| Archived News | 1 of 3 |
|
| VFX Artist/Creative Director Simon Mowbray Joins Ntropic |
|
 |
San Francisco, November 09, 2009 Ntropic, a visual effects house with bases of operation in San Francisco and Los Angeles, has brought creative director/VFX supervisor Simon Mowbray aboard. The co-founder of digital studio Radium, which opened in San Francisco in 1996, Mowbray had most recently been freelancing at Ntropic on projects for Sprint, Coinstar and Oracle before deciding to make the shop his official home. Mowbray began his career in 1987 in Sydney, working at several CG and design studios in the early days of CG and compositing. He moved to Montreal in '91 to work as a product specialist for Softimage. He then helped start Discreet Logic with four other founders in '92 and then moved to the former Western Images in San Francisco where he worked from '94 to '96 as an Inferno artist. In '96, he and Western colleague Jonathan Keeton started visual effects company Radium, where Mowbray served as VP/creative director/designer/Inferno and CG artist. In '07, Mowbray and Keeton sold Radium to Dallas-headquartered Reel FX, and he became freelance after the company closed its San Francisco office earlier this year (SHOOT, 4/3) while continuing its Dallas and Santa Monica studios. Mowbray and Ntropic founder Nate Robinson have known each other for many years. Furthermore Ntropic executive producer Dana Townsend previously worked with Mowbray at Radium. The camaraderie among the three of them was key to Mowbray's decision to join the company. "Nate and I bounce ideas off of one another and share a passion for visual effects and digital production," related Mowbray. "Here, I can focus my attention on the work and have the benefit of an extremely collaborative environment, both in San Francisco and in the Los Angeles office." Ntropic opened in San Francisco in '96 and extended its reach to Southern California with an L.A. office late last year (SHOOT, 12/19/08). |
|
| NTROPIC GETS ITS SMOKEY ON WITH NEW BONFIRE PSA |
|
 |
Los Angeles & San Francisco July 20th, 2009 Summer is camping season and a high-risk time for fires, nine out of 10 of which are caused by human carelessness. With fire prevention in mind, DraftFCB tapped Director Jason Zada of Tool of North America and visual effects company Ntropic to create a new Ad Council-sponsored PSA called "Bonfire". For "Bonfire," Ntropic was presented with the challenge of redesigning Smokey The Bear to add greater CG realism to the classic icon of fire prevention in an intensive 4-week production cycle. Ntropic's animation acumen produced a full cinematic treatment for Smokey including lifelike hair and movement and physical proportions appropriate for the ultimate protector of the woods. Ntropic worked hand in hand with both the agency and Jason Zada who directed the charming cautionary tale of the potential pitfalls - from annoyed girlfriend to destroyed communities - of having a casual attitude towards fire and fire prevention. "It was amazing to work with the agency team and Jason on the rollout of the newly designed bear on Smokey's 65th birthday," says Ntropic's Andrew Singara. "We were honored to help bring such a classic character to full 3d life." "Working closely with Jason Zada, our director from Tool of North America, and Andrew Sinagra, our VFX guru from Ntropic, reminded me just how lucky we are when given the chance to truly craft and shape and mold an idea into something special," concludes DraftFCB Group CD Scott Murray. "These guys and their teams were the heart and soul of bringing this idea to life in a way that was fitting of an iconic figure like Smokey Bear." Agency: DraftFCB Sr. Producer: Tom Anderson Associate Producer: Jeffrey Perino Exec. CD: Teddy Brown Group CD: Scott Murray Production Company: Tool of North America Director: Jason Zada DP: Joby Oschner Animation/VFX: Ntropic Creative Director/VFX Lead: Andrew Sinagra CG Artists: Dustin Zachary & Rob Hubbard Animator: Joel Fletcher Producer: Esther Gonzalez Executive Producer: Dana Townsend |
|
| NTROPIC CAPTURES TIGER WOODS PGA GOLF TOUR TO A TEE |
|
 |
July 17 2009 It goes without saying that most golf enthusiasts would give anything to play like Tiger Woods and luckily this can be virtually attained with EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Golf Tour 10 title for Wii. With authenticity of experience in mind, ad agency Heat turned to visual effects production studio Ntropic to create a spot that would score a visual hole-in-one with golfing and gaming audiences. To capture the level of playability in true Tiger Woods’ style, the golf champion was shot on location at Grand Cypress golf course in Orlando, Florida. During the shoot, his golf club was taped to the Wii remote and wrapped in blue so Ntropic could roto it out, leaving only the Wii remote visible. Ntropic’s Andrew Sinagra was the shoot’s CG Supervisor and also spearheaded the CG reproduction of a Tiger Woods’ custom ball for the spot’s close up shot, which highlights the intensity offered with the “Motion Plus” enhancement. Always mindful of accuracy and exacting details, Ntropic also developed a hair system to replicate, with authenticity, the way the grass would respond as if blown by the wind of a golf club, or if moved by the bounce of a Tee. And while the overall production was rewarding, the highlight for all was meeting Tiger. “He is incredibly nice and a consummate professional who delivered an amazing performance for the spot just as he does on the tour,” says Sinagra. “It was great to watch him do what makes him a Master close up and in person.” Agency: Heat Creative Director: Steve Stone Copywriter: Warren Cockrel Art Director: Anna Rowland Producer: Chris Weldon Visual Effects Production: Ntropic Creative Director: Nate Robinson CG Supervisor: Andrew Sinagra EP: Dana Townsend Producer: Kara Holmstrom CG Artist: Rob Hubbard Inferno Artists: Simon Mowbray & Matthew Tremaglio Shake Compositor: Ben Mattress Editorial Company: Beast Editor: Doug Walker Producer: Tracy Coleman Music: Elias Arts Composers: Christopher Kemp and David Wittman Creative Director: Dave Gold Executive Producer: Ann Haugen Audio Post: One Union Recording Sound Engineer: Andy Greenberg |
