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Home » Juniper Jones Promotes Spike TV’s Martial Arts Bellator MMA with Fire

Juniper Jones Promotes Spike TV’s Martial Arts Bellator MMA with Fire

Bellator MMA, known as the toughest tournament in sports, returned to Spike TV this past weekend.  To promote the ninth season of the mixed martial arts competition, which is appearing exclusively on Spike for the second straight year, the network’s executives once again turned to the creative force Juniper Jones (http://juniperjones.tv), and its founder and creative director Kevin Robinson.

After working closely with Spike’s creative team of SVP creative director Terry Minogue and creative director David Phillips to promote Bellator’s eighth season last year, Robinson and his colleagues perfected an approach uniting original live-action footage with custom fire effects that together distilled the essence of the Bellator brand and experience.  The content from that :30 spot was used widely to promote Bellator on-the-air, online and on the Bellator app, on displays throughout stadiums during events, even on Jumbotrons outside of major sports arenas across America to promote upcoming events.  Knowing that this year’s spot would again be a key promotional asset, according to Robinson, this year Minogue, Phillips and Spike’s senior writer/producer Evan Harris wanted the spot to be larger and more grand.

“What we did last year was very successful,” Robinson confirmed.  “The fire elements and the fire bracket have now become main branding points for Bellator.  Whereas last year’s spot used fire in more ethereal form, this year we focused more on story, and using those effects to amplify the excitement that leads up to an actual Bellator match.”

Working with a small crew and Bellator Featherweight Champion Pat Curran for principal on-camera talent, Robinson spent two days shooting on-location at a Bellator event.  To heighten the project’s craftsmanship during production, the team chose to use three ARRI Alexa digital camera systems.  That footage was color-corrected in-house usingDaVinci Resolve, Curran’s movements were then tracked in 3D and the signature Bellator fire effects were then added to Curran’s fists and the environment using FumeFX.

“We’ve learned first-hand that getting fire effects right is rather difficult,” Robinson added.  “We take a lot of pride in the fact that we have honed this expertise that people respond so well to.  Combining it with flawless original cinematography really gives us a chance to create something spectacular.”

Key project credits for Juniper Jones also include executive producer Susie Shuttleworth and senior producer Ryan McRee.  Complete credits are available upon request. 

The new spot now stars on Bellator’s YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/BellatorMMA.

About Juniper Jones
Based in DUMBO on Brooklyn’s waterfront, Juniper Jones is the creative force dedicated to creating custom-tailored solutions. The firm’s rogue team of award-winning directors and designers believes beauty is always in motion, and that forging deep collaborative experiences with clients yields epic results. Leveraging the brand expertise of its clients, the force’s meticulous diligence reveals spot-on insights, which then benefit from legendary storytelling craftsmanship. At Juniper Jones, all things are real and beautiful and anything is possible… and our mission is to bring your stories to life. Ready to begin? 
http://juniperjones.tv.

About Dan Ochiva

New York City-based journalist and NYCPPNEWS founder Dan Ochiva writes and consults on film, video, and digital media technology.

Community & Partner Links

How Sony’s New Virtual Sound Technology Can Change How We Hear Films

Kami Asgar and Jessica Parks are post-production heavyweights who work with major studios, namely Sony. As a sound designer (Asgar) and as a post executive (Parks), their collective resume touches on everything from Apocalypto to Grandma’s Boy to Venom.

Parks has recently shifted her focus from supervisor to hands-on sound design, and we talk about how it’s never too late to pivot on your career path and find the thing you love doing wherever you are in life.

Click on this link to read the rest of the article on No Film School’s site.

NJ – Governor Murphy signs $14B Incentive Program Bill – the NJ Economic Recovery Act of 2020

 Film tax credits — amending existing programs to include provisions for so-called New Jersey film partners and New Jersey film-lease partners and allowing an additional $200 million of tax credits annually over 13 years.

Click this link if you want to read the full article on the Lexology site. http://bit.ly/35NtDx6

Film Commish announces date for production restart

In her December 18, 2020 news update, MOME Commissioner Anne del Castillo announced that the Film Office is now accepting permit applications for production activity that begins on July 27th.

She also announced awards now (Awkwafina) and more. To read all of the Film Commish’s bloggy sort of news column, click here.

Stimulus Offers $15 Billion in Relief for Struggling Arts Venues

The coronavirus relief package that Congressional leaders agreed to this week includes grant money that many small proprietors described as a last hope for survival.

For the music venue owners, theater producers and cultural institutions that have suffered through the pandemic with no business, the coronavirus relief package that Congress passed on Monday night offers the prospect of aid at last.

To read the full article on The New York Times’ site, click here.

If you want to start production, here’s the latest news from the Mayor’s Office

Phase 4 production guidance is available on the Film Permit website. All production activity, whether it requires a Film Permit or not, must comply with New York Forward Industry Guidance.

For more information see, please refer to the State Department of Health’s Interim Guidance for Media Production During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Please review the guidelines and FAQ before submitting permit applications. The Film Office is operating remotely, so please allow additional time for Film Permit processing.

The above paragraphs contain links to the various FAQ – just mouse over the relevant words.

Nikon to Stop Making Cameras in Japan

Nikon has fallen on hard times as of late as its camera sales have cratered, and now there’s a new indicator of how dire its financial situation is: the company is reportedly pulling the plug on making cameras in Japan after over 70 years of doing so.

To read the full article on Petapixel’s site, click here.

NVIDIA Uses AI to Slash Bandwidth on Video Calls

NVIDIA Research has invented a way to use AI to dramatically reduce video call bandwidth while simultaneously improving quality

What the researchers have achieved has remarkable results: by replacing the traditional h.264 video codec with a neural network, they have managed to reduce the required bandwidth for a video call by an order of magnitude. In one example, the required data rate fell from 97.28 KB/frame to a measly 0.1165 KB/frame – a reduction to 0.1% of required bandwidth.

To read the rest of this article on Petapixel, click this link.

 

 

 

Union Health Plan Dodges Film Workers’ Suit Over Virus Relief

Law360 (October 9, 2020, 5:22 PM EDT) — The Motion Picture Industry Health Plan’s board can’t be sued under ERISA for allegedly flouting its duties when it relaxed plan rules in response to COVID-19, a California federal judge has ruled, nixing a proposed class action filed by two cinematographers who still couldn’t qualify for benefits.

In an order entered Thursday, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner granted the board of directors’ motion to dismiss Greg Endries and Dee Nichols’ Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit accusing board members of breaching their duty to treat all plan participants fairly.

Endries and Nichols, members of Local 600 of the International Cinematographers Guild, said in July that the board left them and others “out in the cold” in its attempts to address the problems COVID-19 caused for plan participants.

But Judge Klausner agreed with the board’s contention that the case, which alleged a fiduciary breach, should be tossed because plan administrators don’t act as fiduciaries when they amend health care plans.

Read the full article on the Law360 site by clicking here.

Russo Brothers Received Close to $50 Million From Saudi Bank

Anthony Russo and Joseph Russo photographed at the PMC Studio in Los Angeles for the Variety Playback Podcast.

The Russo brothers, directors of the all-time top grossing film “Avengers: Endgame,” quietly secured a roughly $50 million cash infusion for their production company AGBO from Saudi Arabia earlier this year, multiple sources tell Variety.

In a deal brokered and closed at the beginning of the pandemic, the Russos received the investment from an undisclosed Saudi bank in exchange for a minority stake in the brothers’ Los Angeles-based shop.

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