The Cannes Silver Lion is a major coup for Editor Lindy Wilson whose awards credits also include a Golden Bear, Clio and Emmy among others. “On this spot, I used my vast resource of storytelling skills that go back to my days as an editor at the Sundance Institute Feature Film Lab. I couldn’t be happier that “Birds” has been recognized for this many awards, and those of such great value to editors, directors and the advertising industry.”

This win follows its awards for “Best in Show” from the ADDY awards and “Best of Minneapolis” at the AICE show this spring.

Best Of Show ADDY Honor Is For The “Birds”

Washington State Lottery’s “Birds”

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 09, 2009, — From SHOOT’s “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery in June 2008 to a year later earning Best of Show distinction at the 2009 ADDY Awards in Washington, D.C., this past weekend (6/6)–that’s the progression for a Washington State Lottery TV spot titled “Birds” directed by Jerry Brown of Sticks+Stones Studios, Los Angeles, for Publicis in the West, Seattle.

In the commercial (which also copped a Gold ADDY), enterprising people take it upon themselves to give the gift of flight to birds who can’t otherwise–namely a penguin, a chicken and an emu. The means toward that end are hang gliders with harnesses on each to accommodate the penguin, chicken and emu, respectively. After we witness each bird get its debut flight experience, a voiceover and an accompany super relate, “Every bird should get to fly.” A tag appears with the Washington State Lotto logo and the slogan, “Whose world could you change?”

Director Brown noted that the penguin, chicken and emu didn’t actually fly in the spot. A prime challenge of the project, he said, was “how to seamlessly composite birds with hang gliders and still make it feel spontaneous and observed.” This meant that Brown had to capture the birds “enjoying flight” even through they weren’t experiencing it. Brown and DP Tom Olgeirrson deployed camera angles that “while interesting, didn’t stretch credulity,” said the director. “The animal trainers worked with the birds for more than a week, suspending them in harnesses and getting them used to being in their rigs.” Jake Parker of Fischer Edit, Minneapolis, served as VFX supervisor/Flame artist on the job. Fischer’s Lindy Wilson was the editor. Attracting Brown to the job was its positive, uplifting spirit, focusing on the good deeds lottery winners can perform–”to show someone,” said the director, “doing something for someone that they couldn’t do themselves.”

The Publicis in the West ensemble included creative director Dan Fietsam, art director Scott Rasmussen and copywriter Jeff Siegel. Among the other Gold ADDY winners were: Federal Express’ “Carrier Pigeons” directed by Tom Kuntz of bicoastal/international MJZ for BBDO New York; the American Legacy Foundation’s “Tough Love” (part of the “Truth” campaign), also directed by Kuntz, this time for Boston agency Arnold; and the Environmental Defense Fund/Ad Council’s “Polar Bears” directed by Tim Godsall of Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles, for Ogilvy New York.

The annual ADDYs competition is conducted by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). For a full rundown of this year’s ADDY Awards winners, log onto www.aaf.org and click on “awards.”

The awards show put on at the American Advertising Federation National Conference in Washington D.C, crowned all kinds of advertising both professional and student, including broadcast spots. Out of roughly 1600 entries judged in the national competition, “Birds” was chosen out of the 330 ADDY Awards presented.

This win trails on the spot’s win at the AICE in May, taking “Best of Minneapolis.” It’s been quite the year for this spot out of Publicis in the West, production company Sticks + Stones and director Jerry Brown.

Read what’s been said about this spot and its win:

“Best of Show ADDY Honor Is For The ‘Birds’” Shoot June 9, 2009

“News in Brief” Shots June 10, 2009

“Publicis In The West Takes 2009 ADDY Awards Best of Show” AAF June 9, 2009

“Those Birds Really Know How To Fly” Washington Lottery Press Room

“Publicis In The West Takes 2009 ADDY Awards Best of Show; Locally One Trick Pony Gets Gold and Silver” Philadelphia Ad Club June 10, 2009

Check back as we will keep the Fischer Edit blog up to date with where we’re at in our transition.

