Review by Aggie Toppins

The year’s first Small Talk took place at Digital Kitchen on February 2, 2010. Known for eye-catching motion graphics, such as their acclaimed movie title sequences, DK is a digital agency with expertise in film, broadcasting and interactive media.

DK began as a video production company in Seattle. In recent years, the group expanded its services to include the development of original concept work. They added three offices: DK New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The four DK offices are comprised of about 100 employees that work collaboratively on almost every project.

Camm Rowland, one of the two creative directors at the Chicago office, led the evening’s presentation. He briefly touched on the company’s creative process before dazzling the audience with an exciting series of project reels. DK’s projects ranged from conceptually arresting to technologically savvy to downright humorous.

From DK’s vast archive of broadcasting projects, Camm selected the title sequence for the HBO series, True Blood. Then, he highlighted DK’s special effects skills with the intro to the TNT series, Men of a Certain Age. It featured Ray Romano rapidly aging through an improvised monologue. Among DK’s new media work, Camm shared a real-time interactive project for Microsoft. It involved a giant inflatable globe that captured hundreds of pictures of passers-by and assembled them on its surface. His presentation on a humorous note, with DK’s parody, “Designer slash model” which appeared on the Internet a couple of years ago. DK used it to stand out in a new business pitch.

Sponsors: Artisan, Dupli-Graphic