Hybrid production company Global Mechanic Media has added the animation director duo Kangaroo Alliance to its roster of acclaimed directors. The team that is Kangaroo Alliance are designer Lauren Gregg and animation director Craig Sheldon. Bruce Alcock, Global Mechanic Media’s founder and creative director, has been looking far and wide for creative talent that fills his vision of a truly integrated production company and is thrilled to have found these two and to be able to add them into the fold. Says Alcock, "in the business where there is a demand for great ideas and execution there of, we are always looking for people who have the interesting and quirky ideas, but also the confidence of a contemporary creative. These guys fit that need perfectly."
Commenting on the recent signing, the duo Lauren Gregg and Craig Sheldon couldn’t help themselves by saying (in unison mind you) "that as children of the early 80’s we grew up with our faces glued to the tv. If we weren’t inside watching cartoons, we were outside pretending to be them in our backyards! And now, we get to MAKE them! We pride ourselves on making imaginative animations and creating fun characters to live inside them. We’re so excited and honored to be a part of Global Mechanic. There is an energy to each artists’ work that immediately takes hold of you. We can’t wait to work with such cool, creative folks!"
Lauren Gregg and Craig Sheldon, aka Kangaroo Alliance, are two best friends who met while studying at the Ringling School of Art and Design. They became pals very quickly and one day decided to register the domain name “kangarooalliance.com” with no idea what it would be for. The answer came a few years later when The Band of Montreal asked them to create a music video for their new song “Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games”. At the time Lauren and Craig were living in two different parts of the country. Lauren did the drawings, sent them to Craig, and he would animate them. Years later and several commercials and shorts produced, Lauren still makes the drawings and Craig still makes them move. But now they work out of the same studio- tighter all the time. The Kangaroos are dedicated to making fun animations, throwing pizza parties, and discussing which dinosaurs would win in a fight against each other. They’ve worked for such clients as Nick Jr, Yo Gabba Gabba, Disney Television Animation, MTV, and various commercials about cat litter, dirty dogs, homeless pets, and tampons. Kangaroo Alliance‘s work can be seen on Global Mechanic Media’s website.
Recent work for Global Mechanic Media includes: interactive campaign work for Bensimon Byrne for Scotia Bank, web work for Copper Penny Flowers, television spots for Nestle and Delissio Pizza, BC Hydro, and Epcor. Drawings an award winning PSA for Stand: raising awareness for the war in Darfur; Bust it or Believe it– the first interactive YouTube campaign with Leo Burnett for Silk Soy Milk; Season 5 for the Emmy Award winning PBS TV show FETCH with Ruff Ruffman, as well as the PBS web property, based on Annie Leonard’s sustainability content, LOOP Scoops. Bruce Alcock’s short film Vive La Rose was recently in competition at the Sundance Film Festival and was named one of the top ten films at Toronto International Film Festival. In addition, Bruce Alcock’s has just begun pre production on his most recent film Impromptu co-produced with the NFB.
About Global Mechanic Media
Global Mechanic Media (www.globalmechanic.com) is a boutique trans-media production company with years of experience and considerable expertise in all aspects of advertising & marketing, entertainment, communication and problem solving. We operate as an integrated studio dedicated to creating content in any medium and are built as a digital laboratory working to formulate effective communications and solutions that are intriguing and create demand. We are creative thinkers who work in all mediums to make interesting media and are masters at telling stories and solving visual problems.
Our expertise at the intersection of marketing and entertainment inspires us to think beyond the limits of the page, the site, the banner and the URL. Regardless of format, we design rich user experiences that create value for the brand and it is our deep knowledge of user experience that ultimately informs the nature of all of our creative.
Founded in 2000 by animation veteran Bruce Alcock, GM has produced commercials, TV shows, websites, films, games, installations, interactive experiences, print, package design and original photography. Based in Vancouver, Canada, our premier facility is world class and staffed with the best creative staff and all the coolest gear imaginable. Clients include Bell, Coca-cola, Nestlé, BMW, Unilever, Hershey and Kraft, for agencies including Grey, Leo Burnett, Ogilvy and BBDO. We have worked with broadcasters including PBS, Cartoon Network, and the CBC. In addition to commercial work, the studio is always collaborating with the theatre, dance, educators and architects. Film projects include award-winning shorts and features in all genres.
Global Mechanic Media is represented in Canada by Hesty Reps on the East Coast of the US by Schaffer / Rogers, and in the mid-west and west coast by Liz Laine Reps.
