Phil Price-who exited his position as president/ creative director of Click 3X, New York, earlier this year (SHOOT, 2/25)-has joined broadband programming and interactive services firm Veon as director of creative services.
A New York resident, Price will oversee a boutique digital studio, with a half-dozen staffers and offices in Manhattan and Los Angeles. The studio will develop and create video broadband entertainment and advertising content.
Price first met key Veon personnel at the annual National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention, which was held this past April in Las Vegas. After Price outlined some potential broadband programming projects he was working on, Veon offered him the chance to pursue those ideas within the company. Price said it was too good an opportunity to pass up, given Veon’s established infrastructure, technological capacity and client roster.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Veon makes software that enables users to create, manage and measure the effectiveness of Web programming, and is perhaps best known for its invention of HyperVideo, which imbeds "hot spots," or links, in streaming video content. The six-year-old company is headed by CEO Joanna Shields, and services clients such as America Online, Dulles, Va.; Excite@Home, Redwood City, Calif.; and Sunnyvale, Calif.-based iBEAM. Veon’s research and development operations are based in Herzliya, Israel.
The goal of the digital studio Price heads up is to broaden Veon’s alliances with Web and entertainment companies, while at the same time creating broadband entertainment and branding programming solutions. The effectiveness of the content will be measured by Veon’s reporting software.
"Broadband is really just rolling out," Price explained. "Being a software company, Veon didn’t know how to speak to the creative community. The company also realized its need to feed the market-creating programming by building relationships with a variety of companies."
Thus far Price has been working with developers at firms such as Organic Media, New York (the interactive media division of New York-headquartered online business builder Organic); and Atlanta-headquartered Web strategy firm iXL. He is also working with traditional broadcasters such as ABC, FOX and several cable channels, and is looking to form relationships with members of the commercial production community. Thus far, he has met with such houses as bicoastal/international Cylo, Santa Monica-based Crash Films, Hollywood-headquartered Orbit Productions, and multimedia animation studio Wild Brain, San Francisco.
"We met in preparation of the possibility of doing spots [using Veon’s software]," said Crash executive producer Bill Fortney. "It has a huge application for commercials. We’re also interested because we’re planning to create original content for our Web site." The executive producer related that Crash director Bill Barminski is well-versed in a variety of Internet applications, such as Flash, and if given the opportunity to experiment, Barminski or other Crash helmers might develop new, creative applications for Veon’s software.
Price’s first project at Veon was an interactive program to promote the European release of Brian De Palma’s Mission to Mars; the film debuted overseas in May at the Cannes International Film Festival. The interactive program featured behind-the-scenes footage and information about the making of the movie.
Currently, the digital studio is working on an interactive commercial for Skechers shoes, as well as some promotional material for R. Kelly’s as-yet-untitled forthcoming CD, which will be released on Jive Records. Also in the works is a project for a Viacom-produced TV show that would also translate to the Web.
"Some of the stuff we’re working on is very experimental and may never see the light of day," Price said. However, he predicted, "In the new world, if consumers can choose whether or not they want to watch commercials, you’ll have to provide advertising-sponsored programming that allows them to learn more about a product."
Prior to joining Veon, Price spent seven years with Click 3X, a digital effects studio with additional facilities in Atlanta, Santa Monica and Construct Click 3X, San Francisco. While there, he headed up projects such as a 25-spot campaign for Fruitopia via Chiat/Day (now TBWA/Chiat/ Day), New York, which was directed by Greg Ramsey, and produced by now defunct Fahrenheit Films. (Ramsey is now repped by bicoastal Celsius Films). Price’s additional Click 3X credits include spots for Little Caesars via Cliff Freeman and Partners, New York, and a Batman Forever promotional tie-in for McDonald’s out of DDB Chicago. Earlier in his career, Price was director of design for Tape House Digital (now Black Logic), New York.
