SMNY and JWT Live Notoriously With Jose Cuervo

date_iconFebruary 12, 2009
Sean Broughton of Smoke & Mirrors New York (SMNY) leads a team of artists in a humorous four spot campaign for Jose Cuervo, via JWT. Each spot is a sarcastically approached lesson in Living Notoriously Well with Jose Cuervo, all enclosed in an extravagantly ornamented, bound tomb. Serving as the example for the notoriously living, an attractive baller-type impresses his friends simply by reaping the benefits of a false title-senator-in the :30 Be Yourself, a vital lesson.

SMNY and JWT Live Notoriously With Jose Cuervo smny_jose_pig

Knowing When observes our resident notorious man applying referential rules to his disreputable lifestyle. No drinks before riding his horse, depositing a fake watch as a false tip to a waiter and snatching food off moving trays as if he were entitled. It appears, in Negotiation, that impersonation is a fundamental component of living notoriously, as we see the familiar gentleman claim to be Burt Reynolds and utilizing confidence as a shield against skeptics.
In Roulette we exhibit the devious ways of our notorious man as he cons his way out of paying a dinner tab, and his subsequent exit as his counterparts discover his trickery.
Lead flame artist Kirk Balden seamlessly composited a product entirely generated in CG for the opening shots of this campaign. CG Lead Steve Parish and the 3D team worked their magic in creating totally photo realistic bottles to an amazing standard.

SMNY and JWT Live Notoriously With Jose Cuervo smny_jose_girls

About Smoke & Mirrors New York and London-based design, animation and VFX studio, Smoke & Mirrors was founded by Creative Director/VFX Artist 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. The Creds: Client: Jose Cuervo Spot Title: Be Yourself, Knowing When, Negotiation, Check Roulette Air Date: January 2009 Agency: JWT Co-President: Ty Montague COO: Harvey Marco Production Assistant: Alex Duncan Production Manager: Judy Brazong Dir. Broadcast Talent: Jamie Whitfield Talent Manager: Lisa Schieder Dir. Integrated Productions: Clair Grupp Dir. Broadcast Production & Content: Joe Calabrese Global Business Director: Sophie Kelly Account Director: Judson Whigham CD: Matt Macdonald AD: Anthony Chelette Copywriter: Chris Plehal Producer: Jennifer Mastrorilli Prod Company: Smith and Jones Director: Ulf Johansson EP: Phillipa Smith Post/Effects: Smoke & Mirrors/NY CD: Sean Broughton Lead VFX Artist: Kirk Balden CG Artist(s): Steve Parrish, Serken Ertekin, Wei Louie, Greg Calas VFX Support Artist(s): Phillip Akka, Sam Caine EP: Celest Gilbert VFX Producer: Paul O’Beirne Editorial: Peepshow Editor: Andrew Macarthur EP: Amy Saunders Assistant Editor: Naomi Spiro Producer: Anne Vega Telecine: Company 3 Colorist: Tim Massick Sound Design: Alan Friedman Audio Engineer: Andy Green Music: The Lodge Music Producer: Theresa Notartomas
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SMNY and BBDO Accentuate The HYATT Experience

date_iconFebruary 8, 2009
Kirk Balden of design, animation and VFX studio Smoke & Mirrors New York leads his adept team in creating the captivating VFX on a recent :60 for HYATT, via BBDO, NY.

SMNY and BBDO Accentuate The HYATT Experience

In There’s a Place, we venture through global avenues of the entire HYATT experience, not only capturing the relaxing essence of a stay at the premier hotel, but the magical luxury as well. With a balcony view of NYC’s shining lights, beaches off the coast of an exotic island, and a secluded location in Asia…the effort truly encapsulates the HYATT hotel experience. Smoke and Mirrors artist Kirk Balden designed and executed the end title sequence and finished the look of this beautiful spot.
About SMNY: New York and London-based design, animation and VFX studio, Smoke & Mirrors was founded by Creative Director/VFX Artist 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 Managing Director Jo Morgan and Executive Producer Celest Gilbert. Diverse projects range from work on the Harry Potter and Bond film series, to commercials campaigns for Mercedes, Burger King, Miller Lite and Sirius.

