Archives
Extra Special Care
Julius
Cranes
The last of eight spots produced in 2017 for the Nebraska Tourism Through My Eyes TV/web campaign, Cranes captures the awe felt by observers of the yearly migration of sandhill cranes through central Nebraska.
THE IDEA
Capture the thousands of cranes descending on the sandbars of the Platte River where they gather for the night.
THE CHALLENGE
These birds are not team players. Of course, it wasn’t possible to direct them to land in a particular spot, so the crew had to setup, be ready and hope the cranes played along.
THE SHOOT
For this shoot, both the weather and the cranes had to cooperate to make everything work. A cloudy and cold morning gave way to a warm and sunny afternoon, and the cranes managed to make an appearance during sunset, just ahead of a thunderstorm rolling in. Serendipity is a filmmaker’s best friend.
THE FINISH
The birds didn’t show up in the expected numbers that evening. We were left without our spectacular hero shot of thousands of birds filling the sky. So we fixed it in post, compositing several shots of silhouetted cranes against the sunset to help convey the thousands of birds participating in the yearly migration. The spot was color graded and given final touch-ups in Lustre and Flame. The fish jumping out of the river, though, was 100% captured in-camera. Serendipity indeed.
CREDITS
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CLIENT
Nebraska Tourism
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AGENCY
Bailey Lauerman
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CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Ron Sack
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DIRECTOR
Steve Thiesfeld
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DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Bill Schwarz
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WILDLIFE CINEMATOGRAPHY
Rod Jensen
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EDITOR
Rod Jensen
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VFX & COLOR
Matt Riley
Cash Splash
GPMPC teamed up with SKAR Advertising to promote Cash Splash, a new scratch ticket game for the Nebraska Lottery.
THE IDEA
In the fun and breezy spirit of the game, players are seen flying through the air toward a sea made of cash. The payoff is a splash into the cash sea, showing players swimming in the copious amounts of money to be won playing Cash Splash from the Nebraska Lottery.
THE CHALLENGE
Flying people but not flying people. Dropping people out of an airplane into a large body of water wasn’t going to, um, fly. It was up to the production and post departments at GPMPC to figure out how to make the spot soar while keeping everyone safe and (mostly) grounded.
THE SHOOT
A blue screen set was constructed in the GPMPC studio to capture the elements needed for the commercial. After an extensive pre-vis test, the proper frame rate was determined to help give the spot a whimsical, flowing quality. From there, camera angles were carefully planned to line up to the storyboard. Multiple actors were captured in different wardrobe to be used on screen several times without looking repetitive. Additionally, several money shots were captured to be used as compositing elements in post.
THE FINISH
The postproduction process involved compositing the live action elements together with additional CG elements in a virtual set. Actors were cutout and arranged, virtual camera moves were dialed in and shaken up, clouds were added near and far and a sea of cash was assembled and animated. And that was just for one scene! A vibrant color grade and a peppy original music score completed the undeniably fun, possibly over-the-top spot.
CREDITS
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CLIENT
Nebraska Lottery
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AGENCY
SKAR Advertising
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DIRECTOR
Steve Thiesfeld
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DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Bill Schwarz
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PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Shawn Prouse
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PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Kurt Thoresen
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EDITOR
Steve Thiesfeld
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VFX & COLOR
Matt Riley
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MUSIC COMPOSER
Steve Horner
Young Professional
Retired Couple
Bryan Health wanted to introduce their innovative MyChart patient app with a clever and playful twist. Agency Swanson Russell teamed up with GPMPC to bring the concept to life, introducing Little Bryan to the world through a series of spots featuring our favorite little character in several humorous situations.
In Retired Couple, we see Little Bryan tagging along and being helpful during a late afternoon drive. He continues to offer his assistance over a patio dinner at an upscale restaurant, but is left out in the cold when it comes time for dessert.
In Retired Couple, we see Little Bryan tagging along and being helpful during a late afternoon drive. He continues to offer his assistance over a patio dinner at an upscale restaurant, but is left out in the cold when it comes time for dessert.
THE IDEA
Show Bryan Health patients interacting with the MyChart app via a fictional (and fractional) character who is helpful no matter the time or setting, just like the app.
