Syfy recently tasked PLAY, the one-stop creative promo house, with the challenge of putting a new and imaginative spin on this season’s promo campaign for the 16th Annual ‘Twilight Zone Marathon.’
Press Release from PLAY
Syfy recently tasked PLAY, the one-stop creative promo house, with the challenge of putting a new and imaginative spin on this season’s promo campaign for the 16th Annual ‘Twilight Zone Marathon.’ The Hollywood-based creative editorial and design boutique devised an retro-style concept inspired by the classic graphic novel, and took the project from start to finish.
“PLAY and Syfy have built a high level of trust and creative communication,” says executive producer Michael Victor, founder of the five-year old boutique. "Syfy had run the gamut of creative concepts to promote the Twilight Zone Marathon in the years prior and came to us looking for a fresh approach.”
“When we told Syfy that we had come up with a strong concept that we believed in, they said, ‘Let’s see it,’” notes Victor. “That level of creative freedom is rare, and it fueled everyone’s enthusiasm for the job. Three weeks later we delivered the promos to Syfy - and they went straight to air, with no changes.”
PLAY pitched a concept that combined stylized hand drawn illustrations with selected scenes from the sci-fi television show to create a series of graphic moments, and then their team crafted a 20-second promo that conveyed its storyline using sequential art.
“The most challenging aspect of the project was finding a way to make a 50-year old television series interesting to today’s audience,” says Victor. “The graphic novel look of the illustrations gave the promo a hipper, more modern style – and wider appeal.”
“When you work with PLAY you know that they set the bar high to begin with, and they always find away to jump over it.," remarks Michael Engleman, Syfy's Senior Vice President, Marketing, Global Brand Strategy and Creative. "On short timelines and with finite budgets, PLAY enlisted their best in class creative and strategic thinkers to come up with a Twilight Zone promotion that celebrates the power of imagination and good spot-making.”
A creative environment without boundaries, PLAY’s integrated creative, design, FX, animation, editorial, production, music, audio and HD finishing capability gave its artists the freedom to experiment in multiple disciplines until they devised an approach that they felt would create a connection between the show and its potential audience.
“The level of trust that Syfy has in our ability is the ultimate compliment. The most exciting thing about this project is that we had total creatively freedom,” enthuses Victor. “They gave us a blank check to make a fun, fresh spot and we rose to the challenge.”
ABOUT PLAY:PLAY is a one-stop creative promo house driven by a multi-talented collaborative team committed to bringing its fresh ideas to life, which engage the audience and heighten their connection to on-air programming.
Our Hollywood-based company specializes in crafting broadcast promos, teasers, trailers, launch campaigns, image spots, intros, opens and sizzle reels. The recent addition of live-action production capabilities to our creative, design, FX, editorial, music, audio and HD finishing capabilities provide clients with a cost-effective and seamless concept-to-completion approach.
PLAY’s client roster includes E! Entertainment Television, Warner Bros. Television, Syfy, FX, ABC, FEARnet, USA Network’s new “Sleuth” network, and many others. To see our work visit our website at www.playeditorial.com, or contact executive producer Michael Victor at 323.469.3500.
CREDITS:
Client: Syfy
Project: Promo Campaign for “Twilight Zone New Year’s Marathon”
Project Title + Lengths: “Graphic Novel” (:20/:15/:10) Link: http://playeditorial.com/Play_Reels/Twilight_Zone.mov
CLIENT: Syfy Network:Senior Vice President, Marketing, Global Brand Strategy and Creative: Michael Engleman
ANIMATION COMPANY: PLAY Creative, LAExecutive Producer/Creative Director: Michael Victor
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