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Newsletter - 05/25/2010
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The Whitehouse shapes stories for the World Cup, AVSO hauls for Ford trucks, Humble mauls some Kobalt and new talent lands at Rhino, Red Car, Manic, Dattner Dispoto, A Common Thread and Beast. All this and more in the SourceEcreative newsletter.
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 Multi award-winning director Jonas Odell has created a clever new promo for The Rolling Stones' soon-to-be-released archive track 'Plundered My Soul,' produced by Nexus Productions in London in association with Odell's production company, Filmtecknarna in Stockholm. The track is taken from their classic album 'Exile on Main St.' set to be reissued by Polydor amidst massive hoopla and publicity, given that it's supplemented by ten previously unheard songs. The video's animated collage takes the iconic cover artwork from the original 'Exile on Main St.' release as its inspiration. The cut-up montage style presents archive stills and moving footage of the band that takes us on a nostalgic but epic journey through a very special era in The Rolling Stones' history. The movement of the camera becomes part of the choreography of the video, as it slows during the quieter parts of the song and picks up speed as the track gathers intensity. Odell also shot new footage inspired by some of the stills from the original album, giving a sense that even the burlesque performers of the original art work have come alive. "The video is a collage of stills and documentary footage from the period, so it's a bit like the album cover comes alive and tells the story of the Rolling Stones on tour," says Odell. "I think there is something magic, and in a way moving, about seeing these documentary clips of the band; it's almost like a time machine." Executive Producers on the project were Julia Parfitt and Cedric Gairard; it was produced by Beccy McCray and Niklas Adolfsson. Director of Photography credit goes to Per Helin. It was edited by Senay Berhe; additional post production credits go to Marcus Krupa, Axel Hallgren and Mathias Erixon.
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 You've got to dig the jazzy music track on this spot. It's titled "Mother's Little Helpers," and it's from Director Cal Brunker of Red Rover Studios in Toronto, who's helmed his first major live action commercial for JWT Toronto's client Club House Spices With all the production on this job taking place in-house at Red Rover, this is one of their first forays into the world of producing combination spots with all aspects of live action, animation and VFX directed by Brunker. He honed his narrative skills working in New York as a feature story artist on "Horton Hears a Who," and has recently finished work on the upcoming feature "Despicable Me" and the Shane Acker directed/Tim Burton produced "9," working for such studios as 20th Century Fox, Universal and Starz. In "Mother's Little Helpers," Club House's Thai spice magically comes to life, sorcerer's apprentice style. While Mom is innocently answering the door, the Club House Spices work together and deftly prepare a yummy meal from scratch. Agency credits at JWT go to Dean Hore, Andy Brokenshire and Raquel Rose. Red Rover's Executive Producer was Danielle Araiche. Danielle Lyons produced the live action and Christina Helmer produced the animation with Glen Keenan as DP. Editorial was by Scott Bucsis with Red Rover, while Gary Chuntz from Notch was Colorist. Sound Design was by Egg plant.
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Dattner Dispoto & Associates has announced the signing of a trio of top DPs. Joining their roster is Cinematographer Nancy Schreiber, A.S.C. Her latest feature, "Every Day," premiered last month at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film was written and directed by Nip/Tuck's producer/writer Richard Levine and stars Helen Hunt, Liev Schreiber, Carla Gugino, Eddie Izzard and Brian Dennehy. Schreiber's other recent works include "Serious Moonlight," starring Meg Ryan with Kristen Bell; "Motherhood," starring Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards and Minnie Driver; and "The Nines," starring Ryan Reynolds with Elle Fanning and Hope Davis. Also joining the Dattner Dispoto roster is Christian Berger, this year's American Society of Cinematographers' Best Cinematography award winner for his work on "The White Ribbon," which also earned him an Academy Award nomination. He is the first cinematographer to win the ASC's award for a non-English language film. Rounding out the list of new signings for DDA is Michael Green, known for his current work on NBC's “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” The signing continues DDA's tradition of signing father and son cinematographers. The company represented Green's father Allan, best known for his comedic TV spots, from 1987 until his retirement. Both Green and his father were part of a film community which serviced studio Hollywood films using New York City as a location. "He's a born and bred New Yorker with a Hollywood flair," says company President Fay Dattner. "As he was coming up he was exposed to the very best filmmakers, which contributed to his excellent craftsmanship."
