Theresa Thornhill

Theresa Thornhill comes back to T2 + Back Alley Films.  She worked with us a few years ago (we introduce her to her husband Dave and poof, she leaves town with him!) and now rejoins us as Senior Account Executive.  We’re super psyched about her combined experience on both the agency and production side of the biz.  She gets it.  She gets us.  And, best of all, we get her back!

Her favorite thing – hearing her kids laugh.  Our favorite thing – hearing her laugh!

Steph Scupham

Steph Scupham also joins our team as a Senior Account Executive and she’s got a past that is rich with exceptional creativity both in production, interactive, mobile and the like.  She’s created her own monthly show, too – so she’s no stranger to what it takes to pull something together, sometimes rather quickly!

One of her heroes is Maya Angelou because she is so many things – an author, a dancer, a poet, a singer, and a speaker.  Hmmm…sounds a bit like Steph!

Melissa Willis

Melissa Willis is Sr. Producer working with Ethan Downing in our production department of Back Alley Films.  She actually did an internship with T2 in 1995 but decided to head West for fun in film and production on the left Coast.  Those LA refugees, they drag themselves back home eventually don’t they?

She’s got a “thing” for animals – loves all kinds – works to protect them from weird stuff like being in the circus and stuff like that.  What’s not to love about that?

We want you to create a 2 minute documentary or a :30 second spot from scratch that blows our minds and drops our jaws.  Something that is unique, awe-inspiring and creative.  Something that brings tears to our eyes, happiness to our hearts and rolls of laughter to our floors.

So now that you know we demand the best and expect nothing less, there are some guidelines.

2 minute doc

-You must feature at least 1 on-camera interview.

-It must be 2 minutes but you have a buffer of +/- 10 seconds.

-You must tell us your role (i.e., producer, director, editor or all of the above)

:30 spot

-You must have either a product shot or incorporate the product into the creative itself.

-You must tell us your role (i.e., producer, director, editor or all of the above)

Creative Treatment Option

-Alternatively, you can write a creative treatment for your doc or spot instead of filming it.

-The treatment should describe your vision and how you plan on achieving it.

-Include a budget and production schedule in separate documents.

General

-Can be HD or SD.

-Video needs to be uploaded to either YouTube or Vimeo, no file-sharing sites.

-Documents should be in .pdf format.

-DEADLINE IS MONDAY, MAY 7th, 2012 @ 6:00 pm

So if you think you have what it takes, then email your link or documents, resume and reel to Reid Bangert at rbangert@t2.tv.

Read this article and then let me know if you learned anything you didn’t already know.

KC Arts Council Article

Harlan Brownlee is President and CEO of the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City and a longtime advocate for arts education.

According to Sinek, most people and organizations start from WHAT – ‘I have a car to sell you, I have a computer you need, here I am work with me.’ Then people and organizations move to How – ‘leather seats, low mileage, touch screens, beautiful design, we have great ideas, we’re nice and we’re capable.’

OK. That’s all okay. But… will you buy that, vote for that, go with that? Maybe.

Why, though? What happens when we work from WHY first?

Apple’s WHY says Sinek goes like this,

“With everything we do we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently.” Their HOW follows – ‘making products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly.’ And finally their WHAT – ‘We just happen to make great computers, etc…”

Of course we will buy your computers… and anything else you have to offer! Yes! Yes! Yes!

In this working from WHY model, we feel like we are aligning with a belief, a position, and a way of thinking that we want to be a part of. We want to join in that cause!

This leads me to ask myself – What is my WHY? WHY do I get up in the morning? WHY do I work in the creative industry? WHY do I work with T2+Back Alley Films?

My WHY:

• I believe we are creating all the time – with every decision, every action and every thought.
• I believe through creativity we unfold into more and more of who we truly are.
• My purpose is to help people and organizations express themselves in a way where they can discover more of who they truly are.

My HOW:

• Collaboration, listening, being present, responding quickly, connecting projects with artists and knowing that each person I meet is valuable.

My WHAT:

• Video, animation, experiential design and other digital media.

What is your WHY? Find out. And let it guide you.

