*Much Awards

That always entertaining movable marvel the MuchMusic Video Awards arrives Sept. 18. The best video nominees include The Tragically Hip’s Gift Shop, directed by Partners’ Eric Yealland; King Cobb Steelie’s Rational, also directed by Yealland; Our Lady Peace’s Superman’s Dead, directed by Spy Films’ George Vale; Temptation from The Tea Party, directed by Tyran George out of Revolver Films, and Tangerine for Moist, directed by Stephen Scott out of Blackwalk Productions. (Scott has just joined rave Films.)

Scott, George and Yealland (for Gift Shop) were also nominated for best director as were Spy’s Javier and TOPIX Animation and Computer Graphics’ Flame artist and director James Cooper for Synaptic Response from Legions of Green Men, produced out of Blackwalk.

In addition to instating a ‘genderless’ award policy, this year Much will also hand out the Directorial Achievement Award, the Eye Popper Award (surely a crowd pleaser), the New Technology Award, the Hall of Fame Award and the Videofact Award. A boffo band lineup is set for the evening including Bush and Blur (two words many will associate with the event the next day).

*Cuppa scores Coke

Cuppa Coffee recently brought its particular brand of eclectic animation to a national u.s. Coke spot out of McCann Erickson, Atlanta. The ‘Fall Mindset’ spot is a visually innovative riot of colors and textures that combines live action, stop motion and digitally derived elements.

The client hankered to create a spot using lesser known, edgier illustration styles, says Cuppa head Adam Shaheen, and sourced Cuppa based on its reel and collection of multidisciplined talent. McCann brought the animation company together with New York illustrator Rich Borge, who creates 2D and 3D and constructional images using wood, paper, fabric and the like.

The creative intent was a painterly spot which fully mixed organic and digital images. Cuppa created panels of the Coke logo, adding textures with paper, string and wire, and did a camera pan over the panels. Live action was added and organic stop-motion elements were shot and repositioned in the spot in Cuppa’s After Effects suite.

With the look of the spot heavily contingent on post layering and compositing in After Effects, Shaheen says creating the spot was an ongoing process of playing with layers and back-and-forth reviews with the client.

A Henry session at Command Post to completed the spot.

‘Fall Mindset’ will air in the u.s. early this month and client feedback was such that Cuppa has been called in to undertake the Christmas-themed creative.

Cuppa’s Justin Stephenson directed the spot, Shaheen produced and Rob Pilichowski designed along with Borge.

Cuppa will soon expand its offices to a 10,000-square-foot space in its current location. Shaheen says the company is moving toward increased involvement in jobs, generating creative on projects like broadcast design from the ground up. Shaheen, in a return to his roots, will undertake a more creative role in the company.

*Go girl

Members of the industry have pooled their resources, donating their time and talent once again to help Concerned Children’s Advertisers relay a meaningful message to young girls about self-esteem.

Hitting the air Sept. 3 from coast to coast on Westcom, bbs, CanWest and ytv, the 30-second, no-budget spot ‘We Are Girls’ was made possible by Vickers & Benson, Radke Films and Partners’.

Since everything from the creative through to the talent is done on a volunteer basis, cca vp Cathy Loblaw says once a company gives them their best and brightest, the organization doesn’t ask them for at least five years so as not to overburden any one company.

This year’s spot was shot for two days in March by dop Miroslaw Baszak and director Mark Mainguy on location at a Toronto school and features around 30 fresh-faced young girls with no acting experience.

‘I didn’t want anyone who would put any kind of inflection of training in the words,’ says Mainguy. ‘I wanted interesting faces, no cliches. I wanted the kids with big floppy ears who looked like average little girls.’

In shooting the spot, Mainguy took what he refers to as a rather unaffected and direct approach, mixing subtle dolly moves with knockoffs and simple color treatments, ‘finding ways to make it feel immediate and direct without being technically in your face.’

And as ‘We Are Girls’ appears on tv screens nationwide, the cca and Palmer Jarvis are already gearing up for the 1998 spot in the self-esteem series.

*People

After being repped in the past by Partners’, Radke and most recently Heathgate, director/cameraman Bob Perks has reunited with former producer Debby Fox and is now part of the Magic roster.

The Players Film Company has added Derek Sewell to its roster, who will move from line to executive producing.