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."
For Documentaries At Sundance, Oscar Nominations (and Wins) Often Follow
The Sundance Film Festival welcomed back three Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers to help kick off the annual independent film showcase in Park City, Utah.
On Thursday night at The Ray Theater, "20 Days in Mariupol" filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov, who won the Oscar last year, debuted his latest dispatch from Ukraine, "2000 Meters to Andriivka," a harrowing journey to the front lines of a 2023 counteroffensive. A few hours later, at the Eccles, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, who won an Oscar for "Summer of Soul" in 2022, unveiled his Sly Stone portrait, "SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genuis)." Earlier, "One Day in September" filmmaker Kevin MacDonald also showcased his film "One to One: John & Yoko," which debuted last year at the Venice Film Festival and will get an IMAX release on April 11 before hitting Max later this year.
Some critics reflected that "2000 Meters to Andriivka," a joint production between The Associated Press and PBS Frontline, was even more powerful than "20 Days in Mariupol." "SLY LIVES!" (on Hulu Feb. 13) was called "sublime" and "illuminating" in its examination of an underappreciated, shapeshifting genius.
"I've been coming here since 2000 and I thought the coolest thing you could do would be to DJ an after party," Thompson said before the screening. "I never dreamt this for my future, so this is really humbling."
It was a full-circle end to a day that began with a slate of documentary Oscar nominations all connected to the Sundance Institute in some way. Some were supported by the Institute, some debuted at the festival as recently as last year.
"Black Box Diaries," in which a Japanese filmmaker investigates her own sexual assault, had its premiere in Park City last year and was supported by the... Read More