Yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting with Robert Blatchford, Director Of Business Development at Troika Design Group.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
BRIEF PLUS: J.J. Abrams—The Art of the Franchise
As the broadcast industry struggles for viewers, the emergence of J.J. Abrams has given new life to the
term “television franchise.” From early shows such as “Felicity” and “Alias” to the much-heralded arrival of
“Lost” and “Fringe,” the executive producer and composer has not only received multiple Emmys for the
quality of his work, he has also delivered the coveted hype and anticipation to the launch of his shows.
One of a handful of producers who are now household names, Abrams now boasts a six-year television
production deal with Warner Bros., the first result of which is “Fringe,” as well as a five year film deal with
Paramount worth a reported $55 million.
He recently took time from his work on ABC’s “Lost” and Fox’s “Fringe,” as well as one of entertainment’s
greatest franchises in the upcoming “Star Trek” movie, to talk about the art of branding with brief editor
Chris Pursell. In the interview, Abrams discussed the future of big-budget television shows, his approach
to marketing, why he would happily take a job in music and his role juggling both the business and
creative elements that go into a tentpole series.
How involved are you in marketing and is marketing more or less important now than ten years
ago?
J.J. ABRAMS: I think ten years ago it was a real anomaly to see shows advertised using outdoor
medium as you do now. You never saw TV shows have previews in the movie theater; there really was
no online advertising at all. Promotion of TV shows used to be: you watched that network; you are going
to see an ad for an upcoming season or week, but now it’s become with magazines and outdoor and
Internet, the promotion of TV shows has become a multi-billion dollar ordeal every year and marketing is
definitely more important just because it’s in use in a way it wasn’t ten years ago.
But my involvement on “Fringe” for example, I could not be more grateful or impressed by what Fox did
on that show. They really came up with wonderful creative that reflected what we were doing in the show
and then we were collaborating with them where it was a real dialogue at the very beginning where we
would be responding to one another in a wonderful way that was an example of incredible and inspired
creative working to sell something they were genuinely enthused about and I think you can see it in what
they did.
ABC, meanwhile, on both “Lost” and “Alias,” did an incredible job. The ratings for “Lost” were as good as
they were not because everyone had seen the show and knew about it and liked it, and not because the
reviews had been out there. It was because ABC made the show look compelling, they did an amazing
job with a great outdoor campaign that had pathos and emotion and it looked like an event. My
involvement with these things varies but I am deeply involved in how things get sold, especially on the
film side.
The sale of the idea, which is not just about the poster or the advertisements, but it’s also about the timing
of the release of information. All of that is something I think is critical, and I’m involved in that as I can be.
At what point in the process do you think about marketing?
J.J. ABRAMS: I tend to work from the inside out, trying to figure out what it is that gets me genuinely
excited because whenever there is something that is honestly and purely thrilling from the inside, there is
invariably a way to externalize that, to create a message and deliver it. People just feel that there is
something interesting there because there was something interesting to the people who created it.
Rather than looking at it from the outside in, thinking “Ok, what would be a cool commercial?” or “What
would be an interesting image that would be compelling?” I think that for better or worse, try to look on the
thing that grabs you at the onset at its essence. In a way, the marketing of that thing ended up being an
outgrowth of that.
Where do you see the future of big budget dramas either on the air or online?
J.J. ABRAMS: I think obviously, especially with the economics of today, big budget anything is making it
less and less possible for people to take those risks for those kinds of projects. That’s not to say there
aren’t models of it, there are people who say that when times get tough, people turn to TV for comfort. But
in terms of big budget shows like “Heroes” (and) “Lost” certainly where enormous budgets are spent, I
think it’s true with some shows that don’t even look like they would be that expensive, but we are still
spending three, four, five, sometimes even six million dollars to do an episode of a television show that’s
an hour.
Now if you factor in the amortization of that and you double it to be a two-hour movie, you could be talking
about easily a $50 million dollar movie every week. That’s lunacy. Meaning that you can’t do too many
shows like that, and if you do a show like that, it had better work, otherwise it’s a big expense. I think the
challenge of shows like that are numerous, including making a pilot that is so elaborate that the series
can’t live up to that and then (what) you end up doing (is) basically you are cheating the audience out of
something. You can’t have the famous action director, like McG, direct every episode of the show. So you
do the pilot and you marvel at all that amazing energy and then week to week you realize it is really a
whole other thing.
So, the challenge is to figure out how to do a show that is from the beginning true to the show and
maintain a consistent feel and a look. I think what’s going to happen is budgets will have to come down
but it can never go back to the early days of TV. It probably can’t go back to a time when they would do
36 episodes a year and they would shoot an episode in five days. No one would accept a show now that
looks the way “Dynasty” did when it was on the air. The question is how do you take the limitations and
turn them into an advantage and do something for less money that embraces the aesthetic those
limitations create, which is what we did on “Cloverfield.”
We decided to do a movie that which when you read the script you think this is a $150 million movie. We
had to find a way to do it for under $25 million and accomplished that by embracing the aesthetic of the
videotape from the single-cam point of view. That let us do a movie that let us have a huge monster, had
all these crazy scares. It did it in a way that didn’t require a kind of expense that would have made that
movie ungreenlightable.
Coming off the successes of “Fringe” and “Lost,” how do stay inspired as both a creative as well
as a businessman?
J.J. ABRAMS: It’s a dream to do these shows, these movies and work with these people. I’m still
shocked that I get to do it. The inspiration usually comes from a feeling about a character or a situation.
Sometimes it’s incredibly singular and small such as “Felicity.” I knew I wanted to do a story about a
young woman, a girl who follows a boy to a college she never would have gone to, and in the process of
doing that, discovers her past somehow. I didn’t quite know what that meant or how that would look, but I
knew there was that idea or character who was that romantic that she would do something that foolish.
“Alias” was really inspired by wanting to take that premise, that “Felicity” model, and say “God, if she was
a spy than that would really be fun.” The double life idea was compelling.
“Lost” it was Lloyd Braun calling me saying he wanted to do a show about survivors of a plane crash and I
called him back and said “You’re not going to like what I’m going to pitch you because it’s very weird but
here’s the idea.” He said “I like it” and we came up with the specifics of the show. A lot of that was
inspired by what the challenge was and desperately wanting to see something that is not out there.
What is it that inspires you?
J.J. ABRAMS: There is no one thing but it is the magic of the process. It is the idea of creating a story
that the people will believe. It’s like doing a magic trick, taking something that’s not real, that is an illusion
that seems incredible, and making people feel that it’s real. It could be a very straight forward drama, it
could be comedic, horrific, science fiction, it could be anything. The process of filmmaking is the thing I’ve
always known that I’ve wanted to do, which is why I feel so lucky that I’ve been given a chance.
Walk us through the process of creating music for your series…
J.J. ABRAMS: I’ve always thought that music is at least 51% of the experience of a movie or a show. So
it’s always been really important to me. It’s one of the reasons I do the theme songs to the shows that I’ve
done. It’s because I would love the music and no one would ever ask me to do the theme for a TV show.
So if anyone ever asked me to do a theme for another TV show, I’d be thrilled.
But the fun of doing a theme is setting a certain kind of tone for what the show is. It’s like making a great
little theme song and the best ones ever are some of the best recorded music ever, like the “Sanford &
Son” theme song is spectacular. It’s one of the greatest things ever.
Anyway, the scores for the shows themselves, we have since “Alias” been collaborating with Michael
Giacchino, who has also done the movies I’ve directed and recently produced, and he’s as good as they
get. He’s sort of the next generation of composers.
What are the keys to establishing a franchise or branding in a multimedia world with so much
competition out there?
J.J. ABRAMS: I think that one of the important aspects of approaching the work you do is not to
consider the branding at all.
The real brand is the result of the work of making something that feels particularly exciting or high quality.
Brand loyalty is the result of simply doing something that is of value to people whether it’s a product or a
movie, story or song.
For me, branding is more of a by-product and less of a goal.
Speaking of brand loyalty, you’ve now inherited “Star Trek” as well as the avid fan base that goes
with it.
J.J. ABRAMS: As someone who was not an avid “Star Trek” fan as a kid, my approach was less about
absolute and pure reverence to what came before, as it was appreciation that I need to revere what came
before. That means that I didn’t have that natural sense of “Oh my God, I must follow every aspect of
Trek canon moving forward.”
On the other hand, I knew it was critical to fans of that universe, and I couldn’t do something that was
blasphemy to them. One of our writers Roberto Orci is a massive “Star Trek” fan, so he was keeping me
honest the whole time in that regard.
As far as the brand is concerned, I think maybe the advantage I had coming into it is that I think I saw
“Star Trek” more the way the average moviegoer sees “Star Trek” and less the way a devotee sees it.
That made it easier for me to pinpoint things that I felt were the most important things to be true to. For
example, I knew I wanted the look of “Star Trek” to feel like it was of the original series and yet withstand
the high resolution of seeing the movie in IMAX. I wanted it to have elements that I knew were iconic to
that franchise like the shape of the Enterprise. I wanted to do something that die-hard fans would go
“Ooh, that’s a little bit different. That’s not the Enterprise I know.” But at the same time, at first glance,
know that it was the Enterprise and have people who have never seen “Star Trek” but are somehow
genetically are born with this knowledge of Kirk and Spock to be able to glance at the Enterprise and
glance at the wardrobe or even glance at the fonts and know that was “Star Trek.”
But if you actually look at it, there is something about it that isn’t exactly what you remember. That’s just
because if we literally used the same wardrobe or design of the original series, it would literally look like a
campy joke.
