Leonard recites That is What I Heard You Say in new TV spot

[imaginary friend]

Hi Ken(adian) and Regular Cliche

(I am charmed to find you posting one after the other, with the same avatar, like alter egos...)

You may have already done this, but if not, it's worth viewing Goldin's link to the making of the commercial by Spy Films; the work is really a piece of artistry and technological excellence. No cheating with synthesizers – a real orchestra made the music. 3D animation masterfully combined with real-life people and effects. The stated intent of the film (which must have cost a fortune to make) is to communicate 'the irresistible urge to get closer to the things we love'. Leonard's voice and poetry elevate the film.

It's a treat to see a corporate giant in the entertainment industry choose to put out an ad that is artistic, for a change. And to see creative people who bring excellence to everything they do – even to a TV commercial

[brightnow]

This gives me hope that maybe finally someone at Sony is starting to realize the Leonard Cohen is a truly great artist, perhaps the greatest they have signed right now. After all these years of Leonard being a Columbia/Sony artist, it's about time.

[kalinowt]

Although I agree with you in large measure... I don't know why, but I kind of liked it anyway. Guess I'll just go with it.

I guess if there's one thing that being a Buddhist monk taught Leonard, it's the importance of shilling for Sony. Am I the only one not impressed by this? That was a very personal bit of prose and now it is commercialized forever.

Like a fellow Canadian said...

Ain't singin' for Pepsi
Ain't singin' for Coke
I don't sing for nobody
Makes me look like a joke
This note's for you.

Cheers,
Ken(adian)

P.S. You're still the best Leonard!

[mutti]

Imagine a world where you never again have to explain who Leonard Cohen is.

Thanks Marie, Goldin and Jarkko for posting this.
I am so enjoying this...
Leslie

[tomsakic]

http://www.nilesheckman.com/work_experi ... -2011.html

SONY "TWO WORLDS" - Spy Films & Grey London (2011)



Worked with Director Arev Manoukian and Spy Films in Toronto on this stunning spot for Sony's 3D Television. A commercial I would work on from previs to compositing for over 4 months. A longer schedule than some film jobs I've worked.

Arev had previously made a gorgeous short film entitled Nuit Blanche and was hired to re-constitute his basic story premise and execution from that beautifully done 5 minute long short into a minute long, even more beautifully done commercial with visuals created by Digital Domain. A significant portion of Nuit Blanche was shot at 2000 frames per second on Phantom cameras and the v2.0 would be shot at a lesser speed due to it’s shorter length but now done in stereo 3D.

High speed photography has so much visual richness and can be an extremely powerful tool to help tell stories in a way never able to be seen by the naked eye. I recall viewing dailies one day one the set of a previous film and some of the high speed footage we shot from the day prior was so beautiful we just couldn't stop watching it on loop. Combine that high speed cinematography with 3D sterography and you're really taking it to the next level. 3D looks its best in shots when you have any sort of debris, particulates, or any sort of volume in the frame (snow, leaves, embers, confetti, etc...) so an urban city landscape with debris being ripped up and surrounding the characters create a best possible scenario for stunning three dimensional imagery. The combination of live action and CG elements requires significant amounts of stereo tweaks making it far from easy to do.

Just as with Nuit Blance, this piece would have live action characters with most of the environment and destruction being done CG. Previsulization on this spot was complicated not for editorial purposes because we stayed true to the animatic and didn't constantly change shots, but more in the since that each shot was extremely dence with very heavy art direction. We ended finding around 500fps to the sweet spot to shoot at which can make animation/simulation can be very tricky. The end result however, is quite breathtaking.

and http://www.liveforfilms.com/2011/10/13/ ... echnology/

[surrender]

I cannot enjoy it.
It's just a commercial for Sony's 3D Television (and its technological excellence makes it for me even more irritating).
The use of Leonard voice and his lyrics for commercial purposes makes me sad.
And the statement that the verse is specially written for this occasion....aah

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

[Kenadian]

(I am charmed to find you posting one after the other, with the same avatar, like alter egos...)
It's a treat to see a corporate giant in the entertainment industry choose to put out an ad that is artistic, for a change. And to see creative people who bring excellence to everything they do – even to a TV commercial

Or is it altered avatars?

