West Hollywood-based visual effects house Ring of Fire offered a preview of a soon to be released Nike ad earlier this week during “Visual Effects in Commercials,” a show and tell featuring top work not only from Ring of Fire, but also Venice, Calif.-based Motion Theory and a pair of Santa Monica houses, Method Studios and The Syndicate.
The event–designed to showcase cutting edge commercial visual effects–was hosted in Culver City by 3D scanning company Eyetronics in cooperation with the Visual Effects Society.
“Pool” is the latest in Nike’s Lebron campaign, which features basketball star Lebron James playing various roles. It was helmed by Stacy Wall of bicoastal Epoch Films for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
This episode of the campaign features the Lebrons poolside. Ring of Fire previewed a portion of this spot that features a spectacular dive executed by Lebron–actually performed by a champion diver and incorporating face replacement to pull off the humorous effect.
To create the ad, Lebron was scanned using the Eyetronics on-set 3D scanning camera system, which Spivack said was a plus as they had a very short window with the athlete. “It’s really fast,” he said of the Eyetronics system. “The flexibility to bring it on set and shoot there was really great.”
Spivack reported that the complex production–lensed on location in Calabasas, Calif.–also incorporated matte paintings and greenscreen to produce a lush background.
Production also involved 3D, tracking and other effects techniques.
Additional session presenters included visual effects supervisor Ben Grossman of The Syndicate, who showed the last Energizer “Aliens” spot, during which the pink bunny helps power a spaceship. The Syndicate’s CG supervisor Luke MacDonald showcased the company’s effects-laden British Telecom “Network.”
Method Studios’ CG supervisor Laurent LeDrew, technical director Gil Baron and 3D lead artist James LeBlock showcased a unique breakdance in Pepsi’s “Dancetron.”
And Motion Theory’s senior art director Mark Kudsi and visual effects supervisor Vi Nguyen walked the audience through Electronic Arts’ “Mechanical Warriors” and HP’s “Pharrell.”
Director Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams (Sex Love)” Wins Top Prize At The Berlin Film Festival
A Norwegian film about love, desire and self-discovery won top honors at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday.
A jury headed by American director Todd Haynes awarded the Golden Bear trophy to "Dreams (Sex Love)" by director Dag Johan Haugerud.
Haynes called it a "meditation on love" that "cuts you to the quick with its keen intelligence."
The film focuses on a teenager played by Ella Øverbyer, infatuated with her female French teacher, and the reactions of her mother and grandmother when they discover her private writings. It's the third part of a trilogy Haugerud has completed in the past year. "Sex" premiered at Berlin in 2024, and "Love" was screened at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
The runner-up Silver Bear prize went to Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro's dystopian drama "The Blue Trail." Argentine director Ivan Fund's rural saga "The Message" won the third-place Jury Prize.
The best director prize went to Huo Meng for "Living the Land," set in fast-changing 1990s China.
Rose Byrne was named best performer for her role as an overwhelmed mother in the Mary Bronstein-directed "If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You." Andrew Scott won the supporting performer trophy for playing composer Richard Rodgers in Richard Linklater's "Blue Moon."
The climax of the festival known as the Berlinale came on the eve of Germany's parliamentary elections after a campaign dominated by migration and the economy.
The national election is being held seven months early, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition collapsed in a dispute about how to revitalize the country's economy.
Efforts to curb migration have emerged as a central issue in the campaign — along with the question of how to handle the... Read More