Las Vegas take over: London UK

➣ And then... the greatest gigs come along...

Agency R&R Partners approached me with the ultimate dream job; a collaboration production for their Vegas Tourism client. They expressed interest in my work, but ultimately - it was my use of vibrant colors, movement and illustrative aesthetic in my https://www.instagram.com/foundinvoids/ continuous feed that they felt most connected to. 

Working closely with Creative Directors Brett & Krista Brown, I was able to utilize my digital illustration experience to help flush out the concept. We created several lenticular installations, stills and motion pieces for this campaign that was publicized via a massive transit take-over in the city of London, UK - starting with Oxford Circus.

What is lenticular, you ask? Remember those glasses you could wear with the eyes that opened and closed? Early photo animation; the original .GIF. This technology began in the 1930’s and has made a recent come-back in advertising.

We shot the macro eyes in motion + stills in a Culver City, Los Angeles studio. Casting was crucial – finding real, expressive people with great skin, clear eyes and stunning irises. More than anything in the end - an ability to emote through the eyes, without even the slightest movement. The lighting set up was complicated to say the least. With numerous variations, the models had to physically climb into the lighting cave we built and have their head stabilized onto a grip. This certainly wasn’t an easy gig for the talent.

The post production on this one was the hero of the project. We spent a ton of time finding visuals that worked with each person’s iris.  With so many elements inside, it was imperative we maintained the original feeling of the eye. A lot of time was dedicated to testing out the lenticular; deciphering if the eye should move or remain static. After plenty of large-scale test prints, toying with various color transitions and late night deliberation, our vision was coming to life and we were ready to head into the final stages of digital illustration.

Meeting through google hangout - Brett and I would work through screen share and have check-in meetings every day to see where each piece was landing. Our partnership was paramount in this process. Together, we would verbally paint out the look -  then I would go away to carry forth our vision. We spent over a month together in post production. Everyday - painting and collaborating - exactly what I love about my job.

Here's the whole project: https://kerryshaw.com/COMMERCIAL-PORTFOLIO/Las-Vegas-/1/thumbs

A .GIF from the lenticular images:

Some BTS and a little background from my digital tech about our setup...always wish we had more behind the scene images to share. In the moment, we're all too excited and focused on what's happening on set!

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All the macro eye shots are real people's eyes (with graphics overlaid of course) and shoot on the amazing @phaseonephoto IQ3 100mp back attached to the Phase XF body. We used some extension tubes and the new Schneider 120mm Blue Ring Macro F4 lens. Since the IQ3 100 has a CMOS sensor we were able to shoot at ISO 400 and use hot lights and still get a stunningly clear shot. With the low key lighting we were really pushing the limits of the current technology. My capture cart if I recall was an Eizo CG277 on an @inovativ cart with a Mac Pro trashcan. 

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Client: Las Vegas Tourism LVCVA

Agency: R&R Partners

Creative Directors: Brett & Krista Brown

Agency Producers: Gina Scalice, Geri Angelo

Director & Photo Illustration/Retouching: Kerry Shaw

Skin Retoucher: Robin Nowoczin 

Production/Producer: Lisa Wieneke

DP: Steeven Petitteville

Gaffer: Mike Kelly

Key Grip: Mike Enriquez

Dimmer Board Operator: Kyle Boorman

Digital Tech Stills: Nick Leadley

Asst. Producer: Kristina Kondrath

Casting Agent: Blok M Casting

Makeup: Dana Delaney

Talent: Harry Davis, Zachary Green, Juliet Jariere Turley, India Grasso, Alexandra Reid

Production Crew: Austin Bardowell, Nathan Fletcher, Kyle Shafia, Bradley Rochlitzer

Studio: Smashbox Studios

Catering: Kristen Kurz & Richard Friedman Catering