So I think the key to doing “Star Trek” is the following: maintain elements that you know you cannot and
should not change, and be true to that and even more than that, be true to making what you consider to
be a great movie. The more important thing is to be relevant to today and to now, because if you simply
let yourself be led by or serve the master of what has come before, you are immediately backwards
looking and the odds of doing something that is truly relevant, compelling, impactful, exciting and of now
are very small. It’s critical that you allow the process to be inspired by what’s come before, but you have
to use that as one of a number of criteria that guide you creatively. If you’re only serving that, you are
probably going to be not just limiting your audience, but limiting the potential of what it is you are working
on.
term “television franchise.” From early shows such as “Felicity” and “Alias” to the much-heralded arrival of
“Lost” and “Fringe,” the executive producer and composer has not only received multiple Emmys for the
quality of his work, he has also delivered the coveted hype and anticipation to the launch of his shows.
One of a handful of producers who are now household names, Abrams now boasts a six-year television
production deal with Warner Bros., the first result of which is “Fringe,” as well as a five year film deal with
Paramount worth a reported $55 million.
He recently took time from his work on ABC’s “Lost” and Fox’s “Fringe,” as well as one of entertainment’s
greatest franchises in the upcoming “Star Trek” movie, to talk about the art of branding with brief editor
Chris Pursell. In the interview, Abrams discussed the future of big-budget television shows, his approach
to marketing, why he would happily take a job in music and his role juggling both the business and
creative elements that go into a tentpole series.
How involved are you in marketing and is marketing more or less important now than ten years
ago?
J.J. ABRAMS: I think ten years ago it was a real anomaly to see shows advertised using outdoor
medium as you do now. You never saw TV shows have previews in the movie theater; there really was
no online advertising at all. Promotion of TV shows used to be: you watched that network; you are going
to see an ad for an upcoming season or week, but now it’s become with magazines and outdoor and
Internet, the promotion of TV shows has become a multi-billion dollar ordeal every year and marketing is
definitely more important just because it’s in use in a way it wasn’t ten years ago.
But my involvement on “Fringe” for example, I could not be more grateful or impressed by what Fox did
on that show. They really came up with wonderful creative that reflected what we were doing in the show
and then we were collaborating with them where it was a real dialogue at the very beginning where we
would be responding to one another in a wonderful way that was an example of incredible and inspired
creative working to sell something they were genuinely enthused about and I think you can see it in what
they did.
ABC, meanwhile, on both “Lost” and “Alias,” did an incredible job. The ratings for “Lost” were as good as
they were not because everyone had seen the show and knew about it and liked it, and not because the
reviews had been out there. It was because ABC made the show look compelling, they did an amazing
job with a great outdoor campaign that had pathos and emotion and it looked like an event. My
involvement with these things varies but I am deeply involved in how things get sold, especially on the
film side.
The sale of the idea, which is not just about the poster or the advertisements, but it’s also about the timing
of the release of information. All of that is something I think is critical, and I’m involved in that as I can be.
At what point in the process do you think about marketing?
J.J. ABRAMS: I tend to work from the inside out, trying to figure out what it is that gets me genuinely
excited because whenever there is something that is honestly and purely thrilling from the inside, there is
invariably a way to externalize that, to create a message and deliver it. People just feel that there is
something interesting there because there was something interesting to the people who created it.
Rather than looking at it from the outside in, thinking “Ok, what would be a cool commercial?” or “What
would be an interesting image that would be compelling?” I think that for better or worse, try to look on the
thing that grabs you at the onset at its essence. In a way, the marketing of that thing ended up being an
outgrowth of that.
Where do you see the future of big budget dramas either on the air or online?
J.J. ABRAMS: I think obviously, especially with the economics of today, big budget anything is making it
less and less possible for people to take those risks for those kinds of projects. That’s not to say there
aren’t models of it, there are people who say that when times get tough, people turn to TV for comfort. But
in terms of big budget shows like “Heroes” (and) “Lost” certainly where enormous budgets are spent, I
think it’s true with some shows that don’t even look like they would be that expensive, but we are still
spending three, four, five, sometimes even six million dollars to do an episode of a television show that’s
an hour.
Now if you factor in the amortization of that and you double it to be a two-hour movie, you could be talking
about easily a $50 million dollar movie every week. That’s lunacy. Meaning that you can’t do too many
shows like that, and if you do a show like that, it had better work, otherwise it’s a big expense. I think the
challenge of shows like that are numerous, including making a pilot that is so elaborate that the series
can’t live up to that and then (what) you end up doing (is) basically you are cheating the audience out of
something. You can’t have the famous action director, like McG, direct every episode of the show. So you
do the pilot and you marvel at all that amazing energy and then week to week you realize it is really a
whole other thing.
So, the challenge is to figure out how to do a show that is from the beginning true to the show and
maintain a consistent feel and a look. I think what’s going to happen is budgets will have to come down
but it can never go back to the early days of TV. It probably can’t go back to a time when they would do
36 episodes a year and they would shoot an episode in five days. No one would accept a show now that
looks the way “Dynasty” did when it was on the air. The question is how do you take the limitations and
turn them into an advantage and do something for less money that embraces the aesthetic those
limitations create, which is what we did on “Cloverfield.”
We decided to do a movie that which when you read the script you think this is a $150 million movie. We
had to find a way to do it for under $25 million and accomplished that by embracing the aesthetic of the
videotape from the single-cam point of view. That let us do a movie that let us have a huge monster, had
all these crazy scares. It did it in a way that didn’t require a kind of expense that would have made that
movie ungreenlightable.
Coming off the successes of “Fringe” and “Lost,” how do stay inspired as both a creative as well
as a businessman?
J.J. ABRAMS: It’s a dream to do these shows, these movies and work with these people. I’m still
shocked that I get to do it. The inspiration usually comes from a feeling about a character or a situation.
Sometimes it’s incredibly singular and small such as “Felicity.” I knew I wanted to do a story about a
young woman, a girl who follows a boy to a college she never would have gone to, and in the process of
doing that, discovers her past somehow. I didn’t quite know what that meant or how that would look, but I
knew there was that idea or character who was that romantic that she would do something that foolish.
“Alias” was really inspired by wanting to take that premise, that “Felicity” model, and say “God, if she was
a spy than that would really be fun.” The double life idea was compelling.
“Lost” it was Lloyd Braun calling me saying he wanted to do a show about survivors of a plane crash and I
called him back and said “You’re not going to like what I’m going to pitch you because it’s very weird but
here’s the idea.” He said “I like it” and we came up with the specifics of the show. A lot of that was
inspired by what the challenge was and desperately wanting to see something that is not out there.
What is it that inspires you?
J.J. ABRAMS: There is no one thing but it is the magic of the process. It is the idea of creating a story
that the people will believe. It’s like doing a magic trick, taking something that’s not real, that is an illusion
that seems incredible, and making people feel that it’s real. It could be a very straight forward drama, it
could be comedic, horrific, science fiction, it could be anything. The process of filmmaking is the thing I’ve
always known that I’ve wanted to do, which is why I feel so lucky that I’ve been given a chance.
Walk us through the process of creating music for your series…
J.J. ABRAMS: I’ve always thought that music is at least 51% of the experience of a movie or a show. So
it’s always been really important to me. It’s one of the reasons I do the theme songs to the shows that I’ve
done. It’s because I would love the music and no one would ever ask me to do the theme for a TV show.
So if anyone ever asked me to do a theme for another TV show, I’d be thrilled.
But the fun of doing a theme is setting a certain kind of tone for what the show is. It’s like making a great
little theme song and the best ones ever are some of the best recorded music ever, like the “Sanford &
Son” theme song is spectacular. It’s one of the greatest things ever.
Anyway, the scores for the shows themselves, we have since “Alias” been collaborating with Michael
Giacchino, who has also done the movies I’ve directed and recently produced, and he’s as good as they
get. He’s sort of the next generation of composers.
What are the keys to establishing a franchise or branding in a multimedia world with so much
competition out there?
J.J. ABRAMS: I think that one of the important aspects of approaching the work you do is not to
consider the branding at all.
The real brand is the result of the work of making something that feels particularly exciting or high quality.
Brand loyalty is the result of simply doing something that is of value to people whether it’s a product or a
movie, story or song.
For me, branding is more of a by-product and less of a goal.
Speaking of brand loyalty, you’ve now inherited “Star Trek” as well as the avid fan base that goes
with it.
J.J. ABRAMS: As someone who was not an avid “Star Trek” fan as a kid, my approach was less about
absolute and pure reverence to what came before, as it was appreciation that I need to revere what came
before. That means that I didn’t have that natural sense of “Oh my God, I must follow every aspect of
Trek canon moving forward.”
On the other hand, I knew it was critical to fans of that universe, and I couldn’t do something that was
blasphemy to them. One of our writers Roberto Orci is a massive “Star Trek” fan, so he was keeping me
honest the whole time in that regard.
As far as the brand is concerned, I think maybe the advantage I had coming into it is that I think I saw
“Star Trek” more the way the average moviegoer sees “Star Trek” and less the way a devotee sees it.
That made it easier for me to pinpoint things that I felt were the most important things to be true to. For
example, I knew I wanted the look of “Star Trek” to feel like it was of the original series and yet withstand
the high resolution of seeing the movie in IMAX. I wanted it to have elements that I knew were iconic to
that franchise like the shape of the Enterprise. I wanted to do something that die-hard fans would go
“Ooh, that’s a little bit different. That’s not the Enterprise I know.” But at the same time, at first glance,
know that it was the Enterprise and have people who have never seen “Star Trek” but are somehow
genetically are born with this knowledge of Kirk and Spock to be able to glance at the Enterprise and
glance at the wardrobe or even glance at the fonts and know that was “Star Trek.”
