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January 30th, 2012
by Linda Buchner
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Meet The 3 Latest Additions to the T2 + Back Alley Films Team!

 ”JZ” – Jane Zander – Editor

Knowing that the :30 spot is still alive and well, we’ve    added Jane – “JZ” – (back in KC after a six-year stint at Cutters – Chicago) to our editorial team.  Her work experience includes campaigns for Tide, Dell, Hanes, Secret, and KFC.

“Step one in working with agency creatives is finding common ground. At the end of the day, we are all just people. I enjoy the human connection as much as I do the editing process.

Matt Antrim – VP/Original Program Development

After 14 years in reality television as a casting director in Los Angeles, we think he’s seen it all – so adding him to the staff at T2 is a no-brainer!

“My friends call me the dog whisperer!  I have the coolest dog you’ll ever meet.” (Easy now – Charlie, T2′s mascot, was here first!)

Having worked on shows like “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader”, “Joe Millionaire”, “It’ Me Or The Dog”, and “Thintervention” (just to name a few), Matt is ready to be on the pitching side of the table for T2 and our clients.

Adam Buritsch – Animator

Adam has a background in traditional hand-drawn animation ~ he has motion in his blood! He brings an eclectic and historical knowledge of animation to T2, a drive to push boundaries, and an endless supply of optimism.  Now, what could be wrong with that!

“I never let an inspiration slip past!  From Eastern European folk dancing to Blues harmonica and everything in between – I use a little bit of everything when I’m brainstorming.”

November 8th, 2011
by Teri Rogers
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eCamp – KC style

Back in May, I blogged about eCamp (We all hate that name, but it seems to have stuck) , a grass roots organization that I’m a part of – made up of folks from all over the country and from within our industry — who get together for two days twice a year.  Last spring the eCamp group met in San Francisco and the previous fall, we met in Boston.  It was my turn to host this fall, so it became my pleasure to have 15 colleagues here for two days of full agenda items – followed by some serious partying at the end of each day.   That’s a key part of the agenda- and we are all a bit competitive about that part.  In all honesty, I have to say that Beyond Pix in San Francisco  had us beat on the entertainment agenda items.  Hard to believe, I know.

I believe strongly in collaboration – both internally and externally (though that can sometimes be challenging in a competitive market).   Inside T2 +Back Alley Films, our groups and skill sets are integrating more and more in every job we do.

The Kauffman Grand Opening work this past September was a perfect example of that – with four internal groups – interactive & Experiential combined with motion graphics and animation, editorial and Smoke finishing, and Back Alley for the production and shooting with the Weiss camera – working together to make it happen.   No single group could have achieved what we did on that project without the creative input and skill sets of the other groups.

This is essentially why eCamp started; a group of people in the production and post production industry got together and decided that we could only benefit from sharing what we know. We each come from a different market, but the same industry and so, without feeling the need to be competitive, we are able to talk frankly about what has worked for us and what hasn’t — the challenges we face, and our best operational practices. This has been particularly helpful these past few years – as our industry was struggling with the recession and technology advances that were significantly changing the nature of our business.   It has been interesting to see how each business is evolving to meet the needs of the changing world we are all experiencing.  It was also interesting to note that most of us  had called on other companies within the group this past year  – to collaborate on a project or two.

A definite perk.

I was thrilled to introduce my colleagues to a local genius right here in KC – who was our guest speaker.  Stefan Mumaw is the author of several books about the creative process – but he focused on his latest, Chasing the Monster Idea, which explored the difference between good ideas and great ideas, and how to deploy the great ones. Several in the group plan to book Stefan to speak in their own markets.  Finally, we ended our time together by a work showcase – where each company got 10 minutes to show their best work.  It’s always my favorite part.

Thanks to the eCampers for a great weekend.  And those of you who couldn’t make it this time, we missed you.  Next time – in Columbus, Ohio.  See you all there!

October 21st, 2011
by Administrator
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A Word on the Hex Pixel Gallery…

Have you been to the new Hex Pixel Gallery?

The T2 crew was proud to host our second successful installation here at Hex – Hollow – on the first Friday of this month. Take a look…

You may be curious as to why we opened up our doors as a gallery. First of all, we love the Kansas City artist community, and as a creative enterprise we want to foster and encourage art appreciation in our city. We think First Fridays are a great way to celebrate creativity in this town, and are thrilled to participate.

But on a deeper level – we want to create a platform for digital media. Obviously, it’s the medium we love. Whether it’s short films, interactive design or animation, we are crazy about digital design. And so we want to provide an outlet for it.

