Moo2u.com - Free Tutorials & the latest VFX news. » SMNY

SMNY and JWT Live Notoriously With Jose Cuervo

Moo2u — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:16:13 +0000

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.

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.

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

SMNY and BBDO Accentuate The HYATT Experience

Moo2u — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:52:40 +0000

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.

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.

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

Protect the Human with Amnesty International

Moo2u — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:40:27 +0000

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’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.

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)