Sonam Kapoor Stars in L’Oréal Paris Campaign, First Project from Proof of Concept
LOS ANGELES, CA, April 3, 2012 – Proof of Concept (POC) recently completed work on an ambitious, effects-driven project for client L’Oréal Paris, agency McCann-Erickson, production company Gobsmack! and director Jim Sonzero. “Tree” – for Fall Repair 3X – features popular Bollywood actress and L’Oréal Paris spokesperson Sonam Kapoor in the foreground of a spectacular glowing purple CGI tree, and uses VFX to simulate Fall Repair 3X’s effects on swirling computer-simulated “hair roots.” Launched in February 2012 by Executive Producers Stuart Wilson and Raffi Kryszek, POC is a technology-driven content company servicing the interactive, commercial and music video industries, and “Fall Repair 3X” is among its maiden spot assignments.
POC Lead Artist Darren Fanton worked closely with director Sonzero to conceptualize and create multiple aesthetic CGI environments – within 48 hours. “Darren is an awesome artist and has great taste,” remarked Sonzero. “He created an elegant solution in a really compressed schedule with limited resources. When I saw his first pass I knew I was working with a genius.”
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Once the concepts were approved, the team at POC had a mere two weeks to turn around eight VFX-heavy spot versions in Hindi and English for a total of 160 seconds of CGI. Each image had to be optimized due to the beauty-related nature of the product. “With this project, shot management was key as each revision down the pipeline would need to be applied to over thirty shots across the eight spots and would need to be re-rendered in a timely fashion for further review,” Fanton explained.
“POC not only met the challenge but raised the bar for the whole category,” said Shyam Madiraju of Gobsmack!, which represents some of world’s top directors in India. “We were very impressed by the creativity of their artists, who took Jim’s vision and turned it into a spectacular reality. I was really excited to have Jim join Gobsmack!, and having him do this work with POC right out of the gate is a fantastic start to our relationship.” Madiraju added that the vision of Sonzero – arguably one of the top 5 beauty directors in the world – involved a very sophisticated and technically complex world of CGI. Gobsmack! frequently produces VFX-driven commercials and works with CG houses around the globe. “POC has not only planted itself firmly atop our list, but we are now in talks with Stu and Raffi about expanding our relation with them for the India market in fields besides commercials.”
“Stuart and Raffi were enthusiastic and solution-oriented,” concluded Sonzero. “I am really impressed with them and I’m looking forward to working with POC again.”
About Proof of Concept
“Technology has no limits,” and Los Angeles-based Proof of Concept examines the validity of that hypothesis every day. This philosophy makes POC integral to the realization of the novel idea. You can’t break the rules until you master them, and the team at Proof of Concept has done both. A technological and artistic think tank, POC brings together seasoned veterans and ambitious young innovators. The team is armed with the knowledge and relationships to forgo fear in the name of producing relevant creative content for the digital era.
Official Credits
Title: Tree
Brand: Fall Repair
Cast: Sonam Kapoor
Client: L’Oréal
Agency: McCann-Erickson
Creative team: Akshay Kapnadak, Rahul Mathew,
Trishay, Ram & Komal Ranjan
Agency Producers: Sandesh Shirke
Production Company: Gobsmack!
Director: Jim Sonzero
D.O.P: Michael Lloyd
Executive Producer: Hozefa Alibhai
Producer: Ramel George
Editor: Harshal Thakur
Online/Grade and VFX: Proof of Concept/Los Angeles
Visual Effects Lead, Final Compositing: Darren Fanton
Visual Effects Compositing and Beauty Work: John Merrifield
3D Modeling and Texture Mapping: Sam Kryszek
Producer: Stuart Wilson
LITTLE RED ROBOT: “A Girl Story” Update – FWA
The FWA (Favourite Website Awards) has published a thorough list of sites it honors, with A Girl Story (Site of the Day, July 29, 2010) listed as a winning example in the following category:
Small, yet simple, ideas with big impact (viral)
Click here to view the full list of Work We Award
LITTLE RED ROBOT helmed the site’s donation-based animated series, and is represented for directing assignments by Beef Films.
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