Concerned that TiVo and DVR are bringing about the end of
traditional commercials, advertisers have been moving toward digitally embedding
their logos and products in films and TV shows in post production, sometimes
even after a show has already been aired.
The
Technology
The shift from 15 and 30-second commercial spots to the more
stealth techniques of product placement and brand integration in film and TV has
been occurring for years.
Traditionally, product placement and brand integration marketers focus on
inserting the brand during production, working with writers to incorporate the
content on a creative level. However this new method relies on digitally
inserting the content in post production, negating the need for the product to
be included in the shoot.
One of the pioneers of the technology for virtual product placement, New Jersey-based PVI Virtual Media Services, developed this technology
while working on its virtual first down marker technology for the NFL in 1990.
The marker, a digitally inserted yellow line that denotes the first down line,
allows football players to be seen moving on top of it, as if it were
really on the field. This technology, which won them an Emmy in 2000, now allows
them to digitally integrate images of logos, brands or actual products into a
motion picture project.
How It
Works
“Our technology uses key features, or landmarks, in a scene
to insert an object,” says Sam McCleery, Executive Vice President of Sales &
Marketing for PVI.
The process begins with the client supplying flat or 3D
artwork. Using their post production software, which requires powerful
specially-made computers and a set of proprietary algorithms, engineers
reconstruct the physical parameters of the image, such as lens length, focal
length, relative distances and the limits of the camera’s movement. The computer
then cuts a hole, placing the object and tracking its position in the frame
relative to other objects in the frame. Next the technicians then adjust the
advertised product to compensate for lens effects and manipulate the image to
match the texture of the scene, leaving a seamless effect for the viewer.
McCleery explains that a clear, uncluttered space in a scene
makes it much easier for technicians to insert graphics. But even if
there isn’t much empty space with which to work,
PVI still has the capabilities to show off
the brand long enough to fulfill the time quota that the client demands.
“We can place the object anywhere so it’s seamless,” says
McCleery. “Focus groups can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s
been virtually integrated.”
Believe It or
Not
But traditional entertainment marketing companies aren’t all
convinced that virtually inserted brands and logos are the most effective means
for product placement.
According to Tony Wilson,
marketing director for Los Angeles-based Motion Picture Magic, a traditional
entertainment marketing company, “Product placement can backfire if it’s not
organic to the scene, and digital images are just not organic.” Wilson feels that digitally inserted brands and logos are not
convincing enough for the viewer.
Wilson contends that companies like Motion Picture Magic still
have an edge over other companies because of their existing relationship with
studios. “We have a strong client base. Our clients come from all over and trust
us since we’re located in Hollywood and know the studios. They use us as their eyes and ears.”
But McCleery feels differently.
According to McCleery, studios understand the profit potential of this
particular facet of the industry, and are moving toward shooting with “cleaner”
sets in order to make it easier to input virtual images of various products
throughout the show.
“As the process becomes more
sophisticated, we’re finding cleaner scenes and later integrating the images.
Technology has only gotten better over the years and graphics have gotten
sharper,” explains McCleery.
The Future Colliding with the Past
But for those who loathe the idea
of promoting products in movies and TV, virtual product placement presents a growing threat. A director may unwittingly create a project that
turns into an advertisement, for instance, becoming infuriated with the results.
Even more disturbing is the possibility that classic films and TV may be subject
to modern product promotion. Such revisions may affect not only the artistic
integrity of a movie, but could make it historically inaccurate as well. Imagine
“Casablanca” with Humphrey Bogart on the tarmac, as Ingrid Bergman’s
plane takes off, digitally emblazoned with a JetBlue logo. (A handful of
films like “Citizen Kane” do have contractual protection from any kind of
content modification.)
But like it or not, virtual
product placement is here to stay. With technology moving forward so quickly,
one can anticipate continuing growth of this medium. That, coupled with product
placement’s immense profit potential, will likely encourage technicians and
engineers to create more elaborate software, giving almost any film or
television show the potential to become lucrative advertising space.
