Happy Holidays from QO!

So the holiday season is definitely upon us! We're rife with Eggnog lattes and mittens. People wish you an emphatic 'Merry Christmas' and then glance back over their shoulder to make sure they didn't offend you. And somewhere Santa's so stressed out he's sneaking valium when he thinks Mrs. Claus isn't looking. But she knows.

If you're in the greater Portland area and you've got a hankering for some holiday cheer we've got a few options. We've got Peacock Lane, a street in Southeast where everyone puts up a ton of lights. We've also got Zoolights up at the Zoo, or you could simply duck out of the cold into almost any bar for a winter ale. MacTarnahan's has the Hum Bug'r, Widmer's got the Brrr and Bridgeport has the Ebenezer. A couple of non-Portland-but-still-delicous seasonals to check out: Great Divide's Hibernation Ale and New Belgium's 2Below. And unlike last year, the Abominable has yet to uncork his snowy wrath upon us. But we'll see if that lasts, he may just be biding his time.

As for QO, we'll be dispersing for a brief holiday hiatus, but we'll be coming back full force, with renewed energy and vigor! We've got some super exciting projects coming up. Remember "Fall of the Incan Empire"? Well look out for "Fall of the Xin Dynasty"! I don't want to give too much away, but here's a little taste:



Also, we're stoked to be able to announce the arrival of Yeyo! That's right, Yeyo Tequila has left Mexico and will be in stores, available for purchase next month! And just in time to issue us into Spring. A few months ago Quarter Orange produced three commercials for Jon Bullinger, owner of Unique Liquid and creator of Yeyo Tequila.

But QO, what the heck does 'Yeyo' mean?
It means 'Traditionally distilled, with a modern twist.'

What's the twist?
Its tequila as intended, true Agave flavor without the burn. It tastes way better than the other top shelf tequilas out there, and its not as expensive.

But come on guys, Jon's your client, have you even tasted the tequila? Is it really THAT good?
Yes we have, and yes, yes it is.

Happy Holidays!

Have You Seen Me #3

My friend, Wyatt Garfield, introduced me to a lovely bit of christmas music yesterday. The album is called' "Ian Pfaff Does it With Christmas, Volume III." In the spirit of the holidays I wanted to share this lovely christmas rap album with y'all. You can download it here (NSFW).


Upon further investigation of this Ian Pfaff character, I was able to find his reel online. It's a good watch, give it a look:

FLY

Ages ago I mentioned an animated project we're working on about a fly. I thought I'd post a rough of the first shot of the film for everyone to take a look at. How close is this project to completion? I'd say we're at a firm 30%.

A Bit More W+K

A few days ago KG did a post about Levi's new campaign "G.O. Forth" This campaign is one of the newest created by our very own resident ad geniuses Wieden+Kennedy. W+K is easily one of the best and heaviest-hitting ad agencies in the world, with offices all over that same world, and they're headquartered right here in Portland.

The spots are beautiful, the phonograph-style recording of Walt Whitman 'O Pioneers' over gorgeous photography give an overall feeling of indomitable spirit. The Levi's brand pops in at the end with a snare hit, reminiscent of a colonial America, or maybe just a time of change an opportunity. Here's the Levi's spots one more time.





Why all this W+K? Recently, the Willamette Week, our local news/culture paper did a cover story about this crazy new thing: WKE or Wieden+Kennedy Entertainment. Apparently the earliest iteration of WKE started back in '04 or '05 as WK Radio, which fizzled. Now they're back, they've hired this creative director Aaron Rose, and they're producing their own online content. They're not sure if it will work, but they're giving it a try. Why is this so crazy? Because top ranking ad agencies don't do this. They design and produce campaigns for high-end clients, that's it. So its awesome that they're doing something new, now if Aaron Rose would just answer my phone calls.


Santa Kennedy

Great Success at the Radio Room

Last night was the first ever Beat My Shorts night at the Radio Room! Beat My Shorts is an event where filmmakers make movies based on challenges and then screen them at the next BMS. Quarter Orange kicked it off with Eli's thesis film Dos Hermanos Tacos, and our latest robot short, the Robot Halloween Special. There were some awesome experiemental pieces, a sweet music video shot on 8mm, and some absolutely hilarious stuff from Cinema Queso. We'd like to give a big shout out to Donovan for hosting the event and showing our work! We look forward to future Beat My Shorts events.

Check out our video blog from the Radio Room!

Have You Seen Me? #2

Sorry for two posts in a day, but I am still intrigued by these Levi's commercials and the film makers that created them. Through some research and helpful links from Jeffree Newman I've procured some more information on the campaign and film makers that I'd like to share. For a awesome breakdown on the campaign and all involved check out: W+K Levi's Blog

The director of the "America" spot is Cary Fukanaga. below is the trailer for his film "Sin Hombre." I have not seen it, but am very intrigued:



The other director appears to be a Portland local, M. Blash. Here is the trailer for his film "Lying."



If you're wondering what it's about, so was I, here's the brief synopsis from IMDB:

"A long weekend brings four women together in the countryside. Virtual strangers, the women are forced to navigate the depths of social interaction. On the surface all seems placid. But the atmosphere of calm is a facade."

Not a ton of information on the plot, but the visuals alone are enough to get me interested.

Have You Seen Me?

Last week while I was at a showing of "The Road," I was sitting through the usual garbage before the movie begins, when all of a sudden something came on the screen that blew me away. It was a Levi's commercial, part of their "Go Forth" campaign. Upon further investigation of the campaign I found that it was produced by Portland's own Weiden + Kennedy. These two commercials are two of the best I have seen in a long time, they go past the point of commercial to art, not to mention propaganda. I just wanted to share them with you. Enjoy!