It’s a staple of the horror movie genre: the victim who’s blisfully oblivious to pending doom and disaster.
And it’s played to perfection in this feature film spoof conceived by a creative ensemble at Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners, New York, for investment firm client Vanguard.
We open on a young woman in a deserted park at night. “You must be Billy,” she says to someone off camera. “You picked such a great place for us to meet. It’s so quiet. So bored at the club scene.”
The camera cuts to her date, Billy, who’s wearing a mask and brandishing a chainsaw.
“So you’re a lumberjack,” she surmises. “I dig that. So what do you want to do tonight?”
Billy cranks up the chainsaw, which lets out a roar.
She seems okay with cutting trees at this late hour, at which point a super appears which reads, “Horror. Great for movies. Not so good for investing,” accompanied by the Vanguard logo.
The lass then asks her date if he has an extra chainsaw for her to use.
“Horror” was directed by Hank Perlman of bicoastal/international Hungry Man, with music from bicoastal Elias Arts, and sound design from the spot’s editor, Maury Loeb of P.S. 260, New York.
Christopher Kemp composed for Elias, with Kala Sherman serving as executive producer.
Audio post mixer was Tom Jucarone of Sound Lounge, New York.
Nod to a genre Elias’ Sherman noted that “Horror” is one of three commercials in the Vanguard campaign, each providing a nod–with a wink–to a movie genre; the other two being dramatic love story and spy thriller.
Sherman said that the creative proposition musically was relatively simple–provide “a true representation of what you would hear in a classic horror movie. It was great fun to do something that wasn’t as contemporary as we are normally asked for. Our part of the project was to offer a nod to the genre of music that corresponds to the genre of film.”
The same applied to sound designer/editor Loeb. The biggest creative challenge, he observed, was dealing with an almost embarrassing abundance of riches.
“There are so many amazing elements you could use for horror sound design,” Loeb observed. “The cup truly runneth over. The biggest need was to show restraint, trying to settle on a few choice sounds. There are iconic aspects to all of the movie genres in this campaign–we wanted to tap into that universality, what you think of in terms of sounds you would hear in a horror movie. Honestly, you go for the almost cliche without being too cliche.”
As for his selections, Loeb cited, “Out of nowhere you hear a breath. Then a big musical horn sting, and eerie high frequencies that are naturally very scary.
“And helping make them scarier,” he continued, “are undercurrents of low frequency tones we used. The goal in one respect is go overboard–but you cannot go overboard with sound because then you end up with a cacophony, a confusing mess. You have to be able to hear the dialogue. As an editor, you try to strike just the right balance.”
Loeb praised Elias Arts’ contributions to varied sounds in the commercial. He also cited a subtle piano accompaniment from Elias at the end of “Horror” which he described as a perfect closing.
Loeb said he is more frequently being called upon to contribute sound design to the work he edits. At the very least, he does his own pass on sound design when putting together rough cuts.
“I try to put something on the page so to speak, and it is more often getting retained and re-mixed,” related Loeb. “I also find it great when a sound designer takes over and is either informed by choices I made or just rethinks things and does it better. I at least want to provide a taste of where things could potentially go in terms of the sound.”
Loeb found it gratifying that the agency gave him the sound design gig on the Vanguard campaign. “It was a wonderful opportunity for me,” he said. “Sound design is incredibly important in setting the tone of a commercial or any piece of film.”
Two, three Ranking second and third in SHOOT’s latest quarterly Chart are, respectively, “The V” for Summer’s Eve, and the Nokia short “Gulp.”
For the former–a cinema commercial lauding the power of a woman’s most intimate part and the part it has played throughout world history–PrimalScream Music served as music/sound design house.
This story of love, power and feminine hygiene was directed by Kinka Usher from House of Usher for The Richards Group, Dallas.
Music was mixed at The Village Recorder, the landmark Los Angeles recording studio in which PrimalScream is based. Audio post mixer was Loren Silber of Lime, Santa Monica.
To create the authenticity of a movie score–“The V” broke theatrically in 2,500-plus screens nationwide prior to broadcast airing–PrimalScream creative director Nicole Dionne chose composer Klaus Badelt (Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator) for his invaluable theatrical feature film and trailer experience as well as his penchant for impactful scoring.
Dionne and Badelt have worked together assorted times over the years, including on the groundbreaking BMW Films web short directed by Wong Kar-Wai.
The project entailed a live orchestra and choir to bring a weighty dimension to the overall piece. Sound designer was long-time PrimalScream talent Stuart Brawley.
Tina Johnson, brand creative for The Richards Group, related, “We have a great relationship with Nicole and trust that PrimalScream will always deliver something fabulous. This was a big job and sure enough, they delivered big.”
Big “Gulp” As for the number three Top Ten Tracks Chart entrant, the 90-second “Gulp” earned Guinness World Record distinction for being realized on what’s believed to be the world’s largest stop-motion animation set.
The film showcases what’s possible to shoot with the resourceful combination of a Nokia N8 touch screen phone, a little ingenuity and a whole lot of imagination.
“Gulp” features an average-sized man in the role of a weathered fisherman who goes out to sea in search of his daily catch only to be swallowed, along with his boat, by an enormous fish. But luckily for the fisherman, he is spit back out courtesy of a well-timed explosion.
The directing duo Sumo Science–Ed Patterson and Will Studd–of Aardman Animations, Bristol, England, turned out “Gulp” for Wieden+Kennedy, London.
“Gulp” earned distinction last month as a SHOOT Top Spot of the Week (8/19).
Will Grove-White composed the folksy track accompanying “Gulp.” Known as “The Duke of Uke,” according to Wieden+Kennedy creative Tom Seymour, Grove-White happens to own a ukulele shop just right around the corner of Wieden+Kennedy’s London office.
Jack Sedgwick of London’s Wave Studios did the thoughtful, realistic sound design, incorporating everything from the lap of the ocean to the squawk of seagulls.
Sedgwick additionally served as audio post mixer on the spot.
