Honda Blows Through
Mill LA

10th May 2007 - The Mill LA’s invisible effects help tell an impressive narrative for Honda - a brand which has already won worldwide acclaim for many past Mill hits such as “Choir” “Cog” and “The Impossible Dream”. This spot marks a launch for Director Mark Romanek of Anonymous Content, as it is his first spot for the UK market. Mark and the Mill team were joined by DP, Sal Totino, known for his work on “Da Vinci Code” and “Cinderella Man”, who enhanced the feature film-like quality of the piece.

Of the sixty shots in the sixty second spot, Mill LA Flame Artist Chris Knight and his assistant worked on fifty-five shots. As the setting remains locationless and dream-like, it was important to create a black void as the back drop. Chris worked tirelessly to remove any appearances of the shoot. The production team laid an actual tarmac down at Sony Studios, however Chris extended the road in scenes where the road had stopped, to represent a never-ending highway. He also applied shaking foliage to replace bushes that were not hit by on-set wind fans. Chris added various elements to intensify the effect of the forceful weather. Compositing enhancement helped create some distinctive moments which show the powerful strength of the environment. Tempo was also a consideration with time warps of differing camera moves and speed.

The project was a truly bicoastal project with all three Mill offices involved in some aspect of the post and clients residing in London and Los Angeles. Mill NY Colorist Fergus McCall graded the spot, as clients in LA viewed the work, via Minerva, a real-time MPEG2 feed. This project also utilized Clipster, The Mill’s DI workstation. Prior to the session, the film was scanned, using select timecode hours, and then the shots were assembled to match the conformed edit. This workflow allowed clients to grade in-context and spend time focusing on building the story. By way of data files, Mill London Colorist Seamus O’Kane performed a DCP to the final film. In addition, the creatives of Wieden + Kennedy London were able to attend sessions and facilitate the creative process by links sent through Beam, The Mill’s sister company, and via Minerva viewings.

Product - Honda / Title - Hondamentalism - - Agency - Wieden + Kennedy London / Creative Directors - Tony Davidson - Kim Papworth / Creatives - Chris Groom - Stuart Harkness - - Producer - Jonathan Chads / Production Company - Anonymous Content / Director - Mark Romanek / Executive Producer - Dave Morrison / Head of Production - SueEllen Clair / Producer - Scott Kaplan / DP - Sal Totino - - Editing Company - Spotwelders / Editor - Robert Duffy / Assistant Editor - Jeff Maynard - - Post Production - The Mill LA / VFX Producer - Helen Hughes / Lead Flame Artist - Chris Knight / Assistant Flame Artist - Anu Nagaraj / Lead CG Animator - Chris Rabet / Telecine - The Mill NY - The Mill London / Lead Telecine Artist - Fergus McCall / Telecine Artists - Seamus O’Kane (DCP) - Paul Harrison (DCP) / Assistant Telecine Artists - Sal Malfitano - Stuart Wheeler - Aubrey Woodiwiss - Marcus Ober / Telecine Producers - Angela Botta - Andy Orrick - - Length - 1 x :60 HD / Kit - Flame - XSI - Combustion - Spirit

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