EGGO

Portland, OR – Commercial animation studio LAIKA/house and Chicago ad agency Leo Burnett have created and designed a Kellogg’s Eggo® frozen breakfast foods' advertising campaign. The spots began airing in June 2006.
In each of the spots, the dad concocts multiple ways to steal his daughter's tantalizing Eggo breakfast. Luckily, nothing escapes the keen guard of this sweet, intelligent little girl who manages to thwart the always-inventive attempts by other family members to steal her Eggos.

LAIKA Inc. Announces Two Executive Appointments
Sept. 11, 2007

(Portland, OR, September 11, 2007) Portland-based animation studio LAIKA, Inc. has made two new appointments to its management team, President & CEO Dale Wahl announced today. Former Lucasfilm and Hanna-Barbera executive, Alan Keith, has joined the studio as Vice-President, Business Operations and Chief Financial Officer and Travis Knight has been promoted to Vice-President, Animation.

Mr. Keith, who has over 20 years of finance experience in both corporate and movie studio settings, will be responsible for leading the expansion of LAIKA's business operations as LAIKA continues to grow its pipeline of animated feature films, television commercials, music videos, broadcast graphics and short films.

"Alan's diverse set of business and financial skills is critical to LAIKA at this time in our company's growth," said Wahl. "He has excellent experience balancing creative and business perspectives and he will make a significant contribution to LAIKA's advancement in the animation and commercial production businesses," Wahl said.

Mr. Keith comes to LAIKA after two years as Corporate Finance Director at Genentech, Inc. a biotech and life sciences companies. Prior to that, Keith held senior management roles in the entertainment industry for over 18 years, most recently with Lucasfilm, as the corporate Vice President of Administration & Secretary for the company. In addition to his corporate responsibilities for Lucasfilm, Keith oversaw finance and business operations for Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, as well as administration for Lucasfilm Animation, the company's newest division established in Singapore. Keith joined Lucasfilm after four years as Vice President, Business Operations and Controller at Hanna-Barbera, Inc. Before that, he was Chief Accounting Officer and Controller at Hanna-Barbera Entertainment Company, Inc., where he oversaw the financial activities between joint venture partners Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. and the Apollo Investment Group. The alliance funded the buyout of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon library from Great American Entertainment Company. Prior to that, Keith held respected tenures at Turner Entertainment Company and with Price Waterhouse.

In his role as Vice-President of Animation, Mr. Knight will continue many of the responsibilities he has discharged as Head of Animation for the past two years. He continues as one of the Lead Animators on LAIKA Entertainment's Coraline, the first stop-motion animated film to be originally produced in 3D, to be released by Focus Features in 2008. This promotion formally recognizes his extensive influence across the entire LAIKA slate of films. He is a key member of the team responsible for property acquisitions, development, and green-lighting and he also provides creative direction regarding the look and feel of LAIKA's portfolio of releases. With this promotion, his involvement in the business operations of the company will also deepen.

"Over the past two years Travis has played an increasingly active role in the studio's creative direction in his role as head of LAIKA's animation department," says Wahl. "His appointment as VP is a logical move for the studio and allows us to continue to benefit from his considerable creative talent and valued leadership skills."

Knight joined Vinton Studios (which was later re-named LAIKA, Inc.) in 1998. He started animating full time on The PJs, prime time television's first ever stop-motion animated series, which Vinton produced with Imagine Entertainment and Eddie Murphy Productions. The series won three Emmys in its run on Fox-TV. He also worked on the Vinton-produced animated series Gary & Mike for UPN. He served as Supervising Animator on the award-winning CG short Moongirl (2004), directed by Henry Selick. He has animated numerous commercials produced by LAIKA/house, for clients including Gateway, McDonald's, Nestle and Fox, amongst others.

In 2002, Travis took a seat on LAIKA's Board of Directors and since then has been increasingly involved with the business operations and creative direction of the company as it builds its production slate in both CG and stop-motion feature films and expands its commercial production activities.

Anima Mundi 2007
Kirk Kelley

Creative Director Kirk Kelley was invited as a special guest speaker at the 2007 Anima Mundi in Rio De Janerio and Sao Paulo. He screened a retrospective of LAIKA's 30-year history with a fast-forward to the studio's present projects. Stay tuned for a full debrief from Kirk about his adventures south of the equator.

LAIKA/house Adds New Midwest Reps
May 2007

Commercial animation studio LAIKA/house has signed Liz Laine Reps, Inc. to represent the studio in the Midwest region of the United States, LAIKA/house President Lourri Hammack recently announced.
"We knew Liz Laine was a great match from our first conversation. Her animation expertise and joyful approach to the business of animation fits perfectly with LAIKA/house's culture. We are blessed with many long-term accounts in the Midwest and look forward to forging new creative opportunities with Liz and Katy," said Ms. Hammack.
"LAIKA/house has always been on my radar, because of the high caliber of work they do. Being a rep who specializes in animation, I was thrilled when Lourri Hammack approached us to represent the animation studio in the Midwest. There are only a few companies worldwide who excel in all aspects of animation and LAIKA/house is one of them," said Liz Laine, founder of Liz Laine Reps, Inc.

