For a powerful in-theater JBL promo, Psyop and Doner collaborated with Skywalker Sound to create a whirlwind of photorealistic CG and stunningly crisp audio.
Racing camera angles sweep the viewer backward across a salt flat desert as a massive tornado erupts onto screen. The twister uproots a home theatre, whips the JBL speakers into the air and ultimately sucks the camera directly into the eye of the storm.
“Earlier this summer, Psyop was approached by Laurie Irwin, executive producer at Doner, who described a project they were developing for JBL,” recalled Anh Vu, Psyop creative director. “Doner executive creative director Murray White, had a concept for JBL’s second cinematic branding spot that would fully envelop the viewer. He wanted people to witness the birth of a natural phenomenon and vividly experience the destructive sounds of mother nature.”
“We were aware that we needed to communicate a real narrative even though we were going for a photoreal look,” said Eben Mears, Psyop creative director. “The spot had to be artful and carefully finessed chaos.”
An effects-intensive project, “Ear of the Tornado” tallies around 70 million particles from start to finish. The choreography and animation of the flying and crashing objects were all designed with particular attention to the rhythm for the sound design. Psyop collaborated with Skywalker Sound to guarantee the 5.1 mix of the audio was as impactful and engrossing as possible.
Review: Drew Hancock Makes Feature Directorial Debut With “Companion”
"Iris, wake up!"
Early in "Companion," lovely Iris and her nerdy-nice boyfriend Josh are driving to a secluded lake house for a stay with friends. Iris wakes from a nap and lovingly tells Josh she was dreaming about him. They reminisce about how they first met at the supermarket. All those oranges tumbling onto the floor! Ha ha.
In 20 minutes, absolutely everything about this sweet scene will be turned on its head in a terrifying and sinister manner. You will be surprised and shocked. Unless you saw the trailer, which reveals the whole thing.
And so we begin with a dilemma, dear moviegoer. "Companion," an exceedingly clever and entertaining sci-fi-horror-thriller-comedy by Drew Hancock in his feature debut, has more twists and turns than a corkscrew. But it's utterly impossible to write about the film without revealing the first of those twists.
So if you like coming in totally cold to a movie, then we're sorry to see you go, but stop reading! Otherwise, stay with us — we promise there'll be more surprises to come.
Moving on: Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) arrive at the estate. A nervous Iris stops at the door, worried that Josh's friends won't like her. He urges her to simply brighten up and act happy.
Kat (Megan Suri), Josh's ex, greets them. She is gorgeous, and frosty to Iris. Eli (Harvey Guillén) and his handsome boyfriend Patrick (Lukas Gage) are nicer. Then there's Sergey (Rupert Friend), Kat's aloof Russian boyfriend — sugar daddy, really — and owner of the house. The password to his devices is Stalin's birthday, which tells you something.
Things get dark, quickly. The next morning, someone dies. They will not be the first — this is a horror movie. And suddenly Iris, caked in blood,... Read More