2.0 Part 1: Nothing Is the Same, but It's Not That Different Either...

Obsidian turned 5 years old in March of this year - it's a mile marker, but we've still got a long way to go to become what I know we can be. Along the way I've been paid compliments ranging from being referred to as "a breath of fresh air" to "I've never thought about it that way before" and of course "how is your hair so perfect all the time?!?”. Ok, that last one doesn't quite count, but a compliment is a compliment. The frequency of the comments really made me think about what it means to “represent” something or somebody in 2015 and it made me wonder if what we’re doing at Obsidian is really all that different.

A month or so ago I promised a three part look at "The New Rep" and this post will serve as Part 1. In this part I want to focus on something that's fairly obvious, but also overlooked from a sales or in this case, representation standpoint - technology. It is omnipresent in this business. We are all vying for seconds, not minutes of attention and technology has made the distribution of content as easy as the click of a button. The simplicity presents a paradox however - a boon and a challenge on both micro and macro levels; a challenge that requires an upgraded skill set - enter “Thew New Rep”.

"I got your reel right here"

In order for me to talk about The New Rep I need to take a minute to talk about “The Old Rep". We are going to take the high ground here, acknowledging and appreciating what The Old Rep has brought to the industry and while the cynical Creative Director or Executive Producer may say something along the lines of "a headache" or some other bullshit, I don't buy it. Back in the day before every production company had a website and before Wiredrive or any digital asset management service existed you, Mr. Agency Creative would be stuck trying to find that perfect visual storyteller and who would you call? Sure you might have a few contacts here and there, but this, this idea needs a real visionary and George Lucas isn't taking your calls. Enter the Rep who acts as liason between [in this example] production talent and the agency production team. This person is a resource and is able to put you in touch with a director that aligns with your creative. Hell, they may even have one or two that are doing things with a camera that you didn’t even realize could be done! They know which directors are available for your shoot dates, they know the bios & past experience of their directors and they are your best bet for getting this show on the road. Remember: at one point reps did not exist.

>>> 25 years [ish]

It's here where I want to actually begin; Internet, Laptops, Wifi, i-[EVERYTHING], and Social Media. Where once the ultimate idea was to create a :30 live action "spot" that lives on broadcast television we are now presented with myriad platforms on which to present what we create. Production, post, music companies, etc. have their own websites where anyone can see the most recent work of every director, editor, animator, composer, VFX artist, etc. There are entire databases dedicated to who concepted/shot/cut/composed/finished what. We have Wiredrive [and other lesser services] which have simplified the sharing of assets from a production and sales standpoint so I know what you’re thinking, “WTF do we need a rep for?!?” The truth is that reps are even more important now than ever. A good rep, The New Rep will separate the signal from the noise.

"For you, I make best deal"

Nate Silver wrote the book aptly titled, "The Signal and the Noise". It's a fantastic read of you’re an information/statistics geek like me or if you are just tired of being told what to think and actually would like to try your hand at thinking for yourself. The basic premise is this: technology is a wonderful thing, but it's prevalence, and the abundance of information it creates can be a deterrent to whatever it is we are trying to use the information to accomplish. I'm not reaching when I say that [it feels like] everyone and their brother is starting a production company, music company, post company, etc. I love the entrepreneurial spirit, and the idea of competition within a talent pool, but just because one can start a company doesn't mean one should. The cost of high-quality cameras have come down dramatically and post production/editing software suites can be had for as little as $60/month [ala Adobe's Creative Cloud]. My point here is that in an industry where everyone fancies themselves an artist, it's awfully easy to play pretend and create some decent looking work for not a lot of money and throw it up on your fancy responsive website potentially adding to the "noise" in our business. Has this new “lightweight creative collective” ever even worked with an advertising agency? Have they ever dealt with clients of advertising agencies? Do you, Mrs. Producer feel 100% certain that their “all under one roof” approach will get the deliverables correct? The New Rep came into this business sifting through noise, they’ve never had the luxury of somebody with a legitimate attention span so they must be adept at quickly finding the signal. It’s not a skill, it’s survival.

"What exactly would you say YOU DO HERE?" The New Rep knows how to trim the fat.