Garrett Fuselier, our interactive designer who helped launch the gallery, has this to say:

“We are giving a voice to a time-based medium – a space for work that is not static. By doing this, we can change the experience of how people view digital work. We’re taking it offline and bringing it into a physical space.”

Beyond changing the viewing experience, we also hope to celebrate digital artists everywhere, giving attention to work that deserves to be recognized. Since our grand opening in September, we have showcased two motion-based pieces with video and animation. The first show, Diaporamas, featured artist Sara Ludy. Hollow featured two artists, Max Hattler and Kiron Hussain.

In the coming months, we hope to showcase local, national, and perhaps even international talent in this arena. For this next show we plan on showcasing interactivity so that pieces can react to their audience instead of people just reacting to the pieces. You won’t want to miss it.

Be sure to stop by Hex on November 4! We’d love to see you at our next exhibit.

P.S. Do you have any digital artists/work that you love? Are you a digital artist yourself and would like to show your work at the Hex Gallery? Leave us a note in the comments. We want to bring you work that speaks to you!

 

August 31st, 2011
by T2 + Back Alley Team
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Screen Magazine + Runza

Have you seen the new Runza spots? Click here to see one of them… Runza Breakfast

The T2 + Back Alley team was thrilled to be a part of the production of the campaign. And recently, they were written up in Screen Magazine where you can watch them all! Here’s a little bit about how those spots came together…

If you’re not familiar with Runza, they are a regional restaurant group with a rabid cult following. They have no intention to compete in hundreds of markets across the country, nor to extend their hours into breakfast or late-night like the national chains. So, when it came to making these spots, they thought the best way to stand out would be to poke fun at the competition and talk about how they’re different.  And that’s exactly the approach they took with Swanson Russell, their Nebraska based agency, and us, their trusty production partner.

First order of business: find the perfect Runza Spokesman – someone who could be self-deprecating, but remain compelling to viewers while not being annoying. Back Alley Films’ very own Creative Director, Pete Meyer, turned to Chicago, a market well known for its strong improv talent, and cast Tim Ryder, part of the famed Second City ensemble.

“The scripts were pretty funny to begin with but we would have been fools not to utilize Tim’s improv skills to improve the spots,” said Meyer. “Once we knew we had the scripted versions in the can, we let him improvise on longer takes. Working in this looser structure made the shoot days and the editorial process a lot more fun for everyone.”

Once the spots were shot, Meyer donned his editor’s cap to cut them together while our Creative Director, Travis Schlitter, directed our design/animation team to create the motion graphics. “We really enjoyed developing the visual style for Tim’s stream of consciousness,” said Schlitter. “The loose pen and ink illustrations bring interest and energy to the spots with the right balance as to not overpower his performance.”

Together, along with the Swanson Russell team and, of course, Runza, we created a 5-spot campaign we are quite proud to show you.

Runza will run the spots in their regional markets, rolling them out in a series throughout the fall.

Credits for Brand Spots:
Pete Meyer – Director – Back Alley Films
Andy Romero – Director of Photography
Head of Production – Ethan Downing – Back Alley Films
Postproduction Executive Producer – Nicole Melton – T2
Director/DP (Food Spots) – Russ Hadley
Pete Meyer – Editor – T2
Alex Kane – Assistant Editor – T2
Animation & Motion Design – Travis Schlitter & The T2 Design Team
Smoke Finishing – Jen Paine – T2
Music – Matthew Thornton
Mix/Sound Design – Jim Schrader – Sky Recording
Copywriter – Charlie Stephan – Swanson Russell
Art Director – Greg Bousquet – Swanson Russell
Chief Creative Officer– Brian Boesche – Swanson Russell
Runza Marketing Creative Manager – Vizma Shaeffer

 

June 9th, 2011
by T2 + Back Alley Team
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Newton.

What is Newton you ask? Well, it’s the first physics engine for After Effects developed by Motion Boutique.

In real terms, it is a system to apply realistic movement and physical attributes in animation.

According to Motion Boutique’s website, “Newton interprets each 2D layer as a rigid body in a real environment. Once simulation is completed, animation is recreated in After Effects with standard keyframes.”

Motion Boutique released a video with demos to give onlookers a quick glance of what Newton can do. It mostly shows some text effects and flying beads, but nonetheless, it’s unique and happening in After Effects.

There has been no word so far on how much Newton will cost or when it will be released, but by subscribing to Motion Boutique’s newsletter, you can stay informed on pricing and release dates.

We here at T2 + Back Alley Films see Newton as a big game-changer in the graphics world.