( click to view )

Composer/Sound Designer Rick Meyer’s many years of experience competitively racing Porsches made him “just the guy for this job,” comments “There were over 15 hours of wild audio to

(click to view webisode series)

The storyline follows Bird and Bee on the quest for a little one. Agency mono created the campaign for its client.

Composer Rick Meyer comments, “ We scored these playing to the realism of their situation, all the while ignoring the fact that we’re dealing with a grown man and woman in a bird and bee costume,” he adds, “The ukelele seemed like just the thing to tell their story.”


Adds Jess Ford, “Having Scott Vincent direct and Charlie Schwartz edit the project made our involvement easy. We knew it would be  great.”

CREDITS
Agency:                mono
Creative Dir:       Chris Lange
Copywriter:         Paula Maki Biondich
Art Director:       Jim Landry
Producer:            Lisa Keljik
Composer:           Rick Meyer
Exec Prod:           Jess Ford
Director:              Scott Vincent
Editor:                 Charlie Schwartz, Schnitt Edit

“Target ‘Art Unfolds’ Spot Breaks During Golden Globes”

(Minneapolis, MN – January 21, 2010)

Target breaks the latest in a series of art-inspired animated television commercials, “Art Unfolds” during this year’s 2010 Golden Globe Awards.

Click to play spots

The dream-like spot begins with a simple red box that opening to reveal the Target Bull’s-eye gliding along a series of unfolding, falling panels as playful illustrations spring to life. The spot’s percussive-driven underscore carries and builds as the panel montage of illustrative imagery depicting film-making, dance, music, and painting unravels then cleverly refolds into the signature Target Bull’s-eye.

Rumble composer Tommy Walter comments, “The box opens in way that feels whimsical, yet clock-like and ‘measured,’ so I began experimenting with a shuffling rhythm that when ’straightened out’ would naturally speed up with the quickening pace of the visual reveal. I found the organic ‘quirky sound’ by intuitively experimenting with hitting pots and pans, and discovered that a sock covered spoon struck the perfect percussive ‘pitch’ that I was looking for.” Jerome Rankine supported Walter’s score with a subtle, yet complex blend of folds, clicks, whirrs and billows.

This project, like the other ‘Art’ inspired projects was uniquely challenging because when the visuals are SO compelling, because the music has a really big responsibility to be just as engaging. The challenge is to make sure the score doesn’t overpower the picture, while making it smart enough to convey the message,” said Rick Meyer. Tommy Walter adds, “And the pots and pans that I used were really purchased at Target.”

Credits:

Agency: Good People, Minneapolis

Creative Director: Shannon Petinni
Producer: Barth Ward
Principal: Betsy Treinen
Production Company: Eyeball, New York
Music Company: Rumble, Minneapolis
Composer: Tommy Walter
Sound Design: Jerome Rankine
Mixer: Rick Meyer
Executive Producer: Jess Ford

Minnesota State Lottery Scratch Games “Pizza” from anavarrete on Vimeo.

“These spots — beyond being terribly adorable because of the furry creatures — were all about the dialogue. Colle McVoy creatives had approximately 13 hours of dialogue to play with… They gave us such great bits of stuff that we had trouble picking the perfect line to convey, say, a rodent’s love of deep dish pizza.”

“It’s always an adventure with Colle McVoy. We’re just happy it was Hamsters and not Circus Clowns. We’re scared of Circus Clowns.”

Here’s a good article about how jingles are back, and that “getting stuck in your brain forever…” can mean some seriously real ROI for advertisers.

Read the article here

Our friends at VocalEssence, with help from Target, are ringing in the season with a new take on an old carol:

Twelve trucks a-towing,
Eleven plastic Santas,
Ten thousand lakes,
Nine warming houses,
Eight skaters skating,
Seven Snoopy statues,
Six loons a-laying,
Five hours of sun,
Four Fargo jokes,
Three salt bags,
Two “ya, you betchas,”
and a giant cherry on a huge spoon!

Rick: Tommy’s hair was better than Nick Jonas’.
Just sayin’.

Jess: true, the new Nick Jonas hair is not as good as old Jonas brothers era Nick Jonas hair.

