Logan & Sons Take The X-Men To Trask

Logan & Sons Take The X-Men To Trask

Launching a viral campaign to promote a feature film isn't a new idea, but viral content that expands and enriches the cinematic universe of a movie is an art form that is slowly finding an enraptured audience. Campaigns such as the well-loved (and well-awarded) teaser films for Prometheus work wonders in whetting the appetite and raising the expectations of fans, not to mention helping those less in-the-know to establish a baseline knowledge of the flick's themes and setup.

The latest movie to adopt this strategy is the upcoming iteration in the X-Men franchise – 'X-Men: Days Of Future Past'. Incorporating the cast of both the original trilogy and the earlier-set 'First Class' films, the star-power alone is enough to guarantee a degree of audience interest. However, as the movie's title and plot structure is taken from an extremely popular comic storyline of the same name, it would be foolish of the filmmakers and agency Ignition to ignore the potential of setting a few hundred-thousand fanfolks' salivary glands into overdrive with a little foreshadowing.

Launched about a month ago, 'Trask Industries: Your Future' is a seemingly straightforward corporate promotional film. Advertising the innovations Trask Industries has created to insure the safety of folk like you and me, the piece climaxes in a shot of an imposing metallic figure, stoically standing guard. The twist – Trask Industries doesn't exist and the 'Sentinels' they are so proudly promoting are some of the most deadly adversaries to the heroic X-Men. Designed to tease the alternate-future portrayed in the feature film, the short comes from the talented folk at Logan & Sons and their post-production daddy LOGAN.

We chatted to the director of the piece, Ben Conrad, about the challenges involved in creating a fake corporation, the advantage of working in the fledgling form and how geeky you have to get to appease the fanboys.

How did you get involved in the Trask Industries project?

We had a great meeting with Ignition about our work on films, (Avengers, Iron Man 3, Zombieland) and our viral videos (Gymkhana 4+5, FPS Russia: Call of Duty), which have over a 100 million hits cumulatively. Ignition is responsible for the incredible work on the Prometheus viral campaign, so we were very excited to collaborate on this project with them.

The film is a semi-viral, semi-back-story for the 'Days Of Future Past' movie that's coming out. How do you treat projects like this? As a short? An ad? A trailer?

The concept was to make a believable commercial for the fictional company, Trask Industries. We looked closely at what is currently happening with commercials for large multi-national corporations. We took that general idea and exaggerated it slightly to tailor it to this particular concept. We wanted to communicate that sense of trust, security, and calm, the message being; the steady hand of Trask Industries will make you feel safe, even with giant robots watching over you.

I think that this particular type of spot combines all of the elements of a short, an ad, and a trailer. We are working within the commercial vernacular, but we are giving a glimpse into what is coming in the film, while also telling a unique story that can stand on its own. Some of the best comments I have read are viewers who had to digest it for a moment before understanding that this was not a real ad, while fans of X-Men knew right away and were excited to have a small glimpse of what is in store.

How much input does the movie's creative team have on the aesthetics and content? Were there elements you had to incorporate?

The film's director and writer worked closely with Ignition on the concept. They were also involved with the approval process once the spot had been shot. I believe it was received it very well.
 

Did you have to revise the X-Men yourself, or is it better to come to projects like this without geek-tinted lenses?

I came to the project of course as a fan, but the assignment to make a believable commercial for Trask Industries was what was most exciting. It gave us an opportunity to use our experience in films, ads, and viral campaigns and channel it into a great little story.

How long was the shoot? Was there a lot of post work involved?

The main shoot was one day; we shot on location in Irvine, a house in Playa, and finished the day on Dockweiler Beach. We had another shoot at Legacy (Stan Winston Studios) where the Sentinel head was being assembled. It was being prepped for the reveal at Comic Con, so we had a few hours to shoot what we needed of the Sentinel. Post was short, but it was enough time to get everything polished and finalized.

Projects like this are ripe for Easter Eggs or fan-references. Did you manage to incorporate any?

We incorporated as much subtle Trask Industries branding as we could. You can see a Trask Industries sensor outside the window as we dolly into grandma and granddaughter making cookies. A Trask Industries sensor is inside the boy's bedroom as well. We also incorporated Sentinel blueprints in the lab scene. All of this was very subtle, as we wanted the Sentinel reveal at the end to have the most punch.
 

The film reminds us a little of the viral campaign for 'Prometheus,' that had a similar 'world building' appeal. Why do you think this works for certain movies? Is it something you'd be keen to do more of?

Ignition was behind the Prometheus campaign, so they are definitely making great strides in this territory. Expanding these worlds before the film is released is a very exciting new opportunity for storytelling that has been received very well from fans of the core material as well as a more general audience. This particular campaign is remarkable because it started so early in the process, which shows the value of this type of campaign.

I do think that this form will evolve into more genres, but it certainly works very well for science fiction films and comic book adaptations. It gives fans something unique for the lead up of to the film while also building up the film's world. Currently there is a lot of success with videos that hijack a familiar format, a commercial, or a seemingly non-professional film. Using Ted Talks for Prometheus or a machine gun touting ape for Rise of the Planet of the Apes work well as it places this fiction into a real world format, and grounds it in the familiar. I am personally a huge fan of this, and hope to continue to do more of this type of work.

Do you worry when providing films for brands/products that have a serious fan base? Are there steps you take to avoid fan boy rage?

I am very cognizant of a dedicated fan base and their famous ire, and I understand how important it is to treat the material the best you can knowing that it is impossible to impress everyone. It is definitely in the conversation, but if you know the material well enough and respect the story you should emerge relatively unscathed. It would be worse to make something without any confidence and create content that lacks a particular vision or point of view.

The film is housed on a neat site that contains more information about the 'corporation.' Were you involved in any elements of that?

The corporate "life style" stills content was pulled from our footage, we also had an onset photographer. Everything else was created by Ignition. I think they did an amazing job, and the spot fit perfectly within it.

Are there any other films coming out in preparation for the movie?

Hopefully there will be more films. I am sure there is something amazing in the works.

What's next for you?

Lots of projects of all different formats, but there are a couple projects that will be delivering soon that will hopefully have success online. Always enjoy working in this particular format, as it is relatively new and very open to great ideas and creativity.

Posted on 23rd August 2013