Lifetime TV & Roger Pay Homage To A-Ha s Claic Take On Me Video For Dance Moms

Continuing its fun 80s streak after the hilarious Maniac spot for Dance Moms, LA-based mixed-media production studio Roger reunited with Lifetime TV to create a new spot for the popular reality TV series, which enters its fourth season on January 1, 2014. Led by Executive Creative Director Terence Lee, the promo honors A-Ha's classic Take On Me to animated effect.

When our Supervising Writer/Producer Karen Griffenhagen came up with the concept, it was a no brainer to partner back with Roger, says Aaron Goldman, AE Networks Creative Director. We knew they could execute, and elevate the creative.

In the spot, series protagonist Abby Miller is once again pitted against the moms of her dance students. Abby and the girls are transported into a comic book world, where she corrects everyone's form and outruns their mothers who relentlessly chase after them. But in classic Abby style, she comes out on top, as the moms remain trapped in the animated world.

Roger handled the entire production from start to finish, with Lee directing the spot, and the Roger team handling art direction, practical set design, animation, compositing, finishing and editorial.

To view: http://vimeo.com/81049707

We had such a good time creating the parody of Flashdance' that we had to keep that fun going into the next season, explains Lee. Abby [Miller], the girls and their moms are total pros on set. Since our previous collaboration was such a success, there was trust amongst all us during the shoot. Considering we put them through a few hoops, they were really good sports, too.

Roger simulated the hand-drawn look of the original A-Ha video by painstakingly sketching over each frame by hand. Though time-intensive, the artists were able to take advantage of modern technology to not only draw directly onto their screens, but to also have the flexibility to make adjustments and fine-tune the look.

The biggest challenge, says Lee, was unifying the look across several different artists. The finished drawings were then brought into After Effects, where Roger conformed the edit and did the final composite.

The first time we saw the whole thing pieced together was awesome, concludes Lee. There were plenty of high-fives going around. Aaron [Goldman] and [Supervising Writer/Producer] Karen [Griffenhagen] are great collaborators. After a few projects together now, weve developed a level of trust that we strive for with every client. We're all working towards the same goal -- to make a great product -- and that makes for a smooth and enjoyable process.

Project: Take On Abby promo

Airdate: November 22, 2013

Music: A-Ha Take On Me

Client: AE Networks

Creative Director: Aaron Goldman

Supervising Writer/Producer: Karen Griffenhagen

SVP Brand Creative: Valerie Albanese

Production Company: Roger Creative Director/Director: Terence Lee DP: Ernesto Lomeli Executive Producer: Josh Libitsky Producer: Alex Dos Santos Post Editor: Sean Mcallen Designers: Andy Bernet Illustrators: Brad Arnold, Jason Carpenter, Lyuben Dimitrov 2D Animators: Jason Carpenter, Lyuben Dimitrov, Dylan Spears, Adam Lawrence Compositors/3D Artists: Andrew Parris, Ben Rohel Technology: Flash & After Effects

About Roger:

Roger is a mixed-media production studio specializing in motion design & animation. Our visual storytelling is sincere, and our concepts are informed by the fundamental goal of creating clear communication that propels our clients' brand-messaging in memorable ways. Our sensibilities are fun & quirky at heart, but our solutions are bold & intelligent. Collectively, our capabilities and experience run deep on the creative, production and technical sides of the business. Every last detail of our work reflects our passion and enthusiasm for what we do.

We're Roger. Loud and clear (from Los Angeles). http://www.roger.tv

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