TDfan2007
04-24-2008, 12:41 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/columnists/stories/MYSA041108.01P.jakle.13937b2.html
San Antonio Express-News
The directors behind Oscar-nominated movie "Little Miss Sunshine" came to San Antonio this week to capture the more dramatic — and vulnerable — sides of Spurs Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
They came away impressed by each player's confidence, energy and quickness in front of the camera.
The shoot was for an ambitious new TV campaign by the NBA that's pegged to the upcoming playoffs and will air on ABC, TNT and ESPN. You'll also be able to find the spots online, on sites such as NBA.com and YouTube.
Using state-of-the-art equipment, the spots will morph together the faces of two top players from rival teams as they speak in sync about their strong emotions and goals concerning the playoffs. More than 20 different commercials will air, representing the best teams of the season. Every promo ends with the line (which is also the title of the campaign), "There can only be one," referring to the team that nabs the championship.
Duncan, Parker and Ginobili all "nailed" their spots beautifully, said husband-and-wife directing duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, whose credits not only include "Little Miss Sunshine," but also a slew of music videos for bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and R.E.M. Huge basketball fans themselves, they also directed the memorable LeBron James Powerade spot (where he makes consecutive full-court shots).
One spot I've seen premiered last Sunday. It paired former Laker teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. The way the two speak of the "fear" that fills them toward the end of a season is both moving and chilling.
Here are the words from that "Fear" spot: "There's so many emotions at the end of the season. And nobody likes to talk about it, but one of them is fear. Fear that you could come this far, and it could all end. The dream could die. But me, I like the fear. It means I'm close. It means I'm ready."
Duncan also will be seen and heard speaking the "Fear" words; the opponent he will be paired with has not been decided.
As for Ginobili and Parker, they filmed two other emotionally charged segments about hard work and being remembered.
Look for the first of the Spurs spots as early as Wednesday or Thursday of next week, said NBA spokeswoman Francine Winiker.
Meanwhile, I got these tidbits in a conference call with the directing duo, who recalled enthusiastically their time spent with Tim, Manu and Tony.
The shoot started with a great video portrait of each player; their faces were lit in a way to emphasize their uniqueness, their drama and strength.
None was nervous and all were fast learners; they did their best to commit the script to memory, even though they had the help of an audio ear device. They also connected wonderfully with the words; none sounded the least bit false.
"Tim was very real," Faris said. "It's amazing to actually look him in the eye — at eye level." (They explained that the usual view is either looking down at him from the stands or looking up at this very tall guy.
It was great to see him show some vulnerability, Faris said, "when he didn't have his game face on." She also described him as "very modest and aware people don't expect him to be passionate or wild."
Both termed the accents of Ginobili and Parker "really cool," and Dayton predicted how striking it would sound if they're paired with players without accents. They toyed with the idea of having Tony do his in French, as the director of photography also was French, but ended up nixing that.
"Manu didn't make any mistakes," Faris recalled. He hungrily "attacked the script, wanted to do a good job."
As for Parker, they couldn't say enough about that incredible face of his. (People magazine didn't name him one of the "most beautiful" for nothing.) He also filled the room with a lot of energy, they said, and seemed to have great fun at the shoot.
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I can't wait to see these ads...although I don't know why nba.com is taking so long to put them up.
San Antonio Express-News
The directors behind Oscar-nominated movie "Little Miss Sunshine" came to San Antonio this week to capture the more dramatic — and vulnerable — sides of Spurs Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
They came away impressed by each player's confidence, energy and quickness in front of the camera.
The shoot was for an ambitious new TV campaign by the NBA that's pegged to the upcoming playoffs and will air on ABC, TNT and ESPN. You'll also be able to find the spots online, on sites such as NBA.com and YouTube.
Using state-of-the-art equipment, the spots will morph together the faces of two top players from rival teams as they speak in sync about their strong emotions and goals concerning the playoffs. More than 20 different commercials will air, representing the best teams of the season. Every promo ends with the line (which is also the title of the campaign), "There can only be one," referring to the team that nabs the championship.
Duncan, Parker and Ginobili all "nailed" their spots beautifully, said husband-and-wife directing duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, whose credits not only include "Little Miss Sunshine," but also a slew of music videos for bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and R.E.M. Huge basketball fans themselves, they also directed the memorable LeBron James Powerade spot (where he makes consecutive full-court shots).
One spot I've seen premiered last Sunday. It paired former Laker teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. The way the two speak of the "fear" that fills them toward the end of a season is both moving and chilling.
Here are the words from that "Fear" spot: "There's so many emotions at the end of the season. And nobody likes to talk about it, but one of them is fear. Fear that you could come this far, and it could all end. The dream could die. But me, I like the fear. It means I'm close. It means I'm ready."
Duncan also will be seen and heard speaking the "Fear" words; the opponent he will be paired with has not been decided.
As for Ginobili and Parker, they filmed two other emotionally charged segments about hard work and being remembered.
Look for the first of the Spurs spots as early as Wednesday or Thursday of next week, said NBA spokeswoman Francine Winiker.
Meanwhile, I got these tidbits in a conference call with the directing duo, who recalled enthusiastically their time spent with Tim, Manu and Tony.
The shoot started with a great video portrait of each player; their faces were lit in a way to emphasize their uniqueness, their drama and strength.
None was nervous and all were fast learners; they did their best to commit the script to memory, even though they had the help of an audio ear device. They also connected wonderfully with the words; none sounded the least bit false.
"Tim was very real," Faris said. "It's amazing to actually look him in the eye — at eye level." (They explained that the usual view is either looking down at him from the stands or looking up at this very tall guy.
It was great to see him show some vulnerability, Faris said, "when he didn't have his game face on." She also described him as "very modest and aware people don't expect him to be passionate or wild."
Both termed the accents of Ginobili and Parker "really cool," and Dayton predicted how striking it would sound if they're paired with players without accents. They toyed with the idea of having Tony do his in French, as the director of photography also was French, but ended up nixing that.
"Manu didn't make any mistakes," Faris recalled. He hungrily "attacked the script, wanted to do a good job."
As for Parker, they couldn't say enough about that incredible face of his. (People magazine didn't name him one of the "most beautiful" for nothing.) He also filled the room with a lot of energy, they said, and seemed to have great fun at the shoot.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
I can't wait to see these ads...although I don't know why nba.com is taking so long to put them up.