With the World Cup a few months away, the action has been heating up in South Africa. AFS Productions in Cape Town recently wrapped promos for ESPN's coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup for viewers in the United States. (Check out a shot from the production in this item.) Collaborating with Florida and New York-based production company Habana Avenue, the AFS team traveled all over South Africa shooting scenics of the country and its new stadiums. The promos also included a series of music videos showcasing South Africa’s Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir and Irish super group U2.  Lending their weight to the project were AFS Executive Producers Dale and Brin Kushner and Habana Avenue’s EP Steven Levy. Lead producer on the project was ESPN’s Valerie Fischler. Director of Photography was Scott Duncan.

Beast editorial is expanding its Austin location with the addition of a Smoke room for finishing projects and the hire of senior editor Ariel Quintans and Smoke artist Jim Reed. In addition, it has partnered with sister company Company 3 to provide virtual telecine services. Quintans has been an editor in Austin for over 12 years and has developed a reputation for storytelling. Combining his understanding of music and rhythm with a talent for graphic and motion design, Quintans has covered many formats. In addition to his spot and music video work, Quintans served as lead editor on “Rollergirls,” a 13-episode reality series for A&E, and was the supervising editor for four seasons of the Emmy Award-winning documentary series “Downtown. ” His recent work on the Basic Military Training microsite for Airforce.com has been featured in the 2010 Communication Arts Interactive Annual. An industry veteran with over 30 years of experience, Reed joins Beast from 501 Post, where as senior editor and post production supervisor he worked on feature film projects such as “Sin City” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.” Reed also has a long list of commercial credits for brands including AT&T, BMW, Burger King, Kohler, Land Rover, Snickers and Wal-Mart, among others. For virtual telecine services, clients at Beast Austin will be able to collaborate in real time with Company 3 artists on color grading projects via its remote technology for post production services on commercials and features. A high-resolution monitor calibrated by a Company 3 engineer, coupled with a video  conferencing system, ensures that client feedback reaches their Company 3 colorists in Los Angeles or New York without delays or color discrepancies.

Shanghai-based production company Filmate completed a nifty spot for Kraft's Oreo cookies via Draft FCB/China featuring basketball star Yao Ming. In “Dunking Challenge,” Ming uses his skills to show a youngster how to dunk Oreos, but the boy doesn’t want to share his glass of milk. With a reach around the little boy, Yao effortlessly reaches the glass for his first dunk. The boy runs away, taunting the player with the glass of milk, but with a free throw Yao sinks the Oreo in the glass. Sweetly, the little boy gets the last bite. Credits go to US-based Director Rob Lieberman and DP Ben Jasper.

Cape Town-based Egg Films recently completed a spot for Old Mutual, a provider of financial services and investment counsel.  Directed by Kim Geldenhuys for Draft FCB/Johannesburg, “Nature of Wisdom” opens on a battlefield where a lone soldier finds a piece of paper. The paper, or rather the words of wisdom written on it (which the viewer never sees) then travels around the world and through multiple times in history, making its mark on a variety of people. A prison inmate passes it to another; a couple shares it, a police officer finds it in a middle of a riot; a nun resembling Mother Theresa drops it on her deathbed. The point behind the languid, two-minute spot is that wisdom is the key to making choices about the future, and Old Mutual has a century worth of wisdom. Credits go to Producer Kerry Hosford and DP Timothy Pike . Rob Schroder handled music out of Robroy Music. 

Yukfoo Animation has patched together, literally, an intricate and detailed 60-second stop-motion spot for Positively Wellington Tourism via Clemenger BBDO, Wellington. The entire commercial is constructed out of fabric, which evolves and animates as the camera moves in and around the sets. Hundreds of hours were spent creating the fabric elements and environments which needed to both convey their material nature and be able to be animated frame by frame - whilst not drooping, flopping, fraying and doing all the other things that fabric tends to do. In addition to the animators at Yukfoo, the team also included fabric consultants, quilters and seamstresses, as well as a construction and rigging crew. The campaign, which is targeted at the Australian tourist market, will appear on TV, cinema, online and in print.  Agency credits inlcude Paul Nagy, Brigid Alkema, Anne Boothroyd, Philip Andrew, Martin Collins and Martin Gray. Production credits go to Producer Glen Real, Editor Theo Veltman and DP Mark Commis. Peter Van Der Fluit was composer from Liquid Studios.

