Production News:            

Writebrain Films Kicks Off With Original Coal Mining Documentary
WriteBrain Films is busy wrapping up postproduction on an original feature documentary about a four-generation coal mining family. The documentary captures the family's struggle to deal with the imminent and long-term dangers of coal mining. Seeing the effects of coal mining on four generations exposes the consequences of working in such a dangerous industry. The son's conviction to continue the family's way of life is tested as work at the mine gets more dangerous and his father's suffering from mining-related sickness worsens. It is set for completion in September.

Are sharks hunting us? WriteBrain Films Owner/Director Michael Fountain was able to find out firsthand as he traveled to the Bahamas to visit the world renowned Sharklab in Bimini and Stuart Cove with animal behaviorist and host Dave Salmoni to direct "Sharks: Are They Hunting Us?" The one-hour documentary aired in primetime during Discovery Channel's Shark Week. Fountain's crew dove with reef sharks in some of the world's most highly shark populated waters to direct the underwater scenes, including underwater attack recreations. Fountain also interviewed shark attack survivors and experts across the country for this one-hour documentary that uncovers the truth about man-eating sharks.

WriteBrain Films is a full-service production company based in Washington, DC. WriteBrain Films produces for film, television, corporate, government and commercials. Please call Michael Fountain at 888-612-6224 for screenings, reels, samples and biographies. Visit the new website at www.writebrainfilms.com.


Melissa Leebaert Works for Discovery Among Others
Melissa Leebaert has long been a familiar voice on the local and national airwaves, narrating documentaries for Discovery, National Geographic, and PBS, as well as hundreds of Radio and TV Commercials. Some recent highlights - The documentary Tsunami: Wave of Disaster - narrated for Discovery, received the highest ratings in that timeslot, for the quarter. The show was produced by Stephen Reverand for Discovery at Clean Cuts' Silver Spring studio. It remains a popular show, airing frequently on Discovery.

Working with Robert Uth and Glenn Marcus narrating the Introductions and Credits on the PBS Special - The Bonus Army narrated by Gary Sinese.

The Audiobook Narration of the childrens book On This Beautiful Island written and gorgeously illustrated by Edwin Fontanez of Exit Studio in Arlington. A DVD is anticipated in the near future.

Melissa also performs as an MC and Live Announcer/VOG -(Voice of God - honest, that's the Industry term!) for numerous Events. Recent standout experiences were The Human Rights Campaign Annual dinner at the Convention Center with speaker and performer, Cindy Lauper and a party with the B52s.

It was also a thrill to MC the International Monetary Conference's Annual Host Dinner in June at the Hart Senate Building. A play reading of Martha King De Silva's new play Boxing Day at the The H Street Playhouse directed by Kimberly Skyrme. With the arrival of the 'Political Season' the next few months will certainly be busy with ads for the Democtrats.

You can hear Melissa on the web on Tonight's Sky at www.hubblesite.org/fun_.and._games/tonights_sky/index.php. Melissa's Home Studio number is 301-897-9775 and her website is www.melissavoice.com.


Take an Exotic Vacation Right at Your Desk - "Hideaways": New Reality Travel Show Available on Any Computer
Jenkintown, PA: Looking for a challenging seaside golf course in the Dominican Republic? The most secluded beach in Bermuda? One of the most famous cliff diving spots in Jamaica? Starting on July 10, answers to these questions and more can be found on HIDEAWAYS TM. HIDEAWAYS is the new 24-minute travel reality T.V. show that airs 24-hours-a-day on www.tvhideaways.com, a Web site dedicated to entertaining, informing and motivating passionate travel enthusiasts to explore the world's hidden treasures and experience its unexpected pleasures.

Each week, HIDEAWAYS will provide viewers with a variety of cultural experiences, adventures, and "off the beaten track" activities from some of the world's most exotic travel destinations. Filmed on location, programs include visits to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Bermuda, and Mexico, among others. The show is hosted by the energetic and informative Melissa Uhniat.

In addition to HIDEAWAYS, www.tvhideaways.com offers recipes from restaurants visited and native favorites, behind-the-scenes activities from our crew and "the locals," Uhniat's own travel blog found at www.tvhideaways.blogspot.com, an ever-growing photo gallery, an e-newsletter for up-to-the-minute travel tips and offers, and an online store where viewers can purchase their own HIDEAWAYS gear.

HIDEAWAYS is created and produced by Beholder Productions, a suburban Philadelphia television and production company as the antidote to flat, two-dimensional travel brochures. "We found that there is a real need for people to experience a travel destination before they make a reservation," states Emilia Andrews, Vice President and Co-founder of Beholder Productions. "By creating a 'video portfolio' of some of the world's leading travel destinations, consumers are able to make informed decisions about where they want to go and the activities they want to participate in before a single dollar is spent. By 'airing' the show online, viewers are able to watch as their schedule permits."

HIDEAWAYS' sponsors include Apple Vacations, Venus Swimwear, USA3000, and Air Jamaica.

About Beholder Productions: Founded in 1999 by Craig and Emilia Andrews, Beholder Productions is a full-service creative firm that specializes in broadcast communications. Based in suburban Philadelphia, the creative visual firm provides its clients with video, editing, multi-media, web-based applications and duplications, from original consultation and conceptualization through production and post-production. For more information on Beholder Productions, please visit the firm's Web site at www.beholderproductions.com or call (215) 887-1896.

Availability: Greater Philadelphia Area; nationwide by arrangement via telephone; available for interviews in print or broadcast.


Most Evil Airs Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT through August 17 on Discovery
Most Evil, a six-part series that provides a countdown of the most evil serial killers in history, is based upon an

"Most Evil" logo

"evil matrix" developed by Columbia University forensic psychiatrist and personality expert Dr. Michael Stone. Using this new system of measurement, this landmark series forensically deconstructs the wicked deeds of the world's most notorious serial killers and analyzes their psychological make-up, revealing the results to count down the most malevolent human beings of our times.

I received a call from friend and editor Tom Swartout. I had just completed a score for a film with him and producer Craig Duff called "Arctic Rush". Tom recommended me for the Most Evil series. I got the rough cut of the first episode

Ron Riddle

and I was transfixed from the first frame. I was expecting a typical horror approach to the subject matter. Instead, everything about Most Evil is acutely stylized. Not the usual TV fare. I found it very compelling. The look of the series was crafted by filmmaker Paul Cabana and produced by Shelly Shultz. The series was created by Optimin Productions, a relatively new company. Beth Hoppe ,CEO and President is a long time WGBH veteran and sits at the helm.

