Bi-coastal production company Stardust recently delivered a 10-spot campaign from Corona that supports their promotion to send 30 lucky fans on a trip to a top football destination. Stardust was recruited for the project via agency Pereira & O’Dell to develop a package of fast-paced, high-energy animated shorts in a contemporary hand-drawn comic style. nnThe Corona campaign celebrates the start of the football season and features over eleven minutes of original animation that echo the humor and signature rapid-fire delivery of narrator Jon Gruden. Each of the ten spots is just over one minute long, and celebrates the football credibility of cities that include: Chicago, Dallas, Green Bay, Knoxville, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and New Orleans, all of which are destinations in Corona’s “Find Your Beach for the Game” promotion. The spots debuted last week on Facebook, YouTube and via an online media buy.nnnClick here to view spot online.nn"Working with Stardust was truly a creative collaboration,” said Kathy Zembera, Interactive Producer, Pereira & O’Dell. “We loved what they brought to the table visually and stylistically, playing up the humor in the voiceover and developing a clean, sophisticated animation style that is perfect for the target audience that we’re reaching out to with this campaign."nnA team of five illustrators and six animators led by Stardust Senior Designer and AD Bill Bak spent 2 months developing the style, look and characters for this project working off of scripts developed by the agency, and created the animation to match the voiceovers from Jon Gruden which had been recorded in advance. nnStardust‘s Managing Director Dexton Deboree said, “The series was an opportunity for the whole team at Stardust to experiment with tools of illustration, comedy and character design. Our team was chomping at the bit to show off their varied skill sets and talents and this project allowed us to do just that. Working with Pereira & O’Dell and Corona was a true pleasure."nnStardust‘s founder and CD, Jake Banks added “I’m proud of the team for once again showing how vast their talents are and stepping up to a new challenge and delivering so successfully”.nnThere was no live action shoot for this campaign, however the team did reference photographs and footage from football games and of Jon Gruden to help guide the animation and characters. The loose illustrative style of the animation was achieved using a combination of hand drawn flash-based cell animation, finished in Adobe After Effects, together with Autodesk Maya for the character animation. nnProject CreditsnAdvertising Agency: Pereira & O’Dell, San Francisco, CAnExecutive Creative Director: Dave ArnoldnSenior Copywriter: Ryan Durr nArt Director: Chris Rutkowski nInteractive Producer: Kathy ZemberanAccount Director: Gary TheutnAccount Supervisor: Kyle Caruso nAccount Executive: Jennifer Wantuch nnProduction Company: StardustnExecutive Creative Director: Jake BanksnManaging Partner/Executive Producer: Dexton DeboreenProducer: Melina OsornionArt Director + Lead Designer: Bill BaknIllustrator: Ken LeenIllustrator: Kendra RyannIllustrator: Jamal OtolorinnIllustrator: Alex PrestonnAnimator: Luis SalcedonIllustrator and Animator: Brian ScottnAnimator: Dan Wiese nAnimator: Thomas BittikoffernnAbout Stardust Studios nStardust is a visually driven production company that specializes in design, motion graphics and live-action work out of its Santa Monica and New York based offices. Its collective of designers, illustrators, animators, VFX artists, directors and filmmakers continually aspire to redefine creativity for commercial, on-air, music video and experiential projects. Led by founder and Executive Creative Director Jake Banks and his partner, Managing Director Dexton Deboree, Stardust is characterized by an authentic voice and passion to push the creative envelope. The studio has worked with the world’s top ad agencies and brands on projects for HP, Nike, Sony, AT&T, Honda, Shell, Nissan, Ford, IBM, Nokia, Adidas, BMW, NYSE, LG and Microsoft, among many others. For more information, please visit www.stardust.tv.
Karen Raz Raz PR for Stardust Contact Karen via email
Who Needs Los Angeles? We Do.
One doesn't have to be a statistician to know that there are fewer commercials being shot in the U.S. today for the American market than ever before, and a dramatic decrease in L.A. in particular. In the last five years, as reported by FilmLA (the office tasked with issuing permits), L.A. commercial production has dipped 31 percent. But here’s the thing: This doesn’t mean that L.A. has lost its importance as the production center of the world. Production in L.A. is vital. It is the go-to. It’s where you can count on access to exemplary crews, a support infrastructure second to none, varied location and backlot options, a large population of on-screen talent and (fairly) predictable weather. The fact is, with overall decline and now the devastation of the fires, we’re on the brink of losing this mainstay resource. Without employment opportunities and now many without homes, talented and trained crew are bound to leave either the industry or the LA area for other opportunities, unless there are enough job opportunities to sustain a solid living. Now is the time when we ALL must support and bolster this community. Production is needed in L.A., now! Of course, advertising is a business, and marketers’ money should be spent as efficiently as possible, BUT we have to think beyond each production and know that if we lose the incredible resource of L.A. production as we know it, then marketers, agencies and the industry loses in the long run. Over the past several days, some agencies have issued directives to production companies that are unilaterally pushing upcoming production options out of L.A. The fact is L.A. is a large area, and many sections of the city and county are not directly impacted... Read More