Jamie Slomski, managing director of Bombastic, steps up to answer Five Questions.
1. What are you working on today?
Keeping our company mascot, Sparky the bulldog, from distracting us while she runs around the studio. Otherwise, we are working on initial concepts for a Showtime Image Spot.

2. What have you found is the best tool or innovation that has come out in the last year?
For our studio, it has been the release of the Mac Pro. The single greatest feature of the Mac Pro (beyond it’s speed) is the ability to dual boot in either OS X or Linux. We are a mac based studio and have found that due to a limitation in OS X, we are not able to use the full potential of the Ram installed. This created a rendering problem with our larger scale scenes built in Maya. Now, if a file reaches beyond the capacity of OS X, it is opened in Linux and rendered without a hitch. The end result is more flexibility in our creative and causes fewer pauses in our workflow.

3. The project (film, television, commercial or music video) that most impressed you in the last year? Why?
Zodiac by David Fincher. It was engaging, entertaining and beautiful to watch. Weeks later, my wife and I were still talking about the movie. We were struck by the fact that this person(s) literally got away with murder. We were also impressed with how well the story was told & visualized by Fincher. The Art direction of the film was outstanding and the acting was absorbing. It was just recently that I found out that a number of the scenes were partially composed with CG. The integration was completely seemless.

4. The best or favorite project that you worked on in the past year? And why?
The “Concert for Diana” has been this year’s highlight for us. It was a challenging creative assignment. We needed to find the balance between the energy of a rock concert and the gracefulness of Princess Diana. We found the solution in a rose, representing Diana, floating down a stream triggering spontaneous growth of flowers along the banks. We used a few techniques including the Mental Ray environmental lighting that we have never used before. Through this approach, we were able to successfully and efficiently simulate the effect of a setting sun during the ‘golden hour.’

5. Name the top 4 artists on your iPod?
I’m definitly a product of the eighties: depeche mode, nina simone, the cure & new order.

Recent Project: Graphics packge for "Concert for Diana" on VH1
Bombastic Creates Graphics Package for Concert for Diana & VH1
Press Release

New York, NY – When audiences tuned in to the highly anticipated Concert For Diana, they enjoyed a graphics package created in a collaborative effort between VH1 and design/branding company Bombastic. The concert is a tribute to the Princess and a fundraiser for the charities she supported during her lifetime. Accordingly, the graphics package for the special presentation embodies a symbolic image of how Diana connected with her friends, fans and those in need.

"We were looking for a respectful way of presenting the concert for Diana that would distinguish it from the usual hype surrounding our musical events," says VH1 VP of Brand and Creative Phil Delbourgo. "We drew inspiration from the striking image of flowers left behind at Kensington Palace to commemorate Diana when she died. Bombastic found a way to turn that image into something that symbolized life through a beautiful animation of a lone flower falling into a stream and triggering growth all around it. With dramatic camera moves and 3D they were able to give the animation the kind of scale we needed for a big concert."

"Working with the VH1 team is always amazing," notes Bombastic Creative Director Jamie Slomski. "In this instance they had a specific vision for the overall project and then let us build from there, embracing our ideas and process every step of the way. The image of the English Rose – as iconic as the princess herself – blossoming new life when it touches the water, really represents how both Diana's humanitarian work and her contact with the general public inspired and effected change."

In addition to the flower and water Show Open, Bombastic designed a wealth of other on-air elements for the broadcast concert. The emphasis for these was a clean and simple design that reflects both the concert's logo, taken from Diana's own signature, and the color blue, which is prominent in the water theme and in the "D" of the logo. The package was created in Maya and AfterEffects and delivered in HD Pal.

Bombastic has collaborated with VH1 on a variety of projects including the 2006 Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame, Hollywood Snappers, Music Blitz, Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash and Ice TV "Cult Shit."

Bombastic is an award-winning and strategic creative company founded by Emmy-nominated designer/creative director Jamie Slomski. From the design and production of national and international on-air network branding initiatives, to TV show packaging and commercial direction and design, Bombastic distinguishes itself with diverse visual style and an efficient production process. The Bombastic team can place clients at ease throughout the lifecycle of any project, all the while working to the ultimate goal of Sublime Design. Clients such as the Nature Conservancy, Pepsi, Discovery Networks and CBS have experienced the Bombastic touch.

Credits:

Client: VH1
Phil Delbourgo: SVP of Brand and Creative VH1
Amanda Havey: VP of On-Air Design
Shannon Horan: Sr. Producer

Design & Animation Company: Bombastic/NY
Jamie Slomski: Creative Director / Designer
Chris Uhrich: Designer / VFX
Brian Friel: Producer

www.bombasticinc.com