Ron Riddle composed the music for the series. Ron said, "Having the opportunity to write music for this series was very exciting. One of the pieces I composed for the film I call 'A Quiet Disturbance'. The title expresses what my goal was for the series. It was a lesson in holding back. Not scoring the obvious. Harmonically, I used themes which would shift between major & minor keys to show the conflict which happens in the mind of a serial killer. I was working to

Ron Riddle in his studio

create a feeling through the music of skewed normality which would act as a demented backdrop to the film."

One of the most challenging things about being a film composer is that you have to be able switch gears quickly. Simultaneously, Ron was working on another weekly series which needed the exact opposite scoring approach to that of Most Evil. It really became interesting when Ron started a 3rd project which was a film that was made for the King of Abu Dhabi called "The Underwater World of the United Emirates". This underwater film by Tom Campbell is about the Dugong, a sea mammal which is related to the Manatee. The score for this film is big and orchestral combined with a middle eastern flavor.

You can check out some cuts from these shows at www.ronriddle.com/music.

Ron Riddle's diverse and eclectic musical career has spanned over 4 decades and includes playing drums in the heavy metal band Blue Oyster Cult as well as The Cars, to the writing of over one hundred and fifty film scores for national and worldwide broadcast. He has worked in collaboration with producers and filmmakers from CBS, Discovery, Turner, CNN, A&E,Animal Planet, Disney, National Geographic, The Travel Channel, The Learning Channel, Audubon and Discovery Health.

The last fourteen years of Ron's life have also been dedicated to the rescue of two timber wolves on their way to "death row" and the creation of what animal behaviorists call an inter-species pack. Chance, the most recent of the rescues currently lives with Ron and his wife Andrea in Upstate New York.


Click 3X Tapped by Crispin Porter + Bogusky to Create Visual Effects for New Burger King Campaign
New York, NY: Offering a brilliant mix of clever copywriting and seamless visual effects, the team at Click 3X gave voice to a group of chatty chickens that curiously, would rather be French fries. The studio was tapped by Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Burger King® (Spain) to create a series of talking chickens for two spots, “Outcast” and “Friends” which were produced in English with :30 and :15 versions and Spanish with :20 and :10 variations. The spots made their debut in the United States on July 31 and August 14 respectively.

“We’ve all seen talking animal spots before,” notes Click 3X executive producer and partner, Jason Mayo, “but these spots offer a new twist on the genre. I knew these spots would be successful as soon as we completed the first Spanish spot and people who don’t speak a word of Spanish were laughing. This is a perfect example of the distinctive work that CP+B is known for and we’re proud to have collaborated on it.”

Working with live action shot by director Matt Lenski, Click 3X’s visual effects artists combined some tried and true techniques with state of the art CG image manipulation to create the desired effect. Lenski shot the chickens on highly detailed miniature sets, which were custom built for the assignment. With each chicken’s performances captured independently, the effects team had to composite all of the fowl for each scene in which more than one shared the frame. Led by visual effects supervisor Marc Szumski, the greater challenge lay in creating stylized, yet believable talking movements for the chickens. Szumski and flame artists Aaron Vasquez and Kevin Quinlan first digitally erased the lower portions of each chicken beak including the wattles (the dangling fleshy areas that appear jowl-like) and then painstakingly replaced them with computer generated equivalents constructed in Flame. The beaks were then manipulated by hand in time to the chicken’s dialog as recorded by voice over artists.

“Creating a realistic talking chicken is fairly complex, explained Szumski, “We discovered that if you try to animate the beak so it actually matches the phonemes of the dialog it looks wrong particularly in the Spanish versions where the dialog is spoken quite rapidly. So, we developed a technique that uses the major phonemes as key points and built subtleties around those. I think the technique was successful.”

This project marks the sixth in a series of collaborations between Lenski and the team at Click 3X. Prior to this campaign, the most recent effort had been a music video for the chart-topping British group, Zero 7. The video was constructed entirely from digital stills shot by Lenski and visual effects magic provided by the artists at Click 3X.

About Click 3X: Fusing strategic and creative thinking, New York-based Click 3X produces exceptional visual solutions for the advertising and television industries. The studio provides visual effects, computer animation, editorial, and design services from its digital studio located at 16 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010. For more information, contact Jason Mayo, partner and executive producer at (212) 627-1900, or visit www.Click3X.com.


DNP, Inc. Produces Feature Film to be Released by Sony Pictures
Orlando, Florida: Award winning film and HD production company DNP, Inc. produced the independent feature film "Facing the Giants" with Sherwood Pictures set for release by Sony Pictures nationwide September 29th. "Facing the Giants" is an action-packed drama about a "down-and-out" high school football coach who challenges his team to overcome insurmountable odds and achieve surprising results.

Sherwood Pictures, a division of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia asked DNP to bring this film to life. Director Alex Kendrick, media pastor at Sherwood Baptist Church remarks, "DNP was certainly instrumental in helping us tell our story by bumping up the production quality of the film from sound to lighting and just all the images they captured. And, with their use of the Varicam…that was great! I'm so grateful to DNP for also pulling together the team who trained all the lay people. What a tremendous effort that was."

The film was shot in Albany Georgia with a crew of five professionals and 100 volunteers. DNP trained the make-shift crew in mere days which was made up of high school students and church members. David Nixon, DNP President and Producer of the film, along with Bob Scott, Director of Photography, organized a "boot camp" the first weekend of the six-week production schedule. A close-knit bond ensued amongst the production team and crew who joined together with very little funds to bring this low budget indie film to life. A miracle in its own right, the film produced with less than $100,000, earned recognition by Sony Pictures.

Bob Scott, lensed the movie with one Panasonic Varicam utilizing the Pro35 System. The film was finished on Final-Cut Pro and then transferred to 35mm. "I'm extremely thrilled with the results of the film", states Nixon. "HD is truly the wave of the future for feature filmmaking especially when you have a very low budget. It was without a doubt one of the most rewarding projects that I have had the pleasure of being a part of."

This is DNP's second feature film project after the success of "Making Waves", a family film about a young girl chasing her dreams of winning the jet ski championship.

