QuietMan has long been known as one of the most innovative VFX houses in the industry. But increasingly, the company is being sought out by high profile agencies and clients for their full service capabilities, which range from pre-production areas such as casting and wardrobe, through the directing of the actual shoots, and on into post production and finishing services.

This versatility is currently on display in several new campaigns for such diverse clients as BMW, du MAURIER, Givenchy and Samsung, all of which also illustrate the directing talent of QuietMan Founder and CD/Lead Flame Artist Johnnie Semerad.

All the spots presented very different challenges for Johnnie and his QuietMan team, who pride themselves on being a one-stop shop that can tackle any situation and come up with an answer that is inventive, cost-effective, practical and stylish. Some involved setting up the shoots, while others involved dealing with stock footage and then dealing with visual effects in post to create the finished spots. “We can do it all,” stresses Johnnie. “In fact, the only element we go out for is the music. Otherwise, clients can come to us and know that we are very experienced in every aspect of production.”

The du MAURIER Discover du MAURIER spots, for the G2 agency, were shot at a country club in Westchester which doubled for an exotic beach location, and were all directed by Johnnie. They feature sophisticated couples hanging out at a beachside patio, illustrating a lifestyle that complements the product. “But you can’t show people actually smoking the cigarettes, so it became more about being creative within those restrictions,” he notes.

QuietMan then cast the actors, and organized everything down to the location and wardrobe – in addition to dealing with unexpected problems on the shoot. “It was pouring rain on the day, and the condensation on the pitchers of lemonade was actually rain,” he admits.

To deal with this, Johnnie set up a protective tent over his actors, organized lighting to match “that magic hour look,” and then checked the local Doppler radar forecast before rolling. “I saw one hole coming our way, and we timed it perfectly to coincide with the one bit of sunshine we got all day,” he reports. “And the moment that hole closed up, down it came, and we all ran inside.”

For the Givenchy Ange ou Demon spot, which features a playful Uma Thurman flirting with herself in a mirror, Johnnie collaborated with Monsoon Wedding director Mira Nair, who shot the actress’ scenes. Johnnie, who was on set with the star, then directed all the tabletop products featured at the end of the piece for agency Anton & Partners.

For the Samsung Galaxy Tablet How To spot, created for the Digitas agency, QuietMan again provided services from start to finish. The company cast the actress, and then shot the spot and all the table-top footage at the QuietMan’s offices. Then in post, Johnnie and his team, which included motion and graphic designer Anthony Ferrara and several 3D artists, added all the graphics and CG elements to complete the spot.

By contrast, the three spots for BMW feature humor; a lone penguin in the Antarctic has a colorful Toucan’s beak, while one racehorse in a race has the hindquarters of a zebra, and a couple on safari in Africa come across a ‘Luffalo’ – a cross between a lion and a buffalo. All are cleverly used to illustrate BMW’s individuality. “Again, the G2 people came to us and said, ‘Can you solve this problem? Can you do this from start to finish?’” reports Johnnie. “So we chose stock footage, and the agency found some of the shots, we found the rest, and then we did all the effects of making the Toucan nose and the Zebra butt and putting the buffalo horns on the lion.”

Johnnie notes that directing has been just another capability that QuietMan has offered for a long time now. “I’ve always directed and I’ve been on so many sets over the years, with so many top directors – Joe Pytka, Kinka Usher, Baker Smith,” says Johnnie, who’s worked with Pytka on “hundreds” of commercials. “So it was like this great film school, and even if I wasn’t paying attention, I learned so much just watching them and studying their approach and methods. And the good and bad of this business is that every day is so different. There’s always some new challenge to deal with and conquer; fortunately, we’re known for being dynamic and flexible and for having the skills to adapt to these challenges accordingly.”

Credits:

Samsung

Client: Samsung
Spot Title: Samsung Galaxy Tablet How-To Videos

Agency: Digitas
CD: Matthew Zavala
AD: Raynald Wood
Copy: Stefanie Gunning
Producer: Avi Walsky

Prod Co: QuietMan
Director(s): Johnnie Semerad
EP(s): Carey Gattyan
Producer(s): David Michaels / Jess Pierick

Editorial Co: QuietMan
Editor: Nick Link
Producer: Jess Pierick

Post/Effects Co: QuietMan
VFX Artist: Johnnie Semerad, Ricky Weissman
Motion and Graphic Design: Anthony Ferrara
3D Artist: Sue Jang, Young Park, Alex George, Zach Rubins
Digital Artist: Cryssy Cheung

Sound Design Co: Bang
Sound Designer: Ryan Billia

Givenchy

Client: Givenchy Parfums
Spot Title: Ange ou Demon / Ange ou Etrange

Agency: Anton & Partners
CD: John Painter

Director(s): Johnnie Semerad
Producer(s): David Michaels

Post/Effects Co: QuietMan
VFX Artist: Johnnie Semerad
3D Artist: Young Park

du MAURIER

Client: du MAURIER
Spot Title: Discover du MAURIER

Agency: G2
CD: Jason Zangrilli
AD: Albert Ignacio/Daniela Masiello
Copy: Tom McConville/Jordan Korfine
Producer: Mark Sitley
Account Director: Garrick Gelinas

Prod Co: QuietMan
Director(s): Johnnie Semerad
EP(s): Carey Gattyan / Bob Nelson
Producer(s): David Michaels

Editorial Co: QuietMan
Editor: Brad Turner
Producer: David Michaels

Post/Effects Co: QuietMan
VFX Artist: Anthony Ferrara
Motion and Graphic Design: Anthony Ferrara
3D Artist: Sue Jang, Alex George, Zach Rubins, Young Park

Sound Design Co: The Station
Sound Designer: John Northcraft

BMW

MW Financial Services Team:
General Manager, Marketing: Tom Stepanchak
Dealer Marketing & Communications Manager: Ania Neil
Dealer Marketing and Communications Analyst: Courtney Budd

G2 USA Team:
Account Team: Nancy Grebey, Arnel Kasmally, Jason Alongi, Laura Kaye
Creative Director: Rene Lehouillier
Art Director: Chris Silva
Copywriter: Michael Abdul-Qawi
Producer: Sam Milgrim
Digital Project Manager: Eric Liou
Retouching and Editing: Rob Anderson, Mark Petrella, Sterling Uhler
Art Buying: Jen Santiago, Liz Jenei

VFX: QuietMan
Special Effects Director: Johnnie Semerad