Now in its second year, the Kangaroo Project is looking to go national, drawing concepts and directors from across the country to compete for the chance to create and produce a PSA promoting organ donation (see story, p. 1). During the process of producing the spot, seasoned industry professionals will mentor aspiring artisans.
Last year, some 60 crewmembers and 45 protégés, a.k.a. "Joeys," participated in the Kangaroo Project’s "Oblivious Guy," a :30 promoting motorcycle safety. The spot debuted on air this month in Minnesota and several other states.
The Kangaroo Project is a lasting tribute to the late Sean Francis, whose life was claimed by a motorcycle accident at the age of 20 some three years ago. Francis was a production assistant who aspired to become a producer/filmmaker. Contributions to his memorial fund were then put into the Sean Francis Foundation, founded by his mother, veteran freelance producer/production manager Julie Hartley, and several production community notables in Minnesota, including Kirk Hokanson, president/owner of Voodoo Films, Minnneapolis. Hokanson is president of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers’ Minnesota chapter.
Just as Hokanson is convinced that Francis would have made a significant, positive mark in filmmaking had his life not been cut short, the Sean Francis Foundation—via its sponsorship of the Kangaroo Project—is looking to make a lasting mark in filmmaking. Kangaroo mentors aspiring crew people, gives new creatives and directors the chance to show their talent, and creates meaningful public service work that will gain airtime and hopefully exert a positive influence on the community at large.
John Jarvis, executive creative director at Colle+McVoy, Minneapolis, was a concept competition judge last year. He described the Kangaroo Project as being "the only opportunity I know for enabling people [from within and outside the business] to get involved in the challenge and opportunity to create a real TV commercial." He related that entries ranged from professionally drawn and executed storyboards to concepts written on post-it notes. It doesn’t matter—all that matters is the concept, he concluded.
Director Marco Baca of Wilson Griak, Minneapolis, who won last year’s competition to helm "Oblivious Guy," said he found the Kangaroo Project gratifying. He said the "mentoring part of it is a great idea" because it affords experienced industry artisans "the chance to share their knowledge" with people who can benefit from it and advance their career aspirations.
The Kangaroo moniker was chosen in large part because of the way the animal carries and nurtures offspring in her pouch. The mentorships and industry apprenticeships brought about by the Kangaroo Project help young people learn about various production and post disciplines, and get a start on their careers.
Last year’s winning concept for "Oblivious Guy" was conceived by the creative team of Mike Fetrow and Brian Tierney of Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis. The runners up were Sandra Nelson of Sandra Nelson Agency, Minneapolis, and Quan Hoang and Scott Dahl of Periscope, Minneapolis. But it was the high caliber of all the entries that impressed Bob Barrie, a creative group head at Fallon Minneapolis, who served as a concept competition judge in 2002. "It’s important to stress the range of ideas we saw," he related. "Out of some fifty entries on the same subject matter [motorcycle safety], we saw only two that overlapped conceptually." Barrie observed that the Kangaroo Project resulted in "a powerful commercial for a great cause—making it even more worthwhile."
For more info about submitting entries and participating in the Kangaroo Project, log onto its Web site, www.kangarooproject.com.
