Tiger Woods promo nets $50,000 prize for Regina man
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 | 10:03 PM CT
The Canadian Press
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This image, part of a winning video by Paul Lowey, shows a golf fan interacting with a virtual Tiger Woods. (EA Sports)Regina native Paul Lowey, now working in Vancouver, is the winner of a contest to create a promotional video based on the Tiger Woods golf game PGA Tour 10.
Lowey's 71-second video, produced on barely a shoestring, earned him a $50,000 US prize.
"I'm so proud of it," Lowey said after his win was announced. "It took a team of people to really pull off every single part of this video."
The winning video uses images from the Tiger Woods game seamlessly interwoven with an enthusiastic golf fan who tries to interact with the virtual Woods.
Contest winner Paul Lowey, originally from Regina, is seen in this image from video game design company EA Sport's web-site. (EA Sports)Lowey's production uses a green-screen technique that allows for actors to be photographed against a solid coloured background. The background colour, usually green, is then removed and the actor's image can be used in a variety of creative ways.
Lowey's video places a real-life fan in the game, nagging the virtual Woods to let him take a shot. The fan grows more frustrated as Woods ignores his pleas.
"The most difficult part, I think, was just coming up with that perfect idea," Lowey said.
The project came together within a whirlwind of a week in early August.
No budget
The budget was "zero," Lowey said with a laugh. He sprang for bottled water and lunch at McDonald's. He had bought a green screen kit for $150 months earlier on a whim, thinking "I'm sure this will come in handy somewhere down the line."
Lowey, 30, has started his own business, Gloo Studios, which does video production for everything from corporate and real estate videos to not-for-profit work for charity and support groups.
"Of course, I've got ambitions of doing something more, something more creative, something fun but still working in the realm of advertising."
A native of Regina, Lowey briefly studied film at the University of Regina but quit to learn on the job.
He plans to use the prize money to upgrade his filmmaking gear and to take his wife and daughter on vacation.
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