My smartadvertising

Interview With Tom Joyce Art Director Ad Agency Owner

John: Tom when we first met it was a different world! I was dragging a book of 8×10 transparencies around. Does anyone still do that?

Tom: No. But I get a hell of a lot of photographers sending email promotion.

John: Back then you were an art director with Visa. I believe you were running around the world doing TV ads. Youve worked with a number of prestigious agencies. For a number of years now you have run your own agency. Can you tell us a little of your history how you got into the business and how you came to have your own shop?

Tom: I went to art school in Philadelphia because I sucked at math and science. Thats rather ironic considering how technologically oriented the visual arts are today. I graduated with a BFA from college and moved to San Francisco worked a bunch of odd jobsin and out of the artsand finally ended up as a junior art director at Cunningham amp; Walsh fortunate to get into advertising at the end of a golden era when guys like Fred Manley and Hal Riney were mentoring young creative people.

Then at Visa I had the chance to work directly under Dee Hock the petulant genius who created credit cards for banks. We had a full advertising agency within the organization and as associate creative director I had the opportunity to do comprehensive broadcast and print campaigns travel around the world shooting and win very prestigious industry awards like the Clio Andy and Cannes Silver Lion.

It was an incredible period which came to an end shortly after Dee retired. The bankers who inherited his empire lacked creative vision but leaving Visa pushed me into opening my own agency with Robert Johnson. Weve been partners since 1985 in various incarnations the latest being Creativewerks. I no longer refer to it as an advertising agency though because our work has more to do with businesstobusiness corporate communications than consumer advertising.

We no longer buy media for our clients and we dont do TV commercials anymore or enter award shows which have become very lucrative for the organizations that put them on but have little or no benefitbeyond egostrokingfor creative people.

John: You have done both art direction and graphic design. Do they require different skill sets?
Do you prefer one discipline to the other?

Tom: They dovetail really. An art director is first and foremost a communicator. He or she requires not only a strong sense of visual design but also the skill to communicate a vision to other artists and clients who often have their own agenda. A graphic designer is an information architect if you like interested in how visual elements join together and how they are perceived or processed by a viewer.

John: My business of photography has undergone dramatic changes and I imagine you feel the same way about advertising and design. What are some of the changes that you appreciate and what do you feel are some of the changes that are a challenge for you?

Tom: When I started in this business an art director needed to be able to sketch layouts and storyboards work with photographers and illustrators to achieve a vision negotiate costs with artists and producers specify typography prepare mechanical art for a printer direct cinematographers and editors and press check printing.

While many of those skills are still germane we now have to be able to create a finished ad brochure web page etc. on a computer screen in order to sell the idea to a client. We have to be experts in photoretouching typesetting layout design and know a lot about online technology.

We have become more and more dependent on our tools and more constrained by them in some ways. Conversely with these new technologies were able to visualize more quickly and elegantly than ever before. Using these tools has actually made me a much better graphic designer.

John: Online advertising if you believe the hype is fast replacing print and perhaps even television. Is print dying?

Tom: Certainly becoming more focused. Newspapers are dying because the oncelucrative classified ads have been annihilated by Craigs List. Magazines are becoming more targeted to esoteric audiences.

The most effective online advertising is the interestbased type invented by Google and Amazon. Popup windows and flash banners are just a lot of noise in most cases but that is no different than most TV commercials or outdoor billboards.

John: What percentage of your work is now for the Internet?

Tom: I would estimate about 75.

John: Is there any fundamental difference in designing for print and designing for the Internet?

Tom: Yes the Internet has some design restrictions that are not inherent in print media but those are being reduced as the technology improves. At some point design will only be restricted by the shape of the device on which you view it.

John: How has your use of photography changed?

Tom: It is almost entirely royaltyfree stock these days. Rarely do I have assignment work for photographers. Larger companies are accumulating their own stock photo libraries which they now view as marketing assets and expect all designers to use in order to maintain brand cohesion. To me this is often a foolish consistency that only limits a designers creativity and in the long run is not in the clients best interests.

John: I assume you use more stock these days. How do you go about finding the stock you need? Do you use RM RF Micro or a combination of those models?

Tom: A combination but mostly I use royaltyfree images and buy only the resolution I need.

