One Diverse Group

One Diverse Group

A colorful puzzle embraced by many but solved by few. No, we aren’t speaking of the Rubik’s Cube, but rather the key to developing a company with lasting impact.  Launched by Will Hyde and Geraint Owen as Fad, a wry nod to the inherent trend spotting that is inherent to entertainment industry, Superfad is so named for two key reasons: Will and Geraint added partners Justin Leibow and Kevin Batten and, as luck would have it (or not), the URL for Fad was taken. Superfad was an expansion of the core idea: to produce compelling and timely content and have a hell of a lot of fun along the way.

This wasn’t the first time the four partners, creative directors Justin and Will and executive producers Kevin and Geraint, had collaborated. Previously united under a different moniker, they went separate ways for various reasons, became “The Competition” and then came together via certain twists of fate. It was a winding road, as many histories are, but all four kept intersecting and eventually they forged one path in Superfad.

Today the company is home to a diverse group of designers, artists and directors united to produce compelling motion imagery for entertainment, branding and that special something in between. It has four offices: Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and, the most recent addition, London. It’s a wide reach, but with an intimate approach with each office acting as independent cultural hubs. 

“Instead of bringing an overarching aesthetic to various locations, our offices reflect the creative influences of each place,” explains creative director Will Hyde, who also founded the seminal Seattle pop culture magazine The Stranger.  “Seattle tends to produce work that is cinematic and moody, Los Angeles is poppy and graphical, New York is classic and grand, and London is conceptual and artful.”

Informed by discussions with clients and intensive brand analysis, any and all applications and approaches - from live-action to animation and visual effects of all stripes and styles - are considered for each project. Then, to provide clients with the full creative spectrum, all four offices pitch on every job. Very often, the results surprise, raising the bar higher and higher internally.

“We have a friendly competition,” admits creative director Justin Leibow, “and we all work really hard to win. So the client is getting what each office considers the right treatment for the project. It’s a unique approach and works on many levels with the best parts of each pitch informing the final selection.”

“This business is dependent on successful collaborations which hinges on speaking well, really listening and decisive behavior,” elaborates EP Geraint Owen. “This applies to both clients and to colleagues. We have an intense amount of trust between the partners and creative directors, which sounds hopelessly corny, but is the reason we came together in the first place. It’s also why we feel our process excites everyone involved including, we hope, the intended audience.”
 
The unique creative process has yielded an eclectic and compelling diversity of projects from the multimedia extravaganza of Pioneer to the visual effects explosion that is PlayStation 3. The company is also known for its animated outdoor installations for Target, the high-intensity print and TV campaign for 2007 XGames, innovative short films for Sundance, the eco-inspired design of the CNN Heroes Award, and a short film for the Phantom HD camera that showcases the extraordinary beauty of high speed photography.

“We specialize in not having a specialty,” concludes Justin Leibow. “We are a place where the crowd is the face.  We respond to all challenges with open minds and different voices.  It is this single element that we truly believe sets us apart.”

Another key distinction the company offers is the benefit of having two creative directors and two executive producers as partners.

“Very often we come to decisions from four unique vantage points, pretty much examining all sides before reaching consensus.” Says executive producer Kevin Batten. “There is a checks and balances aspect to this process and it works because we can have complete candor that comes with our shared history. It also sparks momentum and an enthusiasm for what’s coming next for us and Superfad.”