Beast, one of the country's top editorial facilities, recently completed work on "The Procession" for Converse via ad agency Anomaly NYC for the company's fall 2010 brand campaign. The commercial, which broke nationally September 26, pays homage to the legends of Converse's past, present and future, showcasing the iconic Star Chevron mark and giving a nod to the company's connection to the worlds of sport, music and culture which has helped define the brand for decades.
Gritty and raw, the :60 spot was directed by award-winning filmmaker Antoine Fuqua of Anonymous Content. The ad stars basketball legend Julius "Dr. J" Erving; Carlos Arroyo of the Miami Heat; musicians Jim Jones and Doug E Fresh; legendary ball-handler God Shammgod and Harlem streetball player Adrian "A-Butta" Walton; Converse skaters Kenny Anderson, Sammy Baca, Rune Glifberg and Eli Reed; all set to the thunderous "Hello Operator" by alternative rock band The White Stripes.
Lucas Eskin at Beast Los Angeles edited the spot, working with the director in Los Angeles before flying out to New York to meet with the agency team and complete the spot at Beast's New York location. Tom McCullough of sister company Company 3 provided VFX and compositing for the project, and color grading was performed by CO3 colorist Tim Masick.
"Creatively, this was an incredibly rewarding project to work on," Eskin said. "The agency handed off a lot of great material for me to work with, and it turned out to be a really fun, energetic spot. And I really enjoyed working with the Anomaly team at Beast NY."
"Working with Beast was a great experience," commented Andrew Loevenguth, Anomaly's head of production. "Mike Byrne and I were able to work with Lucas again, and the job couldn't have gone any smoother. And it didn't matter that he was LA-based--everything was where it needed to be and everything got done the way we wanted it. Lucas is a master editor."