On that note, and on top of the…we’ll call it “traditional noise” there are new types of talent that didn't even exist 25 years ago, due once again to advances in technology [distribution platforms as well as digital creativity] including various specialty post production artists, interactive developers & animators, and experiential design/architectural creatives. The noise just tripled so how are our agency partners supposed to get their amazing 360 idea off the ground? The New Rep has done their homework. They understand and can articulate the capabilities of everyone that they represent. They know where their clients are strongest and they know where their clients skill sets may not be up to snuff for the creative ask and will communicate that honestly with their agency partner. They may even represent companies or artists that offset each other’s skill sets to create a custom solution.

Is this getting long? It’s getting long so I’ll make my final point so pay attention: agencies & clients, you are not alone in this “noise”. Let’s face it, there is so much bullshit out there, but don’t hate the player hate the game. If you don’t do your homework and ask the right questions then those snake oil production, post, VR, or whatever companies aren’t going to check your math. In this tech-obsessed climate, you need somebody you can trust; somebody who may even know a thing or two more than you about a particular subject. Feeling lost now? Just wait and see what the next 5 years brings. The disparity between “Old” and “New” will compound many times over so take control of your creative and put it in the hands of the next-gen. Love us or hate us you need us. We’ve opened the door so suck it up and take a step through.

Art Basel 2014 [or] "I'm in a Gallery, Bitch!"

Art Basel is an event I’ve always read about, but never gave much thought to attending until a few years back. I suppose I never really thought I belonged there…I’m not a billionaire and therefore don’t collect art. Also, the only artists I can name are the ones you typically learn about in high school or college 101 classes, but in December 2014 I was in for a real education.

When I first sat down to write this post, I wanted to simply talk about Miami - how I had never really been to Miami and how I was basically expecting to be walking amongst throngs of these tools. The fortunate reality is that Miami is really nothing like what Chicago, namely the “Chiami” crew would lead you to believe…yes, fuck you @ChiamiLifestyle  you’re ruining not one, but two perfectly good cities.

I digress.

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"Ravenheart" by Curtis Wehrfritz

Art Basel is pretty gnarly; for one week in December people from all over the world descend upon the relatively small city of Miami - all in the name of 'art'. Some come to purchase, some to look, while others simply come for the party. Basel itself is held at the convention center and is difficult to describe without using words like ‘enormous’ or ‘overwhelming’. There is so much stimulus - paintings, sculptures, photography, interactive exhibits, film, etc that museum fatigue [yes that’s a thing] sets in within about 2 hours. It took me two days to navigate Basel itself and I still didn’t come close to seeing everything. 

In addition to Basel there are other exhibitions that are held all over Miami during the same time frame such as: Pulse, Scope, Design Miami, NADA, and Aqua to name just a few. I was lucky enough to have procured a pass from my friends at Artsy that would allow me access to all of these exhibitions. For the next 4 days I shuttled [and UBER'd] around Miami trying to dedicate a ‘morning’ to one particular exhibition and an ‘afternoon’ to another. This method worked for a few days, but the deeper I went, the longer I stayed…I was on to something. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but every exhibition I went to was slightly more ‘underground’ than the last - if there isn’t a designated shuttle then that is ‘underground’. 

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"The Death of Love 2" by Katsutoshi Yuasa

After a few days of soaking it all in  [including the aloe for my sunburn] I thought I should get some of these thoughts down. Art Basel is the 'Main Event' with famous people like Jay-Z, Leo D, Pharrell Williams, etc. looking at [and tweeting about] famous pieces from famous artists, but you never read about any famous person popping by the smaller exhibitions where in my humble, non-celebrity opinion the real art is. Is it because they haven’t heard of the artists that are showcasing at the smaller exhibitions or [more likely] is it because it's not 'The Main Event'? As much as I’d like to believe it’s the former, odds are it’s the latter and that’s totally fine. Each of the above mentioned celebs are artists in their own right and have earned the right to go to whatever they want. 

The point here is not to say that one [exhibition] is better than the other and it certainly is not to position myself as an art critic. The point here is simple…OPEN YOUR EYES and find what you like. If you fancy yourself creative then DON’T BE LAZY and go with what you know or with what everyone "says" they know - there are so many beautiful, fascinating, intricate, creative things out there and while it’s so easy to simply go to ‘The Main Event’ the REAL tastemakers & trendsetters won’t be found there. And if they are, they're probably not the ones posting every single piece they pass by to their ‘insta’ [that’s Instagram, people] feed to show how cultured and cool they are. This is my challenge to you, creative industry. 2015 is around the corner. There is some really amazing stuff out there, but there's also a lot of bullshit so open your eyes, put down your 'insta' and let’s see what you’ve got.

