A few months ago I got a call from my friend Matt Davis asking if I would maybe, possibly be somewhat interested in considering working on a logo like that for Matthew Perry. I jumped at the chance. The company is called Anhedonia Productions, and you're probably wondering what in the world "Anhedonia" means. It's the inability to experience pleasurable emotions from normally pleasurable life events. A pretty crappy situation, but comedy goldmine.
I worked with Andy Erekson and Marcelo Vignali (and his daughter) to come up with a list of 50 ideas of what this logo could be within the theme that Perry had already set up. I boarded out 7 of those ideas and created 3 animated beta tests. Here are some of my favorites...
For exploration:
Face on Jumbotron
Rodeo
Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center
Birth of a child
Bear Attack
Jack in the box
looking at the Mona Lisa
Storyboarded Ideas:
Animation Tests:
I took all that stuff into a meeting with Matthew Perry. It was one of the few celebrity encounters that I have ever had and it was awesome, I won't deny it. We didn't have much time so I started with the story boarded examples, then the videos, then we went over the list. My original idea was to have a new tag at the end of every episode, and Matthew liked that idea a lot. We were all set for it but when he found out that this would be coming from his own pocket and not the studio's, he reconsidered.
The work on this logo went quickly. I probably spent a total of 10 hours on it is all. I think the fact that it was only 4 seconds long was a perk. I finished everything up and sent off a version to be approved and never heard anything back. I knew that they were running out of time and didn't have the final logo so I contacted them. Ben, the guy I was working with, said that there were no notes back on it, which is good news. I delivered the final version and collected my check. It was a great experience.
You know how normally you start out all excited about a project and when you get into it you start to hate it more and more until you question your own worth not only as an artist but as a human being? That never happened on this project. I completely loved working on this thing and now I'm sitting here wondering how I can get more business like that. If you know anyone who needs an animated logo at the end of a sitcom on network television, be a pal and send 'em my way, will ya? Thanks!
Comments
If I ever bump into any "Friends" alums with their own production companies looking for animated logos, I will definitely send them your way.
Jacki, I see you're in marketing - if any of your clients need anything like this, remember me!! :)
same here! i love it!