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February 2005

LOST PLANET EDITOR CHARLIE JOHNSTON HELPS A GIRL BAND FIND ITS VOICE IN COMEDIC SPOT FOR COCA-COLA

Lost Planet Editor Charlie Johnston recently contributed his talent to a lively new spot for client Coca-Cola via ad agency Berlin Cameron/Red Cell, which provides an up-close-and-personal glimpse of an aspiring girl band.

Directed by Lance Acord, "Girl Band" features three teen girls in a band who work on their demo after school gets out. The voiceover serves as a diary account of their first gig experience. The girls featured in the spot are in an actual band called Kievan Rus from Ithaca, New York. Lost Planet Editor Charlie Johnston says that seven spots were created -- two :60 and five :30 -- which focused on different aspects of the story such as John, the roadie and Sylvie, the drummer. All of them present real everyday aspects of the girl band.

As the process moved along, the agency creatives and Johnston discovered that many of the elements shot during production weren't accounted for in the initial script.

"What was most interesting was the symbiotic relationship between the script and the cutting," remarks Johnston. "I edited a :60 to a pre-existing script. Then I cut another one without a script, which was very liberating because I could draw from all the footage that was shot. The agency creatives developed a story around the new cut. We were fine-tuning the script and the edit simultaneously, and found that it was the best way to work with this set-up and story idea."

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VERSION2 KEEPS THINGS RUNNING SMOOTHLY IN NEW CAMPAIGN FOR JIFFY LUBE

Ad agency McCarthy Mambro Bertino recently commissioned the editorial talent of Version2's Micah Scarpelli for two new spots for client Jiffy Lube. "Fast Motion" and "Slow World" demonstrate the efficient and thorough auto maintenance offered by the leading service center.

One of the spots, entitled "Slow World," opens on a businesswoman who needs an oil change and expects a quick one. As she steps into the service center, she stops in her tracks at the sight of a waiting room filled with people. Time suddenly goes into slow motion and an old woman reading a car magazine looks up and stares at the young professional. In agonizing slow motion, the coffee maker drips and the mechanic speaks to her, "I'll be with you in a minute." The woman thinks to herself, "This isn't Jiffy Lube." The humorous spot concludes with the Jiffy Lube spokesperson, "Getting your car serviced should happen at your pace -- fast."

According to Version2 Editor Micah Scarpelli, the challenge with "Slow World" was getting the sound effects to match along with the edit.

"The sound effects were crucial to making the spot work," explains Scarpelli. "We had to capture the slowness of other service centers compared to Jiffy Lube. For 'Fast Motion,' the creative called for the use of stop-motion cameras on a Jiffy Lube throughout the entire day. The challenge was to select particular frames that would effectively tell the story in :30. Overall, the collaboration with MMB was great. We had a tight timeline of one and a half weeks so they were incredibly efficient. We worked very well together."

ZOIC STUDIOS CONTRIBUTES VISUAL EFFECTS TO NEW BATTLESTAR

On Friday, January 14th at 9 pm/8 Central, the highly-anticipated series Battlestar Galactica debuted on the Sci Fi channel complete with dramatic visual effects by Emmy Award-winning Zoic Studios. Battlestar Galactica was born from the popular miniseries that debuted in 2003 on the Sci Fi Channel and explores people at war with their own creations, the Cylons. The next-generation series pays homage to the original television program while presenting a 21st century viewpoint, aesthetic and visual effects. The series has already garnered accolades with a Visual Effects Society Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live-Action Broadcast Program. The series' regular time slot is Fridays at 10 pm ET.

"We were excited to come back to a world we helped create in 2003, one which was embraced by audiences for its new twist on an old favorite, and add more effects and CG to bring this new chapter to life," says Zoic Compositing Supervisor Patti Gannon.

With hundreds of shots to complete, the Zoic team worked for seven months utilizing Lightwave and combustion to create CG Cylons, Centurions, Vipers and virtual environments. Building on the work they created for the original miniseries, Zoic created a myriad of dramatic effects including crafting all of the models, designing new ships, animating water venting out into space and the interior of the enemy spacecraft, which dramatically combines flesh and machine.

The result is a show where effects are a key storytelling device and an exciting way of transporting audiences into the world of Battlestar Galactica. For many, this is the opportunity for which they have been waiting since the miniseries graced the small screen. Others will experience this world for the first time with fresh eyes and ears. Either way, it's an exciting trip into the future and out to space.

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