Love.Matt.

ULTRA SPECIAL THANK YOU'S TO: Stas @ Artsy, Apollonia @ Gallery on Wade, Yuki @ Yuki-Sis Gallery and UPS

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Here are a few SFW images from the event.

SO Much Better than Cash Cab...

The North Face See For Yourself cab drove around New York City giving unsuspecting passengers a choice - go on with their normal day or let us take them on an epic outdoor adventure. Would you #SeeForYourself? When's the last time you just stopped...and went? Get out there and #SeeForYourself.

Client: The North Face // Agency: Anomaly [ACE Content] // Directed by: Adam Donald // Production Company: Decon

Click below for the full credits from Agency Spy!

Cosmo Street back in Adweek's Top 5!

Watch as we bring a military dad closer to home using the power of scent. For 11 months, Kearen's been away from his wife and kids in North Carolina. So we partnered with his family to create a special gift to make him feel at home even while he's away.

Client: AirWick // Agency: Droga5 // Edited by: Mark Potter // Editorial Company: Cosmo Street

AICE Takes 'In-House' to the Woodshed

Well, it's been a long time coming. Advertising agencies are getting called out for their in-house post production - primarily editorial services - by the governing body of all things post, the AICE...

“Our primary goal in issuing this statement is to raise awareness on the part of the advertiser community and urge them to seek a greater level of transparency from their agencies when it comes to how their post production work is handled,” says AICE Executive Director Rachelle Madden. “While we certainly don’t expect agencies to eliminate their in-house facilities, we simply want to bring more transparency to the process and help level the playing field in terms of competing fairly and honestly for their clients’ work.”

— Rachelle Madden, AICE Executive Director

“Our main goal is to call for greater transparency in the process of awarding post production work and to raise clients’ awareness of what’s involved when they let their agencies handle post assignments in-house. We want a fair playing field, where our bids and our creative work can be evaluated fairly and accurately, without being manipulated or gamed in any way.”

— Craig Duncan, AICE Board President

The argument, in a nutshell is that the deck is stacked unfairly against post production vendors due in part to the incentivizing of agency staff to use internal services as much as possible. These incentives can come in many forms, the most obvious of these being bonuses followed by recognition of said agency ‘saving their client money’ by taking certain parts of a project in-house.

Obsidian represents a wide range of talent underneath the post production umbrella and while we do [and always will] think that competition in any form is a good thing, the AICE’s call for advertising agencies to show increased levels of transparency in their practices should be laid out as clearly and concisely as possible not only for the benefit of their vendor relationships, but also to their own clients who trust agencies to use their best judgement on all things creative. This transparency will aid in the good kind of competition, i.e. the best idea wins, and who doesn't love that [hint: probably the ones with shitty ideas]?

Obsidian would like to thank Screen Magazine for this article

A Punk Rock Guide to Connecting Correctly

Last weekend Riot Fest invaded Humboldt Park. For the un-initiated, Riot Fest is a 3-day music festival/carnival that typically caters to the punk & alternative rock scene. Anybody that knows me at all knows full well that I wait all year for Riot Fest and this year was no exception. The line up was [in my humble opinion] considerably better than Lollapalooza and completely blew Pitchfork out of the water

*NOTE TO HATERS: I attended both those festivals as well and they sucked*

Riot Fest has a history of being able to book bands that [a] don’t necessarily tour a lot [b] broke up 10+ years ago [c] re-unite for the first time in the aforementioned 10+ years [d] maintain a cult following despite all of the above. I want to give credit where credit is due to the event coordinators, but this 'alchemy' that is performed in putting these epic lineups together requires an X-Factor and that’s what I want to talk about for a minute. How is it that a band that faded into obscurity in the late 90’s / early 2000’s can take a stage at a festival in Chicago and draw a crowd that gives ANY Lollapalooza performer a run for their money? Emotion.

