Hasta La Creative!

72andSunny was tasked with creating a trailer for Guitar Hero Live, the first new entry in the Guitar Hero franchise in five years, and aimed with actually putting viewers in the action.

Following a nod to Spinal Tap-esque backstage shenanigans, “It’s About To Get Real,” which is shot to give viewers a first-person perspective, puts the viewer right on stage in front of a live crowd. Created using additional footage shot with director Giorgio Testi and co-director Jamie Jackson from the live action shoots used for the game, the trailer assures viewers “This isn’t what it ‘feels like’ to play the new Guitar Hero. This is the new Guitar Hero.” Viewers are treated to the kind of audience reactions gamers can expect when they perform poorly in the game (We’re not sure why someone would bring a sign reading “You Suck” to a concert they payed to attend, but there you have it) before giving them a taste of what it’s like when things go right. At the end of the spot, 72andSunny introduces the game’s two modes, GH Live, which viewers have already experienced, and GHTV, which lets you play along with a continually updated library of music videos. The trailer should definitely get Guitar Hero fans psyched for the game’s fall release, as it gives viewers an idea of the kind of radical changes they can expect from the series following its long absence.

“The creative center of both Guitar Hero Live and the trailer for the game is about bringing to life the visceral thrill and terror of being up there in front of thousands of people,” said Tim Ellis, chief marketing officer of Activision Publishing.

Credits:

Client: Activision Publishing
Product: Guitar Hero Reveal Trailer
Title: It’s About to Get Real

Activision
Chief Executive Officer Activision Publishing:  Eric Hirshberg
Chief Marketing Officer Activision Publishing:  Tim Ellis
VP of Global Brand Marketing, Head of Digital:  Jonathan Anastas
Consumer Marketing Manager: Orlando Baeza
Consumer Marketing Manager: Karen Starr

72andSunny
Partner, Chief Creative Officer: Glenn Cole
Partner, Chief Strategy Officer: Matt Jarvis
Group Creative Director: Frank Hahn
Creative Director/Writer: Tim Wolfe
Creative Director/Designer: Peter Vattanatham,
Lead Designer: Garret Jones
Lead Writer: Evan Brown
Designer: Ryan Dols
Writer: Jack Lagomarsino
Director of Film Production: Sam Baerwald
Film Producer: Kara Fromhart
Business Affairs Director: Amy Jacobsen
Business Affairs Manager: Kelly Ventrelli
Junior Business Affairs Manager: Amy Shah
Group Brand Director: Mike Parseghian
Brand Director: Torie Gleicher
Brand Coordinator: Laura Black
Group Strategy Director: Bryan Smith
Group Strategy Director: John Graham

Production Company – Pulse Films UK
Director: Giorgio Testi
Co-Director: Jamie Jackson of Freestyle Games
Director of Production: Claire Wingate
Line Producers: John Bannister & Isabel Davis

Game Developer – Freestyle Games
Jamie Jackson – Co-Director (co-director under Production and Creative Director under FSG)
Jonathan Napier – Projects Director
Mike Rutter – Art Manager
Joel Davey – Producer
Gareth Morrison – Assistant Art Director
Andy Grier – Lead Audio Designer
Jon Newman – Senior Audio Designer
Mike McLafferty – Audio Designer / Licensed Equipment Liaisons
Neil Watts – Lead Animator
Jason Pickthall – Lead Concept Artist
Phil Bale – Lead Environment Artist
Pete Nicholson – Lead Character Artist
David Moulder – Lead Technical Artist
Neil Dodd – Lead UI Artist

Editorial – Spotwelders
Editor: Robert Duffy
Assistant Editor: Sophie Kornberg
Executive Producer: Carolina Sanborn
Producer: Lisa English

Game CG & VFX- Framestore UK
Pedro Sabrosa – VFX supervisor
Alan Woods – CG supervisor
Russell – Horth – Compositing supervisor
Kate Windibank – Compositing supervisor
Robin Reyer – Lead Technical Director
Liz Oliver – Senior Producer
Helen Kok – Line Producer

Color Grade – Framestore UK
Colorist: Edwin Metternich

VFX & Online Finishing – Framestore LA
Executive Producer: James Razzall
Senior Producer: James Alexander
Production Manager: Eric Kimelton
Flame Artist US: Bruno De la Calva

Sound Design – Human
Sound designer: Gareth Williams
Producer: Jonathan Sanford

Audio Mix – Lime Studios
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan & Jessica Locke
Engineer: Zac Fisher
Assistant engineer: Kevin McAlpine

Logo Mnemonic Animation – Blind
Tobin Kirk – Executive Producer
Amy Knerl – Head of Production
Greg Gunn – Creative Director
Scott Rothstein – Producer
Daniel Zhang – Animator
Shawn Kim – Animator
Henry Pak – Animator
Ash Wagers – Compositor
Lawrence Wyatt – Designer
Ayla Kim – Designer

Logo Mnemonic Sound Design – Barking Owl
Sound Designer: Michael Anastasi
Head of Production: Whitney Fromholtz
Creative Director: Kelly Bayett

72andSunny has just released a live action trailer for Activision’s new game Destiny, from the creators of the popular Halo franchise, which will be released on September 9th.

72andSunny and Activision went big for the trailer, teaming up with Academy Award winning VFX studio Digital Domain, Academy Award nominated FX studio Legacy Effects, and director Joseph Kosinski, who created most of the worlds for the ad in-camera, shooting at locations in Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The spot follows the adventures of Fireteam as they attempt to reclaim locations in our solar system from alien invaders. Levitating AI character Ghost is voiced by Peter Dinklage (who also voices the character in the game) and the spot mixes humor, action and Led Zeppelin’s iconic “Immigrant Song” to hype up the game and give a sense of its feel without any game footage. (more…)

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“Epic Night Out,” the splashy new 90-second Call of Duty: Ghosts spot from 72andSunny for Activision, is indeed epic, and easily riffs on the four-guys-who-have-fun-in-danger motif made popular by The Hangover. There are a few celebrity cameos, a crumbling Las Vegas set, and classic music, Sinatra’s “Live Until I Die.” Very epic. But no baby, though. Instead, the four heroes and their dog travel from desert wasteland, to cityscape, to outer space, and then to a frozen tundra. With the music and quick editing, it’s hard to pay attention to anything else.

I’m all for first-person shooters, and I don’t think they are ruining kids. If this spot were for the U.S. Armed Forces, that would be different. But, it’s worth pointing out that guns, explosions, apocalyptic Vegas, Frank Sinatra, and Megan Fox is way past the boiling point of glorying violence for a TV spot. That’s sensory overload for all of the juiced up gamer-guys who are going to sit in the basements and pretend not to pee in empty soda bottles. It’s also brilliant misdirection.  And if not for the Grand Theft Auto V ads, this would be the best video game spot I’ve ever seen. Credits after the jump.

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