CHICAGO, IL – As one of the spots in their new campaign via agency Two by Four laments, they “haven’t won a championship in, like, months.” Since then, however, the Chicago White Sox have assumed the responsibility of offering baseball fans a new look at an old favorite pastime.
VFX Artist Chris Markos of SOLdesignfx directed the two-day shoot, from which a total of nine spots will ultimately be cut. The production utilized two remote controlled high speed HD video cameras that shot at 1000 fps, during an actual game.
“For a while we only catered to people who already loved the sport,” offered Markos, who partnered with the agency on the conception of the campaign, “but we were missing out on a whole demographic who weren’t, per se, baseball fans. These are people who would be intrigued by the commercials and then tune in because of what they saw.” The new campaign forgoes the traditional ‘sprint and catch’ game highlights, giving a harder edge to White Sox baseball. Be it to intimidate the rest of the league or just their cross town rivals, this club has never seemed tougher.
Over the years, Two by Four and SOLdesignfx have forged a long-standing and extremely prosperous relationship. Two by Four creative David Stevenson said of his experience with his creative counterparts that he “works with suppliers that deliver what they promise and operate at a high level of professionalism. SOL seems to consistently deliver the same process and results. And, as long as they do that, we’re good!” This most recent collaborative effort, just like it has done so many times in the past, paid large dividends.
The initial concept was based on print work done by the agency using the same slogan: “We are Chicago baseball.” In it, black and white photos were put over a white background, and the hope was that they could be reinterpreted for television. The original idea for the television campaign was to shoot players over white in super slow motion, mimicking the design of the print campaign. Though it had to be scrapped because of logistical reasons. Stevenson recalled that “after the setback, our motto became ‘let’s just shoot baseball with this super slo-mo camera and see what happens.'”
Markos did just that over the course of two games, subsequently laying voice tracks over the footage. As one can imagine, shooting during live games prohibits choreographed movements, but it did enable them to capture the natural evolution of the players’ actions.
“Super slow motion equates to a certain intensity of watching real life things,” explains Markos, who directed the spots. “Their expressions, the chunks of grass flying, the uniform blowing in the wind; the natural drama of their movements is brought out.” By limiting the ‘local feel’ of the commercials, this campaign is intended to play on a national, even international, level. The sentiment is that, with a series of 8 or 9 spots and plenty of tricks up their sleeves, viewers will be hard-pressed to find redundancy in what they see. The graphics only heighten the intrigue.
Stevenson said of the creative freedom accorded SOLdesignfx, “We value their opinions and creativity, and the process was a lot more collaborative than a traditional job. There was a fair amount of trust.”
As he had done with much of his previous work, Markos guided the spots along from beginning to end. Thus far, his dedication has paid off, with the audience response validating their efforts. “The most rewarding part has been the reactions of viewers to the work,” said Markos, “because they truly seem entertained and excited about their sport and team.”
Credits:
Agency: Two by Four/Chicago
Creative Director: David Stevenson
Account Executive: Jessica Pohren
Production Company: SOLdesignfx/Chicago
Director: Chris Markos
Executive Producer: Neal Cohen
Effects & Design: SOLdesignfx
Creative Director: Chris Markos
Executive Producer: Neal Cohen
Editor: Chris Markos
Senior Assistant/Editor: Traci Weingardt
Animator: Joseph Lawrence
Audio: Another Country
Sound Design and Mix: Robert Marshall