Noam Murro of Biscuit directed this film for specialty athletic retailer Eastbay out of TBWAChiatDay which commemorates National Running Day (June 6), designated to encourage everyone to get moving. It doesn’t matter how fast you run or how far you go–what’s important is that you take part, have fun being active, and inspire others to join you.
Titled Be the Hunted, this striking and fast-paced CGI film follows a wily hare running fast and frantically through the streets of downtown Los Angeles, chased by a pack of hungry foxes nipping at its heels. The lesson learned is that in running, glory often goes to the hunted.
The film is running on the homepage of Eastbay’s website and all social channels. The Mill served as VFX house for Be the Hunted, providing color grading as well.
Credits
Client Eastbay Agency TBWAChiatDay NY Chris Beresford-Hill, chief creative officer; Robert Rutherford, group creative director/copywriter; Darren Borrino, group creative director/art director; Brent Singer, creative director/art director; John Doris, head of production; Jason Souter, Matt Flaherty, executive producers; Dieter Lebbe, executive producer (post). Production Biscuit Filmworks Noam Murro, director; Shawn Lacy, partner/managing director; Jeff McDougal, exec producer; Mercedes Allen, Rachel Glaub, heads of production; Ahnee Boyce, producer; Rachel Slayback, production supervisor; Stephanie Lovell, assistant production supervisor; Billy Jones, 1st AD; Michael Parziale, 2nd AD; Simon Duggan, DP. Editorial Work Edit Neil Smith, editor; Brandee Probasco, producer; Marlo Baird, exec producer. VFX The Mill LA Anastasia Von Rahl, exec producer; Erin Hicke, sr. producer; Mary Mondrus, Alana Giordano, Anuraj R., Supreetha Murthy, production coordinators; Phil Crowe, shoot supervisor/executive creative director; Tom Graham, shoot supervisor/3D lead artist; Chris Knight, shoot supervisor; Martin Karlsson, 2D lead artist; Jacob Bergman, lead animation supervisor; 2D Artist: Adam Lambert, Tom Van Dop, Matthew Dobrez, Dylan Strieff, Rakesh Venugopalan, Amit Kambli, Nehal Desai, Siam Shukoor, Venuprasath D., 2D artists; Matthew Fuller, Nole Murphy, Alessandro Baldasseroni, Chris Goodrich, Shaun Comly, Andrez Aguayo, Peter Agg, Jeremy Ramirez, Jason Kim, Katie Yoon, Omar Taher, Monique Espinoza, Freddy Parra, Walker Kennedy, Katie Yancey, Andrez Aguayo, 3D artists; Jae Joon Yi, Daniel Soo, Mahmoud Elragheb, FX; Ed Laag, matte painting; Mike DiNocco, Jeffrey Lee, Juan Zavala, Katie Yancey, Justin Tirado, Blake Guest, Bridget Warrington, Wim Bien, Matthew Williamson, Oscar Carambano, Sauce Vilas, animation; Victor Jory, Natalie Wozniak, VFX editorial; Marcus Park, design; Michael Lori, Danny Garcia, Alice Panek, Elizabeth Hammer, Senthil Murugan Balasundaram, Abhishek Kumar, Giri Prasath S., Gokul Navaneethan, Karthick Karuppaswamy, Manoj Ravi, Murali Krishna Reddy, Raj Kumar M., Spandana Battula, Sunil M.M., Tarun Kumar, Sendil Kumar J., tracking; Gregory Reese, colorist; Liza Kerlin, EP, color; Diane Valera, color producer. (Toolbox: Flame, Nuke, Maya, Houdini, Arnold) Music Squeak E Clean Rob Barbato, creative director/composer; Danielle Toporoff, producer.
Dancer turned director Ezra Hurwitz collaborates with Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper, featuring movement as museum pieces against the Whitney Museum of American Art’s striking architecture for this short film titled Echoes of Ailey. Commissioned to celebrate “Edges of Ailey” at the Whitney Museum, the film accompanies the first large-scale exhibition on the life and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey. “Edges of Ailey” is currently on view at the Whitney until February 9.
Animating iconic images from Alvin Ailey’s 20th-century repertory, the film expands on the exhibition by constructing a visual narrative around his storytelling and influences. Set to Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place,” dancers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, and The Ailey School capture the emotional core of the company’s history--physically situating Ailey’s masterworks amongst the Whitney’s collection.
“As a child, my grandmother took me to Ailey’s Revelations once a year,” said Hurwitz. “No matter how often I saw it, the work captivated me. There isn’t one specific thing I hope viewers take away from the film--or one way to interpret its images. It’s meant to be an abstract work, like Ailey’s creations.”
Turning to his archive, Hurwitz and Harper illuminate key sequences symbolic of Ailey’s profound legacy, closing on an uninterrupted sequence from "I’ve Been Buked," the opening movement of Ailey’s legendary "Revelations." Carrying a watershed moment back to its own medium, Echoes of Ailey captures the multigenerational impact of Ailey’s work, continued by his organization. The short film first premiered on Nowness.
