Aero spreads Holiday magic with Wells Fargo

Always nice to have the family together at the holiday. We at Aero took this to a whole news level with the holiday spot we produced along side DDB-LA for Wells Fargo. Klaus Obermeyer was the director and brought on fellow Aero director Sam O'Hare for his VFX expertise (with the help from his crew at Aero Studios--which is being rebranded as Parachute in 2014!.. more on that later), and Aero alumni Bob Jenkis for the edit.

We do not condone snowmen smoking. It was just bubbles. We swear.

As you can imagine, it's not that snowy in Southern California in October... or really anywhere in the world. It's that sweet spot of entering spring in the Southern Hemisphere and still too autumnal in the Northern. So... With a mix of practical FX and movie magic, the winter landscape was born! We did a break down to show what was shot and what was CGI. Klaus oversaw the production from start to finish with Sam creating the pre-visualization with him and finishing all the VFX.

Nom nom nom nom nom. 

The shoot took place over one night and one day and the VFX took 4 weeks. There were a few late nights...

Sam O'Hare and Jesse Holmes (VFX lead) catch a nap. Totes adorbs. 

You can excuse the snoozy-ness when you consider this is what they'd been doing...

 Before...

 After!

 Kinda sad...

Magical!! and he got a new hat. Thanks, CGI. 

Other credits include Siggy at Company3 LA did the color grade; Jeff at Eleven Sound was the sound designer and mixer; HUM music scored the beautiful track.

Fun tidbits from the shoot... The dog was AMAZING. Her name is Jules and everyone wanted to take her home. The kids are really that cute. There were 28 horses in this production, and they were treated better than most people. And they really do like carrots... a lot.

From all of us at Aero Film, have a very happy holiday and we wish you the best in 2014!!!

Klaus Obermeyer in Alaska

Aéro Film has been to Alaska quite a few times. Sam O'Hare shot the Alaska Communications campaign last year (and this year... stay tuned). Klaus Obermeyer has shot there for many years with Warren Miller films, Chevy Silverado, and just went back for a project that will remain nameless for the moment. (I'm all about suspense today...) 

It's no mystery why Klaus keeps going back-- it's one of the most stunning landscapes in the world, and right now, one of the best places to shoot snow. 

 The Aéro jet and Daniel Zatz helicopter with Cineflex system.

Klaus in the glaciers of Valdez in his Obermeyer jacket. 

 I mean, come on. 

 Klaus, back to his roots, filming pro skiers.

Gorgeous. And the mountains are nice, too. 

Thanks to Mark Reid for capturing these photos. See you on the mountains!

Snowy August

Ahhh August. The perfect time to shoot some snow. It’s perfect winter weather in the Southern hemisphere, but won’t be for much longer. So if you’re promoting snowy holiday times or winter Olympics extravaganzas, times a tickin’! September/October marks the black hole of “no snow anywhere except for really annoying places.” (Technical term.)

Our resident snow expert, Klaus Obermeyer, knows this all too well. He’s a native of Aspen, Colorado and grew up skiing and snowboarding from the time that he was knee high to a grasshopper. (At 6’8 I don’t believe he was ever that small… but suspend disbelief for the sake of my metaphors….) Klaus’s father, Klaus Sr, was the founder of Obermeyer ski wear and inventor of the parka, so the whole family has snow in their genes (and often in their jeans, too).

Klaus Sr and Klaus Jr

Klaus starting shooting film on the side of a mountain. Shooting his daredevil friends and working with filmmaker Robert Fulton (who’s remarkable and has his own amazing life story .) This isn’t tripod and dolly work—this is Klaus skiing down a mountain without poles, holding a film camera. Often backwards. Klaus has shot an Olympic skier on a slalom run. The skier looks amazing and the technique makes even a veteran skier think, “Amazing!” But then you think about the fact that Klaus was skiing right beside him, holding a film camera, going backwards… without poles, and thinking about framing. There’s no Olympic category for that.

Of course the Klaus Cam was also born out of necessity for shooting snow. Being able to shoot action close ups with out touching virgin snow was impossible—until the Klaus Cam with its ability hang a camera on a long line from a helicopter and get full 360 pan, tilt and roll that’s all gyrostabilized. (Imagine a technocrane, steadicam and a helicopter had a love child.)

See the best of the best here! 

Obermeyer Ski Wear