Klaus Obermeyer of Aero Film directed this :90 spot which illustrates the drive that CNN field correspondents have to go out and find the story–to show it from the POV of the people living it. In this case the CNN reporter is Nima Elbagir and the branding piece for CNN was shot in Washington D.C., London, and in Idomeni, Greece at the Syrian refugee camps that border Macedonia.
Obermeyer worked closely with Elbagir to make sure these real life locations weren’t turned into commercial sets to “sell the news.” Aero worked with a small crew to keep the spotlight on the story at hand, being an observer to a day-in-the-life with Elbagir.
Aero teamed with CNN Creative Marketing on the spot (for which there are also :60 and :30 versions). Editor was Marco Perez of Union Editorial.
Credits
Client CNN Agency CNN Creative Marketing Allison Gollust, CMO; Rick Lewchuk, sr. VP; Whit Friese, VP; Dan Brown, sr. director, production. Production Aero Film Klaus Obermeyer, director; Lance O’Connor, Cori Cooperider, exec producers; Marla Whittaker, head of production; Anton Maillie, producer; Johan Palm, DP. Editorial Union Editorial Marco Perez, editor; Rossi Mauro, assistant editor; Lauren Hafner Addison, producer; Michael Raimondi, exec producer. Music Syn Music, Tokyo/L.A. Nick Wood, composer; Seiya Matsumiya, producer. Postproduction CNN Image & Sound Bryan Fitch, compositor. Sound Design Warner Audio Steve Warner, sound designer.
After losing part of his right leg due to cancer, Terry Fox campaigned to raise national awareness and funding for cancer research by running his Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada 42-km daily run, on his prosthetic leg. Fox, who died in 1981, is a national hero. His image will be on Canada’s new $5 bill.
In this two-minute video titled “Finish It,” the Marathon of Hope is recreated. It’s all done in one take, and it features an actor/marathon runner who uses a prosthesis on the same leg as Fox. CGI was deployed to make him look more like Fox. To further ensure the actor represented Fox accurately, not only did the actor and team watch and study many videos of Terry, but Terry’s brothers, Fred and Darrel, coached the actor on Terry’s running style and mannerisms. They also created a copy of Terry’s prosthesis for the actor to use for the shoot.
The message is clear. As the Marathon of Hope now marks its 45th anniversary, we now have the opportunity to “Finish It” for Fox, raising money and awareness to get a cure for cancer over the finish line, completing the work that Fox started. The public service film starts with Fox on the marathon run, eventually joined by a crowd of other dedicated runners from all walks of life who take over the race.
Mark Zibert directed via production company Scouts Honour for Toronto agency Diamond. The video features a never-before-heard version of the song “Courage” from Canadian band The Tragically Hip.
“We wanted to create a campaign that captures the magnitude of Terry Fox’s legacy while driving meaningful action,” said Peter Ignazi, chief creative officer at Diamond. “By revisiting the Marathon of Hope with such care and reverence, we aimed to reignite Terry’s mission and... Read More
