Lussier: positively promos; This creative house provides promo editing, audio and finishing for many of today's TV shows

Post, Oct, 2004

HOLLYWOOD -- "TV series promo campaigns are more analogous to movie marketing than commercial production," says Lynne Lussier, head of the Hollywood-based Lussier (www.lussier.tv), a promo/theatrical marketing firm. "We're focused on motivating viewers to invest emotional resources in shows they know practically nothing about. The vast number of new and returning shows, coupled with the mind-numbing glut of videogame, DVD and cable alternatives, have made our work more challenging than ever."

Lussier recently wrapped an exclusive seven-year pact with ABC. In fact, network senior VPs of on-air promotion Mike Benson and Marla Provencio tapped the busy promo shop to help launch a number of new shows. "We have an extremely healthy, on-going and productive relationship with ABC," says Lussier, explaining the deal. "We produced and developed the lion's share of the Lost, Wife Swap and Desperate Housewives promos that ran on the Emmy Awards telecast [in September]."

She says they collaborate with ABC "on every conceivable level: introducing characters, providing a 'sense of the show' for advertisers, helping develop promotional themes to tie programming together ... positioning shows as guilty pleasures or 'nights of extremes.' There's a subtle knack to remaining grounded in believability while venturing 'over the top,'" she emphasizes. "Our primary tools are instinct and a focused irreverence, but we've also made a serious investment in post talent and technology to make our ideas viable and deliver them efficiently."

"Our creative brainstorming takes real advantage of this technical support," explains Chris Stonich, former post production supervisor for NBC Productions and Lussier partner since 1998. "Assignments arrive in totally disparate formats: e-mail scripts, faxed storyboards, sometimes just a verbal description. Clients will send us footage or point us toward music they've selected to inspire our graphic ideas. Occasionally we'll have formal concept meetings, other times they'll just ask us to put something together and get a rough spot back to them in two or three days. One thing that keeps it so interesting for us is that different clients rely on us for different specialties: drama, comedy, graphics, editing, music parodies, even radio, and they might never think to ask us for something they haven't used us for."

THE GEAR

Lussier's 28-member staff is housed in a 6,000 square-foot duplex on Cahuenga Blvd. Creative offline is accomplished on seven Avid Media Composer Meridien systems, networked through Avid Unity. Clients can securely log in and view their projects via an FTP site. Online editor/technical director Ryan Fioravanti has designed a direct fiber optic link from the Lussier machine room to a number of their client's facilities. Equipped to deliver high-end online and effects, in all formats, including HDCAM and D-5, Lussier's finishing services are via Avid DS Nitris HD and Avid Symphony.

The in-house Lussier creative team also designs and produces graphics for many of their clients using Nitris and Adobe After Effects. They recently created graphics for ABC's daytime relaunch of Millionaire and for the CBS syndication launch of Yes Dear.

Lussier can compress and duplicate DVDs with Apple DVD Studio Pro and also offers complete sound mixing services, including 5.1 surround and voiceover (either in-house or via ISDN) using a DSP Media audio post production console. A second audio suite is outfitted with Digidesign Pro Tools|HD.

THE WORK

"We've experimented with a number of unorthodox approaches for Desperate Housewives," Lussier says. "We recommended a warm, conversational voiceover to distinguish the show from ABC's well-known promo 'voice,' and we devised surprising graphic elements to break up program clips with moments of 'total desperation.' The show is more character than story driven, so we've concentrated on absorbing viewers with quirky personalities rather than plot."

Current clients include House. The Insider, Revelation, Life As We Know It and Boston Legal.

THE STAFF

Lussier's newest members round out the firm's creative team. Richard Basis, is a specialist in theatrical trailer production who was creative director for CMP and VP for Creative Domain. His feature credits include Beauty and the Beast, Father Of the Bride and A River Runs Through It. Equally knowledgeable in network TV promotion, he helped launch the Fox series 24, CBS TV's Northern Exposure. ABC's The Practice and NBC's The West Wing.

Recently signed on to lead Lussier's live-action production division, Rita Rokisky has produced feature films for Columbia TriStar and Stratosphere Entertainment. She served as WB director of production for on-air promotion and has produced numerous on-air promo campaigns.

VP/creative director Tim Gray joined the company in '98. He has produced and directed countless live-action promos for such programs as Everybody Loves Raymond, Jerry Springer and The Rosie O'Donnell Show.

"The industry has changed significantly over the past five years," concludes Lussier. "Creativity, flexibility, dependability and affordability need to be the cornerstones of any creative company that plans to survive in this new climate."