The Syndicate’s in-house branding and design group provides end-to-end production for CG spot.
(Santa Monica, California--April 24, 2008) Through its in-house branding and design group DesignWorks, creative design and digital production studio The Syndicate recently provided end-to-end production, on “Lights,” a spot for CONSOL Energy.
CONSOL, a 145 year-old energy company based in Western Pennsylvania, is a multi-faceted producer of coal, gas, electricity and timber. Most of CONSOL’s employees, well educated mining and environmental engineers, have more than 20 years of service with the company. CONSOL’s agency, Blattner Brunner, crafted a print and broadcast campaign that would brand CONSOL as a leader in energy production and land management.
The narration reminds us to “Look around. Electricity is behind everything we do.” The spot opens on a twinkling nightscape of homes in the suburbs and in a sweeping arc, the camera flies over the shimmering lights of commuter trains, power lines, an amusement park and a skyscraper studded city. In a surprising reveal, the lights converge on the headlamps of a diverse group of CONSOL miners, who assume a proud and heroic stance. In a cosmic zoom, we see the eastern half of the United States, brightly outlined in lights under the night sky, all powered by electricity.
The Syndicate’s creative director and head of DesignWorks, David Hwang, directed the spot and worked closely with agency creatives at Brunner Blattner on concept and design. Their goal was to create a spot with a cinematic quality and a clean design sensibility. The agency’s strategy included airing the commercial during the NCAA March Madness playoffs to reach a college educated demographic, a target of CONSOL’s employment recruiting outreach.
In addition to live action direction, production of the spot, including conceptual design, pre-vis, visual effects creation, editing and color correction, was entirely handled by The Syndicate and DesignWorks in a challenging three-week period. The miners, who are actual CONSOL employees, were flown to Los Angeles for the green screen shoot. Visual effects were overseen by The Syndicate’s visual effects supervisor Luke McDonald and were accomplished by artists Minory Sasaki, Shinichi Rembutsu, Sam Korshid, Adam Watkins and Kevin Hoppe. David Hwang, extending his multi-facted role through to post-production, served as both telecine artist and editor through DesignWorks at The Syndicate.
Hwang said, “It was an educational process for us to learn that the stereotypical idea of the miners is old and outdated. I think the CONSOL spot has succeeded in changing that perception for the public.”
“For people to understand how much they rely on CONSOL everyday, we had to cast our message in a different light. Syndicate truly brought that light to life,” said Dave Kwasnick, Blattner Brunner Group Creative Director.
Kenny Solomon, managing director of The Syndicate said, “We are one of the few boutique studios that can conceptualize, direct and deliver a client’s vision from beginning to end. We’re very proud of the work David Hwang and his DesignWorks team created for CONSOL and hope that viewers will literally be enlightened by the message.”
About CONSOL Energy Inc.
CONSOL Energy Inc. is the largest producer of high-Btu bituminous coal in the United States. CONSOL Energy has 20 bituminous coal mining complexes in six states. In addition, the company is a majority shareholder in one of the largest U.S. producers of coalbed methane, CNX Gas Corporation.
About The Syndicate
The Syndicate is a creative design, branding services and digital production studio specializing in live action direction, visual effects, animation, motion graphics, and telecine for commercials, television and music videos. A division of Santa Maria-based feature film visual effects facility CafeFX, The Syndicate has worked with top agencies, networks and studios on award-winning commercials, television programs, and music videos that have been seen around the world.
DesignWorks at The Syndicate, the company’s branding and design group, is headed by noted creative director David Hwang, who has created identity, broadcast campaigns and motion graphics for ESPN, HBO and ABC, as well as powerhouse advertising campaigns for McDonald’s, JC Penney, AT&T, Eureka and Circuit City.
For more information please call 310-260-2320 or visit
http://www.syndicate.tv
###