But if you actually look at it, there is something about it that isn’t exactly what you remember. That’s just
because if we literally used the same wardrobe or design of the original series, it would literally look like a
campy joke.
So I think the key to doing “Star Trek” is the following: maintain elements that you know you cannot and
should not change, and be true to that and even more than that, be true to making what you consider to
be a great movie. The more important thing is to be relevant to today and to now, because if you simply
let yourself be led by or serve the master of what has come before, you are immediately backwards
looking and the odds of doing something that is truly relevant, compelling, impactful, exciting and of now
are very small. It’s critical that you allow the process to be inspired by what’s come before, but you have
to use that as one of a number of criteria that guide you creatively. If you’re only serving that, you are
probably going to be not just limiting your audience, but limiting the potential of what it is you are working
on.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
BRIEF PLUS: Sean Owolo—Designing a New Career
By Shanna Green
For someone lacking a formal background in visual graphics, Sean Owolo is rapidly positioning
himself as a leader in the field known for its eye candy.
In an age of job duties becoming fluid, and “preditors” becoming the norm, Owolo represents thenew breed of business developer. Owolo, who currently works as an executive producer/businessdevelopment at Los Angeles motion graphic design and illustration company Big Machine Design,has been able to position himself to be in high demand in the industry by learning to anticipateemerging trends and react quickly.
And Owolo says it was all by accident.
The former music executive started his career working in marketing for major record labels
including Warner Bros. Records and Universal Music. He left the music industry in favor of design five years ago when he realized that the industry was steadily tanking.
Owolo, a longtime fan of visual effects and animation, said he noticed that design had gone so
mainstream that even consumer markets had shifted their attention to it. Whether it was laundry detergent or soap bottles, design had finally become a larger part of their marketing plans.
“Everywhere people are competing for eyeballs, whether it’s TV or product packaging, so design
has become a lot smarter and I just wanted to be a part of that,” he said.
Although he had no design background, he landed a position in business development at creative agency 3 Ring Circus, and was able to transition quickly into the design industry, which he credits with his past experience in the music industry.
Once he became emerged within the company, he noticed that there was a large group of
creative directors and freelancers who wanted to start their own company, but often didn’t have
the business and financial know how or means.
Thus, in early 2007, HEROIC, a joint venture between Owolo and 3 Ring Circus CEO John
Sideropoulos was born. HEROIC became an umbrella answer for him to start a company with the
financial infrastructure that he could represent designers and best match them for jobs, freeing
them up to concentrate fully on creating.
After spending three and a half years at 3 Ring Circus and co-launching HEROIC, Owolo had
achieved what he’d set out to accomplish and felt it was time to move on.
In June of 2008, Owolo left 3 Ring Circus and HEROIC to go to work for Big Machine Design.
It was his ability to work both sides of the industry that Big Machine Design Co-Founder and
Creative Director Steve Petersen said he found so attractive about Owolo.
“We looked for a long time in the broadcast/design world to try to find a good business
development person and it’s really hard,” Petersen said. “We started looking out there in the
industry and I think we’re very happy with our decision to look in the music industry.”
Since coming to Big Machine Design, Owolo has had the opportunity to work on a number of high
profile jobs including Nashville Star for NBC, a new open for Live with Regis and Kelly, an AMC
comic book style tribute to Samuel L. Jackson and the opening credits for last fall’s Gary
Unmarried, which he noted was particularly impressive to his teenage daughter who
accompanied him on set to meet Jay Mohr.
But one of the favorite jobs he’s done over the years was a summer of 2007 rebrand for the
bilingual music and lifestyle channel LATV. While at HEROIC, Owolo was tasked with finding
designers to come up with a package for the Los Angeles-based channel that was getting ready
to launch nationwide. Owolo brought together two companies, BuildDestroy and Wondermint, for
the job, which consisted of a graffiti artist doing live action spray painting on green-screen, which
was then layered with matching visual effects. The package was met with critical acclaim and
featured in Stash magazine.
“It was just a great project that the clients loved, but also that the designers loved,” Owolo said. “I
think that that’s when it’s perfect; when your client is ecstatic and also the designers didn’t have
to compromise their vision at all and they’re happy as well.”
Owolo sees the key to his future in the industry as being able to evolve and adapt right along with
it. From doing and re-doing work specifically for HD, to designing projects to fit onto cell phones
and ipods in the correct ratio to designing in-game graphics for the steadily growing video game
industry, Owolo sees the design industry as wide open to those who can seize the opportunities.
Sometimes companies have to make their own opportunities, he said. As part of anticipating the
evolution of how audiences will consume entertainment, Big Machine Design is currently
developing new original content to sell to the very channels they’re designing for.
“It’s just a manner of bracing yourself and putting yourself ahead of the curves and in areas that
are just starting to think about that,” Owolo said. “Outside of just broadcast design and TV is the
Internet. Now you have that force to deal with.”
Big Machine Design has already produced and sold their original live action and animation series
“True Crime: Streets of Miami” to truTV, and currently has another 10 shows they’re internally
developing.
This could be a huge part of the future of design companies that both Petersen and Owolo
recognize. By creating content for the very networks they’re branding, they’ve been able to give
themselves a critically competitive edge.
“We’re privy to a lot of what’s coming out, and a lot of the sensibilities of the networks,” Petersen
said. “We’re kind of always ahead of the curve because we’re working on the branding of some of
that stuff.”
The next goal for him, Owolo says is to become even more involved in this production of original
content and eventually executive produce television shows. Design, he says, is the industry to
pursue.
“There’re just so many areas that need design,” Owolo said. “Anything that appeals to the eyeball
is going to need a designer. I don’t see it as an industry that’s going to slow down anytime soon.”
For someone lacking a formal background in visual graphics, Sean Owolo is rapidly positioning
himself as a leader in the field known for its eye candy.
In an age of job duties becoming fluid, and “preditors” becoming the norm, Owolo represents thenew breed of business developer. Owolo, who currently works as an executive producer/businessdevelopment at Los Angeles motion graphic design and illustration company Big Machine Design,has been able to position himself to be in high demand in the industry by learning to anticipateemerging trends and react quickly.
And Owolo says it was all by accident.
The former music executive started his career working in marketing for major record labels
including Warner Bros. Records and Universal Music. He left the music industry in favor of design five years ago when he realized that the industry was steadily tanking.
Owolo, a longtime fan of visual effects and animation, said he noticed that design had gone so
mainstream that even consumer markets had shifted their attention to it. Whether it was laundry detergent or soap bottles, design had finally become a larger part of their marketing plans.
“Everywhere people are competing for eyeballs, whether it’s TV or product packaging, so design
has become a lot smarter and I just wanted to be a part of that,” he said.
Although he had no design background, he landed a position in business development at creative agency 3 Ring Circus, and was able to transition quickly into the design industry, which he credits with his past experience in the music industry.
Once he became emerged within the company, he noticed that there was a large group of
creative directors and freelancers who wanted to start their own company, but often didn’t have
the business and financial know how or means.
Thus, in early 2007, HEROIC, a joint venture between Owolo and 3 Ring Circus CEO John
Sideropoulos was born. HEROIC became an umbrella answer for him to start a company with the
financial infrastructure that he could represent designers and best match them for jobs, freeing
them up to concentrate fully on creating.
After spending three and a half years at 3 Ring Circus and co-launching HEROIC, Owolo had
achieved what he’d set out to accomplish and felt it was time to move on.
In June of 2008, Owolo left 3 Ring Circus and HEROIC to go to work for Big Machine Design.
It was his ability to work both sides of the industry that Big Machine Design Co-Founder and
Creative Director Steve Petersen said he found so attractive about Owolo.
“We looked for a long time in the broadcast/design world to try to find a good business
development person and it’s really hard,” Petersen said. “We started looking out there in the
industry and I think we’re very happy with our decision to look in the music industry.”
Since coming to Big Machine Design, Owolo has had the opportunity to work on a number of high
profile jobs including Nashville Star for NBC, a new open for Live with Regis and Kelly, an AMC
comic book style tribute to Samuel L. Jackson and the opening credits for last fall’s Gary
Unmarried, which he noted was particularly impressive to his teenage daughter who
accompanied him on set to meet Jay Mohr.
But one of the favorite jobs he’s done over the years was a summer of 2007 rebrand for the
bilingual music and lifestyle channel LATV. While at HEROIC, Owolo was tasked with finding
designers to come up with a package for the Los Angeles-based channel that was getting ready
to launch nationwide. Owolo brought together two companies, BuildDestroy and Wondermint, for
the job, which consisted of a graffiti artist doing live action spray painting on green-screen, which
was then layered with matching visual effects. The package was met with critical acclaim and
featured in Stash magazine.
“It was just a great project that the clients loved, but also that the designers loved,” Owolo said. “I
think that that’s when it’s perfect; when your client is ecstatic and also the designers didn’t have
to compromise their vision at all and they’re happy as well.”
Owolo sees the key to his future in the industry as being able to evolve and adapt right along with
it. From doing and re-doing work specifically for HD, to designing projects to fit onto cell phones
and ipods in the correct ratio to designing in-game graphics for the steadily growing video game
industry, Owolo sees the design industry as wide open to those who can seize the opportunities.
Sometimes companies have to make their own opportunities, he said. As part of anticipating the
evolution of how audiences will consume entertainment, Big Machine Design is currently
developing new original content to sell to the very channels they’re designing for.
