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October 2002

CREW CUTS/WEST AND MIXIN PIXLS TAKE OFF WITH VISUALLY STRIKING SPOTS FOR BOEING

In a new campaign for Boeing, Santa Monica-based digital effects/postproduction company Mixin Pixls and Crew Cuts/West Editor Bob Jenkis applied their expertise to create three high-energy spots. "From the Same Place," "Run the Numbers," and "A World of Solutions" are 30-second photo essays, which utilize visually compelling moving images to narrate the story. The commercials, with their breathtaking scenery and multicultural perspective, highlight the humanity behind the technology.

"It was exciting to work on such great-looking, high-profile spots and to, once again, collaborate with Crew Cuts/West's Editor Bob Jenkis," says Mixin Pixls' Founder Mark Dennison who created a number of digital effects, compositing and executed Henry online for the project. "Bob and I share a creative sensibility and trust one other, which makes it a rewarding and efficient process."

Editor Jenkis concurs, "Working with Mark and the rest of the Mixin Pixls team was great, and the beautiful footage was a pleasure to edit."

In "From the Same Place," the seamless blend of images of people, buildings and landscapes convey the idea that Boeing connects people from all over the globe. A similar effect is achieved in the second spot, "Run the Numbers," which illustrates that Boeing has been relied on time and time again for business and personal travel. Businessmen shake hands over an agreement as young children excitedly run and greet their father. The final spot of the campaign, "A World of Solutions," focuses on the people and technology involved in building and advancing Boeing aircraft.

PANDEMONIUM DIRECTOR MARK DIPPÉ EXECUTES COMPLEX EFFECTS-DRIVEN NABISCO SPOTS

Ad agency FCB / New York and client Nabisco recently commissioned Pandemonium Director and visual effects guru Mark Dippé to deliver two commercials for Nabisco Fun Fruits. "Twist" and "Wacky Faces" feature the tasty fruit snacks in a whimsical fashion, utilizing a combination of prosthetic components and cgi animation.

Director Dippé and the talented artists at Western Images faced a tight schedule of just two weeks for postproduction even though "Twist" and "Wacky Faces" both required effects and prosthetic work. Armed with his extensive knowledge and background in filmmaking, Dippé collaborated closely with Western Images CGI Artist Bob Roesler to find the most efficient way of creating the effects. Roesler was present on set in Vancouver during the shoot to ensure no elements were overlooked.

"Another challenge in creating these spots was the tight time schedule," Dippé concludes. "When there are so many issues that need to be addressed, you really need to understand the process and be able to trouble shoot because changes come up constantly. We tried to plan the entire process in detail but we also had to be flexible. For me, the director's job is to make all of the elements work together. When you're shooting live-action, you have to take what's in front of you- the actors, location, your crew- and you have to make it work. The same applies when you're dealing with effects."

RING OF FIRE SCORES WITH VIBRANT PROMO DESIGNS FOR FOX SPORTS NET

The award-winning artists and designers at Ring of Fire designed and produced a promo package for Fox "Regional Sports Report." Closely collaborating with Scott Bantle, Senior VP On-Air Promotions, and Robert Gottlieb, Creative Director, for Fox Sports Net, the Ring of Fire team was responsible for designing and producing a promo package that was customized for 16 different regions.

Fox Sports Net supplied the live-action footage featured in the promos, which was shot by in-house director Moses Edinborough and Mars Media directors Chuck Leal and Matt Donaldson. For the four main markets, Southern California, Seattle, the South and Southwest, footage of various athletes from those regions was incorporated into the promos. Ring of Fire also created a generic version of the promo containing generic footage with graphics changing to identify specific region team names.

"We created and presented several style frames for the scoreboard-like graphics," explains Ring of Fire Postproduction Producer Kim Evans. "Once Scott and Robert decided on a specific look, we were able to switch out the team names and the motion path for each shot to create multiple versions."

The promos work within a carnival atmosphere, integrating moving graphics with fun, festive images. The Southern California version highlights NBA star Kobe Bryant with a carnival backdrop as well as Los Angeles sports announcers. All streaming graphics, particularly the team name ribbons, were created in Inferno by Ring of Fire Artists Kevin Prendiville and Danny Yoon. The lower thirds were created in Mac using After Effects by Motion Graphics Designer Todd DuFour. Various versions of a three-second, full-screen graphic open were also completed to air before the promo.

KABOOM'S MO HUSSEINI EXHIBITS NO BOUNDARIES WITH FORD

Originality and security are the core themes expressed in the new Ford Explorer spots "Chameleon" and "Turtle." The same could be said for the production process, a well-oiled collaboration between kaboom director mo husseini, agency creatives from J. Walter Thompson, and a select group of talents from production through post. Starting with excellent concepts and building on trust among everyone involved, the project yielded two wildly appealing commercials this month.

"My favorite part of directing is figuring out how everything is going to come together and that every job has a unique solution," explains director husseini. "Before I even propose a methodology, I always sit down and figure out a few ways to accomplish a project. For these Ford commercials, the challenge involved photoreal effects. We didnt want the animal characters to feel cartoony, and we had a fairly tight timeframe."

The solution was to use 2D mesh warping, which in basic terms required filming the live-action and including a real chameleon and a tortoise -- and compositing the live-action critters back onto the shots. Husseini directed the live-action sequences on location in Los Angeles, providing elements to Radiums Simon Mowbray. The digital artist combined the background plate, a foreground plate of the animal, and a texture plate that he controlled and manipulated to create the needed animation. The final shots of the turtle involved compositing live-action shots, a puppet and 3D animation. The process used in both spots allowed for quick changes and completion of post in a record one week's time.

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