ATLANTA THRASHERS OPEN

    We created this piece for Turner South to air as an open for its Atlanta Thrashers hockey games. The many challenges of this project included creating visual effects on a limited budget and excitement for this new organization when the team had yet to be fully formed. Our approach was to capture the thrill of hockey itself and gain interest in the sport since any stars we might feature had not yet had an opportunity to emerge.
    Shot on both Super 16 and 35 mm film, the open also employs the "snake-cam," made famous by the movie The Matrix, which uses an array of 60 35mm SLR still cameras set up in a semicircle around the players and triggered at the exact same moment to freeze the action. The piece also features an ice sculpture of a Thrasher opponent who freezes in fear at the sight of the Thrashers and then shatters into thousands of pieces as a Thrasher player skates right through him.
The open, which because of its time and financial constraints relies on the strength of its concept and execution rather than big budget effects and brand name stars, is in its third year of airing before Thrasher games.