One Year of Rascal: Changing the Game, With No Signs of Slowing Down
Starting a company in the midst of a global pandemic might seem like risky business - but for Rascal Post, it turned out to be an ingenious move that would catapult them to success. As the pandemic raged on, founders Kalle Lundberg, Gareth Brannan and Markus Lundqvist - all of whom had years of work-from-home experience under their belt, prior to covid - went full steam ahead, confident they could offer the same exact services as any of the bigger studios, albeit sans office. Senior industry figures soon followed with the likes of Barnsley, Phil Maddock, and Aaron Taffel, amongst others.
Noticing an opportunity to do things differently, Rascal capitalised on the fact companies and creatives alike were more receptive than ever to a change in workflow. Running a tight, nimble ship, packed to the rafters with high energy and creative ideas, the post house quickly proved they were able to deliver a creative menu consisting of three core components - visual effects, grade and sound. What came next was rapid global expansion.
Settling up camp in east London, among the street art and rooftop bars of Shoreditch, in just 12 months Rascal Post has become a highly sought-after name – not only in the UK, but globally. The industry has embraced the post-production company’s straightforward business model and trilateral offering, attracting clients from across the world of music and commercial content; from brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Lexus, to global music artists like Swedish House Mafia, Coldplay and Alt-J.
As they celebrate their anniversary, the Rascal Post team reflects on their first year in business, looking back at their most impressive achievements, the obstacles they have overcome and the exciting development of their growing team. Speaking to sound designer Aaron Taffel, creative director James Bamford, colourist Dan Levy, and head of production James Beck, LBB’s April Summers gets the low down on each specialist area of the post house’s trifecta.
Visual Effects
Rascal Post was built around an infrastructure that allows team members the creative freedom to work at top level while enjoying the flexibility to take on projects that matter to them. Despite their different backgrounds, the team, led by newly appointed executive creative director, Barnsley, all harbour a deep-seated love and respect for great creative work. Since opening up shop, each has had the opportunity to flex their artistry in unique and inventive ways, by working on a range of versatile projects with big names like Burberry, Fifa and Gillette.
The latter - a Gillette commercial directed by Martin Krejčí from Ruffian - was one of two Superbowl spots to come out of the post house in the last year. Lifting the curtain on the 30-second spot and its reality-warping, cartoon-like visual effects, Rascal’s head of production, James Beck, says, “There were multiple scenes in the Gillette spot when, traditionally, many directors would have chosen to execute the creative using CG as a standard go-to option, as it can give you more control. Martin chose not to go down this CG route, and instead, he shot all scenes with multiple plates, which we composited together. The end result was just as good and kept the tangible feel of shooting ‘in camera.’” The carefully-crafted commercial received airtime during the most coveted annual advertising window in the world, making it one of Rascal’s most successful VFX projects yet.
Another stand out project of the last year is the team’s VFX work on the Formula E Spot, ‘There’s No Turning Back.’ Tasked with delivering a trailer for season eight, Rascal collaborated with creative studio Uncommon, and Pulse Films director, Sam Walker to pull off a galvanising VFX-heavy promo. “Formula E was definitely the stand out piece for me,” says James, who was executive producer of the ambitious, action-packed project. Led by Barnsley, the team produced a series of diverse, large-scale CG sequences which culminated in an exhilarating three minute spot that James believes is a great representation of the quality of output promised by Rascal.
In terms of the logistics of the CG, James explains how Unreal Engine presented a work-around for the challenges the team initially faced. “Originally, the agency had assumed they would need to use stock footage of the cars, but Unreal Engine allowed us to previs out the entire race scene, before the main edit had even been shot. This gave us a great foundation to work on, visualising how the live action would cut together around it. Once the previs was signed off, it gave the production time to line up and position the car so it was spot on in camera.”
“We were able to render out a camera in the scene, wherever we wanted, which gave us some really interesting angles that wouldn’t be achievable otherwise,” James says. “Sam thought the Unreal cameras should only be placed where cameras would actually be in real life - on tracking vehicles, trackside and on the cars themselves – to keep it as believable as possible to the audience. It was exactly the right decision and it tied all the live action together perfectly.”
