ZAC BROWN BAND AT SPHERE - SAME BOAT

THE VISUAL STORY

A young boy fishes peacefully on Lake Lanier's sun-drenched surface, but darkness stirs below. As he watches ripples dance across the water, his reflection merges with a skull. The camera plunges beneath, revealing an army of demons climbing toward the boat through crimson depths. In our darkest moment, the boy falls into shadow, overtaken by dark forces. The camera rises to find the boat capsized, a demon ascending with his guitar. The world inverts, rotating 180 degrees as skeletons descend through the flipped reality. Where the innocent boy once sat, the demon cowboy now strums, suggesting we've all lost battles to our inner darkness. Yet beneath the capsized boat, god rays pierce the depths, hinting that even in our shared struggles, light persists.

SONG (III): SAME BOAT

CONCEPT: DEMONS OF THE DEEP

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: BEN HURAND

ART DIRECTOR / SENIOR DESIGNER / WRITER: JOSH CHILDERS

CREATIVE LEAD: SIMON CHAN

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: EOWYN MISHAWN

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: GRANT JULIAN, DANNY YOUNT

PRODUCER / CO-PRODUCER: EOWYN MISHAWN, NATHAN BAYNE

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: JENNIFER WILLCUT, MIKE TOUSEY

HEAD OF PRODUCTION: JESSE LOONEY

VFX SUPERVISOR: MATT GUZZARDO

POST SUPERVISOR: RUBEN PROENCA

POST PRODUCER: WADE HARPOOTLIAN

POST COORDINATOR: KIMBERLY AIKMAN, DANNY “FANEEBO” BARA

NUKE COMPOSITORS: WADE IVY

HOUDINI: ALEXANDER VAN DYNE

C4D ANIMATION: SIMON CHAN, JOSHUA LEE

C4D CHARACTER ANIMATION: SIMON CHAN

MAYA CHARACTER ANIMATION: MIKE DINOCCO, ROSANNA DAVILA VELASCO

PREVIS / ANIMATION: SIMON CHAN

3D MODELING / CHARACTER: JOEL SOLOMON BEAIRD, JOSH CHILDERS

TECHNICAL / PIPELINE: NICK JANECKI, AKIRA THOMPSON, ANTHONY THOMAS, PEEDGE FABROA, GRAHAM HERBSTER

PRODUCTION SUPPORT: ESTHER P ROMERO, GREG ANDERSON

SCRIPT

SONG "SAME BOAT"

  • SEAMLESS TRANSITION FROM THE WORLD OF "FOLLOW WHAT YOU LOVE" INTO "SAME BOAT"

ACT I  (ZAC, AS A YOUNG BOY, FISHES ON LAKE LANIER DURING A WARM AFTERNOON, BUT DARKNESS LURKS BENEATH THE SURFACE )

  • (SETUP) ESTABLISHING LAKE LANIER, DRONE SHOT, WITH FISHING BOAT CENTER SCREEN. A YOUNG ZAC IS FISHING ON LAKE LANIER IN THE AFTERNOON ON A WARM DAY. BACKLIT SILHOUETTE CG.

  • (CLIMAX) ZAC, FISHING, HE SEES ABSTRACTIONS IN THE REFRACTIONS, HE SEES SHAPES FORMING BENEATH THE SURFACE, AND HIS REFLECTION BEGINS TO MERGE WITH A SKULL

  • (RESOLUTION) MASSIVE CAMERA ORBIT FROM ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE WATER TO BELOW REVEALS AN ARMY OF DEMONS CLIMBING TOWARD ZAC’S BOAT

ACT II  (DEMONS FROM THE DEEP CLOSE IN

  • (SETUP) THE LONG CAMERA SHOT CONTINUES INTO THE RED DEPTHS, THE TONE SET BY GLOWING RED ENERGY LIGHTING OUR UNDERWORLD REMINISCENT OF HEAVY IS THE HEAD. 

  • (CLIMAX) THE BOY SILHOUETTED BY RED BACKLIGHT FALLS INTO THE DARKNESS, OVERTAKEN BY DARK SHADOWY DEMONS BEFORE OUR DARKEST MOMENT. 

  • (RESOLUTION) THE CAMERA RISES TO THE SURFACE TO FIND THE BOAT FLIPPED, THE DEMON ASCENDS TO THE SURFACE HOLDING A GUITAR

ACT III (INVERTED WORLD (OUR INNER DEMONS)

  • (SETUP) AS WE MOVE INTO THE INVERTED WORLD, THE CAMERA ORBITS AROUND THE FISHING BOAT ON Z AXIS, CAPSIZING THE WORLD SKELETONS DESCEND BENEATH THE SURFACE 

  • (CLIMAX) AND AS THE BOAT SLOWLY FLOATS INTO FRAME, WE SEE THE DEMON COWBOY WEARING THE HAT STRUMMING A GUITAR, NOW REPLACING ZAC FROM THE OPENING SHOT. SUGGESTING ZAC LOSES THIS BATTLE TO HIS INNER DEMONS

  • (RESOLUTION) CUT TO CAMERA TRACKING BACK DEEPER UNDER THE BOAT, GOD RAYS SHINING INTO THE DEPTHS REFRACTING FROM THE WAVY SURFACE

  • SEAMLESS TRANSITION FROM THE WORLD OF "SAME BOAT" INTO THE DEPTHS OF "I AIN’T WORRIED ABOUT IT"

PRODUCTION DESIGN FRAMES: