Hybrid Edit founders Susan Munro, Michael Bartoli and Gail Butler announced that over 100 members of the advertising, entertainment, and media industries attended Hybrid’s second “AlterEgo” event, which was held at the company’s Barn Studio here on June 9th.
Open to those working across all areas of the advertising industry, the second AlterEgo event drew attendees from Crispin Porter Bogusky, Ogilvy/LA, TBWA/Chiat/Day, Argyle Brothers, Harvest Films, Superlounge, Sanders/Wingo, Trio Films, David & Goliath, Siltanen & Partners, Paydirt, Robot Films, Poolhouse, Wong Doody Crandall Weiner, Mirror Films, and many others.
Featured at the recent AlterEgo event were acclaimed films from director Richard Yelland (of Curtis Birch) and director Jonathan Nowak (of Argyle Bros.), along with a selection of hi-speed photographs from longtime DP Adam Santelli’s “Cannonball” and “Motion” series.
Yelland presented his short documentary film "Floating: the Nathan Gocke Story," which chronicles the plight and recovery, over a two year time period, of surfer Nathan Gocke, who was paralyzed during a surfing accident in 2008. Gocke, in a wheelchair, was also in attendance at the event. That film, which won best "Emerging Documentary" at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival’s ‘American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase’, was Executive Produced by Oscar-nominee Morgan Spurlock ("Super Size Me").
Regarding the AlterEgo event, Yelland, a life long surfer, said, “I met Nathan Gocke through the ‘Life Rolls on Foundation’ (now a subsidiary of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.) The foundation helps paralyzed surfers get back onto their surfboards and into the ocean, with a program I co-founded called ‘They Will Surf Again.’ The program empowers people like Nathan, who are so inspiring to watch. Our film is about these extraordinary people…what happened to them, how they dealt with their dramatic situations, and how they move forward to overcome the obstacles they’ve been dealt.”
“This AlterEgo event is an unbelievable opportunity, because it allows someone like me, a surfer, a musician, and a filmmaker, who makes commercials for a living, to showcase my other art forms, and realize they are all related…it’s all organic. It’s all about telling a story. Commercials lead me to make my films, and inspirational events like this one, with great food, great atmosphere and great people, give filmmakers such as a myself the ability to share another side of my creativity with the advertising community,” Yelland adds
Jonathan Nowak presented his documentary film, “Man & Machine: A Naked Robotic Love Story,” a film about Godfried Willem Raes, a musician who builds entirely robotic orchestras, which he controls with sonar and his naked body. This 20 minute short film first premiered at SXSW earlier this year.
Said Nowak, “I found Godfried through photos of his amazing instruments online. We started a correspondence, and I went over to Belgium to meet him and his wife, Moniek. The two of them have a really strong audience in Europe, where avant garde and experimental artworks are much more accepted. Godfried uses sonar to read his body movements, which then trigger music through his unique machines. He’s really brilliant, and the love story between him and his wife was fun to tell. He’s this truly unique genius, but his wife humanizes him and keeps him stable within this fun reality. You’d never believe that two people could be so eccentric, yet so perfectly matched for one another.”
“The idea behind this AlterEgo event is great. It pulls people out of their normal way of thinking about the advertising industry, by presenting these kinds of projects they are doing on the side, which are influencing their day to day work. There isn’t really another venue for other people to see these works. AlterEgo takes people out of their comfort zone and offers a venue that’s very friendly and supportive to the artists. It gives people an opportunity to engage on a very different level, where there aren’t as many barriers as there are on a day to day basis.”
About ALTEREGO:
Curated by Christopher Willoughby (christopher@hybridedit.com), Hybrid Edit’s AlterEgo series is currently seeking submissions in all areas of the arts, film and entertainment arenas for future evenings. If you are a member of the advertising industry and wish to participate in an upcoming presentation, please submit your ideas via email to alterego@hybridedit.com. For regular updates about AlterEgo events, please visit: www.hybridedit.com/alterego
About HYBRID
Hybrid Edit is a full-service, creative editorial and finish studio, also offering color correction and online, based in Santa Monica, CA. The company employs the talents of a team of award winning creative editors, including Christopher Willoughby, Duncan Shepherd and Cory Livingston, and finish artists.
Hybrid counts among its clients Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, Young & Rubicam, Innocean Worldwide, Sanders/Wingo, David & Goliath, Grey, MeadsDurket, Siltanen & Partners, RAPP, Donat Wald+Haque, The Zimmerman Agency, Muse USA, Young & Laramore, Walton Isaacson, and Team One, among many others.
The company’s recent campaigns include those for AT&T, Doritos, Hyundai, Cisco, BMW, Honda, eHarmony, Kia, Zumba, Wells Fargo and Farm Bureau, as well as a feature length documentary, “A Place to Live,” which aired on PBS June 12th.
Hybrid is repped on the East and West Coast by Doug Sherin of OPTiONS, and in the Midwest by Dwayne Petch with Petch & Co. For more information, please call 310/586-9799, visit www.hybridedit.com and www.facebook.com/hybridedit.