About DNP, Inc.: DNP, Inc. was founded by award-winning Director and President, David Nixon. Originally from Sydney, Australia, David Nixon has worked in the United States over the past 30 years in television and film production, subsequently forming DNP, a full service film and HD production company. DNP's experience includes producing worldwide documentaries, corporate films, and broadcast commercials. DNP's expertise includes concept development and writing, production management, on-location and studio shooting and directing, High-Definition shooting, AVID non-linear digital editing, custom music, computer animation, DVD authoring and all support services. DNP employs crews with years of experience with other feature film credits that include: Two for the Money, On Any Given Sunday, The Replacements, Days of Thunder, Lethal Weapon III and Edward Scissorhands.

About Facing the Giants: For more information please visit, www.facingthegiants.com.

About Sherwood Pictures: Production company operating out of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. For more information Please visit, www.sherwoodpictures.com/templates/cusftg/details.asp?id=32007&PID=280769.


!mpossible Pictures Fabricates Provocative Promo for Discovery Investigative Thursdays
Denver, CO: Still riding high after its recent BDA Gold Award win, creative digital studio !mpossible Pictures has created another wow-inducing piece - this time a provocative promo package for Discovery Channel's "Investigative Thursdays" programming airing on Thursday nights.

The promo package is a continuation of !mpossible's efforts to theme Thursday evenings on the Discovery Channel, having previously designed and produced 12 high-concept animated promos and banners over the past six months. "Investigative Thursdays" goes a step further with !mpossible handling the live-action and custom scoring services in addition to creative, design, animation, and Flame/Smoke compositing.

"Joel [Pilger] and the entire !mpossible team who worked on 'Investigative Thursdays' nailed this one... and then some!" comments Patricia Tong, Discovery Channel Producer. "It makes our job so much easier and more fun when we work with a vendor that consists of so much talent, professionalism, has such a full understanding of our side of the business and simply 'gets it.' We can't be more pleased with the !mpossible staff and their work and we're so glad they accepted the challenge of helping us brand 'Investigative Thursdays.' These guys are the real deal and can really do it all."

"This assignment enabled us to really showcase our unique abilities on behalf of Discovery," says Joel Pilger, !mpossible Pictures President, who acted as creative director on the project and also made his directorial debut in helming the shoot." Similar to our previous themed Thursdays promo work, we were asked to 'brand the night.' But this time, they needed a piece that would air for several months. In our minds, this raised the bar considerably. We developed a flexible solution that could adapt over the coming months, as well as promote a wide range of subject matter."

With topics ranging from crime to forensics to the paranormal and the Loch Ness monster, !mpossible presented different concept storyboards to Discovery Channel. Each concept employed a variety of disciplines drawing from !mpossible's arsenal. The client ultimately chose one called "Magnify," which featured a magnifying glass as a visual device to lead the viewer through an investigation of evidence inter-cut with flashback sequences.

The resulting promo package features a highly cinematic style and edgy visuals. An investigator in his lab studies evidence with his magnifying glass, which then flashes back to a point-of-view perspective of the events that created the evidence.

!mpossible decided to do a live-action shoot to obtain original and distinctive imagery for the promo. Pilger's first step was selecting nationally recognized DP Kevin Emmons. Pilger and Emmons selected 16mm film, both SR and Bolex, as the shooting format for the desired look. Various members of the !mpossible team handled art department and props, location scouting, talent and the like.

"This shoot showed how a combination of lean-and-mean production with a healthy dose of creative freedom can generate outstanding results," comments Pilger. "We pulled out all the stops on this production, needing to shoot seven scenes in one day."

Pilger assumed the role of hand model (for the close-up evidence shots) while the remaining characters in the promo were played by a combination of talent, crew and the !mpossible team. Locations included a crime lab set in the !mpossible dining area, an interrogation chamber in their freight elevator, an alleyway in Downtown Denver, and a historic downtown building across the street. For the final shot featuring the Loch Ness monster, Flame VFX Artist Hector Espinosa used pre-existing stock footage and manipulated it to look like it was taken with a handheld camcorder. He then composited a 3D monster provided by 3D Artist Chad Jacobson.

In film transfer, the art direction of the piece came to life. "The choice to shoot film really paid off, since it provided a superior amount of dynamic range that we could exploit," says Pilger. !mpossible Editor/Flame Artist Hector Espinosa then created a rough edit of the piece, originally envisioned as a :15. Early edits made it clear that a :30 piece would be more effective in establishing narrative while accommodating the range of topics.

The turnaround time from approval of concept to shoot was five days, and from shoot to final delivery was another five days. !mpossible was also charged with directing the music, so Pilger approached Coupe Studios in Boulder, CO to create an original score. Within just 24 hours, Composer Kip Kuepper provided two rough compositions for review.

"We found ourselves in an unusual position, being that early in the editing process with custom music already that far along," says Pilger. "This gave us more time for tweaking and ensured that our edit would make sense to the audience."

!mpossible provided Discovery Channel with an entire tool kit, which they will use for in-house promo creation. This included a variety of elements from the open including mini-opens, menus, banners, transitional devices, and billboards.

"Once again, we had a collaborative and incredible experience working with Discovery Channel," concludes Pilger. "It's a nice affirmation to be entrusted with such an creative and ambitious undertaking. And hey, I have a new respect for hand models!"

See the website at www.impossiblepictures.com.


Steven Wechsler Edits Walter Cronkite: Witness to History for PBS and American Masters
New York, NY: Editor Steven Wechsler of The Wechsler Group (New York, NY) recently completed the editorial assignment for the 90-minute PBS’s American Masters documentary Walter Cronkite: Witness to History, which premiered

The great Walter Cronkite

Wednesday, July 26th at 9:00 p.m. (ET) on PBS.

The documentary, narrated by Katie Couric, includes rare clips from Anchorman and You Are There and new interviews with a range of experts including Ben Bradlee, Tom Brokaw, Sir David Frost, David Halberstam, Molly Ivins, Sidney Lumet, Senator John McCain, Robert MacNeil, Bill Moyers, Andy Rooney, Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Helen Thomas, President Jimmy Carter, Barbara Walters, Don Hewitt, William F. Buckley, Jr., Joe and Shirley Wershba, Leslie Stahl, and Daniel Schorr, among many others, who offer fresh insights into the life and work of the broadcasting legend.

