Monday, December 20, 2010

Viscious Xmas Greetings

We have a few Luscious stars that have been patiently waiting all year to make their on-camera debut.....



Luscious office will be closed from Thursday 23rd of December until Monday 10th of January 2011.

Any enquiries during this time please email talk2us@luscious.com.au or if it is urgent call +61 418 530 925.

Thank you for all your support throughout 2010. It's been a pleasure working with you and we look forward to seeing you again in 2011.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Dennis Hopper's America in the 1960's

We stumbled upon this Tashen Books Dennis Hopper tribute and had to share.
Not just a talented actor, Filmmaker and artist, Dennis was also a photographer and documented the "real" 1960's America.




Thursday, November 25, 2010

Viscious Sebastien Navigates International Waters




Luscious International’s director Sebastien has just finished directing Amnesty International’s latest TVC and the first one ever shot in Australia.

Spearheaded by marketing and communications company gHO Sydney,Creative Director Renee Murray chose Luscious International’s Director Sebastien to bring this hard-hitting and confrontational TVC to life.

Bringing the topical issue of Asylum Seekers into the spotlight, Sebastien collaborated with both Amnesty and gHO In order to deliver credibility and sincerity to the TVC.

Crucial to this TVC was getting the right performance from the actors. Sebastien actually started his career in Los Angeles as an actor. Given his personal hands on acting experience, Sebastien has a unique sensibility to the acting process and as a result draws out genuine and captivating performances.

Murray explained “the performances were so important to this shoot and I honestly don’t feel we would have got near the performances we got without Sebastien. With his experience in acting he was able to pull the best out of our
actors”

Sebastien explains, “it was a challenge bringing in real refugees for the casting and hearing their stories and having to make them revisit their pain for the performance, although this was beneficial for me as a director to understand the complex nature of this topic and how best to portray it on screen”.

Sebastien explains, “Although I like all styles and look to balance my work, I’m definitely drawn to darker themes and concepts. I find the stakes are higher in those types of scripts, which often makes for a better story”.

To see Sebastien’s latest reel or meet him – please contact Luscious on 9326 3400 or talk2us@luscious.com.au

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

EVENT - ART + AFFORDABILITY?!

Yes - art does come with a cost - usually time, sweat and money. And not necessarily in that order.

This weekend Sydney-siders can enjoy the work of up and coming artists for a small price at Sydney's Affordable Art Fair.

Showcasing artwork from Australia's most promising artists at the Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park all weekend.

Head on down and turn that frown upside down:) - tickets $20 at the door



Tuesday, November 9, 2010

EVENT - Young Bloods - Hot Not Next

Sam Bryant's Big W World



Viscious born director Sam Bryant just completed a colourful and vibrant TVC for Big W through Luscious International.

Launching this week, Sam worked together with IdeaWorks’ Louise Mahoney, Sam explains “I wanted to capture the Big W message – LIVE BIG FOR LESS by creating a world that was visually big in spirit”.

The background artwork was created by award winning Melbourne artist Merryn Trevethan. Bryant was inspired by Trevethan’s artworks which depict the real world in a colourful, stylised and playful way. Sam brought Merryn along as part of the team to help bring this Big W world to life.

This unique and distinctive looking Big W re-branding, will be played out across all media, catalogues and in store.

To see Sam’s latest reel or meet the man himself please contact Luscious Marketing Director Teall Barnes on 02 9326 3400 or teall@luscious.com.au

Monday, November 1, 2010

Come on summer... quit frontin





















Photo - Ant

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Viscious on Branded Content

Marketing Director Teall Barnes discusses how branded content across differing channels is changing traditional production companies.

Digital technology has changed the state of play. Although this does not mean the television commercial is redundant. Instead it actually means it is more important then ever before. With more platforms to view content – it is increasingly important to get your brands commercial message right.

As Australian production companies scramble to produce more stories across more screens unfortunately not enough planning and collaboration is implemented.

We have clients come to us wanting viral campaigns. What people forget is just because a campaign is syndicated online does not make it viral. It has to be a good idea, integrate humor or intrigue and ideally offer interaction for it to be propelled into the viral realm.

Audiences today are clever – they see through branding jargon and expect intimate and targeted messages. Niche communities are popping up all over the web. It is the duty of good media planners and strategists to locate these audiences, research their needs and deliver relevant messages. Then it is the production company’s duty to develop and exploit these avenues for engagement to maximize brand representation and produce impactful messages with relevance to the clients needs.

