The mad rush to the AICP Show in Los Angeles was imminent. Wednesday night was only a few days away and I was already dreading the drive east at 6PM [those in LA know exactly what I mean, as those elsewhere can only imagine]. I had seen the screening in all its glory in New York, so I wasn’t anxious to get there when the doors opened, but honestly this is the one and only thing of really any consequence that actually takes place in Los Angeles. Not New York. Not Chicago. Not Toronto. Not Cannes. It’s right here - albeit one large parking lot away [that's another jab at our horrendous traffic predicament] - it really is right around the corner. And, honestly, it is a pretty good time. The LACMA is a great venue. The food is really quite good. And, surprise surprise, the outdoor event is always blessed with beautiful summer weather.

So, here I am anticipating the crawl from Venice Beach when it hits me. Lets do something nice and relaxing and lovely before the show this year. Again, how often does our industry actually come together in Los Angeles? That being said, aside from some form of after party, why doesn’t anyone do anything before the show? They do in New York. [LA take note]

The LACMA is in town so to speak and conveniently located near some of the very best restaurants in the city. At this point we are T minus 2 days and counting until the big event. I run down my mental list. AOC. They have a fabulous wine selection. They have a cheese and charcuterie ‘bar.’ Their menu concept focuses on small plates. And, I think I recall a small outdoor patio space just removed from the main dining room. Perfect for a small but intimate cocktail hour.

We traveled in fine carpool style, renting a hybrid Toyota Highlander from the newsworthy ECOLIMO [of Leo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz Academy Awards Red Carpet Fame]. Our ECOLIMO came complete with a very knowledgeable driver who magically transported us from the West Side to the East Side in 25 minutes at 5:30PM. Truly amazing.

We enjoyed a really pleasant start to the evening filled with good wine, good company and great bacon-wrapped roasted dates. I think the great turn out was testament to the fact that we are ready for a more LA-centric community. We do all live here after all. [Well, most of us]

So, a call to arms : Let’s take advantage of the fabulous things LA has to offer and cut down on our travel, carbon footprint and once yearly meetings [that's in reference to Cannes].

If anyone is interested in traveling responsibly and in style from the West Side to the East Side in 30 minutes or less, please call our friends at ECOLIMO.

ECOLIMO
(310) 450-7100

-Claire

maniaTV, Guerilla Hollywood and Wiredrive thank everyone who came out on July 16th to attend The Wrap Party: A Celebration of Music Video Directors. Check out the photos from the evening!

Guerilla Hollywood created this monthly music video industry mixer highlighting the work of the hottest music video directors today. Showcased at July’s Wrap Party were Directors:

Marc Klasfeld, Rockhard Films
P.R. Brown, Anonymous Content
Wade Shotter, Oil Factory

maniaTV was our gracious host for the evening, and let us party in their 15,000 sq. ft LA studios, including the set of Dave Navarro’s web television hit, SpreadTV , the larger than life set of maniaTV’s gaming show, Arcade and the Gibson sound stage. If you don’t know about maniaTV yet, check it out! Having launched in September 2004, maniatv.com offers a variety of interactive and professionally produced internet and mobile television programming. Have a show idea? They are always interested in hearing from the creative community. Email your pitch to submissions@maniatv.com.

Special thanks to DJ Static Revenger for hooking us up with the music! His new down tempo Album ‘LOVE SONG SURPRISE’ released May 7, is available worldwide on iTunes. See the amazing new video for “Satellite” in Wiredrive!

Special thanks to our event photographer, Kimberly Millard, who did a wonderful job capturing the evening. If you want her for your next event, please email Kimberly.

Stay tuned for the next WRAP PARTY. Please email The Wrap Party to make sure to get on the guest list for the next one!

Now in its seventh year, Wiredrive has become the industry standard for online presentations, with a wide range of clients in advertising, visual effects, production, music, post-production and television markets. Wiredrive offers two services: Wiredrive Projects (review and approval) and Wiredrive Library (online video reels and multimedia presentations). For more information, please contact Sales, or call (310) 823-8238. To learn more about Wiredrive and watch the online videos tour, please visit www.wiredrive.com.