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 In less than a year working as a commercial director, Ruben Latre (seen at right) has won the Best New Director Award at the 2010 APCP Awards in Madrid. Latre was the recipient of an unprecedented three out of four nominations in that category of the awards show, presented by the Asociación de Productoras de Cine Publicitario, the leading advertising film producers association of Spain. Created through Vitruvio Leo Burnett for the Sitges Film Festival, the commercial, "Alien. Huevo Roto," won a total of three awards, including Best New Director. It was just eight months ago that Latre booked his first broadcast commercial directing job; a five-spot campaign for the real estate development corporation Sacyr Vallehermoso through Y&R Madrid. One of the five spots was named Spot of the Month, and later got him one of his three nominations as Best New Director. While editing the Sacyr campaign, Latre shot the Sitges Film Festival spot. Latre followed up the Sitge project with "Imagen," a spot for Biomasa through McCann Madrid, which earned him yet another nomination as Best New Director. Says Angel Recio, Executive Producer of Lee Films in Madrid, "What Ruben offers in terms of capability he matches with the passion he brings to each of his projects. Everyone who has the opportunity to work with him is impressed by his ability, commitment, and humility as an artist." In the US, Latre has been working on projects for Pure & Natural, Mott's Cookies, Coty, Rite Aid, Travelers Insurance and Amnesty International. He's represented by Kipany Pictures, which is repped by Laura Zinn.
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 The Whitehouse Editors Russell Icke, Marc Langley and Ethan Mitchell joined forces with Director Lance Acord of Park Pictures to bring us U2 and Bono for a dramatic ESPN spot titled "United," part of a multi-spot campaign for the World Cup. The ad, which includes a montage of quick-cut images all representing key issues facing the world from global warming to the economic meltdown, reminding us that not everything revolves around issues of war or social justice. Rather, as U2 lead singer Bono says in his voiceover, "This is about the one month, every four years, we all agree on ONE thing. 32 nations. One world watching. 2010 FIFA World Cup." The campaign was created by Stuart Jennings, Mathieu Zarbatany, Nick Sonderup and Nick Setounski of Wieden+Kennedy in Portland, and includes the spots "Robben Island," "Glory," "Passion," and "Power of Ten," all directed by Acord and edited at The Whitehouse. VFX on the campaign were provided by The Whitehouse's sister company Carbon. Park Pictures credits include Producers Dinah Rodriguez and Caroline Kousidonis, Supervising Producer Mary Ann Marino and Executive Producer Jackie Kelman Bisbee. For The Whitehouse, Editorial Producer was Melanie Klein.
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 A Very Small Office (AVSO) Director Vincent Haycock and design and animation studio Offspring have once again teamed up with Team Detroit to produce a memorable Ford campaign. The trio of :30s, introducing the all-new 2011 Ford Super Duty line of trucks, is the next evolution of Ford's Rant campaign and the fourth set of spots AVSO and Offspring have collaborated on for the agency and the brand in the past year and a half. The new series follows the spirit of the previous Rant campaign but takes it even further. In this campaign, live-action truck footage was shot on location in actual environments. In post-production the spots were given their signature black and white high-contrast look, then decked out with three-dimensional typography that is integrated and tracks with each scene. "Benjamins" shows a Ford Super Duty navigating through the cranes and crates of a sprawling dockyard; "Friend" stars the truck traveling through a high-powered wind farm and past soaring mountains; "Kumbaya" tracks the vehicle towing large equipment through a rock quarry. The voiceover, supplied by actor Denis Leary, rattles off the truck's various technical advantages as the vehicles breeze past gas stations and effortlessly pull massive payloads. Agency credits for Team Detroit include Toby Barlow, Brad Hensen, Paul Kirner, Matt Swanson, Michael Nishanian and Craig Mungons. For AVSO, Saffron Case was Executive Producer and Pete Vitale was Line Producer. Editorial, design and animation was performed at Offspring, where credits go to Editor Nathan Caswell, Creative Lead Matt Tragesser, Lead Designers Wes Richardson and Danny Kamahji and Lead 3D animator Marty Geren. Sound design and music was by John Garstecki Sound and Music Design, with the audio mix done at Sound Lounge.
