Gandulf Hennig: Thanks for the Documentary

Earlier this month the PBS American Masters Series debuted “Merle Haggard: Learning to Live With Myself,” an amazing documentary where noted filmmaker Gandulf Hennig spent two years following the legendary musician and songwriter at home and on tour, as he hit new artistic and commercial highs. I watched this film in awe of Mr. Haggard’s authenticity as a man who faced extreme difficulty in his early life and has persevered in making the most of his experiences, and his considerable talents, in ways that make him extraordinary.

Many thanks to PBS, Mr. Hennig and Mr. Haggard for bringing this fascinating story to the world.
Image (credit: Harrison/Getty) from “Merle Haggard Looks Back in New Documentary” by Patrick Doyle for Rolling Stone.

Creative collaborations: ATTIK and Shilo for Scion

Over the past several years, global creative agency ATTIK has teamed up many times with creative production company Shilo on behalf of Scion. It’s my sincere pleasure to share some of their best collaborative efforts here. For more information, please visit www.attik.com, www.shilo.tv and www.scion.com.

“Free Realms” Earns Outstanding Marketing Campaign Honors at MI6 2010

Global creative agency ATTIK is proud to announce that its collaboration with marketing executives from videogame powerhouse Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) promoting the family-friendly hit online game “Free Realms”(R) has earned the Gold Award in the Casual Game category for Outstanding Overall Marketing Campaign at the MI6 Conference. The fifth annual conference for MI6, an association dedicated to supporting marketing, promotion and advertising professionals in the video game and interactive entertainment community, was recently held in San Francisco, where “Free Realms” also brought home a Bronze Award for Best Online Advertising Campaign in the same category. For more information on this story, please visit this link.

Shilo goes theatrical in new film for “FELA!”

Theatrical industry new media advertising/marketing company Art Meets Commerce recently commissioned the filmmakers at creative production company Shilo to produce a broadcast spot for the landmark Broadway musical “FELA!” as part of their integrated campaign for the show. Read more

N.A.S.A. NSFW 2010 (adult content)

Last February, N.A.S.A. (North America/South America) debuted “The Spirit of Apollo” on Anti- Records. I’ve written before about the ongoing creative collaboration between lifelong music aficionados Squeak E. Clean (aka Sam Spiegel) and DJ Zegon, and their friends, friends of friends and musical heroes. Today, “The Spirit of Apollo” continues involving many superstar artists from both U.S. coasts in bringing people together through music and art. I hope you enjoy the updated playlist, featuring the talents of N.A.S.A.’s many fine-artist friends. Read more

Lucky Guy: The Musical… and My Life

In honor of all my friends.
When you look at the website for the musical comedy Lucky Guy, this quote leaps right out: “It’s not what you got in life, it’s who you got to share it with that counts.” I find that to be a wonderful observation on life, and it literally connects me to the project, which is written by my charming friend Willard Beckham, whom I met with Beth last year in New York through my larger-than-life pal, Lisa Cleff Kurtz. Read more

Heroes of heroes: Damion Clayton

My formal studies into the amazing artform of the music video began in 1981, when MTV first appeared. I was 15. Soon, I’d watched so many that I was dreaming them… and since then, hearing great music has always triggered MTV-inspired cinematic visions. Today, my studies continue, and I consider myself very lucky to have crossed paths with many masters in this field, each of whom is a hero to a director who has made something I’ve seen on television and loved, for one reason or another. Damion Clayton, editor at Rock Paper Scissors, is one of those heroes. Read more

Behind the lens with ATTIK’s Simon Needham

As the co-founder of global creative agency ATTIK, and the creative director for ATTIK U.S., Simon Needham has already made an impressive impact on the marketing industry. ATTIK recently published NoiseFive, the latest of its self-guided, experimental, collectible design publications, and with each passing day, Simon continues to innovate alongside the world’s premier marketers — and the extremely talented artisans and craftspeople working with or within ATTIK on its latest campaigns. Read more

Amazing marketing campaigns win 2009 AICP Next Awards

On June 9, I had the pleasure of attending the 2009 Next Awards organized by the AICP at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Read more

Filmmakers from Shilo make a run for the ages