Eskimo Brings the Turnstone Manifesto to Life

Eskimo recently worked from creative concept to final cut on a vibrant new company anthem video for cutting-edge furniture manufacturer and long-time client Turnstone (a Steelcase company). The project was a multifaceted internal and external collaboration, pulling together Eskimo's internal production talent and utilizing close relationships with outside audio, edit and design houses. Turnstone Manifesto is a high-energy rollick through the universe of creative design, contrasting the chalkboard scribbling, iPad-wielding thinkers with the monumental artistic sculptures and images of athletes and musicians that are both the products of and inspiration for their work.

We wanted to show the process of ideation with a design team and then demonstrate the immediate manifestation of those ideas, states Eskimo Director and Editor Terry Rayment. We wanted the anthem to feel expansive and proud, something that Turnstone could show and be like, Yep, we f-ing made that,' mostly because they've never made anything even remotely like this before. This is Eskimo's team of artists at work - reliably creating the unexpected.

Eskimo marshaled its considerable creative resources to nail the spot on an extremely abbreviated shoot schedule: the art directors sketched out massive installations, such as a furniture fort and LED installation, and pushed them through to production; DP Michael Berlucchi would check in on Skype to provide insight on what needed to change material-wise to get the best picture; Rayment and Creative Director Colin McCarthy helped coordinate the massive on-set juggling act required to move 20-odd unique setups on and off camera to both meet time constraints and make certain that the volume of scenes did not overwhelm the viewer.

The compacted shoot's success was due in large part to the extensive preparations of the art department, which spent 36 days in pre-production. This careful planning process demonstrated not only Eskimo's methodical and efficient processes, but also its flexibility and ingenuity. One of the most difficult props was a giant light sculpture, notes McCarthy. We had spent 15 days on an idea for a big hanging LED tube light sculpture before coming to a nasty dead end. We immediately tore the whole thing down and began working on a new concept that I had just drawn on a napkin outside, then worked 20-plus hour days for four days to prepare for the pre-light.

One remarkable element of the promo is that nearly everything was shot in-camera, including a wolf, six dogs, children, a falcon, a ballet troupe, various enormous sculptures, and a mass of fairly complicated electrical schemes, among other actors and props. Even the titles were practical - rather than modeling neon signs in 3D, for example, Eskimo teamed up with an artist named Neon Leon to create custom pieces.

After wrapping the exhausting two-and-a-half day shoot, Rayment, in typical Eskimo get-it-done fashion, worked tirelessly to assemble a rough cut in record time. Eskimo then shipped the piece to CypherAudio, which added a wild and aggressive drum arrangement contrasted with piano accents, that serves as the spot's anthem. From there, Eskimo sent the footage to Beast Detroit to cut into :30 and :60 versions.

Credits:

Client: Turnstone

Title: Turnstone Manifesto

Air Date: December 12, 2013

Production Company: Eskimo

Director, Editor: Terry Rayment

Creative Director: Colin McCarthy

Director of Photography: Michael Berlucchi

Assistant Director: Andrew Maguire

AC: Lance Mokma, Tyler Hollman

Art Department: Colin McCarthy, Seth Johnson, Trisha Gaw

Assistant Editor: Scott Hanson

Music Composition & Sound Design: CypherAudio

About Eskimo:

Eskimo is a dog friendly, award-winning creative studio working in design, filmmaking, and general creative endeavors. We partner with brands and advertising agencies on creative ideation, production, and finishing for commercial and entertainment content. Located in Grand Rapids, Mi and Brooklyn, NY - Eskimo houses a small team of directors who work extremely hands-on all spots we create.

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LINK:	http://news.creativecow.net/story/873909...
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