Colour & Grade
According to creative director, James Bamford, the biggest growth for Rascal Colour has been a surge in long form projects. Having himself recently finished work on new upcoming Amazon Prime drama series, ‘Jungle’, James is excited by the prospect of more feature length TV and film projects. “It's been a year of exceptional work,” he says. “I am proud of the long form projects I have been involved with. Most notably, 'Jungle', a new series due to be released later this year, and ITV’s ‘The Ipcress Files’ in which I worked with DOP, Tim Maurice -Jones, to enhance the ‘60s tones, reminiscent of the original Kodak Eastman stock.”
“As well as the Formula E piece, our work on the Gucci, ‘Love Parade’ spot was also a notable project for Rascal Colour. It has a very distinctive look that directors Mert & Marcus really wanted to push as far as we could.” The advert sees a star-studded party unfolding in sexy slow-mo, punctuated by warm indulgent tones and a haunting Velvet Underground score.
“On any project, I like to have a session with the director and DOP, pre grade,” explains James. “Even a phone call can really help get a collective vision going; you discuss ideas, references, what will and won’t work. All the notable work from this last year was heavily derived from those initial talks, as well as the constant collaboration with both the director and DOP.”
Alongside exciting brand and long-form content, over the last 12 months the colour team has also turned their attention to finessing a range of different music videos from a global talent such as the iconic house music supergroup, Swedish House Mafia. Touching on this work, colourist Dan Levy says, “We really pushed the look on ‘Moth to a Flame’ for Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd. It was great being given the creative freedom to push the look into three distinct environments, while maintaining an overall dark, foreboding setting. It was so refreshing to have that control creatively”.
Sound
Cross-pollination is commonplace at Rascal and team members are encouraged to tap into their colleagues' creative strong-suit. Sound designer, Aaron Taffel, has seen this collaborative experience benefit a number of Rascal projects over the last year. “It's been very interesting to work alongside the other crafts in post, especially when we are on the same projects,” he explains. “Sound is often only considered after the fact, but, at Rascal, we work alongside VFX supervisors who are brought in at the script stage. As a result, I've been able to inform decisions that benefit the sound process down the line, from pre-production right through to the post side of things.” It is fair to say that any artist, regardless of discipline, is appreciative of having their voice heard amidst important creative discussions: Rascal prioritises this, knowing it will ultimately improve a project overall.
Creative director, James Bamford, echoes this sentiment, “Our creative process is incredibly collaborative. I'm very appreciative of the freedom I have at Rascal; I can take on projects of my choice, work flexibly and have greater control over my creative input to a project.”
Assembling a sound department felt like the missing piece of the puzzle for Rascal, who brought on Aaron and sound designer cohort Neil Johnson earlier this year, to take the helm on all things audio-related. Since then, a third sound producer, Maddy Lebel, has also joined the team from 750mph.
The three of them agree that one of the most exciting projects of the last 12 months was a spot for luxury car company, Lexus. Looking back at the work, Aaron opens up about how it all came together, as Rascal Sound worked in tandem with a team at Dolby, to create a mix that pushed the accompanying visuals to new heights. “It really was a highlight for the sound team, as it was a particularly exciting project for us,” Aaron says proudly, “Beyond the scale of the project, we worked alongside Trait to remix the Donna Summer track, to ensure it bespokely fit the film. It worked exceptionally well with the insane Rob Chiu visuals, adding another element to the film.”
In addition to their work with Lexus, the team also produced the sound for another car spot; the fast-paced Toyota GR86 film directed by LA-based filmmaker Saman Kesh. “The Toyota film involved a lot of experimentation and collaboration with Saman,” Aaron explains. “Most of the guts of the sound in that film was conducted remotely, and I spent a lot of time researching and studying what I wanted the sound to aspire to in those films.”
No matter who you speak to at Rascal, it’s clear one common theme bonds every member of the team and drives them towards success - an unwavering dedication to craft. It’s that mastery and commitment to the creative process which has underlined Rascal's success so far, and it's what leaves us excited for the studio's future.
