SHORT CUTS
New York-based Freestyle Collective designed and animated a tourism video for the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) and Coconut Grove, Fla. ad agency Turkel. "Miami Beaches" (2:30/:60) shows imagery of Miami gently shifting and fading, while subtle graphics ebb throughout the piece, allowing graphic transitions and animation of the picturesque photography and location footage. Scenes of sun-drenched beaches, people, Miami nightlife and wildlife were enhanced by rainbows, flowering vines, birds in flight, fireworks, and shimmering sparkles cascading from toasting wine glasses. To bring the energy of Miami to the project, the Freestyle designers edited still images of scenic beaches, wildlife and models with location footage. Photos and footage provided by Turkel were graphically affected onto multiple layers along with 2-D and 3-D original motion graphics, which Freestyle designed, animated and composited in After Effects, giving the images a surreal sense of depth and mystique. The project is airing on plasma screens throughout Miami International Airport and at Miami trade shows, and is available for download via the GMCVB Web site. For Freestyle, credits go to creative director Victor Newman, executive producer Suzanne Potashnick, senior producer Beth Vogt and freelance design director Andre Stringer.
Head Gear Animation, Toronto, created an on-air environment for
PBS’ "PBS Kids Go!," a new on-air and online multimedia destination
specifically created for early elementary school kids who have
graduated from the network’s popular pre-school programming. The new package, which debuted on Oct. 11, was designed and directed by Head Gear co-founders Steve Angel and Julian Grey. Head Gear developed a creative approach that took inspiration from sources as diverse as M.C. Escher, director Michel Gondry and the architecture of Montreal’s blocky Habitat building. Incorporating feedback from focus groups with kids across the U.S., the Head Gear team honed an environment that features real kids alongside popular show characters in a surreal and dynamic world of animating boxes. The new packaging is comprised of 65 elements, including a combination of bumpers, IDs, system cues and end pages. Live action kids were filmed against a green screen, and the PBS Kids Go! "city" was built on a miniature scale and shot frame by frame using stop motion animation. Shutters opening and closing, panels extending and hidden compartments sliding were used as framing devices for logos and other graphics. Each child was composited into the stop-motion world, creating a blend of live action interacting with abstract surroundings. After Effect artists merged all of the elements so that the compartments of the PBS Kids Go! "city" danced in time with both the music and the movements of the children. Sue Riedl was executive producer for Head Gear Animation.
MUSIC NOTES
Craig Helmholz of Crescendo! Studios, San Francisco, worked with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), San Francisco, on two Hispanic radio spots for Saturn. Voiceovers were recorded in Crescendo!’s booth, and the announcer via ISDN from Santa Monica. The :60s were "Teenager" and "Bilingual." Helmholz also recorded and mixed Hispanic radio and TV spots for Pine-Sol through Dallas agency Dieste Harmel & Partners. The announcer track for the :30 "Socks" was recorded via ISDN with Pianica Studios, Mexico City. The radio :60 is titled "Marbles." For the :30 adidas radio spots "Puce" and "Good/Bad," Helmholz completed the audio record and mix. The ads were created by TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco. And Helmholz mixed the :30 TV "Harvest Festival" and the :45/:15 radio spot "Dreams" for The Harvest Festival and San Francisco agency Scheyer/SF.
Actor Sean Penn recorded the audiobook version of Bob Dylan’s autobiography, Chronicles, at One Union Recording Studios, San Francisco, with senior engineer Andy Greenberg. Chronicles was released on Oct. 12.
AROUND THE DIAL
Oink Ink Radio, a bicoastal national radio advertising agency, created and produced five musical performance-based radio commercials for King World Productions’ long-running syndicated game show, Jeopardy!. The spots featured musical interpretations of the show’s well-known theme song by such performers as Calloway Brooks, grandson of legendary Jazz musician Cab Calloway and leader of the Cab Calloway Orchestra; Australian dobro player Tug McGraw; and 75-year-old accordion player Frank Marocco. Casey Chester produced the Jeopardy! spots, with engineer Gary Chester mixing the audio for the Cab Calloway Orchestra track.
CLIPLAND
Match Frame, Austin, Texas, provided editorial and post services to "More Than Love," a music video by Los Lonely Boys. The clip was directed by Rosalyn Rosen of Loophole Films, Austin. Match Frame’s Stephen Bohls co-edited the video with Rosen. Joe Malina of Match Frame was the colorist, with Chris Blankenship completing the online.
