“The show would simply not be as good if we couldn’t include commercials,” assesses Paul Debevec, chair of Siggraph 2007’s Computer Animation Festival, which consists of the Animation Theater (Aug. 5-9) as well as the Electronic Theater (Aug. 6-8) screenings. The showcases will be featured attractions at the Siggraph confab in San Diego.
Debevec is a research associate professor at the University of Southern California and the executive producer of graphics research at the USC Centers for Creative Technologies. He notes that the number of commercials deemed worthy for Siggraph’s Computer Animation Festival are up some 20 percent over last year. But that quantitative barometer hardly tells the whole story. It’s the qualitative distinctions that Debevec cites which reflect how CG has progressed in the advertising arena.
First, though, he differentiates between the Animation and Electronic Theaters, which showcase great CG work. The Electronic Theater features CG fare that’s of broad appeal for an entertainment showcase screening. But several years ago, judges found that there was much more work deserving of being showcased at Siggraph than what could be included in the two-hour Electronic Theater presentation. This translated into the Animation Theater, which gives exposure to projects that are deemed worthy by judges in varied categories (scientific visualization, research, animation, visual effects, broadcast, etc.) and which Siggraph attendees can seek out based on their interest in certain designated fields. There are in excess of 90 jury selections in the 2007 Animation Theater and some 30-plus in the Electronic Theater.
The latter tally includes five commercials while there are 10 spots in the Animation Theater. Debevec notes that one showcase isn’t more prestigious than the other–they are both part of the Computer Animation Festival, which celebrates the industry’s highest caliber work. But a blurring of boundaries between the Electronic and Animation Theaters this year may reflect a healthy progression for commercials, he observes.
“If we didn’t have the Electronic Theater commercials, the [spot] work in the Animation Theaters has the wide ranging appeal to fit in perfectly in the context of an Electronic Theater screening,” says Debevec. “Even though judges used criteria in certain specialties for the Animation Theater selections, that work would still play well and totally feel like it belongs in the Electronic Theater, underscoring the entertainment and engagement level across the board for pieces selected for the Computer Animation Festival.”
A total of 130-plus pieces of work were accepted for the fest, selected from a record high total of 905 submissions for exemplary use of computer-generated imagery and animation, and compelling storytelling.
ComedyMany filmmakers and performers alike have been known to regard comedy as harder to realize than drama. And since comedy was prominent in spots chosen for the Computer Animation Festival, Debevec feels this too reflects CG coming of age in advertising.
“There were a number of more light moments in the work than in years past,” he relates. “And being able to do justice to comedy as well as the dramatic–or combining the two–shows us that the power of the tools available and the good educational programs in schools are enabling people with creative talent and storytelling abilities to come closer to realizing through computer animation their creative vision whether it’s humor or dramatic.”
Debevec cites Travelers’ “Snowball”–directed by Dante Ariola of bicoastal/international MJZ for Fallon Minneapolis, with visual effects by WETA Digital in Wellington, New Zealand–as being “one of my favorite pieces in the show.” WETA Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Lemmon, says Debevec, was present during the live-action shoot in San Francisco, and the result was “a perfect photorealistic execution” of a very humorous creative vision in which people and urban debris like furniture and motorcycles, even a mini-van, come together in an ever growing snowball.”
Also contributing “light” fun moments to the fest lineup is Coca-Cola’s “Happiness Factory” directed by Todd Mueller and Kylie Matulick of Psyop, New York, for Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam. The spot takes us inside a Coke vending machine, revealing a magical world of artisans who bring us the pause that refreshes.
“The amount of detail and creativity in every single frame of that piece is incredible,” notes Debevec. “There’s a higher density of visual entertainment and interest than you will see in feature film effects.”
Another spot entry offering a whimsical light-heartedness was Sears Tools’ “Arboretum” directed by Rupert Sanders of bicoastal/international MJZ for Young & Rubicam, Chicago, with effects from Method, Santa Monica. The Electronic Theater selection features flowers blooming in time lapse photography, the twist being that the flora are made of Sears products such as drills and other tools, a sight which Debevec describes as being “pulled off as believable 3D objects living in a real world.”
It’s no coincidence that “Happiness Factory” earlier this year won the Visual Effects Society (VES) Award for excellence in commercials while “Arboretum” was nominated for the same honor. That’s because the Siggraph Computer Animation Festival invited winners and nominees of other notable competitions, such as the VES Awards, to submit that work for Animation and Electronic Theater consideration. Debevec explains this was part of a proactive stance so that Siggraph could seek out the best work in the field.
Continuing in the comedy vein, another Electronic Theater ad singled out by Debevec was “The Legend” in which a gassy squirrel chews Vigorsol breath mint gum and produces a cooling fart that extinguishes a forest fire, turning the about to be charred terrain into a winter wonderland. Directed by Ben Dawkins of Stink, London, for BBH, London, “The Legend” featured CG and effects from The Moving Picture Company, London.