John: Do you always start with a certain agency and then expand your search out from there?

Tom: Usually Veer or Getty.

John: Do you ever do Google searches for images? If you do do you use ever use Google Image search?

Tom: I have used it but mostly I work with the stock houses I like.

John: How much promotional material do you get from photographers these days? How much is printbased and how much Internetbased?

Tom: I get almost nothing directly from photographers anymore. Unless its something I see on your wall and want to sell to a client. Sometimes that works but not often.

John: What would be the best way for a photographer to get your attention?

Tom: Occasionally I get a promotional emails that gets me to a photographers website but I still dont hire them. They do get my attention though. You just cant get around the fact that a client wants to see what they are getting before they buy it.

John: Do you have any predictions for the future of advertising and design?

Tom: Think Internet. Print wont die but it will become more highend as trees diminish.

John: I also know you as a dedicated traveler. You have been to some amazing places and done some amazing things. Can you briefly describe some of your favorite journeys?

Tom: I spent about 12 years traveling to places associated with different spiritual traditions because I wanted to find out if sacred ground had some common denominator or morphic resonance as physicist Rupert Sheldrake would call it. Sometimes I went to extraordinary length to see these places like walking over the Himalaya to circle Kailash Tibets most sacred mountain.

I also became a Muslim in order to enter Mecca as a pilgrim and touch the Black Stone in the ancient Kabah. I saw the sun rise from the summit of Jabal Musa Moses mountain in the Sinai and I saw it set on Mount Athos from a medieval Greek Orthodox monastery. And in the process Ive developed a great respect for all of the worlds spiritual traditions. Beneath all the dogma I think they are conveying an identical truth to different cultural groups.

John: You are also a photographer and have shot some compelling imagery in among other places Tibet. You recently had a showing of that work. Any more shows in the works?

Tom: I made in 1998 at Chuwar Gmpa in Tibet a Kagypa Buddhist monastery built in the 17th Century by the 10th Karmapa below the cave where Milarepa died in a remote Himalayan valley and one of the last monasteries to be desecrated by the Red Guard in Mao Zedongs brutal Cultural Revolution. These images were first exhibited last year at the Thoreau Center for Sustainability in San Francisco after the protests over the Beijing Olympics put Tibet under lockdown again.

John: Any plans to expand your art beyond that of the fine art world?

Tom: Ive been inspired by you to put my photo archives up on our website in the near future. More and more Ive been getting requests for book covers and editorial usage.

John: Are there any personal projects youre working on now that you would like to share with us?

Tom: I dont think shed want to be mentioned in this interview.

John: Final thoughts?

Tom: Do whatever you do with great passion and make it as perfect as you can. Then let go of it and grab a beer.

John: Thanks Tom!

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Visit Johns website for stock photos: Stock Photos Ethnic Lifestyle Animals People Funny Pictures Business and more.Become a BlendImages stock photographer…find out how: BlendImages Photographer John Lund

Making Them Live With A Pencil

DID you know that one of the worlds most famous film celebrities is not even human? Yet he is the star of over a hundred Hollywood movies and countless TV shows. Who is this film star? In Italian hes called Topolino; in Chinese Mi Lao Shu; in Spanish El Ratn Miguelito; in English he is simply Mickey Mouse.

How did he come to life? He started his career in Walt Disneys film Steamboat Willie in 1928 and has gone on to become the most famous cartoon character of all time. Of course many other animated cartoon characters have achieved world fame Tom and Jerry Yogi Bear and the Pink Panther to name just a few. The artists who draw these cartoon films and characters are called animators. To find out how they work animator Bill Kroyer in Hollywood California tell a us..

Why are cartoons called animated films?

Because the word animate means to give life to. And thats what we do. We can make anything move and hopefully appear to come to life. When I worked at the Disney Studio I animated mostly people and talking animals. But Ive also animated dancing automobile engines for TV commercials and singing fruits and vegetables for health films. You name it we can make it move.

What makes an animated cartoon character appear to move?

The illusion of movement is made possible by the same phenomenon that makes live action movies appear to move. When you watch a movie youre really seeing 24 still pictures flash before your eyes each second. The light sensors in your eye retain each picture for a brief moment so all the pictures appear to blend together in a smooth continuous image. In animation we draw each one of those 24 still pictures.

