::TheFamily::

News

8.22.08

THE REVOLUTION IS UPON US, Part II

We told you there'd be a revolution and by golly, it's here. The only things bigger than the Black Iris musical insurgence are the 2008 election campaigns and the success of "The Dark Knight." Oh and possibly the recession and global warming. Those are pretty big deals. But as far as ROCK N ROLL goes, it's all about BLACK IRIS.
Fresh off the rush of launching their record label and the opening of their new studio in LA, B.I. finds themselves featured in the current issue of VARIETY magazine. They have six killer spots on the air right now and several of their affiliated bands are dominating MySpace and headlining the CMJ festival in NYC in October.
Check out what VARIETY had to say about them here.
8.19.08

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

Backyard and Transistor have been named two of the top production companies in the world in the new issue of Creativity Magazine (and online at adcritic). The article, featuring "...the standout production players who gave life to the best work of the year" noted the growth of Transistor's interactive division with the signing of new developers and designers, Transistor's award winning Thinkaboutit.com site for Goodby, Aaron Stoller's Stella Artois films and Ericson Core's Under Armour & BMW spots. Congratulations to everyone at both companies!
7.21.08

MUSICAL HEAT WAVE CAUSES FIRE HYDRANT FLOODS....

We think Black Iris is causing the summer heat wave with their riff, "Fire Hydrant Floods", that they created for Cadillac (Modernista!). The track is the Black Iris answer to Justice, Daft, and Ratatat. 'Sup.
The original track was done for Caddy's "Accessories" spot. It has created an über buzz amongst music fans all over the internet.So much so that the LA Times caught wind of it, and did an article about the track and Black Iris. It was in Sunday's paper.
There's been so much demand for a full length track that the composer, Justin Bailey (co-founder of Black Iris and frontman to the indie rock band Eons,) turned it into a full 3:24 jam. It is now available for download on the Black Iris site.
To see the LA Times article (it's really well done, kudos to Charlie Amter,) click here.
To listen to the track, click here.
To buy the track, visit the Black Iris website.
READ. LISTEN. BUY. ENJOY.
6.06.08

A TASTE OF CAVIAR

CAVIAR really chose their name well. Because when we think about caviar we think elegance, luxury, something delicious, the best of the best, the finest around. It seems that the Ad Industry thinks that way too, especially when it comes to Caviar's new directors.
Saatchi's famed New Director Showcase that debuts at the Cannes Festival will feature Caviar's Thorsten Herken this year. Belgium-based Thorsten has done amazing work for BMW ("Night Vision"); VW (his "Bourne Ultimatum" spot topped AdCritic), and Mercedes in his first year out of the gate. Thorsten has a fresh visual style and incorporates graphic design, animation, and visual FX in ways we have not seen before. Keep an eye out for him!
Director Keith Schofield ( whom we fancy a young Spike Jonze) was recognized by Shoot as part of their 2008 New Directors Showcase. Caviar pulled Keith out of the music video world, believing that his quirky humorous storytelling and FX work would translate well to the spot world. They were right. Keith's Jennie-O campaign was recognized by Shoot, and his Georgia Lotto spot has garnered attention as well. (Keith continues to hone his skills in new videos for Supergrass and Fatboy Slim).
Caviar recently signed major comedy feature film director Peter Farrelly, of "Something About Mary," "Dumb and Dumber" and "Kingpin" fame. He's helmed spots for Miller Lite (Crispin), ESPN (Ground Zero) and most recently Bud Light (DDB).

These guys should not be missed so click here and check them out. Or call us and we'll send you a reel!
4.29.08

WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING A PSYCHEDELIC AND TRIPPY FLASHBACK!

We are so excited to be representing long lost Family Member TRANSISTOR STUDIOS once again. During our time away from each other, both the Family and Transistor strengthened their bonds, tightened their ships, and honed their skills. And most importantly we all took our creativity to new heights. Transistor has grown into a well oiled, powerhouse creative shop, responsible for some very impressive and ground breaking interactive work for clients such as Goodby, AKQA and Digitas. They have also pushed new boundaries in their design/animation/live action work. Creative director/partner James Price and EP/partner Damon Meena are the driving forces behind Transistor's success and we are thrilled to be working with them again.
Speaking of trippy, have you seen their latest promo for BBC? It's a psychedelic journey for sure...and currently on adcritic.
4.25.08

BLACK IRIS HITS THE TOP 10

Black Iris's track for the Alliance For Climate Protection (WeCanSolveIt.org) has made SHOOT's top 10 Spring 2008 Tracks Chart.
THE REVOLUTION CONTINUES!!!
4.23.08

LET'S GET WEBBY WITH IT

GUESS WHAT?! HunterGatherer won for a Webby Award for the animated film they created for NY Times Website. (See entry 12.10.07)
Congrats HUGA.
4.01.08

WE CAN SOLVE IT, MUSICALLY AT LEAST

We commend BLACK IRIS for putting forth their time and creativity to write a beautiful track featured in the anthem commercial for the newly launched WE CAN SOLVE IT initiative, spearheaded by Al Gore and The Martin Agency, with help from William H. Macy.
This spot is a poignant call to action for all Americans: we can actually solve the climate crisis-so what are we waiting for?!
The Facebook group, Stop Global Warming, is also involved with this initiative and has sent out a viral message to practically all of Facebook featuring the anthem spot and clips to some major news coverage about this initiative. It's pretty exciting and we are very proud that our Family Member, Black Iris, contributed to this project and this cause.
3.18.08

"STELLLAAAA!!!!!!!"

No I am not doing a Brando imitation.
I am exclaiming with joy about Aaron Stoller's latest project.
He's just completed some HILARIOUS very short films for Stella Artois in collaboration with Lowe's Team Hindjew (Raj Kamble & Stephen Lundberg). They feature behind the scenes interviews with the "friends" and "family" of an aspiring "independent filmmaker" revealing the lengths this passionate (but fictitious) director will go to, to make his film and show the world his vision.

Stella Artois is the proud sponsor of independent filmmakers and film festivals everywhere, including being the major sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival. You can catch these very short films in theaters nationwide or at a film festival near you.

And remember, if you like movies and you like Stella Artois, you will really like Aaron Stoller.
2.26.08

BACK(YARD) TO THE FUTURE

1. We can finally show you Rob Sanders's Johnnie Walker spot. Shot in August 2007 (see Family website entry 8.27.07 titled CHRIS IS JEALOUS), this beautiful epic took six months to see the light of day. Rob, who refuses to use visual effects in his work, actually traveled back in time to capture these magnificent historic moments on film.

2. Jesper Ericstam's AMF Awakening commercial made the rounds on adcritic.com last month. This spot tells the story of a man who spends his whole life dreading the 7AM alarm clock until one day he wakes up to find that he is retired. Jesper and his crew had to travel forward in time, many years into the future, to accomplish this amazing shoot.
3. Ericson Core just finished this UPS spot. I don't know a heck of a lot about racing but it seems that Nascar driver Dale Jarrett is retiring this year. Apparently Dale's claim to fame is that he's always driven a big brown UPS delivery truck in his races instead of a normal Nascar vehicle (see below). Ericson, with a small documentary crew, was on hand to see Dale's very last race, and captured his actual winning moment on film.