In the latest campaign for Toyota Prius, Saatchi & Saatchi partnered with Eight VFX to introduce a new character. The spot, "Family," tells an ordinary tale - a man wakes up, brushes his teeth, has breakfast and heads off to work. The man is actually composed of all the members of his family who, clinging together in an acrobatic fashion, make up the giant cartoonish figure. To bring the spot to life, Director Mr. Hide, and production company, The Sweet Shop teamed with Santa Monica-based company Eight VFX. "We began the job back in March, and our team never lost its inspiration for the project and our affection for the character," said Eight VFX Executive Producer Shira Boardman. The spot took five days to shoot at Universal Studios. Eight VFX had a team of five on the shoot daily, supervising every technical aspect, including compositing shots in real time to ensure the projects success. Eight VFX Partner Jean-Marc Demmer and his team spent over ten weeks replacing, reshaping and creating CG people and body parts, as well as fine-tuning and cleaning up all the various elements.

Earlier this year, Humble produced a demo spot for the laptop maker Lenovo that took the genre to a new height. Directed by Humble's Sam Stephens and John Budion, the spot, titled "Boot or Bust," was produced for McKinney in North Carolina and it features a skydiver jumping out of a plane and booting up a Lenovo laptop that triggers the chute to open. The computer doesn't boot up in time, the skydiver goes splat. That spot was such a hit it lead to a new ad, shot by Humble Director/DP Jerry Dugan, who teamed with Y&R Chicago and skydiver J. T. Holmes to shoot "Parachute" for hotels.com. It promotes the service's new smartphone app that lets you book hotel rooms from just about anywhere--even 5000 feet and falling fast. Holmes books his room mid free-fall in time to land on the beach in front of his hotel of choice.

Freelance Director Jon Gwyther is at it again. The well-travelled global director recently teamed up with Velocity in South Africa and Ogilvy Mumbai to produce the biggest Tata Motors film to date for the Indian crossover Tata Aria. The action-packed film, titled "The Chase," starts off with a family of three in their vehicle, out on a seemingly pleasant road trip. The husband, who's behind the wheel, notices they're being followed and confesses to his wife that he's a secret agent. A thrilling chase unfolds where his secret agent skills pair beautifully with the Tata Aria's technical prowess to avoid all dangers and outrun the bad guys, finally sending them (the bad guys, not the family) flying off a cliff. The spot features everything from motorcycles to high-speed highway trick driving, all shot on a wide range of locations.

New York-based design and motion graphics studio Valins&Co. created a graphic call to action seeking 700 "Electronauts" to experience the new BMW ActiveE electric car in a recent promotion for the automaker. Valins worked closely with the BMW creative team at Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners to create the piece that appears on the BMW ActiveE website (bmwusa.com/ActiveE). "We developed a typographically-based solution," according to Valins&Co. Creative Director Scott Valins, "We knew the series of scenes had to do two things. They had to be visually engaging, yet at the same time they had to clearly deliver the complete call to action without a voiceover."

It's been a busy year for Twist Director Marc Andre Debruyne. The Canadian native recently shot a two-spot campaign for Maine Medical Center titled "We Understand" (a frame from the campaign appears here). It's part of a large body of work he's produced so far this year, including 22 music videos for such artists as Cory Lee, Alyssa Reid, Danny Fernandes, Kool Krys, Tru-Paz and WildLife. A music video for Keshia Chante "Set U Free" was shot in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, while Mia Martina's "Latin Moon" was shot in Cuba. Debruyne was nominated for the "Most Watched Video" Award at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards for Edward Maya & Mia Martina's "Stereo Love," which received over 13 million views on YouTube. Other award nominations at this year's MuchMusic Awards included "Best Pop Video" for Alyssa Reid's "Alone Again," tipping his music video archive to more than 100 clips. On the commercial front, Debruyne has shot around the world for such brands as Motts, Kraft, RC Cola, Coca Cola, Toyota, and Nescafe, among others.