Thats a lot of drawings!

Yes 1440 just to make one minute of film.

But at that rate a feature film like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would require more than a million drawings!

No the figure is closer to two million.

Why so many?

You never see most of the drawings because theyre done in the planning stages and only a fraction are used in the final version. In an animated film the story isnt written its drawn. A team of artists does hundreds of small sketches that are pinned to large cork boards called storyboards. Underneath are small notes describing the action or dialogue in each scene. The artists keep drawing and rearranging these sketches until the story is complete. When the artists have finished the storyboard tells the whole story of the film in pictures just like a giant comic book.

And then you start to animate the characters?

Not yet. First another team of artists designs the look of the film according to a particular design style. Sometimes we want the film to look like old Europe as in Disneys Pinocchio. At other times well go for a modern look. So the designers research and define the characters costumes buildings and so forth that will be in the film. Next our director divides the storyboard into scenes. Each scene is given a layout drawing one that shows the setting in which the scene takes place and where the characters will be in the scene. And thats where I come in.

Whats the first thing you do when you start a scene?

I study the scenes exposure sheet. Thats a chart that shows me how long the scene lasts and where all the sound effects music and words occur.

You mean the sound track for the film has already been recorded before you start to draw?

Of course. That way I know ahead of time what sound occurs on each and every frame of film. If the character says ouch on the 15th frame of my scene I draw him with a wide open mouth on that frame. Thats how characters are made to talk.

What do you draw with? Pen pencil brush?

I use a soft pencil because its easy to change and erase things. And I draw on a special kind of paper animation paper. It has holes punched along the bottom edge and these fit onto pegs on my drawing board. The pegs hold the paper in register consecutively from one drawing to the next. Another unusual thing about my drawing table it has a hole in it! The hole is covered by a piece of glass with a light beneath it. As I draw I can stack several transparent paper drawings on top of one another and see through them to make sure they are working together properly. When I start to draw I do very rough sketches just the basic shapes of the character. That way I can work quickly without detail and still visualize the movement I want.

Do you draw all your drawings rough?

Well I must tell you I hardly ever draw all the drawings in a scene. It would take me too long. The animator usually draws only the main drawings in a scene. These are called the extremes. They show the main poses or positions of the character throughout the scene. By flipping these main drawings between my fingers I can visualize how the movement will look. Then my assistant will do the in between drawings.

The speed with which the character moves will depend on how many drawings are put in between the extremes. For example I may draw a head facing to the left and another head facing to the right. If I put ten drawings between them the character will slowly turn his head from left to right as if hes watching someone walk by. If I only put one drawing between the two extremes he will snap his head quickly from left to right as if hes watching a car whiz by.

But how do you know how many intermediate drawings to use?

It takes practice and study. Animators are always watching the world around them observing how things move. Do you know how many frames it takes to make an eye blink? Or did you know that a normal walk is one of the toughest things to animate? If you study it youll see its a cycle of falling forward and catching your balance. And no two people walk exactly alike. Theres also a big difference between the way a dog walks a cat walks and an elephant walks.

What happens when youve finished the pencil drawings?

I film them. This black and white film is called a pencil test. I watch this film over and over looking for ways to improve the action and timing. Then Ill correct my drawings and shoot another pencil test. Ill do this as many times as necessary to get the scene as perfect as possible. We have a saying in the trade: Your scenes are on film forever so make them good now. By the last pencil test my assistant and I will have cleaned up our roughs into beautiful clean detailed pencil drawings. But its a shame youll never see them.

Never see them? Why not?

Because they go through a process we call Ink amp; Paint. Each drawing is traced in ink onto a clear piece of acetate called a cel then painted with a special paint that sticks to acetate. Remember the layout drawing we had for each scene? That drawing is made into a color painting. We then lay each cel over the background painting and photograph it. Because we use cels we dont have to redraw and paint the entire scene for each frame of film only the part that moves.

Are all animated films made this way?

Oh no there are many different techniques. At the Canadian Film Board artists have made films by making tiny drawings right on the film itself! Several of the best studios in London England prefer to draw right on cels instead of paper. That way the original drawings will be photographed. And there are many animated films that have no drawing at all.