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THE CHALLENGE
We could have invested in shrink-ray technology, running multiple clinical trials and filing the appropriate patents for such a magical device. But, really, who has time for clinical trials? So we went with the next best thing: Practical magic through careful planning before, during and after the shoot to sell the illusion of this incredible shrunken man.
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THE SHOOT
Things were measured. Things were measured again. Notes were taken. Math was done. It wasn’t easy matching camera angles and lighting to shrink Little Bryan into the scenes. (That shrink-ray tech. would have definitely helped.) The DP and camera dept. collaborated with the VFX dept. on each shot, ensuring Little Bryan would be a good fit during compositing. The VFX supervisor was on set with a mobile Flame setup to capture images as they were shot, ensuring things lined up as intended – and providing a proof-of-concept to the agency and clients during the shoot so we could all share in the vision being realized.
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THE FINISH
All of the careful planning, measuring and on set decisions funneled into post-production after shooting was wrapped. More magic needed to be applied to sit Little Bryan into the spots. The spots were color graded with care in Lustre and composited with love in Flame. Keying, roto, tracking, set extensions – the whole nine yards and then some – were utilized in the process of bringing the spots to life.
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CREDITS
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CLIENT
Bryan Health
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AGENCY
Swanson Russell
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CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
Brian Boesche
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ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR
Joyce Jensen
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SENIOR ART DIRECTOR
Justin Young
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DIRECTOR
Steve Thiesfeld
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DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Bill Schwarz
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PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Shawn Prouse
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VFX & COLOR
Matt Riley
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EDITOR
Steve Thiesfeld
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MUSIC COMPOSER
Steve Horner
Neighbors
Cabbing It
Jasmine + Libby
Dylan Claus/Coffee
Single Male
Bryan Health wanted to introduce their innovative MyChart patient app with a clever and playful twist. Agency Swanson Russell teamed up with GPMPC to bring the concept to life, introducing Little Bryan to the world through a series of spots featuring our favorite little character in several humorous situations.
In Single Male, we find Little Bryan offering assistance during the morning routine through a late afternoon round on the greens. Helpful as he is with common healthcare management tasks, even he can’t fix a terrible golf game.
In Single Male, we find Little Bryan offering assistance during the morning routine through a late afternoon round on the greens. Helpful as he is with common healthcare management tasks, even he can’t fix a terrible golf game.
THE IDEA
Show Bryan Health patients interacting with the MyChart app via a fictional (and fractional) character who is helpful no matter the time or setting, just like the app.
THE CHALLENGE
We could have invested in shrink-ray technology, running multiple clinical trials and filing the appropriate patents for such a magical device. But, really, who has time for clinical trials? So we went with the next best thing: Practical magic through careful planning before, during and after the shoot to sell the illusion of this incredible shrunken man.
THE SHOOT
Things were measured. Things were measured again. Notes were taken. Math was done. It wasn’t easy matching camera angles and lighting to shrink Little Bryan into the scenes. (That shrink-ray tech. would have definitely helped.) The DP and camera dept. collaborated with the VFX dept. on each shot, ensuring Little Bryan would be a good fit during compositing. The VFX supervisor was on set with a mobile Flame setup to capture images as they were shot, ensuring things lined up as intended – and providing a proof-of-concept to the agency and clients during the shoot so we could all share in the vision being realized.
THE FINISH
All of the careful planning, measuring and on set decisions funneled into postproduction after shooting was wrapped. More magic needed to be applied to sit Little Bryan into the spots. The spots were color graded with care in Lustre and composited with love in Flame. Keying, roto, tracking, set extensions – the whole nine yards and then some – were utilized in the process of bringing the spots to life. There was also an entire iPhone screen rebuild that wasn’t part of the planned VFX shots (gotta love those screen protectors!). Oh, and insect removal. Lots of insect removal. Those little buggers just love photobombing every chance they get.
CREDITS
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CLIENT
Bryan Health
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AGENCY
Swanson Russell
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CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
Brian Boesche
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ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR
Joyce Jensen
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SENIOR ART DIRECTOR
Justin Young
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DIRECTOR
Steve Thiesfeld
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DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Bill Schwarz
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PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Shawn Prouse
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VFX & COLOR
Matt Riley
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EDITOR
Steve Thiesfeld
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MUSIC COMPOSER
Steve Horner