So, Claudia Chagüi, Teri Rogers and I sat down for an interview on Cinema KC to talk about some of our recent work. We collaborated with Outpost for the production and I must say I had a great time on set.

The interviews went smoothly! We all spoke about our recent involvement with the grand opening of the Kauffman Performing Art Center.

Then, I spoke about the Halloween Massacre, one of the first projects I was involved in at T2, as well as the creation of the Art of the Heart installation.

Claudia spoke so elegantly about the concept for the Cinema KC opening, her background as a dancer and a painter and how the two of those fuse together in her work.

Teri also got a chance to talk about the Next American Dream opportunity and T2′s movement into a design-centric company.  The interviewers were great, had me smiling and laughing the whole time and I even got to enjoy some great snacks after the shoot.  haha!  Check out Cinema KC when it airs this season and look for our faces!

SAN FRANCISCO — March 7 — Bayshore Studio played a central role in San Francisco’s thriving production industry for 17 years , but was slated for demolition after closing its doors in late 2011. Beyond Pix Studios acquired the facility in January to preserve, restore and re-open the space as a resource for the San Francisco production community.  The studio is the only acoustically-designed and full-service sound stage production facility in San Francisco, with more than 6500 square feet and a 50×50 foot stage with a cyc wall.

“It’s been a tough 5 years for our industry as a whole, but I see a rebound gaining momentum, especially in the Bayshore district.  As a new groundswell of film and video companies have opened in that area during the last 6 months,  it makes sense to preserve the Bayshore Studio space for local companies to leverage as the rebound continues,” said Ray Santiago, Beyond Pix Founder.

The studio will be re-opened as @Bayshore on March 9, at 2178 Palou Avenue in San Francisco, after a substantial restoration and upgrades.

New Look and Services @ Bayshore

In addition to a facelift, @Bayshore will operate differently than in the past.  The new studio will support the local industry by making itself available in a wide array of configurations – from fully equipped and staffed to being rented as a dry stage.  Clients will now be welcome to use @Bayshore as an open source and bring their own staff, equipment, roll up their own trucks, etc.

“The re-opening of the old Bayshore Studio is an enormous asset to our community, as it’s never good to lose such an important resource. Beyond Pix has a great reputation for being honest and fair, as well as giving back to the community, so we totally support their endeavor,” said Janet Coleman, owner of JCX, a company providing expendables to the San Francisco film and video communities for more than 20 years. “I know they’ll be a big success!”

@Bayshore  is now open for business and can be seen by appointment. It is fully functional and operational, although renovations continue.

Community Celebration and Open House

A San Francisco Production Industry party is planned in conjunction with the re-opening of Bayshore Studio as @Bayshore.  The company will be joined by several other film and video businesses in the SoMa area to host open houses on a day in mid April (date TBD) from 3pm to 8pm.

History of Bayshore Studio

Bayshore Studio operated as the only acoustically-designed, full-service sound stage in San Francisco for 17 years.  It hosted local, national and international productions ranging from commercials and corporate videos to music videos and independent feature work.

The company fulfilled a need for a real sound stage in San Francisco and worked with musicians, corporations and politicians including Metallica, Charles Schwab and Senator Dianne Feinstein.

About Beyond Pix 

Beyond Pix Studios is a leading video production company in San Francisco, California, specializing in video production, post-production, creative services, broadcast services, media training and interactive media. For an online tour, visit beyondpix.com.  With a full-service location in the heart of the Media Gulch neighborhood for 20 years, Beyond Pix recently expanded by opening @ Bayshore, San Franisco’s largest shooting stage, in the Bayshore neighborhood of the SoMa district.

“Design has the power to inform, connect, and inspire our lives.  It quietly exists in our buildings, our products, our landscapes, our media, and our environments.  The third annual KANSAS CITY DESIGN WEEK celebrates the value of design in business and highlights its impacts on our society.  This collaborative week-long event offers the community inspiring lectures, engaging workshops, enlightening exhibitions, collaborative celebrations and meaningful design solutions.”