LAIKA/house is also represented by Ice Tea Productions on the East Coast and Claire & Company in Texas and the West. LAIKA/house has worked with national and international clients to make commercial and short films for more than 30 years. Clients include Ben & Jerry's, Coca-Cola, ESPN, Esure UK, Samsung and Wrigley's.

About Liz Laine and Katy Richter

After receiving a degree in film, Liz Laine began her career by writing, producing and directing various projects, but eventually took a staff job with a commercial production company. During her job as a Line Producer, Ms. Laine was introduced to the role of a Sales Rep, and immediately excelled. In 1998, she moved to Chicago and started Liz Laine Reps, Inc., which specializes in the representation of animation companies and their directors.

In 2004, Katy Richter joined the company. Ms. Richter grew up immersed in the industry. Her father is a successful commercial director and her siblings are scattered throughout the advertising world. She studied at the San Francisco Academy of Art College, then returned to Chicago to pursue a career in film. Like Ms. Laine, Ms. Richter discovered her talent in the Sales Rep arena and joined Liz Laine Reps, Inc. Her enthusiasm and knowledge round out the team.

Together the duo represents a stable of award-winning animation companies and Directors who benefit from their knowledge of film production and creative approach to sales.

About LAIKA/house

The commercial studio is complied of a dynamic community of filmmakers, designers and animators who work together to produce world-renowned commercials and characters in every type of animation in every medium all under one roof in Portland, Oregon. The studio is owned by Nike co-founder and chairman Phil Knight.

LAIKA/house's many awards include 11 CLIO Awards, three London International Advertising & Design Awards, five Mobius Advertising Awards, two Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival awards, two Academy Awards® out of five nominations, 11 Prime time Emmy Awards, and honors from the New York International Film & TV Festival, Annecy Awards, Annie Awards, and the World Animation Celebration Festival. Recently, LAIKA/house was honored with an Annecy nomination, three Annie nominations, three Telly awards, SICAF 2006 Special Distinction, AdWeek's Best Spots for 2005 and named twice Animation Magazine's No. 1 AniComm Pick for two years in a row.

LAIKA HOUSE Brings on Director Ward Jenkins

Originally from Atlanta, Ward recently moved to Portland (with his wife, two kids, and 16 year old cat) to become the newest director at LAIKA/House. He is an artist, animator, illustrator, graffiti writer and designer, who is influenced by Basquiat, Rauschenberg, Jim Flora, mid-century art and design, vintage childreen's books and old school hip hop.

LAIKA/HOUSE Animates History's Best Deals for Oregon Lottery

View the spots and images online at: http://www.laika.com/pr/oregon_lottery Portland, OR – Commercial animation studio LAIKA/house and advertising agency BordersPerrin Norrander, Inc. (bpn, inc.) recruited Portland painter and LAIKA/house illustrator Evan B Harris to create a unique illustrative production design for Oregon Lottery's "Deal or No Deal" scratch game campaign. Two animated spots, "Louisiana Purchase" and "Alaska," air in Oregon beginning March 20, 2007.
Directed by LAIKA/house's Aaron Sorenson, the campaign takes a humorous historic look at some of America's "Best Deals Ever Made" including the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 (which doubled the size of the United States) and the 1867 purchase of Alaska from Russia. All characters and backgrounds were hand-drawn and painted by Harris, scanned into a digital format, and then animated by LAIKA/house's Wendy Fuller using Maya software. The result is two richly detailed 30-second commercials, which have a sophisticated palette and charmingly detailed characters from history including Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson. Jeremy Boland, bpn Art Director, decided to give the spots a historical feel. After browsing LAIKA/house's reel, the bpn team was drawn to Harris' use of muted tones and intricate, timeless characters and to Sorenson's expressive animation style. "The concept was hysterical from the get go," said Boland. "Using animation helped us bring an interactive imagination to the process, unlike live action. We appreciate all the work and artistry needed to make our concepts tangible."

"We knew we wanted to use animation instead of live action after the concepts were finalized. Live action might feel forced, plus we avoided any similarity to the television show 'Deal orNo Deal.' We wanted a totally different feel. Evan's style and Aaron's expertise were perfect,"Eric Terchila, bpn copywriter, said. Evan B Harris describes his style as "urban folklore" – a modern historical style.
"I think my work lends its self to animation… it's narrative and character based," Harris said. "I love seeing my art come to life!" The commercials aren't only beautiful, but are also filled with witty, subtle humor, typical of Director Sorenson’s style. In "Alaska," a polar bear and walrus wrestle before a killer whale eats them both. In "Louisiana Purchase," a stubby Napoleon looses his hat over the rejection of his first land offer.
“The humor comes across in the characters by playing it straight-they take the deal very seriously,” Sorenson said. "In 'Alaska,' this is juxtaposed against the chaos of the environment around them, and in 'Louisiana Purchase,' the exaggerated size difference between Napoleon and Jefferson is automatically funny. It works better because Evan’s characters are elegantly designed, which is a great counterpoint to the performance of a miniscule Napoleon.” Even the audio track is filled with subtle sounds: creaking ships, laughing Russians, clopping horses, and cheering crowds. Even Napoleon's heavily accented voice has a special
LAIKA/house touch … it's an impression by LAIKA/house CG Manager Roland Gauthier,
who is fluent in French. Mr. Harris' work is on display through March at the Compound Gallery, 107 NW 5th Ave.,
Portland. Mr. Sorenson was selected by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the “brightest and
most talented 35-and-under artisans,” and was spotlighted in the publication’s October 16th
special NextGen Crafts issue.

