Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/28735
Automakers keep Animal busy bits & pieces V ENICE, CA — Commercial visual effects stu- dio Animal (www.animalwest.com) pro- vided an array of finishing services for Audi and Dodge recently.The studio conformed and color graded Audi’s longform Startled Smart and Kenny G: progressive luxury against the establishment: Mer- cedes-Benz and BMW. Directed by Matt & Oz of Caviar LA, Startled Smart satirizes at-risk privileged teens as they are schooled about the consequences of an opulent lifestyle by inmates in smoking jackets and ascots. Saxophonist Kenny G. makes an ap- pears in Riot Suppressor, subduing an uprising by the luxury prisoners with his smooth jazz, which renders them comatose. Animal provided a full complement of fin- ishing services, and to meet the project’s tight turnaround, colorist Allan Stallard from the company’s East Coast office worked alongside lead Flame artist Ben Looram in Venice. Animal also worked with agency Doner on Animal helped Dodge with its Ram truck re-brand. Riot Suppressor online “Luxury Prison” videos, and cre- ated extensive motion graphics for the Dodge “Strength in Numbers” Ram re-brand commercials Mightier, Grab an End and Collective Force. Created by Venables Bell & Partners, the Audi campaign redefines luxury by positioning the A8 as the ongoing Ram re-brand. Ram, now a sub- brand of Dodge for pickup trucks, is marketed as a powerful technological marvel to serious truck customers. Animal’s visual effects artist Ryan Gibson designed the motion graphics for Mightier, Grab an End and Collective Force, all directed by Klaus Ober- meyer of Aero Film. Gibson worked to integrate de- tails that viewers would want to see again and dis- cover each time they view the spots. He animated the graphics and used Syntheyes for 3D tracking. Right Now What Post readers are experiencing MUSIC:“I’m a total garage/pysch rock nerd. I’m also in my third Harry Nilsson phase (happens about every 18 months). The Odd Future (Tyler The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt,Domo Genuis) guys are doing some interesting things in pushing hip-hop to some bizarre levels.” MOVIES: “I am a complete fool for no- budget foreign hor- ror/suspense features. Fabrice Du Welz’s Cal- vaire (the Ordeal) and Nacho Vigalondo’s Los Cronocrimenes (Time Crimes) are two that stick out in my mind. My three favorite films from the past year were Todd Solondz’s Life During Wartime, Gasper Noe’s Enter the Void, and Giorgos Lanthimos’s Dogtooth.These films are cer- tainly not for everyone.All were done with very minimal budgets, yet uniquely challenge the audience in very different ways.” Ryan Zorad Director Launch www.321launch.com 10 Post • April 2011 www.postmagazine.com