SWAY Studio has just contributed to the new U2 and Green Day music video entitled “The Saints are Coming.” SWAY integrated many photo-real CG elements including Harrier jets, Apache helicopters, Stealth Bombers and tanks into existing news footage from Hurricane Katrina. The result is a thought-provoking and emotional video that shows what it might have looked like had the government responded differently to the disaster.
On their recent leg of their vertigo tour U2 spoke about The Edge’s commitment to the events and people of New Orleans. The band played their new single “The Saints are Coming” from their new U218 Album with Green Day. The old Skids song has become a major hightlight of the band’s encore set, and an instant crowd favourite.
Recorded at the famous Abby Lane studios, the video for the song was directed by Chris Milk of Radical Media. The controversial video was produced to raise funds for Gulf Coast musicians affected by the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the Edge’s personal project following the horrific disaster. “The Saints are Coming” has been featured on prominent newscasts such as CNN and is currently airing on VH1 and MTV . It can also be viewed online at mtv.com, vh1.com or on YouTube.
“This project had a very tight deadline of two and a half weeks from start to finish,” said Mark Glaser, Owner and Creative Director at LA based SWAY Studio. “This made our work particularly challenging because the CG elements that were integrated into existing news footage needed to have a very high degree of photorealism to be successful.”
Working closely with Director Chris Milk, Glaser and his team worked meticulously to ensure all shots were done to the high level of detail and quality that was expected. SWAY”™s main challenge was to make the Iraqi Desert Storm aircraft and tanks look like they were actually there in New Orleans for the rescue and mass evacuation. Every shot was scrutinized, worked and reworked to ensure its believability ““ all within a tight timeframe.
“SWAY also added video degradation to the CG elements so that they would match the original footage, which varied substantially from shot to shot,” continues Glaser. “The most challenging was taking a shot of a flooded main boulevard and adding rows of tanks rolling through the water. We developed some incredible techniques to make this feasible.”
SWAY utilized a variety of off-the-shelf and proprietary hardware and software to compete the project. Lead Flame Artist and head of the 6 man compositing team was Ben Looram.
The CG supervisor was Wayne England, the spot used 3ds Max with rendering in V-Ray for realism, and was composited on Flame, NUKE and After Effects. All of the water effects were done using Real Flow 4.
Music Rising
“The Saints are Coming” is performed by U2 and Green Day, and directed by Chris Milk of Radical Media. All proceeds from the sale of “The Saints are Coming” will go to Music Rising, an instrument replacement fund for musicians located on the Gulf Coast.
An initiative to replace the instruments and gear that were lost in the Central Gulf’s hurricanes and flooding of last summer. This area is the birth of much of the blues and rock and delta blues. Fxguide supports this, in recognition of how much the music from this area has meant to us personally. Professional musicians need the instruments and gear to get back on their feet again and walk the music back home.
Schools need the instruments and gear to so children can learn the life skills associated with working in a team to focused on a common creative goal, and grow stronger, smarter and more creative. Housing and infrastructure is returning to New Orleans and the surrounding area, but more is needed to protect this area’s musical legacy to the world.
Please show your support at http://www.musicrising.org/flashsite.html
Additional images for download:
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SWAY CREDITS “The Saints Are Coming”
Creative Director: Mark Glaser
Executive Producer: Mike Pardee
Executive Producer: Shira Boardman
Producer: Matt Winkel
Flame Artist/ Compositing Lead: Ben Looram
CG Supervisor: Wayne England
Artists 3D: Richard Wardlow, Rob Meyers, Aaron Powell, Daniel Buck, Rob Glazer, Josh Hooker, John Allardice, Greg Tsadilas
Compositing: Ryan Gibson, Maciek Sokalski, Chris Bankoff, Feli DiGiorgio, Lauren Mayer-Beug
Technical Directors: Graham Fyffe, Carlos Anguiano
Rotoscoping & Paint: Lyndal Heathwood, Edgar Diaz, Christine Felman