Thinking Outside The Budget

Open up any trade publication, and the article will go something like this: ‘Although things appear to be better, the economy is still in a sad state. Advertising budgets have been cut. Clients and companies alike are scrambling to figure out how to do more with less.’ Okay, so times are tough, maybe even down right nasty. The question is what are you going to do about it? One such company that’s not sitting on their laurels, waiting for things to fix themselves, is bi-coastal design firm, Blind, Inc. They’re going on the offensive by experimenting with alternative production models– with one goal in mind, find a more affordable way to produce engaging content.

Luckily for Director, Allen Martinez, Blind decided, that in his case, affordable meant “no budget”. Martinez ran into a problem after wrapping his shoot in Downtown Los Angeles– he had exhausted his entire budget shooting the live action sequences for his dark and gritty, Sci-Fi thriller, Bits & Pieces, but had a :60 expository montage to complete. Having collaborated with Blind on his last film, Intelligence, Martinez turned once again to Executive Creative Director and Art Center classmate, Chris Do for some help. After Martinez agreed to the disclaimers and caveats working under the “new production model”, Blind, happily accepted.

The fictional story, set in a dystopian future, depicts a broken medical system– where the cost of medicine has become so expensive it is subsidized by ultra-wealthy patrons who use the general population as a resource for younger, healthier body parts. “The film’s concept intrigued me because the story deals with issues about healthcare, homelessness, class warfare and seems part of the zeitgeist,” enthused Do. “Projects like this are important to us because we are able to beta-test ideas before using the techniques we learn on larger scaled projects.”

“Under a traditional production model, a project like this could never have been completed considering the financial restrictions that were placed on us,” adds Do. “Projects like this require a few key things to happen: first and foremost is trust, a degree of flexibility, clear and decisive decisions and a creative team fueled more by passion than financial reward.” No strangers to challenging projects (Gnarl’s Barkley’s “Crazy” & the Raveonettes’ “Black & White” were completed in 2 weeks with very modest funds), Blind assembled a creative team, including interns Ivan Cruz, Lynn Cho, Chris Marcet and illustrator Alex Preston, to deliver an engaging narrative. By keeping the animation simple and the images provocative, the Blind team turned limitations into opportunities for creativity. As evidenced by the finished product, Blind appears to be uniquely positioned to handle the many curves that the ever changing world of production throws at them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSUcy8WU8eA

Film and This + That.