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 Red Car New York has added the talents of creative Editor Geraldine Garcia-Esquivel to its roster. She will be working out of Red Car New York, but is available in all offices throughout the Red Car national network. A native of Venezuela, Garcia-Esquivel completed her education in Chile and began her editing career there. She's been working in New York as an editor for the past decade, initially at the The Well before moving to wild(child), where she recently cut campaigns for Tecate Light and Wendy’s. She also edited a short film entitled "XMess Detritus," which won multiple short film awards and was screened in film festivals around the country. Her work spans various styles ranging from comedic storytelling to fashion. Her hire was announced by Jennifer Lederman, Red Car's National Managing Director, who's excited about bringing Garcia-Esquivel onto the team. "Geraldine is so passionate about what she does, it's impossible not to want to collaborate with her,” says Lederman. “Red Car has worked hard to build a multicultural team for work around the country. As a successful bilingual editor, she has great general market work, in addition to a fantastic Hispanic reel. Bringing her into the New York office where we also have J.P. Cadaveira, another bilingual editor from Argentina, absolutely rounds out our team. We are thrilled to have her on board. Her enthusiasm is infectious." In addition to Cadaveira, the Red Car New York roster includes Charlie Cusumano, Anthony Marinelli, Jonathan Edwards, John Maloney, Wendy Rosen, and Joe K. The company also has offices in Miami, Chicago, Dallas, L.A. and Buenos Aires.
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Producing the trailer for Ubisoft's new Tom Clancy's "Ghost Recon Future Soldier" video game gave VFX house Asylum a chance to make the impossible look possible. Asylum VFX Supervisor Marc Varisco, working closely with Little Minx director Ben Mor, complemented the futuristic world war depicted in the latest iteration of the game with VFX work designed to bring the franchise's signature gameplay into the live-action world. The action, set on the streets of Moscow, portrays the command centers, rooftop sniper outposts and tunnels of a chaotic combat zone, with mayhem ranging from intense gun battles to rolling battle drones to a missile offensive against a pair of Russian tanks, while an elite team of Americans target a wicked enemy commander. Credits on the project go to Ubisoft Producer Laurent Masson and Production Manager Delphine Blaineau. Little Minx credits include DP Dan Bronks, President Rhea Scott, EP Marjie Abrahams and Head of Production Elicia Laport. For Asylum, credits go to Compositing Supervisor Johnny Hicks, CG Supervisor Zach Tucker, Head of Design Simon Cassels, Executive Producer Michael Pardee, VFX Producer Mark Kurtz and Lead Animator Michael Warner.
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 L.A.'s Bully Pictures and Bully Bros Post went off the deep end with their latest collaboration for Siltanen & Partners Advertising and the Panda Express restaurant chain titled "Shrimp Divers." Director Craig Tanimoto and Visual Effects Supervisor Kiki Chansamone teamed up to create a spot in which talking pandas Eddie and Tom-Tom don diving gear in order to satisfy their ravenous appetite for shrimp. The spot is part of a new campaign launching Panda Express' Honey Walnut Shrimp. The scenes featuring the wise-cracking bears sitting on the sea floor are composites made up of dozens of live action and CG elements. Tanimoto shot the bears at the Memphis Zoo, marking the third time he's worked with the animals for Panda Express. It's a task that requires a great deal of patience and imagination, he explains. "You can't work with them like trained animals," Tanimoto says. "They don't have handlers. It's rather a matter of spending a lot of time with the animals and trying to capture the right expressions and movement. After we'd shoot the bears, we'd go through the footage to find pieces that could be animated together." The underwater environment itself was assembled from still photographs and CG elements. "We did several debris passes for amoeba and other things drifting in the water," Chansamone says. "There are a lot of subtleties and nuances that you need to sell the illusion." Agency credits go to Rob Siltanen, Joe Hemp, John Payne, Graham McCann and Chris Anthony. For Bully Pictures, Jason Forest was Executive Producer. Post production was handled at Bully Bros. Post in Los Angeles.
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Rhino has signed CD/Directors Anna Meister and Christopher Fung, and has announced that veteran Rhino-Gravity Director Ron Kleiner, from its Tel Aviv office, will now be represented in the US. Says Rhino CEO/Head Creative Zviah Eldar, “From the beginning we've consistently evolved and adapted to the changing environment, and these recent additions continue that trend. Our team is passionate and full of new creative ideas, whether the focus is on feature film, digital or traditional broadcast projects. It's an exciting time for everyone on board." A 14-plus year veteran of the Tel Aviv office, Kleiner is capable of handling all aspects of creative design, production and post production, including animation, design and special effects. His clients include Toshiba, Coca-Cola, Sprite, Unilever, Müller, Nestlé, Strauss Group, Hyundai, Orange, The Israel Telecommunication Corp (Bezeq), Pro TV (Romania), Soroka University, and the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as well as pro bono work for People in Red. Fung, who joins Rhino from Shilo, is a multi-talented professional with a focus on concept, design, cinematography, editorial, lighting and compositing. He's worked on a range of projects for such clients as Under Armour, LG, MetLife, Toyota, Converse, HBO, Nike, VH1, AMC and Showtime. Meister is a designer, illustrator, art director, creative director and director whose diverse portfolio includes design work for Bryan Singer, Luscious, Vivid, MTV, Nokia, Darklight and PlayStation3, and ads for LG, Alpenliebe, Tata, Vodafone, HP and the World Movies Channel. Prior to joining Rhino she was creative director at Australia's zspace, and also spent several years at Emerald City Design. She has worked in Sydney, Paris and London.
