International visual effects, design and brand communications company Gravity, and its in-house Director & Creative Director Yuval Levy, have just completed a new, five-spot campaign promoting 2013 Ford F-Series Trucks. Working in tandem with Ford’s advertising agency, Team Detroit, Gravity produced a fresh approach to the iconic “Rant” campaign featuring the rapid-fire voice-over of actor/comedian Denis Leary. The new campaign just broke. nnnTo view the new spot entitled “Thinking,” please click here.nnnTo view the new spot entitled “Work Day,” go here.nnAnother new Gravity-produced spot will begin to air nationally in October.nnTeam Detroit retained Gravity to help create a new approach to the well-known Denis Leary “Rant” spots, which have been highly effective in promoting Ford Trucks since the 2009 model year. nnThe new spots Gravity produced highlight the fuel efficiency and capability of the 2013 F-150 and Super Duty pickups. Gravity’s director Yuval Levy directed four days of live action photography on location shooting six Ford truck models on various locations in the California desert.nnRegarding Gravity’s work, Gravity’s CEO/Chief Creative Officer Zviah Eldar said, “When we were asked to work with Team Detroit on their legendary Ford F-150 & Super Duty campaign, we were thrilled. The campaign was pitched against very stiff industry competition over more than two months. We fought hard for this opportunity. This enormous project involved every facet of our company, from the concept behind the ‘look and feel,’ to live action production, editorial, motion graphics and visual effects. Our design teams spent a great deal of time on these spots, to ensure they presented Ford’s 2013 product line in a truly unique and highly artistic fashion. We feel we rose to the challenge.” n nGravity’s CMO/Executive Producer Bob Samuel adds, “Yuval worked closely with Team Detroit Creative Director Paul Kirner and Senior Art Director Beth Hambly. Together, the three really championed the use of positive-negative space for this campaign, which in turn led to dozens of images, each illustrating various aspects of the product. Yuval then had to solve the riddle of bringing the design to motion and creating transitions between disparate images. It was an intricate puzzle which Yuval nailed with amazing results.”nnTeam Detroit Creative Director Brad Hensen said, "We were looking for a distinct visual change in the campaign, but we also wanted it to feel reminiscent of the original work for the ’09 F-150. Because of the campaign’s media weight, we needed the spots to be very re-watchable.” Senior writer Sue Mersch said, “We want viewers to see something new each time they see the spots.” “To that end, the scene transitions had to be interesting and clever. Gravity and Yuval really stepped up to that challenge. We’re very pleased with the results," Hensen added.nnLevy said, “The agency CD’s Brad & Paul, their creative team Sue & Beth, and Producer Bob Rashid were real partners throughout the whole process. We worked together for months in development, and had the full support of Team Detroit’s Chief Creative Officer Toby Barlow, Executive Creative Director Curtis Melville, and all the guys at Ford. It was a unique and gratifying experience for me designing, directing the live action, and supervising our team on an intense finishing schedule. I also think the experience and calm of Gravity Producer Russ Dube kept things on an even keel.”nnGravity produced three additional spots for Ford’s annual retail truck sales promotion, the “Built Ford Tough Event” broke on Sept. 4th. Team Detroit’s Paul Zimmerman, Jac Manseur and Bob Rashid worked with Yuval and his team at Gravity. These additional spots are football-themed, and also utilize the positive-negative space concept to support a month-long truck promotionnnCredits New 2013 Ford Trucks CampaignnTeam DetroitnChief Creative Officer: Toby BarlownExecutive Creative Director: Curtis MelvillenCD, Writer: Brad HensennCD, Art Director: Paul KirnernArt Director: Beth HamblynWriter: Susan MerschnSales Event CDs: Todd Chumley, Mike PriggenSales Event Art Director: Paul ZimmermannSales Event Writer: Jac MansournExecutive Producer: Bob RashidnBusiness Manager: Samer Ajluni nnGravity nDirector/Creative Director: Yuval Levy nCEO/Chief Creative Officer: Zviah EldarnCMO/Executive Producer: Bob SamuelnHead of Production: Karen Bianca BisignanonSenior Producer: Russ DubenAssociate Producer: Emily DavisnEditor/Compositor: Marc SteinbergnHead of Design: Israel BreslevnDesign Producer: Miri BirovnDesigners: Vadim Sverdlov, Cryssy Cheung, Jie-Yun RoenCG Artists: Brian DiNoto, Goran Ognjanovic, Anthony Ragusa, Chimin Yang, Sangdo Park, John MangiannLive Action:nDirector: Yuval LevynDP/Director: Paul LaufernExecutive Producers: Bob Samuel, Neale FergusonnSenior Producer: Carr DonaldnProduction Manager: Nick ShandrannSound Mixing: Rob Sayers, Sound LoungennAbout GRAVITYnGravity is an international visual effects, design and brand communications company with proven expertise in three integrated divisions: Features & Television, Commercials, and Digital. With 250 talented professionals across offices in New York, Los Angeles, Connecticut and Tel Aviv, the company is a widely renowned generator of high-end visual effects, creative content, motion graphics design, animation, branding, and digital strategy.nnThe company’s clients include Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, Sony Pictures Entertainment, HBO, Paramount Pictures, Virgin Produced, The Weinstein Company, Dimension Films, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Verizon, Pantene, MGA Entertainment, Carlsberg, Kmart, and Braun. Gravity’s recent feature film credits include “Tower Heist,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “The Adjustment Bureau,” “Arthur,” “The Other Guys,” “Salt,” “The Reader,” and “Ghost Town.” The company’s television credits include HBO’s “Bored to Death,” “The Sopranos,” and “Sex and The City.” nnGravity’s New York office is located at 315 Madison Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10017. The phone is 212/986-1584. The company’s West Coast office is located in the Lantana Building, 3000 West Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica, CA, 90404. The phone is 310/264-3909. For more information, please visit www.gravityworld.com.
Media Contact for Gravity: Dan Harary The Asbury PR Agency/Beverly Hills 310/859-1831 Contact Dan via email
Asian World Film Festival Reveals Asian Vision Program Lineup, Snow Leopard and Bruce Lee Honorees, and Jury Members
The 10th Annual Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) is proud to announce the lineup for its inaugural Asian Vision program, which was conceived to showcase new and exceptional Asian features that have participated in major A-list film festivals and/or garnered international acclaim. The program of eight motion pictures (see list below) will be held November 17-19, 2024, with the top film receiving the Asian Vision Best Film Award. The 10th Annual Asian World Film Festival takes place November 13 - 21, 2024, at the Culver Theatre in Culver City, CA. This year’s Snow Leopard Lifetime Achievement Award, the Festival’s highest honor, will be presented to acclaimed director, screenwriter, and producer Sergei Bodrov in celebration of his remarkable 50-year career. Bodrov established his reputation as a visionary filmmaker with “Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan” (2007), nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film, and “Prisoner of the Mountains” (1996), also an Oscar® nominee as well as a Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize-winner. The Snow Leopard Outstanding Cinematic Achievement Award will be presented to director, producer, and screenwriter Peter Ho-Sun Chan, one of Hong Kong’s most critically acclaimed and accomplished filmmakers. Known for his versatility and the scope of his work, Chan’s landmark films, including “Comrades: Almost a Love Story” (1996) and “The Warlords” (2007), have earned him a remarkable 233 awards from more than 400 nominations. As previously announced, AWFF will screen “Comrades: Almost a Love Story,” followed by a Q&A with Chan. Multi-award-winning actress Kathryn Bernardo will receive the Snow Leopard... Read More