P&G Approaches Aggressive to Craft Beautiful Cosmetics Spot
It’s rare when a job starts off on such a right foot, and I think the effects of that are noticeable throughout.nnYou see, Anna Sui and the folks at Procter & Gamble saw our music video for Kerli’s “Walking on Air,” and got so excited they gave us the rare opportunity not only to create this spot for Anna Sui Makeup Foundation, but to develop the concept for it from the ground up. This was refreshing and fun. With the only direction being “magical botanical ingredients,” we came up with four different ideas, taking two of the concepts through to the storyboard stage, finally settling on the story of the plastic compact organically growing in Anna Sui‘s garden.nnWe really wanted to make the atmosphere magical, while keeping the ingredients organic and luscious. To achieve this, we decided that a combination of live action and CG was the way to go. Being in control of the entire process, production and post, this was a breeze for us: in two days of shooting and armed with a Canon 5D Mark II, we went on-location at Ringwood Manor, NJ for background plates, including the opening gate shot, and then went into the studio, shooting talent, and macro elements such as rose bushes, raspberry branches, leaves and so on. Even though the back plates are heavily colored and out of focus, you can still feel the wind and the leaves of the surrounding trees.nnFor the next four weeks we were getting down and dirty with 3d Studio Max 2010 for creating realistic fruit and the vine animation, RealFlow 5 for all droplets and splashes, and After Effects CS4 for final composites. Normally used to much tighter music video deadlines, it was a blast to have the time to finesse each individual frame until it couldn’t get any “tastier.” To make sure our fruit ingredients are spot-on, we shot tons of high-res textures and references, going to a nearby raspberry farm, and filling our studio with fresh apricots and berries (which we then ate).nn
Anna Sui from www.whatisaggressive.com.“>Aggressive on Vimeo.
nIt’s projects like this, where you’re genuinely excited about the work you do, that make it all worthwhile. We like our job.nnCreditsnnProject Name: Anna Sui “Rose“ nTo view: http://whatisaggressive.com/621695/Anna-SuinnClient: Anna Sui/P&GnnProduction Company: Antenna Media / www.whatisaggressive.com.“>AggressivenDirector: www.whatisaggressive.com.“>Aggressive (Alex Topaller and Dan Shapiro)nDP: Damian AcevedonExec. Producer: Jordon WinternLine Producer: Arthur Micah Ross IInnVFX: www.whatisaggressive.com.“>AggressivenLead VFX, Compositing: Alex Topaller, Daniel ShapironTechnical Director of 3D: Jesse HolmesnArt Direction and Styleframes: Jungeun Kim, Lilian DarmononFluids: Attila ZalanyinnModelling: Evermotion, Jesse Holmes, Caius WongnnRotoscope: Rooster CreativennMusical Score: Justin Stanley nnAbout www.whatisaggressive.com.“>Aggressivenwww.whatisaggressive.com.“>Aggressive is a visual effects and storytelling studio headed by the Grammy Award-Winning directors Alex Topaller and Dan Shapiro. To date, www.whatisaggressive.com.“>Aggressive has directed music videos for some of the world’s biggest artists (Stone Temple Pilots, Juanes, Megadeth, Bloc Party, etc.), as well as a number of broadcast and online spots for clients such as Ralph Lauren, Anna Sui, Marc Ecko, MTV, Subway, AT&T and more. View more of their work at www.whatisaggressive.com.nn
Kerli “Walking on Air“ from www.whatisaggressive.com.“>Aggressive on Vimeo.
Contact:Alex Topaller Director Contact Alex via email m: 917.535.5521
Contact:Daniel Shapiro Director Contact Dan via email m: 201.873.9800
“Ǝvolution” Comes Full Circle At The Chelsea Film Festival
The Chelsea Film Festival, running from October 16th through October 20th, 2024, at Regal Cinemas here in Union Square, is set to host the East Coast premiere of Ǝvolution, a thought-provoking experimental micro-short film that proves big ideas can come in small packages and in perfect circles.
In just 1 minute 16 seconds, this cinematic gem by Award-Winning Director Romina Schwedler, with original music by Argentine Composer Ignacio Montoya Carlotto, explores a cycle as old as time: life leads to progress, progress leads to destruction, and destruction, well, leads back to life. But is this vicious circle unbreakable? Ǝvolution suggests the answer is yes, unless we decide to open our eyes.
Inspired by the overwhelming number of recent events that threaten human existence, Ǝvolution, possibly the shortest film in this 12th edition of the festival, plays out entirely through the symbolism of circles, cleverly illustrating —in the blink of an eye— the repeating patterns of history, and confronting viewers with the uncomfortable truth that our so-called “progress” may, in fact, be guiding us to our own ruin.Premiering at the Regal 14 Union Square, New York City, on October 18, 2024, at 11 a.m., Romina Schwedler's micro-short, featuring Leah Young with cinematography by Alan J. Carmona, will be sure to spark conversations longer than the film itself! Forcing viewers to reconsider the true meaning of evolution, not just as a biological process, but as a reflection of our collective journey as humans.
With a string of festival appearances across the globe, including CineGlobe at CERN (Switzerland/France), Oscar®... Read More