By Theresa Piti
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.
Review: Director Nora Fingscheidt’s “The Outrun”
At some point during "The Outrun," it occurred to me that watching Saoirse Ronan act is a bit like looking into a magnifying glass: Everything somehow feels a bit clearer, sharper, more precise.
This singular actor gives one of her finest performances in a two-hour study of addiction that is poignant, sometimes beautiful but always painful to watch โ and would likely be too draining if not for the luminous presence at its core. Would it even work โ at all โ if Ronan, who also makes her producing debut here, weren't onscreen virtually every second?
Luckily, we don't need to imagine that. Ronan, who plays a 29-year-old biology student named Rona (the name comes from a tiny island off Scotland) serves as both star and narrator, speaking the words โ sometimes poetic โ of the addiction memoir by Amy Liptrot. The script, adapted by Liptrot and director Nora Fingscheidt, makes frequent use of fantasy and whimsy, even veering into animation. Some may find these deviations a distraction from the plot, but they are frequently mesmerizing.
Besides, plot is a loosely defined thing here. We go back and forth in time so frequently that sometimes only the changing color of Rona's hair indicates where we are on the timeline. It takes a while to get used to this, but the uncertainty starts to make sense. We are, in a way, inside Rona's mind, experiencing the fits and starts of her journey. And recovery is hardly a linear process.
There's a fine supporting cast, but the true second star is nature itself. The film is based mainly in the Orkney Islands off Scotland, a windswept landscape that can be both punishing and restorative. It can also be stunning, especially the sea. And the sea is where we start, learning that Orkney lore holds that when... Read More