BRAND CHANNEL PROFILES NYLON STUDIOS

 Check it out here.

WATCH BEHIND-THE-SCENES FOOTAGE FROM THE NEW SMIRNOFF PURITY CAMPAIGN

Check out this video of Nylon's Simon Lister and Blair Joscelyne discussing how they created the music and sound design for the recent Smirnoff Purity Campaign spot. 

NYLON STUDIOS CREATES MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN FOR SMIRNOFF PURITY CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL

Nylon Studios recently joined forces with JWT, Collider and Animal Logic to create a new spot for the Smirnoff Purity campaign featuring players from UK football team, Manchester United.

The spot features a football game that is played both under water and above. Nylon sound designer Simon Lister and composer Blair Joscelyne worked together on the intense sounds. Commenting on his use of sound effects, Simon remarks, “The soundtrack we created for the spot needed to blow you away. The spot shows a lot of impacts and hits of the ball among the players, and as they were playing the game in water, we used water explosions and water sound effects to reinforce the action on screen.”

For more info visit www.nylonstudios.com

NYLON COMPOSER BLAIR JOSCELYNE COMPOSES MUSIC FOR QUIRKY NEW CASCADE BEER TV SPOT

Nylon Studios recently teamed up again with Droga5 and production company Revolver - this time to create a new commercial for Cascade Brewery Co. Titled "Brewed by Feel," the spot follows a chatty brewer biking casually along a dirt path through idyllic country fields.  The brewer barely pays attention to the path as he describes how Cascade beer is special as it is brewed by "the feel."

Nylon composer Blair Joscelyne created the spot's music and notes his creative approach, "I really wanted to get in touch with how the brewer was feeling as he rode along.  There is something very normal about a bike's slow stroll, but this spot has a slightly unsettling humor as he never watches where he is going. I think this normality, mixed with something a little off, was key to creating the music."

NYLON STUDIOS CREATES MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN FOR NEW AT&T SPOT

 
Nylon Studios composer Jack Milas recently wrote and performed the original music for AT&T’s new spot advertising their high speed Internet offering. The playful Indie pop music highlights the lighthearted tone of the spot, which features a man traveling around town on the back of a computer mouse. As the line reads at the end of the commercial, “Now everyone can explore the world from home.”

To add a “human element” to the quirky music, Jack incorporated as much live instrumentation and percussion as possible. He comments, “The instrumentation was fairly unique. The two main instruments are an old 50’s Silvertone acoustic guitar and pitched up Double bass put through a guitar amp. Also the fact that it doesn’t have drums was refreshing to work with.”

NYLON STUDIOS SOUND DESIGNER AND CO-FOUNDER SIMON LISTER SHARES HIS ADVENTURE FILMING AND PHOTOGRAPHING IN MOROCCO

Interviewed here, Nylon Studios co-founder/sound designer Simon Lister speaks about photographing and filming during his recent 8-day tour through the Moroccan desert on a motorbike. Originally from New Zealand, Simon has been in the audio industry for more than 20 years and worked on major campaigns with some of the world’s most renowned ad agencies and television directors. 

Read below for a detailed account of Simon’s trip.

INTERVIEWER: Welcome back! Is the experience of riding on a motorbike in Morocco unlike any other?

SIMON LISTER: If you want to ride on rocks, harsh arid land, dried up riverbeds and mountains, I guess Morocco would be the place to go. And that’s what I found. Morocco is definitely a hard, barren place and the country is all made upon rock. I arrived by plane into the town of Ouarzazate at 2:30 AM and met my guide who was going to take me on my off-road motorbike tour. I wanted to travel by myself on this trip since I wanted to be able to stop wherever and whenever I wanted and take photos without holding up a group.

NYLON’S MARK BECKHAUS INTERVIEWED BY AGENCY RECORD MAGAZINE

Agency Record magazine interviews Nylon Studios’ Mark Beckhaus on creating killer campaigns and the importance of music in connecting with the viewer.

Click here to read the interview.