One of the best events in my view, happened the first night in an event called Cut and Paste.  Our own Garrett Fuselier was one of the artists chosen to participate.  All the artists were given the same assignment a week in advance and then had to design it live on stage in 15 minutes.  The event consisted of two rounds – each with a different assignment.

#1.    Campaign Poster:

In this season of political campaigning, we are bombarded with all kinds of messages and creative use of the English language.  In this design round, we challenge our 2D designers to create a campaign poster promoting the inclusion of a word in the dictionary.  The word can be a slang term or a word the designer uses personally and is not used often.  It can be a made-up word as well.  The designers must include the word in their design and they must help our audience understand visually what makes the word special and worthy of consideration as an official English word.

Garrett’s word was “Twerkin”…Here’s the work that put Garrett in the final challenge.

Click here to see full poster design

There were four finalists – and they each took the stage together – and had 15 minutes to design the final challenge.

#2.    Fan T-Shirt:

Being a fan, short for fanatic, means loving something beyond the limits of rationality.  The final round designers are challenged to create a t-shirt expressing their fandom for anything they like.  However, they are required to include a photo of that thing.  The object of fandom does not need to be an object, but can be a person or even an action or activity.  The photo must be taken onstage.

Here’s the work that garnered the winning trophy for Garrett.

Click here to see the full design

It was really fun to watch – and even more fun to watch Garrett win it.

I love Design Week – and just because you missed the Cut & Paste event, doesn’t mean that you missed everything… just the best part.  Congrats to you Garrett!!!!  All of us at T2 are so proud of you!

A Fun Night - 2011 Addys

Tony Vinh as the host was genius.  I had no idea he was such a great stand up comic…  but he was funny and kept the show moving.  So congrats to you Tony V – you were awesome!!

The food was good – the bar lines not too long – and the work was shown well throughout the beautiful Midland Theater.

So, kudos to the AAF-KC Addy committee!  I’ve been on this committee many times and know first hand how much hard work goes into producing this show.  And for the most part, it’s usually a thankless task – since it is a tough crowd to please – so this year, I just want to go on record saying how great it all was.

And the other really cool thing is how the awards were so nicely spread out among all of the Agencies in town.  The big three – VML, BR and Barkley – all had a very respectable showing of ‘Golds”.  And SHS had Addy’s spread out through multiple categories including the Best of Branding.   And hats off to all the local photographers who walked away with Gold that night – Nick Vedros, David Morris and Alistair Tutton to name just three.

As for us, T2+Back Alley and Quixotic and Bazillion – we all had a great night too.  The Kauffman Grand Opening work was recognized throughout the night – for each of us individually.  It was a good feeling – because all of us worked so hard on our own part of it to make it happen.  We worked for a full year – with a very small budget – but we put our heart and soul into it – and we did it mostly out of pride for our city.  But we also got the chance to do some really great work that we could be proud of.  I was really pleased that the Addy judges chose to do something quite unprecedented this year  – by honoring all of us – collectively — for this body of work as Best of Show.

Bic Media also shared that honor for the original music they created for a pre-opening video we produced.  But sadly, Substream was inadvertently left off the credits – and they produced original music for the Quixotic performance that evening AND for the videos we produced on the performing artists following the Grand Opening.  Sorry Noel and Inga – just know how much your contribution meant to the success of this body of work.   We were all winners – and I must say it felt pretty damn good.

5.  DAYLIGHT: To use or not to use.

This aesthetic decision has implications for the technical approach to every video. Generally speaking, utilizing daylight coming through the windows, or including windows that are visible in the background of a shot, lends a clean, crisp, breezy look. We try and play up daylight when the subject is about technology, innovation or discovery.  As a general rule of thumb lighting for daylight temperatures (5600 degrees Kelvin and up) is a bit more costly for light rentals and manpower.

Just as often we may choose to block out all daylight in a scene. We may ask for a quieter room and will block out light from windows and use our tungsten balanced lighting instruments to create drama in the scene. This look is more appropriate for dramatic retellings or intense interviews. The light will warm the skin and/or create areas of high contrast.

