STATE FARM AD PREMIERES DURING NBA OPENER
January 7, 2012
What do LeBron James & BAKED FX have in common? While we may not be able to hold our own on the court, we do have VFX skills that were able to help LeBron deliver his message in the latest State Farm commercial “Wake Up”. Created by “26 Seconds”, a campaign launched by State Farm and the U.S. Department of Education, the hope of the commercial is to inspire kids to stay in high school and raise graduation rates across the country.
In “Wake Up” a high school kid quickly realizes the impact a “snooze button” can have on the rest of his life. While a few extra hours of sleep may seem more enticing than school, hitting the “snooze button” quickly sucks him into a quickly paced nightmare of what his future may turn into without a high school diploma. KIDS STAY IN SCHOOL TO BE COOL!
Every shot in the :30 spot was touched in one way or another with a bulk of the work being the bedroom composites. All the beds and backgrounds were shot as separate greenscreen elements to allow both the actor “drop” and “pull through” mechanisms to operate with adequate space around them. Kudos to the art department for rigging such a successful gag and many thanks to Radical Media, director Dave Meyers and the whole team at Translation for our involvement in this uniquely creative and inspiring campaign.
“Wake Up” premiered Christmas Day during the NBA Season Opener. Click the link below to go behind the scenes ; )
http://youtu.be/PHcunkxd6XA
A VERY GAGA THANKSGIVING PREMIERES ON ABC
December 7, 2011
Thanksgiving brought more than one tradition to the BAKED FX office this year. Beyond the holiday’s tradition of pilgrims & pumpkin pies, Lady Gaga returned to continue her tradition of working with our team. What Gaga gig was it this time? Her record breaking ABC special “A Very Gaga Thanksgiving”. With approximately 300 shots and eight days to deliver, thirteen artists joined forces to cover all effects needed. Although our ping-pong table was spooky silent all sacrifice proved worthy in the end. The special drew in over 5.5 million viewers and featured the likes of legend Tony Bennett & Katie Couric. Lady Gaga’s latest music video “Marry The Night” was also premiered within this special… not to brag or anything but we wrapped that one of a kind 14minute music video one week later. BOOM. Lady Gaga. BOOM.
Seven Days In Utopia – In Theaters Now!
September 8, 2011
After two months of shooting in a small Texas town and nearly 8 months of post-production and VFX, we’re proud to announce that “Seven Days in Utopia” is now in theaters! The movie stars Robert Duvall, Lucas Black and Melissa Leo, and follows the story of a talented young golfer who through a course of events finds himself stranded in the small town of Utopia being mentored after a complete personal meltdown. We’re tremendously proud of our involvement completing 300+ shots including a 100% CG Rodeo Bull sequence. Big thanks to the BAKED FX team for all their amazing hard work! CHECK “sevendaysinutopia.com” to find the closest theater.
LADY GAGA WINS 2 VMA’S FOR “BORN THIS WAY”
August 29, 2011
Congrats to Lady Gaga for winning 2 huge VMA’s! “Born This Way” won for both “BEST FEMALE VIDEO” and “BEST VIDEO WITH A MESSAGE” and has BAKED FX feeling more proud than ever to have been a part. Read more about it HERE.
These wins for the video are especially gratifying given how hard everyone worked to get it completed. The project required flying part of the BAKED FX team to NYC for nearly 3 weeks and renting all our equipment locally. Artists worked on average 16-18 hours a day out of their hotel rooms and sometimes even with Gaga at their side. BIG shout out to David Moquay, Loic Maes, Kyle Belko, Ryan Egan, Stefan Moore, Drew Arnold and Lee Grambush for their tireless efforts and unrelenting commitment to see it through.
Despite the pain and exhaustion it was a fascinating experience that brings with it a lifetime of great memories.
LADY GAGA – “YOU AND I” PREMIERES!
August 25, 2011
Continuing the tradition BAKED FX completes Lady Gaga’s video for “You And I.” Shot for days on location in Nebraska this is our favorite so far and is a great degression from her typically more “pop” influenced videos. As is typical with Music Videos these days, we had a whooping 72 hours to complete all the finishing work. Final shot count topped out at nearly 80 though what we did will have to remain a secret. 
