Shoot Supervisor: Angus Kneale, Ben Smith, Ruben Vandebroek, Wyatt Savarese
Colorist: Fergus McCall, Seamus O’Kane
Lead Flame Artists: Alex Lovejoy & Dan Williams
Flare Artist: Melissa Graff
Nuke: Nitant Karnik
Flame artists: Cole Schreiber, Naomi Anderlini, Corey Brown, Stefan Coory, Ian Richardson
Smoke Artist: Jeff Robins
Combustion: Keith Sullivan, Rosalind Paradis, Robert Bruce, Suzanne Dyer, Bruce Chen
CG supervisor: Ben Smith
Lighting Lead : Andrew Proctor
Animation Lead : Joshua Merck
CG artists:
Ruben Vandebroek
Kevin Ives
Michael Panov
Wyatt Savarese
Gregory Gangemi
Yorie Kumalasari
Rob Petrie
Emily Meger
Naotaka Minami
Jeff Lopez
Pete Devlin
Credits
Song Title: This Is It
Air Date: December 2009
Prod Company: 40 Acres and a Mule
Director: Spike Lee
Director of Photography: Malik Sayeed
Editor: Barry A. Brown
Producer(s): Spike Lee, Butch Robinson
Additional Camera: Kerwin Devonish, Rick Sarmiento
Post/Effects: Smoke & Mirrors NY
Lead Flame Artist: Nic Seresin
Flame Artist: Stephanie Isaacson, Sam Caine, Sean Broughton, Philip Akka
Flame Assistant: Ross Vincent
3D Artist: Steve Parish, Mike Donovan, Wei Louie, Serkan Ertekin, Greg Calas
Producer: Lauren Shawe
Color Correction: Smoke & Mirrors, NY
Colorist: Ben Eagleton
Producer: Lauren Shawe
Color Correction: The Mill
Colorist: Damian van der Cruyssen
Music: Michael Jackson
Shoot Location: Gary, Indiana
About
New York and London-based design, animation and VFX studio, Smoke & Mirrors was founded by COO Sean Broughton (NY), Penny Verbe (UK) and Mark Wildig (UK). A creative and artist-driven company synonymous with vision and originality since its inception, Smoke & Mirrors has consistently succeeded because of its collaborative approach and ability to build lasting creative relationships with directors, producers, agencies and clients alike.
Production in the New York office is lead by Broughton, MD Jo Morgan, and Head of Production Sue Romweber. Diverse projects range from work on the Harry Potter and Bond film series, to commercial campaigns for Mercedes, Burger King, Miller Lite and Sirius. Recent music vid clips include Feist's 1 2 3 4, and I Feel It All. Each office is fully networked together with complementary systems allowing the companies to share resources, expanding local capacity. Close involvement with hardware and software manufacturers and developers has kept Smoke & Mirrors at the forefront of innovation and technology.
Press Release Expansion Team Feels “Pretty” For New Verizon Wireless Android Spot
From the opening retro robot voice, drum loop and chainsaw distorted power chords, it’s clear from the get-go that “Pretty,” the latest ad in the on-going campaign for Verizon Wireless and its Google Android smart phone from agency mcgarrybowen, is an attention-getter. That’s due in no small part because of the score created by music/sound design house Expansion Team, who crafted a rowdy, infectious, stomp groove that works perfectly with the visuals and voiceover.
''mcgarrybowen came to use because they wanted music that would feel authentic in much the same way they’re positioning the phone itself,'' Alex Moulton, Expansion Team’s Creative Director says. “They needed it to sound like something you’d hear in some trashy Lower East Side club at 3 am. And that’s definitely our scene.''
Moulton brought in composer Eric Stamile to create the score. A highly regarded producer/remixer who’s worked with such artists as Janet Jackson, Korn and cee-lo (of Gnarls Barkley), as well as other TV campaigns with Expansion Team, Stamile immediately focused on the swinging anthem rhythm that propels the spot. '
''The most challenging aspect for me was trying to get the exact right guitar tone,'' Stamile says. ''The agency wanted something that didn't sound perfect and polished — it had to have a rawness to it, almost emulating early 80's punk guitar performances. The track needed to feel modern and forward thinking, yet rooted in traditional rock.''
''Pretty'' begins with a robotic voice saying ''droid'' followed by a retro drum loop and razor-distorted guitars that play against visuals of three people starring hypnotically at a cell phone behind a glass case. A no-nonsense voice-over asks, ''Should a phone be pretty, should it be a tiara-wearing, digitally clueless beauty pageant queen?'' From there it moves into a visual collage of surreal, often ironic images (a buzz saw through a ripe banana is not something you see every day) that perfectly illustrate the deadpan voiceover copy.
''Expansion Team’s vision and tenacity solved a tough creative brief under an incredibly tight time line — Alex and co. truly delivered,'' says Jerry Krenach, Director of Music Production, mcgarrybowen.
