Chrysler Rocket Black
A new film combing animation with live action conceived of and directed by Joshua Frankel, about the architecture of New York City blasting off into outer space and resettling on Mars. The film’s visuals are an animated collage combining live action footage, animated elements, illustrations and treated photographs, including photos taken by the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity made available to the public domain by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Plan of the City was created in collaboration with composer Judd Greenstein and NOW Ensemble, an acclaimed "indie classical" chamber ensemble; the ensemble, including Greenstein, feature prominently in the film as live actors set inside the animated framework.
The audio of the film consists solely of Greenstein's Change, performed by NOW Ensemble; Change and Plan of the City were created in parallel, each expressing its own artistic intention while simultaneously serving its "sibling".
The film was presented with the music performed live, timed to the film, at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City in May, 2011. It also exists as its own stand-alone entity, utilizing NOW Ensemble's recent studio recording of Change(out on New Amsterdam Records).
Video screenshot.
Director.- Joshua Frankel
Music.- “Change”, composed by Judd Greenstein and performed by NOW Ensemble
Cast: Sara Budde, Patrick Burke, Logan Coale, Mark Dancigers, Judd Greenstein, Michael Mizrahi, Alexandra Sopp, Susie Simpson, Celia Au, Jonthan Chang, Dan Chen, William Lex Ham, Ting Hu, Tammi Lee, Doua Moua, Rachel Shapira
Producer.- Elissa Federoff
DP.- Clayton Combe
Choreographer.- Will Rawls
AD.- Rachel Horlick
Key Grip.- Christopher Fisher
Gaffer.- Justyn Davis
Props.-Eve Biddle
Script Supervisor.- George Westberg
Stylist.- Jenni Shaw
Asst Stylist.- Julianne Laney
Casting Lauren Charkow
PAs.- Clark Frankel, Daisuke Kasagawa, John Kitsis
Edited by.- Joshua Frankel and George Westberg
Greenscreen Keying and Rotoscoping: Spline VFX
VFX Supervisor.- Leslie Chung
Tools Development.- Clay Budin, Dan Fast
Digital Artists.- Dave C Frankel, Carolyn Frisch, Rio Harrington, Minwoo Lee, Suzanne Porush, Hyun Jung Ra, David Sarma, Adam Yost
Studio and Invaluable Support provided by My Active Driveway
Images of Mars Courtesy of NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Caltech
