Fort Worth—Commercial film and production company Circle R Media (www.circlermedia.com) recently completed a 30-second spot for the TV program “StreetSentz” that focuses on Internet safety. The spot, directed by CRM’s Steve Dunning, was distributed to broadcasters nationwide by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in partnership with television’s Project Greenlight and RadioShack.
Dunning worked from a script by Rachel Friesel, whose storyboard, “The Jungle,” served as the basis of the spot. In December, Friesel won a nationwide Project Greenlight competition that focused on educating children and communities about how to avoid abduction, exploitation and violence. Friesel worked alongside Project Greenlight’s producer and co-creator, Chris Moore, to bring her script to life. Other judges included Project Greenlight actors and co-creators Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
The spot opens with a young boy innocently typing on his keyboard. Suddenly, an incredible array of huge, threatening jungle-like vines snake from the desktop’s portals. The narrative begins with “The Internet can be a jungle with uncertain dangers.” At this point, the boy’s room is seething with twisted vines that threaten to engulf him entirely. The spot ends with: “Always ask a parent or guardian before giving out personal information.”
To produce the spot, Dunning and Circle R animators used Boujou motion-tracking software to create a virtual 3-D environment. Maya 3-D animation software was employed to paint effects such as tree vines and a Venus flytrap. The spot was shot on CRM’s largest sound stage.