About Expansion Team:
Expansion Team redefines how music can be created for today's media by building a bridge between the recording, TV, film and advertising industries. They know the importance of a successful brand message and focus on creating impassioned brand aficionados. Led by founder and creative director Alex Moulton and executive producer April Jaffe, Expansion Team is supported by an exceptional roster of talent; an international collective of award-winning producers, songwriters, DJs and remixers. Because they work in studios around the world, an additional network of top session players and vocalists have become part of their growing family. For more information check out: www.expansionteam.org.
Agency: mcgarrybowen, New York
Executive Producer: Suzanne Crowe
Executive Creative Director Managing Partner: Mark Koelfgen
Executive Creative Director: Warren Eakins
Art Director: Michael Cannova
Copywriter: Tiffany Smith
Director of Music Production: Jerry Krenach
Acct Managing Director: Tom Sewell
Director: Lee Roth
Production Company: Park Pictures, New York
Director: Benzo Theodore
Executive Producer: Jackie Kelman Bisbee
Supervising Producer: Mary Ann Marino
Line Producer: Ron Consentino
Music House: Expansion Team, New York
Creative Director: Alex Moulton
Composer: Eric Stamile
Executive Producer: April Jaffe
Editing House: Beast, New York
Editor: Adam Schwartz
Asst Editor: Rebecca Beluk
Executive Producer: Valerie Petrusson
Producer: Ann Martini
Post Production/Visual Effects: A52, Santa Monica
Executive Producer: Jennifer Sofio
VFX Producer: Jenny Bright
VFX Supervisor: Patrick Murphy
Telecine: Moving Picture Company, Santa Monica
Colorist: Mark Gethin
Client: Wrigley's
Spot Title: "Solstice 5"
Air Date: December 7, 2009
Agency: BBDO Toronto
Writer: Jamie Marcovitch
Art Director: Todd Cornelius
Creative Director: Ian MacKellar
Producer: Adriana Laborde
Campaign: Jack Daniel's "Label Story"
Spot Title: "Old Number 7" :30
Client: Jack Daniel's
Advertising Agency: Arnold
City/State: Boston, Mass.
Chief Creative Officer: Pete Favat
Creative Directors: Wade Devers, Wade Paschall
Associate Creative Directors: Lee Walters, Chad Leitz
Executive Producer: Billy Near
Assistant Producer: Reaghan Puleo
Account Director: Chris Ferko
Business Manager: Maria Rougvie
Production: Brand New School
City/State: Bicoastal, USA
Director: Jonathan Notaro
Art Directors: Mario Stipinovich, Eric Conception
Designers: Ricardo Villavicencio, Stephen Kelleher, Emmett Dzieza
CG Lead: Vadim Turchin
3D Animation: Eric Concepcion, Han Ho, Mike Garcia, Walter Lubinski, Kim Kehoe, Andre Salyer, Carmine Laietta, Adam Rosenzweig, Dave LoGiudice, John Kalagian
2D Animation: Stieg Retlin
Storyboard Artists: Will Rosado
Compositor: Eric Concepcion, Dave LoGiudice, Michal Finegold
Executive Producer: Danny Rosenbloom
Head of Production: Devin Brook
Producer: Toby Sowers, Mike Sullo
Production Coordinator: Ilona Klaver
Original Music: The Lodge
City/State: New York, NY
Creative Directors: Eric Hillebrecht & Colin Thibadeau
Composer "Tennessee": Ronan Coleman
Composers "Old Number 7": Alex Weinstein
Composers "Proud": Demian Sims
Executive Producer: Sallie Moore
Producer: Heather Weisberg
Press Release
MTV’s “Gone Too Far” documentary series features the late Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, counseling other addicts in recovery, as he, himself, had dealt with his own addiction problems. “I got so lost in my disease, I was gone,” he once said.
Buster Design’s show open for this new TV series (produced on behalf of clients Gigantic! Productions and MTV), physically manifests that loss of control – showing individuals under the grip of something much larger and more sinister than they can handle. Footage of DJ AM and young addicts are intertwined in plumes of smoke and dripping lines of tar - all rendered in a haze of addiction. Sometimes the vein-like “drug lines” hold the addicts in their grip like puppet strings, as they use and abuse drugs, and fall into oblivion.
The project was created by Buster Design, under the supervision of Buster’s executive producer/executive creator director Jonas Morganstein. Sadly, Adam passed away the day Buster delivered the final show graphics. Please see: www.stuncreative.com/emailblast_10_14_09/landing.htm
BMW "Living in the Lights"
Production: Bandito's Garage
Creator/Director: Mouse McCoy
Director of Photography: Vic Huber
Editor: Steve Prestemon
Producer: Sumer Friedrichs
The Car: BMW M3 The Driver: Greg Tracy The Girl: Niki Huey
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