Countdown to Our New Blog!

In a world where anything is digitally possible

there will be the dawning of a sensational new online project.

From Canada’s Finest Motion and Stills Production Company

comes a true story of hard work, determination…

and everything Sugino.

Directed by Dré Dee
Created by Spencer Crone
Executive Producer Andy McLeod
Stills Producer Taeko Yamanouchi
Assistant Producers Dan Arki & Sarah Gheriani
Social Media Coordinator Dorothy Leung

Sugino Studio brings you

A NEW BLOG

Coming to a computer screen near you.

30.01.12

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Retro Thursday: Kodak Lives On

In this edition of Retro Thursday we look back at a client that has been in the news plenty recently. For Rob Quartly, Kodak was a great client to work with, especially on this project. The concept was funny and brilliant.

Kodak may be filing for Chapter 11, but Rob’s work is still earning its keep, thank you very much.

“Ah, the wonderful world of parody. Given all the crazy things we do in this business, it is great to make a little fun of ourselves every once in a while.
Using the camera as the point of view of an actor gave me permission to have the actors play right down the barrel — major eye contact equals more impact. I remember being nervous about using a continuous jump cut as a style; it really wasn’t around at that time. But it turned out to be a great way of creating a “best of” kind of cut. A perfect tool for precis film making, which is, of course, what commercials are all about.

This went on to win a Gold Pencil.” - Rob Quartly

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He Shoots, He Scores!

NHL All Star Weekend is here! To help you get in the spirit, Todd McLellan in collaboration with Cundari, brings you two Subway spots sponsored by the Ottawa Senators.

Eat Fresh.

Here’s the inside scoop, er, squirt: the mustard scene took over 10 takes and the talent ate the mustard every time! Talk about dedication.

The shoot took place overnight in a Subway restaurant at Weston Road & Finch Ave. in Toronto. Fuelled by Sugino’s other motto, “Convergence is King” (and low-fat turkey subs, we suspect), Todd shot not only the two motion spots for the campaign, but the striking stills as well!

CUNDARI
VP Operations Creative Services – Georgette Lordanous
Account Director – Melissa Gallagher
Broadcast Producer – Cherie O’Connor
Creative Director – Raul Garcia
Creative Director/Copywriter – Brian Murray

SUGINO STUDIO
Director/DOP- Todd McLellan
Executive Producer – Andy McLeod
Line Producer- Dan Arki

STEALING TIME
Editor – Paul Skinner

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Rétro Jeudi: Trou d’épingle Paris

Pinhole Paris, or as the French would say Trou d’épingle Paris, is a creative project that Todd McLellan shot on vacation with his wife, Barb, back in 2007. The images were shot with, you guessed it, a pinhole camera. It’s so refreshing to see a photographer go back to the basics of photography and experiment with “new” [old] methods.

Todd’s first Japanese Sharan Pinhole camera was from Shin. He was very amused by it and ended up ordering several more with film from a friend in Japan.

Taking only this camera with them on the trip helped them enjoy the scenery. Todd even went back to the Eiffel tower several times to get the perfect shot. We think he got it.

As you can see, the moving objects (people, clouds, etc.) in the images are very faint. This is because Todd exposed the film for .05 – .10 secs. And with no preview, it’s literally a one-shot deal. Check out this unique panorama.

To download any of these images and see more of this project check out Todd McLellan’s website.

Surprisingly, after rummaging through Todd’s cabinet, we found the camera! Not just THE camera but several unwrapped pinhole cameras from Japan.

It was a little lost in translation but Todd got Miho Matsuoka, our digital artist, to translate the instructions for him. He even learned the French word for Pinhole by asking a local. Check out the chicken scratch on the back of the camera:

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The Best of 2011

Happy New Year Everyone!

After a restful holiday, the studio is back up and running in full force. Last week alone we had a wild Telus shoot, a men-in-uniform shoot and beer shoot.

Although we have a full schedule and just rang in 2012 we took some time to reflect back on 2011. Thank you to all our clients and production partners for making it such a great year!

Enjoy!

Eden Robbins | Rob Quartly | Shin Sugino | Todd McLellan

Edited by Maciej Roszkowski

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Using Our Intuition

We were recently asked to shoot both motion and stills for Intuition- a new natural health product. Rob Quartly took the directing reins and Eden Robbins was DOP and stills photographer. See Rob’s comments below and some behind-the-scenes shots. Here’s the final spot.

Here are Rob’s comments on the shoot:

“This was a great project to be a part of. The core concept is simple – a reveal of the real/natural woman, her true self, underneath overdone fashion/make-up. We used a “best of the action” edit mashed up with diptych/triptych composition, slow motion, and real time footage. This allowed product and supers to integrate very well with the performance. It was a simple approach that serviced the objectives of the spot and allowed for a very energetic, dynamic delivery.”

“We shot with the Red Epic Camera. The Red Epic holds 5K resolution at 24 frames-per-second and 4K resolution at 120 fps. This is significant because it allowed us to shoot each shot composing for conventional framing (16:9 or 4:3) AND diptych/triptych framings without compromising resolution. We also incorporated super slow motion product footage captured with the Phantom camera – mesmerizing!”

“Creative Director Jill Atkinson! How sweet to work with talented people who are nice too – perfect combination.
Edited by the amazing Christina Humphries at Rooster.
Director of Photography and Stills Photographer the fabulous Eden Robbins.”