And then I found this upstairs:

Wilson edited “Dancing With the Stars” showcasing Nintendo Wii’s game and featuring some well-known talent (including GdB Creative Director Doug deGrood’s son). The talent’s spontaneity offered up great moments for Wilson. Of the dad character Wilson says,  “My selects of him were hilarious. It was hard not to use them all.” However she notes, “You didn’t want to have the same degree of wackiness the whole way through…Doug’s very good with humor, he starts it out part way normal and then it gets crazier.”

Wilson knows what she’s looking for when she delves inside spots, talking about the embarrassment of the family at their dad’s dancing, “You want them to look like ‘Wow?! We’ve never seen Dad do this!’ and you want the wife to look like ‘Gosh I love him but – what is he doing? He’s really suprising me.’” To find unison in their reactions took some time but overall the purpose for Wilson was really to make the game look fun, something she already knew firsthand.

After starting on the job, Wilson herself went out and purchased the game which her daughters loved. “Having the enthusiasm from my kids, to be working on something that was so positive. I felt good about doing it, I knew that it was good for people and families,” she explains.

Working with agency GdB and Activision proved to be a great experience for Fischer Edit and Wilson who went on to edit spots for many more of their games last year. Additionally, Wilson’s taken to playing WiiFit’s Yoga to complement her kid’s love of all the other games.

“Dancing With the Stars” for Activision Edited by Lindy Wilson from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.

Over coffee and wine at the Warehouse District’s cozy Corner Coffee, an intimate group of the Fischer Edit family and friends took some time to engage in open conversation about art, advertising, and creativity with mixed media artist and author Sabrina Ward Harrison.

Sabrina shared with us some stories about her life living in a one-room schoolhouse on the coast of California and read us some poetry that inspires her.  We learned about her own creative process in making her artwork in which she beautifully blends photography, paint, found objects and ink writing.  Sabrina’s work tells stories of her life in layers of found “bits” and honors the people of her past by using family photos and treasures.  Her art beautifully illustrates her life philosophy which is “Make what you most need to find.”

A free-writing experience challenged us to think deeper, let go of our day-to-day thinking process and happily embrace the messiness and “mistakes” that come out of doing that… showing us that the process of creating in and of itself can ultimately open up new possibilities of creativity and self-discovery.

Sabrina and I screened the short film that we collaborated on this summer for the Beacon Film Festival in New York called “The Story is Happening.”  The film was created from 8mm film footage shot in Italy, projection footage shot in NYC, as well as Sabrina’s photography, mixed-media pieces and her beautiful ink line art.  The film is essentially a moving collage celebrating her philosophy of making what you most need to find.  It was an honor to collaborate with Sabrina on such a special project.

It is the first film created for the True Living Project. Sabrina’s True Living Project inspires a generation of mindful pioneers through global collaboration and generational partnership.

You can view “The Story is Happening” film here:

“The Story Is Happening” edited by Fischer Edit’s Katie Carpenter from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.

A huge thank you to Sabrina for sharing so much of her story and for inspiring us.  And thank you to everyone who came for doing the same.  You made it very special!

-Katie

(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) Minneapolis, Minn.: Fischer Edit, a creative editorial and post-production house works with Campbell Mithun, Motion 504 and Modern Music on Nexxus’ latest television campaign.
Editor JoLynn Garnes cuts “Me First” for product Dualiste, the newest spot from Nexxus. Needing considerable effects and color for the model’s hair, Campbell Mithun called on broadcast design studio Motion 504 for help. While there designer Scott Wenner and producer Eric Mueller suggested getting Garnes in as the editor. She explains, “the interesting thing is, usually it seems like the editor gets hired first…[but]…they said ‘we want to work with JoLynn’.” Wenner and Garnes had many years experience working with each other, “I’ve known Scott since the beginning of my career as an editor. We worked together for almost five years. I haven’t been able to work with him since then, so it was fun to get together again,” tells Garnes.

Fischer Edit/FX acted as host to Campbell Mithun’s team including creative director, Nicole Ackmann, producer Lisa Thotland, copywriter Peggy Arnson and art director, John Conroy throughout the span of the project. As editing began, Garnes already had some stills created by the director that were much greener than even the footage taken. The spots were filmed in Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain with international talent. Inevitably the color was dialed back to the vibrant blue seen in the final version.

Hair at this level of detail wasn’t something Garnes had done before. “It was the first time where I had to overly pay attention to hair. I had to change my point of view of hair and recognize what would be an easy shot for them to clean up. These kinds of spots are challenging because you have to have it just right.”

