Back in June, as part of SHOOT‘s coverage of the 2009 Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase, Richard Myers, creative director, global culture, for Saatchi, and Tom Eslinger, the agency’s worldwide creative director of interactive, noted that the online dynamic had taken on a more prominent role in uncovering Showcase talent.
“We’ve been trolling worthwhile video sites for a couple of years but it’s worth saying that our embracing of online has grown this year,” related Myers.
Eslinger said that Saatchi sought out relevant social networking places and quality video sites–including, for example, the Aniboom site for animation–to tap into work and directors for Showcase consideration. “We still go through production companies and other conventional channels but the online component is also proving of value,” related Eslinger.
Now Aniboom (www.aniboom.com), a virtual animation studio with a network of nearly 8,000 animators from 72 countries, has progressed further, graduating beyond serving as a conduit of directorial discovery for Saatchi’s Showcase to being a clearinghouse that could help to line up talent for specific ad industry projects.
Spurring on that maturation is this week’s announcement that Interpublic digital agency MRM Worldwide has entered into a strategic partnership with Aniboom. Per the deal, MRM clients can access the Aniboom platform for talent and resources that can be applied to branding initiatives. Among the animation solutions that MRM can tap into via Aniboom are:
o Crowdsourcing creative concepts: Aniboom can execute advertisers’ concepts and creative ideas using a proprietary technology that organizes their animators into production teams. This process makes animation faster, cheaper and of comparable quality to traditional studios.
o Creative competitions to source new ideas and executions: MRM’s clients can launch a content creation competition in the Aniboom community for advertising solutions and have the community at large or a panel of judges select the top finalists and ultimate winner of the assignment. Or the competition could be private, with only the final results exhibited to the public.
o And updating current materials: Marketers and advertisers could take their existing iconic symbols, logos or mascots and have Aniboom bring them to life through exciting new executions.
Aniboom’s alliance with MRM Worldwide comes on the heels of several partnerships Aniboom is executing on behalf of entertainment brands. Fox Broadcasting Company and 20th Century Fox Television recently turned to Aniboom to help develop concepts for their next animated holiday special. Also, the Aniboom/HISTORY competition is underway, where Aniboom’s animators are developing short form animations for The People Speak film airing on HISTORY later this year.
Aniboom is also launching a partnership with Marvel Entertainment, through which animators registered with the Aniboom community will have the opportunity to create unique motion comics based on Marvel’s super heroes. Previously, Aniboom had a successful partnership with Radiohead who looked to the virtual animation studio to create music videos for their recent album, “In Rainbows.”
Uri Shinar, founder/CEO of Aniboom, which is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, with offices in New York and San Francisco, expressed confidence that Aniboom’s worldwide community of artists “will supply creative answers to MRM’s clients in this digital era.
MRM’s agency network has 62 offices in 40 countries and counts Microsoft, Intel, MasterCard, Verizon, and General Motors among its clients.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More