Hybrid Edit has launched a new, bi-monthly community outreach event series called “AlterEgo,” open to those working across all areas of the advertising industry. The AlterEgo series invites these members to showcase their personal creative works, culled from the mediums of art, creative writing, photography, music, film, live performance, cooking, etc. Susan Munro, Michael Bartoli, Stuart Waks and Gail Butler, founders of Hybrid Edit, made the announcement.
The inaugural AlterEgo event, which took place at Hybrid studios on March 9, featured the photographic works of both Joe Reynoso (Art Director, Innocean, Huntington Beach), and David Orr (Commercial Director, Story), along with the musical talents of Hal Maynard and Sandy P. Jones (Writers, Tacklebox Creative). Over 100 members of the local ad community attended this event. (For more details, please visit: www.facebook.com/hybridedit)
Munro and Bartoli said, “While we’ve had numerous parties here before, we never had a theme for them until our new editor Christopher Willoughby suggested the idea of ‘AlterEgo.’ Quite often when speaking with our clients and colleagues in the advertising field, we’d come to realize that almost everyone of us subjugates his or her own creative skills and talents while working to deliver hi-end creative for others. ‘AlterEgo’ provides a venue for our brothers and sisters in arms to showcase their own personal skills, talents, passions and hobbies. Our goal is to inspire everyone’s true Alter Ego, by having them re-evaluate their personal passions, contact us, and share those ‘hidden’ works, so we may all embrace and enjoy them.”
Joe Reynoso said, “My passion for photography began when I was very young, and continues to grow stronger. I like capturing highly personal moments that invite the viewer to feel somewhat voyeuristic — images that let one feel that if they exhale too loudly, or cough, or move, they’ll be found out… and then the moment will be lost. I treat environments same way. I sneak up on them, and try to capture the quiet intimacy of special places — their Zen-like hum and breathlessness. I try to capture the face they wear when they think nobody is looking at them.”
He adds, “The Hybrid event allowed me to present my ‘Alter Ego’ through my photographs. It provided a terrific outlet for those of us who work in advertising, and who are usually working on behalf of a client, to showcase our own creative efforts from across various art forms. The night was also a great networking vehicle, allowed me to meet new industry people I’d never met before, and welcomed my creative works for public display. It was great that Hybrid has dedicated a specific day to launching this community outreach program, and I look forward to future such gatherings.”
“I’ve been serious about my fine art photography since 2004,” said David Orr. “Having worked with still cameras all the time on locations and for storyboards, my interest expanded and now I enjoy creating kaleidoscopic images from a variety of my photos, merging them into collage-like patterns. The AlterEgo event was a lot of fun, because it allowed many of us to see each other not just as our ‘professional’ selves, but as our ‘artist’ selves. Quite often in my agency work, I’ll have a $ 400,000 project and a 30-person crew, but on my own time and in an equally fun way, I can pursue my art in a solitary and less cumbersome approach. Usually industry events are about people ‘working the room,’ and trying to make business connections. But at the relaxed Hybrid space during the AlterEgo night, the setting was much more condusive for those of us in attendance to have deeper conversations about creativity and art.”
Adds Hal Maynard, “The Hybrid event was called ‘AlterEgo,’ but it seems to me it’s more like ‘Primary Ego,’ because the show really presented what we primarily love to do—where people like us really got to shine in expressing ourselves through our own art. Music has always played an important part in the lives of Sandy and myself, and I’ve even been fortunate enough to have had some of my original music included in a few client spots. I thought the AlterEgo show was a really great idea, because so many creative people in the ad industry have other passions — this event allowed us to see other sides of these talented people and their very interesting works. And the Hybrid studio offers a great creative space for people to congregate, it’s comfortable, and even has really good acoustics!”
About ALTEREGO
Hybrid Edit is currently seeking submissions for short films, and from all other areas of the arts and entertainment arenas, for future AlterEgo 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 or to Hybrid editor Christopher Willoughby by clicking here.
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 was founded by creative editors Susan Munro, Michael Bartoli, Stuart Waks and Executive Producer Gail Butler.
Hybrid employs the talents of a team of award winning creative editors, including Christopher Willoughby, Duncan Shepherd and Cory Livingston.
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, P.O.D. and Team One, among 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,” slated to air on PBS.
Hybrid is repped in the Midwest by Dwayne Petch with Petch & Co., and on the East and West Coast by Doug Sherin of OPTiONS. For more information, please call 310/586-9799 or visit www.hybridedit.com.