Germany-based Element Filmproduktion recently completed a comedic spot for KarastadtQuelle Insurance via Jung Von Matt / Hamburg titled “Guess Who.”  In the spot, promoting the insurance company's dental plans, two men share a set of teeth, and therefore share a meal also. One chews the food, then spits it onto the other man's plate so that he may eat. It’s a simple spot with a bold message. Agency credits go to Daniel Piracci, Thimoteus Wagner, Jonas Keller and Vanessa Fischbeck. For Element, credits go to Director and Editor Alex Feil, DP Marc Achenbach, Producer Patrick Dattenbach and Production Designer Bader el Hindi. Music was by Supreme Music.

"Pleasure is not abstract, nor is it a sensation; it has form", says the Spanish speaking voice-over in the Nestle Gold “Sensations” spot directed, by Leo Solanes of Barcelona-based Solanes / CocoaFilms via FMRG Compact.  The form of pleasure comes in the intense flavor of dark chocolate and in the creaminess of milk chocolate, found in the new forms of Nestle Gold chocolate. These candy spots defintely are not for the little ones. Credits go to Producer Esther Udaeta. Music was by Ramon from La Crem.

The consumer electronics giant Philips has debuted five innovative and compelling films that comprise "Parallel Lines," a project commissioned for Philips Cinema 21:9 TV set. Among them is the thriller "Podarok," which was written and directed by RSA's Carl Erik Rinsch and edited by Cut + Run's Dayn Williams and Dan Swietlik. A follow-up to the award-winning "Carousel" short film--a Grand Prix winner in Cannes--'Parallel Lines', is part of a new global campaign to promote the cinematic viewing experience offered by Philips' range of TVs. For the project, Philips selected a single theme and challenged RSA's directors to submit treatments for a short film in a genre of the director's choice. Forty-five treatments were received from which Philips selected five it believed were most groundbreaking, including Rinsch's tale of otherworldly espionage. Cut + Run's Williams, who previously collaborated with Rinsch on projects for Hiscox Insurance and Sci-Fi channel, calls Podarok "an amazing opportunity to edit a commissioned film with incredible scope, brilliant imagery and feature film pacing."  Now on view at www.philips.com/cinema, the films are being shown using the Philips' Ambiplayer, a special online media player which recreates the effect of Philips' unique Ambilight technology, plus picture quality and sound quality of Philips TVs.

Cirkus has created a new commercial through the Brand Agency in Perth for home builder PEET. Copywriter James Willis and Art Director David Donald offered up the brief to create the “house on the road” to suit your budget. With tight time constraints and a limited budget, Cirkus used miniatures, matte paintings, toys, 3D animation and random interweb imagery on the project. The spot follows a mouse that clicks its way to the perfect home, showing consumers that deciding on location, house size and type can all be done on the PEET website. Credits go to Animators Daniel Wu, Phil James and Timo Lenton and Producers Marko Klijn and Craig Sinclair.  Cirkus has also been working on a tutorial for everyone who would like to know how a 3D animated commercial is made. They’ve tried to make it understandable and as clear as possible--the resulting piece can be seen on Cirkus’ YouTube channel. With this new viral--soon to be burned on the “ol’ showreel DVD”--the studio explains the animation process in simple steps. From A to Z, and with a great sense of humor, Cirkus drags you into the world of storyboarding, rigging and rendering. In other Cirkus news, Producer Amy Behrens has joined the studio and been given the Cirkus-like title of Hoopdiver.

NYC-based production boutique IDENTITY has announced the latest addition to its roster: award-winning Argentinean director Javier Blanco. Blanco will help IDENTITY establish a foothold in the Latin American market, as he brings on board production resources, agency contacts and a studio home base at Hermanos Mundo, his Buenos Aires production company.  The partnership opens doors for both companies as IDENTITY's US clients will have access to an IDENTITY director and slate of production services in Buenos Aires. The partnership also means IDENTITY directors can work closely with Blanco on fulfilling commercial projects for Latin American agencies and brands.Through his production boutique, Blanco has worked with every major agency in Latin America on campaigns for Nestle, Ford, Kraft, Coca Cola, Toyota and others.  In other news, Director Sophie Caretta recently completed a :30 and :15 for Kohl’s Lauren Conrad Collection via McCann Erickson/New York.  Conrad, a star of the MTV reality series “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, “is now designing her own line of apparel.  In the spots Conrad describes her LC collection as casual chic. The spots are playful and feminine and can be viewed here. Agency credits go to Debbie Dunlap and Kemper Johnson. Additional IDENITITY credits go to EP Joe Masi, DP Jeff Cutter and HP Alana Hall. Bikini Edit’s Avi Oron edited, and Gina Pagano produced.

