STAR WARS GALAXY’S EDGE
The goal of this promo was to promote Partners’ exclusive Galaxy’s Edge tote bag while constructing a narrative that could be filmed in the park, without extras, in the 2 hours between sunrise and opening (in the winter). We chose to integrate previously filmed stock footage to provide the crowds (Disneyland is never to be depicted as empty).
A millennial couple travels across the highlands, carrying a branded bag.
The couple travels across the desert.
The couple comes closer to us in the woods.
We finally get our first close up of THE BAG.
B-roll: Pan down crane shot, showing the busy street near the spaceport.
And we see our couple now adjacent to the Falcon, back to the wall…
… and then walking under the front of the Falcon, where the area is usually cleared for photography.
Our couple gazes up at the Falcon in wonder!
B-roll: Cut to CU of Chewie growling in victory!
B-Roll: We crane around the Falcon as our final graphics and logos play over this last shot.
The final video may be viewed on the main page.
UPSIDE DOWN MAGIC
In June of 2020, before video productions had officially returned to Los Angeles, we had to design a commercial that could be produced safely and without endangering anyone’s health. So I created a concept that would allow us to limit the amount of time spent filming an actual human being in front of the camera. The cat is a combination of a pre-filmed green screen element and a stuffed prop, “Amina” only appears on screen in 3 shots, and shares the scene with three other actors only present via a video conference that was recorded on a separate day and composited into the shot in post-production.
The camera pans slowly over a suburban room.
(Shot 1 Frame ultra wide to do camera move in post)
The shot lands on a computer desk in a home office, with a cat sitting in front of the computer. On the computer is the Partners online banking preview feedback site. (continue shot 1).
On the screen, someone is typing in their positive feedback.
(Shot 2 VFX Plate. Capture clean and high res).
The cat is looking the screen, and we wonder…
(Shot 4: Cover the cat’s angles. Get variable focus and depth).
It is! The cat is typing out feedback with its paw.
(Shot 3: stuffed animal types on keys.)
The cat gives a meow…
And finishes its feedback!
The cat presses another button the keyboard…
And clicks back to a Blue Jeans meeting, which is in progress.
Cast Member 2: Hi there! You’re so cute!
The cat replies: “Meow.”
Cast Member 2: Where’s Amina? – Amina?
Cast Member 3: I didn’t know Amina got a cat.
The cat begins to grow subtly…
… and then with great magic ferocity explodes up into…
…the quickly humanizing form of Amina!
Amina: Hi guys! Sorry about that.
Cast Member 2: Whoa! How did you do that?
Cast Member 3: That was crazy!
Amina: I guess my magic was a little Upside-Down!
Transition to graphics for Synergy premium giveaway.
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
We spent 6 months preparing for the release of the final Skywalker Saga film, and went through three iterations of the video proposal. Below is the original, ambitious proposal. It was not rejected by the studio, but they had brand requirements that would have been very costly (only ILM can create the lightsaber, real world people can’t mix with the Star Wars world, etc). So we revised the idea to become more affordable. I’m missing the middle iteration, which was visually reminiscent of the ending of The Force Awakens, something the studio team noted, and rejected. This original storyboard was designed to be filmed in Bronson Canyon, which we ultimately used in the Galaxy’s Edge video.
The final video may be viewed on the main page.