“It’s just a manner of bracing yourself and putting yourself ahead of the curves and in areas that
are just starting to think about that,” Owolo said. “Outside of just broadcast design and TV is the
Internet. Now you have that force to deal with.”
Big Machine Design has already produced and sold their original live action and animation series
“True Crime: Streets of Miami” to truTV, and currently has another 10 shows they’re internally
developing.
This could be a huge part of the future of design companies that both Petersen and Owolo
recognize. By creating content for the very networks they’re branding, they’ve been able to give
themselves a critically competitive edge.
“We’re privy to a lot of what’s coming out, and a lot of the sensibilities of the networks,” Petersen
said. “We’re kind of always ahead of the curve because we’re working on the branding of some of
that stuff.”
The next goal for him, Owolo says is to become even more involved in this production of original
content and eventually executive produce television shows. Design, he says, is the industry to
pursue.
“There’re just so many areas that need design,” Owolo said. “Anything that appeals to the eyeball
is going to need a designer. I don’t see it as an industry that’s going to slow down anytime soon.”
BRIEF PLUS: Promo writing 101
By Hamilton Fisher and Andrew Jackson
“There is no terror in a bang, only in the anticipation of it.”
–Alfred Hitchcock, British film director, 1899 – 1980
Sir Alfred Hitchcock knew how to keep an audience on the edge of their seats. A movie trailer or
television promo producer should aspire to do the same. There’s a formula for writing we use at BBC
America that guarantees you’ll create a first-class dramatic promo every time. We call it, “the Robin Hood”
technique.
Think of yourself as an archer and the promo your bow and arrow. The beginning of the spot is the
threading of the bow; the announcer’s copy is the pull-back of the arrow on the string; and the back-end
of the spot (the quick cuts and dialogue) is the release of the arrow on its journey towards the target, the
cliffhanger.
It’s a simple formula. The key to making it work is the amount of preparation you put into it on paper. The
more time you allow for structuring copy and clips on paper will reduce the amount of time you need in
the edit suite and add to the overall quality of your spot.
The Paper Cut
All promo-writers know the fear of starting production on a new promo. It’s that helplessness we feel
when confronted with a blank page of paper. Don’t panic. The following steps can help to show you the
way.
First choose the cliffhanger, the target at which to aim the narrative arrow. This is almost always a clip or
sound bite from the film that leaves the viewer wondering what will happen next. Everything else in the
promo builds to this moment. Then select a scene to place at the beginning of the spot, a short clip that
rivets the viewer’s attention, sets-up the storyline and begins the march towards the cliffhanger. Now
you’ve selected the two most important elements in your promo: the beginning and the end. You know
where you’re starting from and you know where you’re going. All that’s left is to fill-in the middle.
Logging
Before you can construct an outline on paper (the paper cut) you need to arrange the materials in front of
you in an easy-to-use manner. Yes, I’m speaking about logging the film, the most boring and thankless
part of the process. It’s also the most critical. Skimp here and you’ll find yourself at a disadvantage during
the rest of the process. A detailed log is a promo writer’s best friend.
As you log a film, make note of which sound bites or dialogue will help you to tell the story. There are two
general types of dialogue we look for when writing spots at BBC America: thematic bites, those moral
statements spoken by a character that define what the film is about, and the narrative bites, the
statements that tell the plot and define the characters’ motives. A list of thematic and narrative sound
bites will help you to meet your deadline later in production. This is especially true when the boss asks for
last-minute changes to your spot. There’s rarely time to go back and search the film for options when
you’re already deep into the process.
Copy writing
Now you’ve got a detailed log of the film and you’ve chosen the cliffhanger and the opening clip to begin
the spot. But before you choose the sound bites and action to fill-in the middle, write the announcer’s
copy first. The words you choose will help determine what dialogue and action will fit.
For many of us, the copy writing is the most intimidating part of the process. But, quality copy is what
makes a promo memorable, and you should budget as much time as possible to get it right. The promo
copy is typically a line or phrase (one or two sentences) that is a succinctly-stated truth, not a synopsis of
the storyline. The copy is not a book report but instead is used to give dramatic perspective, sensibility
and “relatability”. But be wary of sounding overly profound. The copy should sound underwritten. The
words should flow in a clear and simple manner to the degree that the viewer doesn’t even hear it in the
spot. Good copy is unobtrusive and registers “in the back of the brain”. But don’t be afraid of hyperbole; a
promo is a dramatic tease so doesn’t hold back!
The copywriter as’ mini-philosopher’
Before you write a word of copy, step back from the details of the plot and look at the story from a position
of wisdom. The copy you write should relate to the film’s theme, the overarching subject of the story. It’s
the copywriter’s job to make these overarching ideas in the film relatable. That’s why promo writers are
often called ‘mini-philosophers’. In other words, look for the film’s life lesson. This is the theme of the story:
fear, honor, truth, deception, greed, hope and sacrifice. It can be about what an individual may
experience in life…or what groups experience…or what nations experience under the same
circumstances.
Playing Chess with Words
To create the best copy a promo writer must aspire to be an aphorist, a writer of pithy sayings. The
dictionary defines an aphorist as someone who writes ‘any witty, ingenious, or pointed saying tersely
expressed’. But it’s more than big ideas expressed in small language when it comes to writing promo
copy. You’ve got to write in a conversational manner using language you’d hear on the street as opposed
to thoughts you’d read in a book. For this reason I’ve personally kept a running list of memorable lines
I’ve heard from people I know or strangers I’ve met. To me, these street-sayings are gold because they’re
spoken words, verbalized in a spontaneous manner by people who were inspired by the moment. The
following are examples of observations I’ve recorded outside of work and used later for inspiration in
writing copy:
In a Holy war, nothing is sacred- an observation made by my wife while watching a television news
report from the middle-east.
You’re not breaking the rules; you’re breaking the law- spoken by my 8 year old nephew while playing
cops and robbers.
And I’ve recorded some helpful comic observations:
What do you do when you’re surrounded on all sides? Shoot in all directions- from a story I heard
from a Vietnam vet. I used these lines in a movie trailer for a Bruce Willis action flick.
Between dating and divorce is a state of limbo called marriage- muttered by my sister after her
second divorce.
The Danger of the ‘Disconnect’
Have you ever read a book and found your concentration drifting away? That’s when a break in the linear
progression of the story causes the reader to lose focus. This usually happens when the author’s
storytelling becomes disjointed. The same is true for promos.
As you continue to structure the spot on paper, keep the phrases of the copy close together. If the copy is
broken-up by too much dialogue or action, the viewer may experience a disconnection between what was
said earlier and what’s said later. The break between each phrase of copy should be short enough in
length to insure that the viewer doesn’t lose the promo’s train of thought. Otherwise the viewer may lose
focus and interest. It’s helpful to write your copy in a manner that allows each separate phrase to stand
alone and still make sense. For example: “we don’t make headlines” – sound bite – “we make history”.
Each phrase in the sentence makes sense regardless of the distance between them.
Revisiting the paper cut
After you’ve finished your first outline on paper, don’t relax. It’s only your first draft. The paper cut should
go thru numerous versions (try switching the end with the beginning) until you’ve exhausted every
possible sequence of sound bites, copy and action. This is the best way to create the most impact in a
promo and save time in the online edit.
The Radio Cut
Congratulations, you’ve got a detailed log, the announcer’s copy and the spot’s structure on paper. You’re
now ready to take the project to the next step: the edit suite. But before you even think about the pictures
and graphics, consider making a ‘radio cut’ first. If you have the budget, go into the audio suite with a
sound designer and edit together the announcer’s tracks, music, sound effects and sound bites. This step
will help save you time when you enter the video suite.
The grammar of a radio cut
Most people recognize four basic building blocks of radio drama: speech, sound effects, music and
silence. Bronwyn Woodhead, an editor at BBC America, calls the use of these audio elements the
‘grammar’ of a spot. She punctuates her promos through the deliberate placement of sound effects’ hits,
drum builds and drones. To Bronwyn, this approach is similar to the use of commas, semi-colons and
exclamation points in writing prose. The grammar of a spot, she says, allows the editor to stop and start
the spot or change direction, all in an effort to keep a viewer’s attention from wandering. Bronwyn likes to
remind producers not to overwrite a spot with wall-to-wall copy and sound bites. Instead, leave enough
space in the structure of a spot for the editor to create an ambience or atmosphere.
The Use of Music
Though traditional music beds give a spot its feel, wall-to-wall music (from the beginning to the end of the
spot) has become passé. The opinion today is that music beds feel one-dimensional. This is not to
discount the use of music entirely. A production score works well in the last third of a spot, the ‘back-end’,
and helps the spot build to the cliffhanger.
The Pictures and Graphics
Now that you’ve got your radio cut you’re ready to go into the actual online edit suite. Take along the
time-code numbers of the film’s sound bites that you placed in the radio cut. Align the bites with the
pictures and voila! You’ve got a spot with 90% of the pictures already in place. Now you can relax and
enjoy creating the eye-candy, the quick video-edits and explosive graphics that make a promo fun to
watch.
The Idiot Check
When the spot is cut and you’re ready to show it to the boss, remember to first do “the idiot check". Go
back and recut the promo every which way you can imagine. Experiment with the structure like you did
with the paper cut. Reverse the beginning of the spot with the ending. Move around the middle elements
to see which sequence works best with the copy. Try every combination you can think of until you're
satisfied that you’ve found the best structure for telling the story and building to the cliffhanger.
Finally, watch the spot with and without the sound on and ask yourself, ‘do the pictures tell a linear story?’
Then listen to the spot without watching the pictures and ask yourself, ‘does the sound design tell a linear
story?’ Don’t be satisfied until the spot’s message can be understood both ways.
