One Step Productions

Which T-Shirt Should Team Coco Print Next? @ TeamCoco.com

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:36:03 -0700

Which T-Shirt Should Team Coco Print Next? @ TeamCoco.com:

More social web domination by the Coco crew.

The tide is shifting. Right on Kev. Kevin Smith - Sundance 2011...

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:13:42 -0800

The tide is shifting. Right on Kev.

Kevin Smith - Sundance 2011 “Red State” FULL Speech on Film Distribution (via BobbyMiller)

Transmedia in the news!! Guillermo del Toro takes a serious step with Mirada, opening a Boutique ‘Transmedia’ Studio

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 08:49:32 -0800

Transmedia in the news!! Guillermo del Toro takes a serious step with Mirada, opening a Boutique ‘Transmedia’ Studio:

The tide in the shift away from traditional media is growing.

The Design Generation: Everybody's a Producer

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 19:36:00 -0800

Long ago I wrote about the web is giving the little guys in Hollywood a shot. Some highlights:

I want to start with a blank slate, I want input through the web (ustream, twitter, carrier pigeon however you can reach me) as we develop an idea, as we work up a script (yes, you get to read every draft and send the notes along), as we pound the pavement to round up the money, pick the actors (yes, through ustream you get to watch auditions), put together the crew (we need a director,@thatkevinsmith you listening?), shoot the fucker, run it through post-production and get it up on those big-ass theater screens for you all to watch.

I got into this business because I like working with a crapload of people to make something everyone can be proud of (and also so I can wear flip-flops to the office).

Well, we’re getting closer. There are sites like Amazon Studios, where it seems like the big guys are poking at the idea with a ten foot pole. And there are people out there that are just getting it done. Do some combing and check out #diddygethard (or click here if you want it broken down for you) it’s a killer example of using social media tools and our ability to tap into giant local and global consciousness. Long story short, show host Chris Gethard has been using twitter to campaign to get Diddy on his monthly show at UCB in New York City. And it’s picking up steam. But he also needs people to keep after him, so help out. Diddy lays it out right here.

But this isn’t even what I’m fired up about right now. Chris’s got something else he’s up to. It’s awesome, and not only is he using social media to fund it, he’s using it to steer the whole project. I’ll let him explain.

One of the sites coming to the forefront in funding efforts, for movies and other projects alike is Kickstarter. They allow people to find funding, and others to fund projects they believe in and make them happen, all while minimizing a bit of the risk — no money is collected until a project reaches its goal and is greenlit. From the production standpoint it’s a more heavily merit-based way to collect some money. It lets you connect with some of the fanbase you’re after for the project right from the outset (you’ll see The Design Generation on there shortly, and some other One Step stuff in the future.)

Like I said, this kicks ass, so does what Chris wants to do with social media. Like Chris we’re putting our money where our mouth is. Through the site we’ve dropped a nice chunk into the pot, and we’re doing what we can get onboard in any other way to make this thing as badass as it can be. We’ll keep you posted.

Follow Chris on twitter for all the info on the show, #diddygethard and #americagethard.

~Kerp

Check out the latest web series from One Step, Project 420, we...

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 14:52:14 -0800

Check out the latest web series from One Step, Project 420, we just finished our premiere week, so it’s all up there for your enjoyment. Dig around, there’s also lots of extra content.

I updated a while back saying that we’d delivered our...

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:46:43 -0800

I updated a while back saying that we’d delivered our documentary “Put Up Your Dux” to our sales agent Shoreline Entertainment. Now there’s a poster. Like Frank, it’s badass.

They’re still at it. teamcoco: Illustration: BennyD302

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:43:00 -0800

They’re still at it.

teamcoco:

Illustration: BennyD302

Case in point. teamcoco: Behold - the #ConanPaleWhale! For...

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:59:42 -0800

Case in point.

teamcoco:

Behold - the #ConanPaleWhale! For ginormo wallpaper-sized versions, hit http://bit.ly/deGifO

If they keep doing stuff like this while the show is running,...

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:57:00 -0800

If they keep doing stuff like this while the show is running, then we’re gonna keep watching.

I heard about this from another blog, they posted it from YouTube. Yet if I go through the link at http://www.teamcoco.com, the primary address, it kicks me to some in-house tbs player, which then took its time loading, and started off with a commercial. Not ideal. I get the point, but I’m never going to end up hagnging around on TBS watching their stuff like they want me to. So here I am, reposting from YouTube. Other than that, pretty slick campaign. They’re utilizing the major social networks really well. They could really maintain a profitable following on the net alone, although I’m sure they’re main goal is eyes on the TV. Follow Team COCO.

~Adam

Movies Music Mayhem

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:58:00 -0700

Movies Music Mayhem:

Check out our real blog. This is where the One Step crew really gets to go crazy. Lots of ramblings and multi-media experiments.

Cracking the Facebook Code

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:30:00 -0700

Cracking the Facebook Code:

If you spend as much time on Facebook as we do you might be interested in this one. It’s a (sort of) reverse engineered look at how Facebook is picking what ends up in your newsfeed.

