Filmmaker and editor Bill Yukich directed the gritty opening title sequence for Amazon’s new original series Goliath. Produced out of Los Angeles content creation studio GenPop, the black and white intro features Goliath’s leading man Billy Bob Thornton strolling through an underwater scene teeming with fire and smoke.
The underwater photography lends the film an atmospheric vibe while the backing track of The Silent Comedy’s “Bartholomew” grounds it in a down and dirty rhythm. The ominous backdrop is the perfect foil for Thornton’s role as down-and-out lawyer Billy McBride, with Yukich’s visuals striking a balance between dreamlike and menacing.
The approved concept called for a dry shoot, so Yukich came up with solutions to make it seem as though the sequence was actually filmed underwater. Shot on the RED camera, Yukich employed a variety of in-camera techniques to achieve the illusion of water, smoke and fire existing within the same world, including the ingenious use of smoke to mimic the movement of crashing waves.
After wrapping the live action shoot with Thornton, Yukich edited and color corrected the sequence. The VFX work was mostly supplementary and used to enhance the practical effects which were captured on-set, such as adding extra fireballs into the frame to make the pyrotechnics feel fuller.
Once postproduction was complete, Yukich projected the sequence onto a screen which was submerged underwater and reshot the projected footage. Though technically challenging, this method of re-shooting the footage gave the film the organic quality that Yukich was looking for.
CreditsClient Amazon Studios Production Company Bill Yukich, director/editor; Pierre Nobile, executive producer; Ben Conrad, creative lead; Michael Angelos, producer; Matt Bass, DP; Regan Jackson, production design; Kenneth Keglee, title design; Takayuki Sato, title animation. VFX Go-Overboard Music Soundtrack: The Silent Comedy's "Bartholomew"
Director Gia Coppola Teams With Mejuri For “A New York Minute”; 1st Episode Takes Us To The Grocery Store
Mejuri, known for turning fine jewelry into an everyday luxury, has partnered with director Gia Coppola (The Last Show Girl, Palo Alto) and The Directors Bureau in Los Angeles, for the first time reimagining the brand’s story as episodic content. In a series of microfilms, co-created by Coppola and premiering following New York Fashion Week, Mejuri eschewed a typical celebrity campaign and cast us as voyeurs to a group of aspiring young women--real people, not actors--at the crossroads of their adult lives against the backdrop of New York City.
Titled “A New York Minute,” the series features five real-life friends, who include one perfectly imperfect heroine named Emma. The women celebrate ordinary moments and interactions which reveal, sometimes retrospectively, the extraordinary within the mundane. Adjacent to the brand’s own community, the 30-something year old cast includes Laura Love (Emma), Rebecca Ressler, Natalie Vall-Freed and Rozzi Crane. Mejuri’s jewelry makes an appearance as the best supporting actor.
“When I met with Gia and The Directors Bureau team, there was instant creative and personal chemistry and a natural alignment on the desire to push and blur the lines between marketing, storytelling, and the construct of what a ‘campaign’ could be,” said Jacob Jordan, chief brand officer, Mejuri. “Gia was able to push that idea into something that truly feels new and artful, with a realism and relatability that almost feels jarring. Gia was such a perfect collaborator and partner, someone I had complete trust in to be a catalyst for Mejuri’s values of celebrating women as their truest selves. I can’t wait for us to continue to tell the next chapters of this story.”
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