Friday, February 10, 2012

Michael Gramlow, Lollipop



About Lollipop
Lollipop is an interactive, creative production company.
They provides interactive direction, full-service production management, design, animation, web and app development services to agencies that need to bring their work into the interactive environment.

Client List:
Virgin Mobile, BBDO Toronto, GSD&M, American Heritage Dictionary, Dickies, Sprint Biz360, Jack Daniels, American Express, Kia Optima, Freedom Filter, Zicam, Chevy, Sapporo Beer, Vextini

About Michael Gramlow

Michael Gramlow is the co-founder & creative director a lollipop. He works with agency creatives to translate their idea into the digital world. Michael works to direct content and manage the art direction and design of work.


Michael has also had the role of Creative Director at Organic and Dentsu.

What is lollipop?
- an interactive, creative production company.

What does that mean?
- over the past couple of years, the agency and interact world have evolved (actually completely changed)
- we saw a need for sophisticated interactive models that mirrors the broadcast production model that agencies are familiar with.


our point of view

strategy > big idea > treatment > shoot/design > edit/post > development

the industry

-
this model is more prevalent i the us and europse where budgets are bigger and top-tier interactive production companies have emerged: the barbarian group, big spaceship, firstborn, EVB, north kingdom

- as the industry continues to evolve, i see three areas of opportunity for work - each requires a unique passion and skill set.

1) interactive pure play
-trend toward large scale build

2) integrated ad agency
- work tends to be creative and brand oriented

3) Production company

- works as a partner to agencies to execute work
- well-versed in production techniques
- ability to work on a broad range of clients/projects
-an emerging specialty

How it works

- the rep will give them opportunities and they have to decide if to pitch it, and then how. If they win the contract the rep gets a cut in the contract.
- lollipop has a small core staff. their work is very much project-based and they use a lot of freelance talent to ramp up and down.
-shooting something- all freelance crew.

Advice for the freelance world
- work with a company that places freelancers for exclusive engagements.

"when you finish this program, you have to work so hard to pound the payment to bug people. you've really got to make an effort to get on people's radar, even if you think you're annoying them." - Michael

"sometimes design is not just pixels on a page, it's about the experience, the emotion and the mood that you are trying to evoke." - Michael

"there is a big tendency in this business for something to go directly to the computer. storyboards are critically important, and it's important to take the time to step back and think on paper. Before you sit down and execute, get a piece of paper and get things sketched out." - Michael

Pure Black Sunshine coffee site
Sprint Bz360
-
Business-to business thing
-
shot on a camera call the phantom - 900 fps
- great tools, powerful video, great usability

Dickies
very cool ad - plumbing breaks down and floods site

TJ Max

- using google maps- enter an address using google maps and share a carol.
- carolers singing christmas carols in front of a googlemaps streetview.

Sapporo Beer

- travel through animated scenes composed of a mixture of live action, cgi and matte painting
- users are guided through the site unlocking scrolls to be entered to win a trip to japan

Virgin Mobile
-
wanted to create a user generated site to raise money for homeless youth.
- they've raised $40,000 so far
- consumers come to the site and post a challenge
- html site with javascript, used google check out for the ecommerce dept.

Contact

439 Wellington St. West, Suite 107
Toronto, ON, M5V 1E7
Tel: 416-597-8777
Fax: 416-946-1304




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