Zoic - Grey's Anatomy Promo - 2010 :30 (USA)

Grey's Anatomy looked to New Leaf Media to create a high-concept promo for the finale of season six. The spot, directed by Philip Boston of New Leaf Media, alludes to the crushing end of this season when a vengeful man enters Seattle Grace Hospital and shoots several doctors. Entitled "One Gun Shot" the promo features a bullet traveling slowly through the halls of the hospital. Nurses, Doctors and patients dive and move for cover as the bullet flies, eventually piercing the white lab coat of an unnamed Doctor. To create the bullet and its trajectory through the narrative, New Leaf Media turned to the talents of the digital production and VFX experts at Zoic Studios.

Zoic’s CG animation was derived from the work the company has done for numerous episodic and feature presentations with bullet flights. Zoic’s team, headed by Creative Director Les Ekker, assisted New Leaf’s production with a laser, describing the bullet's path for all the actors in real life, and assuring a convincing path through that panicked crowd. Zoic also shot a real 9mm slug for accurate reference, and captured the lighting and reflections with HDR photos on set. During pre-production, the Zoic team remodeled the bullet, enhanced its textures and shaders and created a unique new shock trail that would have its own signature look. The drama of the natural action of actors and bullet combines with the cinematic soundtrack to make for a dramatic piece that draws the viewer into that frightening moment. The successful spot helped bump Grey's to a 4.8 on the evenings Neilson's as well as help create 2.1 million new Facebook followers.

Client: ABC

Production Company: New Leaf Media
Creative Director/Writer: Philip Boston
Director: Philip Boston
DP: Michael Oizer
Producer: Michael Mattes, Andrew Maguire

Visual Effects Production: Zoic Studios
Visual FX supervisor: Leslie Ekker
EP: Erik Press & Steve Schofield

Editorial: Zoic Editorial
Editor: Dmitri Gueer