For more info visit www.nylonstudios.com

WATCH THE NEW BEHIND-THE-SCENES INTERVIEW WITH NYLON STUDIOS COMPOSER BLAIR JOSCELYNE

Check out this video interview of Nylon Studios composer Blair Joscelyne demonstrating the amazing range of vintage and unique constructed instruments that form Nylon's sound design and music compositions.

To watch the video click here

For more info visit www.nylonstudios.com

NYLON STUDIOS COMPOSER JACK MILAS CREATES SOUND DESIGN FOR NEW O2 COMMERCIAL

Nylon Studios composer Jack Milas recently worked on a new spot for the European telecommunications company 02.

Check out the spot here:


The sound design for the track lightheartedly mirrors the humor in the commercial, which spotlights the convenient features of O2 products. One user on a clunky cardboard laptop sends an e-mail by manually writing a letter by hand and posting it through a hole in the computer screen; another user searches a contact in her cell phone through a physically attached address book.

Jack states, “I wrote the music for the ad as a song and wanted the sound to feel as if it were pulled from a CD rather than composed for a commercial. I would describe the genre as somewhere between Indie folk and pop.”

 

For more info visit www.nylonstudios.com

7UP "SMILEY SPADE" TV COMMERCIAL STARRING DAVID SPADE FEATURES QUIRKY MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN BY NYLON STUDIOS

Nylon Studios recently created an original musical score for a new TV spot promoting 7UP, featuring actor and comedian David Spade. In the spot, Spade is in the middle of the tiresome process of unpacking a new apartment, but gets rejuvenated after drinking a 7UP--who doesn't? Commenting on the music/sound, Nylon Studios executive producer Mark Beckhaus says "The objective was to emphasize the change in Spade's mood before he drank the 7UP (pre-bubbly) to after he drank the 7UP (bubbly)."

Still from "Smiley Spade"

To enhance the spot's sitcom-like style, Nylon Studios composers used quirky instrumentation to poke fun and play up the comedy. Beckhaus continues, "The music style was in the style of a 50's sitcom theme, fun and energetic. It enhanced the crazy nature of the spot and Spade's mood change."

To watch "Smiley Spade" click here

For more info visit www.nylonstudios.com

NYLON STUDIOS REIMAGINES ICONIC “HAPPY LITTLE VEGEMITES” JINGLE

Nylon Studios recently reimagined the well-known TV commercial jingle “Happy Little Vegemites” for agency JWT. 




Vegemite, the popular Australian savory food spread made from yeast extract, aired its first advertising jingle back in 1954.  The catchy, drum-beat tune rang out across Australia, and quickly became an iconic advertising classic.   This new spot combines a more simplified group-sung version of the song against nostalgic, black and white imagery pumped up with bursts of color.

Nylon executive producer Karla Henwood says, "We wanted to conjure sounds which remind people of the long history most Aussies have with vegemite from their childhood, while emphasizing how it remains a part of our culture today." 

She continues, “Our creative goal was to revitalize the original vintage sound, which was very military and marching band.   We introduced some sonic elements from scraggy 60s pop arrangements and an indie sound.   The idea was to keep it raw and scruffy but still shiny, similar to the Where the Wild Things Are and Juno soundtracks.”

During production, Nylon Studios collaborated closely with JWT creatives, experimenting with different musical styles to complement the visuals.    After considering a more formal orchestra and celebrity vocal talent, they found that the spot called for something different - which composer Jonathan Dreyfus describes as “a more communal, folksy sound, and less of a concert piece.”

To produce the vocals Nylon brought in many combinations of singers for the group-by-group mash-up heard on the track.  

Henwood concludes, “The most exciting part for the studio was simply working with such an iconic jingle.  Most of us have known that song since we’ve known words, so working on it was a massive buzz.   When you approach a well-known piece like this, where so many great composers have worked on it, it is important to take on board what came before without letting it overpower what you want in a fresh, new arrangement.”

For more info visit www.nylonstudios.com

NYLON STUDIOS INTERVIEW WITH "ADS OF THE WORLD"!

Ads of the World's Ivan Raszl interviews Nylon Studios on music and sound design in online advertising.   

