Category: Image Associates News
The West Virginia Housing Development Fund came to iA for a better way to educate potential homebuyers about the process of shopping for, choosing, and financing their own home.
iA responded by writing and producing a 4 part video series utilizing the trending technique known as “whiteboard animation”. To create the effect, iA turned to Videoscribe to create the foundation of the clips, but chose to enhance the effect using Apple Motion for a smoother result. The final video series now resides on YouTube and is embedded on the WVHDF web site. The videos have also been shown at realtor luncheons across the state to better familiarize the real estate community with the home buying process.
Dancers rehearse
What do an adorable little girl, two disgruntled moving men, four square dancers, a frazzled family and an eighties rocker have in common? They are all part of two TV spots created by iA to promote the West Virginia Housing Development Fund’s new “Movin Up” home loan program. The program was designed for existing homeowners who want to move up to a larger home or are just ready for a change.
The first of the two comedy spots titled Get Movin’ depicts a family who must wait in line as a teen daughter monopolizes their home’s only bathroom. “Nothing could be more to the point or funnier.” said iA’s Carl Varney, the spot’s creator. “These folks really need a larger home.”
In the second spot called Change male and female characters who “change with the times, change their minds and finally change places” thanks to a “Movin’ Up” home loan.
“We’re grateful that the Fund let us run with our ideas for these spots. It’s not every day an institutional client has the vision and the courage to use comedy to promote a financial product,” said director Bill Hogan.
The spots premiered on TV stations across the state in February and met with immediate, positive feedback. George Gannon, the Fund’s Communications Manager reported unprecedented traffic on the Fund’s Facebook page and web site within twenty-four hours of posting the “Movin’ Up” spots. Patti Shamblin, a loan origination manager with the Fund, reports increased phone traffic since the spots began airing.
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A new thirty-second Frontier Communications spot produced by iAproductions for West Virginia markets has been picked up for use by multiple Frontier regional business units. The spot titled Best Gift Ever employs kinetic typography and animation to herald Frontier’s holiday customer promotion. The spot offers customers a $450 Apple gift card as an incentive to sign up for Frontier’s “Triple Play” package for phone, TV and internet service.
This is the second spot produced by iAproductions for Frontier that utilizes an animation technique known as kinetic typography. Kinetic typography involves the creation of blocks of text, animated in sync with speech and music, that convey a particular idea or emotion. It’s first recognized use was during the opening credits of Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest in 1959. iAproductions previously employed this technique on a grander scale to promote Frontier Communications’ “Custom Value Pricing” promotion.
Response to the spot in West Virginia broke sales records and Frontier’s home office immediately took notice and requested the spot be adapted for use throughout the Frontier system of twenty-eight states. According to iA’s Creative Director Bill Hogan, “The spot was so successful that Frontier requested the spot be retooled for extended use following the promotion.” Hogan went on to say, “It’s been a pleasure to work with Frontier’s Southeastern region marketing team and we are grateful to them for providing us with the opportunity to ‘go national’ with the gift card spot. For us it’s the Best Gift Ever!”
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The Steven Spielberg/J.J. Abrams blockbuster “Super 8” roared into theatres this June and with it months of secrecy concerning the role of Charleston’s iA Productions finally came to an end. When iA first began talks with Paramount Pictures in August 2010, the company was sworn to secrecy. In fact, the producers were so concerned with secrecy that the production had two working titles before adopting the “Super 8” moniker.
Now iA can tell all. iA served as the film’s production services company, providing almost everything the production used while shooting in West Virginia – from filmstock to flamethrowers, from hair extensions to explosives and everything in between. From August 2010 through January 2011, iA staff interacted daily with the Paramount crew, both in-state and back in Los Angeles. Long hours were spent making purchases, overseeing expenditures and making certain every last item would arrive on time for each day’s shooting in Weirton, WV.
What can we do for your next production? Anybody need a slightly used freight train?
The winners of the 32nd Annual Telly Awards have been announced and Image Associates’ iA Productions received two Telly Awards for its television commercials for the West Virginia Center for End-of-Life Care and Ghareeb Dental Group. “With nearly 11,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries, it’s quite an honor to be selected,” said iA Productions Creative Director Bill Hogan. “It is especially gratifying that the concepts for these award-winners were crafted by our advertising division – Image Associates, LLC.”
One thirty-second spot for the West Virginia Center for End-of-Life Care brings home its message, urging West Virginians to declare their end-of-life wishes, with an electrifying conclusion in which a medical device called a defibrillator is seen from a patient’s point of view as it discharges, complete with jarring sound effect.
In direct contrast, the imagery found in the Ghareeb Dental spots features actual patients simply smiling at the camera in extended close ups, is upbeat and fun and supported by a light and airy Indy-style music track.
The new awards bring iA’s Telly total to twenty-one since 1996. “No other West Virginia production company even comes close,” said Hogan. “Our dedication to quality and creativity have always distinguished us from our competitors. Being recognized by the Telly’s is simply the icing on the cake.”
Arkansas-based Ozark Video Production contracted the services of iAproductions to shoot a series of television commercials for Glade Springs Resort located in Daniels, WV.
iAproductions provided its grip truck and crew for the three day-shoot on the resort property situated in Raleigh County.
iAproductions continues to be a valuable source for a variety of production services to out-of-state firms. iAproductions has recently provided production services to HBO Real Sports, Americas Most Wanted, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel.
iAproductions, a subsidiary of Image Associates, LLC, has become West Virginia’s first video production company with high definition (HD) production and editing capabilities, according to Managing Member Bill Hogan.
“Critics once said that the Charleston market was too small to support a high definition post-production company”, said Hogan. With this upgrade, West Virginians are no longer forced to leave the state to both future-proof and obtain top quality for their work. We can provide traditional clients, television stations and cable channels with content that is HD ready.
iAproductions decided to upgrade the company’s post-production capabilities as part of its move into a new suite of offices. The company moved into the recently completed Fifth Third Center on Virginia Street.
The move allowed iAproductions to offer clients a choice of two new customer-friendly edit suites. Each suite has been soundproofed and individually climate controlled. A new Final Cut Pro HD online studio has been completed to complement an upgraded AVID offline suite. Both suites feature in-house animation and effects with FCP Motion, After Effects, Particle Illusion and Carrera Studio.
The Final Cut Pro nonlinear editing system utilizes a Power Mac Quad G5 computer to run the Apple Final Cut Pro Studio which features Final Cut Pro HD, DVD Studio Pro, Motion and Soundtrack.
“The new editing system allows us to edit standard definition uncompressed as well as DVC Pro high-definition video at up to 720p or 1080i”, said Hogan who noted that all television stations are required to begin broadcasting in high definition in 2009.
Shot in Greensboro, N.C. and on site at some of Massey Energy’s mines, this video features Kyle Petty as commentator. Director Bill Hogan worked around the clock to deliver an exceptionally high-quality instructional video that Massey plans to use to orient new employees.