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 A Common Thread has signed German director Linus Ewers (at right) for representation in the US. Ewers has already produced two jobs through A Common Thread for the US market, both for DraftFCB in Chicago. "Deck the Halls" was produced for Glade late last year and ran during the holidays, while "Me O'Clock" was produced for Jell-O and is currently airing. Ewers has worked as a graphic designer, editor and visual effects artist since he was 17. In 1999 he began his studies at the Film Academy in Baden-Wuerttemberg, and a mere three years later Mercedes-Benz asked him to shoot his first job. His graduate film thesis – a Calvin Klein commercial telling a story of love at first sight told in 2400 frames per second – gained international recognition and acclaim. Visually-driven campaigns for Whirlpool, Maybach and other clients soon followed. Agency credits on the Jell-O spot include Steven Anderson, Karen Schmidt, Steve Connor and Drew Donatelle. It was edited by Kristin McCasey at Therapy and includes VFX work from Blind. Ted Robbins produced for A Common Thread, with Tom Lazarevich as DP. Credits on the Glade spot include Nathalynne McGinnis, Christine Barsanti, Anne Catherine Feeney and Lauren Buckley. It was edited by Dan Oberle at The Whitehouse with VFX work again from Blind. Michelle Currinder produced for A Common Thread, with Maz Makhani as DP and Marcos Lutyens as Production Designer.
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New York-based Manic Design + Visual Effects has signed renowned VFX Artist David Elkins. Elkins, a 20-year industry veteran, has collaborated on high-profile, award-winning work for top brands and agencies. His portfolio includes spots for Diet Coke, McDonald's, Oppenheimer Funds, Miller Genuine Draft, American Express, Puma, M.A.C. Cosmetics and Roche, to name a few. He's also had a hand in main title sequences for feature films, most recently 2008's "Definitely, Maybe." His hire was announced by Manic MD Bob Cagliero. He joins VFX Artist Steve Zourntos and Creative Director Fran Roberts at the studio. Prior to joining Manic, Elkins worked via his own banner, collaborating with, among others, Massmarket/Psyop, The Mill, Framestore, Smoke & Mirrors, Suspect, We Are Plus, Imaginary Forces and Absolute. He also spent nine years at R/GA as lead Flame and composite artist, and six years at Spontaneous as director of VFX. "I have been freelancing around New York for more than four years, and I was missing that feeling of being grounded," Elkins says. "I've always been a team player, and joining Manic will give me the opportunity to be part of a team again. They're an ambitious company, a growing brand, and have a lot of momentum right now. All the parts are in place for me to help embolden Manic's reputation for cutting-edge visual effects.”
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 Times are tough, right? Not if you're Johnny B, the smarmy star of a new Long John Silver's spot titled "Taco Rich" from agency Northlich in Cincinnati. Directed by Station Film director Vance Malone, Johnny is seen sitting in front of his mansion with slicked-back hair (a bit like a young Gordon Gecko), telling the audience that he's rich because he's smart; he orders the Long John Silver's one dollar Baja Fish Taco. So that's how he does it! Agency credits at Northlich go to Diane Frederick, Jeffrey Warman, Dan Rapp, Carey McGuire, Brian Nelson and JP Kinerk. For Station Film, Stephen Orent is Managing Partner, Caroline Gibney and Michael DiGirolamo are Executive Producers and Sarah McMurray was Line Producer. Jesse Green was Director of Photography. The spot was edited by Tate Webb at Red Echo Post.
