Collaborating with ad agency Fallon, HiFi Project is the creative force behind the music and sound design for the new, visually compelling re-brand for cable network STARZ. According to HiFi Creative Director/Composer Paul Robb, this was the most extensive sonic branding campaign to date for the company, which is better known for working on commercial and advertising campaigns such as new spots for Gap, Jaguar, and Chevy.
To view the new STARZ re-brand, GO HERE.
HiFi Project was tapped to create an extensive soundscape that was innovative and revolutionary, taking the listener on a musical journey; while design firm yU+co was called on to create a design language that infused the entire landscape of the STARZ platform with their new tagline, “Taking You Places.” “We had a great time on this project because they really gave us a tremendous amount of freedom to create music,” explains HiFi’s Robb. “We were tasked with creating a soundtrack for the network that was thrilling, but never heavy-handed. They didn’t want music that was overly whimsical or cheery, but something that was gripping, seductive, and premium.”
HiFi initially provided STARZ with 60 original demos, from which network creatives chose five to explore further. After hearing extended arrangements (some as long as four minutes) of the “final five”, a hero track was chosen. HiFi then set about the demanding task of arranging this hero track into five broad style families, for each of the network programming categories. All in all, HiFi Project produced an astonishing 35 complete compositions, ranging from two seconds to over three minutes in duration.
“From a creative point of view, this was just pure joy,” says Robb. “We were given license to create music and sound design for these beautiful, abstract graphics that yU + co had created. We don’t get that level of freedom that often, so we were thrilled.”
“Because a great deal of our work is in the commercial and advertising realm,” adds Executive Producer Birgit Roberts, “and there are oftentimes far more restrictive parameters to that type of work, our team really had a great time with the creative process. It was also great to collaborate with both Fallon and the creative team in-house at STARZ on a re-brand of an entire cable network, which was a first for us.”
Credits:
Client: STARZ
Executive Creative Director: Jessica Creasey
Director of Production: Kandy Barry
Technical Director: Sean Richardson
Creative Director: Michael Vamosy
Ad Agency: Fallon
Integrated Producer: Angie Schoemer
Art Director: Ben Pagel
Creative Director: Andrew Voss
Design Company: yU+Co
Senior Producer: Carey Michaels Keeney
Music & Sound Design Company: HiFi Project
Creative Director/Composer: Paul Robb
Executive Producer: Birgit Roberts
Composer: Jason Murgo
Producer: Melissa Mooney
