What do LeBron James & BAKED FX have in common? While we may not be able to hold our own on the court, we do have VFX skills that were able to help LeBron deliver his message in the latest State Farm commercial “Wake Up”. Created by “26 Seconds”, a campaign launched by State Farm and the U.S. Department of Education, the hope of the commercial is to inspire kids to stay in high school and raise graduation rates across the country.
 
In “Wake Up” a high school kid quickly realizes the impact a “snooze button” can have on the rest of his life. While a few extra hours of sleep may seem more enticing than school, hitting the “snooze button” quickly sucks him into a quickly paced nightmare of what his future may turn into without a high school diploma. KIDS STAY IN SCHOOL TO BE COOL!
 
Every shot in the :30 spot was touched in one way or another with a bulk of the work being the bedroom composites. All the beds and backgrounds were shot as separate greenscreen elements to allow both the actor “drop” and “pull through” mechanisms to operate with adequate space around them. Kudos to the art department for rigging such a successful gag and many thanks to Radical Media, director Dave Meyers and the whole team at Translation for our involvement in this uniquely creative and inspiring campaign.
 
“Wake Up” premiered Christmas Day during the NBA Season Opener. Click the link below to go behind the scenes ; )
 
http://youtu.be/PHcunkxd6XA