Smoke & Mirrors Enhances Latest Kelly Ripa Electrolux Campaign

Smoke & Mirrors (S&M), working with MJZ Director Marcus Nispel via DDB, handled an entertaining array of post and VFX for the latest spot in the hugely successful Kelly Ripa Electrolux campaign.

Press Release from Smoke & Mirrors

Smoke & Mirrors (S&M), working with MJZ Director Marcus Nispel via DDB, handled an entertaining array of post and VFX for the latest spot in the hugely successful Kelly Ripa Electrolux campaign. Acting as on-set collaborators, the Smoke & Mirrors team guided the spot's whimsical feel through both creative input and technical expertise.

Laundry Day stars Ripa transforming everyday household chores into a dazzling magic act: she catches the girls' clothes in dual laundry baskets as though she is wielding giant catcher's mitts, then flings them effortlessly across the room and into her Electrolux washing machine. When the clothes emerge from the dryer, the talk show hostess levitates them, from which point they magically float into neat rows in a drawer. When her chores are done and the kids have ostensibly gone to sleep, Ripa's husband celebrates the alone time by flinging a tablecloth in the air to set a romantic dinner for two while the cutlery and plateware float above the table. The kids ramble into the room soon after.

The CG department cleverly handled the tablecloth segment, laying the table with candlesticks, cutlery and glasses, in addition to the sock scene, which magically captures socks suspended in air as they neatly land in their designated drawer.

"The director and the agency alike asked us to keep the campaign's sensibilities, but to push the effects on the next round of films," noted S&M CD Sean Broughton. "Marcus was an absolute pleasure to work with. The whole set had a great vibe and decisions and shot design were collaborative and concrete."

"With Smoke and Mirrors, you're not getting any smoke and mirrors," noted DDB Creative Director Seth Fried. "A lot of special effects houses know the technology, but lack the artistry. Sean and his crew pulled every effect off seamlessly, visually heightening the scene. They had a solution for every post challenge we encountered."

Credits:Client: ElectroluxSpot Title: Laundry Day :30Air Date: September 2010

Agency: DDBGroup Creative Director: Seth FriedAD: Haley FulopProducer: Katy Fuoco and Matt Nowak

Prod Co: MJZDirector: Marcus NispelEP: Eric SternProducer: Vincent OsterProduction Supervisor: Emily Plunkett

Editorial Co: BeastEditor: Livio SanchezProducer: Amelia Torabi

Post/Effects Co: Smoke & Mirrors NYCCO: Sean BroughtonLead VFX/Inferno Artist(s): Sean Broughton, Kirk BaldenVFX Artists: Sam CaineVFX Assistants: Alex LayVFX Assitants: Ross VincentDesigner/Animator: Serkan ErtekinProducer(s): Lauren Shawe, Paul O'Beirne

Telecine Co: Nice ShoesColorist: Chris Ryan

Audio Post Co: Sound LoungeMixer: Tommy Jucarone

Shoot Location: Broadway Stages, Long Island City, NY

About Smoke and Mirrors:Founded by Creative Director/VFX Artist Sean Broughton (NY) and CTO Mark Widig (UK), Smoke & Mirrors is a New York and London-based design, animation and VFX studio. The recent addition of a powerful grading suite delivers complete solutions for any type of project. A creative and artist-driven company synonymous with vision and originality since its inception, Smoke & Mirrors has consistently succeeded because of its collaborative approach and ability to build lasting creative relationships with directors, producers, agencies and clients alike.

Production in the New York office is led by CCO Sean Broughton and MD Jo Morgan. Diverse projects includes the highly challenging Beatles spot for Rockband, as well as spots for LG, Jose Cuervo, and Dove. Recent music video work includes Deadweather's Treat Me Like Your Mother and Michael Jackson's This Is It. Smoke & Mirrors has also been involved with such feature films as James Bond and Harry Potter. Each office is fully networked via complementary systems allowing the companies to share resources, expanding their local capacities. Close involvement with hardware and software manufacturers and developers has kept Smoke & Mirrors at the forefront of innovation and technology.