Tony Hertz, Radio for Art Directors

I spent Friday at a workshop led by the mighty Tony Hertz (not him below, btw, just an image he uses in his talks).



There's only ever been two black pencils awarded for radio in the history of the D&AD awards. One went to Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones, the other to Mr Hertz. As well as running a production company and still writing, Tony tours the world giving his talks. The one he gave us was called, 'Radio for Art Directors'. My ears pricked up immediately when I heard the title. Leaning toward the AD side of stuff I've struggled in the past to get to grips with radio. By the end of the day, though, I felt a lot more confident of my abilities thanks to Tony's no. 1 rule: start with an image. Of course it should be relevant to your idea, but the process leads to what is all important in any form of creative advertising - originality.

The principle kicked off a fantastic day of helpful tips on writing techniques, pitching to clients and directing actors. By the end, I felt I might actually be able to pull this whole radio malarkey thing off.

Redford Promo

Redford Promo
Agency Rough Trade Records
Director Grant Orchard
Music Sufjan Stevens
Produced by Studio AKA

I've never felt so much for a cartoon paper bird cut out. A very beautiful and sad little film - I love it.

The Rodchenko Influence

As mentioned in my earlier post Alexander Rodchenko has been incredibly important in influencing contemporary visual communication. Here's a couple of examples I've dug out...

Shepard Fairey, one of the worlds most famous street artists, his style, borrowing heavily from Rodchenko propaganda graphics.

http://obeygiant.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Fairey




And this is one of Jeff Wall's photos that I first saw at an exhibition a couple of years ago. Amazing composition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Wall

Three Legged Legs

You can't beat zombies in an ad in my opinion. Especially if they're puppets and rock out to a top track. Thriller for the Naughties. More of Three Legged Legs work here...

http://threeleggedlegs.com/repertoire/

Alexander Rodchenko

I went to the Hayward Gallery on Saturday and saw the Alexander Rodchenko exhibition. He was a fascinating chap who produced work in The Soviet Union at the beginning of the 20th Century. The exhibition concentrated on his photomontage and photographs. As a rule I preferred his photos but it was great to see the graphics up close and personal because of the huge influence he's had on contemporary design.



Because of the communist regime at the time he was restricted in what he could produce, nevertheless he turned out some cracking pieces of work. I've posted some of my faves here.