29th October 2022 - Three Wise Monkeys VFX work completed over the summer with director Ed Salkeld for Packshot Factory on behalf of In Bev and their in-house agency for Corona Beer. Ed shot the product shots in studio against a back-lit trans-light which in discussion with VFX supervisor and producer Carl Grinter with Rufus Blackwell. The background was replaced with a live action shot of beach by Rufus Blackwell using Flame with transitions between stock and live shots being rebuilt to create a seamless flow of the ingredients making up the special ingredients of Corona Beer. The commercial was produced at Packshot Factory by Julia Rydzynska.
NEW WORK COMING TO LIGHT AFTER BUSY TIMES: Chrome Productions latest work for Here Technologies features four case study films highlighting their real-time data-based location, navigation and logistics-based platforms and service-based technologies that are transforming the efficiency of their partner and collaborator businesses across global markets.
For the first in a series of 4 films completed over the past 6 months, Chrome Productions Creative Director Sam Strong and Creative Producer Elise Rappoport directed the live action sequences remotely with live action crews on the ground in Texas at Bentley Systems office filming Dustin Parkman, Vice President of Mobility.
Bentley Systems are a software development company providing design, planning, development and construction software using Here Technologies location-based 3D data as a service integrated to their software.
Carl Grinter worked with designer Leo Marcantonio in collaboration with Chrome's production and postproduction teams led by Ben Turze and Post Producer Will Sellers to edit, grade and finalise live action. Carl and Leo produced the computer animation motion graphic-based design sequences that highlight Here Technologies powerful real-time LiDAR based location technologies and platform.
30th June 2022 - New work with director James George and production agency Lobster Creative who conceptualised and produced the first advertising for Mazzetti L’Originale Balsamic Vinegar of Modena – a family run business based in Emilia Romagna in Italy. The commercial was exec produced by Simon McDowell and Sarah Baulcomb and produced by Alice Duke. Three Wise Monkeys were tasked with animating the rich, dark and dense liquid so that it exactly matched the quality and movement of the product, animated reveal the print advertising image. Three Wise Monkeys VFX supervised and produced the visual effects and computer animation with Brian King undertaking live action clean up and Flame compositing and CG animation team of Gavin Lester, Duncan Burch and Russell Trail developing the simulation for the Balsamic Vinegar animation and undertaking CG compositing. DIeector of Photography was Simon Paul and grading was at ETC. Music and sound design from Andrew Beaton.
25 April 2022 - Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press exhibition Pranayama Typhoon coincides with the 59th Venice Biennale over the next month until 19th May 2022, held in a basketball court within a converted church at Patronato Salesiano, a community playground in Castello, Venice, which is a short walk from the Giardini della Biennale. Its title combines the word ‘pranayama’, a breathing technique that dates to ancient India, with the word ‘typhoon’ – both an overwhelming and increasingly frequent natural phenomenon and the name of a state-of-the-art fighter plane.
Three Wise Monkeys have had the pleasure of working with Fiona Banner, studio producer Alice Walters and editor Tobias Zaldua again over the past month preparing a version of the film "Pranayama Organ" for the latest exhibition, following its premiere at Barakat in Seoul, South Korea.
Pranayama Organ (2021) features two full-scale inflatable military decoy aircrafts, a Typhoon and a Falcon. In the crisp light of dawn, two aircraft slowly inflate on the beach, coming to life like two long-slumbering creatures. The setting of the film then shifts to a grassy precipice, where two figures, including the artist, are dressed as fighter planes. Birdlike, human and automaton, the figures dance around each other in a darkly comical ritual of courtship and combat. The film was graded and finalised by Brian King with Three Wise Monkeys.
Another delightful project for dog lovers everywhere from director and ECD Jo Tanner at agency Dog Cat and Mouse for the latest YuMOVE Joint Supplement 30 second TV commercial currently on air. The commercial was edited by Dahlan Lassalle using a new and eponymous YuMOVE music track which director Jo Tanner and Dog Cat and Mouse partner Steve Stokes had been proposing to YuMOVE for sometime. Audio was mixed by Owen Griffiths with grade and online clean up and finishing from Brian King for Three Wise Monkeys Studio.
#dogslife #dogs #commercialadvertising #grade
Following the reception to Standard Chartered "Opening Doors" film completed in October last year, Chrome Productions were commissioned to produce a 30 second Brazilian film featuring a drone shoot above an iconic Rio viewpoint. Producer Mark Wilson with Josh Hay assembled the team of director Anthony Rubenstein with Josh Stockdale at Dream Beach Media to gain permission and remotely shoot a spectacular opening shot. The CG team of Dave Child, James Knopp and Jordan Minetti modelled and developed the look of the local CG doorway, 3D camera tracking the door to the environment before supplying to VFX Supervisor and Flame artist Rufus Blackwell for final tracking, compositing and transition to Indian, Shanghai, New York locations. Carl Grinter VFX produced and oversaw VFX for the shoot.