I have seen some amazing graffiti ‘art’ but that doesn't change the fact that it is still a vandal painting a wall.

Very cool that it was an Canadian company

Cheers
Ken(adian)

[Evie B]

I dunno fellas, we have to be careful not to "pose all hot and high" here. Leonard himself issues his recordings commercially, i.e. to earn money, as well as displaying them as his art, after all he has to eat. He has always been generous with people who wanted to use his music/poetry. He and Sony go back a long way and he has stuck with them and they with him - except for their blanking his Various Positions for which he paid them back with his gentle chiding over time I would be surprised if he didn't like this work but we will probably never know if that is the case because he keeps his opinions to himself, particularly negative ones.
Sony have a lot of artists on their books but they chose Leonard, which I regard as their acknowledgement of his genius, to set the mood in what is a really rather fine work of art. In my opinion they certainly haven't degraded his art in any way: it is hardly a Coke or Pepsi ad, or the X Factor, guys, come on!

Has it been shown on UK tv yet, has anyone seen it?

Here is a link clip to the original work on which this film was based

http://spyfilms.com/#/arev_manoukian/ca ... it_blanche

Again, rather wonderful I think, I love this romantic stuff so I confess I am biased.

Evie B

[RegularCliche]

.

[MarieM]

I think that many of these pretenses about "commercials" have nothing to do with reality.

Leonard recites a poem. Leonard records that recitation. Sony puts that recitation on a record and sells it to me for X amount of money. Sony gets rich. This is good.

Leonard recites a poem. Leonard records that recitation. Sony puts that recitation in a commercial and gives it to me for FREE. Sony gets rich. This is offensive.

The distinction makes no sense. Making a record is and always was a commercial enterprise. There were Sony commercials selling Live In London. There were AEG commercials advertising Leonard's concerts. No one objected then. The only distinction is that on a personal level you want to buy the album, attend the concert, and you are willing to pay the money. You don't want Sony's 3-D TV. Fine, but others might and in a free society, they are entitled to learn about it and buy it. Further, who are we to dictate how Leonard earns his money, to suggest that his work can only appear in a commercial for a charity. Do I tell you that you can only earn your money working in a not for profit enterprise? Finally, a world-wide, free-to-all beautiful and artistic rendering of Leonard's work is the biggest self-promotion campaign ever. How many people will be hearing Leonard's poetry for the first time and become fans for life?

As I understand it Leonard participated in this project because he appreciated the artistry of director Arev Manoukian and his team. By participating he and Arev could insure that art was the priority. It is a one minute commercial with 4 seconds of branding limited to the end of the piece. And we get it for FREE. Really, what is there to complain about?

[LisaLCFan]

I think this short film is a beautiful work of art, and Leonard's voice and words certainly contribute a lot of the beauty to it.

I wonder how many people who see this commercial will remember it for the fact that it is an ad for a TV, or for the fact that it features a remarkable deep voice, incredibly romantic poetry, and stunning imagery?

[sturgess66]

MarieM - Amen!

I love the commercial.

From a site called AdGoodness -

Sony: Two Worlds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVoljbNCAro

Sony challenged advertising agency, GREY London, to show off the power of their range of 3D goodies – something spectacular that could compete with the best from Hollywood. Not too much pressure then?

Most 3D work we see is high octane – cars flying out of TV screens, explosions and dizzying action sequences– definitely nothing that pulls on the old heart strings. But, GREY reasoned, if 3D can project a story out into your world – can’t it also pull you in? Can 3D make you feel something deeper than 2D ever could? What would a classic love story be like, told in 3D? What they needed was something really heart-warming – something like the soulful beauty of a Leonard Cohen poem, married with the powerful, visual romance of Arev Manoukian’s short film, “Nuit Blanche”. Simple (!)

