2.14.14 // xo
This Valentine's Day, Obsidian and clothing line, The Ørder teamed up to make the most metal-licious playlist for lovers and haters alike. Click HERE to listen.
The Razor Report is back! This issue covers all of the activities from 4th quarter of 2013. Though Obsidian always strives to look forward, sometimes we like to reflect on accomplishments as well...
Click HERE to read the report
Squeak E Clean Managing Director and former Media Arts Lab-er Buzzy Cohen drops some knowledge in this article for Post Magazine. The article talks about the future of the music house model amidst a content crazed advertising market and also addresses music as content and not just a disposable production line.
Click HERE to read the article in Post Magazine and Click HERE to learn more about Squeak E Clean
Health. The word itself conjures thoughts of New Year’s resolutions gone wrong, getting up at some ungodly hour to do whatever badass bootcamp-style workout was featured in GQ last month and…kale [whatever that is]. A few short years ago, I really didn’t care all that much, but in 2013 that all changed.
Faced with some pretty overwhelming stuff both personally and professionally I was looking for a way to get all the stress and anxiety out of my system. Most ad-dudes would take to their favorite scotch and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t try that first, but it was conducive to fixing the underlying problem. I took to running. I hate running. If running were a person I would not hang out with them. I’ve sustained a few sports injuries over the years and running is one of the things that I can still do. Anyway, when I started it was rough. Then after a few weeks I saw marked improvement and it became somewhat of a drug - I NEEDED to do it. If I didn’t go running then I felt guilty.
A week ago, I notched my 500th mile [lifetime] which I think is pretty cool, but in the grand scheme of things I suppose it means absolutely nothing. How do I know I ran 500 miles? The Nike+ running app for my iPhone - this brings me to my next point. In addition to feeling guilty if I didn’t go running, I felt like I was being defeated by somebody else. I am about a competitive person as there is and I do not like it when I look at the ‘leaderboard’ on the app and I’m not at [or towards] the top [note: some of my friends run marathons and I have zero interest] then I become hell-bent on blowing past their mileage.
What does this all mean? Well, Obsidian had its best year to date in 2013 and I feel very strongly that it had to do with the balance that a health regimen brings. By definition I am an entrepreneur, I hate that word and I hate people that use it even more…kind of like when somebody talks about an idea that is really ‘organic’. Bottom line is that I own Obsidian. It’s mine and everything that I do is a reflection of my company and my company’s values AND by extension, the values of the companies and individuals that I represent. What I’m saying is this, if you don’t take care of yourself nobody else is going to. I just finished 5 miles, I’m hungry to knock it out of the park in 2014 and this post serves as a written notice to anyone and everyone that is standing or thinking about standing in my way. We will not be stopped and we will not be silenced and I will not rest until Obsidian Creative Management is a household name synonymous with cutting edge talent.
Do you think you can stop us? You’ll have to catch me first.
via @13thWitness - click image to follow on Instagram
via @Jason Goldwatch - click image to follow him on Instagram
Late last month, bi-coastal editorial shop Cosmo Street signed rockstar editor Stephan Dumonceau. Stephane has cut award-winning commercials, music videos and feature films for over 19 years. One of the notable things about him is that he is consistently praised for his use of sound design in ESPN "Coach" and BCBS "Marathon", and many others. View Stephane's reel here and click below to read the full writeup on SourceECreative...
LA based music and sound design shop, Squeak E Clean is accustomed to "making moves" in the music and advertising scene. This time it's a little bit more literal with some serious hires...Obsidian presents Squeak E Clean's new starting lineup! Click here for the full article [via Source E Creative] and click the image below to learn more about Squeak E Clean!
Another year of Obsidian handmade Christmas cards is in the books. Keep an eye on your mailbox...your real mailbox, not the electronic one
obsidian's recent signing of content creation studio DECON has already been met with success in the short term. this little shop is on a meteoric trajectory AND they're just getting started. obsidian is committed to seeking out the best up and coming talent and DECON is no exception. peep what AdWeek had to say about them here. Below is their latest effort for Google Glass, completely shot using Google Glass featuring hip hop artist/producer Young Guru
obsidian / made in chicago / est. 2010
creators create. it’s that simple. create something cool and the right people will find you.
“Promoting yourself doesn’t make you better at the work you do. Doing more of that work is what makes you better. I don’t think promotion is wrong or even evil, I just think it’s a definite second place in where we should all focus our energy and attention.”
Ariel Danziger’s spot “Generations” for The Woodlands community in Houston, Texas has won a Silver Telly Award, their highest honor. The spot, created with Texas agency John Manlove, shares what a lifetime at The Woodlands can create.
NY based production company, Humble [@humbletv] signs director Steven Ada for US Representation. This is a 2 minute web-only piece for Diesel’s fragrance “Loverdose” that give us a fantastic view into Steven’s storytelling and lifestyle sensibilities as a director.
Ice Cube and the Coors Light can are back at again and this time they’ve brought backup. Just breaking spot from our friends at Commonground. This piece was edited by Red Car’s Tim LoDolce with online from Christopher Elliott.
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.
Squeak E. Clean produced the score for Puma Social’s latest installment of their “After Hours Athlete” campaign. Puma teamed with Droga 5 to release their first short film “Surfing.” The short is an ode to the young, beautiful creatures of the night whose curiosities become reality,…
The official Obsidian Facebook page is now up and running. Love us, like it.
In January of 2012, NY based production company Humble [@humbletv] was tapped to create an experience for Bud Light Platinum on Facebook. Since the addition of Chris Grayson as head of digital, this is their first Facebook execution and this is what they made, a photographic music video set to Avicii’s “Lights”
Squeak E. Clean produced a track for Apple’s “iCloud Harmony” which first aired last night during the 84th Annual Academy Awards. Instead of running their usual voice-over spots for iCloud, Apple chose to use a song to help showcase how the product works. Check out more about the spot on Slamhype.
Los Angeles based music and sound design shop, Squeak E Clean has launched a slew of new spots that are airing right now! For Emirates “Airbus” they collaborated with agency, Strawberry Frog to arrange the classical piece “Blue Danube” to the construction of a sleek new aircraft.
For Cadillac, “Front to Back” they worked with Minneapolis based agency, Fallon and director, Jeff Zwart to create this original song and sound design.
Last, but not least they completed work for “Join Up Soldier” for the latest Call of Duty Elite campaign with agency, 72andSunny. This made-for-web ad features comedian, Rob Riggle and is directed by Zombieland mastermind, Ruben Fleischer.