The resolution
Sir Alfred Hitchcock would have been a first-rate promo producer. Though he liked to criticize movie
trailers for giving-away a film’s plot, the master of suspense understood what makes a trailer (or promo)
work: it’s not enough to make the audience want to see your film, make them want to see what happens.
“There is no terror in a bang, only in the anticipation of it.”
–Alfred Hitchcock, British film director, 1899 – 1980
Sir Alfred Hitchcock knew how to keep an audience on the edge of their seats. A movie trailer or
television promo producer should aspire to do the same. There’s a formula for writing we use at BBC
America that guarantees you’ll create a first-class dramatic promo every time. We call it, “the Robin Hood”
technique.
Think of yourself as an archer and the promo your bow and arrow. The beginning of the spot is the
threading of the bow; the announcer’s copy is the pull-back of the arrow on the string; and the back-end
of the spot (the quick cuts and dialogue) is the release of the arrow on its journey towards the target, the
cliffhanger.
It’s a simple formula. The key to making it work is the amount of preparation you put into it on paper. The
more time you allow for structuring copy and clips on paper will reduce the amount of time you need in
the edit suite and add to the overall quality of your spot.
The Paper Cut
All promo-writers know the fear of starting production on a new promo. It’s that helplessness we feel
when confronted with a blank page of paper. Don’t panic. The following steps can help to show you the
way.
First choose the cliffhanger, the target at which to aim the narrative arrow. This is almost always a clip or
sound bite from the film that leaves the viewer wondering what will happen next. Everything else in the
promo builds to this moment. Then select a scene to place at the beginning of the spot, a short clip that
rivets the viewer’s attention, sets-up the storyline and begins the march towards the cliffhanger. Now
you’ve selected the two most important elements in your promo: the beginning and the end. You know
where you’re starting from and you know where you’re going. All that’s left is to fill-in the middle.
Logging
Before you can construct an outline on paper (the paper cut) you need to arrange the materials in front of
you in an easy-to-use manner. Yes, I’m speaking about logging the film, the most boring and thankless
part of the process. It’s also the most critical. Skimp here and you’ll find yourself at a disadvantage during
the rest of the process. A detailed log is a promo writer’s best friend.
As you log a film, make note of which sound bites or dialogue will help you to tell the story. There are two
general types of dialogue we look for when writing spots at BBC America: thematic bites, those moral
statements spoken by a character that define what the film is about, and the narrative bites, the
statements that tell the plot and define the characters’ motives. A list of thematic and narrative sound
bites will help you to meet your deadline later in production. This is especially true when the boss asks for
last-minute changes to your spot. There’s rarely time to go back and search the film for options when
you’re already deep into the process.
Copy writing
Now you’ve got a detailed log of the film and you’ve chosen the cliffhanger and the opening clip to begin
the spot. But before you choose the sound bites and action to fill-in the middle, write the announcer’s
copy first. The words you choose will help determine what dialogue and action will fit.
For many of us, the copy writing is the most intimidating part of the process. But, quality copy is what
makes a promo memorable, and you should budget as much time as possible to get it right. The promo
copy is typically a line or phrase (one or two sentences) that is a succinctly-stated truth, not a synopsis of
the storyline. The copy is not a book report but instead is used to give dramatic perspective, sensibility
and “relatability”. But be wary of sounding overly profound. The copy should sound underwritten. The
words should flow in a clear and simple manner to the degree that the viewer doesn’t even hear it in the
spot. Good copy is unobtrusive and registers “in the back of the brain”. But don’t be afraid of hyperbole; a
promo is a dramatic tease so doesn’t hold back!
The copywriter as’ mini-philosopher’
Before you write a word of copy, step back from the details of the plot and look at the story from a position
of wisdom. The copy you write should relate to the film’s theme, the overarching subject of the story. It’s
the copywriter’s job to make these overarching ideas in the film relatable. That’s why promo writers are
often called ‘mini-philosophers’. In other words, look for the film’s life lesson. This is the theme of the story:
fear, honor, truth, deception, greed, hope and sacrifice. It can be about what an individual may
experience in life…or what groups experience…or what nations experience under the same
circumstances.
Playing Chess with Words
To create the best copy a promo writer must aspire to be an aphorist, a writer of pithy sayings. The
dictionary defines an aphorist as someone who writes ‘any witty, ingenious, or pointed saying tersely
expressed’. But it’s more than big ideas expressed in small language when it comes to writing promo
copy. You’ve got to write in a conversational manner using language you’d hear on the street as opposed
to thoughts you’d read in a book. For this reason I’ve personally kept a running list of memorable lines
I’ve heard from people I know or strangers I’ve met. To me, these street-sayings are gold because they’re
spoken words, verbalized in a spontaneous manner by people who were inspired by the moment. The
following are examples of observations I’ve recorded outside of work and used later for inspiration in
writing copy:
In a Holy war, nothing is sacred- an observation made by my wife while watching a television news
report from the middle-east.
You’re not breaking the rules; you’re breaking the law- spoken by my 8 year old nephew while playing
cops and robbers.
And I’ve recorded some helpful comic observations:
What do you do when you’re surrounded on all sides? Shoot in all directions- from a story I heard
from a Vietnam vet. I used these lines in a movie trailer for a Bruce Willis action flick.
Between dating and divorce is a state of limbo called marriage- muttered by my sister after her
second divorce.
The Danger of the ‘Disconnect’
Have you ever read a book and found your concentration drifting away? That’s when a break in the linear
progression of the story causes the reader to lose focus. This usually happens when the author’s
storytelling becomes disjointed. The same is true for promos.
As you continue to structure the spot on paper, keep the phrases of the copy close together. If the copy is
broken-up by too much dialogue or action, the viewer may experience a disconnection between what was
said earlier and what’s said later. The break between each phrase of copy should be short enough in
length to insure that the viewer doesn’t lose the promo’s train of thought. Otherwise the viewer may lose
focus and interest. It’s helpful to write your copy in a manner that allows each separate phrase to stand
alone and still make sense. For example: “we don’t make headlines” – sound bite – “we make history”.
Each phrase in the sentence makes sense regardless of the distance between them.
Revisiting the paper cut
After you’ve finished your first outline on paper, don’t relax. It’s only your first draft. The paper cut should
go thru numerous versions (try switching the end with the beginning) until you’ve exhausted every
possible sequence of sound bites, copy and action. This is the best way to create the most impact in a
promo and save time in the online edit.
The Radio Cut
Congratulations, you’ve got a detailed log, the announcer’s copy and the spot’s structure on paper. You’re
now ready to take the project to the next step: the edit suite. But before you even think about the pictures
and graphics, consider making a ‘radio cut’ first. If you have the budget, go into the audio suite with a
sound designer and edit together the announcer’s tracks, music, sound effects and sound bites. This step
will help save you time when you enter the video suite.
The grammar of a radio cut
Most people recognize four basic building blocks of radio drama: speech, sound effects, music and
silence. Bronwyn Woodhead, an editor at BBC America, calls the use of these audio elements the
‘grammar’ of a spot. She punctuates her promos through the deliberate placement of sound effects’ hits,
drum builds and drones. To Bronwyn, this approach is similar to the use of commas, semi-colons and
exclamation points in writing prose. The grammar of a spot, she says, allows the editor to stop and start
the spot or change direction, all in an effort to keep a viewer’s attention from wandering. Bronwyn likes to
remind producers not to overwrite a spot with wall-to-wall copy and sound bites. Instead, leave enough
space in the structure of a spot for the editor to create an ambience or atmosphere.
The Use of Music
Though traditional music beds give a spot its feel, wall-to-wall music (from the beginning to the end of the
spot) has become passé. The opinion today is that music beds feel one-dimensional. This is not to
discount the use of music entirely. A production score works well in the last third of a spot, the ‘back-end’,
and helps the spot build to the cliffhanger.
The Pictures and Graphics
Now that you’ve got your radio cut you’re ready to go into the actual online edit suite. Take along the
time-code numbers of the film’s sound bites that you placed in the radio cut. Align the bites with the
pictures and voila! You’ve got a spot with 90% of the pictures already in place. Now you can relax and
enjoy creating the eye-candy, the quick video-edits and explosive graphics that make a promo fun to
watch.
The Idiot Check
When the spot is cut and you’re ready to show it to the boss, remember to first do “the idiot check". Go
back and recut the promo every which way you can imagine. Experiment with the structure like you did
with the paper cut. Reverse the beginning of the spot with the ending. Move around the middle elements
to see which sequence works best with the copy. Try every combination you can think of until you're
satisfied that you’ve found the best structure for telling the story and building to the cliffhanger.
Finally, watch the spot with and without the sound on and ask yourself, ‘do the pictures tell a linear story?’
Then listen to the spot without watching the pictures and ask yourself, ‘does the sound design tell a linear
story?’ Don’t be satisfied until the spot’s message can be understood both ways.
The resolution
Sir Alfred Hitchcock would have been a first-rate promo producer. Though he liked to criticize movie
trailers for giving-away a film’s plot, the master of suspense understood what makes a trailer (or promo)
work: it’s not enough to make the audience want to see your film, make them want to see what happens.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Freelance Friday 1: Addikt
Sjoerd and Xander from Addikt came to our office to show their impressive reel and to talk about their creative process:
Monday, January 26, 2009
Promax Europe 2009 - Sessions
MK12 AND THE FILM TITLE: A DELIRIUM OF TYPHOGRAPHY, SAND, WOMEN, 007, AND THE COSMOS
by MK12
MK12 is a Kansas City-Missouri-USA-based design and art collective that works primarily in motion design, creating hybrid live action & animation works both for commercial and noncommercial endeavors.