The main issue facing the industry today is effective planning. With new and exciting channels for communication opening up everyday – the role of the planner has never been more crucial. The importance of reaching fragmented audiences in niche areas is crucial to the longevity and success of any marketing campaign. Also brands must remember that they do not have to be everywhere in order to achieve ROI. Not every product or service requires a microsite, iphone ap, twitter feed and TVC. The choices are vast but this doesn’t mean your commercial message should be diluted. Certain channels suit certain brands. Only the brands that maintain good planning and brand integrity will succeed.

Marketing Director - Teall Barnes



Thursday, October 14, 2010

Viscious talks at Vibewire

On September 24th at 7:30am a blurry eyed Ant McPhail made his way down to the Boiler Room at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

The occasion for such an early rise was the 2010 fastBREAK innovation series.

An exciting addition to Sydney’s event calendar that has sent a buzz through local creative and entrepreneurial communities, injecting life, inspiration and a flurry of fastBREAKing conversation into the Powerhouse Museum’s best-kept secret, the Boiler room Mezzanine.

Ant McPhail one of 3 founding Viscious film directors took to the podium to discuss the topic of POWER.

At each fastBREAK session, on the last Friday of each month, five sharp young industry leaders from various sectors tackle big questions and topics with five-minute responses around themes of creativity, commercialisation, collaboration, connections and conversation.

Innovation is the staple of the fastBREAK menu.

The subject for discussion this time was POWER. Ant took to the stage in front of 100 or so creative minds to discuss power and how it translates, effects and drives his work.



Be sure to check out the vibewire series each month and stay up-to-date with latest news here


Teall Barnes - Marketing Director


Thursday, September 30, 2010

An Incubator for Creative Minds

Last night the Viscious team got along to Film Incubator at the Oxford Arts Factory.


The night was a sell-out with capacity crowds and plenty of networking to be had!


Fashion Future made a impressive showing with their glamourous models striking some incredible poses to keep the crowd on their toes.


The Australian Cinematographers Society was also in full force showcasing the 2010 Award winners.


Film Incubator is a film market and licensing expo. It is a great event to meet people from the film, fashion, media and creative industries to explore new ventures and source creative talent.


The Organiser's did a top job on the night with live entertainment and hungry creatives mingling in sleek and electric surrounds.







Sunday, September 19, 2010

Viscious Kitty

The Viscious team collaborated with Australian Fashion Designer Kit Willow to create this video showcasing her latest designs.

Six weeks shy of giving birth to her second baby, Kit Willow is sitting this New York fashion week out. Instead, she’s showcasing her collection first on Style.com with Lady Into Cat, a Sharif Hamza-directed, Laura Holmes Produced, Stefan Duscio DOP'd and Viscious production starring two fellow Aussies, the beautiful Emma Balfour and a wild cat to which they fed multiple chickens to get these shots.

This wild cat was the only demanding talent on set. The Director and DOP had to close off the set to capture the striking cat shots, allowing the model to safely interact with the wild cat and produce some stunning footage.

To see Willow's complete Spring 2011collection online visit her website http://www.willowltd.com

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

England & France

Some old travel pics
Photos - Ant


Monday, August 30, 2010

MOVIE - Stone



Did the late, great Heath Ledger borrow his classic line used in Dog Town: "Wear them with pride, man" from this classic Australian film?

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Viscious bites into some Youngbloods




The Viscious collective headed down to Tattlers in Sydney's bustling Kings Cross on Thursday 12th August.
The occasion - the NSW Youngbloods winter party.

There were plenty of red wines, beers and tequila shots flowing which only made our humanly intake of vitamin water between chosen poisons sky rocket!

Although we were unlucky enough to not even get a look into the lucky door prize we were lucky enough to spin the vitamin Water prize wheel and bring up trumps with a case of vitamin water and some funky speakers.

In true Sydney style we ran into some familiar faces and managed to get the party started. Let's just say friday morning was a slow morning although vitamin water did soften the blow.... perhaps they should be endorsing us for this blog entry??

If you're wondering what Youngbloods is and what they do? well they're a body for young people (under 10 years advertising experience) in the advertising industry. They aim is to provide opportunities for young people to learn from business leaders, network with their peers and have a say on industry issues and future direction, all while supporting other young people though Australian charity 'Reach Out'.



Check out further details at http://www.communicationscouncil.org.au/public/content/ViewCategory.aspx?id=561







Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Viscious gets App Happy


Viscious recently made an iphone app video for The Commonwealth Bank's Property Guide iPhone application. The Property Guide app helps anyone looking to keep on top of the property market make smarter property decisions with 'augmented reality' insights in to almost any Australian home, anytime, anywhere.

