To the sound of a train engine that’s first slow moving, then builds momentum, chugging along until it’s at full speed peak operation, we see pro basketball star Carmelo Anthony, a.k.a. Melo, in training as well as playing in an NBA game.
Images of him exercising off court and doing his thing on court are juxtaposed, the former including his running in the streets and up a steep flight of outdoor stairs, jumping rope, hoisting a medicine ball and pulling chains attached to a large concrete block and moving it steadily along the ground. On the hardwood, Melo is building to a bullet train speed crescendo as he patrols the court, eventually leaping to grab an alley-oop pass above the rim for what will undoubtedly be a monster dunk. A shot of a locomotive on a speeding track is intercut into that final play.
Inspired by the classic children’s story in which the choo-choo train utters “I think I can” repeatedly, the tagline to this spot is more definitive and appears but once: “I know I can,” followed by a glimpse of a speeding train and the logo for the Melo M4 line of Jordan Brand apparel.
Daniel Kleinman of Rattling Stick, London, directed “Engine” for Wieden + Kennedy, New York.
Johnnie Frankel produced for Rattling Stick. The DP was Stephen Blackman.
The W+K team included executive creative directors Todd Waterbury and Kevin Proudfoot, creative director/art director Keith Cartwright, copywriters Eric Steele and Scott Hayes, head of production Gary Krieg and producer Dan Blaney.
Steve Gandolfi of Cut+Run, London, edited the spot. Visual effects house was Framestore, New York.
Sound designer was Bill Chesley of Amber Music, New York. Audio mixer was Philip Loeb of Sound Lounge, New York.
Review: Steven Soderbergh’s Eerie Haunted House Drama “Presence”
The camera is the ghost in Steven Soderbergh's chillingly effective, experiential haunted house drama "Presence." The filmmaker traps the audience in a beautiful suburban home, letting us drift through rooms with this curious being, in and out of delicate conversations as we (and the ghost) try to piece together a puzzle blindly.
Often in haunted house movies where a new family moves in and starts sensing strange things, the ghost knows exactly what they want — usually their house back. In this one, the presence doesn't have such a clear objective. It's more confused, wandering around and investigating the surroundings, like a benevolent amnesiac. Occasionally, though, big emotions erupt, and things shake violently.
Mostly, they go unnoticed. They observe the chipper real estate agent (Julia Fox) preparing for a showing, the painting crew, one of whom believes there's something around, and finally the family and all the complexities of its dynamics. Lucy Liu (a delightful, wickedly funny scene-stealer) is the mom, Rebecca, a wealthy, successful, type-A woman hyper focused on the success of her eldest, a teenage boy named Tyler (Eddy Maday). The father, Chris (Chris Sullivan), is more of the nurturer, concerned about their teen daughter Chloe (Callina Liang) in the aftermath of her friend's unexpected death.
There is a family drama transpiring inside the house, only some of which will make sense in the end. We overhear Rebecca drunkenly telling Tyler that everything she does is for him. We listen in as Chris confides to someone on the phone about a hypothetical partner being involved in something illegal and whether they still would be if legally separated. We see Tyler often with his head buried in his phone. And then there's Chloe: Sad,... Read More