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The Used

Let me explain why this one-word answer is so important. At some point, probably in or around high school [at least for myself] we discovered music that we thought would shape the rest of our lives. It doesn’t matter if it was Siouxsie and the Banshees, Depeche Mode, Mineral, or Nickelback - actually if Nickelback emotionally resonates with you, just…stop. ANYWAY, that was the music that we connected with; could have been right place/right time; could have been the lyrics, there are no right or wrong answers. My point is that there was a connection that went beyond having a crush on the lead singer and his too-perfect application of guy-liner…an emotional component. That component is what makes you feel like that lead singer is singing directly to YOU and that they’ve been through the things that you are/were going through - in other words there is a bond.

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Rise Against

The emotional bond that is created between you and a particular performer, band, song, etc. is something that doesn’t go away. You may have ‘grown up’, but when that song plays you remember EXACTLY where you were the first time you heard it, why? Because that bond isn’t broken by age, time, distance, etc. That bond, although pushed to the back of the mind re-emerges, unbroken as soon as you hear the first chord of that one song - it’s just as powerful as olfactory [scent] memories. That feeling, that emotion is the X-factor that I’m trying to explain, the intangible that Riot Fest planners see. Once that connection is made, it’s nearly impossible to forget it - it’s the reason I was singing/screaming every word of every song during New Found Glory’s set. Do I still listen to them? On occasion, but I do remember that initial connection from my Freshman year at Wheaton North High School. The alchemy that Riot Fest has been performing is nothing more than bringing in bands that have been able to create those types of bonds with their fans - it does not matter in what year that bond was created because those fans REMEMBER and they will show up in droves [even in the driving, sideways rain] to collectively remember.

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Saosin w/ Anthony Green

You can call me Emo. That’s fine, I definitely was [and still kind of am], but as an advertising agency, isn’t the goal to engage viewers/users in a way that resonates with them; a way that creates the kind of bond that these 'old punk bands' have created so effortlessly? Ask your clients, I’m fairly certain I know the answer. Perhaps there *is* something to be learned from punk rock & emo culture - two genres of music that are unapologetically geared toward eliciting an emotional response from listeners. Yes punk has become commercialized and yes emo is all but gone, but Riot Fest demonstrates one very important thing: we CANNOT discount the effect of emotions. These bands make what they make and they never gave a shit about who was going to like it. They sang/screamed [off key] with all their hearts and you know what? People connected despite the lack of polished, produced, sonic perfection. Maybe it’s time advertising got a little more punk.

Die Antwoord

Riot Fest 2014 Spotify Playlist

Cosmo Street's Mirrione scores Adweek's Ad of the Day

Client: Honey Maid // Agency: Droga5 // Edited by: Stephen Mirrione // Editorial Company: Cosmo Street

The blended family is celebrated in this long form piece for Honey Maid also touting the #NotBroken and #ThisIsWholesome hashtags [:30 TV spot breaks tonight]. The spot was edited by Cosmo Street's Stephen Mirrione [IMDB] who has also worked on the Chevy business for the World Cup this year. 

Banksy on Permission, Advertising, and Life

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Razor Report Q1 2014

Yes, it's that time again. Obsidian's quarterly recap of all things awesome, aptly named The Razor Report is now available. Click HERE to see a condensed version of what we've been up to so far this year.

Squeak e Clean Risks Everything for the World Cup

Nike "Risk Everything"

Los Angeles, CA -- boutique music and sound design shop Squeak e Clean was tapped by Weiden & Kennedy to create an original score and sound design for the follow up to Nike's "Write the Future" spot. This spot, called "Risk Everything" tracks Christiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Wayne Rooney on their journey to the world's stage this summer. The spot, directed by Jonathan Glazer gained AdWeek's Ad of the Day today. Click HERE to read the article and below to view the spot.

Working Hard to Get What You Want -OR- [the ugly] American Dream

A month or so ago [during olympics] a television commercial aired, well many television commercials aired, but one in particular got a little more attention than others [sorry PETA, it's not P&G's work]. The first time I saw the spot my television was muted so I didn't pay much attention. It would continue to run throughout the 2014 Winter Olympic games...I eventually got a chance to see it audio and all. The spot was a :60 piece for Cadillac's new hybrid ELR via agency Rogue. Just last week amid an apparent barrage of outrage [neither Huffington Post nor Fox News count as anything more than a never ending soapbox-style counterpoint to anything that could ever be considered logical]. Aside from the fact that I tend take issue with both the extreme left and extreme right of anything, the sheer ignorance of both sides made take to the intarwebz.

