Philip Owens Edits 33 Spots for Guy Ritchie!

Acclaimed editor (and Spacevirus founder) Philip Owens edits 33 different fast, funny spots reflecting director Guy Ritchie's trademark hipness and humor for Edwin Jeans and Nokia.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) January 9, 2004 --Philip Owens of creative solutions studio Spacevirus has just achieved another milestone, cutting two very different high-profile campaigns directed by acclaimed English feature director Guy Ritchie ("Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," "Snatch").

Editing the campaigns (a total of thirty-three spots in under two months) for Ritchie was a high point for Owens. "It's great working with Guy's energetic directing style," comments Owens, "and a blast to really capture the rhythm, pacing and humor that make his work so distinctive. The resulting pieces are brilliant fun -- we had some major laughs in the process." Owens, an Irishman now resident in the U.S., is known for his unique work both as an edgy, dynamic editor of commercials, documentaries and drama, as well as for his directing talents -- which include award-winning national commercials, music videos and multiscreen installations (including U2's Zoo TV tour and Quiksilver's Times Square store displays).

His first project with Ritchie was a challenge of skill, deadlines, and sheer numbers -- a package of 28 new spots for Edwin Jeans in Japan, featuring superstar Brad Pitt.

BRAD PITT, FRIED EGGS, AND A SEGWAY...
Although the original intention was to deliver four 15-second spots on the Edwin Jeans project, as Owens worked he found there was so much good material that he in fact delivered twenty-eight separate 15-second spots -- shot, cut and delivered in exactly three weeks. Shot handheld (in DV, on a Sony PD-150 camera) by Ritchie himself, the Edwin Jeans spots are down-to-earth, hilarious, and very intimate, depicting Brad Pitt goofing about -- zooming around on a Segway, (unsuccessfully) frying an egg, posing for passing traffic in Santa Monica streets, bumping into Japanese tourists, and asking passersby on Venice Beach about their opinion of his assets ("Do you like my arse?" practically became the tag line of the campaign!). Owens cut on location in Malibu using Final Cut Pro and then at production company Shuffle's Marina del Rey office on an Apple Dual 2GHz G5. The entire package was completed in DV on Final Cut Pro, a feat that amazed even Owens himself -- "I felt sure we would need to color-correct or effect the footage on the company's Flame, but in the end keeping the project in FCP was the fastest and best way to go, by far."

"The Edwin spots are really funny, relaxed, and appealing," Owens adds, "and they really showcase Brad's easygoing and unpretentious charm as well as Guy's humor and immediacy, while making it all look very easy and effortless." The finished edits were then shot back off a monitor and reduced in size to give them an 'internet video' appearance.

The Edwin Jeans spots were produced by Shuffle (www.Shuffle.com) of Venice, California, for Tokyo agency Yomiko Advertising (www.Yomiko.co.jp) under the creative direction of Makoto Negishi and with a team including Executive Producer Yuki Matsumoto and Director of Photography Chris Soos.

It was clearly a happy collaboration, for less than a week after finishing the Edwin Jeans project, Owens got the call for Guy's next project -- for Nokia.

SNOOP GOES 'ON THE SNOOP' FOR GUY RITCHIE'S U.S. COMMERCIAL DEBUT
For Nokia, Guy Ritchie sought out Owens to act as supervising editor on a package of five spots. The commercials are for Nokia, directed by Ritchie, and created for the Sugar Bowl and ADT National Championship Trophy. Entitled "Snoop Intro," "Interrogation," and "Snoop Reveal," the spots cut by Owens feature entertainer Snoop Doggy Dog playing a number of characters, and on the trail (using his Nokia, of course) of a mysterious figure in pursuit of the Championship Trophy. The culprit as revealed in the final spot? None other than Snoop himself -- how could he resist the ultimate 'Bling Bling'?!

Produced for Nokia by Saville Productions for agency The Richards Group (www.Richards.com), the Nokia spots are fast-paced, funny and smart, and all reflect the hip humor and swift pacing Guy Ritchie is famous for. With an insane schedule to consider (five 30's and two 60's to deliver in two weeks), Owens brought the package of spots to Swietlik Editorial of Santa Monica. To meet deadline challenges and bring another creative brain to the table, Owens and Ritchie sought out the talents of Swietlik editor Jay Nelson, who cut two spots of the package -- "Terry Bowden" and "Mystery Man." Adds Nelson, "Having Philip and I working under the same roof really afforded us the opportunity to bounce ideas off one another to help Guy realize his vision for these spots."

The spots began airing on December 27th nationwide, and then again - featuring the 60-second versions of the "Intro" and "Reveal" spots -- during the first half of the January 4, 2004 Sugar Bowl. Featured in the spots are Snoop Doggy Dog, the TCU Mascot, Terry Bowden, and Johnnie Cochran.

ABOUT SHUFFLE
For more information about Shuffle, please visit www.shuffle.com or contact Alan Bresnick at (310) 822-5582 or alan@shuffle.com.

ABOUT SWIETLIK EDITORIAL
For more information about Swietlik Editorial, please visit www.Swietlik.com or contact publicity firm Juice at (310) 451-5153 or info@juice-media.com.

ABOUT SPACEVIRUS
Founded by Philip Owens, Spacevirus is a unique company offering directorial, editorial, design and visual effects solutions to companies worldwide. Not only has Owens completed A-list editorial work on a rich variety of award-winning commercials internationally, but he also has a wealth of high-profile directing credits under his belt, including award-winning national commercials, music videos, giant videowall rock shows and high-end digital visual effects.

Directing clients for Owens include the band U2, Quiksilver, The Partnership For A Drug-Free America, G-Shock, Virgin Cola, and Atlantic Records, while notable commercial editorial clients include ESPN, Toyota, Lexus, GM, Edwin Jeans, Atlantis Hotel and many more.

Currently in negotiations for commercial editorial representation following the closing of Crew Cuts West at the end of 2003, Owens can be contacted directly or through his Executive Producer Christie Cash (former EP at Crew Cuts) at +1 310 877 9354; he is also represented as a director by production company Nucleus (www.nucleuspictures.com), and for visual effects work by Digital Artists Agency (www.d-a-a.com).

For more information on Spacevirus (reels are available online at www.spacevirus.com), please contact Philip Owens at philip@spacevirus.com or +1 310 578 2400. For further PR materials, images from the Nokia or Edwin spots or of founder Philip Owens, please contact publicist Angela Mitchell at +1 954 983-5877 or Paramitch@aol.com.

For terrific stills and images from Spacevirus's latest, please e-mail your request to Angela Mitchell at Paramitch@aol.com.

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