Post houses often pitch themselves as thriving mega-studios who have struggled to retain their boutique atmosphere, allowing for intimate collaborative relationships with their clients. When this concept is floated by Scott Pryor, the managing director of Resident, the year-old post production house in Manhattan’s flower district, he doesn’t miss a beat before jumping in. "That’s not us at all. In fact, we’re just the opposite. We’re a small house who thinks we can handle just about anything."
What’s their Gig?
Pryor prefers to operate on what he calls the "European Model," which he loosely defines as: 1) Have a pitch meeting with the client. 2) Get the pitch approved. 3) Limited client contact until presenting a finished product based almost exactly on the original pitch.
"The common American style is to micromanage every step of the process," says the unabashedly American Pryor. "While we give clients full say, of course, ideally we like to take a step back, do our thing, and present the customer with a project that's nearly, perhaps 90%, complete."
So has this European model ever failed? Has he ever presented a final product to a client who hated and rejected it? He thinks for a second. "Honestly, no. Sometimes we don’t get the job based on our pitch, but I don’t take that personally. People have different taste in art."
Pryor maintains that when you hire Resident, you’re hiring its artists and its unique perspective, though, his bottom line remains: "Of course, the client’s the boss. The client is always right. We know that."
The Cool Factor
Indeed, Resident’s clients are an impressive group. Kanye West, Jay-Z, Matchbox 20, and director Hype Williams have all used Resident on their music videos and for the "video walls" that play behind their concert performances. The facility also has a full roster of agency clients, and has added its touch to spots for V2 Vodka, Jeep, Heineken and many more. Resident’s visuals are eclectic— classic and modern at the same time— and always memorable.
The shop has dabbled in movie titles as well, something Pryor wants to do more of. "Think about it," he offers. "When the titles of a film start, there’s this captive audience who’s full of good will; they want the credits to be cool because they’re anticipating a great movie experience. They’re paying close attention. You don’t get that anywhere else."
The Geek Factor
Resident employees are literally residents in Wild (child)’s white and tranquil office space (the two share a building). The Wild (child) furniture is ultra-modern, expensive art hangs on the walls; you could play a game of basketball in the lobby. It’s impressive. Then you enter the single room that houses Resident’s entire staff; it’s like that moment in The Wizard of Oz when everything goes from black-and-white to raging Technicolor. Vibrant yellow walls, red lampshades and a comfy sofa signal that you’re not in corporate America anymore. "White walls are intimidating," explains Pryor. "It’s like staring at a blank page all day." Ironically, it feels as if there are more people in this one room than in the entire office suite outside.
Which brings us back to Pryor’s European model. His employees are French, Russian, Albanian, Korean and English. He likes that European students are always artists first: they study art history and learn to draw and paint before they "graduate" to computer-generated work. "Because it’s the picture that matters," he says. "Otherwise, what are we doing?"
