GOODBY GOES "ELEGANT" FOR XFINITY 3D
To the strains of Mozart’s “Requiem D Minor V Sanctus,” we see various spectacles leap through an elegant frame–connoting a TV screen. Among those breaking through the frame are a tiger, a football receiver extending himself to make a catch, a skier, a pair of martial artists in combat, a fire-breathing woman. And then finally we see an actual TV screen with a man leaping through it, breaking the glass and entering a living room, diving headlong towards a family watching the telly and wearing 3D glasses.
A voiceover relates, “Nothing stands between you and a world of 3D entertainment,” followed by the XFINITY 3D logo.
Bringing that entertainment to life on screen was director David LaChapelle of HSI for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, S.F.
Mauro Fiore was the DP. Editor was Haines Hall of Spot Welders. 3D compositing and finish was done at Method LA.
HITTING THE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT
Director Barton Landsman, who joined Third Street Mining Company earlier this year from @radical.media, has seen his comedy short Banana Bread enjoy success on the festival circuit, most recently at Woodstock Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, LA Shorts Fest, Rhode Island International Film Festival and the St. Louis International Film Festival.
The nine-minute film tells the tale of a young man holding a marathon cell phone conversation with his doting Jewish mother. She professes not to understand his “freelance work” and bombards him with inane, overprotective banter. All the while, her son shoots his way into a warehouse, matter-of-factly killing numerous gangsters along the way. Bookending the film is a loaf of banana bread, passed lovingly from mother to son at breakfast and serving as a snack at mission’s end.
“My main characters are normal, down to earth, never over the top,” said Landsman. “I like my craziness grounded in reality.”
When asked what his commercial crew brought to the project, Landsman quipped, “They brought everything but the bullets.”
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS…
Gravity, an international creative, content and brand communications company, has hired Nic Seresin as VFX supervisor/lead Flame artist. Seresin will lead VFX projects from conception through to completion, and continue to work with directors on shoots. He will also oversee the company’s team of technical, artistic and production personnel, reporting directly to Gravity CEO/CCO Zviah Eldar. Seresin brings 18 years of design and VFX experience to Gravity, and most recently served as lead VFX artist for London/NY VFX house Smoke & Mirrors. He began his career at The Mill, followed by Moving Picture Company, both in London. Seresin also worked on VFX for feature films including Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, G.I. Jane, My Life So Far and Sweeney Todd. Seresin’s work has garnered honors at the AICP Show, BTAA, D&AD, the Cannes International Ad Festival, NY Festivals, and The One Show….
Creative concept studio Solid, L.A., has added exec producer Drew Bourneuf. He brings over 15 years of experience in spot and broadcast media production, design, animation, and VFX, having held staff positions at digital agency Digital Kitchen and design & VFX company Salt. At Solid, Bourneuf will oversee all production, manage facility operations, work with the executive team on overall strategy and growth for the company, and act as the liaison for new and existing clients….
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More