For music, Campbell Mithun worked with Modern Music’s Daron Walker, the team was looking for a “sort of stripped down beat heavy track that was more atmospheric than safe.” Walker created a track that meshed well with the mood and visuals on screen.

Playing host to Motion 504 and Campbell Mithun throughout this process was a great opportunity for Fischer Edit/FX. About the team at Motion 504, Garnes notes, “it’s always good and fun to have that group all together again.”

On set, the adults were outfitted with climbing harnesses and safety wires to protect them. Initially Parker thought it would be mass chaos as all three tried to land at once, but the crew managed to perfectly choreograph each descent, doing all three in one take. To get things just right however, the cast ended up spending half the day just improving the fall. “It was pretty hard on them…especially Grandpa,” Parker says of watching the actors work.

The dog-falling gag required its own special technique. Rigging the small dog was prohibitive since the rigging gear would end up obscuring too much of the dog. Of course, dropping him from the ceiling would be legally (and morally) prohibited as well.  The solution was to drop the dog a very short distance (about 6-8 inches) on a very soft foam pad. Both the dog owner and the ASPCA were comfortable with that approach. The problem, Parker noted was that upon landing, the dog’s feet sunk into the foam and essentially disappeared. He was able to get the dog’s trainer to drop the dog from one inch above a hard surface in order to get the shot of the dog’s feet without any warping of the surface.

Once in post, Parker repeated the three inch fall shot from the ceiling to just above the table, then he combined the footage from the three inch and one inch falls to get the dog’s landing. Because there was a combination of the dog’s feet sinking and standing, Parker first tried to “glue” feet from other takes onto the dog, but using composited pieces of debris where his feet disappear ended up working better and made it into the final edit.

Rig removal, additional debris and particle dust was also needed on the actor’s shots. On set a small amount of debris was dropped with every fall but it didn’t carry the kind of effect needed. Parker used some raw element footage of debris and dust falling with debris rotoscoped (read: cut out) from other takes to drop into the scene. These extra pieces plunked down on the actor’s heads, all accurately missing the kid’s meals, made it into the final edit. Formerly of Fischer FX, Tony Mills lent Parker a hand with rig removal, cleaning up all the green wires and rotoscoping out their harnesses. The plaid flannel in the dad’s shirt was particularly challenging as the rigging wire lay across his shirt pulling and rippling the pattern. To fix this, Mills applied a matte and made a composite of the cloth eliminating the wire and easing the wrinkling in that area.

In the end, the grandpa stole the show with some improvisation about it raining. Parker added rain and synced up the lightning flashes to make it appear real. This ad for the Burger King Kids campaign from Campbell Mithun required a lot of work from Fischer Edit/FX but in the end conveys the humor and believability that existed in its initial conception.

Take a look at “Simpsons/The Roof” here or to view other Burger King Kids spots, click here:

Burger King Kids “Simpson’s/Wii” from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.

Students from Minneapolis’ Miami Ad School took a break from classes last month to drop by Fischer Edit/FX’s studios and learn about our work and how post-production fits together with the agency world. The group comprised of both first and second year students toured the space and met our editors, producers and visual effects artists. They asked some great questions and we’d love to seem them again soon.

Since it’s better to hear it from them anyway, take a look at the Miami Ad School blog where they have photos and commentary from their afternoon with us.

Fischer Edit and Runner Runner’s Josh Thacker shot and edited this spot for El Tinklenberg’s campaign for Congress in Minnesota. Fischer FX’s Alicia Reece made the still images 3D and created the motion graphics. Music was created by Modern Music’s John Hermanson.

This is one spot of a series of ads edited by Fischer Edit’s Randy Kramer for St. Ives products for air outside the United States. They were shot on the Phantom camera for it’s high frame rate, producing the stunning images seen here.

Modern Music’s Joanna Jahn was the voice talent for the English series of spots and Fischer Edit’s Whitney Bembenek supplied her expertise with Spanish for the spot seen here.

Check out what Motion 504 had to say about their experience with ad agency Campbell Mithun, from pre-production to post.

