(For those new to the column, Forward Migration is our term for companies moving from Wintel machines to Macs — or at least adding or increasing the number of Macs they use. A Forward Migration Kit is an overview of Mac OS products for a particular occupation, such as photography, optometry, etc.)
EMA Multimedia’s CEO and senior creative director Michael Pace has been operating his Century City, California-based all-media production services company since 1990. Recently, he announced a new site for his company that he said truly reflects the design standards and capabilities his team puts to work every day on behalf of their clients’ projects. And Mac technology helped make it possible.
In announcing the launch of the new site at EMAmultimedia.com, Pace described his efforts in actively contacting companies — including many outside of Hollywood’s entertainment industry — to offer the “star treatment” to a new field of companies and their products and services.
“First of all, I am very proud of the team of creative and design professionals that I get to work with every day,” Pace said. Citing the expansion of the company’s capabilities as well as advances in technology as issues addressed in the new site, Pace added, “At this point, we’re pleased with our new look, feel and content — and the early feedback has been very positive.”
On the tech-side, a fleet of Mac G4s was put to work on the new site, although other hardware was also used to ensure cross-platform compatibility. The company’s Macintosh offerings also include Avid Media Composer and Adobe imaging software, as well as Macromedia Flash, Final Cut Pro and other Mac software.
EMA Multimedia grew out of Pace’s spare bedroom in 1992, taking the form of a small but dynamic group of artists who quickly earned a reputation for media innovation and, as a direct result, business from Hollywood’s major studios. And then came DVD.
In 1997, while pitching some studio executives about a pet project (a hybrid interactive inflight shopping system), Pace was asked to review the first standards for the new DVD format. Soon, the company was handling design business for virtually every studio — and pulling-down some top DVD-industry awards. Today, along with being known as one of the world’s foremost DVD menu-design resources (recent DVD projects include HBO’s “Oz: The Complete First Season” and Sony’s “Elmo’s World: Wild Wild West”), DVD design is just one element of the company’s full-service offerings.
In other Forward Migration related news, Jeff Elmassian and Endless Noise, his sound design and music company, just completed work for a high-profile U.S. Postal Service spot. Elmassian said that his Mac G4 continues to be at the heart of his creative and production tasks.
Endless Noise worked on a “hybrid musical sound design” work for the latest U.S. Postal Service spot from Leo Burnett/Chicago. The new 30 second TV spot, entitled “Dry Cleaner” was directed by Anonymous Content’s John Dolan and debuted on Apr. 15. In the spot, a small dry cleaner experiences a surge of business based on a direct mail campaign.
“We had to find a way to get across to people that the postal service can help businesses grow to become more vibrant and efficient,” explained Elmassian. “So specifically, we had to find sounds in the environment of this business that reflect the image of the postal service and that come across as being interesting and musical.”
The live-action footage was lensed on-location at Bixby Knolls Cleaners in Long Beach, California in March by Dolan and director of photography Conrad Hall, Jr. All sound for the project was created in-house at the Endless Noise studio in West Hollywood. Working with co-composer and sound designer Andy Rehfeldt on a Mac G4, the team used SampleCell for sampling, ProTools for sound editing, and Studio Vision to sequence their sounds into a musical composition. The final track was mixed through a DigiDesign Control 24 mixing console. The Endless Noise studio features Mackie HR24 studio monitors.
Elmassian was also honored for his work on Nike Freestyle ad at the May 22 Clios (the Oscars of advertising awards) in Miami Beach. For more info on Endless noise, see our Nov. 1, 2001 article.
Finally, the current issue of Yachting magazine has an article on the iPod and its use on boats. The new edition isn’t online yet, but says that the “iTunes/iPod combination is tough to beat for bringing your favorite music aboard. Yachting also said that, “the flexibility, speed and simplicity of the iTunes/iPod combination are difficult to match, but programs are available for users of Windows machines. They accomplish what iTunes does, but not nearly as quickly or simply.” (Thanks to MacCentral readers, K. Slater and Daniel East, for the heads-up on this one.)
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