Walter Cronkite with a bomber crew in WWII

Everyone knew Walter Cronkite from the CBS Evening News, where he earned distinction as "The Most Trusted Man in America" during his 19 years at the anchor desk. Throughout his award-winning career - which began as a field reporter in World War II - Cronkite covered such historic events as the birth of the space program and the first manned trip to the moon; the Civil Rights movement; the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Senator Robert Kennedy; the Watergate scandal; the Vietnam War; the Iran hostage crisis; and Sadat/Begin/Carter Camp David Accord. Through it all, he steadfastly adhered to a credo of fast, accurate and unbiased news reporting. After stepping down as

Walter Cronkite announcing the death of John F. Kennedy

anchorman almost 25 years ago, his story continued - Walter Cronkite still leads the life of a genuine Renaissance man - author, sailor, producer and patron, his public concern for, and commitment to, our world has never faltered.

A vast body of work was made available to Steven Wechsler who wove interviews and clips into a 90-minute homage. Not just a biography, the documentary traces Walter Cronkite’s 70-year career in journalism and also recounts the story of television news.

“The challenge of this show was to tell the story of Walter’s life without making a standard biography. We decided to concentrate on the highlights of Cronkite’s career by using the device of chapters to condense the body of his work,

Walter Cronkite interviewing President Nixon

chronologically, into a 90-minute show. Walter was truly a part of most of the key events in the history of the 20th Century and brought them our living rooms on a nightly basis. There will never be another anchorman with that much power and influence on our lives,” explained Editor Steven Wechsler.

The Walter Cronkite: Witness to History production team included American Masters Series Creator and Executive Producer Susan Lacy, Writer/Director/Co-producer Catharine Tatge, Co-Producer Leslie Clark, Avid Editor Steven Wechsler, Associate Producer Anna Miller and Assistant Editor George Panos.

The online editorial was completed by Doug Wyllie of Frame Runner (New York, NY); The score was composed by John Keltonic of jdkmusic productions (Richmond, VA); Audio post was completed by Ken Hahn, Bill Marino and James Redding of Sync Sound (New York, NY); and graphics were created by Cavan Huang for Winterhouse Studio (Falls Village, CT.)

Steven Wechsler can be reached at The Wechsler Group, located at 185 West End Avenue, Suite 22B/C, New York, New York 10023-5549; Phone (212) 787-8699; Fax (212) 877-6254; Cell (917) 612-2366; or Email Steven@thewechslergroup.com.


Gap Jeans Take Shape With Shilo's New Spin on '70s Illustration
Creative production studio designs spots for retailer's return to television advertising after almost a year: New York, NY - 2006 Bi-coastal creative studio, Shilo, detailed it's contribution to a new :30 television commercial for Gap Inc. The spot, titled "Jeans Take Shape," will mark the retailer's return to television advertising after nearly a year hiatus. Breaking on July 20 the spot is part of a major cross-media marketing campaign created by Gap's creative agency Laird+Partners, which features a range of denim styles and silhouettes available at Gap this fall. Print, radio, outdoor and online elements will support the nationally airing television spot.

Cut to Peaches" beat-heavy track, "Do Ya," the spot focuses a whole new energy on denim. It features a series of dancers presented in black and white, each with their own unique movement and style. Each dancer dons denim articles, highlighted in blue, that quickly morph from one style to another in the blink of an eye while Gap's classic white backdrop sets the stage for Shilo's innovative yet retro design elements which animate in time to the music.

The Shilo team designed and animated hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations each carefully rendered to appear as though an invisible hand was drawing it with pen and ink. Stars, rainbows, abstract shapes, and typographic elements are set in motion in time to the choreographed dance moves.

"Nostalgia can be a powerful sentiment," explains lead designer, Gerald Mark Soto, "In this case, Gap sought to reach back to their roots and create a campaign that not only reflects their history in popular culture but also does it with a modern flair. Taking the retro design and putting a modern twist on the animation seemed like the perfect solution to making a memorable and relevant spot."

Soto, also contributed to the print campaign, which mirrors the television spot and features the work of famed fashion photographer David Simms. As with the TV spot, the print campaign also contains graphics that illustrate the names of Gap's popular denim fits for fall including ˜the skinny", ˜the boyfriend", and ˜the mini."

"This spot was a blast to work on," said Andre Stringer, Shilo creative director. "We were given latitude to animate the graphic elements as though they were supporting characters in the spot. Just as each dancer had their unique moves, the graphics have their own personality but they also had to work in concert with the dancers so it was as much about creating an interesting composition that drew attention to the denim as it was enhancing the performers."

Creative director, Jose Gomez, added, "It was such an honor for us to work with one of the most influential American brands in existence today. The Gap continues to let a refreshing sense of freedom and playfulness drive the creative of their commercials. It's no wonder Gap commercials are some of the most talked about spots in our industry."

Shilo has recently been tapped to create a series of network idents for Fuel TV and design a main title sequence for a new series on SCI FI channel titled Eureka, which premiered July 18. They also directed a music video for Angels & Airwaves, and a spot in celebration of Planter's Peanuts 100th anniversary starring the iconic, Mr. Peanut.

About Shilo: Shilo is a collective of directors, designers, and animators who share a common passion in forging new perspectives in storytelling through design and visual effects driven production. Shilo strives to not only push the boundaries of contemporary motion graphics and direction, but also to strike a nerve in an ever-numbing audience. The studio endeavors to create projects with boundless emotional impact by seamlessly combining live-action, 3D-CGI, classic typography and illustration with music and sound design. In 2005, the studio won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Design for Showtime's dramatic series "HUFF". Visit the website at www.shilodesign.com.


Flickerlab’s Animation and Graphics Package Revs Up Speed’S New Series Shooting Cars
New York, NY: For the SPEED CHANNEL and their new 30-minute weekly reality series, Shooting Cars, design and animation studio FlickerLab has created a riveting, Hollywood-style, high-speed journey for the series opening animation and graphics package.

Scheduled to begin airing nationally mid-September 2006, the series is based on the exploits of Gino Lucci, Columbo Saggese and their team at Picture Cars East (Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY) who customize and rent their fleet of 300+ vintage, exotic police and first aid vehicles, city busses, taxis, tanks, riot vehicles, and one of a kind creations, and supply stunt drivers, to the film, television, advertising and video production industries. The weekly series will follow new assignments from initial contact, through the delegation and preparation of the automobiles for the likes of The Devil Wears Prada, War of the Worlds, Law & Order, and Michael Clayton, George Clooney’s next film, among many others.

