Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/348146
www.postmagazine.com 38 POST JULY 2014 POSTINGS NICKTOONS REBRAND NEW YORK — What does a brand sound like? That was the challenge facing sound design/ audio post studio Hobo (www. hoboaudio.com) when it teamed with Nicktoons — the kid-targeted network featuring popular animat- ed shows such as Spongebob Squarepants and Power Rangers — on the network's first rebrand since 2009. Nicktoons started with a look created by design stu- dio Sibling Rivalry (www.siblingrivalrystudio.com) that combines a clever retro videogame style with a nod to modern visual tools like Vine and GIFs. Hobo sound designer/mixer Max Holland notes that Nicktoons creatives came to them with an open mind and a mandate to make the network sound different from everything else on TV. Hobo took its inspiration from Vine, YouTube, Instagram videos, mashup videos and DJs. The company then stretched the audio boundaries by employing lo-fi videogame sounds from the 80s and early 90s, and remixing them into some- thing fun, quirky and a little bit weird. For sound design and mixing, the team relied on Pro Tools, as well as extensive use of such plug-ins as the Waves H-Delay, AudioEase Speakerphone, Serato Pitch n' Time and Avid Lo-Fi. A lot of the SFX were custom created and tweaked using Camel Audio's Alchemy as well as S-Layer from Twisted Tools. GOOD TO KNOW NEW YORK — In a 3D animated digital world where a small town is awash in a gorgeous, eye-popping palette, families work and play while resourcefully coping with the calamities caused by coming storms or their aftermath: downed electrical wires, broken pipes and gas leaks. On the scene, before and after, are utility crews, gathering materials and supplies, and working around the clock to restore power. This is the world that New York's The Napoleon Group (www.napny.com), a full-service previz and digital content company, conceived and crafted in a half-dozen digital shorts for US energy utilities Con Edison (New York), PSEG Long Island (New York), Orange & Rockland (New Jersey) and Entergy (Arkan- sas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas), starting with a 3D animated digital short commissioned by Con Edison titled, Good to Know. The six shorts were created using Maya animation software, After Effects for compositing and Premiere for editorial. Originally featured on Con Ed's Website, Good to Know resonated so well with customers that Con Ed commissioned two more shorts, while fellow energy utilities commissioned Napoleon to produce rebranded versions of the digital short for themselves. DREAM WITH YOUR EYES OPEN CHICAGO — Ad agency Leo Bur- nett, here, approached MPC Creative (moving-picture.com), a Technicolor Company, to produce, direct and de- velop the VFX for an all-new RE/MAX advertising campaign. Taking advan- tage of all pre-production, production and VFX disciplines under one roof, MPC LA's in-house talent, directors Dan Marsh and Paul O'Shea, led the creation of the campaign, comprised of a :60 commercial and a series of :15 spots containing a seamless blend of live-action and VFX. From idyllic homes perfectly paired with every amenity to the potential blunders that arise in home buying, the campaign takes a couple on a journey that en- courages viewers to "dream with your eyes open." With five spots to shoot in New Zealand, using an Arri Alexa camera, the VFX team focused heavily on cap- turing every detail of the live action scenes with still and moving picture elements. Home exteriors were shot on location, while sets were built on stage for the interiors. Digital matte paintings, carefully conceived 2D elements, and photo- realistic CG filled out and enhanced the dream world. In addition to using Nuke and Flame, CG was produced using Maya for modeling, animation and lighting; Houdini for dynamics and effects; Mari for texturing; ele- ments were rendered in V-Ray and Mantra; and matte paintings were done in Photoshop. Colorists put the finishing touches on the spots with Baselight, grading the rich images with a surreal dream quality and tone. IMAGINE HOUSTON — The Lee Group (TLG) called on Post Asylum (www.postasylum.com) to produce TV and radio spots for client CHI St. Luke's Health, which is a part of Catholic Health Initiatives — one of the nation's largest health systems. The studio worked on two TV spots for the "Imagine" cam- paign, which features an elegant, animated current that flows in and through various live-action scenes. The spots were shot by Chicago-based director Kerry Shaw Brown, working with Ven- ice-based LA.B Film. During pre-production, the Post Asylum design and VFX team explored different design treatments to determine the best way for CG current to convey the collaboration that takes place between some of the country's brightest medical minds. Ultimately, lead animator Alex Prudic-Dennis honed in on a combination of texture, color, lighting and flowing movement. Senior producer Amy Aitken and VFX artist Michael "Pants" Sands supervised production on location in Houston at a hospi- tal. Several scenes of foreground talent were captured in front of a greenscreen. Post Asylum's Michael Fleetwood handled ed- itorial. A library track from Pure Evil Music was customized by composer Gary Parks.