CommBank Property Guide app, created by The White Agency and marketed by Viscious, uses 'augmented reality' technology to retrieve past sales history, current property listings and recent sales, is mapped on to a real world view through the iPhone's camera on more than 95 per cent of residential properties in Australia.

The app is supported by data from two industry leader's realestate.com.au, the nation's number one property portal and RP Data, Australia's leading property information and analytics company.

Viscious director Ant McPhail directed this online video to communicate the augmented reality features of this app and also make is accessible to everyone.

According to Mark Murray, general manager consumer marketing, the launch of the CommBank Property Guide iPhone app builds on the Bank's commitment to superior customer service by delivering greater value and enhanced benefits for Commonwealth Bank customers: "Property Guide makes finding your dream home a lot easier while enabling home buyers and sellers to make informed and researched property decisions when it comes to making their biggest financial commitment," said Murray.

Viscious thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work with both The White Agency and CommBank in bringing this innovative and relevant iphone app to market.








Sunday, August 8, 2010

Sebastien Shoots for Shots


What men want?

Well if we actually knew the answer to that universal question then we wouldn't be telling you!

Instead it's very much a guessing game as both advertisers and marketers scramble through research and development processes to answer this age old question.

Australian Creative recently took on the challenge of asking prominent industry creatives and marketers "What do men want?

Myth 1# Skateboarding + Graffiti equals cool

Myth 2# Men Must be Manly

Myth 3# Men are stupid

Myth 4# Men like seeing their lives mirrored

Myth 5# Serious Stuff isn't funny

In summary the article wrote "beer brands spend a lot of time trying to nail the male mindset, but a lot of other product categories are falling too far from the mark".

Luckily Viscious director Sam Bryant was able to tap into the male mindset in collaboration with the Droga5 smack my porsche up VB Raw competition launch.

View spot here

Saturday, August 7, 2010

The Divergence


Who will shape the future of the Web? In this speech extract based on his upcoming book 'The Divergence', Mike Walsh looks at the secret history of the Web in emerging markets, and why the rising power of the BRIC nations holds the key to understanding the forces that will shape the digital world in the next ten years.

Visit Mike Walsh's blog
Follow Mike on twitter

Friday, July 23, 2010

Viscious Director Sebastien unveils the shop that's all about the chop

The Chop Shop hair salons work closely with some of the top modelling and acting agencies in Sydney, and with two popular shops in Bondi and Kings Cross, the salons have a strong clientele within the sydney 'it' crowd.

The client wanted to do an ad to reflect their brand and style, which reflects an LA, rock n roll style salon.

The Chop Shop approached Sebastien about creating a TVC for their popular hair salons. The Client was familiar with Sebastien's personal style and taste - it was the perfect match.

Sebastien has tattoos and previously lived in LA, so he knows that style all too well.
When approached by the company, Sebastien knew it was more about creating a look rather than trying to create a story.

"We decided to keep the shoot simple and to focus on creating a visual that represents the brand and to not try to showcase the cliche hairstyles that you see in other hair salon ads".

We knew it was going to be a much stronger visual to create a distinct vibe, rather than try and show various haircuts".

Directed by Sebastien, Shot by Cinematographer: Tony Gardiner and music by an LA based musician called Brooke.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

ANT - Land of the Long White Cloud

One of our Viscious artists have flown the coupe for a sabbatical and landed himself in amidst the awesome snow capped mountains of NZ. Nothing like a spot of skiing, sheepish culture & perhaps a location recce or two....


Thursday, July 15, 2010

Viscious Play's Pop Up With VB



Sam Bryant created Pop Up Pub mania for VB with his recent VB Pop Up Pub TVC.

The campaign attracted 500,000 entries and won Best Integrated Communications Campaign for campaigns over $1 million at this years ADMA Star Awards.

Watch Sam's TVC here and online campaign here

Monday, July 12, 2010

4

Some pics inspired by last nights eclipse
Photos - Ant

Thursday, July 8, 2010

EVENT - Underbelly Arts Festival

This is one of those events that proves Sydneys art & culture to be alive & kicking.

The Underbelly Arts Festival running from the 8th-17th of July opens the doors to The Lab (artist studios) around the Chippendale area that are usually closed to the public.

Along side studio tours are an array of sensory stimulating events, installations, artworks in progress, film, sound art & projection, performances, dance, puppetry & interactive exhibitions. Some events are freebies others need some pennies and pre-planning so check out the festival website for event info & tix.


