Venice, CA-based visual effects studio The Mission taps into the internal heat of competition in the glacial new :30 “Frozen” for Nike and Dick’s Sporting Goods out of Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, OR. The spot features a variety of impetuous athletes, fiercely battling the frozen elements to train for their respective sports. The Mission handled comprehensive VFX for the spot, including on-set supervision, color correction, extensive composite work and CG enhancements of the practical snow.nnTo heighten the crispness of the icy elements featured throughout, The Mission‘s Creative Director Rob Trent and team employed meticulous CG including an entirely CG shot with CG ice crystals comped onto a CG fence, CG mist and breath for the athletes and CG snow. Background textural elements including skylines and trees were comped in throughout the spot as well as “winterizing” a green field with a CG blanket of snow.nn nnNotes Trent, “Sitting there in the 90 degree heat of the Detroit summer and watching the athletes sweat through their 2-hour shoot windows, it was fun to imagine the transformation we would achieve in the end. Humid, green grass and sunny dusk skies would become crusty snowpacks in a cold, moody void. Careful preparation with the DP was taken so that the natural lighting was diffused enough to match the end environment.”nn”Frozen” opens on ominous rolling grey clouds and a chain-link fence with a layer of frost just beginning to crystallize. We see a Dick’s Sporting Goods bottle on the frigid grass with the water inside turning to ice. We cut to the preparatory breaths of three athletes, readying themselves for winter outdoor lacrosse, soccer and football training. The intensity of the athletes increases as the wintery elements surge around them. As we intercut between the players reaching the peak of their training ferocity, a voiceover intones, “This is not when the games are played, but it’s when the games are won.” Each of the three athletes rush the camera, cutting to a moment of darkness before we see the football player retreating into a thick sheet of falling snow. The voiceover concludes, “Nike Pro Combat Hyperwarm. Gear up with the best of Nike cold weather at Dick’s Sporting Goods.” The spot closes on the Dick’s logo and super, “Every condition. Every workout. Every game. Every season starts at Dick’s Sporting Goods.”nnCreditsnClient: Nike, Dick’s Sporting GoodsnTitle: “Frozen” :30nnAgency: Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, ORnAgency Producer: Andy MurillonCopywriter: Tom SebancnArt Director: Ken MeyernCreative Director: Guy SeesenCreative Director: Rob ThompsonnAccount Supervisor: Dave HubbardnAccount Director: Courtney NelsonnBusiness Affairs: Connery ObengnnProduction Company: Anonymous Content, Culver City, CAnDirector: Malcolm VenvillenExecutive Producer: Eric SternnEP/Production: SueEllen ClairnProducer: Karen SproulnProduction Supervisor: Marisol Aragon-HeroldnnEditorial: Joint Editorial, Portland, ORnEditor: Kyle ValentanEditorial EP: Patty BrebnernnVFX: The MissionnVFX Creative Director: Rob TrentnCG Supervisor: Piotr KarwasnVFX EP: Michael PardeenFlame: Narbeh MardirossiannFlame: Katrina SalicrupnFX: Eric RosenthalnFX: Tom LynnesnAnimator: Samir LyonsnVFX Producer: Diana ChengnnAbout The MissionnThe Mission is a high-end visual effects studio specializing in commercials, film and digital content. It is located in the middle of the pop-culture hub known as Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA.nnWith the talents of some of the most creative and experienced artists in the industry, working with the latest tools and a top-notch production staff, The Mission is a lean and dynamic powerhouse of a partner to deploy into your creative process.nnFrom concepting, previs, and on-set-supervision, to 2d and 3d visual effects work & design, and on to final mastering, The Mission brings a smart, beautiful and efficient component to every visual dimension of your project.
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Contact In The Desert Returns To Indian Wells, CA, May 29-June 2, 2025, Featuring Keynote Speaker Josh Gates of “Expedition Unknown”
The Contact In The Desert Conference (CITD) will take place May 29th - June 2nd, 2025, at the beautiful Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, CA. The conference will feature over 120 lectures, workshops, intensives and panels presented by the world’s most prestigious experts in the fields of UFO/UAP, Government Disclosure, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Science, Ancient Civilizations, Space Exploration, Future of Technology and Space Travel, Non-human Intelligence, Spirituality, and more. This year’s conference, with the theme Event Horizon, will feature renowned keynote speaker Josh Gates, host of Discovery’s Expedition Unknown, as well as Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell, the leading expert on child autism and savant syndrome, who will be speaking about her telepathy project. Tickets are now available: CLICK HERE “We are thrilled to welcome Josh Gates and Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell to CITD 2025. They both bring unique insights and deep dedication to discovering the unknown,” said CITD Executive Producer Ron Janix. About Josh Gates Adventurer, television personality and author Josh Gates is the host and executive producer of the smash-hit Discovery Channel TV series, Expedition Unknown. Armed with a degree in archaeology, a quick wit and a hunger for adventure, Gates has traveled to the most remote corners of the world, participated in sub-sea archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, and explored everywhere from sweltering African deserts to the icy shore of Antarctica. To date, he has set foot in more than one hundred countries, has scaled “the roof of Africa” on Mt.... Read More