Click here to read the interview

For more info visit www.nylonstudios.com

CHECK OUT OUR NEW LOOK! NYLON STUDIOS HAS A FRESH NEW IDENTITY

Our groovy new logo was illustrated by Craig Redman, creator of the Darcel character recently featured in the NYC Restaurant Week TV spot we did the music for.

NEW YORK CITY "RESTAURANT WEEK" TV COMMERCIAL FEATURES QUIRKY AMBIENT MUSIC CREATED BY NYLON STUDIOS

Nylon Studios recently created an original musical score for a new TV spot promoting NYC Restaurant Week, which has been extended until September 6th. The TV spot features a hungry lead character named “Darcel,” who is overjoyed when he learns that his luxurious, affordable dinners don’t stop after just one week in the summer. Nylon Studios composer Oli Chang says his concept for the music was derived from a different short film he worked on, directed by designer Craig Redman, which also featured Darcel. Chang remarks, “The idea behind that music was to use a family of analogue synths, shaping them to sonically illustrate the block shapes and bold colors of Darcel.”

Chang was given complete artistic freedom in creating the music for the project. “My challenge,” he says, “was to find a new and contemporary way to bring an illustrated film to life. It was fun trying to find ways to comically juxtapose Darcel’s “wrong” moments with cute pop sounds."





For more info visit www.nylonstudios.com

ORIGINAL MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN FOR FAMOUS FOOTWEAR’S NATIONAL “MAKE TODAY FAMOUS” CREATED BY NYLON STUDIOS

Still from "Make Today Famous"

To view press release click here

To view the campaign go here

NYLON STUDIOS MAKES SEXY MUSIC FOR PERRIER INTERACTIVE CAMPAIGN STARRING DITA VON TEESE

Dita Von Teese starring in interactive Perrier campaign

Nylon Studios recently conceptualized and created a musical score for Perrier’s new interactive campaign, starring the lovely Dita Von Teese. Nylon was approached by production company The Colony and Ogilvy Paris to create a sultry soundtrack for the campaign’s innovative user-driven website. The site offers a game in which a lingerie-clad Dita strips and seduces in a variety of scenarios in a luxurious Latvian mansion.

Nylon composers Johnny Green and Jack Milas, in tandem with audio mixer Dave Robertson, created a sleek, adaptable soundtrack which gives nods to the musical stylings of Chris Isaak and Nick Cave, while adding a burlesque twist. The final score slowly builds at the right moments simulating a live musical performance and commercial sound – a combination rare in web content.

Nylon Studios mixing engineer Dave Robertson remarks, "The music aesthetic evolved over the whole project to a perfect balance between racy and recognizable."

NYLON STUDIOS CELEBRATES SCREENING OF “STORM SURFERS-NEW ZEALAND” WITH AN AFTER-PARTY AT SOHO HOUSE

The extreme sport documentary “Storm Surfers-New Zealand,” with music by Nylon Studios composer Michael Yezerski, was screened recently at Soho House. Yezerski gave a brief introduction and then mingled with guests at the after-party.






To view pictures from the after-party click here

NYLON STUDIOS COMPOSES MUSIC FOR NEW OCEANA PSA

It takes an "Entourage" to save the world's bluefin tuna.

Nylon Studios' composer Jonathan Dreyfus and sound designer Simon Lister created the engaging music for a new call to action PSA for Oceana, featuring HBO's Entourage star Adrian Grenier. The PSA was directed by Klaus Obermeyer of Aero Films and Nylon Studios was hand-picked to design all sounds for the TV spot. Click here for the spot.

Simon comments, "The sound design complements the music without over powering the music, soft splashes, underwater atmospheres, slow motion feeling sounds."

Behind-the-scenes photos and a brief interview with Adrian were covered in the June issue of GQ Magazine.

For more info visit Nylon's website.

NYLON STUDIOS' SIMON LISTER WINS THE CANNES SILVER LION IN FILM CRAFT AND SOUND DESIGN FOR “PURE ISLAND”

Nylon Studios’ Simon Lister recently won the Cannes Silver Lion in Film Craft/Sound Design for his work on 'Pure Island', a spot for the beer Pure, by Tasmanian brewery James Boag. Against dramatic visuals of Tasmania's landscape at night, Lister pairs sounds of animals and  wind whipping through trees with a softly strumming guitar. His enigmatic score heightens the cinematic quality of this unique campaign.

