A young man arrives at the doctor with an unusual malfunction in his hand, which is diagnosed as a severe case of Boredom Twitch Syndrome, a result of too much channel surfing, for which the doctor prescribes Star Choice Digital Satellite Television.

Cut to the outside of a house where a Star Choice dish is being installed, then indoors to the living room which has been transformed by the tv set into an interactive environment where our enthusiastic sports fan is pelted with a football, windblown and covered in popcorn by the gust of wind from a speeding race car, and smacked in the head with a hockey puck.

In a second spot, a movie fanatic who also suffers from bts settles in his chair to become part of the television experience only to be grabbed at by animatronic alien arms reaching out from the screen, showered with confetti, dinged by a wedding bouquet and blown about by a twister.

The high-energy spots through Simpson Gilbert Chambers, Sackville, n.b., budgeted at around $200,000, were shot by Sparks director Peter Riddihough and dop Glen Keenan on three sets over two 14-hour days in a south Toronto studio.

All the in-your-face effects for the English/French spots were done in camera, which Riddihough says not only made it feasible to have the ads ready in time for their debut on the Grey Cup telecast, but allowed for a spontaneity that can’t be achieved digitally in post.

There is no substitute for the look on an actor’s face when a high-speed pigskin is hurtling his way, he says.

‘Just a few simple key things help create the idea,’ says Riddihough. ‘I don’t think you ever need a million different rigging things and sound effects; just a rumble noise, a picture swinging in the background, a shake of the camera and you have an earthquake or a giant monster at your door.’

The aim of the creative was to convey the idea of having an intense, transforming television experience, which according to creative director Mark Gardiner presented a challenge.

As a new product category, Gardiner says it was necessary to explain what Star Choice is, and underline the choice and quality of picture and sound provided by the service, a complex message to get across in 30 seconds.

Riddihough, whose first gig with Sparks back in April was a spot for the Hockey Hall of Fame featuring a guy being knocked around by a battering ram, says he doesn’t want to be pegged ‘the rigging and throwing things director.’

As a relative newcomer to the biz, Riddihough says he hasn’t yet developed a particular style and approaches each project according to what is appropriate in terms of aesthetics, art direction, lighting and camera direction. For Star Choice, he incorporated a lot of Dutch angles combined with fairly static camera moves and quick cuts.

In terms of art direction, Riddihough went for a comic book feel, making use of extremely bright colors, about three shades deeper than anyone would opt to paint their walls, to create a surreal look which he describes as ‘Edward Scissorhands suburbia.’

Andy Crosbie was executive producer on the spot and Kelvin Fosberry produced. Archie Van Dyke and Peter McAuley edited at The Daily Post (two editors were needed to get the spots out in time). Daily Post’s Craig Small handled digital compositing and sound designer Scott Murdoch looked after the audio at Crunch.