Tronic is On the Go for Comcast Wireless Service

Plug in Comcast's new "On the Go" faster wireless card and a panoply of digital services - apps, web pages, video chat, etc. - appear to float like a mobile above users' heads in introductory TV spots in which they stay connected to their digital lifestyles anywhere - on the bus, in the park, or on the train.

Directing and animation studio Tronic, known for its innovative CG projects, created several integrated live-action/CG spots introducing Comcast's "On the Go" faster wireless internet connectivity tool through HSI Productions for agency Berlin Cameron, NYC. Tronic Studio partners Jessi Seppi and Vivian Rosenthal co-directed the two-day live-action shoot as well as design and animation. Cinematographer Max Malkin shot the spots using the Sony CineAlta F35.

Visual Concepts
Tronic won the pitch with their concept, "jack in the box," one of six in a series of digital representations of various individuals' online worlds coming to life. "The idea is that anyone, anywhere, can now access the wealth of internet knowledge and business connectivity," said Tronic's Jessi Seppi. With Comcast 'On the Go' you can take your digital world with you anywhere on the bus or train, to the park."

Following the Digital Lifestyle
The spot follows the activities of a variety of wireless PC users as they continually move from the private sphere (home) to more communal public spaces (train station and park). It opens in a young man's apartment as he plugs in his Comcast On the Go mobile device and heads out into the world. Settling into a seat on a bus, he stays connected to his digital lifestyle as related imagery from his landscape and contracting projects float around him. "The idea was to represent the users' interests through a series of animated iconic images," added Seppi, who also was creative director.

When the bus passes a park scene we witness a series of "On the Go" user vignettes. These include a man on a bench immersed in several digital pursuits, from playing chess, to creating a play list to forwarding office documents. Moving into the park we find a young woman whose "serious shoe envy" is revealed in related web screens and blow-up imagery of her preferred style. Farther into the park, a sports fan is retrieving play-by-play updates while reviewing baseball stats; and a young woman is searching for the perfect flambe menu for the evening's dinner.



CG, a Special Lens
The creative challenge was taking the intangible, the invisible to the naked eye, and making it visible to the viewer. Fast moving animated images reflect the speed of Comcast's wireless card. The CGI imagery is like a special lens that allows the viewer to see what these people are doing online as they multitask at high speed anywhere from a bus to a park to a train. "Each mini-vignette shares this animated connective tissue, which reveals their personal digital worlds," said co-director Vivian Rosenthal.

The most technically challenging scenes were shot at the train station, where a man is seen preparing for a business meeting. As a train speeds by the viewer is transported inside where a woman is engaged in a videoconference, "meeting face to face, faster," while the cityscape zooms by. "In trying to capture some of the energy of the internet graphically, we show a lot of screens, as well as include icons, like camera lenses or a rolodex, that tie back to specific functional interests," added Tronic's EP Jeff Wolfe.

Producing the final scene, a move upwards through the roof of the train into a slow motion reveal of the cityscape with animated digital hot spots of activity, required the Tronic production team to ride the train from New Jersey into New York City a number of times. "This was the most ambitious scene, with the train coming into the city with a full skyline and a horizon dotted with clusters of digital imagery to mark active Comcast sites," said Seppi.

"The final scene required a great deal of replacement animation and comping of the skyline, buildings and the animations. The most complex shot was the camera tracking through the ceiling of the train car out to a full view of the city. That required a great deal of CG work including replacing much of the train, as well as environmental and landscape animations."

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