The Richards Group and Machine Head sound designer/composer Stephen Dewey team up with Sonic Union mixer Rob McIver to cast an extraterrestrial spell on Super Bowl snackers in the cinematic :60 “Out of This World Taste” for H-E-B Grocery. nnThe spot, directed by SugarFilm Production’s Chris Smith, features a Texas community witnessing a series of seemingly inexplicable snack-related events that turn out to be the doing ofH-E-B Grocery brand-loving aliens who also get their grocery fix directly from the store. The spot aired in Texas during Sunday’s nn
nSuper Bowl broadcast and an extended :90 version can be viewed online here. nnMcIver worked closely with sound designer/composer Stephen Dewey to create the unusual audio environment of the distant creatures, as well as the unsuspecting community. Notes, Dewey, “The idea was for the spot to feel organic—and to have a quiet and suspenseful tone of displaced natural sounds rather than a loud and synthetic vibe. Rob’s deft mix was essential to preserve the build to intensity in our music and to not allow a dense palette of unique narrative sound elements be lost on the viewer.” To ensure that this organic and more relatable approach was maintained,a human voice was used for the alien’s utterances in the final scene, steering away from the more extreme science-fiction genres.nn”Out of This World Taste” opens on a shot of a man curiously surveying a newly-materialized crop circle as a television broadcast begins, “Strange occurrences are being reported all over Texas.” We cut to a group of tailgaters, a young man pointing up, shouting, “Hey! Check it out!” We see a mystical glowing light in the sky before cutting to a control room where a team of analysts is hovering together, listening to a suspicious audio sample. Strange occurrences pop up all around,from a delivery truck parked on the roof of a high-rise to snack foods vanishing from household kitchens. The situation intensifies with increased bright lights shining down from the advancing U.F.O. nnWe cut to a mysterious circular assembly of stacked shopping carts filled with H-E-B brand products being surveyed by government officials, as an investigator notes, “They’re trying to tell us something.” We intercut between the cart sculpture and the crop circle reading, “H-E-B,” culminating with the investigator shouting upwards, calling, “What do you want from us?!” nnIn the final scene, a teenage checker awkwardly laughs at the extraterrestrial standing before her in Texan attire as he casually converses with her in incomprehensible alien-speak. The creature vanishes in a flash as we close on the H-E-B logo accompanied by the voiceover, “H-E-B products. Everyone wants them. Only Texas has them.”nnnH.E.B. also has posted a series of behind the scenes videos on their YouTube page here. nnCreditsnnTitle: Out of This World Taste :60nClient: H-E-Butt Grocery Co.nGroup VP/Marketing/Advertising: Cory BassonGroup Account Director: Shelly HannonnAdvertising Account Supervisor: Rebecca GonzaleznnAgency: The Richards GroupnCreative Group Head: Chris SmithnBrand Creative/Art Director: Wendy BouisnBrand Creative/Copywriter: Brittany SarrettnAgency Producer: Debbie KippmannnProduction Company: Sugar Film ProductionnDirector: Chris SmithnExecutive Producer: Tony MiglininExecutive Producer/Producer: Byron FittsnnEditorial: Charlie Uniform TangonEditorial EP: Lola LottnEditorial Producer: Jeff ElmorenEditor: Deedle LeCournEFX/Online Editor: Joey WaldripnnColorist: Filmworker’s DallasnnSound Design & Music: Machine HeadnSound Designer/Composer: Stephen DeweynnAudio Post: Sonic UnionnMixer: RobMcIver nnAbout SONIC UNIONnSonic Union, New York was a concept born in 2008 between lauded mixers Michael Marinelli and Steve Rosen, and Managing Director Adam Barone. The team set out to create the finest audio shop in New York, while also maintaining a family-like feel in a location that reflected—and supported—client comfort,natural light and the artists’ unwavering love of the craft. Three years later, Sonic Union’s work has won top awards, their employees and clients play together after work, and its architecturally significant space overlooking the trees of Union Square has become a home-away-from-home for everyone who mixes there.nnSonic Union’s team, headed by Studio Manager Justine Cortale, includes the talents of Rob McIver, David Papa, and Paul Weiss. Other disciplines are growing, with the addition of veteran voiceover Casting Director Maria Pappalardo,who brings 15 years of agency experience to the group.nnSonic Union’s flourishing Motion Graphics and VFX studio chases new ideas through design, animation and visual effects, delivering smart and fresh work for an array of creative clients. Pulling off the unexpected with unrivaled dedication, the process is infused with equal parts love and magic. Come in and check out the state of our Union… www.sonicunion.com Contact:Adam Barone Sonic Union Contact Adam via email
Contact:Media: Virginia Scripps Press Kitchen 310.392.6682
“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