For the past year, the studio been immersed in the world of James Bond, having been given the opportunity to work on the 22nd installment of the 007 franchise, Quantum of Solace. The studio collectively remembers very little of the experience as it is all a blur of hyperkinetic color, shimmering lights and missing time.
None the less, MK12 will attempt to explain and explore the creative process, conceptual underpinnings and technical minutia of the main title sequence of Quantum of Solace as well as a case study on the VFX construction and implementation of the interfaces and moving graphics found throughout the film.
________________________________________
FUTURETAINMENT
by Mike Walsh
Welcome to the Revolution. All the media we grew up with - the movies, TV shows, music, books and newspapers - are in the process of being re-invented and turned on their heads. Not by technology, but by new patterns of consumer behaviour. From Seoul to Shanghai - there is a new generation of consumer who has grown up never knowing a world without the Web. Armed with advanced mobile devices, multiple identities in virtual worlds, and a freewheeling attitude to both content and copyright - their interactions with entertainment and brands will forever change media as we know it.
________________________________________
LAST MAN STANDING: HOW TO SURVIVE THE PITCH (for designers and their clients)
by Matt Penney
A tongue-in-cheek yet fact-filled session that blows the lid off every part of the pitch process, from first brief to last gasp. A veteran of numerous successful (and some less successful) creative pitches, Matt shows you how to get the best out of the process, whether you are running it or attempting to win it. An essential session in increasingly competitive times.
________________________________________
HOW TO STEAL YOUR NEXT IDEA
by Doug Harris
During this laboratory style examination of the "science" of creativity, a former broadcast promotions director turned agency creative director turned idea wrangler shares his proven methods for stimulating creative thought in individuals and organizations. With a dose of escapism and a touch of music therapy, Doug Harris will explain the two founding principles of creativity, present an amazingly simple four step process for generating ideas, and dozens of tips on how you can ignite your creative spark TODAY.
________________________________________
UP, UP, AND AWAY: WHERE WILL YOUR SUPER POWERS TAKE YOU NOW?
by Doug Harris
By the end of the conference you would have spent 2 days absorbing hours of information, but how do you put this newly acquired knowledge to work at your job? What can you do to ensure that your colleagues and supervisors share your excitement and your new vision and allow you to become an agent of change. Doug Harris will map out a specific plan for the next two weeks of your professional life and give you a glimpse into your future success.
________________________________________
AGAINST ALL ODDS: REBRANDING PUBLIC TV IN CZECH REPUBLIC AND GEORGIA
by Uros Trefalt and Markus Schmidt
How do you change the unchangeable? Which treatment do you give to TV brands that seem lost? What do you do to win back trust of a long time disappointed audience? Uros and Markus will show two very unusual case studies and explain how to master challenges like 30 year old logos, political revolutions and even war.
Czech TV was the first TV in the former Czechoslovakia, established 1953. More than 50 years later it experienced the first rebranding ever in its history. Despite of the conservative institution, the feedback was fantastic. The unchangeable was changed, a new image was born. The rebrand had a fundamental impact on the perception of TV design in Czech Republic.
Georgian Public Broadcaster is the direct successor of former Soviet state television. In a country that was widely unknown before and is now on everybody´s map. The rebranding took over one year. It was interrupted by new managements, political protests, name changes and eventually the war in August. When it finally launched, it showed some surprising results.
________________________________________
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 WAYS
by Jeff Conrad
This action packed session takes you on a global tour, firing your imagination by demonstrating 80 highly effective new and innovative ways of promoting your brand in today’s world. What we promise you won’t see is a traditional 30 second promo or spot!
________________________________________
WHEN "NO" MEANS “YES!”: RAISE YOUR GAME & ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE
by Tony Scheinman
Tony Scheinman, Executive Producer in the P&P Division of the leading European pay TV platform Sky Italia gives us an exclusive look at a ‘world first’ in football. The mission to achieve the impossible is a culmination of four years of collaboration and brings together the top clubs and players for a country whose national obsession is football. Sky convinced 106 professional players from 19 teams to give their time for free for this project. They then turned the project into an HD, cross platform, multimedia success linking marketing, production, web and television promotion. Eighteen days of production uniquely links Serie A and some of the world's most famous footballers with the Sky brand. This is a 100% Sky Italia internal project from the creative to the production, graphic design and post-production. Come and hear the whole story in this inspirational session and learn how Sky Italia convinced so many people that when they said 'no' they really meant 'yes'!
________________________________________
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
by Teresa Guitart
We all love a bargain, especially in a time of shrinking budgets, a time when every cent counts! In this session you will learn just how far imagination and ingenuity can make that Euro stretch. Think your ground breaking idea can't be done on your budget, think you need to simplfy your creative? Think again, maybe you just need to think differently! And this session will demonstrate how your colleagues from around the world have done just that, by looking for alternatives while retaining the creative core of a great idea, they've truly achieved 'Something for Nothing'.
________________________________________
MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE
by Mike Kelt
Over the last 30 years the business of Special Effects has seen some seismic changes and survived them all. Mike will look back at some of the milestones that have been passed along the way, as well as forward to an exciting future where science and creativity combine to dazzle the imagination. He will show some of the amazing ways that a client’s or director’s dream can be fulfilled, and all done for real without using CGI.
________________________________________
HOW TO WORK BETTER
by Jens Hertzum
It’s easy to get lost in the media storm of platform diversification that has swept across our industry. With all the changes happening in delivery and format, we can sometimes forget that a good, well thought out and executed idea will withstand the battering of change.
Drawing on years of broadcast experience (his own, that of colleagues, friends as well as adversaries), Jens offers an insightful and creatively inspiring alternative to the “good work” debate.
Jens couples current and inspirational examples of work from around the globe with a large dose of good humour to inform and instruct promo producers, designers and marketers how they can turn negatives into positives and ultimately achieve an end product they are both happy with and proud of.
If you want to leave feeling charged and inspired to take on your day-to-day creative challenges with some good old ‘creative insight’, join Jens as he shows us how we can all WORK BETTER.
________________________________________
SOUNDS IDEAS
by Jens Hertzum & Steven Hore
This informative and aural-laden session will demonstrate the critical role good audio plays in promotions and design. Jens and Steven deliver an entertaining and informative insight into how strong audio concepts can deliver a message far more effective and arresting than visuals alone. They will utilise diverse examples of work from around the world to showcase how “Sound Ideas” should not be an after-thought in the creative process but a driving force behind the idea.
________________________________________
CZECH MATE: An unique look at today’s Czech design scene
by Czech Mate
What do you know about Czech contemporary motion design? Who are the new and progressive young artists who are fundamentally changing the Czech design scene? In this ‘Czech Mate’ session four amazing multidisciplinary artists / studios will present their work. Their inspiration is drawn from different fields including typography, motion film, computer games, rotoscoping, traditional Czech puppet animation and the latest cutting edge technology. You will see loads of different work yet all will have a specific Czech flavour. Find your new Czech MATE!
________________________________________
EFFECTIVENESS
by Clare Phillips
Great promos, great design, but did they work? This session will focus on how to position brands to deliver effective results by increasing audience share an/or ad revenue. Clare Phillips, Head of Strategic Planning at Red Bee will chair a session that demonstrates effectiveness from three clients around Europe, including the marketing success of the year ‘Dave’ in the UK.
________________________________________
MANAGING SUPERPOWERED CREATIVES
by Marco Giusti
Creative people think differently, act differently, and work differently than the rest of the business. Each of us even thinks, acts, and works differently than other creatives!
Managing creative people is a challenge all of us face. How do we get the best work from the imaginative people around us -- be they promo producers, editors, talent, or designers?
Our experienced panel will share the techniques they use to manage different types of creatives. You’ll walk out of this session with superpowers that will get you results and make bad managers quiver with fear!
________________________________________
WORLD GOLD - THANK YOU FOR SMOKING!
Hosted by Bron Dean
A look at the world's most smokin' hot work for 2008 and early 2009. The winners, the nearly winners and some other interesting spots!
by MK12
MK12 is a Kansas City-Missouri-USA-based design and art collective that works primarily in motion design, creating hybrid live action & animation works both for commercial and noncommercial endeavors.
For the past year, the studio been immersed in the world of James Bond, having been given the opportunity to work on the 22nd installment of the 007 franchise, Quantum of Solace. The studio collectively remembers very little of the experience as it is all a blur of hyperkinetic color, shimmering lights and missing time.
None the less, MK12 will attempt to explain and explore the creative process, conceptual underpinnings and technical minutia of the main title sequence of Quantum of Solace as well as a case study on the VFX construction and implementation of the interfaces and moving graphics found throughout the film.
________________________________________
FUTURETAINMENT
by Mike Walsh
Welcome to the Revolution. All the media we grew up with - the movies, TV shows, music, books and newspapers - are in the process of being re-invented and turned on their heads. Not by technology, but by new patterns of consumer behaviour. From Seoul to Shanghai - there is a new generation of consumer who has grown up never knowing a world without the Web. Armed with advanced mobile devices, multiple identities in virtual worlds, and a freewheeling attitude to both content and copyright - their interactions with entertainment and brands will forever change media as we know it.
________________________________________
LAST MAN STANDING: HOW TO SURVIVE THE PITCH (for designers and their clients)
by Matt Penney
A tongue-in-cheek yet fact-filled session that blows the lid off every part of the pitch process, from first brief to last gasp. A veteran of numerous successful (and some less successful) creative pitches, Matt shows you how to get the best out of the process, whether you are running it or attempting to win it. An essential session in increasingly competitive times.
