Deluxe Creative Services is proud to announce that three of its sister companies contributed to the Chicago Bulls’ exciting new “Running of the Bulls” graphic. The Chicago branches of Beast Editorial, Method Studios and Company 3 coordinated efforts on the iconic intro that precedes games on TV and live on the United Center’s giant jumbotron and LED ribbon boards.

This newest iteration of the spot, which marks the “Running of the Bulls” 20th anniversary season, follows a raging herd of CGI bulls through key Chicago landmarks.  Jesse Dylan served as creative director and Alex McDowell as director.  Cinematographer Drew Wehde shot the vibrant live action plates. Angelo Valencia of Beast edited the pieces together with Dylan and McDowell, using only very rough still images Valencia added to provide a sense of where the CGI elements would go. The three collaborated on the cut to bring out the rhythms and excitement viewers expect around a Bulls game.

Method’s senior VFX Artist Mark Anderson worked with freelance VFX Supervisor Gil Baron to create all the time lapse effects  and compositing that makes the final version, with shadowy bulls stampeding through the locations seem photorealistic. “The lighting effects and increasingly frenetic movement of the bull silhouettes were designed to convey the rise in drama and anticipation,” Anderson explains.

Company 3’s Tyler Roth provided the grade that adds a golden, dusk-like feel to the proceedings and ties together all the disparate elements. Roth collaborated with McDowell and the Bulls’ creative team in giving all the plates (shot at different times throughout the day) a single, warm early evening look. To further stylize the images and offer a nod to the Bulls’ brand, Roth shifted the sunlit edges of objects to a deep red, which the VFX teams matched in their animation and comps. “We walked a delicate line between stylizing the images while keeping it all grounded in reality,” Roth notes.

“I’ve lived in Chicago for years,” he sums up, “and I’m a huge Bulls fan. It was a huge honor to be able to work on the new ‘Running of the Bulls’ open. I was out of town during the home opener but people from Beast, Method and Company 3 all went and told me how great it looked.” Adds avid basketball fan Valencia: “This was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever worked on!”