Ring of Fire recently finished effects on "Cell Block" (pictured at right), one of three new spots for the Boost Mobile campaign directed by Stacy Wall of Imperial Woodpecker via 180/LA. The spot was shot in a closed off cell block of the Michigan State Prison, and Ring of Fire had to create the look of an active prison by compositing activity into all of the cells. Ring of Fire also recently worked with Mekanism and Director Tommy Means to create the realistic "Planet of the Apes" promotional viral for the film. The viral, "Ape with AK47," which features a monkey outsmarting a bunch of soldiers, received 12 million hits in one week. Lastly, Ring of Fire also collaborated with B-Reel and Director Igor Zimmermann on "HomePage," one of eight new Yahoo Direct spots for the main page of Yahoo Mail.
 

"A Family Man is Still a Man," a web viral from Square Planet Director/Cameraman Tim Damon, amply demonstrates that, even when behind the wheel of a minivan, a dude never loses his innate 'dudeness.' The spec piece, which has racked up over 50,000 views on a variety of blogs and web sites, was conceived by Damon, whose recent automotive work includes campaigns for Cadillac, Audi, Goodyear, Toyota and more, along with the media mavens at Raging Artists, the L.A.-based publicity agency. The resulting spot, shot on the suburban streets of Carson, CA, features real-life dads who put their Honda Odyssey minivans to good use, doing chores for their wives, dropping the kids off at school and then goofing off at places like the driving range. Throughout the viral, various features of the Odyssey (such as anti-lock brakes and stability control) are highlighted with on-screen graphics, and the whole thing is cut to an original hip-hop track composed at Volume Music + Sound with lyrics from the creative team at Raging Artists.

The Chicago audio post facility Audio Producers Group will be donating a portion of proceeds from every session it does during the month of October to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. Mindy Verson, Manager/Producer, says the company wanted to do something to help and felt this would be a good approach. "We've given to charities privately as a company, as well as individually, for different causes before," she says, "but I wanted to make a real difference as a company. I have friends and know people who've had cancer, so this is a fight I want to help win." October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the US, and it's been marked by a number of events around the country designed to raise funds and awareness. APG has worked on a variety of pro bono campaigns, including a recent effort for the Partnership for a Drug Free America out of Energy BBDO (a frame from the "Kitchen" spot is shown here), directed by Anonymous Content's Malcolm Venville, in which parents can't recognize the strangers their kids have turned into because of drug use. APG is a WBENC-certified woman-owned business.

Passion RAW, the live action division of the global visual effects studio Passion Pictures, has announced a major expansion with the opening of offices in New York and Paris. The studio (check out their recent profile in SourceEcreative here) will be led in the US by Passion Picture's current New York-based Executive Producer, Rich Rama. Heading up the Paris office is Executive Producer Marc Bodin-Joyeux. The company has lined up sales representation across the US, with Free Agents' Patricia Claire and Xavier Egurbide heading up the East Coast, Nathan Skillicorn covering the Midwest and the newly appointed Head of West Coast Sales, Dexton Deboree. The New York office of Passion will oversee all Passion RAW productions in the States. "Expanding our presence in Europe and the US is the natural next step for us, and we're excited for the opportunities these new markets will bring," says Passion RAW's London-based Managing Director, Dan Scott-Croxford (pictured here).

Eallin Motion Arts, the Prague-based visual effects company that last made news when it launched a major global PSA marking the 50th Anniversary of Amnesty International (read more about that here), has moved into new offices after a fire that temporarily delayed some productions. "After some challenging weeks relocating staff and company assets, we're now fully operational in a beautiful villa in Vrsovice," says Executive Producer and Partner Lukas Skalnik. He says that Eallin's system of backing up data and protecting production elements resulted in "no loss of design assets or work-in-progress materials." The new offices offer what Skalnik describes as "spacious meeting facilities coupled with airy rooms for client relaxation – even a Jacuzzi to unwind after rigorous business meetings." And if the pressure of the job is too much for the Jacuzzi to relieve, he adds, nearby you can find "an interesting, beautiful, early 20th century church."