|
| NTROPIC HITS A HOME RUN IN CINEMATIC CAMPAIGN FOR SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS |
|
 |
San Francisco, CA - March 31st, 2009 Jessie Nagel - VFX Company Ntropic recently completed a brand-new ad campaign ushering in the San Francisco Giants 2009 season. With an all-star cast led by the Giants team, the cinematic spots humorously pay homage to classic film genres, wittily incorporating all the exciting elements of the Major League game. Created by Swirl, the Giants agency of record, each spot concludes with tagline, Let's play. Your Giants are in town. This was an incredibly ambitious project to take on as a first time director,says Brian Bacino, Swirl ECD who also directed the campaign. But knowing Ntropic had our backs gave us the freedom to move on. We kept saying, Nate'll fix it... chuckling nervously as we looked at our sweat soaked watches. I knew they'd make everything look amazing - graphics, film, and effects. But the best parts were the cuts. The cuts were butternut. In Attack, flocks of baseballs come pelting towards the city, likened to a feathered-frenzy from Hitchcock's The Birds as citizens ward them off with baseball gloves. The spot concludes at the horrors epicenter where Giants sluggers partake in a batting practice dedicated to in-state rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers, before sending a gloved-citizen flailing over Bay Bridge the epitome of a sacrifice fly. In Chase a detectives last-minute heroics in capturing a wise guy are stopped short when Fred Lewis and catcher Bengie Molina save the day, with a throw-out collision at home plate. Interrogation is deceptively gruesome: what seems like a brutal mob battering in a meat locker turns out to be a thug striking out against ace pitcher Tim Lincecum before reliever Brian Wilson finishes him off. Train adds a comical twist to cinematic suspense, as woman riding the subway finds herself in a pickle before being tagged out by emerging superstar Pablo Sandoval. Ntropic was brought into the project early on, helping Swirl to refine its approach from a special effect perspective, and contributing VFX, editorial and sound design. Led by Founder/Creative Director Nathan Robinson, Ntropics VFX team created CG baseballs and birds, and crowd replication in Attack, as well as the uncanny meat-and-blood splattering in Interrogation. These spots are so refreshing, especially for baseball, says Robinson. Swirl really delivered great concepts for us to work with. They're misdirects... you think the story's going in one direction, but then realize that that's not really the case. They're very cinematic, like movie trailers. Executive Producer Mark Dwyer of Dwyer Productions assembled the entire production crew, which shot all four spots in just two days – a tall order, considering the principals were a Giants team in the heat of spring training. Planning was especially crucial in producing these four large-idea spots, recalls Dwyer. The Giants like a player presence in their branding spots, so we had to coordinate and schedule around the players. With multiple-shoot locations and a two-day turnaround, I'm really proud of how it all came together. Being huge baseball fans, the project was a labor of love for Brian [Bacino], Nate and me. It was key to have people who were willing to jump in and do it. Prepping and involving the crew very early on to work out issues beforehand was also critical. Due to the tight timeline, Robinson brought in Jay Herda (of David Editorial) to collaborate on the edit. In cutting the HD spots, which were shot in Super 16 on an ARRI camera, Robinson and Herda worked simultaneously in next-door rooms for a seamless and spontaneous process. It was such an efficient way to work, we literally ran between rooms, discussing our ideas, concludes Robinson. From an editorial standpoint, Train was the most difficult because it had to build suspense, which we were able to achieve through the pacing and music. Mark and his team also provided production sound, which helped with my sound design. We had a lot of fun working on this campaign. From the people to the concept to the final product, everything came together effortlessly. Client: Swirl Inc. and San Francisco Giants Airdate: 3/9/09 Spot Titles: Attack, Interrogation/Interrogation Alt, Chase, Train Ad Agency: Swirl, San Francisco, CA ECD/Director: Brian Bacino Creative Director/Copywriter: Steve Anacker Art Directors: James Philipps & Brandon de Jong Production Company: Dwyer Productions, Sausalito, CA Director: Brian Bacino (of Swirl) DP: Andy Lilien Executive Producer: Mark Dwyer Producer: Susan Cunningham Dwyer Where shot: San Francisco, CA Editorial Company: Ntropic, San Francisco, CA Editors: Nathan Robinson & Jay Herda Assistant Editor: Jesse Boots Postproduction Facility: The Syndicate, Santa Monica, CA Colorist: Marshall Plante Assistant Colorist: Daniel Becerra VFX Company: Ntropic, San Francisco, CA Creative Director/Inferno Artist: Nathan Robinson Shake: Benjamin Mattress Maya: Deb Santosa Executive Producer: Dana Townsend Producer: Kara Holmstrom Music Company: Singing Serpent, San Diego, CA Composer: Arabella Harrison for Chase and Richard Wiley for Attack Executive Producer: Glen Galloway Other: Brent Asbury Sound Design & Audio Post Company: M Squared, San Francisco, CA Sound Designer/Engineer: Mark Pitchford About Swirl, Inc. Swirl is a success-driven integrated marketing firm based in San Francisco. Founded in 1997, Swirl creates highly effective, award-winning marketing and communications programs for major brands such as eBay, Jamba Juice and Delta Dental. For more information about Swirl visit www.swirl.net. |
| next | |