________________________________________
HOW TO STEAL YOUR NEXT IDEA
by Doug Harris
During this laboratory style examination of the "science" of creativity, a former broadcast promotions director turned agency creative director turned idea wrangler shares his proven methods for stimulating creative thought in individuals and organizations. With a dose of escapism and a touch of music therapy, Doug Harris will explain the two founding principles of creativity, present an amazingly simple four step process for generating ideas, and dozens of tips on how you can ignite your creative spark TODAY.
________________________________________
UP, UP, AND AWAY: WHERE WILL YOUR SUPER POWERS TAKE YOU NOW?
by Doug Harris
By the end of the conference you would have spent 2 days absorbing hours of information, but how do you put this newly acquired knowledge to work at your job? What can you do to ensure that your colleagues and supervisors share your excitement and your new vision and allow you to become an agent of change. Doug Harris will map out a specific plan for the next two weeks of your professional life and give you a glimpse into your future success.
________________________________________
AGAINST ALL ODDS: REBRANDING PUBLIC TV IN CZECH REPUBLIC AND GEORGIA
by Uros Trefalt and Markus Schmidt
How do you change the unchangeable? Which treatment do you give to TV brands that seem lost? What do you do to win back trust of a long time disappointed audience? Uros and Markus will show two very unusual case studies and explain how to master challenges like 30 year old logos, political revolutions and even war.
Czech TV was the first TV in the former Czechoslovakia, established 1953. More than 50 years later it experienced the first rebranding ever in its history. Despite of the conservative institution, the feedback was fantastic. The unchangeable was changed, a new image was born. The rebrand had a fundamental impact on the perception of TV design in Czech Republic.
Georgian Public Broadcaster is the direct successor of former Soviet state television. In a country that was widely unknown before and is now on everybody´s map. The rebranding took over one year. It was interrupted by new managements, political protests, name changes and eventually the war in August. When it finally launched, it showed some surprising results.
________________________________________
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 WAYS
by Jeff Conrad
This action packed session takes you on a global tour, firing your imagination by demonstrating 80 highly effective new and innovative ways of promoting your brand in today’s world. What we promise you won’t see is a traditional 30 second promo or spot!
________________________________________
WHEN "NO" MEANS “YES!”: RAISE YOUR GAME & ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE
by Tony Scheinman
Tony Scheinman, Executive Producer in the P&P Division of the leading European pay TV platform Sky Italia gives us an exclusive look at a ‘world first’ in football. The mission to achieve the impossible is a culmination of four years of collaboration and brings together the top clubs and players for a country whose national obsession is football. Sky convinced 106 professional players from 19 teams to give their time for free for this project. They then turned the project into an HD, cross platform, multimedia success linking marketing, production, web and television promotion. Eighteen days of production uniquely links Serie A and some of the world's most famous footballers with the Sky brand. This is a 100% Sky Italia internal project from the creative to the production, graphic design and post-production. Come and hear the whole story in this inspirational session and learn how Sky Italia convinced so many people that when they said 'no' they really meant 'yes'!
________________________________________
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
by Teresa Guitart
We all love a bargain, especially in a time of shrinking budgets, a time when every cent counts! In this session you will learn just how far imagination and ingenuity can make that Euro stretch. Think your ground breaking idea can't be done on your budget, think you need to simplfy your creative? Think again, maybe you just need to think differently! And this session will demonstrate how your colleagues from around the world have done just that, by looking for alternatives while retaining the creative core of a great idea, they've truly achieved 'Something for Nothing'.
________________________________________
MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE
by Mike Kelt
Over the last 30 years the business of Special Effects has seen some seismic changes and survived them all. Mike will look back at some of the milestones that have been passed along the way, as well as forward to an exciting future where science and creativity combine to dazzle the imagination. He will show some of the amazing ways that a client’s or director’s dream can be fulfilled, and all done for real without using CGI.
________________________________________
HOW TO WORK BETTER
by Jens Hertzum
It’s easy to get lost in the media storm of platform diversification that has swept across our industry. With all the changes happening in delivery and format, we can sometimes forget that a good, well thought out and executed idea will withstand the battering of change.
Drawing on years of broadcast experience (his own, that of colleagues, friends as well as adversaries), Jens offers an insightful and creatively inspiring alternative to the “good work” debate.
Jens couples current and inspirational examples of work from around the globe with a large dose of good humour to inform and instruct promo producers, designers and marketers how they can turn negatives into positives and ultimately achieve an end product they are both happy with and proud of.
If you want to leave feeling charged and inspired to take on your day-to-day creative challenges with some good old ‘creative insight’, join Jens as he shows us how we can all WORK BETTER.
________________________________________
SOUNDS IDEAS
by Jens Hertzum & Steven Hore
This informative and aural-laden session will demonstrate the critical role good audio plays in promotions and design. Jens and Steven deliver an entertaining and informative insight into how strong audio concepts can deliver a message far more effective and arresting than visuals alone. They will utilise diverse examples of work from around the world to showcase how “Sound Ideas” should not be an after-thought in the creative process but a driving force behind the idea.
________________________________________
CZECH MATE: An unique look at today’s Czech design scene
by Czech Mate
What do you know about Czech contemporary motion design? Who are the new and progressive young artists who are fundamentally changing the Czech design scene? In this ‘Czech Mate’ session four amazing multidisciplinary artists / studios will present their work. Their inspiration is drawn from different fields including typography, motion film, computer games, rotoscoping, traditional Czech puppet animation and the latest cutting edge technology. You will see loads of different work yet all will have a specific Czech flavour. Find your new Czech MATE!
________________________________________
EFFECTIVENESS
by Clare Phillips
Great promos, great design, but did they work? This session will focus on how to position brands to deliver effective results by increasing audience share an/or ad revenue. Clare Phillips, Head of Strategic Planning at Red Bee will chair a session that demonstrates effectiveness from three clients around Europe, including the marketing success of the year ‘Dave’ in the UK.
________________________________________
MANAGING SUPERPOWERED CREATIVES
by Marco Giusti
Creative people think differently, act differently, and work differently than the rest of the business. Each of us even thinks, acts, and works differently than other creatives!
Managing creative people is a challenge all of us face. How do we get the best work from the imaginative people around us -- be they promo producers, editors, talent, or designers?
Our experienced panel will share the techniques they use to manage different types of creatives. You’ll walk out of this session with superpowers that will get you results and make bad managers quiver with fear!
________________________________________
WORLD GOLD - THANK YOU FOR SMOKING!
Hosted by Bron Dean
A look at the world's most smokin' hot work for 2008 and early 2009. The winners, the nearly winners and some other interesting spots!
Promax Europe 2009 - Speakers
MK12
MK12 are based in Kansas CIty, Missouri and are a design and filmmaking collective with acclaim in both commercial and artistic arenas. Founded in 2000, MK12's work constantly challenges the boundaries between narrative structure and experimental storytelling via juxtapositions of live action, graphic design, nostalgic influence and new technologies. MK12 has been sought after to direct numerous commercial & network-based projects and has also provided graphic design & animation for feature films such as Stranger than Fiction, The Kite Runner, HolyWars, and Quantum of Solace.
The studio's experimental & short film catalogue has been featured in many international film festivals and has been published in design and trade journals worldwide. Most recently, their short film ™Overload - a collaboration with NY-based painter Brian Alfred - was inducted into the Guggenheim's permanent collection.
MK12 continues to produce original content for television and cinema, and its most recent film, ™MK12's History of America, proves to be their most ambitious work to date, merging experimental design and traditional storytelling to dramatic effect. More information about this and other projects can be found at mk12.com.
MIKE WALSH
Mike Walsh is a leading authority and keynote speaker on the digital media revolution. He is the author of Futuretainment published by Phaidon and CEO of the future research consultancy Tomorrow. Tomorrow advises some of the world's leading organisations and brands on where the next generation of consumers are going. Mike has been working in the digital space for over a decade. He was previously Managing Director of Jupiter Research in Australia, and also held strategic roles at News Corporation in both the Australian and Asian markets. You can read Mike's blog at www.mike-walsh.com
MATT PENNEY
Matt Penney is an award-winning creative director. He joined Dunning Eley Jones in 2004 after a 10 year career at Lambie-Nairn. His work has been recognised with numerous awards including an RTS and D&AD Award for his BBC Three identity. Since joining Dunning Eley Jones he has worked on a range of projects for clients internationally including Schweizer Fernsehen (Switzerland), Animal Planet (US), Discovery Kids (US), Net 5 (Netherlands), Deutsche Welle (Germany), Sky Movies (UK), FilmFlex (UK/Germany) UKTV and BBC Entertainment. In 2008 Matt became a partner at Dunning Eley Jones.
DOUG HARRIS
With a creative legacy that spans twenty years in marketing and a stable of over 40 broadcast clients around the world, Doug Harris has earned a reputation as the world's premiere broadcast marketing consultant. A former Billboard Magazine Promotion Director of the Year, and the recipient of dozens of industry accolades, Harris has made a practice of out-thinking, rather than outspending his competitors in ratings and revenue battles, and has demonstrated a unique ability to blend the needs of programming with those of sales. A frequent speaker at gatherings of broadcast professionals, Harris has addressed marketing groups in nineteen foreign countries and has been a featured presenter at the NAB Europe for eight consecutive years. As Chief Creative Officer of Creative Animal International and President of Noisemaker Communications, Harris creates clutter-busting campaigns for a wide variety of clients worldwide.