Tuesday, June 8, 2010

EVENT - Creative Sydney




Last night I attended a Creative Sydney talk “Local Talent/Global Market”. Creative Sydney is a series of free events held at the MCA Sydney throughout the month of June.

The panel of speakers included James Hackett (Hackett Films), Sean Ashby (AussieBum), Marty Wirth and Axel Moline (Modular Records) and Rob Belgiovane (BWM)

There are many obstacles and opportunities when exporting ideas abroad. The premise for the panel discussion was to explore how diverse Australian businesses have tapped into international audiences and as a result experienced great success.

James Hackett was first to talk – Hackett films is re-known for producing beautiful montages and animation. The success of Dirt Girl has meant this locally produced television series has been exported to global audiences. This project got off the ground due to strategic development that benefited the pitching process. The client invested dollars to produce a 2 minute pilot which provided a tangible showcase for investors.

Hackett explained “although Dirt Girl is considered animation, it’s really live action”. Hackett also emphasized the importance of research and development for new ideas and the importance of “having a few strings in your bow”.

Charasmatic co-founder of Aussiebum, Sean Ashby was next to speak. Aussiebum is the most succesful Australian fashion export to date, turning over 23 million dollars in 2009.

Aussiebum currently exports 15,000 units per week. Ashby is a no bullshit type of personality. He gave a candid account about the Aussiebum roots and how the business came to fruition. In 2001 Ashby was unemployed and disallusioned by the corporate world. He spent many days at the beach swimming, sunbaking and trying not to spend money. Wearing nylon underwear instead of speedos, Ashby’s friends would comment “what’s with the nylon undies”.

From here Ashby launched Aussiebum, “everyone told me it wouldn’t work… best advice I can give don’t listen to other peoples advice…the only reason people are negative is because they don’t want to see you do well and then wish they had the idea”.

Perseverance and commitment certainly paid off. Today Ashby’s label is a global trendsetter. Ashby encourages people to “make yourself a commodity…essentially the brand represents a lifestyle”.

Ashby warns “loose the lifestyle and the passion and you become another statistic”. Today Australia represents 15% of Aussiebum’s market.

Axle and Marty from Modular Recordings were next up. Modular Recordings represents “Forward thinking pop music”.

Amongst their suite of artists are The Avalanches, The Presets, Wolfmother, Tame Impala, and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s . They recently produced the presets video “This boys in love” in which they flew Danish director Casper Balslev to Australia to direct.

Last up was Rob Belgiovane – partner in Australia’s second largest advertising agency BWM. Belgiovane gave recognition to the famous Telstra Bigpond “Great Wall of China” campaign.

Belgiovane explained the success of this campaign stems from its universal message “all parents want their kids to do well in school and can relate to the ad”. At the time the creative team were the youngest team within the agency and it was their first TVC.

Belgiovane recognized the economic downturn as a period for creative indulgence, “when things go bad we do better creatively…the worse things get the less clients have to lose…in downturns creativity is hot currency”.

Social media is king to Belgiovane, claiming, “through social media the population becomes your sales team and they sell it because they like it”.

In conclusion Belgiovane provided a case study about Yellow Pages and the Yellow Treehouse. This was an elaborate concept that saw the project built from resources utilizing only the Yellow Pages.

Colenso BBDO on behalf of Yellow Pages built a whimsical tree house and opened it as a restaurant. Set amongst the treetops this was an extroadinary PR exercise and clever advertising campaign.

The Creative Sydney talks run until June 13. Visit the website today and sign up for some creative inspiration.

Teall Barnes - Marketing Director



Thursday, June 3, 2010

Ant McPhail - Abluto 'Trailer'

“The human body is 70% water… why wash ourselves in it? It’s like washing your car with metal…”

Viscious Director Ant McPhail directed this short film "Abluto"
A black comedy in the vein of ‘Anchorman’ meets ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’.
We follow the journey of a man who is in his final week of rehab. We learn that our hero has developed a fear of water contacting the skin, and hence relies heavily on refresher towels to bathe.
Look out for "Abluto" at festivals worldwide. Congrats Ant.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Sam Bryant - 'GPS' at St Kilda Film Festival


The Award winning, epic Viscious production, written & directed by Sam Bryant 'GPS' screens tonight at the St Kilda Film Festival Opening and then again on Saturday the 29th of May. The film festival runs from tonight through to the 30th of May.
The production spanned over 5 shooting days in maze like locations, with torrential weather, bogged vehicles, emergency flares & psychotic sugar eating possums. But the end result? Totally worth it!! Grab a sneak peak right here

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

EVENT-Avid

Avid have gone all… new, not just a logo change, spit and polish, this is some major 'ones' and 'zeros' shuffling happened here. And to help introduce it, the big cheese himself Richard Gibson is saying some words about digital workflows today in Sydney and next Wednesday south of the boarder (Melbourne).
Here is what he will be talking

about
(or long version!)

