My PreTeen Years

The music The Fashion The Glory Days

[c86]

Morris: A Cat For Our Times, 1986

[twixnmix]

Freddie Mercury, Jane Seymour and Boy George at the Fashion Aid event at the Royal Albert Hall in London on November 5, 1985.

Photos by Duncan Raban

[thegroovyarchives]

80's MTV Station IDs

[fredseibertdotcom]

The MTV Network IDs.

Click here for my posts about MTV and here for Fred/Alan’s MTV work.

Alan Goodman & Fred Seibert, MTV IDs 1981-83 from fredseibert on Vimeo.

Here’s the animators that changed the world; at least, the world of the 1980s. A compilation of the first two years of MTV network idents (with a 1984 bonus sequel at the end). 

From the minute I went to work for Bob Pittman (he was 25, I was 27) at the Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment Company in May of 1980, he told me about the company’s plan for a television channel that would be exclusively rock videos and how he envisioned the TV equivalent of radio jingles: network identifications (‘IDs’) short, wacked out pieces of animation that would reveal the network logo. Not like the staid CBS Eye (“You’re watching CBS.”) but rock’n’roll wrapped up into a little picture explosion.

As soon as we started working on what would become MTV: Music Television a month later I started thinking about these IDs and realized they could be the album covers of the new generation of music fans. For baby boomers the album cover came of age with the first American Beatles album and eventually representing every phase of that generation’s cultural development. I had bemoaned my lateness to the graphic design party, but my self-importance hoped the MTV network IDs could serve the same purpose.

Little did I know they’d achieve an almost equal prominence, and more. For me and Alan Goodman, my first partner in the enterprise (and countless more), they led the way for how we would become the first people to ‘brand’ American cable television networks throughout the 1980s. First as employees at MTV, then for our clients at Fred/Alan, we made over 1000 more of these 10-second visual operas for networks ranging from Nickelodeon and Comedy Central to TMTV in Japan and Lifetime. We worked with some of the greatest indie animators the world had to offer (some we’re still doing projects with today) and started a lot of companies on their way. These IDs might have been the most fun I had during the years we were doing television branding. (And for me, inadvertendly, they began what was to become a late life career change into producing cartoons.) 

Not for nothing, I need to stress the crucial role of Manhattan Design‘s innovative MTV logo on the amazing work of each and every designer, artist, and filmmaker involved in making these films. Not just for the years we were directly involved, but for the last three decades. Without the initial inspiration of their groundbreaking conception, no one would give a flying hoot about any design that’s come out of MTV.

Update: I just got around to editing a new compilation of the IDs, using better quality video sources and adding more spots. 

MTV IDs compilation, 1981-1983 Alan Goodman & Fred Seibert, Creative Directors Alan Goodman, producer for MTV MTV logo by Manhattan Design, NY

One Small Step (Concept, Fred Seibert; Animation, Buzzco Associates, NY; Music by Elias/Peterson Associates, NY; July 27, 1981) Alphabet Lesson (Buzzco Associates, NY; March 26, 1982) Club M (Broadcast Arts, Washington DC; April 28, 1982) French Fries (Colossal Pictures, San Francisco; Voice overs: Marcy Brafman, Alan Goodman, Richard Schenkman; February 19. 1982)  Atomic Era (Colossal Pictures, San Francisco; July 16, 1982) Bonnie (Tom Pomposello, NY; April 1, 1983) Chainsaw (Colossal Pictures, San Francisco; February 18, 1983) Swick (Broadcast Arts, Washington DC; July 27, 1981) Dot to Dot (Silver Cloud Productions, Los Angeles; Music, Bill Johnson; September 27, 1982) Bubble Gum (Broadcast Arts, Washington DC; July 27, 1981)  Freddie Buys It (Broadcast Arts, Washington DC; June 29, 1982) Altered M (Colossal Pictures, San Francisco; June 29, 1982)  Hairy M (Broadcast Arts, Washington DC; Frank Olinsky, illustration; April 28. 1982) M Factory (Colossal Pictures, San Francisco; February 19. 1982) Pre Christmas Card (Concept & design, Manhattan Design, NY; Animation, Jerry Leiberman Productions, NY; December 18, 1981) Post Christmas Card (Concept & design, Manhattan Design, NY; Animation, Jerry Leiberman Productions, NY; December 18, 1981)   Raiders of the Lost M (Colossal Pictures, San Francisco; February 19, 1982)  Street Life (Jerry Leiberman Productions, NY; Lou Brooks, illustration; October 6, 1983) Electric Wet (Broadcast Arts, Washington DC; August 12, 1981) Construction Worker (Concept & storyboard, David Burd; Animation, Edward Bakst Productions, NY; Voice over, Alan Goodman; July 26, 1982) M Motel (Colossal Pictures, San Francisco; August 6, 1982) Dancing Cats (Buzzco Associates, NY; Sam Steinberg, illustration; February 18, 1983)  Dancing Pants (Buzzco Associates, NY; Sam Steinberg, illustration; February 18, 1983)   Jackson Pollack (Broadcast Arts, Washington DC; July 27, 1981) MTV Birthday ID (Design, Manhattan Design, NY; Animation, George Griffin, NY; July 26, 1982)  ‘M’ is for MTV: Music Television (Buzzco Associates, NY; Music by Elias/Peterson Associates, NY; August 1981)  Suburbia II (green) (Tom Pomposello, NY; April 1, 1983)  White House (Tom Pomposello, NY; April 1, 1983)  Top of the Hour 1984 (Concept, Fred/Alan, NY; Animation, Buzzco Associates, NY; Music, Tom Pomposello, NY, Del Fuegos, NY; May 14, 1984)

Click here for my posts about MTV and here for Fred/Alan’s MTV work.

