The principals of design-focused production studio Leviathan are very proud to detail their collaborations with advertising agency Factory Design Labs (www.factorylabs.com) on behalf of Callaway Golf Company. rnrnSupporting the launch of Callaway Golf’s new line of RAZR Fit Xtreme(TM) Drivers, X Hot(TM) Drivers, Fairway Woods and Irons, numerous TV spots and brand films have recently debuted on targeted media outlets and Callaway’s YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/Callaway). The first TV spots (many others are currently in the production pipeline) feature live-action cinematography of PGA TOUR professionals captured using Red and Phantom digital camera systems on locations in Dallas and Orlando under the direction Supply & Demand director Josh Taft. For those location shoots, Leviathan principal and chief technologist Matt Daly joined the crews as visual effects supervisor.rnrnMeanwhile in Leviathan’s Chicago studio, the company’s creative director Bradon Webb, 3D lead Nathan Davies, lead VFX artist and compositor Chris Beers and 2D lead David Brodeur were part of the extensive team on the end-to-end design, animation and visual effects aspects elevating the visual, artistic, branding and storytelling aspects of these spots – as well as several other new Callaway product films and still renderings that are 100% CG. In each of these spots and product films, the full talents of Leviathan’s artists are evident, revealing the technology behind Callaway’s new products, adding on-screen visual elements that dramatize the action, creating the animated titles, end tags and mnemomics, and a great deal more. rnrn”A primary concern for everyone was ensuring that the VFX would highlight and not obscure the technology,” Webb began. “These clubs have an insane amount of technology behind them that makes them perform in a specific way. Highlighting that became our biggest challenge. In several cases that required us to literally explode the product to show interior parts and things that would not be visible from the exterior. Factory Design Labs came to us with some ideas and sketches of how this conceptually could work. It was then up to our design team to actually implement and innovate on the plan.”rnrn
rn“RAZR Fit Xtreme” TV SpotrnrnLeviathan earned its first assignments for Factory Design Labs in 2011, and the studio’s craftsmanship on those high-profile projects earned it the role as one of their partners for design, CG and VFX for the agency’s 2013 campaign for Callaway. “Earning the opportunity to develop and apply extraordinary design and VFX solutions for Callaway is one of the most exciting things to happen for our company so far,” confirmed Leviathan’s executive producer Chad Hutson. “Knowing our contributions need to represent Callaway as the world-class leader moving into the future, we are pouring ourselves into perfecting the brand’s look across all media platforms.”rnrn
rn“X Hot Irons” TV SpotrnrnFor its campaign contributions, Leviathan’s artists principally use Autodesk Maya, Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe After Effects and The Foundry’s Nuke. “In CG everything starts out paper thin and you have to extrude objects to give them dimension and reality,” Webb added. “In some cases shots are turning out so successfully that they are becoming key aspects of the stories being told.”rnrn
rn
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