Jaguar took to the Internet this fall, with a five-chapter movie of fantasy, longing and escape blending live-action photography with the animation of Peter Chung (The Animatrix, Aeon Flux). The campaign was developed by Irvine, CA, interactive agency Global Beach, and first-time director Justin Brown also wrote the script. "I wanted to do something fresh, not to do the typical action theme of one car chasing after another car with explosions and guns," says Brown. "I have to say that Jaguar was courageous. They were willing to take chances and go in an atypical direction." In fact, it was the agency’s idea to integrate live-action with animation, an idea that director Brown immediately embraced. "I always like the idea of fantasy and imagination and blending that with reality," says Brown, who reports his first choice was Chung, who brought "a sophisticated style for adult audiences."
With cinematographer William Mackenzie-Smith, Brown worked out an identifiable color palette for each of the five chapters. Mackenzie-Smith shot 3-perf 35mm with two Arriflex cameras, which had been Panavised to take Panavision Primo lenses. Mackenzie-Smith operated the A camera, with Gregor Tavenner operating the B camera. "The production company suggested Super 16mm, but I said this was really a 35mm project," says Smith, who used Kodak 5218 stock. "We needed the smooth quality with no grainy aspect."
The first chapter establishes all the characters — the main character and a man, a woman and a boy — at an ornate train station (a real train station in Glendale). This first chapter features a generalized desaturated look with blown-out exteriors to provide a blast of light when the woman walks in the station. The second, third and fourth chapters portray individual stories of fantasy and escape: with a green and black color palette, a man in an office flees a meeting; a woman on a psychiatrist couch, in tones of purple, throws off her shoes and climbs through the window; and a bored boy in a yellow-tinged classroom makes an exuberant jail break. The concluding chapter takes us back to the train station where we see all the chapters’ characters waiting for their train. Has it all been the hero’s dream of other peoples’ lives? "I think there should always be a little room for personal interpretation," says Brown.
In every chapter, animation kicks in at a moment of transition — a kiss, the man putting his hand on the Jaguar door handle. "Since all of these chapters involved fantasy, I thought of animation as the height of the emotional state for the characters," says Brown. It’s the point where their imaginations and emotions surge beyond reality, like an exclamation point for the character."
Both Brown and Smith credit production designer David Stone and costume designer Neysa Stone with getting the most out of locations and Complete Post colorist Steve Arkle (known as "Sparkle") with cinching the color palette. The Webisodes can be seen at www.x-ingover.com.
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