Atlanta, GA: It’s the little moments in a day that make up a grand life, but when you stop to think about it, a day is made up of 86,400 moments – and that’s a lot of living to do. Coca-Cola needed a spot that conveyed the message that in this hectic world, illy brand coffee-flavoured energy drink is a great way to get a boost. Artistic Image (AI) took that idea and ran with it, creating the concept for On The Go, a contemporary spot with a fast-paced urban feel. AI’s multi-disciplined team of VFX artists, directors, DPs and editors then took the job to completion, delivering a 30-second commercial custom tailored to the product’s target market.

Initially, AI was called in to bring its award-winning design and visual effects talent to the project, to create a spot that features a can of illy transforming into planes, trains and automobiles that travelled through a sculpted landscape. When the client switched gears and decided to go with a live-action spot that would be an extension of its print campaign Artistic image fluidly adapted, creating an innovative approach that utilized the full range of their design, production, visual effects, editorial and finishing services.

The print campaign features black-and-white images of bustling people in a hectic urban environment. Recreating the background landscape of these ads, which incorporate a silver can of the product that has little hits of color – and making it stand out from the black and white footage – was one of the more challenging elements of the production.

To achieve a similar look to the print campaign, which has an ‘in the moment’ documentary feel, Artistic Image director Ken Soons and DP Jason Maris spent three-days travelling throughout the city of Atlanta – in well over 100 degree temperatures – shooting HD footage that captured vignettes of people, quickly navigating their way through the busy streets to keep pace with the demands of their hectic day.

“Getting all of the talent together was a challenge. We wanted to show an abundance of people from different walks of life in busy ‘on the go’ situations,” explains Soons. “We came up with a shot list and just started making our way through the city. Shooting guerrilla style was ideal for this particular job. It allowed us to move from place to place with a limited amount of time and gear.”

Soons, a director/editor, had the advantage of knowing exactly the shots he’d need in post. He matched form to content while also creating a strong visual link between the print and broadcast components of the campaign. To achieve that look, he removed frames in post, giving the spot a choppy look that helped created the sense of ‘busy’ pace and the effect of photographs in motion.

Artistic Image collaborated with Maris, a local Atlanta photographer, who is a master of this style of photography,” explains AI director of VFX, Ed Dye. “Using his Canon 5D we were able to match the depth of field and general quality of photography we needed.”

Once Soons completed the initial edit, he passed the project on to Jim Roberson who put considerable time into the process of matting out the can to retain its color and keep the rest of the frame in black and white. Roberson also fine-tuned the shots as needed along the way and created the end graphic. Ed Dye handled the color correction, and met the challenge of perfectly matching the black and white imagery of the print campaign. Artist Image used a mix of tools to finish the spot, including Final Cut Studio, After Effects and Photoshop.

“Artistic Image worked as a very tight, efficient team on this project – which enabled us to produce a spot that we are particular proud of, on a short timeline,” adds Dye.

Key equipment used: Canon 7d camera, Canon 5d camera, Final Cut Studio, After Effects, and Photoshop

About Artistic Image:
Artistic Image (Atlanta) is a world-class multi award-winning creative resource where a collective of innovative live-action directors, producers, designers, animators, CGI artists, illustrators, editors, compositors, modelers and finishers take each job from concept to fruition as a collaborative team. Dedicated to the advertising arena, this hybrid company takes a design-driven approach to crafting high-end TV commercials, virals and broadcast design in a nimble, open-architecture creative environment that provides seamless workflow and premiere client services. For additional information please visit: www.artisticimage.com, or contact Michael Zarrillo at 404.815.1550.

CREDITS:
Product: illy issimo coffee flavoured energy drink
Title + Length: “On The Go” :30
Category: Media Content for HMS Airport Network
Client: Coca-Cola North America

Production Company: Artistic Image/Atlanta
Director: Ken Soons
DP: Jason Maris

Visual Effects Company: Artistic Image
Creative Director: Ed Dye
3D,VFX and Color Correction: Jim Roberson

Editorial Company: Artistic Image
Editor: Ken Soons

Music Company: Firestorm/Dallas