4. QUESTIONS : The absurd help.

I like to conduct on-camera interviews in a very conversational manner. I never ask interviewees to include the context in their answer. I find this creates an unnecessary stumbling block and only increases the nerves of whomever is on camera pros and amateurs alike. Instead, I prefer to let people answer each question just as if we were having a cup of coffee.

I like to always ask people to tell me about themselves immediately after saying and spelling their name. I have been able to use people saying, “My Name is John Doe. D.O.E.” as well as comments like, “Well, I began my career 20 years ago as a plumber in rural West Virginia.” Comments like that can add incredible levity or understanding of the interviewee, especially if they are on camera to discuss a break through in microbiology. By allowing interviewees to answer the occasional question about their personal history without the possibility of a right or wrong answer puts everyone at ease. Likewise, nothing gets a nervous subject loosened up by asking them what they ate for breakfast or how long they commute to work. The point is just to get them used to the idea of talking in front of a room full of strangers.

3. WARDROBE: Sunday’s best = not really.

When preparing an interviewee for an on camera interview I like to send a few advance reminders in regards to wardrobe. I usually ask people to avoid white or busy patterns. The most important thing is to ask them to wear what they would normally wear. I always say “don’t feel like you have to wear your Sunday’s best but don’t wear a sweatshirt either”.  People generally appear the most at ease on camera when they are wearing an outfit similar to the one they wore last Tuesday. By saying no to the Sunday’s best people generally leave the tie and the coat at home and grab something a bit more comfortable. I always ask women to come with their hair and makeup already done when I am working without a makeup artist and this helps by making sure everyone will need the same thing: just a dust of powder.

2. IN BETWEEN TIME: Smiles, Laughs and Glances

If time is your friend it is always better to roll more footage than you may need. I always tell my camera guys to leave the cameras (and audio) rolling unless I say cut. So even if I am fishing for my next question I may ask the interviewee to look off to their left and then back at the lens. Or, I may ask them to look down at their lap and then slowly look up at the camera and smile. Likewise, I may try and crack them up a little bit and capture a smile or even a laugh. These little “out-takes” can be gold to an editor in desperate need of a way to cover an edit. It is always better to over-shoot -this is a motto I would tattoo to my forehead if I were in favor of this sort of thing.

1. EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH CHEESE: Being the fool.

I never act reserved or small when I am on set. It is my goal to be invisible to the viewer but with me there is never a shortage of over-aggressive head nods or looks of reassurance during one of my interviews. I try and reassure every interviewee that what they just said is the best thing I have ever heard. My crew even likes to give me hard time for constantly using the phrase, “That’s fantastic.” I do not even realize how much I am using positive catchphrases until I am in the edit suite. But, positive reinforcement goes a long way in getting you another piece of quotable magic. It is okay to be the cheesy one on set… It keeps your subject from having to be over-the –top.

As a Kansas City native, I’m happy to be back working and living in the city I grew up in.  After six years in Chicago and fourteen years in Los Angeles, I can tell you that Dorothy had it right when she said, “There’s no place like home.”

My entire career has been spent producing, casting and developing Reality TV shows.  I was the Casting Director for “Joe Millionaire”, “Are You Smarter Than A 5^th Grader“, “Don’t Forget The Lyrics”, “Average Joe” ,“The First Wives Club,” and “It’s Me Or The Dog,” just to name a few.  My work has aired on NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, MTV, Vh1, LIFETIME, BRAVO, E!, along with many other cable networks.

After a year of consulting on original program ideas with Teri Rogers and T2, I recently began working full-time with them developing, pitching, and creating TV shows.   Bringing my expertise, experience and industry contacts to T2 in efforts to run their Original Program Development division is a great honor, and a great thrill!

Currently, T2 is casting a new primetime NBC show called “The One.”  It’s NBC’s version of “The Bachelor” and we hope that you’ll help us spread the word to insure a great turn out for our open casting calls.  We’d love to have local KC talent featured on this National Primetime show.

In addition, should you have a show idea, know of the next reality TV Star, or have a concept that you’d like to pitch to us, we’d love to meet you and hear your ideas.