Hasta La Creative!

Derek Haas has seen a lot of slickly-produced trailers full of pyrotechnics, special effects, and sexy women. They are often part of the marketing campaigns for the films whose screenplays he’s written, films that include 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted. But it’s unusual for one of his spy novels to get the Hollywood treatment.

Yet, a trailer for The Right Hand, Haas’ new book due out in November, looks very much like a preview for a summer blockbuster. A silhouetted figure in a perfectly tailored suit appears in an ominous, nighttime setting. There are guns, bomb blasts, roaring motorcycles and a naked woman with a Medusa’s crown of snakes. Dynamic images flood the screen at heart-pounding speed. A sonorous voice-over refers to “covert operations outside the boundaries of reality.”

This dazzling trailer was produced by Chicago-based Filmworkers. Matt Egan, director of the company’s in-house production unit, concepted, directed and edited the trailer. Additional post-production support (color grading, editorial finishing and other services) was completed by Filmworkers and 3-D animation was supplied by its affiliate, the production studio Vitamin. Egan shot the live action elements on a special effects stage at Resolution Digital Studios.

“The book is very cinematic—it reads like a James Bond or Bourne novel—and we felt it could benefit from a trailer with the emotional intensity of trailers for that type of movie,” Egan explains. “I use a lot of visual metaphors to represent the complexity and suspense of the novel, such as graphical mazes for the plot twists and turns, and the Medusa character who represents a sense of foreboding and parallels the book’s female lead, who is both attractive and dangerous.”

Haas, for one, is impressed with the results. “It’s the best book trailer I’ve ever seen,” he said. “And the response is overwhelming. Entertainment Weekly launched it on their website and everyone is ecstatic. It’s certainly going to drive sales.”

Cost is one reason that trailers are a relative rarity in book publishing, but Filmworkers is hoping to change that. As a boutique option with a huge pool of talent and resources at its disposal, Filmworkers provides soup-to-nuts creative and production services and does so far more efficiently than is possible through traditional production channels.

“Filmworkers can develop, write, design and execute media using in-house resources alone,” explains Bill Ryan, co-founder (with Filmworkers president Reid Brody) of the independent film production company 2DS. Ryan introduced Haas to Filmworkers. “In today’s media landscape, it is possible to promote a book the same way that you promote a movie, so I think there is a lot of potential for the new model Filmworkers has created.”

Filmworkers is located at 232 E. Ohio St. Penthouse, Chicago, IL 60611. For more information, call (312) 664-9333 or visit www.filmworkers.com.

Directs 6-spot national “Beauty Scene” campaign conceived by Free Media.

LOS ANGELES—Top fashion and beauty director Jim Sonzero of Sonzero Films has directed a gorgeous, new campaign for Macy’s and Free Media promoting the retail giant’s national Beauty Scene event running now through October 1st. The six-spot package features some of the world’s most beautiful models in an elegantly stylized treatment promoting such prestigious brands as Clinque, Prevage-Elizabeth Arden, Clarins, Dior, Lancome and Origins. Sonzero used groundbreaking lighting techniques and engaging, upbeat performances to excite women about a variety of new beauty and skin care products.
Each of the spots presents world-class models and beauty products against a white, limbo background, a concept designed to highlight the girls’ colorful features and flawless skin. The scenarios are further enlivened by a buoyant music track and vibrant graphic treatments. Sonzero worked closely with Free Media creative director Vivien Vitolo and executive producer Joan Babchak in designing the visuals. Additionally, he and director of photography Jim Fealy developed a unique lighting strategy to make the models’ faces pop. “We used a mini parabolic umbrella and negative fill to create a solid, three-dimensional look,” Sonzero explains. “It worked—the footage looks clean and modern.”
“I wanted to raise the bar on shooting flawless skin,” Sonzero adds. “I’ve worked with Amy Oresman, our brilliant make-up artist, on Neutrogena many times. Combining her talent and Jim Fealy’s lighting was a dream. They both delivered. The girls were insanely gorgeous—that helped.”
The performances are natural and energetic, avoiding the staid clichés of beauty advertising. “I wanted to move past the ‘entranced model,’” Sonzero notes. “The camera was dynamic, always moving. The tone on set was fun! fun! fun! The girls’ spontaneous performances breathed life into the shots with an upbeat optimism.”
Sonzero shot the commercials on 35mm film with an Arri 435 camera. The director prefers to shoot beauty on film as it continues to produce results superior to digital capture, while lowering post-production costs.
Sonzero took particular care in casting, selecting a group of models who were multiethnic, approachable and, of course, beautiful. Commenting on the task of directing some of the world’s most beautiful women, Sonzero jokes, “My life sucks!”

