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WATSON DESIGN GROUP
voice” are always welcome, Ramirez says. “If you have something to say, we want you in the room.”
The trick is to find the audience, engage them and then build anticipation over months at a time. And to do so without revealing too much of the film.
“When working with clients, it’s all about trust and transparency,” Cuddy-Angel says. “When we define the real problem, we have the opportunity to reveal the best solution.”
For the 2015 release of Disney’s live-action remake of its animated classic Cinderella, the problem that immediately became apparent was that, in this version, Cinderella had a nineteen-inch waist. “It set off a firestorm on social media,” Cuddy-Angel says. “People were commenting: ‘Cinderella looks like a waif.’ The property had twelve million Facebook fans, so there was a lot at stake.” Watson/DG needed to position its marketing to emphasize Cinderella’s independence and courageousness. The solution is a Tumblr site that sumptuously blends fairy tale with action-oriented exhortations of self-esteem. Messages like “Kindness & Magic,” “Fearless” and “Destined for Greatness” are presented in lush, aspirational visual landscapes that keep the focus on the essence of the tale.
Like Cinderella, Watson/DG may well be destined for greatness. And certainly for a larger space. Today, the employees of Watson/DG are working their small-screen movie magic from a decidedly unmagical neighborhood on Melrose, but that’s about to change as Watson/DG prepares to double its square footage and move to the 20th floor of a building on Wilshire Boulevard, across from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). For Ramirez, who first studied painting at the Otis College of Art and Design, the cultural element of the neighborhood is a big driver for the move. “As a creative studio, it’s important to us to be able to walk across the street and be inspired by art,” he says. “That’s huge.” If they ever run out of inspiration, LACMA hosts a matinee film screening series every Tuesday. Pass the popcorn. ca
Left: “The Hunger Games franchise was an opportunity for us to stretch our legs and dive deep into the world of Panem. First, we developed
a five-issue fashion magazine known as Capitol Couture (capitolcouture .pn), blending in-world storytelling with real-world fashion icons. Housed on Tumblr, the site became a key touch point for the multiyear campaign. Meanwhile, thecapitol.pn functioned as the propaganda- laden mouthpiece of the Capitol, featuring original videos on Capitol TV and revolutionary WebGL experiences for fans.” Lionsgate, client.
This page: “The ultimate rallying cry for fans of Katniss Everdeen and The Hunger Games, revolution.pn housed Pillars of Panem, an epic 3-D WebGL wall chiseled with the names of characters and fans alike. From there, visitors could explore never-before-seen motion posters, original imagery, video clips and GIFs. The site was also translated into fifteen languages, making it accessible for visitors around the world.” Lionsgate, client.
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