The show open begins with Gino and his longtime partner Columbo racing through Manhattan streets in a blue Mustang amping up the speed as they go. Fiery objects fly past them. Godzilla just misses crushing them as they tear through the busy streets. Gino reaches for the “nitrous” switch and “go baby go” the car shoots into overdrive, tops out at about 315 mph, flies through the “Danger Brooklyn Bridge Closed” sign, off the ramp and scatters representations of the company’s employees and series creators standing outside the shop before the car smashes into the windows of Picture Cars East and the speedometer resolves to the name of the new reality show, Shooting Cars.

“I tried to imbue the Shooting Cars package with numerous filmic references like alien invasions, lasers, exploding objects, a brush with a Hollywood monster, and, the big money shot, the car flying off the Brooklyn Bridge. The package, done in photo-collage, had to have the feel of a blockbuster film, exciting and fast paced with a high-speed chase. The nitrous button provided the Mustang with the super power boost it needed to jump the Brooklyn Bridge before crashing into the Picture Cars East shop,” explained FlickerLab’s Animation Director Eric Merola. “I have always worked primarily in a photo-collage 2D world. In the past my work has been character driven but this project gave me the opportunity to create a full scale, high speed chase through the city which involved a lot of extra details including an in-depth two day photo shoot which I needed to create the 2D photographic background through which this car files. I lensed a 1970 Mustang Boss 429 from every conceivable angle, the folks at Picture Cars East even put it on a lift so I could photograph it from underneath for the bridge jump shot. Communicating my humor and sensibility through facial expressions and character actions, when a car is the character, made it interesting and one of the most challenging projects I have ever tackled,” he added.

Speakeasy Entertainment Producer Tony Anzivino said of his experience working with FlickerLab and Merola, "FlickerLab jumped through hoops for us and what they came up with was incredible. People are loving the show in pre-screenings, and everyone is blown away with what these guys created. Mike and I can't speak highly enough about the FlickerLab team. Eric Merola is extremely talented. Franklin Zitter and the whole team is always ready to get to the table, void of creative attitudes and just make things come together for a final product that everyone can be real proud of. They're a friendly, driven group of people that we look forward to working with on two new shows that Speakeasy will be launching in the fall."

Harold Moss, FlickerLab Managing Partner/Creative Director, stated, “Shooting Cars was a perfect project to unleash Eric's over-the-top pop culture sensibility and high-octane visual style. In 30 seconds he managed to capture all the jumping, racing, exploding, smashing, and assorted mayhem these cars really endure.”

The FlickerLab creative team, headed by Creative Director Harold Moss and Executive Producer Tammy Walters, included Eric Merola who wrote, designed, directed and animated the project on After Effects, and Producer Franklin Zitter.

FlickerLab utilized Adobe After Effects and Photoshop, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Panic Transmit, PowerMac G5 Computers, Apple Display 20” monitors and Wacom Intuos 3 tablets in the execution of the open and graphics package.

Representing Speakeasy Entertainment (New York, NY), creators and producers of the weekly series, were Creator/Executive Producer Michael Tadross, Jr. and Producer Tony Anzivino.

SPEED CHANNEL was represented by Vice President of Programming Bob Ecker.

About FlickerLab: Founded in 1999 as a design and animation studio, today FlickerLab’s principals, long-term collaborators and strategic partners employ their skills, technology and industry experience on a variety of projects be they concept-to-screen development and production, or design and execution of commercials or broadcast promotions. In addition to high quality creative digital content development, FlickerLab works with clients to extend their project reach through advertising, Internet impact, online marketing, and merchandising.

The company’s portfolio includes high profile work for media and entertainment companies including A&E Networks, Bravo, Comedy Central, Discovery Home, Disney Channel, Lifetime, Lions Gate Productions, Michael Moore Productions, MTV, Nickelodeon, Planned Parenthood, The Cartoon Network and The WB, and product/service companies including Bassat Ogilvy, Continental Airlines, Grey Worldwide, Johnson & Johnson, McCann Erickson, Microsoft, Party City and Procter & Gamble, among many others.

About SPEED CHANNEL: SPEED CHANNEL, celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2006, is the nation's first and foremost cable network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 70 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest growing sports cable networks in the country and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on-demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services.

FlickerLab is headquartered at 7 West 18th Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10011. For additional information, or to see a reel, contact Managing Partner/Executive Producer Tammy Walters at Tammy@flickerlab.com or by phone at 212 560-9228. Visit the FlickerLab website at www.flickerlab.com.


FrameFlow Tapped by Sony Pictures Imageworks for Click Effects
VFX Company Contributes 137 Visual Effects Shots: Atlanta, GA - Visual effects studio FrameFlow announces the completion of its visual effects work for Sony Pictures Imageworks on the hit Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios comedy release Click starring Adam Sandler. FrameFlow¹s US-based producers and its international staff of artists based in Chennai, India, worked directly with the VFX team at Imageworks to provide 3D tracking, wire removal, rotoscoping and compositing work on effects shots for the movie, which opened June 23rd.

In the life-altering comedy Click, Michael Newman (Adam Sandler), a busy architect who is trying to get ahead in the world, purchases a remote control that seems to not only let him control his TV set and stereo, but virtually his entire life. Sounds too good to be true. And it is, because soon the technologically sophisticated device is controlling Michael in ways he never imagined possible.

Most of FrameFlow¹s shots involved replacement of the "stand-in" remote-control prop with a CG version, as well as cleanup and roto work. With a team of 40 digital artists and animators at its state-of-the-art Chennai facility, FrameFlow was able to deliver the shots quickly and efficiently.

"There were many visual effects shots involving the remote control that we wanted to get done as soon as possible, and we sought a partner that could accomplish that without compromising on the quality of the work," said David Taritero, Senior VFX Producer, Sony Pictures Imageworks. "FrameFlow consistently proved that they could deliver high-caliber work and keep pace with our production schedule."

"We are thrilled to support Imageworks on Click and other feature projects," said Hitesh Shah, co-founder and CEO of FrameFlow. "Our mission at FrameFlow has been to partner with VFX houses to provide high quality effects services at compelling prices for work that might otherwise be turned away due to production constraints. Our work with Imageworks on Click is a perfect example of the win-win situation such partnering creates."

