By Christine Champagne
What can happen when technology meets human potential? Well, for starters, a soccer field can emerge in the middle of a city neighborhood desperately in need of a place for children to play.
That's the story depicted in a nearly two-minute film for Samsung titled The Developer that was created by Leo Burnett Chicago and directed by Adam Hashemi, who was with Los Angeles-based Furlined at the time of this project but is now repped by Santa Monica's RESET.
Actually, The Developer is more accurately defined as a musical–think a modern-day Les Misérables featuring an inspiring version of Lorde's hit song "Royals" sung by a group of kids.
Barcelona soccer star Lionel Messi is cast as the real estate developer who surprises the children with the soccer field, and his actions in The Developer are in line with his real world persona–Messi runs the Leo Messi Foundation, a charity benefitting at-risk children around the world. He also serves as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.
The Developer reflects Leo Burnett's goal, which was to create a piece of communication that not only showcases Samsung's Note 3 and Galaxy Gear but also delivers a powerful message about giving in a creative way, according to Leo Burnett sr. VP/sr. creative director Brandon Rochon, who said that Leo Burnett creative directors Guy Seese and Brian Murphy "worked endless nights with Adam Hashemi to get the exact story they wanted, exactly as they had dreamed it."
It took some time to find the perfect song for the film. "We were going through an abundance of songs, and one of the creatives showed up with this one," Hashemi said of "Royals," noting, "At the time, it wasn't a big, global hit yet. It had about two million YouTube views, and we all thought that it was merely a matter of time before it would blow up."
The director and his crew, including fellow Dane DP Eigil Bryld and production designer Stephen Scott, shot The Developer on location in Barcelona. "We shot in Barcelona because it gave us an amazing mix of urban beauty and international anonymity," Leo Burnett sr. VP/sr. creative director Adam Kennedy said. "As with most of our films, we are looking for unique spaces to help paint deep stories within but because we want people all over the world to be able to connect with the story, we never want it to read as a specific place."
The children featured in The Developer were cast in England and Spain, and they were singers as well as actors. Their voices were actually recorded on location as the film was being shot. "I wanted the song to feel real, so I stole this shooting idea from Les Misérables," Hashemi said. "It allows for imperfections and authenticity."
Speaking of Les Misérables, Paco Delgado, who did the costume design for the film, also did the costume design for The Developer. "We wanted to make it appear as if these kids had put their clothes together in a creative way maybe more out of necessity than out of joy," Hashemi said.
Hashemi didn't have much time to work with Messi, but he didn't need a lot of time with him. "I knew right from the start that we only needed one or two shots since he's hidden all throughout he spot," Hashemi said, noting that he enjoyed working with the athlete. "I'm actually very happy to create a spot that deals with his real life contributions to the world."
VFX
The Mill, which has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and London, was called upon to handle visual effects for the film. "Oh, I needed a lot from them, and they did a spectacular job in a very short amount of time," Hashemi said. "We had to shoot in three different locations and make that look like one place, as if this modern football pitch had suddenly emerged in the middle of this old, rundown maze of a city. For that, the opening shots and wide city landscape shots needed quite a lot of work. All the big demolition is post, too, of course."
Hashemi and the artisans at The Mill got creative in how they showed the demolition, parts of which are seen in the reflection of a puddle that Messi passes by. "I always try to find stuff that I can reveal in shadows or reflections rather than head on," Hashemi explained. "Goes back to the B horror movies of the 1950s–they rarely had money to show a real monster, so it would always be its shadow on a wall instead. That's much better, I think."
Mikkel EG of the Los Angeles office of bicoastal Rock Paper Scissors cut The Developer. "He made it a very smooth process. The essence of the spot was found right away, so it was mainly details from then on," Hashemi said, adding that legendary music producer George Drakoulias came in to build up the song with the kids' voices and melt them with Lorde's original track. "The fusion worked wonders for the spot."
Review: Director-Writer Megan Park’s “My Old Ass”
They say tripping on psychedelic mushrooms triggers hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia and nervousness. In the case of Elliott, an 18-year-old restless Canadian, they prompt a visitor.
"Dude, I'm you," says the guest, as she nonchalantly burns a 'smores on a campfire next to a very high and stunned Elliott. "Well, I'm a 39-year-old you. What's up?"
What's up, indeed: Director-writer Megan Park has crafted a wistful coming-of-age tale using this comedic device for "My Old Ass" and the results are uneven even though she nails the landing.
After the older Elliott proves who she is — they share a particular scar, childhood memories and a smaller left boob — the time-travel advice begins: Be nice to your brothers and mom, and stay away from a guy named Chad.
"Can we hug?" asks the older Elliott. They do. "This is so weird," says the younger Elliott, who then makes things even weirder when she asks for a kiss — to know what it's like kissing yourself. The older Elliott soon puts her number into the younger's phone under the name "My Old Ass." Then they keep in touch, long after the effects of the 'shrooms have gone.
Part of the movie's problem that can't be ignored is that the two Elliotts look nothing alike. Maisy Stella plays the coltish young version and a wry Aubrey Plaza the older. Both turn in fine performances but the visuals are slowly grating.
The arrival of the older Elliott coincides with her younger self counting down the days until she can flee from her small town of 300 in the Muskoka Lakes region to college in Toronto, where "my life is about to start." She's sick of life on a cranberry farm.
Park's scenes and dialogue are unrushed and honest as Elliott takes her older self's advice and tries to repair... Read More