Cinered, the Indonesian post production house based in Jakarta, has changed its name to BLU Post Asia. The new identity marks an ongoing redefinition that's taking place not only at BLU but in the broader post production business. As part of the change, the studio has brought on new talent and new technology. Its latest acquisitions include the Spirit PSI Telecine and Pandora Revolution, which will now give producers a complete process for film (35mm and 16mm) from one light rushes right through to "real time" 2K scanning. Joining BLU is the VFX Artist Terry Scully and Geoff Millichamp, who joins as Regional General Manager. Recent work from the studio includes post on spots for Danone, DJi Sam Soe (pictured here) and GM Indonesia.

Avrett Free Ginsberg created and donated this year's campaign for Stomp Out Bullying's Third Annual "Blue Shirt Day - World Day of Bulling Prevention." The initiative offers a newly designed, limited edition, blue shirt in an effort to create greater attention for National Bullying Prevention Awareness month during October. The PSA was produced and donated by Curious Pictures and directed by Tom Barnham, while the music for the PSA was donated by the band WINTERPILLS. Tylie Jones, Gramercy Post and Just Joe Audio also donated their services.

McCann New York has teamed with the visual effects shop Elastic to launch a Nestle sparkling water campaign for brands Arrowhead, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Deer Park, Zephyrhills and Poland Spring. Each brand is available in a specific region of the US – for example, Poland Springs is sold in the Northeast, Arrowhead on the West coast, while Zephyrhills is marketed in the South. Directed by Elastic's Andy Hall, the "Nature's Fix" campaign features a team of forest creatures conspiring to get people hooked on drinking water. In the first spot, "Fix the Lab," a bear and squirrel deal with inventory problems. The second spot, "Shipment," reveals how the animals traffic product to the city. The third spot, "Raid," is a face-off with the authorities. More will follow in the weeks to come. The campaign, aimed at adults 25-40, will be supported primarily online, with Facebook as the hub, and include banner ads on such sites as Yahoo, MSN, The Knot, and Monster.com, search efforts in Google, Yahoo and Bing, and heavy video presence on prime video websites such as Hulu.com.

Bent Image Lab recently signed Visual FX Artist Jalal Jemison as its new Head of Compositing and Lead Colorist. Jemison's work includes feature projects such as "Pineapple Express," "Borat," "Get Him to the Greek" and the documentary "How to Die in Oregon." He began learning about visual effects while attending UC Santa Cruz. After graduating with a BFA in Film, Jemison moved to Portland in 2000 and opened his own post-production company, Yard VFX. He then started directing his own films, including a short titled "Brother Boy" in 2006 and, more recently, "David's Landing," a sci-fi short. "Jalal ran his own company and designed his own systems. This makes him unusually deep in his technical understanding of the best compositing, post software and hardware currently available," says Bent Partner David Daniels. "As a colorist, he has a great artistic resonance. It's a great visual collaboration to work with him on projects."

Pittsburgh and L.A.-based production company Animal has announced three additions to its Venice roster: Flame Artist Gizmo Rivera (that's him on the left), Producer Cindy Chapman and Graphic Artist Jackson Morton (that's him on the right) Rivera has worked on more than 50 commercials and feature films. His commercial work includes spots for Old Spice, Gatorade and Audi, while his feature work includes "Avatar," "Wolverine" and "Skyline." His past haunts include Hydraulx, The Mill and A52. Chapman comes in as Producer with almost ten years of experience in the advertising and hospitality industries. Her first role as Producer was on the "Kenny Powers" K-Swiss campaign. Morton is a native of L.A. and comes to Animal from the Parsons School of Design in New York City, where he studied photography and ultimately fell in love with visual design.