About FrameFlow, LLC: Founded in 2003, FrameFlow, LLC delivers visual effects and animation services for film, TV and advertising projects internationally. Based in Atlanta and Los Angeles with a state-of-the-art production operation in Chennai, India, FrameFlow staffs a team of 40 visual effects artists and serves as a highly cost effective partner to production companies in the US, Canada and the UK. FrameFlow¹s clients include Sony Pictures Imageworks, The Orphanage, Cinesite UK and more. For more information, visit www.frameflow.com www.frameflow.com or call (310) 341-0200.

About Columbia Pictures: Columbia Pictures, part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE¹s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at www.sonypictures.com.


Rome: Engineering an Empire Produced by KPI for The History Channel
Receives Multiple Emmy Award Nominations - Program to premiere as a weekly series starting in October 2006:

Emperor Hadrian standing amidst the ruins of canopus

New York, NY - ROME: ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE, The History Channel marquee special produced by Kralyevich Productions Inc. (KPI), has been nominated for four Emmy Awards ()unnecessary since all the awards are named: Outstanding Art Direction For A Variety, Music Program, Or Special; Outstanding Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming - Single-Camera Productions; Outstanding Picture Editing For A Special (Single or Multi-Camera); and Outstanding Nonfiction Special. The special will be spun off into a series to launch in October 2006.

“ROME was a landmark project for both KPI and The History Channel,“ said Vincent Kralyevich, president and creative director of KPI’s TV, broadband and mobile platforms. “Its combination of lush high-definition cinematography,

Hadrian's Wall

cutting-edge CGI and effective storytelling really resonated with viewers and critics alike.”

“This special has drawn more than 30 million viewers since its premiere, making it one of the most successful programming events in our network’s history,” said Dolores Gavin, executive producer for The History Channel. “It also garnered the most Emmy nominations of any The History Channel program to date, which is a testament to the hard work and creativity of everyone involved.”

About KPI: KPI, an independent production company based in New York City, was founded in 1992. Since then, KPI has grown

The Colosseum

into a diversified media company specializing in both traditional and new media including programming for cable, corporate clients, mobile and broadband. KPI is a steady supplier of marquee specials—many in high definition— for networks including A&E, The History Channel, Outdoor Life Network, Discovery Health, Court TV and HGTV. The company also produces independent projects for DVD and theatrical release, and has cultivated a strong international presence. KPI’s independent film, Lucha Libre: Life Behind the Mask (2005), was an official selection of HBO’s New York International Film Festival,

Homes for well off Romans were known as "Domus"

2005, as well as winner, Best Documentary, at the Sidewalk Moving Pictures Festival last year. KPI is also a leading underwater filmmaker. The company has worked with the History Channel on a number of previous productions including the WEIRD U.S. series, DEEP SEA DETECTIVES and MEXICO’s ROSWELL.

About The History Channel: The History Channel is one of the leading cable television networks featuring compelling original, non-fiction specials and series that bring history to life in a powerful and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. The network provides an inviting place where people experience history in new and exciting ways enabling them to connect their lives today to the great lives and events of the past that provide a blueprint for the future. The History Channel has earned three Peabody Awards, six News and Documentary Emmy Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. The History Channel reaches more than 89 million Nielsen subscribers.

Visit the KPI website at www.kpitv.com.


Geoffrey Kater Publishes “Design First for 3D Sketchbook”
Second in Design Book Series Puts Theory Into Practice: Hollywood, CA - In his first book, Design First for 3D Artists, Geoffrey Kater taught emerging production designers and animators how to create and nurture their own personal design style. Now, in his second book in the series, Design First for 3D Sketchbook (ISBN-13:978-0-97767-708-5, Lulu, Inc. 110 pages, 13.95, 265 illus.), Kater provides a treasure trove of hundreds of full-on designs and thumbnail sketches that serve to inspire designers, 3D artists and filmmakers alike. Design First for 3D Sketchbook can be ordered through the Design First site, www.designfirstfor3D.com or at www.lulu.com.

“Inspiration is probably the single most important thing in learning design, and nothing is better for that than pure sketching and illustration books,” Kater says. “It’s the best way to provide both beginners and professionals with a variety of approaches to the same subject. For example, if you are designing a spacecraft, you have to address a variety of issues—who’s it for, what kind of environment does it fly through; what is it supposed to do? Once you settle on a certain style, then you can explore a myriad of different shapes and layouts that further refine its design and execution.

In 145 all original rough sketches and 120 thumbnail sketches, Kater surfs the breadth of his own award-winning futurist style, breaking the Design First for 3D Sketchbook into sections on vehicles, spacecraft, cars, boats, props and backgrounds. “The job of today’s production designer is to be able, on a daily basis, to think on your feet and offer a wealth of solutions and options to the director, sometimes dozens each day. This book, through its emphasis on thumbnail and prop design, illustrates that perfectly.”

Future Design First sketchbooks will delve more into character design through the contributions of several leading comic book artists, production designers and animation designers, whose work, Kater says, “will be instantly recognizable.” In addition, next month, Kater is due to begin shooting an instructional DVD series that will move Design First into the realm of actual production, explained in a step-by-step process.

“Design First” is not a brand aimed at one-off illustrators, nor are these a series of how-to drawing books. There are plenty of good resources for those,” Kater explains. “The idea behind “Design First,” in both the books and the website, is to provide basic foundational techniques that the aspiring designer will need, as seen through the eyes of artists who have been there and done the work, so that they can apply these techniques to their own distinct styles. This is a tool I wished was available to me in design school to provide the big picture of design.”

About the Author: Geoffrey Kater is a futurist designer, Art Director, Producer and Director who studied Transportation Design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He has worked with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on the design of a Pluto space vehicle, and his automotive design work has won awards from two National industrial design competitions. Kater’s work has been published in Business Week, Car Styling and Popular Hot Rodding magazines, and one of his spaceship designs currently hangs in the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. In TV, he has worked as a prop designer, production designer, 3D animator and illustrator for Street Sharks, Thumb Wars, The Avengers, and Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? and held the key post of spaceship designer and 3D modeler/animator on Saban and Marvel’s Silver Surfer series, faithfully adapting the legendary style of Jack Kirby into the 3D world. He co-founded S4 Studios in 1999 for the production of animation for commercials, trailers, TV shows and feature film VFX.


Adolescent Creates Summer IDs for Sweden's #1 Television Station, SVT1
New York-based design studio, adolescent created a family of branding IDs for SVT1, Sweden's number one national network's spring & summer seasons: New York, NY - adolescent developed several IDs for SVT1's spring and summer seasons, continuing the variations on a versatile style which adolescent originally designed for SVT1's rebranding in 2003.