Director Mathew Cullen and Motion Theory designers and code artists partnered with Ogilvy & Mather/New York to create innovative generative art techniques for a new IBM spot titled “Data Baby,” part of the brand’s “Smarter Planet” campaign. The spot shows waves of data-driven design elements meant to represent a newborn’s vital signs, used to illustrate IBM technologies that help hospitals analyze data.  In the spot, animated beams of light stand in for the baby’s temperature, EKG, blood pressure, etc., all swirling into motion paths that move and evolve organically across image sequences. Cullen directed and oversaw a three-day live-action shoot in L.A., teaming up once again with Academy Award-winning DP Guillermo Navarro.  And if you take that baby and fast-forward about twenty years to when she’s in college, you’ll be able to tap into yet another Motion Theory campaign, this one for the NCAA, produced to coincide with TV coverage of its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in the US.  The spots, directed by Grady Hall for Y&R/San Francisco, include “Under Construction” (pictured here) and “Huddle.”  In "Under Construction," the studio created full-scale construction sites seen in tiny scale (1:160) next to student athletes in different situations to represent that, thanks to NCAA, they're also building professional careers. Hall worked closely with MT Creative Director Kaan Atilla to build the distinctive looks for each spot.  Motion Theory visual effects supervisor Danny Zobrist oversaw the CG for both spots, teaming with Lead Compositor Danny Yoon on "Huddle" and Ryan Bozajian on "Under Construction." The studio partnered with Image Metrics on the creation of the digital John Wooden seen in "Huddle," including full mouth animation for every shot.

What does it mean to BE MINI? Three spots directed by OPC’s Woods + Low take you on an unconventional thrill ride to find out. “Moustache,” “Man Boobs” and “Car Seat” set out to demonstrate the true spirit of BMW MINI – from its extroverted personality and extreme performance to its go-kart handling and fuel efficiency. The spots are comedic in style; for instance in “Man Boobs,” the MINI is revved up and takes off making sharp turns and 360s while driver and passenger enjoy the exhilarating ride. The passenger decides, however, to start walking after the car stops but his fleshy man boobs keep jiggling from the g-forces thrust on them in the ride. The 30-second and two 15-second commercials were developed by TAXI 2 and will air on conventional and specialty Canadian TV channels.  TAXI 2 credits go to Mike Blanch, Lance Martin and Patrick Chaubet. Additional production credits go to EP Harland Weiss, DP James Gardner and Producer Dwight Phipps. Griff Henderson edited from School Edit and Grayson Matthews handled audio post.

Paradigm’s Production Designer Jeffrey Beecroft recently completed a Got Milk “Mootopia” spot with director Jeff Goodby via Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Advisory. The spot, produced by Smuggler, opens on a fairytale plush land where milk rivers run, forming milk waterfalls and milk lakes. With harp music in the background, a woman bathes in the falls and two other women sip milk from the lake through straws. The spot takes a comedic turn when the women fight over the glare that bounces of their shimmering hair into each other's eyes.  The spot ends with an angelic voice over saying, “Shiny hair, part of another perfect day in Mootopia,” as the women keep arguing in the background. Agency credits at GS&P go to Kevin Koller, Rus Chao, Cindy Fluitt and  Rachel Seitel. Production credits go to Smuggler EPs Brian Carmody, Patrick Milling Smith and Lisa Rich. Joost van Gelder was DP. NumberSix’s Chan Hatcher edited. Music was by Human, with VFX by MassMarket.

Director Stacy Peralta of Nonfiction Unlimited brings intimate portraits of artists who use the earth as their canvas for the “What will you create?” campaign for John Deere lawn tractors via GSD&M's Idea City. Peralta traveled to Kansas, Long Island and South Carolina to capture stories of four landscape artists and their creations, made using their John Deere lawn and garden equipment. The most fascinating story comes from a South Carolina man named Pearl, whose stunning creation draws visitors from all over the country. Pearl took a cornfield and turned it into an intricate work of art.  See “Pearl, “Jenks" and “Omnibus” here.  Agency credits go to Sean Keith, Tom Campion, Monique Veillette and Richard Tlapek. Additional Nonfiction credits go to  EPs Loretta “LJ" Jeneski and Michael Degan. Steve Prestemon edited from The Whitehouse/Los Angeles. Company 3’s Stefan Sonnenfeld was colorist, with music done at Singing Serpent. In other Nonfiction news, documentary director Paul Crowder, represented by Nonfiction Unlimited for commercials and new media projects, is premiering his latest film, “The Last Play At Shea,” at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary interweaves the history of the recently lost New York City landmark, Shea Stadium, with the career of Long Island native Billy Joel, whose personal connection to the stadium made him the perfect choice to close the curtain on Shea’s past. Historical footage as well as interviews with Joel provide an intimate look at the intersecting histories of a stadium, a team, and a music legend. Crowder’s musical background made him the perfect director to document the stadium that hosted everything from The Beatles’ first-ever arena performance in 1965 until Billy Joel’s concert before its demolition in 2009.