New York-based editorial and design company Outside Edit + Design has hired Smoke/Flame Artist Tristan Wake to further strengthen their visual effects and finishing team. Wake was most recently with The Mill. The Australian native began his professional development at Newcastle University, where he studied visual arts. After that, Wake worked as a Steadicam operator in Australia before moving on to post production. For ten years he worked as a Henry and Smoke/Flame artist in London for companies such as Glassworks, VTR Group and Condor Digital, and came to the US in 2006 to join The Mill. His credits range from VFX artist for "Colors," the Dell Inspiron commercial directed by Tom Kuntz, to "To Work," a commercial addition to Levi's integrated "Go Forth" campaign.

Boston-based Element Productions has promoted Kristen Kearns to Executive Producer (seen on the right), Assistant Editor Rachel Rinkesmith to Post Coordinator and hired Assistant Editor Zac Currier. Kearns started with Element more than 11 years ago (with some agency producing in-between) and has overseen the studio's work on literally hundreds of commercials, TV shows and web content during this time. After two years as an Assistant Editor, Rinkesmith assumes the new role of Post Coordinator, while Currier, Element's newest hire, will be filling Rinkesmith's previous position as Assistant Editor.

Hollywood-based City Films has added Director Kelly Hommon to its directorial roster. Hommon has just completed filming a documentary titled "A Legacy of Hope" about The Raisa Gorbachev Foundation (pictured at right). The film depicts young children living in Moscow who are being treated for cancer and also includes a rare interview with former Soviet statesman Mikhail Gorbachev. "A Legacy of Hope" debuted at a multi-cultural gala in the UK and raised over a million pounds for both the Gorbachev and the Marie Curie Cancer Cure organizations. City Films Executive Producer Sheila Tighe remarks, "Kelly's experience crosses over a variety of genres, including documentary, situation comedy, sketch comedy, drama, reality, musical variety, award shows, sports and news. Who else can you name in our industry that is equally comfortable working with Mikhail Gorbachev, Larry David, Barbra Streisand, Jack Black and Bill Maher? She has a remarkable flair for comedy, music and reality, and makes for an outstanding addition to our directorial roster."

Integrated production studio Utopic has announced the promotion of Keith Kristinat to Editor (seen pictured left), along with the signing of Editor/Finisher Ryan Gilbert (that's him on the right). Kristinat's most recent projects include work for Nintendo, Kellogg's, Allstate, Maybeline, Samsung, Coca-Cola and Advil. Prior to joining Utopic, Gilbert freelanced as an Editor working on accounts such as Gatorade, Nintendo, Bayer, P&G, Allstate, Comcast, Miller and Coors. He'll oversee Utopic's Online/Finishing Department as well as the studio's motion graphics division. "Promoting Keith and welcoming Ryan is representative of our strategy in continually developing Utopic's services and concept of full-integration," says Utopic's Executive Producer, Michael Antonucci. "Keith and Ryan both bring diverse experience and are great assets for the company's expansion."

SourceEcreative has just launched a great new feature for our users that will give them quick, one-click access to the interactive advertising gallery hosted by our new sister company, MediaMind. You can find this on our Spots Search page - just click on the tab marked Interactive Gallery and you'll be directed to MediaMind's Creative Zone, where thousands of interactive ads can be searched by format (such as Page Peelback, Page Takeover, Floating Expandable, etc.), by interactive features (Interactive Video, Mouse Takeover, Behavioral Sequencing, etc.) or by category (automotive, entertainment, consumer electronics, etc.). The Interactive Gallery tab joins our other recent addition to the Spots Search page, which is our Awards Shows tab. It allows users to instantly search through the winning spots at many of the top awards shows of the past year, such as Cannes, AICP, D&AD, The One Show, FIAP, etc. We've also added a Play All button for screening showreels, which allows users to screen all the spots in the reel sequentially and provides a scrollable menu next to the player that shows you what you're viewing.