[ADVERTORIAL] VIDEO: Last Purim, something new and exciting burst onto the Jewish media landscape and it was sure to impress and delight.
A totally unprecedented audio-visual production, that combines unparalleled creativity, adventure and humor with cutting edge technology. “This is something truly unique, “Says Mr. Chananya “CJ” Kramer, Director of Kolrom Multimedia. “It is something that has not been done before, certainly not at this level, certainly not in the frum community.”
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Fifteen years ago, while working his summer job as division head in camp Romimu, Kramer wrote down the story idea as a script for a camp Purim play.
His fantastical story features Doniel Lesterovitch (“Lester”), a young boy who inadvertently turns the Purim story upside down.
Lester, while directing his own school’s Purim play, gets bumped on the head and suddenly finds himself at the feast of King Achashverosh. He is then asked to go summon queen vashti to the party – and is so convincing that Vashti actually decides to go! By the time Lester realizes what’s happened it’s too late… a whole new plot has been set in motion. Vashti is not killed, there is no search for a new queen so Esther never comes to the palace, and that leaves nobody to save the Jews from evil Haman! A hilarious sub plot develops involving Bigsan and Seresh’s murder schemes, and Lester runs all over Shushan trying to set the Purim story back on track. Eventually, Lester learns and important lesson about Hashem running the world and putting the right people in the right place at the right time.
“Back then it was all just a dream”, says Mr.Kramer, “and because producing a historically based period piece is such a huge financial undertaking, it remained just a dream for a long time.”
In August of 2013, everything changed. Kolrom procured underwriting for the film by teaming up with Emes Productions, a company impressed with Kramer’s story and multimedia capabilities. Since then they have been working hard to develop this animated Purim story, of the highest quality, geared specifically to Torah communities.
“This is not the Purim story”, reminds Mr . Kramer, “rather, an original fictional tale as told by a young boy who knows the Purim story well and uses his imagination to incorporate those facts into his own adventure.”“Megillas Lester” also features several original songs, composed by Shmuli Rosenberg of fwd/NYC, the production’s music director. Malka Leah Joseph’s ingenious lyrics weave the words of Chazal into Rosenberg’s tunes.
The songs are truly a highlight of the production, with catchy sing-able melodies and phrases that not only entertain but also impart fundamental lessons. Concepts related to Divine Intervention and Trust in the Almighty are portrayed through the characters in a fun and easy-to-digest platform suitable for young and old alike.
Raising the bar for quality Jewish productions:
Motion capture is a cutting edge technology that streamlines the animation process and allows for more realistic movement. Once the vocal actors had recorded all the spoken parts and songs, the motion capture actors put on special censored-suits and performed specific motions in a calibrated studio. The technology team worked to translate those movements to the characters on screen.
After seven months of hard work from a full crew, “Megillas Lester” was ready to be released just in time for Purim 2014. Last year was a smashing success, and people from all walks of life loved it. “It’s creatively wonderful,” said Michael Bihovsky, who plays the voice of Lester.
To purchase Megillas Lester online, please visit http://www.megillaslester.com/
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