Sony's Handycam Captures the Beauty of Foam City in Full HD

Market Wire, May, 2008

Sony is set to capture the magic of Foam City once again -- in their latest ad for the recently announced TG3 HD Handycam (currently the world's smallest full HD camcorder).

The new commercial was one of the product stories shot in an area of downtown Miami, transformed into a city of foam (with over 460 million litres produced over the course of the one week shoot).

Completely unscripted, the adverts all feature the citizens of Miami enjoying the foam metropolis and the Handycam ad shows families capturing every unique foam-filled family moment in glorious detail, using the TG3 Handycam.

"We had different products to talk about, each with different features and core audiences. 'Foam City' was created to be a fun environment where people of all ages and interests could interact and use the latest imaging products to bring their experiences to life," says James Kennedy, General Manager, Marketing Communications, Sony Europe.

"Bubbles are notoriously difficult to capture in lifelike detail, so with Handycam we highlighted its ability of capturing fine detail in high definition and 5.1 surround sound -- which brings a viewer closer to the real experience and allows the magic of making the ad to be watched time and time again," adds Kennedy.

The creative team behind the TG3 ad was advertising agency Fallon London, and all the ads in the series were helmed by renowned director Simon Ratigan.

"People captured hours of footage with their Handycams during the shoot," says Director Simon Ratigan . "We ourselves shot over 16,000 feet of film just to keep up! We wanted each ad to tell its own product story and for Handycam this was about recording what was a range of incredible family moments, in high definition, so that they could be kept and watched time and again."

Known for his work on numerous soundtracks and with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Warren Ellis composed the music live as he viewed the advert to create a unique musical experience.

The Handycam advert is available to watch online at www.sony.co.uk/images . Additional filming documentaries and adverts for the Cyber-shot and Alpha range are also available on the site.

Fun facts about the shoot

--  There are 200 Miami inhabitants all recording their 'Foam City'
    experiences

--  The ad uses the world's biggest foam machine -- 2.8m in diameter

--  1,000 litres of water are being used to create 2,000,000 litres of
    foam per minute

--  The rate at which the foam is produced would fill an Olympic swimming
    pool in 24 seconds

--  By the end of the shoot it is estimated 460 million litres of foam
    will have been produced

--  To create the perfect bubbles, Allan the Bubble Professor was hired --
    with over 15 years' experience in the bubble business

--  The ad uses custom built bubble machines -- made to produce odd shaped
    bubbles

--  18 people are tasked with creating the foam out of a crew of 150

--  The advert uses 3 cameras running 80,000 feet of film. This means 16
    hours of running time to produce the 90 second commercial
    

NOTES TO EDITORS

Environmental Info

Sony is engaged in a constant review of its manufacturing, operational and business practices to ensure that its products are developed in an environmentally responsible way. This approach can broadly be divided into three areas:

Environmental Information: 3Ps

Product:

--  The foam produced for foam city is non-toxic and biodegradable.
    

Process:

--  Foam created is broken down quickly using a special spray (used in
    catering processes) to ensure minimal impact on local environment.
--  Street cleaning machines used to remove any remaining foam and bubble
    residue at the end of each shoot day.
    

Planet:

--  All drains in Foam City are sealed off to prevent foam and bubble
    product passing into the main water supply -- ensuring environment is
    protected.
    

Sony is determined to lead the way as a responsible manufacturer, and as a result we are focusing on three key areas of investment:

1.   Reducing CO2 gas emissions
2.   Increasing the percentage of renewable energy  used in manufacturing
     facilities
3.   Minimising the resources used by our factories in manufacturing

About Sony:

Sony manufactures audio, video, communications and information technology products for the global consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, game and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be one of the world's leading digital entertainment brands. Sony recorded consolidated global annual sales of EUR 55.83 billion (yen 8,296 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, based on an average market exchange rate for the same period of yen 148.6 to the EUR. It employs approximately 163,000 people worldwide.

In Europe, the Sony Group recorded consolidated annual sales of EUR 13.71 billion (yen 2,038 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. Sony Europe, headquartered at the Sony Center am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, is responsible for the company's European electronics business and registered consolidated sales of EUR 9.12 billion for the same period.