Ad of the Day: Guitar Hero Live’s Crazy Trailer Puts You on Stage in Front of a Real Crowd

The game and the trailer were both created with live-action film. You perform in a real band, in front of real crowds who react in real time to your playing. (As lead guitarist, you play in a variety of venues, from the smallest clubs to the main stage of an outdoor festival.) And you'd better play well—or as you can see in the ad, you might catch some grief from bandmates and fans.

The trailer is amusingly Spinal Tap-y at the beginning, indulging in the clichés of the backstage rock 'n' roll experience. Soon, though, you're led to the stage, where you'll either triumph or fail in front of a giant crowd.

"The creative center of both Guitar Hero Live and the trailer for the game is about bringing to life the visceral thrill and terror of being up there in front of thousands of people," says Tim Ellis, chief marketing officer of Activision Publishing.

Indeed, the trailer was made from the same building blocks as the game. 72andSunny, along with director Giorgio Testi and co-director/game developer Jamie Jackson, shot additional footage from the live-action shoots for the game—and used them for the trailer.

In addition to GH Live, in front of crowds, the game also introduces GHTV, a mode that lets you play along to a continually updated collection of official music videos across various genres. In all, it's quite a leap forward for a console franchise that was the quickest in gaming history to reach $1 billion dollars in sales in North America and Europe, and was played by over 40 million people.

"Guitar Hero is a franchise that so many people love. Figuring out how to bring it back with true breakthrough innovation has been years in the making, and a labor of love," says Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing.

"Guitar Hero Live lets people rock real crowds with real reactions. Our goal was literally to give people stage fright. And with GHTV, we have created the world's first playable music video network. All of it is playable on consoles, or mobile devices. Guitar Hero is back and better than ever."

CREDITS

Film Credits

Client: Activision Publishing

Product: Guitar Hero Reveal Trailer

Title: It's About to Get Real

Activision

Chief Executive Officer Activision Publishing:  Eric Hirshberg

Chief Marketing Officer Activision Publishing:  Tim Ellis

VP of Global Brand Marketing, Head of Digital:  Jonathan Anastas

Consumer Marketing Manager: Orlando Baeza

Consumer Marketing Manager: Karen Starr

72andSunny

Partner, Chief Creative Officer: Glenn Cole

Partner, Chief Strategy Officer: Matt Jarvis

Group Creative Director: Frank Hahn

Creative Director/Writer: Tim Wolfe

Creative Director/Designer: Peter Vattanatham,

Lead Designer: Garret Jones

Lead Writer: Evan Brown

Designer: Ryan Dols

Writer: Jack Lagomarsino

Director of Film Production: Sam Baerwald

Film Producer: Kara Fromhart

Business Affairs Director: Amy Jacobsen

Business Affairs Manager: Kelly Ventrelli

Junior Business Affairs Manager: Amy Shah

Group Brand Director: Mike Parseghian

Brand Director: Torie Gleicher

Brand Coordinator: Laura Black

Group Strategy Director: Bryan Smith

Group Strategy Director: John Graham

Production Company – Pulse Films UK

Director: Giorgio Testi

Co-Director: Jamie Jackson of Freestyle Games

Director of Production: Claire Wingate

Line Producers: John Bannister & Isabel Davis

Game Developer – Freestyle Games

Jamie Jackson – Co-Director (co-director under Production and Creative Director under FSG)

Continue Reading