Strictly as a consumer, one of our favorite programs to watch on TV is HBO’s award winning series 24/7. So when HBO asked us to help them with their newest 24/7 series – we were pretty excited. 24/7 is an all access series that follows athletes, franchise staff, and sporting organizations for weeks leading up to a major sporting event. In this case, the show would follow two boxers, Ward and Dawson, before their championship fight.

HBO’s decided look for their show tease, the first two minutes, was to treat the video – isolating the bright red and blue colors in each fighter apparel – forcing a sharp contrast between our emerging characters. With the tedious technique of rotoscoping, Fiction masked frame-by-frame the color elements of each shot, allowing for a clean color correction and treatment.

It was a dream to see our work accompanied with narration by a master of his craft, Liev Schreiber. Spoiler alert: Andre Ward beats Chad Dawson by TKO in the 10th round defending his championship.

Fiction Media Group teamed up with the amazing talent of Bruce Gibbs to provide graphics support to Merrell’s In or Out campaign – from the creative geniuses at Hill Holliday. Fiction provided graphics to help simulate the marquee interface of an exercise cardio machine. Additionally we executed the branded endpage.

The Merrell In or Out campaign centers on the decision to exercise in the ever unchanging inside versus the adventure of an outdoor workout. The ad follows a typical cardio workout and graphics are used to trigger key elliptical/treadmill paradigms – pause, incline/topography, fan, difficulty levels, etc. The corresponding split screen shows the equivalent outdoor activities for these marquee messages, leaving the viewer wondering why we aren’t currently outside – instead of watching tv, internet videos, or reading this description.

Merrell continues to lead the way in outdoor apparel for the active individual, allowing us to explore the world in comfort and class.

Website http://www.merrell.com

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) continues their video series with a helpful overview of electric vehicles. The video explains the different types of electric vehicles, the role your home electrical system will have, common hazards to avoid, and provides plenty of safety tips.

The video was released as part of ESFI’s 2012 National Electrical Safety Month (NESM) campaign. NESM focuses on increasing public awareness of electrical hazards and the importance of electrical safety.

ESFI is the premier non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to promoting electrical safety at home and in the workplace. Their expertise and knowledge was used throughout the creative process to keep the video content current and accurate.

Check out ESFI at www.esfi.org.

The arrival of the 2012 MLB season brings forth fond memories of spring. Sunny afternoons, fresh cut grass, the crack of the bat, and of course the flashy graphics when you watch the game at home. For Mets games, Fiction Media Group had the opportunity to update and create new broadcast elements for the SNY sports network.

Working with SNY’s creative director, Fiction Media Group designed new team quick outs, roll outs, drop ins, and transitions. 35 logos were built into 3D models for the team quick outs, including all 30 teams, 3 leagues, and 2 networks. Updated primary logos new to the 2012 season include the Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, and San Diego Padres.

Take a look at the video above to see the elements in action or tune into a Mets game on SNY to spot them live.

Mets TV Schedule on SNY: http://web.sny.tv/teams/tvschedule.jsp?oid=36018

Fiction Media Group teamed up with director and Sundance perennial Marius Markevicius, producer Jon Weinbach and editor Dan Marks to create the documentary “The Other Dream Team”. For several months our artists worked with the filmmakers providing the film’s motion design, branding, and marketing materials.

The film is centered around the inspirational story of the 1992 Lithuanian Olympic basketball team and their Rocky-style, unlikely run to Olympic medals. The people of Lithuania had been ruled by the USSR for years prior to the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona. For a country passionate about basketball, it was an opportunity to reestablish its national identity and celebrate its new found freedom.

The film brings to light the Lithuanians’ life under Soviet rule, through photos and film never seen before by international audiences. We were provided vast collections of unseen media as sources for our motion design. Working with the editors we created 3D environments from the rough photos to tell the story from behind the iron curtain. Utilizing both 2D and 3D authoring tools, Fiction Media Group brings energy to the screen and enhances the audience’s experience.

In November 2011, “The Other Dream Team” was named an official selection for the Sundance Film Festival and was entered into the U.S. Feature Documentary Competition. The film will premiere at the festival in Park City, Utah on January 21, 2012.