Rick: It used to be more Nick Jonas-ey and truly Jonas Brother-y

Camille: Yeah, Nick Jonas does have the best hair in the Jonas brothers, but Tommy’s is still better than Nick Jonas’ or any of the Jonas brothers

Jess: Which Jonas brother is Nick Jonas again? Is he the funny Jonas Brother? or the serious Jonas Brother? Or the brooding Jonas brother?

Camille: Nick Jonas is the cute Jonas Brother. Kevin Jonas is the cute Jonas Bother and Joe Jonas is the cute Jonas Brother.

Jess: what she said. But does Tommy have to change his last name to Jonas now?

Click on player below to listen:

Produced by Matt Kirkwold & Joel Sayles
Recorded & Engineered by Matt Kirkwold at Rumble, Minneapolis MN
Additional Recording by Chad Carlson at Hipposound, Nashville TN
Mixed by Alex Oana
Additional mixing by Chad Carlson

Chris Hawkey: Lead & Background Vocals
Matt Kirkwold: Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Background Vocals
Brian Kroening: Acoustic Guitar
Joel Sayles: Bass, Background Vocals
Don Smithmier: Lead & Background Vocals
Billy Thommes: Drums
Tommy Barbarella: Organ
Jonathan Yudkin: Fiddle
Mike Johnson: Pedal Steel Guitar

Like so many others, though, my life continued as usual these past 2 years–raising my own three daughters, making a living, and writing music. I continued to give occasional thought to Abigail, but usually said a quick prayer and then pushed it out of my mind in order to avoid becoming too sad.

Fast forward to July 2009, when I received an e-mail from a good friend, Mark Lacek. Mark is the co-founder of Faith’s Lodge (www.faithslodge.org), which was created to honor his daughter Faith, whom Mark and Susan lost as a newborn. Mark was writing to see whether I and my band mates in Rocket Club would consider helping him write a song in Faith’s honor based on a poem he had written shortly after her death. I’d like to think Mark knew his question was rhetorical. Of course we would help. In fact, just a few hours later, my band mate Joel Sayles called me up and simply said “It’s done. I wrote the song and it’s really good. I’m coming over tonight to play it for you.” I was blown away. First, by the fact that Joel had written the song so quickly, and second by the fact that he was right, the song was really, really good.

A week or two after that message, Mark, myself, and Joel came together at Joel’s writing studio at Riverwood (www.riverwoodinn.com) to work through the song and finalize the lyrics and parts. It was a gorgeous July day and we spent hours talking about the tragedy that has touched each of our lives. Mark recounted the story of his daughter and what the lyrics of the song meant to him. I also shared with Joel and Mark the story of losing my father to a drowning accident when I was a little boy, something I avoid talking about almost entirely. And lastly, Joel leveled us both by sharing the story of his first wife, Molly, who died of cancer in her late 20s, shortly after her marriage to Joel. Suffice it to say, the three of us spent many years together in the studio that one afternoon. It was a very emotional, very powerful, very moving day. But one that made me glad to be a songwriter — I was honored to have had the experience.

Not long after that day, Rocket Club recorded the song, “One More Day”, and delivered it for inclusion on “Hope Rocks: Volume II” which will be released this month in support of Faith’s Lodge. As part of the promotional efforts, Mark and Susan Lacek appeared this morning on Cities 97 to talk about the charity, the CD, and the song “One More Day.” BT and Lee from Cities 97 then played the song on the air and it was a meaningful moment for me — such a great sense of fulfillment hearing the song come to life that way. It was, again, very powerful–and about to become even more so.

After the song aired, and throughout the day today, the folks at Cities 97 kindly kept sending along messages they received from listeners who heard the song and had their own sad connection to its message. They wanted to share their own stories and learn more about the song, the band, and Faith’s Lodge. But among the messages was a listener who texted the station to say that when he heard the song come on the radio, he had to pull his car off the road because his emotions overwhelmed him. The listener was Scott Taylor, Abigail’s father. And once again, I found myself brought to tears by someone I’ve never met.

I’m so thankful to be a songwriter and so very honored to have taken part in this song–for Faith, for Abigail, for Molly, for Dad, and for everyone else who was listening. And remembering.

- Don Smithmier