SVT1 is Sweden's first and largest broadcast channel, a trusted and loved national network for fifty years. adolescent's branding for the station focuses on reflecting the many facets of the network's dynamic programming and its diverse audience like a room of mirrors. To keep current and connected to its viewers this summer, SVT1 wanted their IDs to express the mood of universal summer moments.

With the golden and radiant colors that have become characteristic of SVT1's imaging, icons from summer in Sweden, such as a sun umbrella, a kite, butterflies, and beautifully spinning wind turbines, come into view before a magical-realist sky bright with sun and puffy clouds. Each icon is first seen in macro focus so that it is purely abstract, as the view pulls out the icon is revealed along with the SVT1 logo. In a nod to the late onset of summer in Sweden's northern climate, one ID begins with a close-up of ice that pans out revealing that the ice is not covering the ground -it's cooling a refreshing glass of water. For spring, Easter eggs decorate delicate branches preparing to sprout leaves, and in another ID, pollen pops forth from a flower.

adolescent's peaceful and sparkling IDs for SVT1 embody the vitality of a national network which speaks to everyone.

About adolescent: Based in New York with international presence, adolescent creative team has been responsible for producing innovative creative work for a variety of projects for entertainment, government and environmental organizations alike. adolescent has collaborated with VH1, MTV Europe and Ireland, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Adidas Originals and the British Government. The team is working on image and brand projects in the areas of broadcast and print media.

To find out more about adolescent and its image-making projects, visit www.adolescent.tv.


The Syndicate Takes BMW to The Edge and Back in Effects-Intensive Spot Package
Santa Monica, CA: Taking BMW to the edge and beyond, The Syndicate (www.Syndicate.tv) steered the automaker through extensive vfx, telecine and online for a quartet of new spots from Publicis, directed by HSI's Michael Haussman.

Two commercials, "Precipice" and "Photocopy," were especially effects heavy. In the black-and-white "Precipice" viewers see how a BMW Series 3's self-drying brakes save the driver from a frightening road hazard. In the black-and-white "Photocopy" audiences observe that cars that try to duplicate a BMW Series 5 pale in comparison.

The Syndicate was especially challenged by "Precipice," which was reconceived to showcase the car's self-drawing brakes just two days before the scheduled shoot. "We were locked into a location, a high road in the Angeles National Forest above the tree line, where there's nothing but open skies," notes vfx supervisor Ben Grossmann. "The new concept had to use that location and the car but sell the story of the brakes in what's actually a sunny and dry environment.

Thanks to The Syndicate's vfx wizardry, the Publicis creatives were able to storyboard the new spot with a fierce rainstorm over the mountain road. A man behind the wheel of a BMW Series 5 is engaged in some power driving until he rounds a hairpin turn and immediately reacts to what's ahead. The car's self-drying brakes bring the vehicle to a controlled halt at what appears to be a crack in the road. But when the camera pulls back viewers see that the road had been washed out by a giant rock slide moments before. The intelligent brake system is "an idea that's arrived not a moment to soon," says the voiceover

Grossmann was determined to capture as many effects as possible practically. "It's hard to simulate and calculate raindrops splashing on a car and a car interacting with rain, so we had a rain-tower array over a controlled stretch of mountain road," he explains. "The driver drove back and forth to get a lot of the close rain coverage we needed."

Grossmann took to a helicopter, outfitted with a Spacecam mount, to lens the car's dramatic running footage. When a stray cloud crept over the mountainside Grossmann quickly grabbed his digital camera to capture it to help the set the scene in the new opening shot that was crafted back at The Syndicate.

"We digitally chopped out the mountain, lowered it and extended the ridge line," Grossmann says. "We replaced the sky with a series of clouds, added lightning from the thunderhead, and created the falling rain with Particular, a particle system built in After Effects, which we helped develop and which I used in 'Sin City.' Joshua LaCross, composited all the elements in After Effects 7."

Because the car's headlights were not on during the running footage, The Syndicate did a 3D camera match to digitally add the lights, added highlight reflections on the wet road and enhanced the water spray from the car. The Syndicate also added digital rain on top of the practical rain to increase the storm's density, replaced what had been a clear, blown-out sky, and comped in violent storm clouds. When a rain tower was visible in a shot, photos of trees were tracked in to cover the crane, and more rain was added.

With the timetable to execute the spot trimmed in half to just three weeks, Grossmann opted to use Motor, beta software from Imagineer Systems, which enabled The Syndicate to significantly speed the rotoscoping process. Based on an advanced method of predictive rotoscoping, Motor is "extremely fast and efficient," Grossmann reports. He tested a 100-frame shot whose hand rotoscoping required setting 88 key frames; Motor required just four. Hand rotoscoping the sequence took one day while Motor zipped through it in four minutes

"Motor made an enormous difference" to the spot's turnaround, Grossmann stresses. "When we wanted to turn the headlights on or make a bumper brighter, Motor operator Tim LeDoux could turn on Motor and match it in a matter of minutes."

For the concluding shot of the crumbled road, the BMW was parked along the cliffside in broad sunlight. The helicopter rose over the road with its Spacecam focused on the rear bumper then pulling back. The Syndicate teamed with the production designer and director on a concept painting for the washed-out road. Then a high-resolution matte painting of the breathtaking shot was created in Photoshop and projected onto geometry in Maya by Digital Artist Alp Altiner.

"We did a full camera move on top adding digital highlights, rain, falling rocks and dust rising from the bottom of the gorge," Grossmann points out.

The Syndicate colorist Beau Leon made the film transfer for "Precipice" and the DaVinci color grading, toning the car body a cold blue. Les Umberger Senior Flame Artist did the final shot-to-shot conform and clean-up in Discreet Flame.

"Photocopy" features practical and digital effects. The spot depicts a BWM 5 Series traveling down a country road and entering a covered bridge. "At BMW we build the ultimate driving machine," says the voiceover. "While other car companies may try to duplicate it, the original is always better than the copy."

Suddenly the scanning motion and light effects of a photocopy machine sweep along the side of the covered bridge and viewers see a degraded photocopy of the car emerge and hit the road. Then the real BMW 5 Series exits the bridge and overtakes the copy, leaving it far behind.

The spot was shot on location at the Disney Ranch where production design built out the sides of a real bridge crowned by a roof. Once again Grossmann was aboard for helicopter aerials of the running footage.

