Boards Magazine - March 1, 2001

Gesundheit

Board Flow is a regular feature that will act as a gauge to monitor the activity of upcoming commercial production. The following chart is intended as a snapshot view of the level of "board flow" (i.e. potential scripts from ad agencies) that commercial production houses in various markets across North America experienced during the preceding month. The synopsis of each market is based on conversations with anywhere from six to a dozen production house executives in each market who were asked to comment on the number and type of "boards" they had received from ad agencies over the most recent month. The chart reflects "board flow" from mid-January to mid-February.

Space Cowboys "It's like the abduction from hell," says BBDO senior creative director Bill Bruce of Mountain Dew's "Spaceship." "The idea is that [the Dew dudes] take this pristine, high-tech ship and beat it to death."

Chillin' in Chile

Who's Yer Daddy? Combining filmic technique, comedy and blatant cheese, Jake Knowles and Jeff Ford, have, for some creatives, answered an age-old question: who's your Daddy?

Meyers TV "For me commercials are a place to refine and detail your craft," says FM Rocks director Dave Meyers contemplating his transition into spot-making. "You have to hustle so fast in a video that sometimes you cut corners, and as an artist it's hard to let those things go."

Advertising amidst the Fjords Rather than be swallowed up by an unnamed international network, the employees of Stockholm's Hollingworth/Mehrotra formed a new agency and crowned it King.

Home Sweet Stockholm It's no surprise that sophisticated effects and post-production facilities have grown up alongside those Scandinavian directors and production companies responsible for pushing the visual envelope.

Mic Check

Danish Directors

Locomotivation An established player on the Scandinavian production scene, Copenhagen/Oslo-based Locomotion A/S is consolidating its presence as an international production house at the same time as it connects its directors with the best scripts.

Herring From Nordic Directors Boards converses with five Scandinavian directors who have distinguished themselves from the commercial rank and file. Working on low budgets with high expectations, these ingenious spot makers regard passion, simplicity and an essential eye for detail as the criteria in distinguishing Nordic talent from the plethora of directors worldwide.

Acne Attack

Driving Mr. Broder The man in charge of production for one of the most discussed accounts of the last year knows a thing or two about extracting value from a commercial dollar. It's sure to be a handy trait in his present gig.

Spotmakers Greg Gibson has been named director of broadcast production at Spotmakers, a division of The Richards Group in Texas. Clients of the Dallas-based agency include The Home Depot, AIM Funds, Nokia, Comdisco, Corona beer and Motel 6.

A Talent For Negotiations Addressing the challenges of keeping production costs at a palatable level, JWT New York's new director of broadcast management offers a realistic point of view.

Dr. Soos, CSC "There are no fucking easy answers," says Chris Soos on the creative process on set. "You have to bring a subversive attitude with you to experiment and play, but constantly be aware of a host of things; how to move the camera, the film stock, lensing, the talent, the blocking and the focus."

24P Commercial TV The Sony/Panavision 24-Frame Progressive HD Camera system is on everyone's lips and eyes in the commercials world due to its 24-frames-per-second capture rate and 180-degree shuttering that allows results remarkably similar to those of a motion picture camera. Boards investigates this new technological advance in the digital realm and delves into the minds of two cinematographers whose hands-on use of this system enlightens us a tad more than utopian digital propaganda proclaiming an end to film.

On the Level... With a dizzying array of gadgets and gizmos in the marketplace today, Boards investigates one simple yet versatile device that allows any camera to capture stabilized images in environments where pitching and rolling would otherwise destroy a cinematographer's ability to construct a balanced, calculated frame.

Lysippic Longings "My plan was to major in fine arts, become a sculptor, live in the mountains and be a loner," says director/cinematographer Steve Colby. Sidestepping the Lysippic tradition, Colby opted to capture sculpted visuals in the ever-expansive world of commercial production and recently opened his own production company, GA-based Pogo Pictures.

Making a Global Scene Matching licensed stock footage with the unique visual style of MJZ director Marcus Nispel proved to be the major challenge for Dallas-based agency Temerlin McClain when it conceived its "What do you want the Internet to be?" spot for client Nortel Networks.

Risky Business When Ogilvy & Mather New York conceived its "The greatest risk is not taking one" campaign for its client American Insurance Group (AIG), they wanted to visually communicate the visceral experience of risk taking. And spending months digging up miles of stock footage to realize their creative idea proved to be a risk worth taking themselves.

Musica for the Masses US Spanish-language advertising is progressing rapidly beyond stereotypical messages, as are the production and post-production companies fabricating spots for the market. Music and sound design companies in particular are finding old-school Latino sounds less and less in demand.

Charlex Goes With the Grain New York-based design, effects and production company Charlex has opened Grain, a new media company geared towards Internet, wireless and interactive TV advertising.

Bunnies and Squirrels Get Xed

Players Gets a Coma

Wagoner Launches YOU Media

Trio Launches 539090

The Brothers Molla Launch la comunidad

TiVo: Partnership Aplenty

Terminal Opens in Santa Monica

Red Cell Oxygenates Clients

Animated Campaign for Pot Noodles

aka Studio aka

Enter thefinktank

Van Dyke and Bate Taste the Relish

Marquis Launches Milk Bar

Inventory A look at who's making the moves.

Learning Curve "Every year we should do something that could get us fired!"