Well we're movin’ on up!
(Movin’ on up!)
To the… Chelsea.
(Which is actually down!)
To a de-luxe office space on the 7th floor…
Our first project came in the doors before the ink was dry on the new lease. Through the creative minds at Ogilvy NY, a film concept was created for the groundbreaking of the new Whitney Museum in New York. The premiere American art museum is leaving its home on the upper east side and their new building, designed by architect Renzo Piano, will be finished in 2015. It’s a bit dull to be at a ground breaking and just see models, drawings and a mound of dirt. So Ogilvy called upon Sam and Aero Studios to create a "photo real CGI film" of what the new museum will look like, complete with their comprehensive collection of art. Sam and his team had 6 weeks to create the entire museum in 3D from the architect’s plans, build the artwork, shoot background plates, and make it look stunning in the meantime.
You can watch the film HERE.
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| CGI rendering of the future Whitney next to the High Line. |
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| Future Whitney as it fits into the skyline in Chelsea. |
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| A shot of what the Future Whitney will look like at night. |
The Groundbreaking event was Tuesday morning at the site on Washington and Gansevort street. Sam and I were there to hear the applause after the film and explain to some of the confused patrons, “No, no, the museum's not done yet. This is CGI.” Their response: "CG-HUH?" Us: "It’s a film! It’s not real!" Them: “How’s that now?!”
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| Ceiling art for the groundbreaking ceremony! |
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| Mayor Bloomberg makes his speech. |
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| Sam's film is presented to the crowd. |
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| Architect, Renzo Piano, holds the future Whitney in his hands! |
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| Performance art! And yes, that's dirt! |
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| Performance art continues... dancers broke glass windows to symbolize the Whitney's move as the dirt poured in center stage. |
Please make sure you take a moment and check out The Whitney’s site and see first hand all the amazing developments that this new museum will hold.
We want to thanks the team at Ogilvy for being fantastic partners – Executive Producer, Peter Basset; Creative Directors, Jason Marks and Diego Zambrano. We want to thank The Standard Hotel for providing the shoot location for the time-lapse shots. The Standard is a great supporter for production, the arts, and promoting the culture of the Meatpacking District. Our LA directors stay there when shooting in NY (they have a beer garden… we have an Obermeyer… It fits.) And they also provided location support for Sam’s film, The Sandpit. I can’t say enough about how easy and professional they are to work with.
And of course, the team at the Whitney was an amazing client to have. Their respect for the work and the creative process made the whole experience very rewarding from start to finish.
