Los Angeles based Launch Code, a digital conceptualization and integrated media company, begins their latest collaboration with Alpine Pictures and Box Office Productions III. Launch Code is leading the strategic and creative development process for the “Dorothy of Oz” virtual world and online experience. “We are extremely thrilled to be working with such a great group of people on such a tremendous opportunity”, say Sean Naughton, Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director of the company.

Launch code has developed and produced multi-media projects across all-media and is framing this latest project to take full advantage of the famous brand recognition of the “Dorothy of Oz” franchise and the potential to use as many digital opportunities to bring the magic of OZ to as many people in as many ways as possible. With opportunities across a broad spectrum of mediums, Launch Code is creating a magical experience worthy of the Oz series franchise. “We know we’re not in Kansas anymore with traditional broadcasting and movies, this is a great chance to update the world with a ‘new OZ’ that you can really immerse yourself in.” said Steiner Kierce, Co-Founder and Creative Producer for Launch Code.

While it is not readily seen from the website, Launch Code has been busy. There is a lot going on behind the scenes. Starting a company is like planting a seed in the ground. All of the growth is taking place below ground. We have managed to get our first few jobs and are definitely putting down our roots. Steiner and I are busy setting up our core processes and using our own know-how to optimize it.

Launch Code is a company that solves problems. It is important to us that we use our own tools and methodologies to solve our own problems. The first problem we want to tackle takes place at the beginning of our process. Our first phase on every project is Planning and Development. We spend a lot of time generating a response to an RFP because we know that a good plan can save an enormous amount of time and money, overall.

Generating this level of work takes an enormous effort because there are a lot of tasks associated with generating a good bid. The basic details about the project need to be organized. Then, there are a variety of writing assignments that need to happen. We develop a detailed client letter, creative treatment and then a project overview. If there isn’t a proper functional requirements document, we create an outline of the basic features and functions as part of our project road map.

Then, we break down the entire project across the 8 phases of our process to define what will happen when. Based on that breakdown, we start to wrap our head around the numbers and the calendar. Once we get all this information together it’s time to make it look pretty and put it into our bid template.
On average, we can spend 3 to 7 days generating a bid depending on the complexity of the project.

Solution:

We are looking at taking our bidding and pitching process and building it into a database. Over the last week, we’ve begun to rough out the first phases of what a data driven process would look like. For example, the last step of our bid process is to integrate all the text into InDesign. In our first few bids, this was simply a cut and paste exercise.  However, InDesign has a nice little feature that lets you import XML.

So on our last bid we did two things.
The first was to map out the various sections of information and assign XML brackets to each of them. The second was to take our InDesign template and format it so that each section would be filled dynamically by the XML data.
This step alone has saved us time.

The next steps are to begin to map out the database structure and start to develop the front end. I am going to be looking into Adobe Flex as the front end solution.

As geeky as it sounds, this stuff is exciting to us.

We just posted our new blog theme. It is a modified version of the Isolated Wordpress theme. We also used the Kimili plugin for the Actionscript clock. We spent of few days recoding a couple of designs and then finally settled on this.

Enjoy..

launch
1   /lɔntʃ, lɑntʃ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [lawnch, lahnch] Show IPA
–verb (used with object)
1. to set (a boat or ship) in the water.
2. to float (a newly constructed boat or ship) usually by allowing to slide down inclined ways into the water.
3. to send forth, catapult, or release, as a self-propelled vehicle or weapon: Rockets were launched midway in the battle. The submarine launched its torpedoes and dived rapidly.
4. to start (a person) on a course, career, etc.
5. to set going; initiate: to launch a scheme.
6. to throw; hurl: to launch a spear.
7. to start (a new venture) or promote (a new product): They launched a new breakfast cereal.
8. Computers. to start (a software program).
–verb (used without object)
9. to burst out or plunge boldly or directly into action, speech, etc.
10. to start out or forth; push out or put forth on the water.
–noun
11. the act of launching.
Origin:
1300–50; late ME launche < AF lancher < LL lanceāre to wield a lance; see lance 1