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Famous Frames is best known for our storyboards for film, television and advertising. However, most people don’t realize the full breadth of production art services that we provide.

In honor of the 2015 HFPA’s Golden Globes, we’re focusing on the work that we have done for some of the 2015 Globe nominees in various stages of development, from concepting to marketing.  

1. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association Golden Globes - NBC

Artist Renee Reeser works with NBC on many projects. She even made an on air debut during The Voice drawing for a Kia Motor Spot. This year, for the 2015 Golden Globes, Renee provided key art concept sketches for the main event. This provided the producers with options for their execution of photo shoots and marketing materials. Drawing Tina Fey and Amy Poehler demonstrates Renee’s top tier skills in fashion and beauty as well as likenesses. 

2. Into The Woods- Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical nominee

Big studio films go through a lot of changes in the preproduction process. Artist Darek Gogol, who boasts credits like The Pirates of the Caribbean, Iron Man and The Fast & The Furious, worked with Director Rob Marshall to create some of the initial imagery that was later seen in the final film product. 

3. Louie - FX - Louie CK nominated for best actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy

Another piece of the Famous Frames pie is working with networks and studios creating their on-air promotions. Artist Charles Rattaray has worked with FX on several of their in house promos like Sons of Anarchy, American Horror Story, and Golden Globe nominee Louie. His stylistic approach to these spots is what makes his art unique.  

4. How to Train your Dragon 2- Best Animated Feature Film

Gabriella Farkas provided the marketing art for the DVD and Blu-ray release of DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon 2; She does a lot of work with fashion and beauty projects as well as character art. These beloved characters were created in black & white first, and then transformed to color. 

5. The Book of Life- Best Animated Feature

So much of the work we do helps the director bring their vision to life. Artist Len Morganti is an excellent example of that! He’s done the storyboards for high profile Oscar winners like Argo and the Hunger Games, but he also works on unique projects like concepting art for The Book of Life’s Electronic Press Kit. A lot of this work is not seen by the public, but helps the production team plan their course of action.  “I am just interpreting the director’s notes into a visual representation so that everyone in the crew can be on the same page,” Len says about his work.  

The ADC Festival of Art + Craft in Advertising and Design was created to align with ADC's mission to celebrate and inspire creatives in the industry. 

Famous Frames sent Agent Noelle Fernandes and Artist Renee Reeser to Miami to hit the ADC festival this year.

Noelle Fernandes:

As an art and creativity lover I was so inspired at the ADC Festival of Art & Craft in Advertising and Design. I had the pleasure to attend several workshops led by designers, educators and innovators in the Advertising and Design industry.  Festival attendees were also privileged to see the premiere of InspirADCion short film series that featured the legend Lee Clow. Speaking of legends, Cindy Gallop and George Lois kicked off the award shows with so much energy and motivation. In the end, the highlight for me was working with our very talented artist Renee Reeser. She was tasked with creating  three live art pieces in a very short period of time and each one was unique and breath taking. Renee left the ADC with a lot of fans who cannot wait to work with her on their next award winning campaign.

Partnered with MAMA Agency, Renee was tasked with painting live on a giant 3x3 cube for an instillation at the Festival. 

Though there were many creative workshops taking place at the Festival, Renee received quite an audience at her live art station. When asked her how she prepared for the event, she said:

I'm a research junkie. So as with any project, I decided to hit the ADC websites and blogs and learn as much as I could about the festival, past and present. In addition, event co-sponsors Tim Wooster and Michelin Hall from the MAMA agency expressed an interest in creating a visual theme that was inspired by Jack Kerouac's On The Road and the wonderful art found gracing the walls of the trendy Ace hotels. A visually exciting and dubious challenge for three live paint sessions.  Beyond that, I'm a control freak.  Not being on site in advance to understand the space, substrates, etc, forced me to prepare a safety net of sorts.  I pre-planned my imagery and created digital files for print output to incorporate and do a mixed media piece, as the festival ran 8 hours a day for three days and I had three paintings to produce to appeal to a cross section of creatives from around the globe.

Since the vibe of the festival was teaming with mixed energies, we wanted to know if that had any effect on Renee’s work. She shared this:

Absolutely! While I did some image preparations, they served only as a "skeleton".  The "skin" of the work evolved based upon my workflow and interactions with attendees and hotel guests alike. I was placed in a breezeway of sorts behind a glass wall.  One particularly spontaneous and joyful moment was when a hotel guest from the UK was passing by with his very young son who looked to be about 4 years old- the little boy's face was pressed up on the glass, staring intently at what I was doing. I motioned for them to come in and join me.  I asked the young man if he was an artist. He answered with a resounding yes and began an energetic interchange with me, resulting in me handing over my brushes and palette to him and allowing him to place a few stokes on one of the pieces-  Priceless!

Renee also pointed out that painting live was very different from painting in a studio.

“They say in space, no one can here you scream. Same for the safety of my art studio. If I make a "mistake", no one knows. So in live painting, I subscribe to the Bob Ross school of painting, and have 'happy accidents.'"

