Digital studio Radium/Reel FX, Santa Monica/Dallas, plays a radical game of JENGA infused with NBA finesse in the new :30 called “Style Points” out of UPROAR!. The spot features Clippers forward Blake Griffin and Timberwolves forward Kevin Love facing off with an unconventional game of JENGA on an NBA basketball court. This latest Hasbro spot draws inspiration from an ESPN tongue-in-cheek short, “Behind The Scenes at The EPSYs,” which featured Griffin and Lake playing a heated game of JENGA back in July.
To capitalize on the spoof, UPROAR! tasked the Radium/Reel FX team, led by Executive Creative Director Dale Carman and Producer John Briley, and live action production duo, Matt Docter and Jason Docter (The Docter Twins), to recreate the rivalry with an over-the-top twist. “UPROAR! and Radium/Reel FX have a well-established partnership that spans many years on various campaigns, including Hasbro, Play-Doh, Transformers and EA (Electronic Arts). We always look forward to working with them,” says Carman, who also worked as on-set VFX Supervisor on the spot. In contrast, this marked the first creative collaboration between Reel FX and the Docter Twins. “He (Carman) allowed us to work creatively as filmmakers and supported us as directors, always helping us make things work rather than telling us we couldn’t do something,” recall the Docter Twins.
In “Style Points,” VFX and practical elements intermix to showcase each athlete’s talents. Actual blocks, glued and stacked together by hand, formed an incredibly tall JENGA tower for one shot. In the following shot, the blocks cascade down into a pile on the basketball court through effects composited in Autodesk Flame. In another shot, Love spins a JENGA piece on his finger – also thanks to Autodesk Flame. One iconic shot also imitates Griffin’s winning dunk from last February’s NBA Slam Dunk contest where he jumped over a car, but this time he’s flying over an orderly arrangement of JENGA tubes. Radium/Reel FX finished the spot using Autodesk Flame Premium-component Lustre.
Radium/Reel FX Editor Quan Tran cut the spot in-house, “As a big basketball fan it was fun to edit the spot knowing Blake and Kevin’s back story on the ESPYs. It was definitely a unique challenge to cut with over 15 hours of footage to play with from three different camera set ups. Since we turn-keyed this spot, our team got to collaborate on everything from the shoot to the edit to CG and Sound Design. This collaboration was the key to our success and made the process easier since everyone was on the same page from start to finish.”
Click here to view “Style Points” on The SPW Channel.
About the Spot
“Style Points” opens on Blake Griffin feverishly dribbling a basketball on the court when Kevin Love walks on, challenging him to a game of JENGA. The two add their own personal style as they jump into the game. “Style points,” brags Lake, spinning the block on his finger. “Just like that?” Griffin asks as he pulls a block out, dribbling it on the court before placing it on top of the tower. As his last move, Griffin steals the show by stacking hundreds of JENGA blocks and successfully leaping over them to place the block on top. “Boom! That’s how you JENGA!” Griffin exclaims triumphantly. However, he quickly realizes that his swift moves were a bit over-the-top, causing the tower to topple over and end the game. The two are seen in the background cleaning up the pieces as the super displays the JENGA box and wooden blocks. The spot closes on Griffin doing a backward dunk before asking, “How do you JENGA?”
“Style Points” is currently airing on kids cable channels and various sports networks.
Credits
Client: JENGA
Title: Style Points :30
Air Date: Currently Airing
Agency: UPROAR!
Creative Directors: Erik Nelson, Kevin Nelson
Production Company: Harpoon Pictures
Director: Docter Twins
VFX/Live Action: Radium/Reel FX, Santa Monica/Dallas
Executive Creative Director: Dale Carman
Executive Producer: Gary Banks
Producer: John Briley
Bidding Producer: Marvin Robinson
Production Manager: Ellyn Golub
Production Coordinator: Susan Nguyen
VFX Supervisor: Kevin Althans
VFX Artists: Bryan Bayley, Jared Brower, Laychin Lee
CG Supervisor: Randall Smith
CG Artists: Brandon Stoker, Demian Kurejwowski
Technical Director: Jon Speer
Editor: Quan Tran
Editorial Assistant: John McStravick
Animator: Jeff Weidner
Lighter: Patrick Gray
Audio Artists: Frank Pittenger, TJ Callaway
Motion Designers: Jackson Armstrong, James Tobias
About Radium/Reel FX
Founded in 1993, Radium/Reel FX (Dallas/Santa Monica) is an award-winning creative studio that produces animation and visual effects-driven content from “script to screen” for blue chip Entertainment and Commercial clients. The studio is known worldwide for its ability to craft innovative solutions, as well as the breadth of its capabilities which also include motion design, editorial and audio work. In addition, Radium/Reel FX develops original, multi-platform content for feature films and film franchises, and supports its creative endeavors with cutting-edge, proprietary technology. Radium/Reel FX is home to a roster of top creative talent, with a diverse and experienced team of almost 300 production executives, artists and staff who work between its Dallas and Santa Monica studios. www.radiumreelfx.com
