Wheels in Motion

Walter Bryant

Motion graphics have been all the rage lately for TV spots.  There are many reasons why – no on-camera talent to cast and shoot, a faster turn-around for tight schedules and the ability to create enticing visuals specific to the brand.  We were delighted when Bernstein Rein’s Producer John Pace and Sr. V-P, Creative Director Kirk Kirkpatrick brought us a series of 30 second Time Warner Cable spots.  The VO talent was already set, but they needed a music track to drive the motion graphics along.   

John picked up the phone and called Walter Bryant to help them out. 

He’s composed, arranged and produced hundreds of pieces for both national and regional commercials.  Wal-Mart, H & R Block, McDonald’s, Commerce Bank, Farmland and Sprint are just a handful of his clients. 

With Jim Wheeler engineering and mixing, Walter composed and performed a custom-made track for each spot.  Although every commercial had a similar musical core, for campaign continuity, there were elements exclusive to each spot.  And because the music was ‘synth-driven’ Walter was able to respond to all of the changes on the fly in the studio.  This kept the project on its tight schedule, and in budget.   

Here are two of the five spots created.

"Free HD"

John Pace (Bernstein Rein) – Producer

Kirk Kirkpatrick (Bernstein Rein) – Senior V-P, Creative Director

Jim Wheeler (Wheeler Audio) – Audio Engineer

Walter Bryant (Walter Bryant Music) - Composer

Darton Simons (t2) – Graphic Designer

Steve Burns (Paradigm) – Voiceover Talent

"Pre-Launch Navigator"

John Pace (Bernstein Rein) – Producer

Kirk Kirkpatrick (Bernstein Rein) – Senior V-P, Creative Director

Jim Wheeler (Wheeler Audio) – Audio Engineer

Walter Bryant (Walter Bryant Music) - Composer

Allen  Robbins (t2) – Online Editor

Chad McClure (t2) – Graphic Designer

Steve Burns (Paradigm) – Voiceover Talent

Show and Tell

Engineer Corey Trentham has worked on two cool spots that we’d like to tell you about. 

The first spot was created for Sprint by ad agency Two West.  Corey said, “It was one of those great moments where everything just clicked.  Bill Elder gave me the perfect amount of direction to let me know how he was envisioning the spot and still allowed me to be very creative.”  It seems half the battle of sound designing a good spot is nailing the communication between the ad creatives and the engineer.

Corey’s favorite parts of sound designing this commercial are at the close.  “The ‘comet’ at the end is a great sound, but my favorite is the final sound effect mix of a whip crack and fast, sharp whoosh over the Sprint logo.  It is a great match for the visual and wraps up the spot well.”

“Light Tunnel”
Corey Trentham (Wheeler Audio) – Sound Designer/Mixer
Michael Ong (t2) - Motion Graphic Designer
Nicole Melton (t2) - Producer
John Q. Harrington (Two West) – Creative Director
Bill Elder (Two West) – Art Director
Daphne Best (Two West) – Copywriter
Monta at Odds – Music Composition
Kay Bess (Voices And) – Voice Talent

The second spot worth noting was one Corey worked on with t2 for the new local restaurant/nightclub Seven.  This spot is both visually and aurally enticing. It has eye catching motion graphics with a groovy music track to go along with it.  Corey said, “There were not a whole lot of tweaks to be made here, but it is all about balance.  Once we recorded the voiceover and it was in place you have to make a notch in the music where the voiceover can fit in the mix so that neither will overpower the other.  After that I made other light enhancements to the piece which are often subliminal, but very necessary.”

“Seven”
Corey Trentham (Wheeler Audio) – Audio Engineer
Peter Meyer (t2) – Editor
Chad McClure (t2) – Graphic Designer
Nicole Melton (t2) - Producer
Dallas Holloway (Dallas Holloway Music & Sound Design) – Music Composition
Patty Schmidt (Talent Unlimited)– Voice Talent

Sound Miner

When we say we have the latest and greatest equipment here at Wheeler Audio, we mean it.  We recently upgraded to Soundminer.  It’s an amazing digital audio file management system that allows us to keep all (118,000+) of our sound effects in one search engine.  Plus all of our music libraries are in there as well.  So what we once had to rip off of a CD is now already loaded onto a hard drive and accessible to both studios, which means less wait time for sound effects and smoother sessions.  We're psyched about it!

Bigger is Better

So, I bought a Nissan Xterra and have developed a case of SUV Syndrome.  I no longer fear other large vehicles or trucks on the road, not to mention small children or puppies darting in front of me.  I don’t know what happened.  I left a cramped city and suddenly feel the need to take up space just because I can. 

My little '98 Jetta wouldn't start on humid days and two out of the four windows wouldn't roll up or down.  The electrical system had a mind of it's own - sometimes causing the alarm and lights to go on and off in the middle of a drive.  One extremely cold Chicago winter, the driver's side door refused to open for an entire week.  Coincidentally, this occured during the brief period of time my employer paid for valet parking, and I had to crawl out the passenger side door (a complicated and dangerous task in a manual car) while the valet guy laughed every morning like it was the first time he saw it.

I believe my joy for my new car is best described in an interpretive dance a cartoon of singing vegetables.

Hello Neighbor

If there is one glaring difference between Kansas City and Chicago that I have noticed since my move, it's that people are friendlier here. Really friendly. It kind of freaks me out; it makes me feel hard and mean. I come from a city where you don't talk to your neighbors because they ARE axe-murderers. You DON'T ask them to watch your place or feed your dog while you're away for the weekend. Where I am from this would be tantamount to placing an ad in the local paper that reads "Out of town Saturday and Sunday, guard dog gives 'kisses', key under the mat, ADP sign just for show”.

In Chicago, there is a constant cautiousness that does not seem to exist here. Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying; I am not implying that to live in Kansas City is to live in Mayberry. I don't think that people are stupid Barney Fife's. I just think that there is more of the philosophy that man is genuinely good.

Just as I am slowly coming around to this idea of "neighborliness" yesterday my neighbor startled me when he walked outside specifically to strike up a conversation when he saw me pull into my driveway. Had this occurred when my husband and I were "fresh meat" and unloading the moving truck, I would have proceeded to place my keys in between my fingers as a weapon and start swinging vigorously as protection. I was able to feign interest in his story. I have even mastered the head tilt that shows you are not only listening, but empathizing - if only my neighbor knew I was secretly hoping that he stayed on his side of the street. He said, "something something, something, I like your new car."

I called my best friend, Julie and expected her to reassure me that people really are truly nice and non-threatening here and that there was nothing to be leery about. Maybe he did just like my new car. Instead, she told me a story about how her neighbor came over to introduce himself after she first moved into her new house. He told her that the couple that lived in the house before her did a lot of work to it. Julie said she heard that from another neighbor as well and asked if he knew the other neighbor's name. She was having trouble remembering it.

He said that he couldn't remember her name either, apologized and jokingly said he had brain damage. Julie laughed and agreed that sometimes it does feel like that when you can't remember a name. Apparently, empathizing was the wrong move because he dropped his Mr. Rogers facade and angrily stated, "NO. I really am brain damaged. I was electrocuted three years ago," and stormed away. Now she avoids him like the plague. No eye contact – no obligation. I don't know about you, but I'm sticking with the fact that people are unpredictable. I’m not ready to be a good neighbor.