This spot for The Longest Summer Tour presented by the Will Steger Foundation was edited by Fischer Edit’s Tim Taylor to generate excitement and information about Will Steger’s upcoming college tour.

Fischer Edit’s Katie Carpenter offered her expertise to Director Kim Walsh-Borgan’s project, putting together an 80-minute film she is excited to share with the world. “I’m glad that it’s finally here. It’s been a long process but I’ve learned through all of it.” Carpenter like many arriving to tomorrow’s premiere is also quick to point out the reality that many may have forgotten. “It’s exciting to celebrate after spending time and effort, but it’s also important to spread the message that there’s still a lot of need.”

Throughout the editing process, Carpenter went through over 20+ hours of interviews and b-roll footage as there were so many different stories to tell. “It was hardest to cut some of the characters because each person interviewed had something very special to share from their experiences in New Orleans,” she explains. And of the animals themselves? “There were some tears. It’s very touching…I tried to craft a sense of hope from this story.”
“Left Behind Without a Choice” premieres with a red-carpet event Friday, August 29, 2008 at 7PM in two theaters at Carmike Cinemas in Oakdale. The premiere is sponsored in part by Fearless Filmmakers of Minneapolis and Animal Ark, a Minnesota-based no-kill shelter. Proceeds from the event will benefit the shelter: tickets are available at the theater or can be reserved here.

Take a look at Katie’s blog for more information.

Documentary

When Kim Walsh Borgan (director; former Campbell Mithun employee) approached me about editing a documentary about the Hurricane Katrina animal rescue effort, I enthusiastically said “yes!” and it has been an honor working with Kim and the rest of the crew on “Left Behind Without a Choice.”

Hurricane Katrina left a path of physical and emotional devastation across the Gulf Coast region.  Not only were people forced to evacuate their homes, but they were also told that they had to leave their animals behind. In fact, many human lives were lost because they would not leave without their pets.

I remember very clearly seeing those haunting images on the news of a dog standing on the roof of a submerged car or a cat climbing to safety on a rooftop.  It was beyond comprehension that they were left to survive the five feet of toxic floodwaters without any human aid.

A group of dedicated volunteers, organized by Best Friends Animal Society came to the rescue. Working day and night, they were able to save thousands of animals (dogs, cats…even tarantulas!) in what became the largest animal rescue effort in American history.

Volunteers at Best Friends’ Tylertown, Mississippi rescue camp

Kim Walsh Borgan was one of those volunteers.  Kim took home movies and photos documenting her multiple experiences working at one of Best Friends’ rescue camps.  

Kim Walsh Borgan with a rescued dog

Another thing she took away from the experience was a rescued orange Tabby kitten named Linus!  When she returned, she was inspired to tell her story and honor the volunteers who made great personal sacrifices for the love of animals.                      

I am inspired by Kim and the volunteers featured in the documentary who miraculously found hope, beauty, and even humor in the one of the darkest experiences of their lives.  The film really is about the significant bond between humans and animals.  And, even though the floodwaters have receded, we still have a long way to go in helping the animals and people of the Gulf Coast Region.  My hope is that this film will inspire people to get involved in the effort.

A heart-warming reunion 

“The entire country shouldn’t forget.  It isn’t better.  It isn’t done.  It was big.”

-Sherry Woodard

Animal Behaviorist; Best Friends Animal Society

Original music was composed for the film by Minneapolis musicians Marc Perlman (Jayhawks), Jessy Greene, and Wally Borgan. 

Two of the tracks featured in the film:

• Memories by Marc Perlman
• Thick N Thin by Jessy Greene

The film will premiere in Minnesota August 29^th 2008 on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  Stay tuned for more information.

by editor Katie Carpenter
Fischer Edit
Minneapolis, Minn.

What do a penguin, a chicken and an emu have in common? They’re all flightless birds who share the screen in Washington Lottery’s latest TV spot “Birds” voted #1 last week on Adcritic. The television ad shows how winning the lottery can offer people a chance to do something they never thought possible—that could change their outlook on the world.

Seattle’s Publicis West was hired to bring the spot to life. They enlisted Sticks+Stones Studios to shoot and went to Fischer Edit and FischerFX in Minneapolis for post production. Editor Lindy Wilson with visual effects supervisor and Flame artist Jake Parker had to create the feel and believability of these birds taking flight across a grassy hillside. Wilson was able to tap into her past experience with private flight lessons to help create the airy feeling present in the spot. “It’s such a rush,” Wilson says of both her piloting lessons and the hang-gliders floating above the hillside.