GREY London approached Arev with a view to taking the power and beauty of Nuit Blanche to a new level, creating a world first in 3D advertising with Sony. Arev’s ambitions matched GREY’s own – just making an ad wasn’t enough. They wanted to create something larger that would really land in popular culture as a piece of entertainment.
Leonard Cohen loved Arev’s work, the level of originality and beauty in the project drew him in. He adapted his original poem ‘That’s What I Heard You Say’ and read it over the stunning score from Oscar winning composer Clint Mansell (Black Swan). The triumvirate was complete, the first foray into advertising for them all; and so emerged Sony‘s 3D short film, Two Worlds.

The piece uses the power of romance and outstanding 3D cinematography to evoke a profound emotional reaction from viewers. “Sony Two Worlds is about the irresistible urge to get closer to the things that you love, to get nearer to make them more real,” says Nils Leonard, Executive Creative Officer at GREY London.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8ONkg9ezYk

Agency: GREY, London, UK
Executive Creative Director: Nils Leonard
Creative Director: Dave Monk and Matt Waller
Agency Producer: Jacqueline Dobrin
Production Company: Spy Films
Producer: Marcus Trulli
Director: Arev Manoukian
Editing Company: Digital Domain
Post Production: Digital Domain

About AdGoodness -
http://www.frederiksamuel.com/blog/about

About this Site

Advertising/Design Goodness started in May 2005 with the mission to showcase only the best advertising and design around the globe. But sometimes you have to show the very worst as well in order to know what great ads and designs are. This site is there to start a conversation, to inspire, to enjoy great work, or to just talk about what your views are.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I try not to delete posts unless they are spam or have nothing to do with what you are seeing.

We have a total of 8 contributors, and 7110 registered members.

[MarieM]

Oh, an absolutely great find, Linda. Thanks so much for posting.

Leonard Cohen loved Arev’s work, the level of originality and beauty in the project drew him in. He adapted his original poem ‘That’s What I Heard You Say’ and read it over the stunning score from Oscar winning composer Clint Mansell (Black Swan). The triumvirate was complete, the first foray into advertising for them all; and so emerged Sony‘s 3D short film, Two Worlds.

[sturgess66]

The commercial is also featured on a site called "Great-Ads" (Featuring the Best in Creative Advertising from Around the World.)
http://great-ads.blogspot.com/2011/10/s ... ctors.html

Sony Two Worlds Ad/Cinema Spot | Director's Cut & 3D Version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfMEH1sL8cQ
Sony - Two Worlds ad, Director's Cut.

Great new ad/cinema spot for Sony features an original poem, "That's What I Heard You Say", written and read by Leonard Cohen. The spot was directed by Arev Manoukian at Spy Films (lovin the work these guys do at Spy)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... h0ZrMB1TI4
Sony - Two Worlds ad, 3D Version.

Credits:
Director: Arev Manoukian
Cinematographer: Bojan Bazelli
Music: Clint Mansell (Black Swan, Requiem For A Dream)
Post Production: Digital Domain (LA)
Executive Producer: Carlo Trulli & Marcus Trulli
Producer: Marcus Trulli & Peter Oad
Stereographer: William Reeve
Editing Company: Will Cyr @ Creative Post
Sound Design/Arrangement: Lime Studios (LA) Grand Central (London)
Ad Agency: Grey London
Executive Creative Director: Nils Leonard
Creative Director: Dave Monk and Matt Waller
Agency Producer: Jacqueline Dobrin
Business Director: Anneliese St-Amour
Account Manager: Suzi Napier

Check out the making of the Sony Two Worlds spot below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... u0poE1gnn4

[Cheshire gal]

I think I have to totally agree with LisaLCfan on this. It is very tastefully done and it will introduce Leonard Cohen to a much wider audience. There are so many who are unaware of him, as hard as that is to imagine. If I was listening to to this for the first time I would have to find out who he is and explore a little more. His voice is wonderful. His words so romantic. I think it is a little work of art myself.