By Theresa Piti
SHORT CUTS
Edgeworx UK, London, joined forces with production shop Loose Moose, London, to perform compositing and finishing work on a spot for Oscar Meyer Lunchables and J.Walter Thompson, Chicago. Directed by Ken Lidster of Loose Moose, the commercial combines stop motion animation with CGI. In the ad, Dillon the boy inventor performs magic tricks as "The Great Dill-ini," showing viewers how to "Make your own magic" with Oscar Meyer Lunchables. The power of Dill-ini’s magic was made visible with the assistance of Loose Moose’s CGI department and the post crew at Edgeworx, whose credits included digital postproduction artists Bruce Hancock, Bill Keehner, Chris Kairalla and Paul Tuersley.
Grace & Wild Interactive Development (gw.Id), Farmington Hills, Mich., teamed up with Chrome Bumper Films, Ferndale, Mich., to complete the interactive design, encoding and authoring of the DVD version of the documentary Eminem: All Access Europe. Chrome Bumper was contracted by Interscope Records to shoot press footage of Eminem’s tour throughout Europe. Producers John Quigley and Anthony Garth, armed with a digital video camera and a 16mm camera, documented the rapper and his band in backstage dressing rooms, attending after parties, and on tour buses throughout France, Sweden, Norway, German and the UK during the winter of 2001. Gw.Id general manager Michael Smith completed the authoring for the DVD and graphic designer Corey Brent provided the highlight screens for the menu buttons. In addition to the NTSC master, gw.Id also created PAL masters for international distribution.
Click 3X, New York, created a promo for the 33rd season of ABC’s Monday Night Football (MNF). The piece, which features announcers Al Michaels and John Madden, mixes video clips and computer animation, set to MNF‘s familiar Hank Williams Jr. theme music. Clips of game footage are projected onto cubes as they fly through an abstract 3-D environment. The cubes subdivide or fly together to form stylized video walls while brightly-colored shapes rain down like tickertape in the background. Ultimately, a block of cubes coalesce in a burst of light to form the MNF logo. Click 3X’s team included director/designer Christine Lin-Barraud, who also headed up the project. Lead Inferno artist was Steve Zourntos, creative director was Iain Greenway, executive producer was Shannon Horan, producer was Todd McCammon, CG artists were John Clausing and Anthony Filipakis, and Inferno artist was Bryce Barros.
MUSIC NOTES
Ohm Lab, New York, composed music and sound design for the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. Ohm’s Darin Hallinan and Daniel Belardinelli worked on the music/sound design chores to complement the various Moonmen products which announced each nominee within the categories. Additional projects Ohm has worked on recently include a Volkswagen campaign for Miami agency Creative on Demand, and Volvo’s "AB Rock" for Euro RSCG MVBMS, New York. Hallinan and Belardinelli were composers/sound designers for the above projects as well.
Steve Rosen of HSR Studios, New York, mixed the audio for Trident White’s "Picture Frame," via J. Walter Thompson, New York. The :30, which features CG by New York shop Just 2 Guys, shows squares of gum popping out of a pack to "brighten up" the teeth of a woman in a photograph. Rosen used a Soundtracs DPC-II digital console and an Avid AudioVision to mix the spot.
IN GEAR
Chyron Corporation has announced that France’s Canal Plus has installed 12 Chryon Duet graphics and animation systems in its Paris facility. A combination of Duet LE and Duet SD systems running Chyron’s Lyric 2-D/3-D graphics creation and playout software will be used in postproduction and live-to-air situations. The Duet SDs will be used primarily for live sports-related programs such as soccer, horse racing and boxing. The Duet LEs will be housed in the post area and used mostly for live entertainment shows.
Continuing its audio services expansion, Henninger Media Services, Arlington, Va., has installed a second music composition suite at Henninger Arlington for resident composers Todd Hahn and Mike Wolpe of Invisible Players. With the new state-of-the-art suite, Invisible Players now have the ability to score multiple projects simultaneously. The new suite features Pro Tools version 5.1.3 recording/editing/mixing system, as well as an extensive library of music samples and sounds, ranging from orchestral to electronic and live instrument recordings.
Angelina Jolie To Receive Gothams Performer Tribute For “Marie”
The Gotham Film & Media Institute has announced that Academy Award®-winner Angelina Jolie will receive the Performer Tribute for her performance as Maria Callas in Pablo Larrain’s upcoming film Maria, at the 34th edition of The Gothams, taking place on Monday, December 2, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The tribute will honor Jolie’s rendition of legendary opera singer Callas.
“Like the legendary figure she portrays, Angelina Jolie transcends mere performance to craft something extraordinary. Her interpretation captures both Maria Callas’ complexity as an artist and the cultural resonance that defines an icon,” said Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of The Gotham. “We are thrilled to celebrate what is truly one of Ms. Jolie’s career-defining performances in the final installment of Pablo Larrain’s magnificent trilogy.”
Maria follows Callas, one of the most iconic performers of the 20th century, as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye. The film reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days as the diva reckons with her identity and life. Written by Steven Knight, with cinematography by Ed Lachman and costumes by Massimo Cantini Parrini, Maria has Jolie joined by a star-studded cast including Alba Rohrwacher (Hungry Hearts, Happy As Lazzaro), Pierfrancesco Favino (Padrenostro, Adagio), Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog, Dolemite Is My Name), and Valeria Golino (For Your Love, The Beautiful Game). Marie premiered to critical acclaim at the Venice Film Festival and Jolie’s performance continues to stun audiences at the New York Film Festival, London Film Festival and the AFI Fest. Maria will be in... Read More