The Pure Island campaign was developed at Publicis Mojo, Sydney, by creative director Micah Walker, copywriters Justine Armour and Grant McAloon, agency producer Sacha Loverich, account director Simon Ludowyke, planner Nicole Milward, account manager Tara Seymour.

Filming was shot by director Noam Murro via Revolver, Sydney, and Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles, with executive producer Michael Ritchie, producer Shawn Lacy, and director of photography Simon Duggan.

You can learn more about Simon Lister and Nylon Studios at www.nylonstudios.com and view "The Island" at www.canneslions.com/work/craft/entry.cfm?entryid=17281&award=3.

RANTS ON RAM WITH SOUND ENGINEER TONE ASTON

Recently, Nylon Studios' sound engineer Tone Aston was interviewed for his work on the 2010 Dodge RAM TV commercial that features a voiceover by American actor & voiceover king Samuel "Sam" Elliott. By recording original tracks of hundreds of crashing rocks and stones, Tone layered the sounds to create a colassal rockslide.

To see more from Nylon Studios, visit them on Vimeo or visit NylonStudios.com

FILM COMPOSER MICHAEL YEZERSKI SCORES THE WAITING CITY AUSTRALIAN FEATURE

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA -- May 26, 2010 -- Nylon Studios’ award-winning composer Michael Yezerski recently completed the score for the feature length film, The Waiting City. Working from his studio in Sydney, Yezerski is known for creating diverse musical scores and compositions for feature films and advertising campaigns, alongside his work as an established world music composer.

The Waiting City (director Claire McCarthy, starring Radha Mitchell and Joel Edgerton) is the upcoming Australian feature film following the story of a young couple who travel to Calcutta in order to retrieve their newly adopted child -- only to find the arrangements are not complete once they arrive. The story unfolds to reveal a fragile, complicated marriage and reality as Westerners attempting to understand the labyrinthine city.

Spending several weeks in Calcutta, Yezerski worked and experimented with local musicians who provided musical rhythms and textures to which he applied his signature melodies. The resulting score is filled with rich sounds from unique local instruments.

Yezerski’s career highlights include composing for feature length films such as Elissa Down’s feature length film Black Balloon (2008) and Clayton Jacobson’s Kenny, to providing music for major advertising campaigns such as Snickers, Jeep and McDonalds. For Black Balloon he won the 2008 Australian Screen Music Award for Best Soundtrack Album and Best Original Song. His independent work includes working with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Art Museum, Gondwana Voices and collaborating with composer and conductor, Richard Tognetti.

For more info on Michael visit MichaelYezerski.com and http://www.nylonstudios.com/

NYLON STUDIO GLOBAL EP, MARK BECKHAUS, SHARES POV ON MUSIC PIRACY

Mark Beckhaus Shares Point of View: Online Music Piracy

Online piracy of music has been an out-of-control wildfire for too long. Until publishers and record companies can completely overhaul the pricing model it will continue. Spotify is a big step in a better direction, hopefully it will be adopted by US companies soon.

In terms of the current download model, I'm happy to pay my $1 a track and $10 an album to iTunes, as I'm a copyright owner myself and can appreciate the value and afford it. But for the average 12 year old it's too much. They need to make it so cheap that it's not worth ripping off, say 10c a track. Then they'll get the buy in and acceptance of copyright by the masses.

For more info on Nylon Studios' Globel EP Mark Beckhaus or Nylon visit NylonStudios.com

AUSTRALIAN CREATIVE MAG DIGS UP THE FUNKY SOUND CREATIONS OF BLAIR JOSCELYNE

Composer Blair Joscelyne is a man of many sounds, unusual instruments and ideas. Recently, Australia Creative Magazine covered the intricacies inside Blair's musical mind.

To view the featured piece please click here.

For more info on Blair Joscelyne or Nylon Studios visit http://www.nylonstudios.com/

INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE BOARDS MAGAZINE PROFILES COMPOSER BLAIR JOSCELYNE

The term ninja has attained buzzword status in recent years thanks to the tech industry’s affinity for dramatic job titles.

