House of Sorcery’s website was separated into two sections. Portfolio pages gave the nuts and bolts of each project ask and deliverables. Project Stories were the personable view behind the scenes to humanize the brand.

When it rains, we make rainbows with Value Village in Seattle

Value Village has called us back for several projects. This is why.

In less than 24 hours, this job included a last minute brief, a twice-completed project, conspiracy theories of foul play, and about 20 minutes of sleep.

When we got the morning call about a pop-up event for Value Village Thrift, it’s start time was in just 19 hours. Missing their main component, they reached out to see if we could turn a blank shipping container into a functional venue overnight.

Graphics were headed to the vinyl shop and paint was loaded up by that afternoon. Everyone met onsite around 5pm. The last team member wouldn’t leave the site until 3am, leaving only the security guard until we would come back two hours later.

Driving up to the shipping container in the 5am darkness, something wasn’t right. In the light of headlights, there was the soaked container. 80% of the paint had been washed away thanks to some rogue sprinklers and a sleeping security guard (not vandalism, as some suggested).

The team rallied to fix everything by the early morning deadline. Donuts for morale. Lots of coffee. Plants for strategic covering. All hands on deck made sure the scene from three hours ago was erased from memory. Nobody had to know what happened. And by the time the client arrived, nobody did. 

The Whole Package with Amazon Ignite Festival in Seattle.

Amazon’s Ignite Festival, like many conferences of its kind, was going digital for the first time. They needed a creative partner for this uncharted territory.

Despite COVID showing no sign of stopping throughout the summer, we were lucky to find a steady flow of projects to keep busy.

The Amazon team showed up in our inboxes with 6 weeks 'til showtime. Our scope leveraged both creative strategy to make a dynamic film set, and hands-on building to bring it to life.

We worked with the larger team on everything from creative direction and color palettes to set design/build/install and key props. Our artist lens filtered everything: Big picture to minute detail.

The Run of Show noted 5 sets with infinite possible directions. We landed on a futuristic set that supported the upcoming announcements on innovation, but was grounded in common cues. A front door just like the viewer’s. A game show like the ones you grew up watching. A no-frills, yet surreal, break room where we once took water cooler talk for granted. A truly LIVE late night talk show.

Throughout the process, we kept in mind the video-call-fatigued attendees. Our goal was to hold their interest and attention. So, we blended familiar with surreal. Each set got the monochrome treatment, immersing segments in bright, rich, (and sometimes sparkly) tones with a touch of pop sensibility. On top of that, we collaborated with the client for engaging easter egg moments through all 3 days of streaming.

Back at the studio, our crew masked up and spread out. Consolidating communication and creation of creative into one team is one of our biggest assets. Being both the creative force and production house means nothing gets lost in handoff from start to finish. No surprise costs or mistakes.

In the midst of an August heatwave, we sprinted to cut, paint, and build from the second we got client approval. Nothing slowed us down except for a necessary daily popsicle break.

SPF 5017 miniature books in the living room24 gallons of paint6 days of filming

When it comes to the greater project, we scored with project partners. The production company, TPN, came in to make TV magic. They managed every aspect of the shoot with a solution to each challenge. Always calm and helpful. Enhancing our creative suggestions.

The venue, Fremont Studios, was equipped and ready for anything. Not a moment was wasted on site as we collectively adjusted layouts, spec’d lighting, and worked out the finishing touches. Symbiosis at its finest.

We caught our breath for a moment when our work was in place for the first round of filming. Everything was in place at Fremont Studios. TPN took the recording reigns.

A couple weeks later, we were back to install one last set for the festival’s live broadcast. Everyone came together for the finale of this fast and furious project. None of this would have been possible without each kickass team coming together in the way they did. In the end, COVID-19, short timelines, and 90 degree heat didn’t stand a chance holding us back.