Sitting And Soaking Redux

If you're like us, you want your visual metaphors straight up, not mixed. So, despite getting déjà vu all over again, we greatly appreciate The Refinery's new Mad Men key art. 

Be sure to click here to watch a video of the photo shoot with Frank Ockenfels.

Click on image to enlarge.

Comments

[James Ensore]

What's next, a list of condiments used by BLT?

[Homer S.]

mmmmm. condiments!

[Art Korector]

The perspective on the chair is off. All that effort to come up with this?

And the video...lol.

[Hired Hand]

What is with people like you, Art Korector? Are you so insecure that you have to take a big fat dump on everyone elses work? Tell us something you did and have Edwina post it so we can have it.

[john]

actually the perspective is not off and I agree with the other comment... I would love to see what you've done ....

[Sailor]

My only critique of the MadMen piece is that the water is so dark and murky. I love the idea but I wish I could see through the water at least a little.

[Art Korector]

Not only is the perspective off but he's not OPTICALLY centered in the frame. Obviously done by a "hired-hand" that didn't know better.

The Devil is in the details...or is it God?

[Clark Bran]

Perspective off? Not OPTICALLY centered? Did anyone watch the video? Come on people. It was made from a single shot. Nice photo shoot and nice poster.

[Art Lover]

Poor Art Korector. What a miserable wretch you are. It's a good piece of key art and you know it! How can the perspective be off when it's a photograph?!!!

[Art Korector]

LOL! "made from a single shot" and then photoshopped to death!

And if the video did not evoke a sense of shame and embarrassment for the profession, then heaven help us.

[Junior]

wow. you have been in this business to long if your that bitter. Nice art

[Art Korector]

Jr, judging from your spelling, you must be and Art Director, too.

[A Very Nice Lady]

I've worked with one or two sad cases like Art Korector. It really doesn't matter whether the Mad Men key art is good or bad, he's just seething mad because someone else did it.
Believe me, if you have someone like that in your agency it's a real drain on everyone.

[Santa]

:)

[Rudy P.]

I want to make a correction on Art Korector's comment. "you must be an Art Director,". There, much better.

[Art Korector]

Thanks!

All I was pointing out was that the perspective of the chair is off and the figure is not optically centered in the frame which detracts from the power of the image.

Craftsmanship 101.

[Ta-dow]

Wow! No "this is a blatant rip-off" comment? Interesting.

[Rudy P.]

I bet Christine Lahti is pissed, yet she is looking at him like he's pretty damn cool.

[Randi Bland]

The 9 campaign is dark and unappealing. Yes, the barcode idea is very clever and the new technology is all well and good. But the image in the theater needs to attract a wide variety of people very quickly. The dark images won't cut it and the bar code will be great for the 15 techno nerds who know what to do with it.

[Andrew Irving]

For fuck's sake, why are you commenting on the 9 Campaign in the MAD MEN section? And BTW there's at least 27 techno nerds that know what to do with that barcode!

[Bryan Allen]

I thought we were here to dis Mad Men, which, by the way, is excellent work. It should be noted that the Housekeeping poster was designed by none other than Peter Bemis when he worked at The Spiros Company.

A hearty "well done" to all involved!

[Bryan Allen]

And there's at least 750 people who love QRs:

http://www.facebook.com/QRCode?ref=ts

[Art Korector]

The guy's still off center...

The difference between "good" and "great".

[EAT YO' PIXELZ]

Yea, ahem, you win Art Korector...you're the best...or something.

[Abe Vigoda]

Have to applaud the effort, it's not often that a client agrees to go all old school. I'm sure that was the idea, to create the ad the way they would have back then (pre-photoshop)... but looking at the end results, it seems to me that this image could have been created the normal (cheaper) way. Now if we actually saw part of him underwater like they discussed in the film -that unique distortion could have made the difference.

[sniggerer]

It's just a good thing one of the photographer's lights didn't fall into the water. The opening shot of the season premiere would have been Don Draper in a coffin.

