OLA is joining the big leagues. It is with utter pride and joy that we announce our spanking new collaboration with one of North America’s most advanced and innovative interactive studio, Fuel Industries.
Straddling the fence that separates advertising and entertainment, Fuel Industries succeeds in developing online games and unique web marketing programs for the biggest brands in the world.
This means exciting times for OLA. It also means bigger projects, more motion design, sharpening our focus on interactivity and entertainment and a greater potential for worldwide contracts.
Thanks to this opportunity, OLA will fly higher than ever and will reach new heights.
This new beginning is extremely promising. Stay tuned!
This website’s subject is unusually specific (it’s a gadget that one can only install on a certain model of basketball coach whistle… doesn’t get much more specific than that…) but the reason that we hold this project dearly close to our hearts is that this is our first Californian job. We gave the website a “sporty” contemporary look with a hint of grunge and stand convinced that it will talk to the targeted audience.
This is a sweet and heartwarming video of our friend Ryan (or as we usually call him, the Toronto guy). As you’ll see in this piece, a whole month spent with Quebecers has done NOTHING for his French. Still, we have much love for the kid.
OLA has a new star (and by “star” I mean “superstar” since this post is actually about myself). Julie Robillard (your not so humble narrator) has joined the team as the new creative writer.
Still inspired by her studies in acting, literature, advertising, screenplay writing and other useless subjects, Julie is ecstatic to finally have the chance to write something else than just very bad reality show ideas on used napkins.
One of our most recent projects has just hit the web: an awesome site for Piz’za-za, a hip “wine bar-bistro” downtown Hull. We’re very proud of the modern look we’ve created and had a great time working on that project. (As compulsive eaters, the match was made in heaven.)
A spark. An itsy bitsy spark of creative fire is all we need as writers, bloggers, artists and dreamers to ignite the flames of inspiration. But how do we feed the blaze and fuel this creativity? By trusting in a little method we like to call “Our Extraordinary Process”
GET INSPIRED
Once you’ve heard the creative brief, you’re left with two options: fall in love with the upcoming project or just forget about it. There’s no way you will ever be proud of something you aren’t passionate about plus finding inspiration will be hard and painful, i.e. not stimulating at all. So LOVE what you do. That’s the bottom line. It may seem obvious but most of us kind of got use overlooking that part. Then, do your research. Learn everything you need to become one with the project. Eat, sleep and breathe the project. Meditate on it. You will find it much easier to understand it once you’re living it and are truly inspired. Finally, don’t be stingy with the stimulants! Coffee, Red Bull, booze, cheese…whatever makes you happy. We’re not here to judge. After all, you’re an artist
IMAGINE
Meditate again. Meditation is never a waste of time. It’s always beneficial. Focus on your breathing and try to SEE your ideas, envision the project. This will help the right side of your brain (the creativity department in your head- which, at this point, you should really be using) do its job. Dream, dream, dream. Dreams are magical and pure inspiration. Dream awake but be sure you are not restricting your thoughts. Be free and trust yourself. Your dreams know no boundaries. Brainstorming comes easy once you unleash your creative potential. Just remember to be remarkably open minded.
BELIEVE
Once you actually see your ideas and concepts as concrete possibilities, you will believe in their power. When you see it, you believe it… right? At first, the realization of ideas can seem as likely as meeting the Sasquatch in a café. But be no skeptic. Believe in your ideas for they are little gold mines. Then, connect the dots by connecting these brilliant random ideas all together. It’s time to use BOTH sides of the brain. Merge the functions of the left side (logical, strategic and analytical) with the ones of the right side (visual, spatial, perceptual). In others words, combine the strategic team’s forces with the creative team’s talents. Get the teams working as one in order to create something phenomenal but perfectly tangible. You do need to achieve a specific goal and you do need to define that goal. Once all of this is clearer in your mind, test and validate your concept. Show that you BELIEVE in it.
CREATE MAGIC
Time to be real and magical all at once. Magic is real, folks. Start building the world you want, the world you see and need for your idea to live in. This world is imaginary but it’s concrete because you SEE it and you BELIEVE in it. To you, this world exists. Never refrain from sharing opinions, communicate with your partners. Creating magic needs structure. It can sound square but the results speak for themselves. Meet with the teams. Scheduled meetings, casual meetings, improvised meetings. You can never meet too much when you are all working on giving life to the extraordinary. The whole group must follow a creative plan and feel organised. Things will flow much better. So stick with the plan but relax; creating is fun and as long as you’re entirely open minded there’s no reason for magic not to happen. Because you now feel and see the idea with intense precision, you should also be able to actually LIVE it in your head. Go ahead and write, design, code… whatever you do, do it. MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!
INSPIRE THE WORLD
And the magic has been created. Now what? Share the greatness! The world craves positive energy. So be proud, be happy and be magical. Only good things can come out of it. Extraordinary attracts extraordinary. Simple rule. Finally, never, ever fail to celebrate success. Party hearty. It’s all part of the process.
Because his ego is as big as Paris Hilton’s crabs, our poor little Steph found the need to have his own blog. Probably because no one actually listens when he talks, he figured that by writing his thoughts he’ll reach the less fortunate who have nothing better to do. Go emo! Tell us how you reeeeaaaally feel…
