Bicoastal commercial visual effects studio www.animalwest.com.>Animal recently provided a broad array of finishing services for Audi’s “Luxury Prison” campaign and Dodge’s ongoing rebrand for its Ram trucks, “Strength in Numbers.” Proving their own versatility, value and performance, www.animalwest.com.>Animal conformed and color graded Audi’s longform online videos “Startled Smart” and “Kenny G: Riot Suppressor,” and created extensive motion graphics for the Ram commercials “Mightier,” “Grab an End” and “Collective Force.”nnCreated by Venables Bell & Partners for Audi USA, the “Luxury Prison” campaign redefines luxury by positioning the Audi A8 as progressive luxury against old emblems Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Directed by Matt & Oz of Caviar LA, “Startled Smart” satirizes at-risk privileged teens as they are schooled about the consequences of an opulent lifestyle by “inmates” in smoking jackets and ascots. Effectively cast against type, saxophonist Kenny G makes a subversive turn as “Riot Suppressor,” who not only subdues uprisings by the luxury prisoners with his smooth jazz, but also renders them comatose. A :60 teaser for “Riot Suppressor,” directed by Bryan Buckley of Hungry Man, aired during Super Bowl XLIV; both videos can be can be viewed at YouTube.com/AudiofAmerica.nn
nnnnwww.animalwest.com.>Animal provided a full complement of finishing services and to meet the project’s tight turnaround, colorist Allan Stallard from the company’s East Coast office worked alongside lead Flame artist Ben Looram in Venice. nnwww.animalwest.com.>Animal also worked with agency Doner on the ongoing Ram rebranding campaign that debuted during the Super Bowl. Ram, now a sub-brand of Dodge for pickup trucks, is marketed as a powerful technological marvel to serious truck customers. www.animalwest.com.>Animal‘s visual effects artist Ryan Gibson designed the motion graphics for “Mightier,” “Grab an End” and “Collective Force,” all directed by Klaus Obermeyer of Aero Film. Encouraged by Doner producer Kris Kulas and art director Dan Councilor to expand on their vision for the “Strength in Numbers” campaign, Gibson strove to integrate details that viewers would want to see again and discover something new each time.nnnnGibson researched performance data on torque, shifting coefficients and horsepower and created visual representations of that data in the form of equations, calculations and line graphs that are tracked to the moving truck’s grille, axle, side panels and headlights. He animated the graphics and used Syntheyes for 3D tracking on the filmed plate.nnLeslie Sorrentino, www.animalwest.com.>Animal‘s executive producer, said, “We have always been confident of our ability to deliver visual effects, color grading and finishing at the highest levels. However, we are realizing that the creative energy of Venice, and particularly Abbot Kinney Blvd., is something that galvanizes all of us. Our clients feel it and the entire studio resonates with that creative potential.”nnwww.animalwest.com.>Animal recently delivered “Love What You Do,” a massive worldwide campaign for BlackBerry Torch and has been awarded feature film visual effects production on the dramatic comedy “A Little Bit of Heaven.”nnProduction CreditsnnAudi “Luxury Prison”nTitle: “Startled Smart” “Kenny G: Riot Suppressor“nClient: Audi Product: A8nnAd Agency: Venables, Bell & PartnersnArt Director: Byron Del Rosario nProducer: Nicolette SpencernCopywriter: Matt Keatsnn”Startled Smart“nProduction Company: Caviar LAnDirector: Matt & Oznn”Kenny G: Riot Suppressor“nProduction Company: Hungry MannDirector: Bryan BuckleynnEditorial Company: FinalCut LAnProducer: Jennifer Miller nEditor: Matt Murphy “Startled Smart“nGraham Turner “Kenny G: Riot Suppressor“nnVisual Effects and Finishing: www.animalwest.com.>AnimalnExecutive Producer: Leslie SorrentinonLead Flame Artist: Ben LooramnColorist: Allan StallardnnRam “Strength in Numbers”nTitle: “Mightier” “Grab an End” “Collective Force“nnAd Agency: DonernArt Director: Dan Councilor nProducer: Kris Kulas nnProduction Company: AeronExecutive Producer: Lance O’ConnornHead of Production: Rob Helphand nDirector: Klaus ObermeyernDP: Klaus ObermeyernnVisual Effects: www.animalwest.com.>AnimalnExecutive Producer: Leslie Sorrentino nProducer: Sahir Champion nLead Flame Artist: Ben LooramnMotion Graphics: Ryan GibsonnFlame Artist: Mike Ek nnAbout ANIMALnFounded in 2001 by director and visual effects artist Michael Killen, visual effects artist Jim Kreitzburg and executive producer Kathy Dziubek, www.animalwest.com.>Animal operates as a lean, multi-disciplinary bicoastal studio. www.animalwest.com.>Animal‘s East and West Coast studios have partnered with national and international brands and advertising agencies to deliver world-class visual effects and transmedia for the broadcast, broadband and feature film worlds. nnwww.animalwest.com.>Animal‘s Venice studio opened in June of this year to expand the company’s home base in Pittsburgh to the West Coast. www.animalwest.com.>Animal‘s next-generation business model interweaves post production and production, providing creative and technical involvement at the conceptual stage, as well as on set supervision and custom-tailored services across the range of offerings from both studios, including motion graphics, visual effects and CGI, color grading, finishing and compositing.nnFor more information, please visit: www.animalwest.com.www.animalwest.com.>Animal West Leslie Sorrentino Contact Leslie via email 1212 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Suite A Venice, CA 90291 310-396-8022
Contact:Media: Mary Reardon Contact Mary via email 310-659-0965
2026: Connect Today for a Better Tomorrow (And Beyond)
In 2026, the thing that stands out most is how fast this industry is moving, faster than at any point I’ve seen in my career. Agencies, brands, and production companies are constantly shifting, merging, restructuring, and rebuilding. And the people inside them are moving just as quickly. The average lifespan of an agency creative these days is about 18 months. That means if you connect with someone today, chances are they’ll be somewhere completely different by next year, maybe even brand-side. The good news is that you’re essentially building a relationship with multiple clients at once - as long as you keep track of where they go! That level of movement changes what sales and outreach actually mean. When I started, sales in our industry were seen as unnecessary, even a bit smarmy. Agencies had internal service buying teams whose role was to be aware of what production services were out there--which meant that production companies and reps could remain on the agencies' radar with little effort. But today, those agency-side roles have disappeared, and the responsibility has shifted wholly to production companies and reps to make sure they are continuously visible. Whether people like the word “sales” or not, the truth is that you cannot rely on posting your reels on your site and expecting the phone to ring. It never really worked that way, and it certainly doesn’t now. One of the biggest misunderstandings I still encounter is about what a contact database is for. People assume it’s just a place to download email addresses and send out massive blasts. That was never the right way to do it, not 15... Read More