PS And it is the best keyart out there in a long time, at least that's what I think.

[Salvatore Romano]

I prefer the previous year's Mad Men key art. This one looks too Art Directed, er, I mean Art Korected.

[Marco Polo]

Also applauding the effort, I have to agree with Abe Vigoda. There's a great shot toward the end of the video that shows him clearly both above and underneath the water, just as they were discussing the concept. I think it would have been much more powerful that way.

In fairness, I did an underwater shoot last year (nobody did a story on mine though!), that I also over photoshopped, and it lost a lot of its potential cool too.

[Joe Friday]

Perhaps someone from "The Refinery" will weigh in with how many shots were actually used in the final art. (we're guessing six.)

[The Refinery]

Sorry to disappoint you, it's actually only three pieces. They are, the smoke coming off the cigarette, the pack floating in the water and the shot you see before you. Nothing here is optically off, unless you want to argue that the lens of the camera distorted something. Perspective on the chair? Well that’s about as real as it can get, all in camera folks. Didn’t you watch the dorky making of video? No illusion or Photoshop trickery required. This piece is simply the brilliance of Frank Ockenfels, he deserves to be applauded for his mastery of light and execution.

[Mad Woman]

Thanks for the gory details, Refinery. Great key art!! I like that the water is too murky to see thru -- creates a more focused visual. Frank Ockenfels is da bomb!

[Art Korector]

It still LOOKS off-center...that's what matters.

[Art Korector]

Here, try this: Draw a line through the vertical center of the frame.
You'll see that the face, the most important part of the image, is off to the left. Also the perspective lines of the arms on the chair converge to the left of center.

[Cesar Millan]

Art Korector, you're like a dog who has to pee wherever any other other dog pees.

Did you actually print out the image and draw perspective lines through it? You are one sick, sick puppy.

[rachel]

It seems Art Korector is the final say on quality of key art, would love to see some of his/her work.

I say its pretty cool that they built a set and got an actor to sit in it. A majority of the time this would have been shot on a white seamless and assembled in Photoshop.
Stop being such a jealous a-hole.

[Rudy P.]

Has anyone thought that Art Korector may be pulling everyone's leg?

[Art Korector]

I'm surprised that it isn't the first thing anyone who refers to themselves as an "art director" wouldn't notice immediately.

Amatureville.

[11:11]

Refreshing to see a client have such confidence on a real concept. Although not much an original idea here since it's been done once before, but still refreshing to see this one stay mostly all in camera. Nice job. Ockenfels is one talented fella.

[Rudy P.]

Aaah, Art Korector...you are good. Touché.

[Art Korector]

Since when did staying "mostly all in camera" become a virtue in this business? And what's the point, if in the end, you screw up the layout?

[m. webster]

Art Korector may be an internationally known expert on vertical centers and such, but he or she is certainly an "amature" when it comes to spelling.

[Sigmund Freud]

Art Korector, how is it that the mental institution you are in allows you access to the internet?

[Art Korector]

That would be "horizontal center", Webster...maybe that's the problem.

[Notso Anonymous]

I think Adam and Brad planted Art Korector to keep people talking about their work. Good one, guys.

I do love the poster.

[m. webster]

But Art Korector, I was quoting you:

>>Draw a line through the vertical >>center of the frame.

[Art Korector]

It's still off center. A mistake by any measure...

[Hired Hand]

My guess is Art Korector isn't an art director. He sounds more like an marketing exec's assistant.

[Art Korector]

Tip-O-The-Day: "Kids, always remember to Lock Your Guides!"

[Jughead Jones]

Tip Of The Day, Art Korector: "Always remember to optically center your crack when Wiping Your Ass!" If you've run out of toilet paper, use something from your portfolio, Art, I'm sure that's all its good for. Har de har har!

[Random Outsider]

I seriously don't get what's the big deal about this key art and why it's getting so much attention. It's a guy in a chair in water. Big whoop.