Led by founder and creative director Jake Banks, Stardust’s Santa Monica and New York offices continually redefine creativity for commercial, on-air, music video and in-store presentations. Jake Banks recently had the pleasure of working with the creatives from McCann Erickson Japan to create two HD spots for Tokyo's Electric Power Development (J-POWER). Working in cooperation with Japanese production company Kirameki, Jake traveled to Tokyo to shoot live-action elements for both spots, which then were completed in Santa Monica by Stardust's artists, including design director Neil Tsai. The spots also feature original scores from Japanese 'breakbeat' musical duo Hifana. The two HD :30 spots entitled "Global" and "Environment" directed by Stardust's founder and creative director Jake Banks began airing in April in Japan, where they will continue to run for the next year..

"The main focus of these spots was to show that J-POWER creates energy and makes everything possible for daily life," Banks explained. "One was an environmental spot, and the other was a global spot that speaks to the industries, businesses, infrastructures and everything that the company powers.".…

Although the original approach called for the use stock footage, Banks and the agency's creatives, including creative director and copywriter Isamu Nakamura, and art directors Takehiko Araki and Kenichi Horie, ultimately agreed on the greater benefits of capturing original live-action footage for the project. During one day of green screen shooting on a soundstage in Tokyo, Banks and director of photography Naoki Noda captured HD footage of actors and various animals using the ARRIFLEX D-21 camera package.

Artists at Stardust's Santa Monica studio then used Maya to create the natural habitats, the turbine and many other elements for both spots, and Adobe After Effects was used for visual effects and compositing



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