Press Release from Bent Image Lab

Bent Image Lab has teamed up with agency Borders, Perrin, Norrander to create an emotionally uplifting and visually dynamic 30 second TV spot Plywood for the Oregon Lottery.  This project focuses on the important impact lottery dollars can have on the delicate economy of a small town.

Directed by Chel White, Plywood tells the touching story of the effect Oregon Lottery dollars have had in the reopening of the Murphy Creek Mill in the small town of Rogue River, Oregon. Mill workers and other town’s people were interviewed about the tremendous impact the reopening of the mill has had on their town. The spot mixes the interviews with footage of people working again at the mill and ends with a powerful spray paint on plywood graphic showing that 108 jobs were created.  “In as concise a manner as possible, our job was to communicate a small town’s story of positive change, while delivering the emotional message in a way that would catch the eye.  The town was in a difficult economic situation, and the Oregon Lottery helped to revitalize this small, working class community,” White explained.

Creative Director Terry Schneider, Art Director Kent Suter and Copywriter Rob Rosenthal, of Borders, Perrin, Norrander had the idea to treat the personalities in the spot as if they were stenciled onto a flat surface mimicking the way stacks of plywood have logos spray stenciled onto them.  White loved the idea, but wanted to create a more kinetic feel, and put the Stencilmation in context for the audience.  He shot on every third frame to create a staccato effect and staged the animation on ever changing sheets of plywood.  “The guys at BPN came to us with a wonderfully original concept, and fleshing it out with our own creative spin was a blast.  The animated wood grain with stenciled images on top gave us a fresh and kinetic energy different from anything we’d seen before,” noted White.

“The agency wanted to do this cool stencil art look, and I thought it was a great opportunity to show a cool look that was in our eyes much more elegant than the “Charles Swab” version of ”Scanner Darkly” imagery,” said Bent Partner and Executive Producer Ray Di Carlo.  Animation, paint effects and wood grain texture were used to manipulate live action footage.  Once established in single frames, these ideas were then transposed into action by Bent’s post team using 3D studio Max, Nuke, After Effects, and Photoshop.  Compositors worked on adding the still frame techniques, fringe details and more contrast to the shots. Highlights and shadows were used to create the kind of detail you would get if someone was actually creating a stencil on wood.  In addition to all of the CGI effects, actual spray paint footage was incorporated in certain sections to heighten the tactile reality White wanted for the spot. Once the moving spray-painted look was achieved the footage was sent on to the Bent 3D artists for a few dimensional effects. They used the grain of the wood texture to create a normal map and a bump map and added specific lighting to give the wood and paint extra dimension.  Final touches were hand painted in Photoshop.

Bent created a spot that engages the viewer both emotionally and visually and brings the animated world to life by combining hand made and CG elements with live action and creative visual techniques to tell the story of real people and their mill.

The Oregon Lottery Plywood spot began airing on May 2nd through out the state of Oregon.

THE CREDS:
Client: Oregon Lottery
Spots Title: Plywood
Air Date: May 2, 2011

Advertising Agency: Borders, Perrin, Norrander
Creative Director: Terry Schneider
Account Supervisor: Loralee Stapleton
Producer: Scott Fox
Art Director: Kent Suter
Copywriter: Rob Rosenthal

Production Company: Bent Image Lab
Director: Chel White
Exec. Producer: Ray Di Carlo
Head of Production: Suzie Burton
Producer: Brian Fuller