A Conversation with Bombastic Inc.
You've probably seen work by Bombastic Inc. on VH-1 and MTV, Discovery Channel, Sony, Comedy Central, CBS Sports, Showtime, The Super Bowl and more. Bombastic is doing the work YOU wish you were doing. Their work is innovative and dramatic, with a distinct flavor that oozes coolness.
Bombastic is a branding and design firm in New York City that specializes in tv show packages, network branding, live sports events and creative solutions for pretty much any form of media. It was started by industry veterans Robin Horlick, Executive Producer and Jamie Slomski, Creative Director, who are partners in the company. We chat about two marvelous projects that they recently spearheaded for VH-1.
iChat transcripts
Michele: Hi Jamie and Robin.
Robin: Jamie is on his way.
Pause... some chatter about the weather...
Jamie: Yep - i just got back from sunny South Africa from 2 week vacation so it's a bit of a shock.
Jamie: Drove up the Garden Coast from Cape Town, went on safari and took in some time at the vineyards - amazing country.
Michele: I'd love to visit Africa.
Robin: Me too!
Jamie: HIGHLY recommend, South Africa...
Michele: So, you recently completed the open for Ice TV, The Cult S#*T. What is the premise for this show?
Jamie: Ice-T takes you through the underground world of pop culture from the 70's through today that isn't not usually covered in mainstream shows.
Michele: How did you get involved with the project?
Robin: We have worked with MTV/Logo and VH-1 in the past.
Robin: We just completed the open and graphic package for Hollywood Snappers. They commissioned us to do Ice TV and also Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Robin: Ice TV premiers this Saturday, April 8.
Michele: Can you talk a bit about the process of creating the open?
Jamie: Well... we initially shot textural backgrounds on a digital camera all around New York. We then sliced them up in Photoshop according to their layout. For example, wooden boards from the fence were cut out and then used as a transitional devise in AE to reveal that particular background. We then moved onto creating the clock and swing shots in Maya. The eyeball was shot on mini DV using my eye after a few sleepless nights, just to get in character.
Jamie: Once we had the animations of the clock, swings, Ice-T and Coco (swimsuit model wife of Ice-T), we placed them over the background bed and applied the old film filter to blend everything together as well as give the spot a 8mm film effect.
Michele: Did you use a plug-in like Magic Bullet or Cinelook for the 8mm film effect?
Jamie: No, we used Tinderbox "Old Film". We modified the settings a bit to get the exact effect we were looking for. We had originally created our own effect but found that Tinderbox did practically the same thing and we were able to adjust and modify the flicker with the "Old Film" plug-in with much more ease and speed.
Michele: I love all of the textures. Was that all really planned or was it more "Oh, let's see how this will look" while you were compositing?
Jamie: The overall feel of the spot is true to the original story boards but it took on a life of its own once we had selected the images from the shoot. Because we based the transitions on the compositional layouts of each photo, we were very pleased with the range and variation that were achieved through this somewhat random approach.
Michele: The textures give it such an organic look. What will appear over the textures? They look like they're a bed for graphics or text that will be updated for each episode?
Jamie: Exactly... we were asked to create a customizable bed that the producer will be able to drop in clips of the upcoming show. We also supplied a toolkit of scratches and flickers for the editor to use in order to seamlessly blend the clips into the open.
Michele: The opening shot is of a flipping clock is really cool. At first I thought you may have shot an old clock, but I'm guessing it may have been done in 3D?
Jamie: We actually started with a real clock but moved into 3D to get the exact timing and look that we were going for. We built the clock and mapped on the numbers in Maya but did all of the compositing and color correction in AE.
Michele: Did you learn any good tricks while working on the project? Our readers are always looking for tips and tricks.
Jamie: Well... we don't usually give those away but if you really must know... By layering the film effects and color correction on once the entire spot was compete, we were able to create a cohesive open while using disparate elements such as photos, mini DV, 3D and illustrator. This process saved us a good amount of time in modeling and texturing of the 3D elements. Usually we would spend a great amount of time in constructing photo realistic elements in Maya but in this case, the process we used gave us the look we were trying to achieve in the post phase in After Effects, saving us the time and effort in Maya.
Michele: There are three of you on the team, right? How do you divide up the work to make the workflow efficient?
Robin: Jamie is the overall Creative Director, working very closely with Chris (Uhrich) who is a designer and our visual effects artist (Maya and After Effects.)
Robin: We had our intern spend some time shooting and we hired freelance help to build all the backgrounds.
Robin: Depending on the scope and deadline of the project... we determine what help we need.
Michele: Was this a tight deadline? How long did the project take to complete?
Robin: About 1 and 1/2 weeks.
Jamie: VH-1 is a great client to work for, they are very interactive and creative.
Robin: They love Jamie and give him a lot of freedom.
Jamie: In addition to the open, we created bumps, transitions, backgrounds and lower thirds.
Jamie: They really do allow a lot of creative freedom in both the design and animation - it's a real pleasure.
Michele: Can I ask you about the other project you recently did for VH-1.
Robin: Of course.
Jamie: Sure.
Michele: It's very cool. Is that an open for a new program as well?
Robin: It was for a one time only special for the Rock & Roll hall of fame 2006 Inductees.
Robin: The ceremony was held at the Waldorf-Astoria and the edited show aired Tuesday, March 21.
Michele: I love how you worked the different styles in for each artist, but yet it flows absolutely seamlessly.
Robin: We had created a totally graphic open and then the Sex Pistols pulled out and Black Sabbath said that we could only use synced video in the open.
Jamie: We originally were going to create an open based on the most famous album art of each of the bands but due to certain legal issues, mainly the Black Sabbath video requirement, the open evolved into a more environmental, genre related open. We used album covers as our inspiration to create environments that would lend themselves to blending from one to the next. The NYC skyline of Blondie became the lights of a night club for Miles (Davis), etc. We were very pleased with the evolution of this open.
Michele: It's beautiful.
Robin: I agree.
Michele: Besides issues with copyright and bands pulling out, did you have any other challenges in working on this project?
Jamie: On the production side, the blending of the band environments was complex due to the integration of 3D, AE and rotoed video from different sources and qualities. We built the environments separately and then found the most obvious characteristics in common in order to marry the two. Fortunately, the order of the bands was up to our discretion.
Michele: Did you use Maya on this project, too? Is that your main 3D tool?
Jamie: Maya is our main 3D application. We used it to generate the trees for Black Sabbath and Lynyrd Skynyrd as well as the bar stool and trumpet for Miles.
Robin: The floor on the Miles Davis section was created in Maya also.
Michele: I love the lighting and mood and how it changes through each group.
Robin: Thank you.
Michele: Have you worked together for long?
Robin: Jamie was my client from 1996 to 2004.
Robin: Then i joined Broadway video (where he was working as a creative director) and we left together to form Bombastic.
Robin: I worked at the networks NBC/ABC and then moved into sales in 1994.
Robin: Jamie was at Showtime networks at the time.
Robin: I was the executive producer at Sony Music Studios.
Michele: I don't want to keep you too late. Thank you so much for chatting with me today.
Jamie: No problem - thanks a lot!
Michele: It was fun.
Robin: Us too!
Robin: Thanks... have a great night!