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editor's note Embracing social media I By RANDI ALTMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF raltman@postmagazine.com f you own a business, have a hobby or even a remotely curious bone in your body, chances are you have an established social media presence or you visit those sites from time to time. Heck, my 80-year-old father has a Facebook page. Go Marvin! Post pros in particular have embraced Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo, Tumblr and others. They realize that the reach is long and the information gath- ered and shared is invaluable. London's Berwick Post is one of the many stu- dios @post_magazine follows on Twitter. They are an active participant in the conversation. "Social media is a fast and effective way for Berwick Post to interact with our existing clients and present ourselves in the right way to new ones," explains Berwick CEO Steve Dann. "It helps get our mes- sage across that we are a traditional post facility that is also passionate about, and at the forefront of, new technologies such as Augmented Reality." They primarily use Twitter (@berwickpost) to create an initial buzz about new ideas and technol- ogy that interests them. They use their Facebook page "for more visually based ideas that can be used as resource by our followers. And LinkedIn for a more concentrated B2B approach," says Dann. Owner/creative director Chris Downs, at Tube in Atlanta, has found that "by reaching out through a variety of social media outlets (such as Face- POST SCRIPT Aardman's art of stop-motion D irector Peter Lord, founder of the UK- based, Oscar-winning Aardman Anima- By MARC LOFTUS SENIOR EDITOR mloftus@postmagazine.com tions, was in NYC recently to promote his latest film for Sony, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, which stars the voice talents of Hugh Grant, and Jeremy Piven. The stop-motion animated film was adapted from a book by Gideon Defoe and follows a band of pirates out to prove their worth. The mission is a humorous one considering a track record that includes unsuccessfully trying to loot from ships full of children, lepers and nudists. Still, The Pirate Captain (yes, that's his name) feels pressure to prove to peers Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz that he's not the joke they make him out to be, and with the right booty, he could take home the coveted "Pirate of the Year" Award. Lord says the project marked a "sweet and steady" five-year journey, with much backup and support from Sony. "These days, there is computer animation all over the place. The fact that we did it this way was delightful." The film's 80 characters are all puppets, but 4 Post • February 2012 because they're not CG doesn't mean they aren't complex. The Pirate Captain, for example, contains as many as 200 components, created by experts working in resin, fabric and other materials. Rapid prototyping allowed for the creation of different mouths that could be used across a range of characters. The sets were also elaborate and numbered upwards of 250. Stop-motion animation was captured one frame at a time using high-end Canon DSLR cameras. At the height of production, as many as 40 units were working simultaneously. The footage would later be combined with back- grounds and animation, such as the water, in post. So what tools does Aardman use? Slightly embarrassed, Lord says he wasn't quite sure. He's learned over the years to surround himself with a great team and rely on their expertise. "I knew my DP would deliver a great cam- era move, and that the animators would do a better job than I could dream of, and that the 3D would work. Just surround yourself with great people. That's my top tip." www.postmagazine.com book, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr) we are able to support and converse with not only our clients, but also designers and other industry folks we collaborate with, and the Atlanta design commu- nity as a whole. It's a great way to spread aware- ness of Tube throughout our field as well as share what we've been up to." A year ago we spoke with Minneapolis's Pixel Farm about how they further their message online — see page 20 for this year's feature on the topic. While serious about business, they real- ize the Web helps build community and they have fun with it. "We've been further strengthening our current social media channels such as Facebook, Vimeo and Twitter," says Sarah Edwards, social media/marketing coordinator. "We recently found out one of our senior VFX artists starred in two episodes of Family Feud, and we are starting an online Twitter contest, which is going to be some- thing different and fun! The hashtag for the con- test will be #pixelfeud." Check out their blog for details (and giggles) http://blog.pixelfarm.com. Product makers also embrace the Web. "I was marginally skeptical when we made our first foray into social media at The Foundry," says head of marketing Lucy Cooper, "but it has become a key marketing tool and more — our customers also use it as a soft support channel." EDITORIAL RANDI ALTMAN Editor-in-Chief (516) 797-0884 raltman@postmagazine.com MARC LOFTUS Senior Editor/Director of Web Content (516) 376-1087 mloftus@postmagazine.com CHRISTINE BUNISH Film& Video RON DICESARE Audio BOB PANK European Correspondent bob.pank@virgin.net DAN RESTUCCIO West Coast Bureau dansweb451@aol.com BARRY GOCH West Coast Blogger/Reporter IAIN BLAIR Film MICHAEL VIGGIANO Art Director mviggiano@postmagazine.com ADVERTISING NATASHA SWORDS VP, Marketing (818) 291-1112 nswords@copcomm.com MARI KOHN Director of Sales (818) 291-1153 cell: (818) 472-1491 mkohn@postmagazine.com GARY RHODES Eastern & Intl Sales Manager (631) 274-9530 cell (516)410-8638 grhodes@copcomm.com CHRIS SALCIDO Account Manager (818) 291-1144 csalcido@copprints.com CUSTOMER SERVICE 620 West Elk Ave, Glendale, CA 91204 csr@postmagazine.com (800) 280 6446 opt 2 (publishing), opt 1 (subscriptions) REPRINTS Reprints (781) 255-0625 • (818) 291-1153 LA SALES OFFICE: 620 West Elk Avenue, Glendale, California 91204 (800) 280-6446 WILLIAM R. 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