Check out the film at Sundance: http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/120065/the_other_dream_team

Check out the film’s website: http://theotherdreamteam.com

Following the success of creating graphics for the film “The Other Dream Team,” director Marius Markevicius asked Fiction Media Group to design his company’s animated logo. The new branding element would appear before Sorrento Production films.

The name of the company comes from the beach near Los Angeles where Marius, the company’s founder, grew up. He and a few friends created tshirts for their group years ago of a lifeguard tower. The filmmaker atop the tower holds a camera and tripod slung over his shoulder. We animated the lifeguard tower and filmmaker in 3D to add depth and motion to the logo.

The animated Sorrento Productions logo will first appear before “The Other Dream Team” which premieres at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Following the success of the redesigned TLC IPMs, The Dixon Collective once again teamed up with Fiction Media Group to promote TLC’s original show Quints by Surprise. Fiction Media Group provided broadcast design support to the talented producers and editors of the Dixon Collective. The resulting motion graphics will be used in the Quints by Surprise promos for season two.

Using TLC branded elements we designed intros, lower thirds, text animations, transitions, and endtags. The goal was to “bring some love” to the spot through fun, family themed graphics – while keeping consistent with the TLC brand.

Quints by Surprise is a reality show about parents of six children, five of which are quintuplets. The show follows the family through the challenges that six children provide. The second season of Quints by Surprise premiered on May 9, 2011 on TLC.

Fiction Media Group was pleased to create a new opening animation for the online show Amplified, produced by ABC News NOW. We wanted to help create a new look for the show because of our excitement toward the show and the brilliant people who work on it.

We took the concept of their original animated intro and added some depth to the look and style. To keep Amplified’s look consistent, we incorporated a similar amp and similar white background with the splashes of blue and purple. The new Amplified logo we conceptualized incorporates a double slash that frames the negative-spaced ‘A’ – but also hints that Amplified is a part of something greater: ABC News / ABC News NOW / Amplified.

Working primarily within Lightwave 3D, we created a scene resembling a band’s studio wired with stage monitors, stompboxes and a genuine floating “Amplified” amplifier. The amp itself was modeled after the iconic Marshall design, with the Marshall logo transformed into Amplified.

Each week Amplified showcases a band that should be a part of our music collection, but that we likely have not heard of. Host Dan Harris, from Good Morning America, offers insights and interviews from the musicians. The show has been described as the potential result of Rolling Stone sleeping with Foreign Affairs and it could totally pull off the “I Listen To Bands That Don’t Even Exist Yet.” t-shirt.

Check out the show online: http://abcnews.go.com/ABCNewsNow/Amplified/

Show creator Dan Marks asked Fiction Media Group to help create a show open for Risque Business, a show about the launch of a new lingerie line from an established Los Angeles clothing company. Using the model footage from the shoot, we designed backdrops, design illustration, color themes and motion that complete the intimate, soft look the show producers were after.

We started by chroma keying 40+ shots from the open footage including the models, sewing tools, hands, and the clothing – including the lace. We then inserted our original fashion illustrations and composited their masks and textures. The background color, softness and texture was carefully designed to frame and compliment the models. We made the open soft and approachable with the added color correction and diffusion.

Risque Business follows the three main characters within a clothing line launch. The designer, the business manager, and the boss clash as crucial decisions are made and a lingerie line is born.

Fiction Media Group teamed up with the great people of The Dixon Collective to redesign the TLC Network’s IPMs (in-program message). Using TLC brand elements and existing style paradigms, we rethought how promos should appear during their programming. The challenge is to draw enough attention from the viewer so that the message is understood, but not to distract from the broadcast.

Through our creative brainstorming internally, with the Dixon Collective, and the producers at TLC we came up with several style frames that we all enjoyed. With the varied TLC programming and the quality and quantity of Fiction’s redesigns, it was agreed that a single IPM was not enough. The next generation IPM for TLC would exist as four separate designs that could each be used and interchanged.

Fiction prepared each show for the upcoming season into each of the relevant IPM designs. This toolkit was provided to TLC’s broadcast staff for easy implementation of each IPM as it is needed throughout the television season.

TLC, formally The Learning Channel, is a part of the Discovery family of television networks. TLC programming represents a wide variety of reality-based, informative shows that are typically for the entire family.