The Brief:
Smoke and Mirrors New York and @radical.media's Tarsem create the beertastic world for BBH and brew masters at Miller Lite. The ever-elusive Beer Heaven is revealed to our hero, Mark as he spots the descending stairwell into the promised-land. What he finds is a bar where the taps and shelves are fully stocked with the perfect combination of taste and refreshment. Mark is the star of the bar - everyone knows his name and the barstool reflects that notion. SMNY had the responsibility of making sure Beer Heaven lived up to its name by creating an environment complete with a TV-inlaid air hockey table, and a moving pool table pocket that allows players to sink the shot every time. Mark likes Miller Lite beer, and the collaboration between all involved made a world where he gets what he wants.
From SMNY:
We were thrilled with the opportunity to work with both BBH and legendary film and commercial director, Tarsem. We provided the on-set effects supervision right through to the final compositing. We collectively opted out of the green screen approach on all shots as it would have hampered the production process considerably. Instead, we utilized our Toxic system to rotoscope any actors crossing in front of the VFX areas. When it came to the TV/air hockey table, the sports footage was layered into it, complete with reflections and graphics. We had to take into account the swing and tilt lenses used in-camera. Multiple films and effects packed into a three day turnaround included wire removal shots on the falling bottles, the darts, moving beer mats, layering the sports footage into the table, the heavenly pool table, and matching the twins' hair color throughout. Shot in HD, the initial TK tape to tape grade had to be matched on different edits in Flame using the Furnace spark set.
The Creds:
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Client: Miller Brewing Co. Product: Miller Lite Spot Title: Bar Stool Air Date: April 2008 Agency: BBH ECD: Kevin Roddy GCD: Todd Riddle Art Director: Amy Servidea Copywriter: Pete Lefebvre Producer: Julian Katz Prod Company: @radical.media Director: Tarsem Music: "Collarbone" by Fujiya & Miyagi |
Post/Effects: Smoke & Mirrors/NY CD/Lead VFX Artist: Sean Broughton VFX Support Artist(s): Sam Caine, Stephanie Isaacson Produer(s): Paul O'Beirne, Barbara Kontarovich Editorial: The Whitehouse Editor: Ben Stephens Producer: Corina Dennison Telecine: The Mill, NY Colorist: Fergus McCall Audio Post: Sound Lounge Mixer: Philip Loeb Shoot Location: Hollywood, CA |
About Smoke & Mirrors New York:
Founded by Creative Director Sean Broughton, CEO Penny Verbe and CTO Mark Wildig lead the New York and London-based design, animation and VFX studio Smoke & Mirrors. It has been synonymous with creativity, originality, and innovation since its inception.
Smoke & Mirrors has always succeeded because of its collaborative approach, building strong creative relationships with directors, producers, agencies and clients alike.
Each office fully is networked together with complementary systems allowing the facilities to share resources, expanding local capacity. Close involvement with manufacturers and developers has kept Smoke & Mirrors at the forefront of technology and on all levels.
Smoke & Mirrors diverse range of projects include: feature films from ranging from Harry Potter to James Bond, award winning commercials, music videos and television.
