LOS ANGELES, CA, September 25, 2009 – Produced by the newly launched Creative Monster Productions, and created via Ayzenberg/CA, the new viral campaign for videogame WET from Bethesda Softworks manages to put a humorous spin on a dark and gritty offering.

With its atmospheric intro, “Shot at Love” – the first of three virals – reflects the mayhem wrought by assassin Rubi, the game’s protagonist. We move through the scene like detectives arriving moments too late. Rubi’s victims lie scattered about the room. However, the mood unexpectedly lightens, as a man with a pipe through his chest breaks out in song. His mortally wounded companions follow suit, all of them belting out a musical declaration of love for the enigmatic girl who took their lives.

“Shot at Love,” directed by Creative Monster’s Jamie Sterba and featuring VFX by partner company Identity Studios, employs a distinct blend of campiness and (implied) violence that conveys the Tarantino-esque atmosphere of the game. The grainy look of the film adds to that mystique, feeling like stock footage from a B movie, long-hidden away in a vault somewhere. Fortunately for fans, that vault has been opened: the unconventional viral has clearly gone over well with gamers, who’ve voiced their appreciation on blogs and forums across the Web.

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Two additional spots, “Heartbreaker” and “Lovestruck,” feature characters from “Shot at Love” praising Rubi from the grave.

“We had complete support from the agency,” says Sterba of his collaboration with Ayzenberg and CD Blake Firstman. “In spite of the fact that we had a tight turnaround, we were like kids in a candy store when it came to the creative.” The director adds that, while the musical twist is what hooked him in the beginning, “For all of its atmosphere and intensity, this is a subtle comedy piece. The opportunity existed to tap into humor and humanity, and Blake was looking for the same thing.”

Partner company Identity Studios provided 3D tracking, modeling, animation and compositing to simulate a shotgun blast through the torso of the lead actor. The 3D wound was created from scratch; artists tracked both the camera and the actor so that the wound would dynamically match the actor's breathing and muscle movements and lit the wound to match set lighting and background atmosphere. 

As important as the musical payoff, of course, was the eerie set-up, grabbing the audience’s attention by luring them into a dark, dangerous world. “We asked ourselves, ‘How do we engage the audience from the beginning?” Sterba recalls. “You hear this brutal action offscreen, so when you enter the room you’re adjusting to the grisly aftermath and the last thing you expect is a song.”

That song is delivered by a collection of thugs, each one more brutish than the last. “We operated from the notion that the scarier they looked, the better they should sing,” Sterba muses. On a serious note, he says, it was important that the actors’ performances not be too polished. The same applied to their makeup. “In order to strike the perfect balance, there had to be an aspect of camp to the makeup,” Sterba explains. “So we kept the look of their wounds a little bit silly. One fan said one thug who’s suffered an acid burn looks like he has pizza on his face, which is, more or less, the reaction we were going for.”

Sterba preceded and followed the WET virals – shot on the RED camera and released on the Web – with more traditional, broadcast projects for McDonald’s. Was it tough to shift gears? “The creative approach and the audience may differ, but in the end I’m drawn to work with strong visuals, production design, and humor,” he concludes. “And I use these elements to connect the brand with the viewer.”

Client: Bethesda Softworks/WET
Spots Title(s): (WET) Shot At Love, Heartbreaker, Lovestruck
First Air Date: August 2009 (Web)

Agency: Ayzenberg
Creative Director: Blake Firstman
Agency Producer: Annie Hards
Copywriter(s): Clark Crozer, Jack Collier

Production Company: Creative Monster
Director: Jamie Sterba
DP: Kevin Sarnoff
EP(s): Scott Flor
Producer: Theresa Marth

Post/Effects: Identity FX
VFX/Inferno Artist(s): Christian Severin (3D), Leo Vezzali (Compositing)
EP(s): David Van Woert, Leo Vezzali

Editorial: Ayzenberg
Editor: Chris Scheer

Telecine: Co3
Colorist: Santiago of Co3

Composer: Michael A. Cohen (ASCAP)

Shoot Location: Downtown LA