Jigsaw, Santa Monica. Steve Armstrong, editor. Digital effects/compositing by Sight Effects, Venice, Calif. Melissa Davies, digital-effects supervisor; Chris Stevens, compositor. CGI by In-Sight Pix, Venice. Nicole Tidwell, CGI producer; Peter Nofz and Paolo Moscatelli, animators. 3-D model digitizing by 3 Name 3-D, Santa Monica. Film-to-tape by 525 Post Production, Hollywood. Corey Olson, colorist.
SOUND DESIGN
Machine Head, Venice. Stephen Dewey, sound designer.
BY CAROLYN GIARDINA
The creatives at Venice, Calif-based Ground Zero literally broke the mold for multimedia games with SegaSoft’s “Egg.”
Directed by Rocky Morton of Morton Jankel Zander in Hollywood, the spot, which pitches Obsidian, a new SegaSoft CD-ROM, features a moody green tint, an off-kilter, Brazil-like sensibility and a diverse mix of practical special effects, CGI and compositing.
In “Egg,” a man preparing a meal in his kitchen removes an egg from the refrigerator, lays it on a countertop and begins to dice a tomato. As he chops, he anxiously eyes the egg, which rolls around precariously, then finally falls off the counter.
But the egg doesn’t crack upon impact. Instead, the man, watching the egg land, does the cracking, splintering into pieces as if he himself is made of eggshell. A tagline appears: “Your rules do not apply here.”
“The usual thing with CD-ROM titles is a lot of screen shots and blaring rock music,” said Ground Zero art director Armand Briones. “We wanted to capture people’s attention, [and] that works as a metaphor for the game.”
Obsidian, Briones explained, draws the user into playing and then takes some unexpected turns. So the spot was similarly designed to “mess around with reality,” he said, by setting up a certain expectation and then changing the result.
Several companies worked together to create the effect of the man’s splintering body: Venice-based companies In-Sight Pix and sister house Sight Effects, North Hollywood-based Anatomorphex and modeling company 3 Name 3-D in Santa Monica, Calif.
According to In-Sight Pix CGI producer Nicole Tidwell, the effect that splinters the man began at Anatomorphex, where three full-body casts of the actor were created. To produce the close-up of the actor’s cracking face, one of the body cast’s heads was digitized into a 3-D wireframe model at 3 Name 3-D.
Next, In-Sight Pix animator Paolo Moscatelli tracked the live-action footage and matched it with the wireframe model; footage was then attached to the model via a program written by In-Sight Pix animator Peter Nofz. The cracks, created in 3-D at Sight Effects, were composited by Chris Stevens at In-Sight Pix using Inferno, as was the face itself.
For the wide shot, the production team literally exploded the three body casts, which were propped on a C-stand. The explosion was shot with a Photosonic high-speed camera; then the film was sped up to create the desired effect.
“We wanted to have a realistic reaction of the pieces hitting the floor,” said Tidwell regarding the production team’s choice of a practical special effect.
As for the spot’s green tint, colorist Corey Olson of Hollywood-based 525 Post Production explained that it was used to enhance its moodiness. “We felt it gave the spot a certain edge,” he said.
Briones added that the agency wanted a music track that resembled the soundtrack from Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. Although numerous stock-music houses were searching for such a song, the selection was found when Briones was rummaging through some old 45s in a record store and came across the scratchy, eerily evocative “I’ll Hold You Close” by Delores Sharp.
***
Planet Blue Visits Space For Hostess
CLIENT
Hostess Ho Hos, Twinkies and Ding Dongs.
PRODUCTION CO.
Atherton & Associates, Hollywood. David Bishop, director; Curtis Wehr, DP; Cindy Akins, executive producer; Jan Wieringa, producer. Shot at Warner Hollywood Studios, Los Angeles, and on location.
AGENCY
Campbell Mithun Esty, Minneapolis. Cathy Grisham and John Hurst, creative directors; Evan Petty, executive producer; Clark Tate, art director; Michael Atkinson, copywriter.
POST
Red Car, Santa Monica, Calif. Bill Marmor, editor. Visual effects by Planet Blue, Hollywood. CGI by Matt Merkovich, Holy Cow, Hollywood; Special effects/Flint/Flame by the Planet Blue compositing team.
SOUND DESIGN
Admusic, Burbank, Calif. John Adair, sound design.
THE SPOT
Three :30s feature the theme of mistaken identity. In “Cat,” a feline stalks a rug, mistaking it for a Ho Ho. Kitty gets rolled up in the carpet and dumped in an apartment where he pokes his head out and asks, “Where’s the cream filling?” to a roomful of dogs. In “Raccoon,” the animal mistakes a snowboard for a flying Twinkie and winds up getting squashed. In “Alien,” a New York street scene reveals cars on the side of the road, minus their wheels. Out from a coffee shop comes the police, carrying the similarly shaped Ding Dong, only to discover the tires missing from their squad car. The spot cuts to the sky where, inside a spaceship, purple aliens fill a banquet hall awaiting a hearty snack of rubber tires, which they mistook for the Hostess treat. One alien lowers his snout, sucks the tire and inflates with air, deflates and snorts, “Hey, where’s the cream filling?” to his fellow aliens.
Spots broke Jan. 6.
***
Dark Light Relieves Pain With Tylenol
CLIENT
McNeil Consumer Products/ Tylenol.
PRODUCTION CO.
Dark Light Pictures, West Hollywood. Michael Lehmann, director; Allen Daviau, DP; Vincent Arcaro, executive producer; Sydney Artman, producer. Shot on location.
