After producing 634 HD Animations for News 12 New Jersey, we asked Patrick O. Young, Director, Marketing and Promotions to comment on our work for this issue of Frame. We loved his response and decided to include the entire message string from the email conversation. It’s pretty funny.

Kevin:
Hello Rick,

This month we would like to feature the News 12 animations in our email blast/blog and it is my fortunate/unfortunate assignment to write it. The usual format calls for a quote and client perspective on the project. You would be making my life a bit easier by indulging me with some quick and clever client copy related to the assignment and results…perhaps a dash of compliment and smattering of praise.

Thanks and best to you.

Kevin

Patrick:
How about this:

News 12 New Jersey, a 24-hour local news channel based in Edison, NJ, does more than reach 1.8 million homes in the Garden State. It shouts out at least eight times an hour to communities in the fourteen counties of northern and central New Jersey. Now before you say, “What’s the big deal? They’ve been doing that for ten years already,” let’s shine a little light on the history and the current events of News 12′s involvement with PMI/Pittsburgh.

The shout-out concept began around 2001 when, to illustrate its community awareness and sensitivity, News 12 would bump to commercial breaks with an animated “wallpaper” look over an announce and music bed. The original wallpaper animation was developed and overseen by PMI powerhouse Christa Humphrey. It was a daunting process to create more than 400 individual pieces back then, and it rose to better than 500 individual pieces over the years, as an additional series was overlaid to shout-out, “Hey (location) – your ‘Weather On The 1s’ is next on News 12 New Jersey. As local as local news gets.” The die had been cast, we realized, when reporters & photographers in the field encountered shout-outs coming their way – endearingly parroted by people who not only got the concept, but also wanted to play along!

Fast-forward to 2010 and the challenge facing News 12 New Jersey as it went from SD to HDTV presentation: the “old stuff” just wouldn’t do, and heaven forbid we just “stretch” the animation to fit the new format. A call went out to PMI, to the daylight designers and as well the midnight toilers: time to run off another 500 individual animations, but with a fresh design and in HD to boot!

Here’s a re-creation of a conversation misremembered by your humble scribe:
– PMI: “So, how do you want it to look?”
– N12NJ: “Completely different, one of a kind, in 3D.”
– PMI: “What’s your color palette?”
– N12NJ: “Hmm, maybe some blues, some reds, even some golden yellow elements.”
– PMI: “Is this supposed to reflect your overall look?”
– N12NJ: “Yes, well, maybe. Another division is working on that internally.”
– PMI: “Should we be talking to them, so we can coordinate our efforts?”
– N12NJ: “Not necessarily. They’ve already been at this for a good long while. But we are getting a new set.”
– PMI: “Can you give us an idea what it looks like?”
– N12NJ: “Completely different, one of a kind, in 3D.”
– PMI: “So we should match that?”
– N12NJ: “Sure, why not.”

and so on. With the barest minimum to begin with, the team at PMI began to craft these interstitial ten-second animations, a 3D look, in widescreen, in HD. Then, from the moment the first batch were ready, they knocked the socks off News 12 Networks management. They had been working with an outside agency for more than a year, and had yet to distill a new look-&-feel for the product or even a news open (more on that later). Yet here was News 12 New Jersey working with PMI, dressing up the product on the same timeline/deadline as operations, becoming ready for the News 12 New Jersey transition to HD, with a “temporary” look for the animated interstitials.

The point of this meditation: Thanks to Kevin Kulesa and the team at PMI, what could have been a nightmare project was actually desired, designed and delivered. Distinctively, definitely on time and to the delight of the channel’s multiple audiences, behind-the-scenes and at home in their living rooms.

Obviously, I have enjoyed a long working relationship with PMI. I am a daily consumer of their output. I am proud of our collaborations. And, because the NJ channel still doesn’t have its “real” news open yet, I am glad that with PMI’s steadfast assistance, we interpolated the look-&-feel of the interstitials to create a “temporary” open that’s just as bold and beautiful.

Color me a fan for life of all the capable hands that have built the tradition that is PMI/Pittsburgh.

Patrick

Kevin:
Wow! Thanks. My life is easier.