The NBA season is underway and making a big splash is this player introduction video for the Chicago Bulls. The latest iteration of “The Running of the Bulls” video is an homage to the fans, the city of Chicago and the team they love, featuring the iconic images of a city whose pride and joy has often been set against the backdrop of a community joined together by sport. We see the bulls stampede their way through the Windy City into United Center, serving as a prelude to the introduction of the Bulls’ starting lineup.
A thank you and a love letter to fans of the Bulls, the "The Running of the Bulls" video has been reimagined on a number of occasions over the last 20 years, including by the Wachowski brothers in 2006. It has been the vision of the Bulls creative team to continue the tradition of excellence for their fans by updating the intro, as technology has changed.
This time the Bulls chose 5D Global Studio, the world building design studio at Wondros, to take the opening fan experience to the next level. Alex McDowell, founder of 5D, directed, and Jesse Dylan, founder of Wondros, and partner in 5D, served as creative director. The film was produced in partnership with the Bulls director of entertainment Michelle Harris, and Bulls creative producer Josh Kahn. The film includes photorealistic bull visual effects by Rhythm and Hues, and production and shadow visual effects by Method Chicago. In addition, Chicago-based production collaborators included Beast and Company 3.
Credits
Client Chicago Bulls Josh Kahn, creative producer; Michelle Harris, director of entertainment. Production/Creative Agency 5D Global Studio at Wondros Alex McDowell, director; Jessey Dylan, creative director; Priscilla Cohen, sr. executive producer, Wondros Global; Sarah DiLeo, executive in charge of production, Wondros Global; Timory King, exec producer, Wondros; Melissa Painter, executive producer, 5D; Eliza Pelham Randall, producer; Janine Criscuolo Sax, postproduction supervisor; Emily Wanserski, executive assistant to the director; Kira Owan, graphic designer; Jiedi Chen, Jay Martin, Mark Pacella, storyboard artists; Colin Green, Abel Salazar,Andrew Wehde, previsualization artists. Editorial Beast Angelo Valencia, editor; Bryan Simpson, assistant editor; Kendall Fash, producer. Post Company 3 Chicago Tyler Roth, colorist; JP McIntosh, color producer; Paul Galati, color assistant Production & VFX (Shadows and other VFX) Erica Hilbert, producer; Joel Signer, assistant producer; Jonah Mueller, live action line producer; Andrew Wehde, DP; Mark Anderson, on set VFX supervisor/lead Flame artist; Ryan Wood, Flame artist; Brandan Baki, Ronnie Jarmon, roto; Linas Jodwalis, CG; Joe Lawrence, compositing; Brett Glover, Jared Willard, motion graphics. VFX (CG bulls) Rhythm & Hues Jason Bayever, VFX supervisor; Gary Nolin, VFX producer; Andy Arnett, animation supervisor; Chad Shattuck, Derek Tannehill, animators; Jimmy Gordon, tech animator; Lulu Simon, animation support; Rich Fallat, Nikhil Sahane, lighters; Michael Crane, Bhargava Boini, compositors; Ken Nakada, matte painter; Nick Cosmi, texture painter; Daniel Lindsey, Matt Derksen, character rigging; Wilmer Lin, Rahul Sinha, Kalyan Chakravarthy Bommu, S.S.S. Murthy Putrevu, match-movers; Bertha Garcia; Shaji Velappan, Bhavani Kishore, Narayana Murthy Tirunagari, Brahman Bangaram, BG prep & rotoscoping; Zeke Morales, VFX editor; Josh Fritchie, production manager; Monisha Menon, production coordinator; Murali Anagani, pipeline TD; Steve Shimano, technical support. Audio Formosa Santa Monica Peter Rincon, sound design. Airstream Audio David Axelbaum, sound mix; John Houlihan, music supervisor; Jonathan Pakfar, Shane Eli, music.
Director Marc André Debruyne--who’s handled by production house Open Swim for U.S. representation--brings Coca-Cola’s legacy of celebrating holiday traditions to life in this campaign spotlighting Filipino Balikbayan boxes. The spot--out of Toronto agencies Taxi and VML--features Tita Rosita, owner of the oldest Filipino-Canadian grocery store in Toronto, whose much-adored shop was wrapped like a massive Coca-Cola-themed Balikbayan box as she prepared hundreds of boxes for customers to send their loved ones, with Coca-Cola paying for the boxes and the cost of shipping them to the Philippines. The spot is a testament to the brand’s prevailing facilitation of cultural and generational connectivity, especially during the holiday season.
The collaborative project--produced by Toronto production company MOWAD--was particularly special for Debruyne, who’s Filipino, because of the large presence of Filipino crew members on set. “It’s a totally surreal feeling when a work project crosses over into your personal life. It’s not too often that happens,” shares Debruyne. “The number of Balikbayan boxes I’ve sent home since I was a child, being surrounded by so many Filipinos on set – both crew and cast, and even being served pancit by Tita Rosita for lunch (and getting yelled at after because I didn’t have seconds) brought back so many wonderful memories of my mom. It was such a fun vibe on set. This wasn’t even a job, it was truly something special.”
