Los Angeles, Calif. - XBOX 360 engages players in a gaming experience that is expansive and dramatic -- where the possibilities are limitless and the imagination knows no boundaries. This is asserted on Microsoft’s Web site and reaffirmed in a new three-spot campaign, created in a partnership between creative production company Blind and visual effects entity Zoic Studios. The campaign, which was directed by Blind and executed for McCann Worldgroup, is an animated window into the virtual world of XBOX, where game titles, consoles, and players come together in unique and powerful ways.
Working with concepts from the agency, Blind collaborated with the agency's creative team on the narrative and stories for each spot. Concept drawings and storyboards were brought to Zoic to undergo the transformation into animated 3D renderings. In the inaugural spot, titled "Come Together," the commercial opens on a vast expanse of XBOX 360 titles. Slowly, each box begins to vibrate and then is sucked away as if pulled by an unseen gravitational force. Throughout the spot, viewers follow the flight of thousands of boxes to the center of this force: a towering photorealistic XBOX 360 game console that is being created piece by game box piece. XBOX 360 the spot titles announce: “The Next Generation is over a hundred high-def games. The Next Generation is Now.â€
"Blind's Director Tom (Koh) is incredibly talented," says Zoic CG Supervisor Lochlon Johnston. “He has a distinct vision for the project and a vast experience in 3D, so this made our communication and the collaboration process really enjoyable. Our challenge, in addition to the overall creation of the CG, was to anthropomorphize the boxes so that they appeared to have independent personalities. This is one of those rare jobs that allow for quite a bit of experimentation, which is why I feel everyone had such a great time working on the project."
"Moving forward with the XBOX 360 campaign, we looked for a company that had the right amount of muscle to bring our vision to life." says Tom Koh, director from Blind. "The spots I wanted to portray required so much attention to detail it was critical to find a company we could have that confidence in. Zoic performed exceptionally in all facets of such a challenging job."
AGENCY: McCANN WORLDGROUP
Executive Creative Directors: Rob Bagot & John McNeil
Creative Directors: Scott Duchon & Geoff Edwards
Creative Director: Geoff Edwards
Associate Creative Director: Tim Wolfe
Art Director: Nate Able
CW: Mat Bunnell
Senior Producer: Annie Uzdavinis
PRODUCTION CO: BLIND
Director/Creaive Director: Tom Koh
Executive Producer: Santino Sladavic
Producer: Jody MacKinnon
Production Coordinator: Dana Molter
Editor: Chris Halmo
Storyboard Artist: Delfino Gamboa
Storyboard Artist: Elizabeth Columba
Storyboard Artist: John McKey
Storyboard Artist: Todd Harris
Concept Artist: Nick Berry
VFX: ZOIC
Visual Effects Supervisor: Lochlon Johnston
Producer: Leighton Greer
Production Coordinator: Maya Sanchez
Executive Producer: Steve Schofield
Creative Director: Chris Jones
CG Artist: Terry Shigemitsu
CG Artist/Technical Supervisor: Dann Tarmy
CG Artist: Dan Santoni
CG Animator: Franz Vidal
Model Supervisor: Jonathan Feldman
Modeler: Kathryn Capri
Modeler: Moriba Duncan
CG Animator: Joe Jones
CG Artist: Tim Petre
CG Artist: Andrea Paolino
Compositor: Sean Apple
Compositor: Lane Jolly
Flame Artist: John Shirley