New York City-based creative agency Black Spot has launched a new division, Thresher, which is charged with delivering clients rapid-response and high-volume production.

Black Spot Creative Director Ian Collier and Producer Taylor Ervin will oversee the new group, which builds on the success of a three-year partnership between Black Spot and Syfy to produce Syfy Wire’s video news coverage at Comic Con.

“That model allows us to create and distribute content that is extremely timely, topical and on-trend, plus still on-brand for each individual client,” said Collier in a statement.

Thresher also works with Syfy and Syfy Wire on its Movie Crush Monday, which includes four 60-second and four 15-second video pieces each week.

“Movie Crush Monday offers hot takes and cool facts about the movie industry, like the story of why vampires hate garlic or why Godzilla is the best movie monster of all time,” said Ervin, also in a statement. “Basically, it’s like sitting down with that one funny and clever friend who knows everything about movies.”

That experience of creating five minutes of original content each week has driven Thresher to build a team able to deliver a cohesive vision from start to finish.

“Working on that kind of timeline might seem daunting, but Syfy is such a tremendous partner,” adds Collier. “Everyone there has the same passion and enthusiasm for the content as we do, and they want that passion to show up on screen.”

Thresher already is expanding into advertising, working with Comcast to create customizable templates for local ads targeting local business categories, based on recommendations from within Comcast’s consumer data division. The result is more opportunities for small businesses to advertise when they lack the resources to create content themselves.

“The Thresher Shark needs to keep moving or it dies, which is also the cheery way we think about content. High-quality, high-volume creative content delivered in a timely manner is essential in this media environment,” said John Laskas, co-founder of Black Spot and Thresher, also in a statement. “Whether you’re working in linear, digital, social or streaming, on-brand original content that can draw an engaged audience at a sustainable price-point is key. Thresher’s talent, facilities and experience let us do just that.”

Tags: black spot syfy syfy wire thresher


  Save as PDF