If you'd like to find out more about Rufus Blackwell's Flame artistry on this and other projects that combine his practices in VFX and Drone photography, Rufus is presenting a prestigious Logik Live demo at 5.00pm UK time Sunday 23rd January (12.00pm ET & 01.00am ICT!) here. This will be scintillating!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfV-6QD-0z8
New work for Lifted Entertainment and Dancing on Ice series 14 for ITV Studios creating 15 x 5 second idents which launched Sunday evening featuring the latest celebrities undertaking the competition with maestro's Jane Torville and Christopher Dean. The 15 x 5 second idents were directed by Robin Mason with executive producer Sam Rees-Jones and creative director Fiona Clark. Idents were line produced by Scott Chu with production manager Sophia Jarvis and shot at Sandstorm Studios with Director of Photography Nick Brown leading the camera crews. The visual effects team were led by Carl Grinter with VFX supervisor and Flame artist Rufus Blackwell leading the compositing of CG layers, depth of field and reflection effects and 2D roto team and CG supervisor Dave Child and team James Knopp and Jordan Minetti creating the CG reflections room, match moving and reflection room development.
A technically challenging and wonderfully collaborative project we have just completed with Chrome Productions for Standard Chartered Bank, featured FPV Drone shoots on five different continents with multiple local pilots shooting dynamic and complex camera moves across variable terrains using GoPro Hero 9 on drones. We were asked to track photorealistic computer generated doorways seamlessly into multiple set ups complicated by being produced and directed remotely. Thanks for so much trust and great endeavour from director Anthony Rubinstein, producers Mark Wilson with DavidHewitt and Josh Hay as well as Chrome's post production team of Ben Turze, Will Sellers and also everyone at Dream Beach Media. Great to be working again with VFX Supervisor Rufus Blackwell, CG Supervisor Dave Child to test and prep requirements for the shoots, develop the CG doorways and transitions for 8 locations and a further 3 transitions from separate drone and time lapse sequences with director Anthony Rubenstein and the whole team. Doorways were 3D camera tracked to the scenes accommodating for extremes of lens distortion and effects from drone stabilising softwares by Dave Child, James Knopp, Jordan Minetti and team prior to extensive 2D/3D Flame compositing, grading, VFX and online work from Rufus Blackwell. Carl Grinter VFX produced and supervised, co-ordinating on VFX between the different teams
Good Boy 30 second TVC
For our love of Dogs, we've been working with creative director Jo Tanner and Steve Stokes at agency Dog Cat and Mouse to grade and composite backgrounds for all our favourite Working, Herding, Toy, Hound, Sporting, Non-Sporting, and Terrier dogs, catching (or not as the case may be) their favourite Good Boy snacks at high speed for this delightful Good Boy commercial. Jo Tanner also directed the commercial with Michael Mieke, Mark Howard art directed and Steve Stokes was planner at the agency. Editor was Andy Phillips at Chop House, Owen Griffiths completed audio mix, Brian King undertook grading and compositing for Three Wise Monkeys.
White Claw Surge 4 x 13 second verticals completed with director Nick Sawyer, advertising agency Rothco in Dublin, production agency Creative Drive in London for the US drinks brand based in Chicago. Connor Kenny was the Art Director, Keiran O'Driscoll the copywriter and Jeremy Muthana the agency producer. Creative producer for this fast turnaround project completed in two weeks from remote shoot to delivery was Jeannine Mansell at Creative Drive London. Picture and sound post production design by Three Wise Monkeys team working with editor Carlo Taranto.
Animation Director Tomas Vergara continues his inspiring series of lessons for everyday living on his WTF-X channel on Youtube with this latest short designed to resonate with our times. Enjoy! #animation #animationvideo #movies #comedyvideos #comedy
Recent work completed with director Ed Salkeld and producer Ramon Ricard at Redux Content and agency Elephant Room for the launch of the robust Motorola Defy mobile handset. Thanks for the collaboration to Ed and Ramon and CG team Dave Childs, James Knopp, Jordan Minetti and Flame compositors Eldon Snelgrove & Russ Shaw.
WTF-X Noisy Neighbours
Another minute of pure joy from animation, live action director and actor Tomas Vergara in the sixth of his WTF-X films, giving his insight into an everyday faux-pas in imaginative living during lockdown. All six films are available, if you missed my postings, on the WTF-X youtube channel. A delightful series of films from one of a most generous and talented of people. #animation #film #animatedvideo #filmmaking #shortfilm #video #films #youtube #entertainment #comedyvideo #humour #animatedseries #animatedseries
Virtual production with LED screens
Had a great time this week at Quite Brilliant Ltd with Russ Shaw and a really excellent, hard working crew, cast and agency producing the virtual production component for a global Pokemon commercial at Garden Studios. We completed 28 shots in 2 more or less standard days (thanks to early morning art department preparation) at a time of intense Covid-19 regulation in the UK. We shot three international environments, all with foreground sets, interior and exterior locations. Fantastic to see existing skills and practices integrated so successfully into what are new film-making practices using real-time computer animation, depth-tracking camera and LED display tech and undertaken with real enthusiasm.
More to follow when we can show the new work in due course, but here's a proof of concept film produced last July between myself, Russ Shaw and director Nick Jones (also at Quite Brilliant), and a host of film-making companies, crew and London Met School film students, which shows the technique well. Thanks to all those who kindly invested their time and equipment to help make the proof of concept film possible and entail the collaboration with Garden Studios. #production #innovation #film #virtualproduction
#work #vfx
Ted Lasso
Very pleased for everyone that worked on the extremely enjoyable UK production of Apple+'s Ted Lasso series to see that Jason Sudeikis won best comedy actor at The Golden Globes last night. Nice to have the honour in hindsight of working as VFX supervisor on three of the episodes in this first series, but most of all to have worked with such talented cast, crew, writers, producers and directors.