Rabbit directing team TWiN has been busy creating a spot via GlobalHue for the US Census and for Quaker Crispy Minis via BBDO Toronto. “Silent Chant” for the US Census opens with a woman crossing into a busy city intersection and halting. She opens her mouth as if to speak, but no words emerge. Her neighbors stare in confusion and then join her in the streets. The movement starts slowly, but soon people are pouring from buses, from parks, from surrounding buildings to join her and shout silently. From a window overhead, a young man looks over the scene, paper and pen in hand. He descends to the street and drops the paper - his US Census - into a mailbox. The roars of the community suddenly and symbolically explode into hearing, portraying how the power of delivering the Census gives voice to their concerns. Agency credits go to Desmond Hall, Joanna Jenkins and Vince Smith. Additional Rabbit credits go to EPs Douglas Howell and Anura Idupuganti and Producer Shelby Ross. Editing was done at Chinagraph, and post at Click 3X. Tony Starbuck was sound mixer. “Goodness,” for Quaker Crispy Minis, is a montage of women who take a bite of the snack only to find a stream of colorful objects emerging from their mouths or ears, with VFX that emphasizes the product's flavors. Agency credits go to Ian Mackellar, Julie Nikolic, Greg Buri and Alina Prussky. Additional Rabbit credits go to EPs Douglas Howell, Joby Barnhart and Scott Mackenzie, Producer Gillian Marr and DP Nicolas Karakatsanis. Additional production credits go to Altana Films’ EPs Enrique Bacher and Sergio Gullco and Producer Fernando Anavi. Chris Van Dyke edited for School Edit. The Mill  in New York handled post.  Music  was composed by Nylon’s Johnny Green, produced by Karena Cameron and  Mark Beckhaus. Sound Design by Tattoo.

To all Chicago Cubs fans--you long suffering yet loyal die-hards--Cutters’ Chris Claeys and Tim McGuire have something really special for you.  No, it’s not a National League pennant or a World Series ring, but for now it will have to do. It’s their film, “We Believe,” which just had a screening at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago and is now available on DVD, just in time for the start of yet another hope-filled baseball season.  The film is a thought-provoking, uplifting, powerful and passionate story that Claeys and McGuire say is as much about a city, its people and their heart as it is about baseball.  Check out the trailer for the film here. The feature length doc was created by director/writer John Scheinfeld and produced by Claeys and McGuire, along with Richard Christian of Sedgwick Productions. The film was edited by Claeys and Betty Jo Moore. Cutters’ affiliates, Another Country, provided the final audio mix and Sol Design created the acclaimed animation sequences of the film.  It’s narrated by Chicago native Gary Sinise and includes an all-star cast of Chicagoans, including Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Bob Costas, Francis Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago, Dennis Franz (“NYPD Blue”), Jeff Garlin (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), legendary Blues musician Buddy Guy, Hugh Hefner, Bonnie Hunt, Joe Mantegna, Bud Selig (Commissioner of Baseball) George Will and others as they talk about their love for the Cubs and the city of Chicago. Also featured are current Cubs stars Ryan Dempster, Derrek Lee, Ted Lilly, Ryan Theriot, manager Lou Piniella and Cubs legends Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg, Ron Santo and Billy Williams.  To order a copy, go to the film’s web site here.

Two spots for the 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival were recently created by ad agency RPA and the Tool of North America duo of Director Erich Joiner and Academy Award-winning DP Robert Richardson. Also recruited was Lost Planet Editor Hank Corwin. Famous for playing against the Orange County conservative stereotype, the Newport Beach Film Festival continues to build a reputation for itself as a powerful player in the national film festival circuit. This year's advertising illustrates how a film festival can be the catalyst for a small idea to make it to the big time. The spots, inspired by the drama and romance genres, begin with simple scenes that grow through a series of dramatic reveals that crescendo, with the title "Where stories make it big." "Drama" begins with a clash of tiny weapons wielded by action figures held by two young boys and quickly escalates into a full-on airborne artillery attack. Public VFX is credited for the creation of the 3-D CGI of military forces; indie artist Glorious Monster provides bombastic music backup. "Romance," set to the Magnetic Fields' woeful masterpiece "Busby Berkeley Dreams," opens on two pinky fingers interlocked by a shy couple through a series of romantic exchanges that intensify to become a no-holds-barred fetish scene. The sexy cast features Rena Riffle ("Showgirls"), famed dominatrix Olivia Bellafontaine and dancer/choreographer Carlton Wilborn. The 8-day festival, running from April 22 to 29, will screen the spots in-theater. "Drama" was first to air on local cable; "Romance," too risqué for television, will air online and in-theater. Agency credits go to David Smith, Scott McDonald, Laura Hauseman, Tom Hamling, Gary Paticoff and Selena Pizarro. Additional Tool credits go to EPs Brian Latt and Dustin Callif. Gary Ward executive produced for Lost Highway. Company 3’s Stefan Sonnenfeld was colorist, and Rhubie Jovanov was EP. Public VFX’s Jonah Hall and Chris Noellert were VFX artists, Tony Smoller was CD and Kim Nagel executive produced.

