The Ultimate Fighter 4 Promo

Spike TV’s long running reality series, The Ultimate Fighter, features 16 mixed martial artists competing for a shot at a UFC title fight.

Gnarls Barkley Smiley Faces

August, 2006

Goodby Guts Out a Trail of Horrors. A gnome lumberjack hacking off your leg, a bird plucking out your eyes, two girl scouts skipping rope with your entrails while another toasts a marshmallow over your burning flesh–not quite everyone’s idea of a nice afternoon on the trails. The perma-grinning character in Goodby, Silverstein + Partners’ latest offering for Specialized endures all these and more after riding down the trail marked “Danger” in “Happy Entrails.” Check out the animation short..

In case you missed it, Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” is nominated for Best Direction, Best Editing and Best Group Video for this year’s MTv Video Music Award.

Pick up a copy of 3d World Issue #81 for a behind the scenes look of ScionTc “Shark.”

Tired of the same old same old? Time for change. We’re looking to hire a senior level designer/art director. Relevant experience a must. Send links of work to jobs@blind.com.

Final Fu Show Open

Blind recently teamed with MTV2 to produce a fully animated opening and graphics package for the martial arts competition reality series, FINAL FU. In homage to the blazing combat of kung fu films and anime, the opening portrays a protagonist in the fight of his life. The Hero battles level by level to the top of a mythic tower, which parallels the format of the show, until he alone is the champion, the “Final Fu.” The show and opening premiered May 1st, and airs weekly on MTV2.

Blind and MTV2′s Justin Rosenblatt previously worked together on the globetrotting opening for the series, WILDBOYZ. Once more, Rosenblatt sought out Blind for their take on this new martial arts series. The show’s open had two primary objectives, most importantly to excite the viewer, but also to explain the general framework of the show. Working from the vast history of kung fu cinema and anime, Blind attacked this project with a ‘spinning dragon-style’ punch. MTV2 was thrilled with the results and Justin Rosenblatt commented, Tom Koh and BL:ND did a remarkable job delivering titles that were creatively above and beyond our expectations. They really thought about the series comprehensively, and turned around a show open, titles and graphics that visually complimented the show’s aesthetic.

Bruce Lee’s film Tower of Death (1981) and other similar films supplied the archetypes that inspired the opening’s characters and situations. Both 3D modeling and animation we used to create the intricate martial arts moves that each character performs. Then hand-drawn cell animation was added to achieve the final anime-inspired aesthetic. The backgrounds were crafted by matte painters and then combined with the 3D characters. From the initial character designs and ink sketches to the final delivery, Blind matched the speed of their Hero and delivered the project in 4 weeks. This ended up being a bit of a dream project for us, said Creative Director Tom Koh. “We all love those classic kung fu films and anime. It was a blast taking those things and making something new with them.”

Dunkin’ Donuts

Dunkin’ Donuts Campaign pt. 2

America runs on Dunkin’€™.

Dunkin Donuts

America runs on Dunkin’.

Polaris ATVs :30

FOX MLB All-Star Game 2006 Promo

June, 2006

This just in from the Big Apple: For the second year in a row Blind had a strong showing at BDA. Two spots (Angies List and Pinball) were shown during the awards presentation. Pinball won the biggest award of the night as Blind took home “Most outstanding spot overall”. Additionally, Polaris, The Shield and Donatos received Silver and Bronze statuettes, respectively.

Head of Production
If you’re looking, we’re hiring. As part of our expansion plans, we’re looking for a Head of Production to join the team. Click on Jobs for details.

Blind goes old school with the Black Eyed Peas as production designer for the original short film ‘Instant Def’. Check, check, check it out.

Also, congrats to the Design team for picking up 5 Telly awards! Projects receiving honors include: Gnarls Barkley, Angies List, Polaris, Donatos and Dunkin Donuts (see Commercial Reel for the quicktime).

It’s been a busy month. MLB Allstar 06 promo airs just in time for summer. Big thanks to the dedicated team for helping to pull this one off. Also making a splash is the Scion Tc “Shark” :30 spot which broke in theaters nationwide as part of a 3 spot campaign. Click on boards to see some of the original design & concept work.

Though it’s not new, we finally posted the ‘Brand New’ music vid from Rhymfest and Kanye West. Blind designed the majority of the virtual sets w/ 20Twenty doing the post work.