AGENCY
Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, New York. Richard Lynne creative director/copywriter; Jim Trowell, associate creative director/art director; Anne Broderick, executive VP/senior producer.
POST
The Pi Edit Company, New York. Stu Eisenberg, editor.
THE SPOT
In “Fishing,” a father and son are in a boat on a lake. The younger man suggests Tylenol for the backache bothering his dad, who is already taking aspirin for his heart. He recalls the advice of his father’s doctor that more aspirin could cause stomach irritation. In “Kitchen,” a woman chats with her daughter while filling a vase with flowers. Feeling a headache coming on, she asks for Tylenol. When her daughter questions the choice, she notes her doctor’s counsel that people like her who take prescription drugs need to be careful. In “Sightseeing,” a family is touring a museum when the grandmother’s arthritis acts up. Shortly after taking Tylenol, she is moving so fast that it’s hard for mom to keep up.
Spots broke in January.
***
Olive Jar, Saatchi For Fear By The Foot
CLIENT
General Mills/Fear by the Foot.
PRODUCTION CO.
Olive Jar Studios, Boston. Tom Gasek, director/animator; Franny Reynolds, senior producer; Judy Rubin, head sculptor; Fred Macdonald, creative director; Rich Ferguson-Hull, associate creative director; Matthew Charde, executive producer.
AGENCY
Saatchi & Saatchi Kid Connection, New York. Chris McKee, executive creative director; Trip Park, senior art director; Glen Levy, copywriter; Christine Cacace, executive producer.
POST
Manhattan Transfer/Edit, New York. Kieran Walsh, editor.
MUSIC/SOUND DESIGN
Elias Associates, bicoastal.
THE SPOT
“Beary Scary” opens on a campfire setting with a clay-animated camp leader telling a ghost story to three bored campers. Suddenly the leader is snatched up by two furry arms that mysteriously appear from behind a bush. Excited by the snatching, the campers pull out marshmallow sticks adorned with Fear by the Foot rollups and unravel them as they read their spooky stories. As the campers begin to eat their rollups, the ghost story is finished by a grizzly bear dressed incognito as their leader. The spot closes on a product shot, as smoke from the smoldering campfire spells out “You’ll get your fill with the foot.”
Spot broke in January.
***
Atlas Pics Quenches With Dr Pepper, Y&R
CLIENT
Dr Pepper/Cadbury Beverages North America.
PRODUCTION CO.
Atlas Pictures, Santa Monica, Calif. Barry Sonnenfeld, director; Don Peterman, DP; Sterling Ray, president; Allison Nunn, executive producer; Fern Martin, producer; Marol Butcher, production manager. Shot at The Culver Studios, Culver City, Calif., and on location.
AGENCY
Young & Rubicam, New York. Ken Yagoda, executive producer; Manny Perez, executive creative director. For “Madden,” Mark Shap, creative director/art director; Andy Landorf, associate creative director/copywriter. For “Runway” and “Window Washer,” Bob Wyatt, creative director; Tom Coleman, Stuart Garrett and Ahmer Kalam, junior art directors; Jeff Maerov, copywriter.
POST
Dennis Hayes & Associates, New York. Anne Gordon, postproduction executive producer. Michael Saia, editor; Cliff Birbrower, assistant editor, “Window Washer” and “Runway.” Eric Carlson, editor; Larry Leone, assistant editor, “Madden.”
MUSIC
“Window Washer” by David Horowitz Music Associates, New York. David Horowitz, composer. “Madden” and “Runway” by Crushing Enterprises, New York. David Barrett, composer.
THE SPOT
Three :30s highlight people’s thirst for Dr Pepper. In “Window Washer,” two men cleaning the glass on a downtown skyscraper run out of Dr Pepper. Looking at the street below, they see a Dr Pepper delivery truck. They lower their scaffold and intercept two Dr Pepper deliverymen, bringing them and their precious cargo to the top of the building. In “Runway,” a pair of Dr Pepper deliverymen stumble upon a fashion show starring model Angela Everhardt. They soon become the center of attention as they deliver Dr Pepper to the thirsty models. In “Madden,” NFL color man John Madden raves about numerous products being the official drink of this or that, then notices the large number of people at the game enjoying a Dr Pepper. Circling them on his Telestrator, Madden continues his observation: “I guess Dr Pepper must be the official soft drink of everybody else.”
Spots broke in December.
***
Bob Ebel Is Sweet For Milky Way Lite
CLIENT
M&M Mars/Milky Way Lite.
PRODUCTION CO.
Ebel Productions, Chicago. Bob Ebel, director; Charlie Peich, DP; Kathy Foley, executive producer. Shot at Blackhawk Studio, Chicago.
AGENCY
DMB&B St. Louis. Diane Pittman, creative director; Gail Campbell, producer; Gordon Robertson, writer.
POST
The Filmworkers Club, Chicago. Bill Ebel, editor.
MUSIC
Steve Ford Music, Chicago.
THE SPOT
“New Year’s” opens with Baby New Year crawling toward the camera. As “Auld Lang Syne” plays, the voiceover talks about Milky Way Lite, the lowfat candy bar. The camera then reveals that the baby is crawling toward a Milky Way Lite. Just as the baby reaches the candy, an adult’s hand reaches down and grabs it, as the voiceover states that Milky Way makes keeping New Year’s resolutions as easy as taking candy from a baby.
Spot broke Dec. 30.
Copyright ASM Communications, Inc. 1997 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
