Press Release from Artistic Image

Atlanta, Ga.: When Denver-based 5 Stone Advertising set out to introduce a radical new bass fishhook for its, client Lazer TroKar, a division of the Wright & McGill Co., they called upon Artistic Image (AI) to visualize the concept and take the campaign from production to completion.

The campaign, which includes a broadcast commercial, four web spots and a two-minute documentary, features some of the world’s top professional bass fishermen portrayed in a dark, neo noir-style reminiscent of the movie “The Dark Knight” and other comic book and video game heroes. The look transforms our pros into larger than life fishermen who use a hook that is so unbelievably sharp that they can dominate anything on their way to the podium.

“There’s an ocean of products targeting fishing enthusiasts out there, so we had to find an innovative and original way to convey that TroKar had developed a product that took bass fishing to a new level,” said AI co-founder, director/editor Ken Soons. “A spot with smiling, happy people fishing at sunrise wasn’t going to bring home their message. So we developed a gritty, realistic look that showcases world-class anglers Skeet Reese, Brent Chapman, Gerald ‘G-Man’ Swindle  and Shaw Grigsby at the top of their game.”

In the world of tournament bass fishing a few ounces can be the difference between winning and losing. Young (18-34 yr. old), aggressive, competitive anglers are always looking for an edge. Lazer TroKar, a division of Wright & McGill Co, has created a hook that’s twice as sharp as anything on the market. A sharper hook means putting more fish in the boat.

“Because the hook is so revolutionary, the approach to the campaign had to break with the typical “grip-and-grin” imagery usually seen,” notes Mike Weed, creative director for the project. “From logo to ads, the campaign positions the TroKar hook as a the ultimate choice for people who aren’t out to simply catch fish but are out to win.”

For the highly stylized campaign, Soons shot the champion bass fishermen, who are Lazer TroKar’s chief spokesmen, in power boats against a green screen stage, simulating the movement of rough waters, and some establishing shots of rivers and lakes. The director positioning his camera under the waterline shooting upward to capture the intensity of these skilled sportsmen as they fight to reel in the majestic giant bass. In one climactic scene, the camera peers up at Skeet Reese, the 2009 Bassmaster Classic World Champion, as he raises his arms above his head in triumph to show off two trophy bass.

This is just the kind of assignment we love,” adds Soons. “Coming up with a concept and then seeing that vision realized in a final product that wows the client is the coolest part of the job. One of the most challenging aspects of the project was the tight deadline,” Soons adds. “We shot a 30-second spot and four 15-second spots plus a pair of two-minute documentary style videos — all in two days.”

Also a skilled editor, Soons roughed out and finished the spots and video. During the final step of editing process he took the color out of the selects, leaving high-contrast black and white live scenes.

To dramatically showcase the revolutionary hook, Dye created a steely-blue grid backdrop for the product in After Effects and animated a close-up as it rotates to illustrating sharpness. In another scene, one of the fishermen appears to hold the hook up to the camera. Actually, he was empty-handed. Dye rotoscoped the real hook, encased it in a steel blue glow and layered it into the fisherman’s fingers. Maya was used to create remarkably realistic animation of the Bass and dramatic still frames of each fisherman.