Ice Tea Holds Screenings at three Major New York Agencies

Recently Ice Tea hosted group screenings at three of New York’s top agencies, DDB, FCB, and Publicis. It was a rare opportunity to have directors from two of our companies presenting their work for the creatives at the same screening.
Director Jonathan Keeton and Executive Producer Dave Skaff from Radium opened with their latest spot ‘Product People’ for Target. This spot shows everyday items that come to life as characters. They then showed the ‘How To’ reel on digital matte painting. This is a cost effective technique that can create absolute real looking environments.
Mark Gustafson from LAIKA screened a reel that highlighted recent work from the studio. This included a new Coca-Cola spot for the 2006 FIFA World Cup using the stop motion animation. He brought along several character models used in the spot for the audience to play with.
The creatives who attended the screenings were treated to a delicious lunch and had a chance to enter in a Yankee Tickets raffle. Thanks to everyone who came to the screenings, we felt it was a big success and would want to do more in the future.

Laika lands veteran talent for first film

Filmmaking rookie Phil Knight has found an industry veteran to help him break into the movie business.
Focus Features will distribute "Coraline," the first theatrical release from Knight's Portland animation studio, Laika Entertainment. The companies plan to announce the deal today at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
"Coraline," now in the early stages of production in Laika's Northwest Portland offices, is an adaptation of a spooky 2002 children's novel by Neil Gaiman. Due in theaters in mid-2008, it is the tale of a young girl who wanders into a mirror world, where eerie reflections of her parents seek to imprison her.
The dark, complex nature of the film contrasts with much of the lighter fare in popular animation and makes the project "a little bit of arisk," said Dale Wahl, a former Nike executive whom Knight hired last year to be Laika's chief executive. He said Laika picked Focus in part because it has a track record of success with edgy films.
"Focus has shown over the films that they've done an ability to handle that risk," Wahl said.
Focus' relationship with NBC Universal will also help "Coraline" get broad distribution, Wahl said, and could eventually steer the film to broadcast and cable networks that NBC owns. Focus will not help finance the film, Wahl said, but will share the marketing costs.
"Coraline" is being directed by Henry Selick, Laika's supervising director. Child star Dakota Fanning will voice the title character, androck duo They Might Be Giants will provide songs for the movie.
(excerpt taken from the Oregonian May 17th)

LAIKA/house, Coca-Cola Spread World Cup Fever

LAIKA/house, (http://www.laika.com/house/) a leading commercial animation studio, is sparking World Cup excitement again with seven humorous stop-motion commercials created for Coca-Cola. The spots will air on televisions internationally from April through July during the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ tournament.
The Argentine agency SANTO, which devised the original concept for Coca-Cola''s popular "Rivalries" campaign in 2005, commissioned LAIKA to create six additional spots for worldwide broadcast. The new commercials feature more memorable stop motion characters, and of course, ''futbol'' itself.
"The charm of stop motion animation combined with a simple, funny idea made the ''Rivalries'' campaign very successful in Latin America. The concept was spot-on and a fresh departure from the rest of futbol-related spots, and really stood out during ad breaks. That''s why Cola-Cola commissioned us to create an entire World Cup campaign for the rest of the world," according to SANTO''s Creative Director Sebastian Wilhelm.
The first in the series is Microfans, which explains the infectious nature of World Cup fever. The commercial starts with a serious scientist explaining that years of players kissing the World Cup in celebration has created a bacteria, called Microfans, that makes people, animals and inanimate objects sick with a raging case of national team fever. Symptoms are one arm waving crazily (the other hand holds a Coke) and loud cheering. Even the scientist''s microscope, used to discover this disease, is infected with the fever.
"At the heart of this campaign''s concept are the Microfans… these little critters you might see under the microscope," LAIKA/house Director Mark Gustafson said. "So we came up with this system to make the Microfans out of translucent silicone with different materials like glass beads inside the bodies. We wound up with cute little creations that appear to swim on screen."
Gustafson, one of the industry’s strongest character-driven directors, directed the first award-winning Coke stop-motion spot "Rivalries," which won a Bronze Lion at the 2005 Cannes International Advertising Festival. The initial spot combined characters into interesting pairings of opposites -- for instance, a fly and a fly swatter, a cactus and a balloon, a chicken and a cleaver-wielding restaurant cook, a tree and an axe-bearing woodsman, a disheveled hippie and a bar of soap … characters that on the surface seemingly have nothing in common, but share deep, unifying devotion to their national soccer team playing in the World Cup tournament.