UROS TREFALT
Uros Trefalt, 43, has his academic background in theatre. He studied in Prague, New York, France and in Slovenia. He published theoretic books on drama and puppet directing in Slovenia and Spain and was teaching at the Prague Film Academy. For 7 years he was the Art Director for the leading broadcasting company in Czech Republic, TV Nova. His work includes the full range from rebrandings to promo campaigns to music clips. In 2006, the biggest challenge in his professional life was the rebranding of Czech TV - public television.
MARKUS SCHMIDT
Markus Schmidt, 40, worked in advertising before he became Creative Director for Germany´s ProSieben. He founded and headed the award-winning inhouse agency SevenSenses. Four years ago he created UnitedSenses, an international branding network with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Copenhagen, Moscow, Johannesburg, Beijing and the headquarter in Munich. He worked in over 25 countries and won more than 100 Promax and BDA awards.
JEFF CONRAD
Jeff Conrad is recognised globally as an expert on media branding, he is a seasoned speaker on the global conference circuit and comments frequently on radio and television in the UK.
Jeff heads up the design group in Red Bee Media Creative. This agency has a long and successful track record of creating award winning work.
Jeff graduated from Westminster University in 1988 and after travelling the world and working as a commercial photographer, joined the BBC in 1992. After obtaining a post graduate degree in Marketing, Jeff eventually found his spiritual home in the then graphic design department. His challenge was to manage a large team of creative talent and move the business from an in-house BBC programme-service provider to a truly commercial creative agency. (The company became a commercial subsidiary of the BBC in 2002 before being sold to Macquarie in 2005)
The business has grown significantly in the last five years opening offices in China, Australia, Singapore and France and Jeff’s team continues to build on its world class reputation in broadcast and digital design. Developing consumer focused creative and strategic solutions for media brands all over the world. The team has live projects in China, Russia, India and Scandinavia as well as many in Europe. Recently completed projects include the re-branding of BBC Three, the reinvention of UKTV G2 to Dave, the re-branding of ERT (the public service broadcaster of Greece), the network re-brand of CANAL+ Spain and a programme-packaging design for Disney EMEA to launch across 46 countries.
TONY SCHEINMAN
Tony Scheinman was born in Los Angeles and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in Communications. He always loved watching television and he enjoyed playing sports…and so it was…sports & television! 23 years later, his magical journey continues…….4 OLYMPIC GAMES (2 EMMY AWARDS), NBA, NFL, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, WIMBLEDON, X-GAMES, ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX.
In 1994 his journey took him to Rome to work for Orbit Communications as Sports Promotions Manager. His passion for international television, and Italy in particular, was born. Tony continued to travel and work for all the major US Networks. Then in 2003 Newscorp decided to make a major investment in Italy, so Tony left immediately to offer his help and 6 months later Sky Italia was launched.
He created a place for himself by producing original football documentaries that brought cameras where they had never been before, offering an inside look at the lives of the players and teams. He also helped and continues to help with the branding of Serie A, Champions League and the World Cup. Now his responsibilities have expanded to original program development in all sports and the branding and promotion of special projects like the Olympics.
Tony is always looking for a new approach, pushing the limits…ignoring the “rules”. He pursues new ideas with passion and demands that people believe.
TERESA GUITART
Teresa has been working in TV3-Televisió de Catalunya’s Marketing Department for 20 years. She has created and developed events that have been on the air for more than 15 years and that continue to be ratings successes, holding viewers’ interest. She was appointed Marketing Director of TV3 in 2004 and is in charge of marketing for the network’s four channels (generalist, children, news, culture). She also heads the Events Department and Promo Unit made up of 20 professionals who put out an average of 15 promos a week.
MIKE KELT
Mike has been in the Special Effects business for 30 years, the last 21 with Artem, which he helped to set up and has run since the start. Before that he was at the BBC where he worked on such ubiquitous projects as ‘Blake’s 7’, ‘Dr Who’, and ‘Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’, while prior to that learnt his trade in the theatre!
Over the years he has been involved in all aspects of the business, from titles and idents such as BBC 1 and 2, through Commercials, to TV and Feature Films such as ‘Hot Fuzz’ and ‘Doomsday’. During this time he has seen the industry change, with CG replacing many of the traditional craft skills, but also sees new doors opening and a flourishing of new young talent attracted to an industry where the challenges change daily, and the need for creativity never lessens.
Mike sits on BSAC, (British Screen Advisory Council), the Board of UK Screen, the trade body for the facilities sector, and Skillset’s new Facilities Skills Council. He is a passionate believer in education and training, and sees a bright future for the business.
JENS HERTZUM
Jens Hertzum is highly regarded in the broadcast industry as a skilled and talented director. His reputation as an internationally successful media creative has been built on his ability to produce quality, award-winning work consistenstly.
Having previously worked at Sci Fi in the UK, Jens' joined BDA London as Creative Director prior to moving to Australia to launch the BDA Sydney office. Since this launch seven years ago, Jens and his team have consistently produced exceptional work for leading broadcasters in the region, including FOXTEL, XYZ Networks, Channel 7, Channel 9, SKY NZ and TV3 New Zealand. Jens is no stranger to the international broadcast market either, having worked for Middle Eastern broadcaster and more recently completed the entire on air and award-winning rebranding for SONY India.
As BDA Sydney's creative director, he leads a team of talented creatives where he continually aims to help them deliver to brief, and produce award-winning work BDA Sydney has become renowned for.
STEVEN HORE
Steven joined BDA in their first year of trading (1999) as a writer and director, and went on to stay with the company for seven years, collecting dozens of Promax Awards during that time.
In 2006, he left to spread his wings working as a freelance writer and director. During this time he gained vast experience working in different disciplines such as long form documentaries, commercials and cinema trailers and further developed his credentials as a voice over artist.
In 2008, Steven returned to BDA as Creative Director of Promotions where he heads up the 15 strong creative team and oversees regular promotions work for NBC Universal and special projects for a wide range of broadcasters.
CZECH MATE
Lukáš Skalnik will present work from Eallin Animation a visual arts company who combine classical traditional animation techniques such as stop motion or cartoon animation with cutting edge technology – particularly in 3D animation. www.eallin.com
Oficina studio was set up after the collaboration of Lukaš Fišarek and Marek Cimbalnik on several projects, involving graphic and motion design and film and television production. This multidisciplinary studio has a special emphasis on typography in each sphere of their work. www.ofcn.cz
Noro Držiak will present a unique project, ‘ALOIS NEBEL’. This much loved and acclaimed novel by Czech collaborators Jaroslav Rudiš and Jaromír 99, Alois Nebel is getting the feature film treatment in its native land with first time director Tomáš Lunák at the helm. This animated film is being created at the studio Tobogang using the animation technique rotoscoping, in which the scenes are shot with real actors before being animated and textured, producing a stylized graphic form much like that of a comic book. www.tobogang.com
“I SEE GRAPHIC DESIGN AS A METHOD FOR NAVIGATION IN INFORMATION“, says Lukáš Veverka a multidisciplinary Czech designer and Rocket Award winner of Promax/BDA Europe 2008. Lukáš will present a cross section of Altworx project - logo, animations, promo spots, print materials, web presentation and user interface design. www.parasite.cz
CLARE PHILLIPS
Clare Phillips is Head of Strategic Planning at Red Bee. She started her career at AMV.BBDO, where she was the youngest Strategic Planner to be promoted to the board of Britain’s biggest advertising agency, her successes there included award winning campaigns for The Economist, Sainsbury’s and BT. Her enthusiasm for media brands led her to BSkyB where she established a strategic planning function that became integral to the creative process. Whilst there, she worked on the re-launch of Sky Movies. At Red Bee, Clare has overseen the transformation of many media brands including uktvG2 to Dave and the recent multiplatform re-launch of BBC Three. Clare has 3 young children and her passions are cooking and any TV produced or created by JJ Abrams.
MARCO GIUSTI
Marco Giusti, Vice President of Branded TV at Warner Bros for Europe, Middle East & Africa will enlighten us, along with an experienced panel, on how we can understand different types of creatives and manage them more effectively! As someone who has sat on every side of the fence – from broadcaster to agency, start-up to heavy weight global entertainment network he brings unique insights and perspectives to this interesting & complex topic. Marco had his own agency for over a decade working for numerous broadcasters across Europe to then be headhunted for the start-up Home Choice (now Tiscali) to be part of one of the most innovative and pioneering first on-demand tv services in Europe. More recently, Marco has joined Warner Bros and is responsible for developing the Warner TV brand and positioning in his territory working closely with the team in Burbank.
BRON DEAN
After nearly 17 years in promo and broadcast design, Bron Dean has finally come to realize that this is not a phase and she never will get a ‘real job’. Bron spends hours every week watching TV, locally and reading about or watching snippets of TV from around the world, as well as creating TV of course! This has gone way past an interest and become a full-blown obsession, fueled by love and passion.
This passion, which has been seen by many friends and family as bordering on insanity, has led to her holding the position of Creative Director at one of South Africa’s top Broadcast Design and Promo companies, Orijin, who at the 2008 PromaxBDA Africa took home an unprecedented 19 awards! Prior to that she racked up a long list of awards both as Director and Creative Director and humbly admits that her passion and mentorship may have had something to do with the 2 Rocket Awards and 1 Young Designer Award won by people working with her.
It is her passion for the constant upliftment and improvement in and of our industry that has seen her grab the opportunity to present World Gold sessions around the world with both hands. “I find it an awe-inspiring and stimulating process, trawling through hours and hours of the best work from our global industry to select gems to share with colleagues and peers”. Bron promises that this will be both a fun and inspiring session that will help kick your day and the coming year off to a “super-powered” start.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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