SHORT CUTS
Bent Image Lab, Portland, Ore., produced Bounce’s "Menagerie," a :30 for Leo Burnett Canada, Toronto. The spot features a dog, squirrel, beaver and blue jay sharing a bonding experience by inhaling the fresh Bounce scents wafting from dryers outside a small town Laundromat. During pre-production, it was decided that puppetry was the best way to act out the scenes, with the puppets’ faces not being shown to the camera at all. However Bent director/art director Paul Harrod and partner/creative director David Daniels realized that without the characters’ faces to express emotion, the personalities of the animals would have to come from their posterior actions. To get the best performances, the operating system for the puppets needed to be simple, allowing for flexibility of the characters’ actions in order to accommodate directorial changes. The puppets were shot at Cinemagic, Portland, but the live action establishing shots were on location in Forest Grove, Ore., during which the biggest snowstorm in 10 years occurred. This necessitated clearing the snow off an entire city block and attaching greenery to trees, among other details. The rest of the "spring" season was added in post, as were several critical details, including the Laundromat and its windows. In the end, approximately 20 computer composites were used to blend the visual effects with the outdoor and indoor shots. Bent Image Lab’s credits on the project also include executive producer Ray Di Carlo; DP Mark Eifert; post supervisors Steve Balzer and Orland Nutt; producer Steve Miller; effects artist Galen Beals; puppeteers/fabricators Charles Daniels and Jeffrey Bost; and puppeteer Matt Isakson.
The editors of Final Cut, New York, have been busy with several commercial projects. Carlos Arias cut Gatorade’s "Signs," for Element 79 Partners, Chicago. Steve Rogers of bicoastal Chelsea Pictures directed the :30. Kirk Baxter edited three spots for Netflix out of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco. "Baby," "Wake" and "Grandma" were helmed by Neil Harris of bicoastal Smuggler. Adam Jenkins cut Propel’s "Movement," for Element 79. Mehdi Norowzian of bicoastal RSA USA directed the ad. And Sarah Iben edited Rags in a Box’s "Steve," directed by Scott Vincent of bicoastal/international Hungry Man, for Raleigh, N.C., agency Howard, Merrell & Partners, as well as "United Reride" for Schwinn, via its in-house agency, and Delta Song’s "Happy People Anniversary," for Kate Spade, New York. The latter two ads were directed by Josh Miller of transmission@RSA, which has since closed. Miller now helms spots via Little Minx@RSA, Los Angeles.
Venice, Calif.-headquartered Sight Effects completed digital effects and compositing for Yamaha’s "Shining Star." Created by Marshall Advertising & Design, Irvine, Calif., the :30 features Yamaha motorcycles driving along an ocean view road, while the voiceover makes an analogy between each vehicle and the stars in the sky. The ad was shot during the daytime by Sean Thonson of bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander. The Sight Effects team composited multiple layers of dark color-corrected passes and night skies with stars to create the commercial’s look. For Sight Effects, Adrian Hurley was visual effects supervisor, Jeff Blodgett was visual effects producer, and Chris Stevens was visual effects artist.
MUSIC NOTES
Ten Music, Santa Monica, has finalized a deal for both licensing and scoring with Canadian record label, management company and design house Arts & Crafts, home to artists Broken Social Scene, Stars, Jason Collett, Apostle of Hustle, and Valley of the Giants. Broken Social Scene, an 11-piece indie band, made a splash at last year’s SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. After passing on a deal with major labels, Arts & Crafts was formed. Ten Music creates original music, as well as arranges licensing agreements with recording artists for commercials.
Peter Rundquist of Sacred Noise, New York, composed the track for Mini’s "Body Art," via Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Miami. The :30 was directed by Nelson Cabrera of @347, Hollywood, Fla. Additional Sacred Noise credits go to owner/creative director Michael Montes, owner/executive producer Jeff Rosner, and producer Jason Menkes.
