SHORT CUTS
Guava, New York, brought legendary entertainer Frank Sinatra to life one more time for "Sinatra: His Voice. His World. His Way," a performance to be held at Radio City Music Hall in October. Culled from never-before-seen video footage, home movies and 35mm images from classic television and film performances, the 90-minute show explores the prime years of Sinatra’s music, film career and life. Using the exclusive footage, Guava, Radio City Entertainment and creative director Des McAnuff created a complex and technologically advanced live multimedia theatrical presentation that will be projected onto an array of onstage screens. According to Guava visual effects artist Alex Catchpoole, the idea behind the look of the production was to bring the projections to life by giving it a 3-D contextual feel by isolating the entertainer from the film background. Guava visual effects technical supervisor Ari Zohar Klingman worked closely with New York production company Batwin + Robin to shape the creative direction of the show. Additional Guava credits on the project go to visual effects producer Mary-Joy Lu; lead visual effects artist Manuel Gonzalez; production coordinator Philip Tavares; and rotoscope artists John-Michael Bills, Jan Cilliers, Michael Eder, Ray Lewis, Dan Rubin, Brian Spector, Chris Halstead and Noor Kirdar.
Delta Air Lines’ passengers are soaring above the clouds and the crowds, thanks to a spot created by Spin Productions, Atlanta and Toronto, for Spafax Inflight Entertainment. The ad promotes the advantages of the new Delta check-in kiosk. To introduce passengers to the advantages of using the kiosks, Spin designer Brian Mac combined animation and live action to create the spot. In addition, Spin crafted an alternate version to play during Delta’s "Climb Out" video, which is shown upon each flight’s take off. Other Spin credits for the job included creative director Keith Adams, executive producer Kathy Schlesinger, and copywriter Lisa Ferrell.
New York-based postproduction facility Creative Group Inc. has relocated to the Times Square area in order to position itself as a provider of services to the broadcast and cable television industries. Creative Group’s state-of-the-art facilities now include a high-definition editing suite, seven component digital editing suites, two Avid Symphonies, five Discreet Logic Flame/Smoke systems, three Pro Tools/HD 5.1 audio mixing theatres, and an animation motion control suite. The facility is capable of mastering to HDCAM, Digital Betacam, D2, D3, D5 (HD and standard def) and Beta SP. In addition, Creative Group’s music library is now accessible to the client from all edit rooms.
MUSIC NOTES
Lead composer/designer Andy Newell of ripe sound, San Rafael, Calif., composed a jazzy uptempo accompaniment with a scat vocal line to energize a pair of Bell South commercials out of WestWayne, Atlanta. "Movers" and "Plumbers" feature prospective moving and/or plumbing customers in need of help, which they find with the aid of Bell South. Ripe’s Bill Rudolph was assistant sound designer, with interns Ryan McGibben, Josh Gold and Nick Ngo providing support.
Tom Goldblatt of New York-headquartered audioEngine completed sound design and final mix on a campaign for travel company Lindblad Expeditions. The package of spots uses both comedic and beauty shots of various wildlife that one could encounter during an excursion. The campaign includes the :30s "Antarctica" and "Galapagos," as well as the :15s "Leaping Penguins," "Baja," "Dolphins," "Penguin King," "Polar Bears," "Sea Lion" and "Turtle." Dave Scaringe was assistant mixer for audioEngine.
IN GEAR
London post house Image Makers Digital Facilities (IMD) has installed a Quantel QEdit Pro nonlinear editing system in its online finishing suite. The QEdit Pro joins an array of equipment at IMD, which includes six video edit suites and an audio suite complete with a voiceover booth. Quantel’s UK office is located in Newbury.
CLIPLAND
R!OT, Santa Monica, provided visual effects and final postproduction services for "Bringin’ on the Heartbreak," a Mariah Carey music video. Directed by Sanaa Hamri of bicoastal Anonymous Content, the clip shows Carey as a rock singer who rises to stardom but loses the one she loves in the process. R!OT compositors Claus Hansen, Verdi Sevenhuysen and Jason Frank utilized their colorizing and retouching skills while accentuating the video’s color scheme, lighting effects and key props—including a jeweled butterfly that appears on the singer’s shoulder—to give them a magical glow. The compositors also worked on a series of flashback sequences showing Carey lying in bed with her long lost lover. Hansen enhanced the scene’s golden hue to give it the glow of a cherished memory.
