Moxie Pictures director Lena Beug further ‘greens’ America’s living spaces in a series of witty new :30 videos, “Gas,” “House,” “Roommates,” “Smell” and “Trash” for MoMA and architectural and urban planning firm WORKac out of Weiden + Kennedy, NY. The videos tout a theoretical, environmentally friendly housing community in Oregon, and is screening at MoMA’s latest exhibition, Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream. The exhibition is an exploration of new architectural possibilities for American cities and suburbs in the wake of the recent housing crisis. Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream premiered at MoMO, NY on February 14th, 2012.
Says Beug, “This was an opportunity to sell something that doesn’t exist, but really should—a bit of an oxymoron when it comes to advertising. Nature City isn’t just a fantastical utopia, it’s an actual plan for a new kind of suburban reality. These spots are funny but the things they point out are scarily true—I live in hope that some developers will go see this show at the MoMA and develop a place like this.”
“Gas” opens on a man driving up to a gas station. He pulls to a stop, hops out, and instead of putting the gas nozzle into his SUV, he proceeds to drink the gas himself, lapping up drip after drip. A super appears, “Wean yourself off oil,” followed by an interconnected housing project graphic. The super, “Your house is your power plant,” appears underneath the animation, followed by the prospective development, Nature City Oregon, logo.
“House” opens on a man pulling up to an ordinary row of apartments: gray, boring, small. The man gets out, only to realize he’s pulled up to the wrong dwelling. He gets back in his car and pulls several units down the road to his place. The supers appear, “Your house doesn’t look like every other house” and “Architecturally diverse housing,” followed by rotating graphics of creatively designed homes. The Nature City Oregon logo closes out the video.
The aforementioned “Roommates,” “Smell” and “Trash” will also screen at the exhibition.
About Moxie Pictures
Launched in 1992, Moxie brings the distinctive sensibilities of feature film directors, and the unique vision of the industry’s top commercial directors to diverse media including commercials, feature films, television, web series, sponsored content, music and political media. The presence of iconic directors such as Errol Morris, Wes Anderson, Jared Hess and Todd Phillips join some of the top names in commercials, such as Martin Granger, Frank Todaro and Pam Thomas to form an unparalleled talent roster, garnering the industry’s top awards.
Credits:
Client: MoMA
Titles: “Gas,” “House,” “Roommates,” “Smell” and “Trash” :30 x 5
Production Company: Moxie Pictures
Director: Lena Beug
Executive Producer: Karol Zeno
DP: Kip Bogdahn
Agency: Weiden + Kennedy, NY
Agency Producer: Nick Setounski
Executive Creative Directors: Ian Reichenthal, Scott Vitrone
Creative Directors: John Parker, Sean McLaughlin
Editorial: Whitehouse Post
Editor: Adam Robinson
Post Producer: Melanie Klein