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Robin Sung - Anna & Boy "Australian Fashion Week 2010"


It's Viscious on the Runway!
If you thought it was murder on the d-floor then it is certainly Viscious on the runway.
Make no exception Anna & Boy meant business and strutted their stuff at last weeks Australian Fashion Week.
Viscious was on hand to document every step of the Anna & Boy Show.
The collection started out with the title “A Coney Island Summer” and it was based on a carnival of colour and slightly kitsch prints and details. The show styling took a slightly different turn and was based on the look of some of the designers favourite film stars like Ann Margaret, Charlotte Rampling, Catherine Denueve and headed in a slightly kooky sixties direction. With a Palm Springs-style carnation print to a ‘laminex’ look pastel stripe print, the Anna & Boy show had a decidedly sixties in feel. Like the super coiffed and hair sprayed ladies you see poolside in Slim Aarons photographs, all extreme resort outfits with matching everything. A bit nutty and true A&B style.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Sebastien - 'Every Moment' Wins ACS Golden Tripod Award


Sebastien does it AGAIN!

Sebastien’s recent ‘Samanta Wills’ “Every Moment” TVC took out an illustrious Golden Tripod award at the 2010 Australian Cinematographers Society National Awards.

Seb, Callan & the V peeps gathered at a grueling 5:30am ready to take on all that Sydney had to offer. The crew trekked with 5D in hand through national parks, beaches, uptown, downtown and across town & made it all the way to parts Asia for this beautiful piece.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

EXHIBITION-Black & Silver



Maybe it was the warm, sweet scent of screen print ink in the air…. maybe it was the intoxication of a new iPhone application, but last nights Asahi Black & Silver exhibition had us both thrilled and freezing all at once.


We patiently waited with our black t's in hand to be hit by T-World at this screen printing soiree. Along side the T's is an exhibition of fashion, object design, illustration, photography and video. It is a contemporary display of texture, illuminance & shades of grey.


The exhibition is on until the 9th of May so if you are a fan of affordable art, fashion & limited edition objects of desire, come on down to our side of town and visit the Ambush Gallery, 4A James Street Waterloo, NSW.


Photo's taken with my iPhone.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Sam Bryant - BPay 'Snails' & 'Crates'


Ever tried wrangling hundreds of snails?.... They're hell faster than you'd imagine.
So we got to stick LED's on the backs of snails and watch them run for 5 days. THEN got to enlist the help of stop frame animator John Lewis to toss a few crates around a garden for 3 days. Nothing like a brief with a bit of fun!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

EXHIBITION-Mixed Business


So far... this year has been pretty full on for Viscious & the mothership, work has been running through the pipes constantly…. In the last 2 weeks alone we’ve broken into derelict houses to find a perfect location for a frenzied food & beverage fight, before demolition teams destroyed it. While also filming and finishing Ant’s ‘Fab 4’ short film.

All the chaos aside some of our crew took the time out to visit ‘Mixed Business’ on its opening night yesterday. The display got a big thumbs up from us, it’s a collection of some awesome works by artist such as Kareena Millard, Ben Frost, Travis Millard, Mel Kadel, Georg & Meggs just to name few, there is something to satisfy everyone’s taste. The exhibition is a part of Semi-Permanent which happens today & tomorrow, its only running till the 28th of March so get on down to The Ambush Gallery on James Street, Waterloo N.S.W to wet your creative whistle.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Sam Bryant - GPS Trailer




At this years Flickerfest Short Film Festival "GPS" won two awards. "The Avid Award for Best Editing in An Australian Short Film was awarded to editor Mark Burnett.... The film also won the SBS Television Award, with SBS purchasing the title for broadcast." Quoted from the Flickerfest 2010 website.

A massive thanks goes out to all the cast and crew who help bring the film to its glorious form & a HUGE congrats the the guys at the Editors.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

City Summers



Photo - Ant

Monday, January 18, 2010

Ant McPhail - MySpace 'Editors', 'The View', 'The Temper Trap' & 'White Rabbits'






DP – Ant
2nd Unit – Alex Hay
Camera – Canon 5D MkII