No drawing at all?

Thats right. Its called stop motion animation. Artists can manipulate puppets clay figures even sand sculptures and photograph these objects one frame at a time. When the film is run at normal speed the objects appear to move and come alive! I recently worked on a Walt Disney film in which we did all the animation by computer. We didnt do any drawing; we simply described the pictures to the computer and the computer did the rest!

What does the future hold for animation?

There will be more technological advancements like computer aided Ink amp; Paint. But there will always be animators doing real drawings in the Disney style. Only the human hand has the ability to create a delicate drawing with the subtle expressions to make you believe that the character is real. If I do my job right you never see a drawing; you see a character a personality that laughs and cries and that you care about. When Bambis mother dies in the film Bambi the audience doesnt cry for a drawing but for a real character.

Theres a time when every animator looks at his pencil test for the first time and he sees this little cartoon character on the screen looking toward him a character that just a few days before was scribbles on paper. Then when that little character opens his mouth and talks I tell you thats a special moment! That makes all the hard work worth while. Youve given him life with a pencil.

However we are still left with the questions raised in our first article. Is the happiness that is induced by fantasy and entertainment the real thing? Or is there a more lasting happiness? Will it ever be a reality for all mankind? Roy Brewer a Disney technician learned a satisfying answer to those questions. His story follows.

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;a insurance agentdoing business articles more

Directing The Voice-over Actor: Tips For Better Communication

Directing the Voiceover Actor Tips for Better Communication

By Vicki Amorose

Advice for directors and producers written from the perspective of the voiceover actor. Intended to improve the recording session experience. Use this article as a crash course or to tune up your directing skills. These tips apply to voice acting of all types. The terms voiceover actor/voiceover talent/talent/actor are used here interchangeably.

When you are in the director’s chair at a voiceover session the process can sometimes become a struggle for both you and the talent. You have a vision you need to share with the voice actor a person who knows far less than you do about the product message or concept. At the same time you hired that actor to bring his or her own unique skills to the project. Unlike the making of a film or a stage production you do not have weeks to rehearse and analyze the script. The studio clock is ticking and that alone adds an element of anxiety to the recording session.

The following tips apply well to both inperson and long distance sessions. Because I want to bring you more than just my own opinion as a voice actor I have enlisted the help of some of my talented voiceover friends. The opinions of Diane Havens JS Gilbert Bill Painter and Kevin Cooke are included here. As artists we may not reach consensus but I am including the areas where we find agreement.

THREE QUESTIONS YOU MUST ANSWER FOR THE ACTOR

For the actor’s sake always supply this information: Who is speaking? To whom are they speaking? How are they speaking? When you answer these three simple questions for the talent communication is well underway and confusion is reduced drastically.

1 Who is Speaking? Diane Havens: “The first thing I expect to hear from a director is the role the voice will have in achieving the intended impact. Make everything into a role because that’s what it is who is speaking? Neutral bystander? Impassioned preacher? Wry humorist? Helpful teacher? Caring nurse? Smiling enthusiast?

If you are not getting the performance you want it is sometimes helpful to imagine and suggest an alternate idea. For example the script may call for the role of the fairy queen attempting to calm her warriors. If that’s not working suggest the actor play a life coach teaching mediation to stressedout execs. Any number of roles may produce the voice you need.

2 To Whom are they Speaking? The age gender geographic region and socioeconomic group of your intended audience all factor into an effective performance. I would be a very poor voice actor if I used the same voice delivery for an arthritis medication and the National Football League. Communication is everyone’s goal so help the talent develop an accurate mental picture of the audience.

3 How are they Speaking? Provide clear descriptive words like “excited surprised reluctant certain exasperated.” The greater variety of words you can provide the better you will be able to communicate the ideal you are hearing in your head.

Bill Painter: “I’d recommend hitting the books. Keep a good dictionary or thesaurus at hand and use it. The more accurate your description the more likely an actor will be able to understand and deliver exactly the tone you’re after. Use colorful terse meaningful adjectives.