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The Tribeca Film Festival closed with the premiere of "Freakonomics," the documentary adaptation of the best-seller by economist Steven Levitt and his co-author, Stephen J. Dubner. Celebrated documentary filmmakers Alex Gibney, Morgan Spurlock, Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, Eugene Jarecki and Seth Gordon helmed chapters of the book. Partner/Editor Sloane Klevin of Union Editorial cut and co-produced Gibney's segment of “Freakonomics,” which focused on corruption in Sumo wrestling and was shot on location in the US and Japan. "The segment uses Sumo as a jumping off point from which to explore cheating in society in general and particularly in the financial markets," says Klevin, who edited and co-produced the Oscar, EMMY and Peabody Award-winning documentary "Taxi to the Darkside," also directed by Gibney. In addition to Klevin, Gibney's collaborators on the project include producer Alexandra Johnes, commercial DP Darren Lew, music and sound design house Human Worldwide, mixer Tony Volante of Sound Lounge, colorist Billy Gabor of Company3 New York, and graphics artist Brady Poulsen, who worked out of Union's New York office. "This project took me about eight months to edit, because I was doing commercial work throughout," Klevin says. "But it allowed Alex a lot of time to think about what he wanted to shoot, and it gave us a lot of time to think about how we wanted this film to be different than anything else we had done. I think the result of having so much time and no deadline is pretty darned good!" In addition to "Freakonomics," Gibney, now repped by Chelsea for commercials, had two other documentaries screened at Tribeca: "My Trip to Al Qeada" and a work in progress screening of his as-yet untitled Elliot Spitzer documentary.
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Humble director Jeff Bitsack teamed up with BBDO to create a series of five TV spots and five viral videos for the new Lowes "You Can't Kill a Kobalt" campaign. The spots show funny situations where Kobalt tools seem to defy destruction. In one spot, aptly titled "Garbage Disposal," a wrench gets jammed into a garbage disposal that goes off. Comes out without a nick. In another, "Jimmie's Garage," NASCAR racer Jimmie Johnson is being interviewed in his garage when his race car, sitting up on the lift, comes crashing down on a Kobalt tool chest. Guess what wins? And in "Mauled by a Bear," a grizzly goes manic on a Kobalt pickup truck tool box. All the stunts were pulled off in camera to give them a heightened feel of spontaneity, and it shows. Adds Humble Executive Producer Eric Berkowitz, "We flew down to the Carolinas for this shoot back in January and it was very cold. And we now have an answer to the age-old question: Bears do in fact shit in the woods. We all saw it, ask any of us." Director of Photography on the campaign was Helge Gruell. The package was edited at Humble by Bryan Wetzel; the studio also did graphics. Head of Production for Humble was Persis Koch. Agency credits at BBDO include Wil Boudreau, Mike Hanley, Geoff Bentz, Kevin Wilson and Stephanie Gottlieb. No bear scat was harmed during the production of these commercials, Berkowitz adds.
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Dan Klein, Executive Producer for ADDigital, the new media arm of New York-based production company Moon Media, took home his second Emmy Award recently for "Miracle in New York: The Story of the '69 Mets". Klein, who wrote and produced the film, won his first Emmy as producer on ESPN's documentary series "Outside the Lines." "I'm honored," says Klein, who served as Supervising Producer on the film. "'Miracle in New York' was a great project, and I'm proud it was recognized." The award was presented at the 2010 New York Emmy Awards in the category of Historical/Cultural Program/Special. The show aired on the SNY cable sports network, home to Mets broadcasts in the New York area, in the spring of last year. The production team included Executive Producers Curt Gowdy, Jr. and Julie Frahm and Director Bill McCullough. In other ADDigital news, the shop recently produced a web film called "Talkin' E," heralding Earth Day's 40th Anniversary. The video was produced for Rockefeller Consulting and Guggenheim Partners, supporters of Earth Day activities. The clip ran in the US on the FOX and Discovery cable channels and starred such celebs as Adrian Grenier of HBO's "Entourage," rapper Iyaz and New York Jets player Darrelle Revis, along with a host of everyday people. You can check it out on the Earth Day New York E-Day web site here.
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Don't miss out. Become a Platinum, Gold or Silver sponsor of one of our upcoming Special Features. We have a Canadian special scheduled for July, that will spotlight the highly creative and innovative advertising coming out of Canadian agencies and production companies. We will also have an Interactive and Digital production feature scheduled for August. Digital and Interactive represents one of the fastest growing segments in the advertising industry. This emerging category demands the special talents and expertise of professionals to create advertising that appears in web-based or mobile environments. One of the best ways to promote your work in this hotly competitive and still emerging field is to sponsor the SourceEcreative Special Feature on Interactive and Digital Production. Don't be shy, contact us by phone 561 392-9701 or email halyce@sourceecreative.com. |
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Beast has expanded its Austin location with the addition of a Smoke room for finishing projects and the hire of two new talents: Senior Editor 
