High-end conceptual director Joe Kosinski of Anonymous Content has once again helmed a monumental trailer for the second coming of Xbox 360’s blockbuster game Gears of War 2 via San Francisco-based T.A.G. Despite the violent world in which they live, the soldiers are humanized in this :60, titled Last Day, touching on the solitude in a complicated life of war. Before the soldiers embark on their inevitable fate, we see them in their most vulnerable states. One soldier stares down at a picture of his missing wife, while another takes a moment to admire the beauty of a sole flower in the battlefield.

With the entrancing backdrop of Devotchka’s How it Ends appropriately scoring the spot, we are engulfed by the power of the message.

Kosinski commented on the process, “Like Mad World, Last Day is an example of “machinima” — it was created entirely inside the Unreal Engine 3 game engine. The movement of the characters’ bodies and faces was done utilizing the latest generation motion/performance-capture technology at Giant Studios; the same system used in James Cameron’s upcoming feature film, Avatar.”

Kosinski continues “This system includes a physical camera that provided me with a real-time view of the virtual characters in their environment, making it feel more like a traditional live-action shoot than a virtual one. In addition, the system records the precise camera movement (operated by DP Claudio Miranda), allowing for a more natural filming style.”

About Anonymous Content:
Anonymous Content is an industry-leading production and management firm that leverages its unrivaled reach and access to talent to create and produce innovative content across all its divisions: Film, Integrated, Commercials, Music Video, Television, and Talent.

Anonymous Content was formed in 1999 by a collaboration of business and creative minds responsible for developing some of the industry’s most respected entertainment and branded content. In launching the firm, the founders combined their unique talents, distinct vision for the future of content creation, and unmatched industry access. Since then, Anonymous has been able to extend its reach across entertainment, exercising its capacity to package talent and mine literary material from deep and powerful resources.

CREDITS
Client: Xbox
Spots Title: Last Day
Air Date: Oct. 2008

Agency: T.A.G.
CD(s): Scott Duchon, Geoff Edwards, John Patroulis
AD: Ben Wolan
Writer: Rick Herrera
Sr. Producer: Vince Genovese

Prod Company: Anonymous Content
Director: Joseph Kosinski
EP: Jeff Baron
EP/Head of Commercials: Dave Morrison
Head of Production: Sue Ellen Clair
Producer: Julien Lemaitre
Editing Company: Digital Domain
Editor: Russ Glasgow
Assistant Editor: Chris House
Executive Producer: Karen Anderson
Post Producer: Melanie La Rue

Post/Effects: Digital Domain
VFX Supervisor: Vernon Wilbert
CG Supervisor: Peter Plevritis
VFX Producer: Melanie LaRue

Music: DeVotchKa
Artist: How It Ends

Audio Post: Lime Studios LA
Mixer: Rohan Young
Asst. Mixer: Joel Waters

Shoot Location: Los Angeles, CA