Black Spot Launches New Rapid Response Custom Content Production Division

Black Spot, an end-to-end creative content agency serving such major clients as NBC-Universal, HBO and Sundance, has launched THRESHER, a new rapid-response/high-volume business division specialising in fast ideation, writing, green-screen shoots, and post-production.

The new group is headed by Black Spot creative director Ian Collier and producer Taylor Ervin and builds on the success of a three-year partnership between Black Spot and SYFY/SYFY Wire to produce news coverage at Comic Con, resulting in six original pieces daily lasting between one to two minutes each.

Today, says Collier, “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.”

For SYFY Wire, the THRESHER approach also fuels SYFY Wire’s Movie Crush Monday, which includes four 60-second pieces and four 15-second 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,” says Ervin. “Basically, it’s like sitting down with that one funny and clever friend who knows everything about movies.”

Creating five minutes of original content each week has driven THRESHER to build a strong core team that can 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 is already expanding into advertising, working with Comcast to create customisation 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 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,” notes John Laskas, co-founder of Black Spot and Thresher. “Whether you’re working in linear, digital, social or streaming, on-brand original content that can draw an engaged audience at a sustainable pricepoint is key. Thresher’s talent, facilities and experience let us do just that.”