Salty, the adorable character created by DDB Toronto for Knorr Sidekicks is back in two super-cute yet kind of sad spots. The concept is that Sidekicks have less salt, so Salty is in one form or another seen looking for a new home. In “Salty Dating”, Salty tries online dating, only to find that his size is no match for the advances of technology when he is slammed in between a laptop. In “Brace,” Salty tries to find a new home but ends up hurting himself when posing as your typical diner salt shaker. The spots are directed by Sons and Daughters' David Hicks who also appears in “Brace.” Agency credits go to Jorgen Stovne, Paul Wallace, Andrew Simon, Ryan Hamacher, Andrew Simon and Marie Pierre Toure. Additional production credits go to Producer Dan Ford and DP Adam Marsden. AXYZ handled VFX, with Animators Dennis Turner and Mario Marengo, Producer Irene Payne, Compositor James Andrews and Editor Peter McAuley. Notch’s Bill Ferwerda was colorist, with Music and Sound Design by Paul Seeley.

Transistor Studios, New York hired Jesse Kurnit as Senior Producer. Kurnit served as Senior Producer for Quiet Man, Pure, and was previously the Head of Production at 1st Avenue Machine. Of the signing, Kurnit says, "I'm thrilled to be joining Transistor Studios and look forward to continuing in the company's tradition of award-winning multi-platform design and new media projects." For Transistor recent works include BBC, Dirty Found Magazine, Hewlett Packard and Subway. Kurnit joins the roster at Transistor which includes Michael Williams, Jamie Rockaway, Blair Stribley, Damon Meena and Andrea Sertz-Jew, among others.

New York-based Sonic Union has formed an alliance with veteran voice casting director Maria Pappalardo. Working out of Sonic Union's Union Square studio, her role will be to screen talent for television, film, web and radio. Pappalardo opens the independent casting service, Pappalardo Casting, following 15 years as BBDO, New York's Head of Voice-over Casting, where she cast large-scale campaigns for Visa, GE, Pepsi and Gillette. Her new venture hits the ground running with recent spots for M&M/Mars and an Olympic campaign for Verizon out of McCann-Erickson, Worldwide. “We see this as another significant union which will help us offer both top notch casting to our clients as well as the perfect environment for Maria to develop her business,” says Sonic Union’s Managing Director/Partner Adam Barone.  Adds Pappalardo, “I loved working for BBDO, but it felt like the time was right to branch out on my own. I approached Sonic Union to become my new home because the guys have created such a great creative environment there.” Pappalardo attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and its Acting and Theater Directing programs, and began casting on NYU student films. After NYU, she worked as an assistant talent agent before signing on with BBDO.

New York and California-based SKUNK has signed East Coast rep Jen Warren and Virginia Williams of the repping collective I Love Whales. The company will rep the SKUNK roster, which includes Keith Bearden, Shelly Townsend, Brian Lee Hughes, James Brown, Warren & Nick and Raf Wathion, among others.  SKUNK is repped by Ezra Burke of Solution Contentchemics on the West and by Rich Newman of Rich Newman Associates in the Midwest. I Love Whales also reps Chelsea, Spot Welders and Park Pictures. Recent SKUNK projects include spots for CarMax, Diesel, Metro PCS, Nike, Addidas, Amnesty International and TheMiracleFood.ca.

Toronto-based sister companies Crush and Lollipop are pleased to announce that Ben Valiquette has joined their team as Manager, Sales and Marketing.  Crush is an integrated production company specializing in concept, design, visual effects, editorial and post production. Recent clients include R.E.M., Douglas Coupland, Sapporo, Frito Lay and Unilever.  Lollipop is a digital creative production boutique founded by Amanda Loughran and Michael Gramlow. Lollipop was recently honored with their first FWA Site of the Day award. Prior to joining Crush and Lollipop, Valequette was the Head of Sales at Circle, Toronto.

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