(Savannah, GA) February 8, 2010 – Savannah-based, award-winning Paragon Design Group has recently helped brand and package, “Cantore Stories,” the newest HD show from The Weather Channel. This is Paragon’s second hire by the national cable channel, its first being a refreshed package for “Day Planner,” a weekday show that airs from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on the station.
“Part of why we love these larger broadcast design projects is that they give us more opportunities to create and flesh out our ideas due to the inter-connected nature of a Show Package,” said Paragon’s Lead Creative Juicer, Andrew Davies, “Plus we get to do it from the comfort of our slice of paradise here in Savannah, Ga. even though our clients are increasingly based in other parts of the country or overseas.”
Paragon is headed by three Savannah College of Art and Design alumni, Andrew Davies, Susan Isaacs and Philip Joyner, who all made a conscious decision to trade big-city bustle for coastal-community charisma. After almost nine years in business, the decision continues to pay off in unimaginable ways.
"When we show our work to national clients they are sometimes surprised that this is the caliber of work coming out of such a small town,” commented Susan Isaacs, Paragon's Head Strategic Focus-izer, “but more often than not, they immediately get the connection to SCAD as a huge talent resource, and quite frankly it's not uncommon for them to say they've visited Savannah and would love to live here, too!”
Specifically for “Cantore Stories,” Paragon flexed its broadcast design muscle by creating the show’s logo and then providing the network with a kit of motion-graphic parts to be used for flexibility in assembling transitions, promos and other sequences. The primary challenge they had to creatively overcome was the need to develop a customized end title treatment to correspond with the show’s differing locations and weather conditions. Knowing they couldn’t possibly produce all of the necessary parts for each individual show, Paragon capably met the show’s request by designing templates based on four major color schemes that would give The Weather Channel’s team of animators the ability to create future show elements with ease, all while remaining true to the brand.
"Since we knew we were going to be handing over the project files to TWC's animators, we made sure that all of the effects we created were done without any special third-party plug-ins. This gave them complete freedom to re-purpose specific elements without risk of incompatibility between our machines and theirs," remarked Davies.
As for The Weather Channel’s approval of the end product? “We had a vision for Cantore Stories and Paragon turned our words into reality,” stated Ray Sams, Creative Director of Programming and Production at TWC. “During the RFP process, a member of our review committee asked me who created the winning design pitch, an agency from New York or LA? When I replied Paragon was located in Savannah a few eyebrows raised. Paragon delivered a killer package and continues to draw attention to the Creative Coast.”
Of course, as any design studio would be, Paragon was thrilled to dig into its own toy chest of design applications and get to work. Their tools of choice? 3D elements were created in Cinema4D leaving the rest, including simulated weather elements and compositing, to Adobe After Effects. "One of the challenges we've had to adapt to has been the move to HD,” said Philip Joyner, Paragon's Head Production Maverick. “We're dealing with some pretty large files but with some creative asset management in-house, we're able to handle the rendering and storage of 1080p HD digital files, and deliver them with no problems. We deal with revisions and approval all online and digitally send final files via FTP. As we grow to meet even larger challenges, we now have an ally in another Savannah company, Meddin Studios, which allows for faster delivery, asset-management, and previews. With these options available, we can work with anyone, anywhere!"
The Weather Channel has always taken an innovative approach in the creation of stimulating weather programming, which aligned perfectly with Paragon's style of creative design. TWC continues in this spirit with the addition of such improvements as enhancing graphics, maps and programming for local forecasts and national broadcasts, along with programming in High Definition (HD) from a new 12,500-square-foot facility. TWC will continue to strengthen their competitive position by delivering more visually impactful programming that gives the audience a vivid experience.
Paragon Design Group is known for creating smart design for evolving brands. Whether designing for motion graphics, print or web, Paragon loves working with clients who are passionate about what they do and are ready to take their brands to the next level. As individuals, the members of Paragon are admittedly a little whacky, but when it comes to client work, they couldn’t be more serious. Find out more by visiting. www.iamparagon.com or 912.238.1991.
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