[fredseibertdotcom]

 Fearless. Three stories. 

Bob Pittman was my boss (I wrote about Bob as one of my mentors here), the one who gave me a lifetime career in television, when I was positive I was going to be a record producer. Like great bosses can sometimes do, he drove me nuts on more than one occasion (God knows how many times I annoyed him!), but more often than not gave me the rope to hang myself (thanks Bob!). But over the years I watched him succeed over and over and I finally have had enough distance to see…

…that Bob is fearless. A fearless competitor, fearless leader, fearless mentor, probably a fearless flyer. It’s one of the many qualities of Bob’s that’s brought him from radio and MTV to the heights of media.

I had a first hand look on this numerous times, with Bob as a boss, then a client, and finally as a friend. Here are three stories that not only have stuck with me for the past 40 years but have affected my own behavior, but personal and professional ever since.

1.

Very early on at MTV Networks, we had a management offsite meeting in Montauk. I’m not much of a joiner and not a drinker, but one night I found myself in a packed car of party co-workers; seven folks in a car meant for five. I was stuffed in the back with Bob and someone sprawled across our laps. 

You have to know how isolated Montauk is, and at night there are no streetlights, and here we were barreling through the darkest of roads. Suddenly, Bob leaned forward and put his hands over the driver’s eyes.

“We did this all the time at home in Mississippi. No one ever got hurt!”

I wasn’t so sure his luck was going to hold.

The woman on my lap leaned in close and said, “That’s what I like about Bob. He’s fearless.”

…..

2.

Bob was 25, I was 27, he was my boss as the head programmer at The Movie Channel, a start up, early cable channel owned by Warner Amex Satellite Entertainment (WASEC), a joint venture between two huge corporations, Warner Communications and American Express. Every expense was heavily scrutinized for efficiency and effectiveness, and my first production assistant was brought on as a freelancer only. He was creative, smart and funny, if a little disorganized.

A few months in he up and quit. “I’ve got an eye disease, I’ll be legally blind in a few months. I’m going to go live with my parents and I’ve sold my comics.” He’d been collecting since he was in grade school.

It came out that his vision was kind of like being underwater with eyes open and the degeneration would stop at a certain point. Reading was possible but only with a machine that could take books and papers and blow the type up by several inches. Insurance would pay for it, but he was a freelancer with no coverage.

“Well, I’m not going to let you quit. Your problem isn’t your vision, you’re just a little messy and undisciplined. Let’s see what I can do.”

Back in the day, corporate health insurance wasn’t as computerized and organized –or quite as necessary– as it is now and maybe I could pull a weasel move and back date him as an employee for health coverage and get him his machine. I didn’t know Bob all that well, we’d met through my first media mentor, but he seemed like a real corporate type –at least compared to me– and he’d have to clear it.

I held my breath and launched into the PA’s issue.

“It’s simple, backdate his employment, get him insurance.”

The PA stayed, got his gizmo, and legally blind or not went on to become the company’s worldwide creative director for sister channel Nickelodeon.

Bob wasn’t a corporate weasel after all, he was a fearless warrior for his people.

Bob in MTV days, with a frame from Silver Cloud Productions’ “Dot to Dot”

…..

3.

A month into my gig at The Movie Channel, Bob announced The Music Channel and asked me to lead the creative efforts of the channel-to-be. He had a clear vision of a format that would be, exclusively, music videos 24 hours a day, interrupted occasionally by “VJs.”

“So,” I asked Bob, “what else will be in the clock? Jingles, like Top 40 radio?” I hoped not, but I couldn’t really picture anything else.

“No! Are you kidding? NO!!! We’ll do animated logos.” Remember, we didn’t have a name no less a logo.

He could tell I was a little confused. “What?”

“Imagine this.” He was already sounded triumphant. “There’s an animated cow grazing around. All of sudden! An axe comes of of nowhere and cuts off its head. The head falls to the ground, veins spurting blood. The cow vomits! And in the vomit is our logo!!!”

Wow, I thought. Bob will let me do whatever I want!

Bob’s creative fearlessness was the beginning of a change in television that would reverberate for decades.

By the way, we’d never produce the vomiting cow, but…

“Bessie the Cow” by Tom Pomposello from fredseibert on Vimeo.

[19eighties]

[daiseys-vintage-and-cool-stuff]

https://pin.it/7A02TURth

[19eighties]

Jed The Fish with INXS band members Michael Hutchence, Tim Farriss and KROQ producer John Frost at KROQ 106.7 studio in 1987

Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images)

[awwfulsounds]

IBM 5140 Convertible laptop computer running Microsoft MS-DOS Version 5.00 1986 (x)

[19eighties]

Run-DMC and The Beastie Boys in NYC, 1987. Adam Yauch (MCA) Jason Mizell (Jam Master J.), Adam Horovitz (Ad Rock), Darryl McDaniels (DMC), Mike Diamond (Mike D.), Joseph Simmons (RUN).

The Beastie Boys and Run DMC photographed in Berlin, 1987

[19eighties]

Beastie Boys - With Run-DMC in Holland, 1987 

[19eighties]

DAVID BYRNE, 1983

Archival Fine Art pigment print, ed. 20 (16x20in - 24x30in - 30x40in), signed and numbered on the front by Deborah Feingold.

[twixnmix]

Duran Duran photographed by Brad Elterman in West Hollywood, 1982.

[19eighties]

As a 10 year old I'd swoon over these fellas. Goodness I loved my childhood

[19eighties]

[coolthingsguyslike]

[19eighties]

Stand By Me (1986)

[19eighties]

Jon Cryer with Molly Ringwald filming Pretty in Pink (1986)

[19eighties]

The New Yor Times

Wednesday, May 1, 1985