The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2012 is well underway, following the record-setting FOX Sports broadcast for the rain-delayed 2012 Daytona 500, which drew 36.5 million viewers, and last Sunday’s equally sensational Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. For its on-air elements used to promote each race this season, Fox Sports Marketing Group turned to award-winning design and digital production company Thornberg & Forester (T&F).nnNASCAR’s excitement draws from many fascinating and somewhat dangerous facets, and when they all come together in a race, the thrills are tangible across all the senses. T&F’s design system for this year’s NASCAR on-air package for Fox Sports extends diagonal patterns from NASCAR’s logo, along with other 3D design elements representing a myriad of interconnected pieces within a larger structure, to artfully reflect drivers, fans, broadcasters and racecars within each promotional piece. Project deliverables from T&F include a :30 promo, the main title for NASCAR on Fox, full-screen graphics for 12 tracks, IDs for 13 drivers, B-roll holders/animations, scanline tracking for specific cars, transitions, backplates and more. nn”T&F produced some really unique and beautiful style frames that we loved instantly,” said Robert Gottlieb, Fox Sports Marketing SVP/Group Creative Director. Fox Sports lead creative on the project Josh Nichols added, “It was a really exciting challenge to translate such a cool pitch into a thirty second NASCAR promo.”nn”Fox was looking for a fresh look for their NASCAR coverage this year,” said T&F creative director Frank Pichel. “They wanted to make something that felt new and different for them and for NASCAR. Elegant, beautiful, and subtle were all words that they used to describe what they were looking for.”nnn2012 NASCAR On-Air Package for Fox Sports: Las Vegas PromonnT&F presented several original ideas for the project, and two of the treatments generated the most excitement. Animation tests produced for both directions led to the final choice. “Fox really had faith in us to lead the way outside their normal zone,” Pichel added. “The main challenge was to make it feel unique and beautiful with such a simple palette of objects and colors.”nnT&F’s artists used a combination of Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe After Effects, and Maxon Cinema4D for this project, and finishing was handled in Autodesk Flame by Fox Sports. nnAlong with Gottlieb and Nichols, credits for Fox Sports Marketing Group also include CMO Eric Markgraf, VP Bill Battin, executive producer Jason Dodd, editor Curtis Roen, Flame artist Simon Holden, graphic designer Ryan Zunkley and sound designer Chris Fina. T&F’s credits include head of 3D Vi Nguyen, executive producer Elizabeth Kiehner, producer Javier Gonzalez, designers Frank Pichel, Scott Matz, Adam Grabowski, Mike Burgoyne, Jorge Peschiera, Yuki Nakajima and Angela Zhu, and animation / compositing artists Mike Russo, Mike Burgoyne, Yuki Nakajiima, Jorge Peschiera, Frank Pichel, Keith Endow, Ken Krueger, Adam Grabowski, Russ Porchia and Joe Russ. Music is courtesy of Elias Arts’ executive producer Ann Haugen, producer Val Scinto, composer Michael Fraumeni, and creative director Dave Gold. nnFor more information on this project, please visit www.thornbergandforester.com.nnAbout Thornberg & ForesternThornberg & Forester (T&F) is an award-winning design and digital production company that exists to bring quality, integrity and innovation to the media landscape. Our team does this by crafting stories and conveying brand messages through the most relevant mediums possible. We challenge ourselves to leverage both creativity and technology, and above all we genuinely listen to the needs of our client partners and respond with the best solutions for you. With conceptual design as our backbone, our headquarters in Manhattan and an outpost in Hollywood, we offer a complete turnkey solution for brilliant end-to-end production through delivery. Many of our clients worldwide refer to us as their secret weapon and it’s time we let you in on the secret: www.thornbergandforester.com.
Roger Darnell DWA for Thornberg & Forester Phone: 1.828.264.8898 Contact Roger via email
Who Needs Los Angeles? We Do.
One doesn't have to be a statistician to know that there are fewer commercials being shot in the U.S. today for the American market than ever before, and a dramatic decrease in L.A. in particular. In the last five years, as reported by FilmLA (the office tasked with issuing permits), L.A. commercial production has dipped 31 percent. But here’s the thing: This doesn’t mean that L.A. has lost its importance as the production center of the world. Production in L.A. is vital. It is the go-to. It’s where you can count on access to exemplary crews, a support infrastructure second to none, varied location and backlot options, a large population of on-screen talent and (fairly) predictable weather. The fact is, with overall decline and now the devastation of the fires, we’re on the brink of losing this mainstay resource. Without employment opportunities and now many without homes, talented and trained crew are bound to leave either the industry or the LA area for other opportunities, unless there are enough job opportunities to sustain a solid living. Now is the time when we ALL must support and bolster this community. Production is needed in L.A., now! Of course, advertising is a business, and marketers’ money should be spent as efficiently as possible, BUT we have to think beyond each production and know that if we lose the incredible resource of L.A. production as we know it, then marketers, agencies and the industry loses in the long run. Over the past several days, some agencies have issued directives to production companies that are unilaterally pushing upcoming production options out of L.A. The fact is L.A. is a large area, and many sections of the city and county are not directly impacted... Read More