Geocaching With GMC

Geocaching is the newest treasure hunt that doesn't involve Nicholas Cage!  But it does involve Aero director, Ken Arlidge (who is equally as swarthy, but has a better hairline).

Ken shot the latest spot for GMC's Terrain which features a group's geocaching quest that takes them from land to water.  This gave Ken a chance to flex his director/DP muscles by both telling a good story and making things that aren't typically thought of as gorgeous to be just that.

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But let's back up a step...  "What is geocaching?"  you may be asking.  It's a global treasure hunting game that anybody can play!  All you need is a GPS enabled device (such as OnStar), and it helps to have USB and SD card readability which the Terrain has in its console. 

The spot was shot in San Piedro and a quarry near Santa Clarita.   Finding the quarry was a real coup for the Aero production team in that it has very clear water which is great for shooting, but the water was only 40 degrees!  There was a hot tub on set to keep the divers warm (as stunt people were used and could only be in and out of the water over the course of an hour). Ken’s eye for art direction really took a dank and dirty quarry and an abandoned warehouse to a cinematic level.

Ken shot with the Arri Alexa on land, and the Red Epic underwater.  Car shots were with the Russian Arm.

CREDITS:

Client: General Motors

Agency: Leo Burnett Detroit

EVP, Worldwide Executive Creative Director: Peter McHugh
Creative Director GMC :Chad Laughlin
Creative Director: Jack Crifasi
Copywriter: Cameron McIntosh
VP, Executive Producer Jennie Hochthanner

Editorial: Beast,  Chris Chynoweth

Klaus Cam Adventure!

The Klaus Cam, developed by Klaus Obermeyer, has been used in countless commercials and is continuing to be used in feature films!

The Klaus Cam has already been used in the films The Dark Knight and Eat, Pray, Love; and  latest venture being on the set for Of Mavericks and Men, starring Gerard Butler. The movie enlisted the services of Aero aerial director, Craig Hosking to help capture the high intensity surfing scenes for the film. Klaus co-piloted with Craig and took these amazing stills. 

You may be wondering, "What is or are Mavericks?"  Well, I'll tell you.  The Mavericks is (yes, singular) "a world renowned wave break" that's located in northern California a half a mile off Half Moon Bay. 

In short, it is a dangerous and daring bit of ocean to surf on (as you can see in the above picture the surfer is incredibly small in comparison to that wave!) and shooting an action sequence on these giant waves is nearly an impossibility. But the Klaus Cam is perfect for a shoot like this because unlike other helicopter rigs, this camera can get right at eye level with all the dangerous action (but without putting any of the crew/talent in jeopardy!)  So thanks to the Klaus Cam, all those close shots that they needed were captured! (You can read more about Mavericks here.)

Of Men and Mavericks is scheduled to open in theaters October, 2012.

Hyundai Holidays!

Welcome to 2012!

The holidays are always a fun time to work in advertising as holiday spots are some of my favorite to watch.  (Even the one where the kid comes home from wherever and all his parents have for him is Folgers coffee, but I digress....)


As we mentioned in a previous post, Aero director, Jason Farrand, did a holiday series for Hyundai with "internet music stars."  This commercial features singer, Jessica Frech, who you may remember for her internet sensation, People of Walmart parody.  (Note: Every time I watch People of Walmart, I feel pretty good about myself. I’m lookin’ a-OK.  Oh how I wish WalMart would have a sale on full length mirrors for these fine folks...)  Billboard Magazine even did an article about Frech's rise in popularity thanks to the Hyundai ad.

Stay tuned for more Aero news this year, lot's coming! 

CREDITS: 

Client: Hyundai Motor America
Agency: Innocean
Editorial Company: Hybrid 
Editor: Christopher Willoughby
Executive Producer: Gail Butler

Happy Holidays from Aero!

A very merry and happy holidays to all!  Please enjoy our virtual holiday card, resplendent with festive music and special ornaments! Click to view in English and here to view in German!
 
So why is a version of the card in German, you may be asking?  That is because our  Munich office is opening in early 2012... Stay tuned!!

You may also be wondering where you can get your own ornament of a helicopter with a Klaus Cam attached to the bottom or of our festive logo?  Believe me, I wish they were real, but alas they are CGI and were created in house by Sam O'Hare and the team at Aero Studios.

Oh!  One last thing! Remember our blog about Cineskates?  Well, we shot our holiday video (the tree) on the set of Cineskates we were given.  Thanks guys!  We loved using them and will use them again!
 
Happy holidas,have a great break, and here's to a very happy 2012.  Thanks to all our readers for a great year. Lots to be thankful for, thanks for reading the blog. And remember, cookies don’t count towards calories so eat a bunch.  No seriously, it's fine.

Happy Holidays from RAM and Jeep!

Goodness, this is a very busy holiday season! Especially thanks to the latest RAM and Jeep spots shot by Klaus Obermeyer in snowy Aspen, which makes me want to grab a mug of marshmellowy hot chocolate and cuddle up a Labrador under a sparkly tree every time I watch them! 

Watch the RAM and Jeep spots and then I'll tell you how we did them. It's okay, I'll wait....

Welcome back! To answer the first question about the RAM spot that is on your mind: "Did they really build that house and is the last shot actually the house, completely finished?"  Answer: "Yes and yes!"

Both of these spots would not exist if we didn't have the Aero Jet. We were awarded both spots on a Friday and had a week to complete the shoot.  So Saturday morning, Klaus (Director), Lance O'Connor (EP), Michael Hartog (VFX Supervisor) and Greg Blair (Production Designer) all hopped on the Aero Jet in Santa Monica, CA, and were in Colorado Springs a few hours later hard at work prepping the shoot in Aspen.

We bought the house that is built in the RAM spot in Colorado Springs (as a kit) and then hauled the wood to Aspen. At that point we had 3 days to cast the spot, permit and source it and then the last 2 days to shoot and build the house. No small task, this! Plus we had to plant a tree for the opening shot, which is still living on the mountain, by the way. It's nice little reminder that Aero and RAM were there.

(Sadly, the house had to be taken down... but for 2 days, we could say we owned a house in Aspen, Colorado!)

Now, moving onto the Jeep spot!

To answer the next question on your mind: "Will that Jeep Christmas tree fit in my house?" 

Answer: "No, no it won't. But if you have your own mountain, go for it!"

Again, thanks to the Aero Jet, we were able to make Aspen our studio. Permits, locations all fell together and we got a beautiful commercial.

Aero’s in-house post division completed the editorial with editor Alex Hagon. We’re doing more and more soup to nuts these days which is fantastic not just for the creative, but for maximizing production budgets. Austin Smithard is in production now on a spot he’s directing and editing with Sam O’Hare as the VFX supervisor. The Aero Studios VFX team in NY is doing all the compositing and photo-real set extensions for this tour de force. Think Elizabeth: The Golden Age meets 300. I can’t tell you more about that now or I’ll be shot (or at least given a dirty look and a harsh email…) So you’ll have to stay tuned!

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CREDITS:

Client: Chrysler

Agency: Doner

Chuck Meehan, EVP Exec Creative Director
Sam Sefton, SVP, Creative Director
Jaime Perry, Associate Creative Director
Bruna Carmargo, Copywriter
Sarah Bills, Art Director
Brian Dooley, Head of Production
Diana Eagleson, Producer

Editorial: Aero Post
Editor, Alex Hagon

Asst. Editor, Tony Gentile