Descriptive words will tell the actor how they feel but not WHY they feel that way. This is important because actors like to dig up their own emotions to apply to the scene. “Backstory” is an acting term referring to who the character is how they feel and why they feel that way. Backstory provided by the director in voice acting can sometimes serve to confuse rather than to clarify.

JS Gilbert: “Often the director will provide way too much backstory to the actor. Backstory doesn’t often work because I have analyzed the copy on my own and determined my own set of ‘who and why and what and where’ which may not process well with the backstory a director may give. For example I may have determined that I am an avid user of a frozen enchilada dinner and the commercial calls for me to extol the virtues of the product. I create a backstory that has me speaking to my friend Charlie who occasionally has to fend for himself at dinner time. The director starts giving me direction like ‘Pretend that you work in the supermarket and you’re telling a shopper about the great things you’ve heard.’ This breaks up my organic process but more importantly it does little to relate what in fact the director is hoping to get from my read. This often can happen when recording video games and animation to the point where instead of direction the talent is simply getting fed the entire storyline and plot.

So allow the voice actor to arrive at his or her own authentic emotion. It does not really matter what excites him or why. What matters is that genuine excitement is expressed in the voice.

THREE THINGS THE VOICE ACTOR HATES

1 Line Reads: A ‘line read’ is when the director says the line and instructs the actor to repeat it exactly as a parrot would. “No no no instead of I LOVE the way YOU smell baby say it like this I love the WAY you SMELL baby.” You may have a very legitimate reason to phrase something precisely. In that case explain this to the talent before they start recording. You are the boss and we will gladly give you what you ask for. But you could ask for a line read and then ask for a different interpretation. You might be pleasantly surprised by a new twist. The problem arises when you feed a voice actor your delivery line by line and we can’t help but wonder why we were hired in the first place.

2 Vague and overused phrases: As the best example the word “conversational” is overused to the point where it has lost meaning. Instead of saying “Make it more conversational” it would be helpful to say something like “Toss off that last phrase like it’s something you’ve discussed a million times” or “I don’t feel like you are speaking directly to me.

3 Too many cooks in the kitchen: Directorial input from several people is confusing and very hard to follow. A strain is added when we must interpret the meaning and weigh the reactions of different personalities. We appreciate the director who remains the spokesperson for the group summing up the input from the agency and the clients and whoever else might be involved. We prefer to take direction from just one person.

THREE THINGS THE VOICE ACTOR LOVES

1 Specificity: We love it when you are specific. Kevin Cooke: “Things I love? Producers who tell me why they want another read. I’ll read all day to get it right but if they don’t provide even a nugget of information as to what they want different from the last read we’re stuck. Like saying “That was good let’s do it a couple more times.” I’m going to pretty much do it the same way thinking they liked it but want a few more similar reads in order to hit gold. I find myself rereading it more than 3 or 4 times and then I realize the “That was good” comment really wasn’t true! Flattery will get you nowhere quite literally! What specifically do you want to hear that you’re not hearing?” The voice actor will also appreciate specific audio references like a voice clip you might provide. A reference to the talent’s demo or to their audition is always very helpful.

2 Context before we record: If you are able to provide any context to the project before we begin the recording session please do. A draft of the script a character description an answer to any of “The Three Questions”all of this is useful nerve calming and welcomed by the actor.

3 Receptivity: Actors are trained to be open receptive and present in the moment. Remaining “open” means you might surprise yourself and everyone else with something unplanned and perfect. We adore the director who is also open and receptive who lets us play and allows the unexpected to enhance the process. Bill Painter: referencing a favorite director “His genius was his absolute lack of what I call pride of authorship. He didn’t care if the words weren’t exactly what he’d written; he was committed to the best possible message and if it was the result of an actor’s input so be it.” Remember that creative gems are forged in an environment of receptivity so keep an open mind!

And of course mutual respect will result in the best communication between those striving to do their jobs well. Best of luck on your audio projects. Find me at www.voiceofvicki.com

My thanks to JS Gilbert Kevin Cooke Diane Havens and Bill Painter. Find these voice actors with a quick Google search.

Copyright 2009

About the writer:  Vicki Amorose is an award winning voiceover talent and copywriter. Listen to her demos or ask questions at www.voiceofvicki.com