Sayeed, Arias take on working with kids/animals adage in new ads

Little Minx @ RSA Director Malik Sayeed and Final Cut Editor Carlos Arias, who won the 2006 AICE Award for Best Editor in Comedy, recently teamed up for a DLP HDTV campaign for Texas Instruments. The two have a longstanding relationship having worked for many years together on a variety of projects. This latest effort for Texas Instruments, created by JWT, uses cinematic visuals to promote its DLP HDTV technology.

"Never work with kids or animals the adage goes," says Mike Mazza, Executive Creative Director, JWT. "We decided to throw in some water while we were at it. From a director and editor perspective, all the moving parts became the equivalent of playing three-dimensional chess. Malik far exceeded any vision I had for the campaign, and Carlos elevated the work to a different and much better place. He's an exceptional talent and moreover, a very nice guy. Their long-standing relationship and sensibilities not only smoothed the process, but gave us spots way better than we ever could have imagined."

The spots star a young girl and her elephant companion as they marvel at the millions of mirrors, which are part of the unique DLP viewing experience.

According to Editor Carlos Arias, the campaign used the girl and her elephant friend as a metaphor for what Texas Instruments and its DLP picture technology are capable of visually. Shooting and editing in HD, however, proved to be tricky for several reasons. First, Director Malik Sayeed had to work with a young child and elephant for all five spots. Second, the high-definition footage, which was shot on a Viper Cam, required a multi-step process on an editorial level.

"The technology is still new so certain programs like the Avid are not meant for HD," explains Editor Carlos Arias. "You have to make sure every frame is accurate when you're working with compressed video that has effects on top of it. While it was a bit more difficult to work in this format, Malik [Sayeed] provided me with hours of unbelievable footage. Each shot and composition was so amazing. The HD depth and content will just floor people."

The smooth creative process is a testament to the camaraderie between Sayeed and Arias who have developed a shorthand language over the years. It also reinforces Arias' presence and availability on the West Coast.

Even though the five spots convey the same message, much time and attention to detail was spent on developing the distinct look and music for each one.

"The JWT creatives were great to work with," concludes Arias. "And Malik knows how to push the look of every project. He always inspires me to delve even further in my creative process. This campaign is so breathtaking and I'm really proud of how it all came together."