Nau Launches With Show Open and Graphics Package for 2007 MTV Movie Awards

Los Angeles, CA – June 7, 2007 – Newly opened design and live-action studio Nau (pronounced “Now”) recently completed the graphics package for the 2007 MTV Movie Awards originally aired on June 3. This year’s show, executive produced by Mark Burnett, was the first to be broadcast live in the program’s sixteen-year history.

The show, set around the idea of a digital cinetropolis, played on the emergence of the text messaging and video on demand era. Nau was brought in to define and build the visual language of this cinetropolis. Taking on the task of creating the show open and nominee packages from concept to completion as well as lower-thirds and backgrounds, Nau, led by Creative Director Raffi Simonian, worked with show producers to converge current technologies and trends into a cohesive show package.

"Everything started with the logo. We were asked to design a logo for the show which would communicate the event’s theme and become a branding element that could be taken apart while maintaining its integrity and identity in any of its numerous derivations," explains Raffi Simonian. "During our initial explorations we thought about the formal relationships that handheld PDAs, cell phones and music players share with our surroundings and the influence they have in shaping our environments. For example, plasma screens and LED panels on building facades streaming the same video as the cell phones in our hands. We arrived at a show logo which regarded this rapid emergence of technology and being plugged in by reprioritizing scale and creating a city built solely of devices."

Nau then went a step further by devising a character to act as a secondary host for the show. During the show open, and at the top of each nomination package, a sleek and soothing voice is heard along with an interference-laden visual of glossy female lips beckoning the viewer. The show open illustrates a sort of “future present” where devices are interrupted by the siren-like call of “the lips” compelling their users toward the 2007 MTV Movie Awards. For each nomination package the digital transmission of “the lips” then reveals itself within a device that appropriately represents each category.

Nau collaborated closely with Executive Producer Mark Burnett, Salli Frattini, Executive Producer for MTV, as well as MTV producers Jane Mun, Audrey Morrissey and Ted Smith on the package.

CREDITS:

Creative Director: Raffi Simonian
Executive Producer: Phyllis Weisband
Art Director: James Choi
2D Animators: James Choi, Raffi Simonian, Tony Varatip
Lead 3D Animator: Mike Guastaferro
3D animators: Marcus Garcia, Andy Reynolds, Raffi Simonian, Scott Wenner
Show Open VFX Supervisor: Vlad Bina
Show Open 3D artists: Costi Dragomir, Dragos Jieanu, Vlad Pascanu, Mihai Pocorschi III, Alex Popescu
Director of Photography: Joshua Reis

About Nau Creative, Inc.

Founded in 2006, Nau (www.thinknau.com) is a full service design, live-action and production company based in Los Angeles, CA. Founder and Creative Director Raffi Simonian has worked on several main title designs for film and television as well as many commercials for clients including Goodby Silverstein & Partners, McGarry Bowen, ABC, Turner Broadcasting and MTV. For more information about Nau please contact Areg Abrahamian, Head of Business Affairs, at (310) 470-5300 or areg@thinknau.com.