Scene 1 from Adidas "Speed"
(Image: 720 x 540 pixels,
72dpi, 212 Kb. ad1-72.jpg)
300 dpi version upon request.
Scene 2 from Adidas "Speed"
(Image: 720 x 540 pixels,
72dpi, 220 Kb. ad2-72.jpg)
300 dpi version upon request.
Scene 3 from Adidas "Speed"
(Image: 720 x 540 pixels,
72dpi, 227 Kb. ad3-72.jpg)
300 dpi version upon request.
Scene 4 from Adidas "Speed"
(Image: 720 x 540 pixels,
72dpi, 195 Kb. ad4-72.jpg)
300 dpi version upon request.
Scene 5 from Adidas "Speed"
(Image: 720 x 540 pixels,
72dpi, 244 Kb. ad5-72.jpg)
300 dpi version upon request.
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Contacts:
Roger Darnell
DWA for a52
828.264.8898
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For
Immediate Release
DIRECTOR
ANDREWS JENKINS ENLISTS a52
FOR MOST SUCCESSFUL ADIDAS CAMPAIGN TO DATE
HOLLYWOOD
– Dec. 20, 2000 – Visual effects company a52 today announced details of
their visual effects work for director Andrews Jenkins, Stiefel & Company
and Food Chain Films for Whatya Think and Red Button’s newest Adidas campaign,
which creatively reveals Los Angeles Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant in a series
of :30 spots entitled “Speed,” “Style,” “Poetry” and “Italy.”
Patrick
Murphy was a52’s visual effects supervisor and lead Inferno artist on the
campaign, a role which involved a great deal of collaboration from the
very beginning to achieve Jenkins’ objectives, particularly on the complicated
“Speed” spot in which a motorcyclist on a bright yellow motorcycle descends
into a surreal, high-contrast version of Los Angeles.
“We
looked at the reel of every effects house in LA,” Jenkins recounted, “spoke
to a bunch, then really decided to land with a52 because they seemed to
understand what we were going after and were probably the best creative
partners. We sat down numerous times and talked about what we were
looking for. From there, I had them out on the set every day, so
they were an integral part of the whole process.”
“The
whole idea was to have these rich, metallic colors throughout, but to have
the bike pop-out as this bright-yellow force,” said Murphy. “We basically
had to cut the bike out of every shot and replace it with a new grade that
we created using the Inferno.” But that was only the beginning.
“I got to build a hyper-real version of LA,” Murphy added, citing every
shot as a challenge involving the replacement of buildings, freeways and
skies – all while matching grain, motion blur and the target color grades.
Murphy
along with a52 effects artist and supervisor Dan Sumpter shadowed the first
unit on location, analyzing each scene’s clean-up requirements and taking
measurements of camera positions. “Then, we travelled around and
found buildings that we thought would fit into the scenario and shot them
with the same camera and lens,” Murphy explained. “We cleaned up
the Capitol Records building and the environment the Staples Center is
in. We even had the camera mounted onto the back of the motorbike.”
Murphy
and his team edited elements and composited many of them in high resolution
in the Inferno in order to work with extended detail on certain scenes.
“From
the very beginning, I wanted to shoot something that couldn't be shot,”
said Jenkins. “That meant both camera work and effects work had to
be absolutely integrated. In the end, I can honestly say we created
something that doesn't exist. In Patrick's words, he said, ‘When
anyone stops on one particular frame, I just want it to look flawless.’
It sounds extreme, but that's what we both really wanted.”
According
to Jenkins, the word from Adidas is that this is their most successful
campaign to date, which provides the ultimate validation for his effort
to share the world of superstar Kobe Bryant.
a52’s
project team was led by executive producer and managing director Liz Roewe
and Darcy Leslie Parsons, and also included Henry Infinity artists Dan
Sumputer and Scott Johnson as well as Inferno artist Chris Howard.
Jay Johnson provided elements for the digital matte painting.
The
live-action footage was lensed by Portland’s Joe Meade. Production
was overseen by executive producer Marie Perry, producer John Marius and
production manager Tim Fermino of Santa Monica’s Stiefel & Company,
as well as producer Rian Moore. Telecine was handled by Stefan of
Santa Monica’s Company 3. Editing was handled by Chris Jones of Mr.
Jones, Portland. Sound design was created by Stephen Dewey at Machine
Head in Los Angeles and the mix was mastered by Eric Ryan at Venice’s Raven
Works.
About
a52
Established
in 1997 as a home for the very latest high-end photo-real visual effects
technologies and the industry’s most innovative and talented graphic design
artists, visual effects company a52 creates award-winning imagery for the
world’s most visually ambitious commercial and television projects.
Having relocated to Santa Monica in 2007, the company’s work has earned
AICP Show recognition for 11 consecutive years along with recent “Outstanding
Commercial” Emmy, Andy, BDA, Belding, Clio, British Design and Art Direction,
International Monitor, International Automotive Advertising, London International
Advertising, One Show and PROMAX awards. For more information, please
call 1.310.586.0650 or visit www.a52.com.
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View QuickTime
for Adidas “Speed”
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