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July 27th, 2010
by T2 + Back Alley Team
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TRON: Legacy Panel at SIGGRAPH 2010

The upcoming film TRON: Legacy will be the focus of a filmmaker panel discussion during the SIGGRAPH 2010 Computer Animation Festival in Los Angeles on Tuesday, 27 July at 3:45 p.m.

Panelists in the discussion include: TRON: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jeffrey Silver, and visual effects supervisor Eric Barba and animation supervisor Steve Preeg from Digital Domain. The panelists will present a special reel from the movie and answer audience questions.

TRON: Legacy is the story of Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), a man who is haunted by the disappearance of his father Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges). Kevin Flynn was once known as the world’s leading video game developer. When Sam investigates a strange signal sent from the old Flynn’s Arcade–a signal that could only come from his father–he finds himself pulled into a digital world where Kevin has been trapped for 20 years. With the help Quorra (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a journey across a cyber universe that was created by Kevin himself.

TRON: Legacy hits U.S. theaters on December 17, 2010.

July 25th, 2010
by T2 + Back Alley Team
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Mad About Mad Men

Mad Men Arrow Shirt Image

I’ll admit it. I’m a rabid fan of AMC’s Mad Men and Sunday is the season premiere!! That gets a full on wag of the tail from me, for sure! Weekends are my favorite time, since all the creative types scurry off and go to their own hip and trendy places. Me, I stay here. I’ve got my run of the place and that’s sweet. That means I can eat all the dog treats I want, can sleep on any couch in the place (which usually gets me in trouble), pass gas without being judged, watch whatever I want on TV and bark as much as I want if there happens to be lots of activity at the nearby fire station. Excellent!!

Let’s talk about Mad Men. Mad Men Mania consumes many, but especially us advertising types. And it’s funny to see and think about how the world of advertising has changed so much over the course of the last 40 years or so.

An ad like the one above, which was the brainchild of the folks Young & Rubicam, ran in 1964 as part of a campaign for Arrow shirts. The ad was pretty risqué, especially for the times, and the headline was “Can a Humble Cotton Shirt Save This Marriage?” In fact, it was so risqué that the New York Times ran a short article about it, explaining that apparel ads typically focused on a romantic angle and explaining that this was just another take on that. That a fresh, crisp, stylish shirt could in fact save a marriage, thus perpetuating the happily ever after image that was so important for the times.

Funny to think about now. A newspaper explaining to its readership the logic behind running an ad campaign – it seems almost prehistoric. Today shock value is actually factored into a lot of today’s ad campaigns and brands like to take advantage of the buzz that that generates. Positive and negative.

What about you? Are you a Mad Men fan? If so, tune in with me this Sunday night and we’ll talk about it on Monday. But only if you bring me a dog treat.

July 22nd, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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Unspectacular Things. They Matter.

Dieter Rams

OK, yes, I love great design. I live in a world driven by design. Fueled by design. And that’s why I love great designers. Watching this film moved me – like the first time I saw film/art from Charles and Ray Eames.

Dieter Rams is a visionary. He was then, even in the early days of working with Braun, as he moved from a focus on industrial aesthetics to aesthetics for the home. And he is now. In his laboratory, the environment was such that new products were influenced by many and ultimately, made better for all.

The world has come full circle – but some things remain certain and true for all time.  The world of design – and advertising – has always been defined by creativity.  But what really defines great work – is collaboration – work that is influenced by many, working seamlessly together, creating a finished product that is better for all.

Rams’ Ten Principles of Good Design are timeless as well — tenants to live by:

Good design is innovative.

Good design makes a product useful.

Good design is aesthetic.

Good design helps us to understand a product.

Good design is unobtrusive.

Good design is honest.

Good design is durable.

Good design is consequent to the last detail.

Good design is concerned with the environment.

Good design is as little design as possible.

In the film, Rams says “The unspectacular things are the important things, especially in the future.” Real word or not — I liked the way that made me feel.

Photo Credit: Abiasag Tullmann

July 15th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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What the Frack? This is What I Love About Filmmaking

I always tell people that the reason I got into this business is because it is such a powerful medium.  A single film has the power to influence – to motivate – to raise awareness – to change a point of view.  And making a documentary film, in particular, gives the filmmaker a unique opportunity to reach down deep inside and produce a piece of art that tells a story — a truth.  That gives the filmmaker a powerful platform that can affect change.   But you can see all that for yourself, if you just take a minute to watch this documentary trailer.

Gasland was directed by Josh Fox and it was the Winner of the Special Jury Prize – Best US Documentary Feature at Sundance in 2010 and it also screened recently at Cannes. Fracking is not only happening all across rural areas in America, it’s spreading to Europe and Africa, too.  Property owners are tempted by very lucrative offers from big energy companies and, given today’s economy, it’s not surprising that some opt to take the money and run.

I think this is a huge deal – and I agree with Josh that this is a situation that deserves a big spotlight aimed right at it – and this documentary definitely does that. If the trailer intrigued you at all, and you want to do more, visit the Gasland website. Request a screening in your city. Make a donation. If we all just did a little, we could make a huge impact.

And that, my friends, is why I LOVE documentaries. I love watching them. I love making them. I love their inherent power to make a difference.

June 16th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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Our Business Mantra: Turn And Face The Strange

Changes Bowie

Not unlike most businesses, ours has undergone many changes over the course of the past several years. And our strategy has guided it at times and tried to keep up with those changes the rest of the time. This post was inspired by David Bowie a veritable master of change. Listen to the song while you read this post and you’ll see why I was inspired.

Take Two used to be known mostly in the Kansas City market for our post-production work. In order to keep up with a changing industry, we created Back Alley Films to do original film production and motion graphics design. We then created our Integrated Experience Lab to focus on emerging digital and multi-platform work: things like augmented reality, interactive design and experiential design. We’re now known as T2 + Back Alley Films and, while our client base still includes Kansas City based companies, it has expanded to include clients all over the world.

Change has been a great opportunity for us to reinvigorate our business, reinvigorate our staff and completely reexamine our business model. As a result, it has literally changed the way we do everything.

These days, from the very first moments of working with a new or prospective client, the people that we bring to the table is an eclectic group — and a strategically formed one. No longer do we rely on our new business development team — or our producers — to do all the work, instead, we bring the talent to the table. We combine the strategic and the creative thinkers – for a new age of strategic/creative thinking. That means our team, our creatives, our brand experts, our interactive and experiential design teams, our mobile technology team and our social media strategists are part of just about every project or idea, from its earliest inception.

The reality of our business – and any business, really – is that change IS the reality. And in this case, we’re finding that change is making us better at what what we do. It’s creative services — but it’s broader than what it used to be. I bet it’s happening everywhere. What about you? How are you changing the scope of the way you do business? Our generation will be defined by this. Let’s talk about it — and learn from each other.