SMNY and BBDO Accentuate The HYATT Experience

The Creds: Client: HYATT Hotels Corp. Spot Title: There’s a Place Air Date: January 2009 Agency: BBDO/NY CCO: Bill Bruce, David Lubars EVP, Executive Creative Director: Don Schneider Sr. VP Creative Director: Chris Cole, Mark Wegwerth Sr. VP, EP: Helene Balzarini Copywriter: Joe Lovering Asst. Producer: Regina Iannuzzi Prod Company: Knucklehead, London Director: Joe Roman Producer: Tim Katz DP: Joost Van Gelden EP: Helene Balzarini Post/Effects: Smoke & Mirrors/NY CD: Sean Broughton Lead Flame Artist: Kirk Balden Assist Flame Artist: Stephanie Isaacson Managing Dir: Jo Morgan EP: Celest Gilbert Producer: Lauren Shawe Editorial: Nomad Editing Company Editor: Jason Painter Asst. Editor: Tyler Peck EP: Lynne Mannino Telecine: The Mill Lead Telecine Artist: Fergus McCall Asst. Telecine Artist: Sal Malfitano Producer: Claudia Guevara Mix: Sound Lounge Mixer: Tom Jucarone Music: Emoto Composer: Steve Hampton
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Protect the Human with Amnesty International

date_iconDecember 23, 2008
Director Kim Gehrig of Academy Films and New York-based Smoke & Mirrors New York (SMNY) Creative Director Sean Broughton create a compelling 1:30 tale for Amnesty International via Mother. With Michael Stipe’s arresting song, Until the Day is Done, playing throughout the spot, we are left simultaneously bewildered and proud. Bewildered at the astonishing violence in our world, and proud of the selfless among us attempting to hinder its relentless surge. Seven racially diverse individuals are superimposed onto scenes of violence wherein they appear to stand between aggressors and their targets; releasing prisoners, removing nooses off necks and withdrawing weapons from children. The heroes are placed in the heart of nations that are war-torn and plagued with cruelty, in order to attest our own capacity to protect human rights.

SMNY and Mother Protect the Human with Amnesty International sm_amnesty_hang

SMNY’s Sean Broughton acknowledges, “This was an opportunity to do some real good, so pulling out all the stops was the only way to go. When the time came, I met with Director Kim Gehrig in London to work out how every scene and element should be shot. The seven scenes were split up amongst the three post companies involved in the project SMNY, Rushes and Framestore. We had to complete the work in record time, but the ego-less efforts made by all was a joy to be a part of.”
“Interaction was a key aspect of the film, so each ‘hero’ was shot against green screen, with the distance traveled, terrain, camera heights and angles calculated prior to shoot. Lighting was matched to the pre-selected background scenes and everything was shot with locked off camera in HD to allow for movement later in post. Kim wanted to make sure the heroes stood out, so it was an old VHS machine that finished the catalogue of work executed in each scene. The hero character was played off to the old tape format and then matted back in.”

Ed Sayers from Mother adds, “There are many ways to approach any post task and in this case we gained the eclectic opinions of all this top worldwide post talent and when anyone talked, everyone listened. So the film received the benefit of all that experience and the joy of all that talent. It couldn’t have been done in the time without this total and ego-less cooperation, not to mention a client who allowed everyone to crack on and come back and truly wow them with a very powerful film.”
About SMNY: New York and London-based design, animation and VFX studio, Smoke & Mirrors was founded by Creative Director/VFX Artist Sean Broughton (NY), Penny Verbe (UK) and Mark Wildig (UK). Production in the New York office is lead by Managing Director Jo Morgan and Executive Producer Celest Gilbert. Diverse projects range from work on the Harry Potter and Bond film series, to commercials campaigns for Mercedes, Burger King, Miller Lite and Sirius. Recent music vid clips include Feists 1 2 3 4, and I Feel It All.

SMNY and Mother Protect the Human with Amnesty International sm_amnesty_riot

The Creds: Client: Amnesty International Title: You Are Powerful Air Date: December 2008 Agency: Mother Producer: Ed Sayer Prod Company: Academy Films DOP: Mattias Montero Director: Kim Gehrig Producer: Lucy Gossage Post/Effects: Smoke & Mirrors - NY/London CD: Sean Broughton/SMNY Flame Artist: Marios Theodosi/London Managing Director: Jo Morgan/SMNY EP: Celest Gilbert/SMNY Producer(s): Belinda Grew, Paul Schleicher/London Producer: Lauren Shawe/SMNY Post/Effects: Rushes/Framestore Editorial: Final Cut Editor: Joe Guest Audio Post: Factory Mixer: Ben Firth Music: Until the Day is Done Artist: Michael Stipe (Article by CGnews)
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