See also Macy’s Beauty Scene Clarins and Macy’s beauty scene Clinique

Each of the ads weaves scenes of football games and practices with close-ups of young players describing what motivates them. “While we are all created equal, teams are not,” declares one young athlete. “Teams venture into uncharted waters, challenge the laws of physics…” Players in the practice footage wear uniforms embroidered with words that echo the copy: declaration…teammate…brothers. Online ads end with a hashtag that consumers can use to join the conversation through social media sites.

All of the athletes are either current or recent high school football players and that gives the spots a sense of realism lacking in other sports advertising. “They’re not million dollar athletes, they’re just kids,” says McStravick. “That helps viewers identify with them.”

McStravick poured through more than eight hours of source material to produce six ads. (A seventh ad was edited by Treehouse’s Peter Tarter.) “The stories were open to interpretation; there weren’t strict boards,” McStravick says. “We were able to go in whatever direction felt right. It came together very organically with the script.”

The campaign was McStravick’s first for Treehouse, which launched last month. “I am thrilled with how well the campaign has been received,” he says. “It was great working with the team from The Richards Group. They were very collaborative and open to ideas. The whole project flowed very well and that shows in the end product.”

Sonixphere was charged with the task of sonically tying many disparate images in edits lifted from a montage of TV spots, long form, online video, events, social, mobile and branded content created for INNOCEAN client Hyundai into a riveting brand identity video with maximum impact. They achieved this through an edgy dub step soundtrack that complements the razor-sharp editing and transforms nine separate car commercials into a dazzling consumer lifestyle and cultural statement.

“The goal of creating this new 360 branding video was to showcase our brand’s identity and diverse experience,” says Greg Braun. “The finished product needed to be big, bold and energetic with a musical soundtrack to match. The team at Sonixphere gave us just what we wanted with their music serving as the thread that ties the visuals and storyline together.”

The two-minute video, comprised of a montage of evocative images, lives on the agency’s website landing page at www.innoceanusa.com. Through the whole video, Sonixphere’s electronic track keeps driving on, shifting gears, scoring visuals, changing dynamics and intensity, forming an alliance with the visuals and making a connection with the viewer.

“This video is about connections and connecting,” says Sonixphere CEO and Creative Director Greg Allan. “We wanted the music to be that cohesive force that tied all the images and supers together and left viewers with a strong visceral feeling. Innocean is a progressive agency; they needed exciting music to represent who they are. The agency creative team knew what they wanted; we just had to execute it and execute it well.”
Choosing dub step with its hallmark heavy-duty programming, synthesizers and drum patterns matched the identity of the agency, which is modern, edgy and disruptive. “It’s one thing to write a killer dub step track, but then to take it to another level and heavily score it to picture? That was the challenge, and my team nailed it,” asserts Allan.

The video’s production was handled by INNOCEAN’s in-house Production team.

You can view the video here.

For more information, call (312)329-1310. Visit us at sonixphere.com.

Client: INNOCEAN USA
Agency: INNOCEAN USA
Executive Creative Director: Greg Braun

Music Composition: Sonixphere
Audio Mix: Sonixphere
Post Production: INNOCEAN USA
Producer: Chanel Boyd
Editing: Brad Wetmore
Visual Effects: Lara Pinella

The spot is composed of a series of artfully crafted portraits in which the subject speaks directly to the camera as if to a loved one of his or her desire for connection. “Tell me that I did a good job.” “…that our traditions matter.” “Tell me you love me for who I am.”

As is typical of Gleie’s work, the vignettes feel authentic and unforced and the speakers connect with viewers because they express simple, human emotions that everyone shares. People engage in holiday activities in casual, natural ways that never feel staged or sentimental. They seem like people we know.

In the spot, two Audis, one black, one white, race across a flat expanse of the California desert, leaving billowy dust clouds as they cut through the sand. Out near the horizon, a man and a woman, also arrayed in black and white, engage in an erotic, tango-like pas de deux, mimicking the swift, bold arcs made by the cars. The editorial pace quickens as the cars weave an ever tightening circle around the couple and their dance reaches its final flourish.

Makhani and A Common Thread created the spot to showcase their prowess in automotive advertising. The piece, in fact, seamlessly incorporates virtually every technique common in car ads—high speed photography, aerials, crane shots, pursuit cars and more—not to mention the dazzling choreography of the dancers.

“We want people to know that we are leaders in running footage and running footage ads—in capturing gorgeous automotive imagery that requires beautiful lighting, beautiful photography and perfect execution,” explains A Common Thread executive producer, J.P. McMahon.

