Production company King and Country (K&C) recently worked with ad agency RPA to direct and produce a new campaign for the 2013 Honda Civic, which has been widely lauded by the media and drivers alike.n nIn the first spot, “More to Love,” the camera moves through the inside of the Civic as blue and white metallic mylar balloons inflate containing kudos from major trade magazines, newspapers and websites. Cut to the outside, where the doors burst open and hundreds of quote-filled balloons spill out of the car, joining others that float together to comprise a heart-shaped cloud, as the voiceover concludes, “It’s the best Civic yet.”n nSimilarly, “Civic Love” showers the love on the outside of the Civic, as the text balloons pop up and animatedly form into a heart above the car.nn
nTo view “Civic Love” click here.nn
nTo view “More to Love” go here.nn”By featuring real quotes from real reviewers and consumers, the heart of this campaign is firmly rooted in humanity and personality,” says Rick Gledhill, K&C Director and Partner. “Our goal was to ensure that this spirit resonated throughout the entirety of both spots, from the typography design to the location choice to the shooting style.”nnEarly on in the discussion, a decision was made to use an art gallery space as the backdrop, which also serves a genuine purpose: turning the Civic and the quotes into an art installation. The aim was to harness the established spirited, friendly nature of Honda marketing and elevate it by drawing inspiration from the look and feel of contemporary gallery exhibits.nnWith its history of shooting cars for post, King and Country‘s director and supporting post team were capable of turning the spots around quickly and efficiently. Using the previs animation created for both spots during the pitch stage allowed K&C to move promptly into production, which was crucial with an incredibly tight turnaround of two weeks to prep and shoot, and 2 1/2 weeks for postproduction.nn”We wanted our spots to have a quirky, natural beauty, and not look like slick, stylized motion graphics,” explains Gledhill. “We shot everything on location in a sparse brick warehouse, and constructed a gallery set inside that, which we could reconfigure in many ways for each shot. The key to our speed on the shoot day was having movable gallery walls. Every set piece, including the 40-foot walls, was constructed on wheels and could be glided around to the perfect position.”nn”The car was static, so we let the camera do the work,” continues Gledhill, who shot 5K on the RED EPIC. “We shot off a dolly and tracks, riding around the Civic. This specific approach to movement and framing makes it seem as though we’re seeing the point-of-view of someone looking at the car, lending a personal and human feel to the camera, and adding a sense of discovery.”nnIn post, K&C tracked every shot in 3D, then match-moved a CG car in the same position, so reflections of the typography were created in the sheet metal and glass. This also allowed the team to create photo-real shadows over the Civic and on the floor.nn”We advocated that the spots be cut-driven for both aesthetic and practical reasons,” says Gledhill. “This firstly allowed us to compress the passage of time.
Michele Lu Kumar Priya PR 310.922.0464 Contact Michele via email
Goldcrest Post Speeds Delivery of “Severance” Season Two
The New York Times recently wrote that the just-released Season Two of Severance will “blow your mind”—and we couldn’t agree more. Created by Dan Erickson and Ben Stiller, the Apple TV+ drama is smart, spellbinding, distinctly original and packed with surprises. For those who aren’t already devoted fans, the show centers on Mark Scout (Adam Scott), leader of a team at Lumon Industries, whose employees have undergone a “severance” procedure that surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. Goldcrest Post provided post services for both seasons of the show, including picture editorial support, sound editorial, ADR and sound mixing. Editorial for Season One began in 2020. Due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, Goldcrest supplied both onsite production offices and edit suites, and remote editing systems for individual editors, with everything linked to a central server. "Mixing at Goldcrest with our team has been a great experience,” says Stiller. “Bob and Jacob are in sync with our creative process and so good at what they do that the experience is always one where it's about how we can enhance the creative vision, with a baseline of knowing everyone is totally committed to making something as good as it can be." Diana Dekajlo, the show’s co-producer, says that the arrangement worked so well, they chose to continue the hybrid approach for Season Two. “We’re a remote friendly show,” she explains. “Whether we’re at Goldcrest, our studio in the Bronx or at home, our workflow is seamless. I conduct remote daily meetings with my immediate staff, and weekly meetings with editorial and VFX, and we talk to each other as if we were just down the hall. It makes for great staff... Read More