This piece was shown live on January 20th at the Brooklyn Nets’ home arena, the Barclays Center, during the basketball team’s match against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It tells the story of Bruce Reznick, a 79-year-old lawyer from Brooklyn, NY, who’s considered the number 1 fan of the Nets. He has barely missed a home game for the past 20 years, but that’s not his only claim to fame: he is also known as Mr. Whammy, thanks to the unique ritual he performs to distract the Nets’ opponents as they throw foul shots, yelling and waving his arms at them from under the hoop.
To create buzz around JetBlue Airways’ sponsorship of the Brooklyn Nets, Lobo was commissioned to create a short film about Mr. Whammy within a crazy turnover time of just a week, in time for the big game! We managed to do so using a bold and witty combination of live action and illustration. The agency filmed Mr. Reznick telling his own story and talking about how his powers cause opposing shooters to miss free throws. On top of the live action footage we added hand-drawn animated elements that bring his account to life, conjuring up the court, the players and the fans, and enhancing the electricity of Mr. Whammy’s performance. |
