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May 2003

LOST PLANET'S HANK CORWIN DELIVERS POWERFUL STROKE WARNINGS FROM CELEBRITIES IN COMPELLING PSA

Lost Planet Editor Hank Corwin recently completed a riveting PSA campaign for the American Stroke Association and the Ad Council via ad agency Carmichael Lynch. Directed by James Woods and featuring actors Sharon Stone, Don Rickles, Penny Marshall, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Patrick Dempsey, the five PSAs are part of the organization's Call-To-Action campaign, which was created to inform the general public about stroke warning signs and to treat stroke as a medical emergency and call 911.

For the campaign, each celebrity solemnly addresses the camera to heighten public awareness of stroke and to emphasize the need to act quickly in the event of stroke. Actress Sharon Stone, who suffered from a stroke-like brain aneurysm, gives an especially moving performance. "There's something you should know about me," Stone declares, her bright blue eyes staring into the camera. "I'm cold. I'm calculating. I get what I want. If you get in my way, I'll wreak havoc upon you. I can leave you weak, limp, twisted, confused. If you want to live to see tomorrow, you answer to me. And you answer quickly. I am a stroke." Stone delivers this last line, her voice quivering with emotion and eyes filled with pain. As the sound of lightning echoes in the background, the voiceover states, "Learn to recognize a stroke and act quickly." Motion graphics appear on the screen, urging the public to call 911 immediately. "Time lost is brain lost." The poignant spot concludes with the American Stroke Association logo and contact information.

The other celebrities communicate equally touching messages, stressing the urgency and seriousness of stroke and its ability to "hurt, paralyze and kill."

TWIST PUTS "LIFE" INTO THE MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Twist Director Rich Michell recently completed a humorous trailer for the Minneapolis/St. Paul International 2003 Film Festival, acting as both Director and DP for the festival spot. The film festival trailer made its debut the opening night, April 4th.

The trailer, called "Letterbox," features a young boy as he overhears a heated argument spoken in French. The viewer watches as the boy quietly cuts out a sheet of cardboard, but the yelling escalates and the crash of a dinner plate echoes in the background. As the boy curiously looks out the window, we discover the quarrelling couple is not his parents, but residents who live across the courtyard. The boy tapes the cutout to the window, raises the window, allowing him to hear his neighbors better, grabs a bowl of popcorn and plops into a chair. Music plays over the neighbors' fighting, and we laugh and recognize the cardboard cutout as a letterbox. The boy happily smacks his popcorn and watches the resolution of his "homemade movie." The two neighbors apologize and hug as the tagline reads, "Life. Only Larger."

"I liked the thinking behind the trailer," explains Twist Director/DP Rich Michell. "The story of a young boy creating a letterbox to view a couple through his window is a wonderful representation of the spirit and curiosity behind independent filmmaking. Joe Stefanson and Monty Pera wrote a very original, simple story about imagination and the art of creating or framing a story from life. This was truly a collaborative project; from conception through production and post everyone volunteered their time and creativity."

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HI-WIRE CREATES SUPER OPEN FOR THE TWINS

Blam! Pow! Kaboom! The Minnesota Twins have a new open, which takes the winning team and transforms it into the "SuperTwins" comic book heroes saving baseball for all of America via power, speed, skill and courage. Digital studio HI-WIRE, in collaboration with production company The Opposite Field, created the action-packed open currently being shown pre-game on the Dome Vision.

In order to bring the concept to life, The Opposite Field worked hand-in-hand with digital postproduction company HI-WIRE. The final piece of the creative triptych was a young comic book illustrator named Chris Schons, who was given a list of images and asked to illustrate them in comic book style. Meanwhile, HI-WIRE's Tony Mills and Rich Haesemeyer treated existing footage of the Twins in action, and integrated these images with the illustrations rendered by Schons. This virtual comic book is loaded with historic moments in Twins' baseball, local landmarks, opposing teams portrayed as arch rivals and dozens of other comic and Twins references.

"This was truly a labor of love for all of us," adds Tony Mills, "and since we had previously collaborated with Marty and Lou of The Opposite Field they trusted us to help bring this great project to life. Key to its success was the talent of Chris Schones. He is an amazing illustrator, and it was quite a luxury to be able to say, OEWe'd like this or that sequence or image' and have it created with exceptional style."

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More Info: HI-WIRE