Bluetorch Alums Tap OC Kids for Fox Sports Show
Post Modern Eyes Government, Nonprofits; Op Launching Accessory Line
Marketing & Media
by Jennifer Bellantonio
Two former hands at Bluetorch TV, a defunct extreme sports show that aired on Fox Sports Net, have started their own gig with the cable network.
Todd Jacobsen, former content manager at Irvine-based Broadband Interactive Group’s Bluetorch, and Jake Munsey, Bluetorch’s former vice president of creative, left the company in September when it closed.
They’re now working on a new 30-minute action sports show, “DC Shoes Project Detention,” which airs Wednesdays at 4 p.m. on Fox Sports Net’s Ex TV.
Jacobsen, executive producer and creator, said he came up with the idea.
He had started his own production company, RedBeard TV, and kept ties with Fox Sports Net. Prior to Project Detention he produced “Aftermath 2002,” a documentary of the largest global skateboard tour that aired on the network. Munsey, who has his own design firm, SquareGuy, did the design work for both shows.
Jacobsen pitched the idea of Project Detention, a magazine-format show comprised of action sports and lifestyle segments supplied by high school kids throughout the nation, to Vista-based DC Shoes Inc. The company signed on as the title sponsor.
“This is a great way for DC to be involved in something completely grass roots, something that touches the very core of skateboarding and its culture,” DC vice president Damon Way said.
Kids from Orange County high schools, including from Huntington Beach, San Clemente, Laguna Niguel and Laguna Beach, have been featured on the show, which started airing in July. Twenty-six episodes are set to run.
For future projects, Munsey and Jacobsen have formed a new company, Irvine-based RedSquare Television.
“We currently have six other pilots in various stages of pre-production, all of which have been promised network carriage,” Jacobsen said.
Open for Business
More than 225 people came to the grand opening party of Post Modern Edit LLC’s new Orange County MediaPlex in Irvine.
The audio- and video-post production facility houses Post Modern, which generated more than $10 million in sales last year. It’s also home to OC MediaPlex Broadcast Studio and Q-Digital, both part of Post Modern.
Among those in attendance were Orange County Film Commissioner Janice Arrington, who brought a throng of independent film producers from the Newport Beach Film Festival with her, and officials from local ad shops, such as RiechesBaird Advertising, Young & Rubicam Inc. and FCB Southern California, all of Irvine.
“They’re looking at the facilities because they like the idea that creative post-production can be accomplished here,” said Ray Wyman, a Post Modern spokesman. “And we’re cheaper than Los Angeles.”
Post Modern also is looking to rub elbows with local government and education officials and nonprofits. Wyman said the company is starting to collect the seals and logos of each and file them free of charge. So, if a group wants to use Post Modern for press conferences they can use the seals or logos as a backdrop.
“The OCMediaPlex is going to offer a public service discount for all the municipalities. We’re sensitive to the fact that they’ve lost a great deal of funding and we want to help them. And we’re keenly aware of that fact that they’re a great nexus for business,” Wyman said.
Post Modern, started in 1993, is one of a number of post-production houses in OC, such as Irvine-based Stun Gun, Anaheim-based Yale Video and Irvine-based Hollywood South Productions.
The 21,000-square-foot space, which cost about $3 million, is more than triple Post Modern’s old one in Santa Ana. Wyman hopes Post Modern’s expansion will help reinvigorate the industry, which became a little stagnant post-Sept. 11.
“It’s some encouragement,” he said.
Op on Everything
Irvine-based Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. is going with the gadget thing.
The apparel maker recently signed a licensing agreement with Motion Systems, a division of New York-based accessories manufacturer The Betesh Group, to design, produce, market and sell “Op” branded electronic cases, bags and accessories.
Called Op’s Storage Collection, the line includes carrying cases, covers or bags for portable DVD players, discs, wireless phones, cassettes, cameras and camcorders, laptops and handheld organizers.
“Our relationship with Motion Systems represents a unique opportunity to address our entire consumer audience at one time, Gen-Y to Baby Boomers, and provide to them California fashion-influenced products that embody the relaxed attitude of OP,” says Andrew Lelchuk, OP’s senior vice president.
Slated for delivery this month, OP Storage products are set to be distributed through consumer electronics outlets and music stores, including Circuit City and Musicland.
Bits and pieces:
Morgan Marketing & Public Relations was tapped to handle the publicity for Taylor Woodrow Homes’ three new neighborhoods, Botanica at Turtle Ridge, Gallery at Dos Vientos Ranch in Thousand Oaks and Artisan in Chino Hills. The OC shop will plan special events and more Newport Beach-based Juxt Interactive Inc. recently added two senior executives to its 11-staffer team. Jason Deal is the new senior project manager, a newly created position, and Talechia Plumlee, who comes on board as vice president of business development.