Aside from working diligently in front of an audience, Renee found another challenge in her project:

The ADC award is a cube, so it is only appropo that I paint on a large cube! I'm tall and have a long reach, so size and angles were easy to contend with. The biggest challenge to overcome was working with a broken arm. Thank God it was NOT my painting hand! 

Indeed! But when we asked Renee for her over all feeling on the experience she said:

I went the ADC Festival and all I got was this lousy T-shirt?! Kidding, I came away with new friends, spent time with our incredible NYC rep Noelle, got to meet one of my favorite illustrators, Gary Baseman, and one of my "She-roes", Cindy Gallup. Above and beyond that, I take away inspiration.  These participants are creatives on top of their game from around the world. To be in their presence is awe-inspiring.

Take a look at her instagram @reneereeserzelnick to see how Renee’s art evolved throughout the festival and more! 

See Design Observer's story here.

For many viewers the commercials that aired during the Big Game XLVIII are what provided the real entertainment. Famous Frames is extremely proud to have been an integral part of a number of the best spots to hit air.

RadioShack "The Phone Call" / Client: GSD&M / Artist: Nick Randall

In this spot, stars from the 80s smash through the front door of the store and loot all of the outdated furniture, equipment and technology. Whether it’s Hulk Hogan hoisting shelving units, Mary Lou Retton stockpiling old-school radios or Alf and Chucky escaping in the DeLorean, this commercial has enough nostalgia to make anyone want to shop at RadioShack again. According to artist Nick Randall, it was as much fun to make as it was to watch! He says, "it was a fun job with great creative- that took me back to my early teenage years."

Wonderful Pistachios "Colbert" / Client: Fire Station / Artist: Michael Lee

You can always count on Stephen Colbert! In this spot he provided an exciting ending to the night, as his Wonderful Pistachios spot was one of the few ads kept under wraps leading up to the big game. Artist Michael Lee commented, "these drawings are pretty simple, but we were basically exploring several gags that would pay off the spot. There were probably half a dozen ideas to work out with Colbert and his team, but I think once the ideas were put down into drawings the choice was fairly obvious. The drawings also made it pretty clear to the visual effects group on how to execute the idea. It's always amazing how a few drawings can make navigating an idea much clearer."

Intuit Quickbooks "GoldieBlox" / Client: RPA / Artist: Kathy Berry

GoldieBlox is a new a toy company with the goal of getting girls interested in engineering. This spot was the winner of Intuit’s “Small Business, Big Game” campaign, which had our artist Kathy Berry very excited about being involved- “Once in a while there are jobs that I work on that stand out above the others, this was one of them because they are calling it, ‘the commercial that made history!’ Goldie Blox was one of thousands of small businesses that competed to win a free Big Game ad. It was not only a joy to see that they won the contest but the commercial they shot was one of the ideas I helped board out for them.”

Hyundai Genesis "Dad's Sixth Sense" / Client: Innocean / Artist: David Mellon

“Remember when no one could save the day like Dad? That was then. This is next,” the video is captioned. The commercial features a dad and his sixth sense, saving his son throughout his life from harmful situations. However, he couldn’t help his son when he got distracted on the road – that’s where Hyundai comes to the rescue! The final product on this spot was a bit different from the initial boards by artist David Mellon, but he was proud of his work nonetheless. “I've been doing this for years but it's still a real kick to see a storyboard turn into a TV commercial - particularly if it's in the middle of the Big Game. This is a lovely spot that works well with repeated viewing. No surprise - Robert Prins was the Art Director; A guy with a couple of kids, who knows what he's talking about when it comes to being a dad. As you can see from every one of these boards, the finished ad always changes a bit in execution. We had the dad driving, but it's a much better payoff having the kid behind the wheel.”  We love it when our artists and clients really see eye to eye, it makes for great end results and gives us an awesome product to show off! 

A Million Ways to Die in the West / Client: Big Picture Entertainment / Artist: Renee Reeser

There's still about six months until Seth MacFarlane's new film A Million Ways to Die in the West hits theaters, but this Big Game teaser gave us a first look at the film. While working at Big Picture Entertainment, Renee Reeser had a lot of fun making these boards. She says about her experience “I’m a huge fan of Seth’s work, and love that my frames were a key force in getting him to sign off and get on board with the tone of the project. I’d worked with Charlie Emde before, so I felt that he trusted me and let me do my own thing.” A Million Ways to Die in the West will hit theaters on May 30.

Chevy "Life" / Client: Leo Burnett / Gorgeous / Artist: Yori Mochizuki

The second of Chevy's Big Game commercials this year is a touching one, featuring an emotional tribute for cancer survivors everywhere. The sentimental spot, for Silverado trucks, included a reminder that this past Tuesday was World Cancer Day and highlighted Chevrolet’s support of the American Cancer Society’s “Purple Road” initiative. Famous Frames artist Yori Mochizuki said about his contributions to the spot, “I worked hard to visually express the shift in mood from melancholy to hopeful with simple line drawings and gray tones. Subtlety was crucial for everything in this spot from storytelling to facial expression.”

We hope you’ve enjoyed the commercials and the art that is integral in creating them. Until next year!