One of the memories I cherish most from Cannes is sailing with our clients from Circle Productions located in Vancouver and Toronto. I’m always impressed by their teamwork and laid-back vibe. I was lucky enough to venture out to sea with them again this year, and was joined by a great group of girls! The best part was that the men prepared lunch for us - bread, cheese, fruit and of course plenty of rose. Afterward, a little boat came by with ice cream and we all enjoyed some yummy American Ben & Jerry’s. Followed by a swim and a nap on the way back, it was a perfect day.

I had a blast this year and have a few people I’d like to thank for that:
Meghan Mackintosh from ‘boards Magazine and the ladies from Stillking (Romana, Pavla and Pavlina) - Thanks for all the time and hard work you put into producing the Cannes Kickoff Party. It was a pleasure working with such a great group of women!

Sila Soyer from Outside Editorial - Thanks so much for your friendship and for always looking out for me. I had a great time with your whole crew and was glad I finally got to meet the famous Neil Gust. You guys do outstanding work and are all fantastic people!

Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank my team: Bill, Ramy, Yunilda and Claire for all your help preparing for Cannes and for hustling so hard while you were there. I’m proud and honored to work with such great people.

Check out some of my favorite photos from Cannes!

Sincerely,
Erika

>Watch the Le Scoot Video

Le Scoot, was simply “fantastique”.

The day before Le Scoot, Claire and I went location scouting and found three routes to Moulin Des Mougins. We mapped and drove all three routes to ensure that we would chose the best way to travel on our Le Scoot Day. Each one of the routes had its own charm with spectacular views but we found our final decision to be the best route.

We began our journey from EuropCar, the scooter rental place in Cannes. This is where we prepped, geared up and revved up for our travels. Wiredrive provided goggles and scarves for all participants and rented 13 scooters for 16 riders. Claire and I led the way to Moulin Des Mougins and did our best to control the group’s speed and to avoid getting lost. I think that one of the most nerve racking experiences for us was to have to lead 12 Scooters from the small streets of Cannes and up through the hills to the tiny village of Moulin Des Mougins. Bill and Erika rode at the very back of the group to ensure that no one was left behind. The ride took about 45 min and we made it to our destination safely.

Moulin Des Mougins is a small hotel with only a dozen rooms and is most famous for its restaurant. The food was excellent and the deserts were phenomenal. The group had good conversation over a round table and got to know each other more intimately. After a tour of Moulin, we geared up once again and headed back for Cannes. The riders were more comfortable with the scooters by this time and requested to pick up the pace for our journey back. We took a different route on our way back to Cannes. This time though the hills where the views of Cannes and the Mediterranean were breath-taking. I believe the best part of the ride was the quick cruising, sharp turning descent back into Cannes.

When we arrived back in Cannes, we cruised the Croissette and stopped at the Carlton Hotel for a quick break before returning to EuropCar. At EuropCar, Bill, Erika, Claire, Michael (Mother), Vic (Fallon) and I decided to keep our scooters and go back through the hills once more. I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the descent from the hills into Cannes.

Click Here to see The “Action”

Le Scoot was a very successful event and proved to be a highlight of Cannes 08. Everyone truly enjoyed the outing and many were discussing a much larger outing with us again next year. Many of us enjoyed the scooters so much that we kept them for the remaining days of our trip. Le Scoot was simply “fantastique”. Everyday should be a Le Scoot Day!

Wiredrive + Cannes + Scooters = Le Scoot
More Pictures

It’s three in the morning and the mayhem of accents in front of the Martinez gets diluted with the ocean breeze in Cannes. Here, at the meeting place for the Hispanics after the events of the day, the conversations are animated about the Palais, the winners are celebrating, the rest meeting each other, finding each other.

Although from different latitudes, we understand each other as an exiled Hispanic community in this international convergency where, for a few days, the only thing that matters is the value of creative process, where the sophistication of Hispanic production and creativity keeps gaining traction.

In Mougin, with the Wiredrivers and others on scooters, I was captivated by the superstitious shyness of my friends from VegaOlmosPonce. They refused to talk about their work for Axe, a Chocolate Man, who in two short days would be taking the gold home to Argentina.