Most of the flying birds were shot as practical elements, suspended from the hang-glider pilots’ harnesses. For the bird’s safety, those gliders were suspended just a few feet from the ground and lensed from a low camera angle to create the illusion that they were flying high in the sky. The emu and several gliders were shot against a green screen and white screen, then composited together to provide the illusion of the emu taking flight.

The spot is quite an atypical direction for a state lottery to go, away from brazen consumption and excess. Focusing on the birds’ journey allows viewers to consider what they might do for others. Wilson describes how the images tie it together, “The beauty shots bring it value while the documentary style shots bring it honesty.”

Lindy Wilson (Editor/Fischer Edit) and Jake Parker (Visual Effects Supervisor & Flame Artist/Fischer FX) are available for interviews regarding their work on Washington Lottery’s “Birds” advertising campaign.

News:

• Adcritic
• Digital Arts Magazine (UK)
• Marketing Magazine (Canada)
• Best Ads on TV

###

Fischer Edit/FX, Minneapolis
Creative Editorial, Visual Effects & Finishing for the Advertising, Film & Television Industries
Tel: 612-332-4914

  I love to tell stories.  A good story becomes a great story by the way it is told. When I saw the boards for the Washington State Lottery spot “Birds” from Scott Rausmassen and Jeff Siegle at Publicis West, I thought it was good story.  The challenge was how to tell it and make it a great story. 

  Creativity and excitement feed each other.  I met with Fischer Edit Producer Bill Rogina and Fischer FX artist Jake Parker.  I also had a conference call with Director Jerry Brown from Sticks ‘n Stones in Los Angeles.  Jerry and Jake talked a lot about the effects work and green screen and how to make it seamless and totally believable.  We could all sense this spot would be very cool.

  Building emotional impact, and making people feel something.  When I started editing with Jerry, it just clicked.  I had seen his reel and could tell what a great storyteller he was.  My editing background at The Sundance Institute, Moonstone, and the short films I have done, made me a good match with Jerry.  I love the little nuances and shots that give detail and propel the story forward. 

                                         Hang-gliders in Washington Lottery’s ad 

  As an editor I pull from personal experiences: with the “Birds” spot, it was flying lessons.  When I was getting some solo flight time out of the Crystal Airport in the Piper Tomahawk 2423November, I flew out west of Minneapolis to practice some maneuvers.  I was flying over a farmer’s fields practicing turns and then leveling the wings when I’d cross a road.  It was such a lovely free feeling out there, I was so into it.

  I decided I had better get back to the Crystal Airport. It was then that I realized I was so into the maneuvers I was lost! I thought quickly and pulled out the map from my flight kit to start looking for lakes, railroad tracks, freeways, etc.  I pulled it out and, WHOA, it’s for the Dallas /Ft Worth area!  After the initial shock, almost stalling, I kept my composure. I found the Albertville Water Tower and made it back to the Crystal Airport – and made a perfect landing!

It’s just like editing.  

- by Lindy Wilson, editor

Fischer Edit, Minneapolis, Minn.

www.lindywilson.com

View “Birds” here:

Washington Lottery’s “Birds” edited by Fischer Edit from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.

Congratulations to editors Brian Slater and Josh Thacker, who’ve launched their Minneapolis production company, Runner Runner.

Our thanks to Randy Kramer (Fischer Edit), who pulled together and edited the video montage of post-production, visual effects and finishing work done by Fischer Edit and Fischer FX.

We tapped Modern Music to create a lively track of dance music to drive the visuals. Daron Walker composed the song and collaborated with Bryan Hanna on the music. John Hermanson of The Hopefuls performed the vocals. When we edited more than :30 seconds of great visual material, Modern remixed the track into an extended version that rocks. Thanks, guys!

To see the full versions of the TV commercials, music videos and other creative that this montage was cut from, watch Fischer Edit’s reel of creative editorial and Fischer FX’s reel of visual effects/finishing work.

You can also hear more of Modern’s audio production, music and sound design work on Modern Music’s Web site.