We captured some behind the scenes pictures of the model putting on her intensive wardrobe. Check them out:

Creative Director: Jill Atkinson
Producer: Marc Siversky

Sugino Studio
Director: Rob Quartly
Director of Photography: Eden Robbins
Stills Photographer: Eden Robbins
Producer: Andy McLeod

Rooster:
Editor: Christina Humphries
Producer: Melissa Khan

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Retro Thursday: Some Things Never Go Out of Fashion

About a month ago Eden Robbins ran into someone on the street wearing Sugino Studio’s 1987 promo jacket. The jackets cost $500 each to manufacture and were given as holiday gifts. There are only 100 lucky owners of the jacket out there.

This is Paul Rowan one of the co-owners and founders of Umbra. His wife, Marcy Ruby, received the jacket 20 years ago from Shin while working together on a project.

Fast forward to this month and Shin brings back the exact same jacket from Japan! His former assistant (now photographer) Yatto kept the jacket for all these years. Yatto was kind enough to give Shin the jacket for all of us to see again. If you spot Shin wearing it this winter, take a picture of him and tweet it to us @SuginoStudio.

Much has evolved since time this jacket was created, but our phone number has remained the same!

Thanks for keeping the jacket around guys. It brought back plenty of memories!

Do you own one? If so, Tweet a picture of you wearing it @SuginoStudio!

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The Holiday Spirit: Shin Sugino Shoots Smirnoff

Shin Sugino‘s latest Smirnoff shoot really got us in the mood for holiday festivities. Let’s get this party started!

Here are the many ways you can enjoy Smirnoff:

Happy Holidays from Smirnoff:

Please drink responsibly this holiday season!

Diageo
Marketing Director, Vodka, Rum and Gin: Rudy Aldana
Associate Brand Manager, Vodka and Gin: Ali Pierce

JWT
Account Director: Ali Dalfen
Broadcast Producers: Tara Handley (Mixes), Tamara Sulliman (Holiday)
Art Directors: Ron Kosan (Mixes), Doug Maugham (Holiday)
Copywriters: Mike De Candido (Mixes), Jed Churcher (Holiday)

Sugino Studio
Director/DOP: Shin Sugino
Exec. Producer: Andy McLeod

Topix
VFX Supervisor/Partner: Marco Polsinelli

School Editing
Editor: Jackie Roda (Mixes)

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Holiday Greetings!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

2011 has been a great year filled with plenty of hard work and even more fun memories. Whether on set wrangling birds or on location pouring a perfectly brewed drink, there are always memorable moments to be had at our Studio.

Our team has expanded this past year bringing many new faces. A few of these Suginoians reflect back on the past year:

“Getting to work every day with people who actually like what they’re doing, and having all the toys to do it with.” – Eden Robbins. Shadow Wrangler.

“Being locked with a ‘friendly’ Lion in a cage for a shoot was rather memorable. When the trainer advised that I stand after the lion got under my workstation, I realized the Lion was too friendly.” - Maciej Roszkowski, Senior Digital Artist

“I just started this year so I’d have to say everything this year has been the best! Working at the studio has opened my eyes to experiences I never imagined I’d experience!” - Sarah Gheriani, Assistant Producer for Stills

“Had a blast with all the projects i’ve been a part of in 2011. The best part is communicating via email in multiple languages, so much lost in translation. Look forward to many creative ventures in 2012.” - Todd McLellan, Light Capturer

“I only hope I need to drink as much coffee in 2012 as I had to drink in 2011. It was a great year.” - Andy McLeod, Executive Producer for Motion

“I only hope that there will be enough coffee in 2012 after Andy has had his share.” - Dan Arki, Assistant Producer for Motion

“Thank god for the endless supply of food at the studio.” - Dorothy Leung, Social Media Coordinator

Sugino Christmas 2010

We leave you with a final holiday song video for 2011, sung by the Sugino Choir.

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!

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Retro Thursday: A Levi’s State of Mind

When you think of a well known jean maker, what is the first company that comes to mind? Majority of you will most likely think of Levi’s. That’s because Levi Strauss & Co. has been around for 139 years!

Many Levi’s ads have turned heads because of their racy and provocative nature. One that caught the attention of both agencies and the public was the first Levi’s ad that Shin Sugino shot in the ’80s. Shin reflected back on the ad, which he at one time reproduced as a promo:

“The ad itself got plenty of attention so re-enacting it was fun. I sent out 8×10 transparencies of the mock ad as a promo. Eden Robbins [now one of the Sugino Studio artists] was my assistant at the time and we were shooting over at 46 McGee, my studio/home. Actually, as I recall, the TTC had to keep reprinting the ad because people kept stealing it. And there was even this one guy in Montreal who carved out a 10×20-ft billboard and took it home. I’ve even met a few people, now clients, who’ve told me that they, too, stole the picture back when they were teenagers.” - Shin

Re-enactment photo:

BBDO
Art Director: Peter Day
Creative Director: Allan Kazmer

Sugino Studio
Photographer: Shin Sugino
Assistant: Eden Robbins

Allan Kazmer, the CD of the shoot, wrote an article about Shin back in 1989 in Studio Magazine. It featured the reenactment image.

This ad wasn’t the last Levi’s ad for Shin. About 10 years later he shot the following ad for the company.

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