Grossmann took a practical approach to the scanning effects on the bridge. "We made eight passes for the bridge effects," he recalls. "We mounted a giant light rig on a series of dolly tracks inside the bridge and had grips push it back and forth. Later Les Umberger enhanced these practical effects in Flame, combining passes, retiming them for a faster scan, and adding light flares."

Two real cars emerged from the bridge, one covered with tracking marks to facilitate 3D work, and the hero car.

"Eddie Robison Digital Artisit textured, lit and rendered in Lightwave multiple passes of the photocopy car built from a 3D car model, then we faxed and photocopied the renders to ourselves until they were very degraded," Grossmann explains. "Eddie painted the textures back on the car in 3D, the CG car was dropped on top of the real car and match moved perfectly."

The whole process was extremely complex and required degrading some parts of the car more than others, swapping out parts of the car for those of other carmakers, and going back and forth between 3D and compositing "to get the aesthetic just right," Grossmann reports. "We didn't simply use a degraded BWM."

For the overtake-and-pass sequence, the CG car was similarly dropped on top of the real, track-marked car and match moved.

Grossmann tapped Eyeon's Fusion for compositing throughout the spot. Senior Flame Artisit Les Umberger performed final clean up and polishing in Flame.

The Syndicate (1207 Fourth Street, Santa Monica, CA), (www.Syndicate.tv), a division of the ComputerCafe Group (Santa Maria, CA), is a 45-person VFX and telecine studio specializing in all aspects of final picture delivery, compositing and CGI for commercials and music videos. The company combines CaféFX's award-winning CGI and VFX studio with The Syndicate's three veteran partners: telecine artist Beau Leon, LA; executive producer Ken Solomon; and director of new business Leslie Sorrentino.


Perception Creates Complete Show Package For New Bravo Reality Show
New York, NY: Perception, the 2006 BDA World Gold winning design post studio founded by former R/GA creatives Jeremy Lasky, Danny Gonzalez and Brendan Werner, lent its considerable creative talents to a challenging show open/packaging for Bravo's newest reality show Million Dollar Listing, which delves into the high-stakes game of Southern California real estate. The show premieres Tuesday, August 29 at 9 pm.

Million Dollar Listing follows the trials and tribulations of two real estate companies, one in Hollywood and one in Malibu, and exposes the intense work and competition that it takes to move the hot listing of the week. Each episode showcases a real estate listing from Hollywood and a listing from Malibu, starting from the beginning of the selling process and moves toward the coveted close. Viewers see the ups and downs as a dozen of California's biggest and best homes as they go up for sale.

"Bravo wanted us to capture the drama of the home-buying experience from both sides ­ the buyers, the sellers and especially the real estate agents who are the real stars of the show," said Lasky, Perception's Design Director.

It was a challenge, Lasky said, because of the limited amount of elements they were able to work with. "Because they were still filming the show, we only had some low-res DV footage and still photos to work with. From that we needed to set up the show and create something visually engaging to draw viewers in, but also adhere to a real estate esthetic of making every room in all the homes look amazing," added Lasky.

Intercut with actual audio from the show, the open features a series of intricately composited shots culled from numerous sources, coupled with some fast-paced camera moves that bring viewers quickly in and out of these aspirational homes. The end result is a richly detailed tour of Hollywood's most amazing real estate.

"We took the idea of a photographic collage and ran with it," said Gonzalez, Perception's Visual Effects Director. "Literally every element in every scene was composited to create the perfect look throughout. We also shot our own live action footage of buyers, sellers and agents against a green screen, which was then composited into the open."

In addition to the show open, Perception also created transitions, lower thirds, chapter headings and profiles of the people on the show and numerous graphics that will be incorporated into the show.

About Perception: Founded in 2002 by former R/GA creatives Jeremy Lasky (Design Director); Brendan Werner (Editorial Director); and Daniel Gonzalez (Effects Director), Perception's (www.perceptionNYC.com) mission is to create world-class commercial visual art. The company was honored with seven 2006 BDA awards, including a World Gold for Total Show Package for ESPN Classic's Ringside, as well as an Emmy nomination.

Specializing in high-end motion graphics and visual effects for top advertising agencies, broadcast networks and film studios Perception's work includes commercials, network on-air design/promos, show opens/packaging, film title sequences, trailers, music video, corporate video and web design. Since its launch the company has completed assignments for ABC Sports, HBO, Cinemax, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, AMC, We, Spike TV, Voom HD, Bravo!, Miramax, McDonald's, Sony Music, TV Land/Nickelodeon, FUSE Channel, Ogilvy and Mather, Time Warner Cable, Dish Network, VOOM, Playboy Entertainment, Purina, Avrett Free Ginsberg, Showtime, Grey Healthcare, and The Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PA. Visit the website at www.perceptv.com.


Benjamin Williams Takes Care of the Elephant in the Room
A new 30-second PSA, cut by Benjamin Williams, at Post Millennium and directed by Melissa Bolton, features sports commentator and television personality John Salley and a live elephant (named Susie). The spot adapts the old adage of the elephant in the room to: "There's an elephant in the room and its name is AIDS."

VH1 unveiled its newest PSA in its media partnership with The Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria at the International Aids Conference in Toronto on Monday, August 14..

VH1 is committed to the Global Fund and its efforts to fight the global AIDS pandemic -- creating powerful spots to communicate the need for awareness and prevention in revolutionary ways.

QUOTE - Melissa Bolton, VH1: VH1 is a cool, pop culture-savvy network with a unique way of speaking to our cool, pop culture-savvy audience. When they sit down to watch, they feel like they're hanging out with friends. That means they like what we have to say and they listen to what we have to say - 'cause they know we think just like them.

Quote- Benjamin Williams, Post Millennium: It was obvious from the beginning that the elephant was a brilliant (some say cranky) improviser. It really just came down to finding his genius and building around it.

Synopsis: There's an ELEPHANT in the room and its name is AIDS. John takes a large elephant labeled Aids into the workplace and invades a sea of cubicles. His goal? He has taken the proverbial elephant out of the room, and brought it into the workplace to remind the public that the Global Fund needs your help in the fight to end the pandemic of AIDS.

About The Global Fund: The Global Fund is a unique global public-private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.. The Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases. VH1's involvement with The Global Fund grew from a company-wide commitment by Viacom to devote resources to support HIV/AIDS prevention as part of the award-winning KNOW HIV/AIDS initiative, a program in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation. Hot the website at www.postmillennium.com.