Makhani shot the spot over two days in the El Mirage dry lake bed. He employed an Arri Alexa camera for principal photography, RED Epic and Scarlett cameras for specialty shots, and a Phantom camera for high (750 fps) speed. Aerials were captured using remote-control drones. The director also employed a 50-foot Technocrane, a Pursuit Systems camera car and sophisticated car mounts for POVs.

“Although this was a spec project, we made no compromises on the technical side,” said Makhani. Similarly, Makhani and A Common Thread assembled a first class crew that included choreographer Michael Silas, who previously worked as a dancer and choreographer for Lady Gaga.
Makhani originally came up with the concept for the ad two years ago and had been waiting for the right opportunity to pull it off. “The concept was inspired by a music track that I originally heard on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica,” Makhani says. “I liked the idea of cars emulating dancers. Later it became a dance off and, ultimately, a battle between the two.”

McMahon believes that the piece will establish Makhani, who is best known for his work in music videos, as a first-tier car director and cinematographer. “He is a superstar in the music video world and we are convinced that he can be a superstar in advertising,” McMahon notes. “He is a pleasure to work with, delivers beautiful imagery and is a total pro.”

A Common Thread is located at 4081 Redwood Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90066. For more information, call 310.823.7300 or visit http://www.acommonthread.tv

The imagery consists of beautiful, charming family scenes, with the cut-out objects lending them a magical flair. “It’s as though the creators of Shaw’s Caress line scoured the earth in search of the softest surfaces possible,’” says Ching. “That was our motivation behind every single shot.”

Ching used a variety of subtle camera techniques to enhance the story’s “soft” theme. In some vignettes, the camera dollies slowly, allowing viewers to “discover” the missing squares. In other cases, squares are revealed unexpectedly by an actor’s movement. He also makes the squares seem more surprising to viewers by making them unsurprising to the people on screen. In one instance, a boy is handed cotton candy by a park vendor. “As we crane down, the boy’s eyes light up…but he seems to ignore that fact that the center of his candy is missing,” Ching says.

The director adds further to the gentle atmosphere through careful lighting techniques. “We use nothing but soft, beautiful lighting,” Ching says. “The light tends to wrap around objects, casting diffuse shadows with soft edges. Colors are of variable saturation and tone, but are always true-to-life. The set design is focused on modern living.”

Ching ran a highly efficient production; many of the shooting locations were chosen for their ability to serve as multiple, diverse scenes. That allowed him to capture more story segments than were originally planned in the storyboards. The director also added value to the production through hands-on involvement in post-production. “I like to shepherded projects through post, and edit a majority of the spots that I direct,” he says. “Remaining involved through the post-production process is part of my signature approach and helps to ensure the best spots possible.”

A Common Thread is located at 4081 Redwood Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90066. For more information, call 310.823.7300 or visit http://www.acommonthread.tv

Promoting Prestone Coolant and its ability to protect cars from overheating, Parking Lot opens on a man walking through the parking lot of an auto parts store on a hot day with a container of the product. A mammoth, black tow truck, emblazoned with skull and crossbones, appears behind the man and follows him, intent on taking his car to its auto graveyard. The Reaper’s plans are foiled, however, when the man suddenly whips around and confronts the truck with his Prestone Coolant. Other people, aware of the man’s plight, leap to his side. They, too, hold Prestone. “The Reaper has no choice,” says France, “but to back off and find another victim.”

The spot is a sequel to one released last fall that introduced the character of The Reaper. The new spot pushes the concept of the auto-death-wielding tow truck further and treats it with a lighter touch. “The concept plays on the fear, shared by many people, of being stranded in the summer heat,” France notes. “I immediately fell in love with the idea of The Reaper.”

France says that he and The Richards Group’s creative team debated whether to reveal the hero’s container of Prestone at the beginning of the spot, or save it as a surprise for the end. Their decision, France recalls, was ultimately suggested by the master of suspense. “Hitchcock would always let the audience know that there is a bomb under the chair,” he explains. “In forcing the audience to wait it out, he created suspense. We followed that point of view.”
France predicts that, while it may have been stymied this time, The Reaper will be back. “The Richards Group has created an iconic character that will have very long legs,” he says. “The Reaper is going to be around for a long, long time.”

Two of these campaign spots premiered in Germany and elsewhere in February, and “For individualists” and another (“For the curious”) recently launched online at http://www.youtube.com/smart . A fifth spot will debut soon.

Shilo’s detailed project Q&A with Jose appears on their We Make It Good blog here: http://bit.ly/JGsmart