*If for some reason you have not read Advertising Age's article about this then I would encourage you to do so now...I'll wait. If you have already read the article and for some reason have not seen the spot then here you go...

Are you done? Good. Hold your questions until the end please. Since we have an American theme going here, we'll start from the left and work our way right.

Ah the Huffington Post, taking "news" and selectively spoon feeding it to the bleeding heart set since 2005. Their argument here is that the takeaway from this spot is that the American Dream is "to work as hard as possible, take 0 time off and buy expensive shit". Here's a few thoughts on this: do we know that this person is the only one working and bringing home any money in the family? His wife looked pretty buttoned up to me. Also, are we to assume that this person is slaving away at some desk job for a fat cat boss? I look at this dude, I see the determination of somebody who to quote the end of the spot "makes their own luck" and probably owns their own business and EMPLOYS OTHERS. Helping to grow the economy of whatever city we are to believe he lives in; in other words putting people back to work which is what America really needs. Sorry HuffPo, I'm not buying that one.

If you've gotten this far and are starting to develop a feeling that I'm a right, wing bible banging hawk of war then you can kiss my ass, then go read a book. Myopic points of view breed thought processes not unlike the one I just described. Let's look at Fox Business' view of this. To paraphrase, it is a "celebration of profit seeking, productivity, and material posessions", I've got to meet this guy. Only somebody with those three things on his or her mind CONSTANTLY could garner that from a :60 commercial for a hybrid vehicle. I'll bet he says the same thing when he sees a girl scout selling cookies in from of the Home Depot or a Lemonade Stand at the corner of his pristine suburban street. This is a pretty decent testament to how out of touch the right can seem. Let's settle this - money does not buy happiness, money *can* buy peace of mind and peace of mind is a valuable commodity in our economic climate. Certain people feel that peace in different ways - walled up inside their castles, hunched over their favorite craft brew in that hip hole in the wall bar that nobody's heard of [yet], 2-putting for birdie at that exclusive country club or behind the counter making the city's sickest latté. Everybody wants to feel secure [don't look at me, look at Maslow], but everybody has a different definition of comfort. Some are currently comfortable and some want to be more comfortable than they currently are, cool? Cool.

How should we view this ad? Quite honestly, If Obsidian wasn't in the business of advertising then this one would have passed right by me. I would not have questioned it or it's motives - here's why: this advertisement is meant for a very specific person and just because it's on television doesn't mean that it's targeted at you like some internet banner ad [i'm looking at you, entitled Millenial]. To call this a celebration of a material possessions is equally ridiculous, the character says it all, it's just "stuff". Are we as Americans wrong for valuing our individuality? No way. Some of us pierce our faces and some of us buy cars, and some of us start businesses. They're all statements, and we're free to make them, ALL OF THEM because we live in America. Fact is, we don't know that this person is actually  as rich as some of the arguments would have us believe or if he's just leveraged to the hilt, underwater in his 40 year interest-only mortgage addicted to looking rich...does anyone remember 2008?

Here's the takeaway - there is nothing wrong with working hard. I do it. Everyday [no, I do not drive a Cadillac]. The reason I work hard is because I want Obsidian to be the best, not "pretty good". Is that egotistical? Not a chance. This is America founded on the idea that we had a better way of doing things than the Brits. That idea has lead to countless revolutions, many because the right person invested in the right idea...Yay Capitalism! Yes we have disagreements, but we're allowed to - whether you live on the right, the left or in the middle one thing has not and will not change, this is the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Client Snapshot: Red Car

Red Car, the national creative editorial company founded by Larry Bridges, offers its clients a diverse roster of creative editors, producers, designers and visual effects artists. In addition to creative editorial, it also offers motion graphics, 2D and 3D design, VFX and complete finishing services.

Red Car has built their reputation on high quality work and their attention to client service. The Chicago office is located in the beautiful Rivereast Art Center downtown and over looks the river and lake. It is a beacon for creativity and houses some of the best minds in our industry.