Rounding out the spots honored in the Electronic Theater was Hewlett-Packard’s “Paulo Coelho,” part of the “Hands” campaign out of Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, and produced by Motion Theory, Venice, Calif. Motion Theory and Goodby also teamed on HP’s “Jay-Z,” which gained inclusion into Siggraph’s Animation Theater, thus earning Motion Theory the distinction of having commercials in both Computer Animation Festival showcases.
Obscure to high profile Among the Animation Theater commercials that resonated with Debevec were: Aditya Biria Group India’s “Taking India to the World”; Chocolate Pillows’ “Look What’s Inside”; Chevrolet’s “Buildings”; Budweiser’s “King Crab”; FedEx’s “Moon Office”; and Johnnie Walker’s “Human.”
Both “Taking India to the World” and “Look What’s Inside” came out of Gravity Visual Effects and Design in Israel. The latter spot shows a woman in her apartment getting ready for a date; her skin shatters to reveal a woman of a different ethnicity, followed by another transformation to yet another lass.
Debevec juxtaposed these two CG jobs from Israel–both rather obscure–with two big ticket Super Bowl ads from The Mill, New York and London: Bud’s “King Crab” and FedEx’s “Moon.”
“This range, from two commercials in Israel that aren’t well known to widely seen Super Bowl commercials, pretty much captures what the Computer Animation Festival is about,” relates Debevec. “We’re seeking out work–no matter how small or large, how low or high profile–that represents excellence in computer animation and storytelling.”
The alluded to Chevy “Buildings” came from visual effects supervisor Simon van de Lagemaat of The Embassy Visual Effects in Vancouver, B.C. And Johnnie Walker’s “Human” was from The Mill, London, directed by MJZ’s Ariola for BBH, London.
The Johnnie Walker ad is marked by the esoteric visual humor of an android delivering a soliloquy about what it is like to be a person. “Human” in the Animation Theater and Travelers’ “Snowball” in the Electronic Theater were also two of the spot entries that helped Ariola earlier this year earn the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award as best commercial director of 2006. Debevec says that underscores the important role of CG and effects in commercialmaking, particularly as it relates to such a prestigious honor as the DGA Award, which isn’t predicated on visual effects but on directorial prowess in storytelling.
Meanwhile also indirectly underscoring the artistic contributions of commercialmakers were select Computer Animation Festival entries outside the spot realm, a prime example being the groundbreaking feature film 300 with visual from Animal Logic, Sydney, and Germany’s Scanline VFX.
Scanline’s work on 300’s “Liquid Battlefield” earned inclusion in the Electronic Theater while Animal Logic’s effects contributions to the movie were recognized in the Animation Theater. Zack Snyder, whose pedigree is in spotmaking (and who directs commercials via bicoastal/international Believe Media), directed the action/adventure period piece 300.
“The Electronic Theater presents a watershed year for fluid simulation in feature films,” states Debevec. “Scanline’s ‘Liquid Battlefield,’ Sony Picture Animation’s Surf’s Up and Digital Domain and Industrial Light+Magic’s Pirates of the Caribbean all feature uniquely executed but beautifully believable digital oceans and waves.”
Debevec additionally describes the ’07 Electronic Theater as being “a notable year for studio-produced shorts with Pixar’s Lifted, Blue Sky’s No Time For Nuts and Blur Studio’s A Gentlemen’s Duel.”
Student achievements Emerging talent will also make a major mark at the Computer Animation Festival as student projects have scored Best of Show and Jury Honors, according to Debevec.
Best of Show distinction is going to Grzegorz Jonkajtys and Marcin Kobylecki of Poland for the film Ark, while Leszek Plichta of the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction Filmakademie in Stuttgart, Germany, will take Jury Honors for Dreammaker.
Meet Larry Saltzman, The Musician Who Taught Timothรฉe Chalamet To Play Guitar Like Bob Dylan For “A Complete Unknown”
He's not a movie buff, so New York musician Larry Saltzman doesn't always watch the Oscars. This year, however, he's got a rooting interest.
Saltzman taught actor Timothรฉe Chalamet how to play guitar for the role of Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown." In turn, Chalamet earned a best actor nomination and the film is also up for best picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday.
A guitarist who's performed with Simon & Garfunkel, Bette Midler and David Johansen, as well as in the pit at Broadway productions "Hairspray" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," Saltzman has developed a specialty in teaching actors how to play music for their roles. Besides Chalamet, recent pupils have included Adam Driver and Sadie Sink of "Stranger Things."
On a fellow musician's recommendation, Saltzman first got a call from a movie studio about a decade ago. He admits to being cranky as discussions dragged on. "I almost did everything to talk them out of hiring me," he said.
Not until the fifth phone call did the studio identify the client: Meryl Streep.
She needed to learn the electric guitar for her starring role in the 2015 film "Ricki and the Flash," where she portrayed an aging rocker trying to keep her career and life together in the wake of a series of disappointments.
Working with Streep is a little like a political consultant's first client being elected president. If she likes you and word gets around, other students will follow. Teaching actors now represents about 40% of his business, the 69-year-old said.
"My time spent with her was excellent," he said of Streep. "She's smart. She knows how to learn things. There was a steady progress over three or four months. She did very well."
Faking it just won't do for serious actors... Read More