Adobe Success Story

Reel to real
ReelTV helps digital artists gain worldwide exposure with help from Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium and Production Premium software

When you’ve created a major masterpiece, you want to share it with the world. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be difficult for people like animators, visual effects and motion graphics artists, and interactive designers to gain visibility for the stellar work they have produced. Enter ReelTV, the premier website for creative talent looking to showcase their demo reels online and connect with prospective clients, agencies, and industry professionals worldwide. The ReelTV site—along with many of the reels and projects it features—is created using Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium and Production Premium, as well as Adobe Fireworks CS3 software.

“I want to inspire other artists and pave their way,” says Nicholas Da Silva, founder of design and animation company ZOOLOOK and the mastermind behind ReelTV. “Today, we have the technology to produce whatever we can dream up. My goal is to have feature-length, pay-per-view movies viewable online. Adobe software is pivotal to helping us make this happen.”

Benefits

• Pave the way for artists to connect with peers and potential clients
• Feature award-winning reels online to a worldwide audience
• Create cutting-edge projects, from immersive websites to broadcast packages
• Increase efficiency due to integration among Adobe tools
• Develop projects that span various media with ease
• Give artists of all kinds a way to promote their work

Project Details

Making ReelTV real
To create the ReelTV site, Da Silva and his team used Adobe Illustrator CS3 and Photoshop CS3 software for the site graphics and layout, as well as Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 to develop the site. To optimize the site graphics, the team used Adobe Fireworks CS3. Adobe Flash CS3 Professional brought the site to life with animations. And for the ReelTV bumper and music identity, the team used Adobe After Effects CS3 and Soundbooth CS3 software. “Adobe products have always played a central role in my design and animation business,” says Da Silva. “ReelTV was no different.”

Since ReelTV was launched in September 2007, it has garnered the attention of top artists from around the world, and it now features an impressive library of reels from animators, digital artists, graphic designers, motion graphic artists, sound engineers, actors, post-production artists, and other professions.

Instantly connecting with an international audience
METAphrenie, a Berlin-based motion graphics company with clients such as Audi, Adidas, Discovery Channel, Al Jazeera Sports, Comedy Central, and Electronic Arts, was among the first companies to realize the benefits of ReelTV. METAphrenie Partner and Creative Director Andrea Dionisio says ReelTV is a great new platform to showcase the agency’s work, especially because METAphrenie caters to international clientele. He notes that ReelTV also provides a central resource for finding people in all areas of the broadcast industry, from post-production to actors. “With ReelTV, we have greater exposure to potential clients as well as the ability to expand our ever-growing freelancer base,” says Dionisio.

Set to the tune of Black Betty by Spiderbait, the METAphrenie reel is a high-energy mélange of motion graphics work with a strong emphasis on live-action and 3D. The reel highlights a network redesign and branding package for Al Jazeera Sports. To create the package, METAphrenie artists used Adobe Creative Suite software. Compositing and 2D animation were completed in Adobe After Effects while Photoshop and Illustrator were used to create various graphical elements. During the project, the METAphrenie team effortlessly shared assets and work between both Mac and Microsoft Windows platforms.

“Our workflow is completely streamlined as we move among After Effects, Photoshop, and Illustrator so that our productivity stays at its highest,” says Dionisio. “The tools and functions of Adobe software are unparalleled, and the software is improved with every version.” Dionisio adds that METAphrenie literally would not be able to function without Adobe software. “Adobe tools have become an integral part of our studio and of the industry for a very good reason—they really work,” he says.

Reels: no longer the exclusive domain of motion graphics firms
Interactive design firm driftlab is also featuring its reel on ReelTV. In the past, demo reels were primarily used by motion graphics artists to promote their work, but now, new types of firms like interactive agencies and even application development houses are creating reels. “Regardless of what type of artist you are, a reel provides a one-minute snapshot of everything you can do,” says driftlab Director of Development Ash Warren. “ReelTV provides a great way to promote our reel to potential clients and peers.”

Known of late for its award-winning work for the automotive industry, driftlab creates high-impact web experiences based on Adobe Flash technology that engage and captivate consumers. The reel featured on ReelTV was edited using Adobe After Effects, and features Ok Go’s Good Idea at the Time as the sync track. Among driftlab’s marquee projects is the Chevy Nation site created for GM on behalf of ad agency Campbell-Ewald. Other projects include the VW Compare-o-Tron site created for Crispin Porter + Bogusky and the Ford MSN Takeover, created for Ford on behalf of ad agency Wunderman/Team Detroit.

Concepts for projects almost always begin in Photoshop CS3 software. “Photoshop CS3 is where we fill up the daunting, blank canvas we stare at in the beginning of every project,” says driftlab Founding Partner Scott Cook. From there, the driftlab team uses Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, programming in ActionScript 3, and Adobe After Effects CS3 to bring interactive projects to life. The company’s work is then hosted on sites created in Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 software. “The usability and integration of Adobe software gets better with every version,” says driftlab Creative Director Moritz Bosselmann. “From the similar menus and interfaces to the ability to bring Photoshop CS3 files directly into Flash CS3 Professional, Adobe is making interactive projects come together with greater ease than ever before.”

Smoothly crossing media boundaries
Cobra Creative, whose work is also prominently featured on ReelTV, is a San Francisco-based boutique agency that focuses on extending brands across mediums. “ReelTV is a great way for us to get our work out to our peers and potential clients,” says Cobra Creative Principal and Creative Director Michael Cobra. “ReelTV is creating a foundation of top-notch talent in one online source that makes it easy for people to find what they are looking for.”

Whether the brand is established, in need of an update, or must be created from scratch, Cobra’s goal is to create a consistent message across interactive, video, and print media.

To meet this goal, Cobra develops everything from websites, motion graphics, video, and animation, to print, logos, sound design, and music. Because its projects cross the media spectrum, Cobra Creative uses a range of software from Adobe, including Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3, After Effects CS3, Flash CS3 Professional, InDesign CS3, Acrobat Professional, Fireworks CS3, Flash Video Encoder, and Soundbooth CS3.

One standout project featured on ReelTV is the Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge, a 90-second video created in Photoshop CS3 and After Effects CS3. Used as an installation piece and viral video, it helps people understand the impact they can have on the environment by simply riding their bikes for any trip that is two miles or less.

Another project is SpanishQuarter.com, an immersive website promoting a new wine from Spain. The site was designed using elements created in Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3, and 3D software, and then animated using Maxon Cinema 4D software, as well as After Effects CS3 and Flash CS3 Professional. As with all of Cobra’s projects, SpanishQuarter.com included assets from multiple Adobe programs to create an experience that is exciting and easy to use. “The integration among Adobe software programs helps us bring together projects seamlessly, regardless of the intended medium,” says Cobra. “Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium and Production Premium allow us to focus on big ideas, knowing we have the tools to make those ideas come to life.”

Forging connections
Making ideas come to life and making the right connections is what ReelTV is all about. For artists who appreciate the increased exposure, as well as for Nicholas Da Silva who wants to foster creative talent, the overall impact of ReelTV is rewarding. “We are so busy designing, developing, and doing what we do best that we almost never have time to promote our own work,” says Warren. “For a long time, digital artists of all kinds have needed their own online dating site, and with ReelTV, now we have it.”

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