What would Trent Reznor do? Reznor is seriously on top of the...

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:08:00 -0700

What would Trent Reznor do? Reznor is seriously on top of the changing media landscape. Everything he has to say about the music industry, where it’s going and how to utilize it is spot-on. And this is all through digg no less!

USC came to us looking for a video to promote their Graduate and...

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:50:00 -0700

USC came to us looking for a video to promote their Graduate and Professional Student Senate. They needed something whipped up quickly, and cheaply. After cruising the web to for some inspiration we came across a slew of “Kinetic Typography” videos. KT a style built around taking the words, or selections of a dialogue track, and animating them in time with the speech. This struck us as a great way to present a lot of information very quickly. It allows us to make an engaging video which highlights the pertinent information without resorting to a bunch of stock “college” type footage. Check it out.

The Design Generation: Engineering a Better Concert Ticket

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:37:33 -0700

The Design Generation: Engineering a Better Concert Ticket:

FROM THE EDITOR:

If you want to dig around back there, you can probably find the genesis of this kind of stuff here on MMM, there was HML which turned into “The Design Generation”, and we’re still at work on developing that broader idea, Hard Data, and a podcast even. But we’re still out there thinking this way ourselves. You should be too. Think you’ve got better ideas? We’re playing with everyday stuff here, so we’re sure you do. Get at us in the comments, or on twitter (@onestepla). Maybe we’ll redesign something that bugs the shit out of you. Have you already hacked something in your own life? The world around us is changing, and more than ever before we have to tools to make that world better in little ways. If you’re not talking to us at least get out there and fix something.

~Adam

Kerp and I went to Tom Petty at the Hollywood Bowl recently (although the ticket pics you’ll see are from a show two days later in San Diego). It was amazing. The venue blew my mind, and after seeing both a recent Tom Petty documentary and a Traveling Wilbury’s documentary, I was pumped for the show. The guy’s a legend.

And sure enough…Petty was awesome.

Finding our seats, though, was not awesome, and nor was it awesome for anyone else. We spent 20 minutes stumbling around in the dark looking for our seats. When we finally found them, we were continually asked by other concert goers if we were sure we were in the right spot. Clearly everyone was confused, and we figured poor ticket design was a major culprit. Check out the ticket below. It consists of information (venue specific, printed on site) on top of a pre-printed (ticket provider) stock.

In a world where people can board planes with a digital ticket on their smartphone, we decided it was time for at least a contemporary redesign of the basic concert ticket. Here we’re not happy just saying, “This ticket sucks and I could design a better one myself” so we decided to fix it it. Below is our attempt. Keep reading and we’ll run you though the whole design process, so you can follow along with the idea of how you “fix” something like this. It starts with some basic questions.

1) How is the ticket used?

Fan buys ticket
Ticket prints at reseller/distributor and ships
Ticket arrives and fan sticks it on the fridge
Ticket serves as reminder
Fan uses ticket to get to concert and get in
Security scans ticket and takes stub
Fan uses ticket to find section, row, and seat
Concert rocks
Fan is pumped
Fan hangs ticket on the wall at home so he can tell his friends about it later

2) What needs to be considered?

From the list above we developed three categories that need to be considered in our redesign effort.

function: clarity of info (and when), physical form, durability, environmental impact
memorabilia: fans saving their tickets, venues collecting stubs
corporate needs / interests: advertisements, logos, websites, legal, etc

3) What is the physical structure of the ticket?

We looked the basic structure of the ticket and the prioritization scheme (or lack thereof). Simply put:

one perforation splits the ticket into two pieces for the patron and venue
the front has the concert info
the back has legal and ads

4) What info does the ticket need?

We outlined all the info on the ticket, why it was there, and then eliminated “junk” we thought we could do without. It was also important to consider what information was pre-printed on the ticket stock and what was printed by the reseller or venue.

With an idea of what needs to be on a ticket in general we can start with a re-design.

We start by prioritizing the information.

Front of fan’s ticket

Items 1, 2, and 3 were deemed the most important and had special requirements while other information was simply important to have available somewhere.

section, row, seat (needed in the dark, must be big, maybe even glowing)
event name (easy to identify event, collectable value)
2d barcode (smartphone takes to website, ticketholder interaction)
day, date, time
venue, address
price (reminds your friends to pay you)
distributor website (in case paper stock is wrong)
branding for: reseller / distributor and venue

front of venue’s stub

1d barcode and number (scans ticket quickly, links to central database)

backside

ad
legal mumbo jumbo
distributor logo / website
venue logo / website
ticket mfg company logo / website

With all of this outlined we ended up with a number of design ideas. The first is cheaper and more easily mass produced. The second is a look a bit further into the future. For both we agreed on a credit card or wallet sized form factor, making the ticket easier to store and carry in a wallet or a purse without causing damage, and we’re leaving the back out of the design because that isn’t the tricky part.