Professional networking site LinkedIn lists more than 800 ninja-related occupations, past and present. Type “ninja” into the site’s search field and the first result is an ad man: MDC Partners chief innovation officer Faris Yakob, who worked at Naked Communications for five years as digital ninja.

Challenge this new breed of ninja to a street fight and you’ll face a dizzying assault of computer lingo and interactive marketing speak.

Unfortunately, that kind of defense won’t cut it on the mean streets of Sydney, which is why Nylon Studios composer Blair Joscelyne studies ninjutsu survival tactics every Wednesday night with a group of black-clad men he knows nothing about.

In 2002, he was perusing the Yellow Pages for an athletic, after-work hobby and spotted an ad for Ninjutsu Australia. After observing one class, he was intrigued and signed up to study the philosophies and unorthodox combat strategies practiced by warriors in feudal Japan.

For Joscelyne, who is now a black belt, ninjutsu offers a mix of athletic training and character building unlike anything he experiences composing ad music. He has trained in various survival skills, and traditional and improvised weaponry including cutlery, magazines, swords, ninja stars and rope.

“Being a musician I come from a culture where everyone is really friendly and open,” he says. “Studying ninjutsu was the first time in my life that I realized, wow there is no small talk here - there is no life beyond the two hours of training.”

At first, he admits the steely silence of the training hall was terrifying. The students do not engage in chatter, address each other by surname and do not acknowledge each other outside the class.

“I have no idea what their names are or what their jobs are,” he says. “They also have no idea what my name is or what my job is even though I’ve seen them once or twice a week every week for almost a decade.”

He describes ninjutsu as “extremely confronting”, but more practically-minded than other martial arts, such as karate. Students are taught to think preemptively and do whatever it takes to diffuse a conflict, with violence employed only as a last resort.

The sensei uses an adrenalin-based technique that involves pushing, slapping or screaming at the students until they are in a genuinely fearful state. Whereas karate teaches students just to respond to specific punches and kicks, the ninja also learns to control this destabilizing rush of adrenalin.

The ninja’s focus benefits Joscelyne in everyday life. Once while taking the train with friends on a Friday night, another passenger became unruly, started shouting and pointed his finger threateningly in his direction.

“I started yelling at myself and insulting myself loudly,” he says. “And he sort of sat down [as if he] thought ‘this guy’s crazy’ and we got off the train and went home. As much as that seems ridiculous, the point of ninjutsu is to do what you need to do to get home safely.”

This article marks the first time he’s spoken about his stealthy hobby at length. He’s breaking his silence now because he believes the centered attitude he’s cultivated over the past eight years can be of benefit to others.

“It’s like performing with music. I’ve always felt nervous getting up performing live,” he says. “I don’t think that fear ever goes away. You just learn how to manage it.”

Article: Kevin Ritchie for boards Magazine.
For more info on Blair and Nylon Studios visit http://www.nylonstudios.com/

BANDS AND BRANDS: NYLON STUDIOS OUTLINES HOW THE RULES OF POP MUSIC AND ADVERTISING ARE BEING REWRITTEN

Previously posted in sourceEcreative

By Mark Beckhaus, executive producer, Nylon Studios

Only a short time ago, Madison Avenue coined the phrase ‘branded content’ to capture the growing fusion of entertainment and advertising: in a branded content world, marketers fund the creation of everything from TV shows and films to webisodes and videogames, implicitly delivering a brand message, and explicitly entertaining audiences far and wide.

Within the branded content arena, though, music is still finding its place. While the advertising community has always understood the power of music, from the jingles of yesteryear to the hit song licensing deals of today, there must be something new for music in the branded content arena.

In fact, there is. We believe we are on the exciting cusp of a new era in branded music content, where marketers have evolved their role to that of a record label. Where today some marketers are engaging musical artists for ‘one-off’ advertising initiatives, we imagine a slightly different world, where big brands actually conceptualize and create bands, nurture the artist throughout their career, and act as an ongoing marketing and financial resource.

THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS
Think about it as reverse engineering in music. Whereas once the recording industry broke new bands to the mainstream, now brands have the opportunity to conceptualize, create, and market a band, from scratch.
 
Several trends are colluding to make this ‘brands and bands’ movement possible: given the disintegration of the traditional recording industry, artists are looking for new ways to connect with audiences. With the tremendous media spends associated with an advertising campaign, artists can gain valuable exposure through a marketing initiative that they might not find elsewhere. Artists used to be fearful of selling out, but now 360 degree marketing deals are commonplace and artists are open to them.

The advent of digital technology, too, makes it easier than ever to break an artist through social media platforms like MySpace and Facebook. Consider social media a modern day focus group: if fans don’t groove on a band’s MySpace introduction, a brand can reconsider further plans.

Plus, five to 10 years ago it wasn’t cool for a band to associate itself with a brand. These days, consumers only care if the music is good, it doesn’t bother them that music might be generated through an advertising initiative.

Brands understand the appeal of owning their own branded music content, while taking part in the success of the artist and all the business benefits a hit song brings to them. Given these powerful shifts in thinking and behavior, there now exist limitless opportunities for brands and bands. In the future, we anticipate brands launching a new artist with all the bells-and-whistles: a full album release, followed by concert tours, in store appearances, merchandizing and other promotions, will be the order of the day.
 
SOME EXAMPLES
In other countries the assimilation of artists with brands is nothing new. In Japan, record companies typically go to an ad agency first (as opposed to radio stations) to find a place for their artists’ music. In China, Pepsi recently launched a record label (AdAge, 8/12/09, “Pepsi Rocks With a New Generation of Chinese Bands”).

At my company, Nylon Studios, we have explored the bands and brands strategy for Famous Footwear, Benadryl and JC Penney. For Famous Footwear we created an artist of our own imagination and marketing, Valentyne Krush, who in turn created the music for the global shoe brand. First, a spot featuring a :30 track entitled “Hold Tight” was introduced to consumers. Then a full 3-minute version of the song was made available on ITunes and can still be heard in its entirety at http://www.myspace.com/valentynekrush. In conjunction with agency Campbell Mithune, we are responsible for launching, merchandising, marketing and selling the band’s music, while simultaneously representing Famous Footwear’s brand strategy. Singer M Gilbert is the band’s frontwoman, while Nylon composers O.C. Chang and Scott Langley wrote and produced the songs. The agency wanted to reinvent the Famous Footwear brand in a more contemporary way so it made sense for us to introduce Valentyne Krush and the band’s music in a way that would convey true pop credibility.

While the ‘bands and brands’ strategy is unique, big brands, agencies and music studios are exploring other new and different ways to work with artists to create branded music content. Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo has an ongoing relationship with DJ/producer Tomoyuki Tanaka (aka Fantastic Plastic Machine) and most recently asked him to create the soundtrack for Uniqlo’s screensaver/widget, the Uniqlo Calendar.

Another innovative example of branded music content: Microsoft tapped rock musician Tim Vanhamel to perform in banner ads promoting Belgian bank Axion’s Banner Concerts campaign. The Banner Concerts campaign, an online battle-of-the-bands-type scenario developed by agency Boondoggle, found viewers voting for the best band after seeing them perform within the banner ad medium; the agency even asked the bands to art direct their banners while the artists themselves publicized their Axion Banner concert on social networking sites.

THE COOL FACTOR
For a brand/band initiative to be successful, it has to be cool. This is paramount. While consumers more readily accept the notion of a brand sponsoring the creation of music, they remain leery of anything that feels pandering or promotional. This means that overeager marketers must exercise restraint and integrity: tagging a mnemonic at the end of a song’s track, or putting a brand logo on the CD cover…will be the kiss of death.

The strategic challenge then becomes to ensure the band fits with the brand. If an agency develops a band, it is critical the artist reflect the marketer’s ethos.

The upside for marketers and artists is tremendous. A brand, in its exclusive representation of a band, creates incredible affinity with people through a hit record. Consumers benefit the most: the rich world of music is again brought to their doorstep, this time, from a brand near you.

For more info on Nylon Studios' Globel EP Mark Beckhaus or Nylon visit NylonStudios.com