The principals of design-focused production studio Leviathan are very proud to detail their collaborations with advertising agency Factory Design Labs (www.factorylabs.com) on behalf of Callaway Golf Company. Supporting the launch of Callaway Golf's new line of RAZR Fit Xtreme(TM) Drivers, X Hot(TM) Drivers, Fairway Woods and Irons, numerous TV spots and brand films have recently debuted on targeted media outlets and Callaway's YouTube Channel (http://youtube.com/Callaway).
Supporting the launch of Callaway Golf's new line of RAZR Fit Xtreme(TM) Drivers, X Hot(TM) Drivers, Fairway Woods and Irons, numerous TV spots and brand films have recently debuted on targeted media outlets and Callaway's YouTube Channel (http://youtube.com/Callaway). The first TV spots (many others are currently in the production pipeline) feature live-action cinematography of PGA TOUR professionals captured using Red and Phantom digital camera systems on locations in Dallas and Orlando under the direction Supply & Demand director Josh Taft. For those location shoots, Leviathan principal and chief technologist Matt Daly joined the crews as visual effects supervisor.
Meanwhile in Leviathan's Chicago studio, the company's creative director Bradon Webb, 3D lead Nathan Davies, lead VFX artist and compositor Chris Beers and 2D lead David Brodeur were part of the extensive team on the end-to-end design, animation and visual effects aspects elevating the visual, artistic, branding and storytelling aspects of these spots – as well as several other new Callaway product films and still renderings that are 100% CG. In each of these spots and product films, the full talents of Leviathan's artists are evident, revealing the technology behind Callaway's new products, adding on-screen visual elements that dramatize the action, creating the animated titles, end tags and mnemomics, and a great deal more.
"A primary concern for everyone was ensuring that the VFX would highlight and not obscure the technology," Webb began. "These clubs have an insane amount of technology behind them that makes them perform in a specific way. Highlighting that became our biggest challenge. In several cases that required us to literally explode the product to show interior parts and things that would not be visible from the exterior. Factory Design Labs came to us with some ideas and sketches of how this conceptually could work. It was then up to our design team to actually implement and innovate on the plan."
Leviathan earned its first assignments for Factory Design Labs in 2011, and the studio's craftsmanship on those high-profile projects earned it the role as one of their partners for design, CG and VFX for the agency's 2013 campaign for Callaway. "Earning the opportunity to develop and apply extraordinary design and VFX solutions for Callaway is one of the most exciting things to happen for our company so far," confirmed Leviathan's executive producer Chad Hutson. "Knowing our contributions need to represent Callaway as the world-class leader moving into the future, we are pouring ourselves into perfecting the brand's look across all media platforms."
For its campaign contributions, Leviathan's artists principally use Autodesk Maya, Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe After Effects and The Foundry's Nuke. "In CG everything starts out paper thin and you have to extrude objects to give them dimension and reality," Webb added. "In some cases shots are turning out so successfully that they are becoming key aspects of the stories being told."
For Factory Design Lab's 2013 Callaway campaign, the agency's project team consists of ECD Andrew Price, creative director Steve Pratt, ACD Tom Goodrich, senior art directors Jason Shiskowsky and Steve Hurd, art director Elliot Hasse, director of broadcast production Melany Fehrenbach, director of print production Heather Popenhagen and agency producers Jessi Dana and Lisa Schrag. Leviathan's campaign credits also include ECD Jason White, producer Lauren Shawe, animator/compositor Katrina Nelken, VFX artists Tim Sepulveda, Patrick Schultz, Kurt Lawson, Shawn Sahara and Ashley Whitaker, 3D artists Timur Salikov, Morgan James, and Adam Stockholm, and graphics editor Mike LaHood.
About Leviathan
Leviathan is a design-focused production studio specializing in creating large-scale visual experiences across all media. Champions of breakthrough design and branding, Leviathan's leaders draw from experiences earned inside leading digital agencies, production companies, VFX and motion studios. Also leveraging the talents of extraordinary designers, technologists, developers and producers, the studio develops and delivers cutting edge content that maximizes the capabilities of today's media platforms. Since launching in 2010, the studio's collaborations with agencies, brands and leading filmmakers have rendered scores of sensational projects across all markets and industries and earned award recognition from the Association of Independent Music, Communication Arts Magazine, the AICP, The D Show, The One Club, and the Themed Entertainment Association. To learn more about Leviathan, please visit www.lvthn.com, or call executive producer Chad Hutson at +1.312.878.1500.