At the Palais Bulle de Pierre Cardin I found a euphoric Pablo Buffagni. Morcheeba played life, their sound a very fitting one to his excitement for taking in his luggage the first Lion for Conill. And of course, Landia, who sailed through all of the events with their charming rebellion, proved again that they are one of the best production houses in the world.

With this refreshing appeal, when everything and everyone is gone from Cannes, I walk down La Croisette absorbed by the mediterranean blue with the sensation that indeed, the world is very, very small.

Cannes- Historias encontradas

Son las tres de la mañana y el barullo de acentos frente el Martinez se diluye en la brisa marina de Cannes. Acá, donde se reunen los hispanos después de las festividades del día, la conversación es animada sobre los eventos en el Palais, los ganadores están celebrando, y el resto encontrándose, conociéndose.

Aunque de diferentes latitudes, nos entendemos en la dimensión de comunidad hispana expatriada en esta convergencia extranjera donde, por unos cuantos días, lo que impera es el valor del proceso creativo, en el que la sofisticación de la producción y creatividad latina sigue ganando fuerza.

Escapada en Mougin, con los wiredrivers y unos cuantos amigos en motocicletas, me entretuve con la timidez supersticiosa de los chicos de VegaOlmosPonce, cuando se negaron rotundamente a conversar sobre su Chocolate Man de Axe a tan solo dos días de llevarse su oro a Argentina.

Por el Palais Bulle de Pierre Cardin me encontré un eufórico Pablo Buffagni, Morcheeba tocando en vivo era el perfecto telón para la emosión del triunfo que no se le pasaba pues se llevó en la maleta el primer León para Conill. Y por supuesto Landia, que navegando todos los eventos con su encantadora rebeldía a las etiquetas, demostró de nuevo porqué es una de las mejoras casas productoras del mundo.

Con este sabor tan fresco, ya cuando todo y todos se han ido de Cannes, camino por La Croisette perdida en el bellísimo azul mediterráneo, con la sensación que, efectivamente, el mundo es muy, pero muy pequeño.

Saludos,

Yunilda

The first day of the Cannes Lions Advertising festival is filled with the eager anticipation for the week to come. Before the long hours and jam-packed social calendars take their toll, the first night brings together a crowd fresh from a day of rest and that initial realization of being in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Smiles are exuberant. Friends and colleagues separated by oceans come together to kick off another zany celebration of this thing we call advertising.

We set the tone for this yearly migration to the Côte D’Azur by teaming up with ‘boards Magazine to host the second annual Wiredrive + ‘boards Cannes Kick-Off Party. The evening was definitely one to remember. Eager to jump start the week, most people arrived before the sun went down. The crowd was what you would expect to find: a compelling mix of people from all corners of the world: Sweden, India, Japan, Argentina, South Africa, England, Amsterdam, Iceland, Dubai, Venice Beach and the list goes on. As introductions are made and conversations transpire, I become increasingly aware that in some weird way, we all speak the same language. Literally, we actually do. Just about everyone I met spoke perfect English. Beyond that, professionally, we share something. Standing talking with guests from New York, Johannesburg, Prague and Los Angeles, respectively, it was amazing to realize that this industry truly bridges cultures. Soaking up the beauty of the French Riviera and the pleasure of good company, it was quite obvious that a good time was had by all.

The setting was, thanks to Stillking, stunning [a country villa set high above Cannes in Vallauris]. The crowd was fun, fashionable and fabulous. The music was chill [thank you Static Revenger.] The rosé was divine. And the sunglassess…

The neon pseudo sunglasses or Kanye West sunglasses took on a life of their own in a way that this industry knows all too well. By the end of the week, everyone and their brother was sporting a brand new pair of electric green, orange, pink or white lens-less glasses. They were everywhere. Massive Music’s La La Land Extravaganza, Shots party on the beach, the exclusive Terra affair, the Gutter bar, Eden Roc, the guy selling croque-monsieur on the Croisette etc. etc. etc. I think the word is viral?

More
Soundtrack created by Static Revenger for Machinehead. His new down tempo Album ‘LOVE SONG SURPRISE’ released May 7, available worldwide on iTunes. See the amazing new video here!

‘boards Shout Out

Party Pics

-Claire