Prelim Sketches:

First we did rough sketches to image how all of this info would fit together.

After talking about these a bit we moved on to photoshop and laid out….

5) The Final Design - Paper Stock

In this more simple redesign we have all of the prominent information displayed, favoring the information needed in the dark, or for later display purposes. As well we’ve incorporating a 2 dimensional barcode for cataloguing purposes as well as potential smartphone integration (try it out right here, it works). This design is intended to be printed on paper stock, using a similar printing and cataloging processes to current tickets, which should ease implementation.

Full Ticket with Venue Stub

Full Ticket with Venue Stub, Preprinted

Compared to the original ticket below it’s easy to see the changes. We’ve maintained all of the relevant corporate branding, etc, while making the important information more prominent and easy to find when you need it. All while fitting everything into a form factor that is easier to carry and store. Take a look at the images below to see the difference side by side.

Compare

6) The future (design #2)

So what’s after this? Obviously (to us at least) the future is ticketless. Even now concert goers can print their tickets at home, and I can only assume that some venues are already able to just scan a smart phone screen. Hopefully, even that will evolve and your phone will simply communicate who you are. The venue will know you belong there and scan you when you walk in.

There are still compelling reasons, however, to stick with a physical ticket for a little longer, and seeing as nearly 10 Billion tickets are printed every year around the world, there’s probably still some time to capitalize on this with our second design (which itself takes two forms.)

1. The Card

We decided the major distributors like Ticketmaster and Livenation should offer rewards cards for patrons that go to a lot of concerts. These should be plastic, and come with a custom barcode/mag strip and a custom design. Pick your favorite band, charity, event, or team to print on the front, and use your card to get into every event. This card would probably have a picture of the patron and be made of durable plastic like a credit card. This encourages the user to register more information and allows the distributors to tie in other promotions and stay in front of their customers. This could even be integrated with a Visa card to roll everything together, the design wouldn’t end up too much different than the concept below.

2. The Premium Ticket

We decided that distributors are missing an important and gigantic revenue stream by not selling collectable tickets aimed more directly at people who want to hang onto the ticket afterward. I can think of a half dozen friends who not only have their tickets stuck to a wall or in a collectables box, but actually have some framed or displayed prominently in their home.

When patrons purchase a ticket, they should have the option to buy a premium ticket. This ticket is also hard plastic like a credit card, but is designed specifically as a collectable. It is customized for the concert or event, has their name, diminished corporate branding, and could even offer a 10% discount on merchandise purchased at the venue… resulting in great upsell opportunities for everyone (food, drink, shirts, cds, etc.).

The design elements are similar. All of the same information is there, with a few neat tweaks. The seat number etc are all punched out of the card, not only are they potentially readable by touch, but they can now be backlit with a phone for easy visibility in the dark. The 2d barcode is larger, making it easier to use through a frame or shadowbox (again, try it out, the barcode works) and overall the design is laid out with more of a mind for being, well, cool looking. All the the same info is there or could easily be added.

If 0.1% of tickets purchased were premium, at an elevated price of $4, this idea represents $40 million in missed revenue, combined with an estimated $100 Million in increased merchandising, and a few more in increased exposure and branding from tickets displayed more prominently around homes. Distribution of new hardware is not needed for most venues, and the ROI on this would be damn quick. We’re pretty sure Ticketmaster will be giving us a call soon.

I think this turned out better than we had hoped. So what the hell. TIcketmaster… We can be reached at info@onestepproductions.net or on twitter (@thekerp) if you want to work with us on this idea. We hope everyone else has found this interesting and that you enjoy the final redesign. Finally, we think the most valuable information recorded here is the process itself. Complaining about bad design in daily life is easy, but as you can see, even something simple like a paper ticket layout gets a bit tricky when you consider everything involved with the life of even a simple paper ticket. While it is complex, it’s still easy to work through step by step. So hit us with it, how would you tweak the world around you?

@tbrianjones

Original Article

Sandbox!!

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 21:00:00 -0700

Sandbox!!:

When we’re working on a web project, we start from something called a “sandbox”. It’s somewhere to test features that we think might crash the whole site, or otherwise gum up viewer interaction massively. We figure they’re still built to be used right? So here’s the link to the Movie Music Mayhem SANDBOX Check it out, it may be down, it may just not work right, and the posts are out of date, but either way, something epic is brewing.

We’ve been busting our butts the last few months putting...

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 09:28:00 -0700

We’ve been busting our butts the last few months putting Project 420 and sister site Vote Unsworth together. Check them out for a taste of what we’re building around show, with much more to come. The series hits the web October 26th.

One Step Productions documentary “Put Up Your Dux”...

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:11:57 -0700

One Step Productions documentary “Put Up Your Dux” delivered to sales agents at Shoreline Entertainment October 1st. Coming soon to DVD…

WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 22:52:13 -0700

NASA

Hack your life. This what we’re talking about.

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 21:23:00 -0700

Hack your life. This what we’re talking about.