Olive Jar Studios
Olive Jar Studios (formerly known as Olive Jar Animation) was an American animation studio based in Boston, Massachusetts. Olive Jar was founded by Mark d'Oliveira and Bill Jarcho in 1984, and specialized in producing primarily commercials with different animation techniques.
Formerly | Olive Jar Animation (1984–1995) |
---|---|
Industry | Animation |
Fate | Absorbed into Red Sky and Agency.com |
Founded | 1984 |
Founder | Mark d'Oliveira Bill Jarcho |
Defunct | September 2001 |
Headquarters | |
Key people |
|
Parent | Red Sky (2000–2001) |
Website | Official website (archived) |
History
After Mark d'Oliveira and Bill Jarcho met each other while attending Emerson College, they collaborated on a nine-minute animated film, "The Taming", which won a student Oscar in 1981. MTV was impressed with the short and commissioned the two to create a series of network IDs for them.[1] In 1984, Mark d'Oliveira and Bill Jarcho co-founded Olive Jar Animation in a garage in Brookline, Massachusetts, doing primarily clay animation. By 1987, 15 people (up to 35 if the workload necessitated adding freelancers) were working at Olive Jar on two or three projects at once.
In 1989, Larry Pensack replaced d'Oliveira, and in 1992, Fred MacDonald replaced Jarcho as creative director. In the mid-1990s, Olive Jar upgraded its stop motion department and re-established an internship program with the Rhode Island School of Design. In December 1999, Olive Jar opened a branch in Los Angeles housing both stage and production space. Mark Rhodes, who previously supervised Olive Jar's projects for Universal's Islands of Adventure at Universal Creative, became the West Coast branch's executive in charge of special venue and theme park productions in February 2000. In September, Red Sky Interactive (an Omnicom company) acquired Olive Jar and White Noise Productions, and discontinued the Olive Jar name. In 2001, Red Sky was acquired by Agency.com, and Olive Jar was shuttered.
Filmography
Title | Year(s) | Notes | Client |
---|---|---|---|
A Steven Wright Special | 1985 | animation | Pyramids and Ponies |
U Know What Time it Is | 1987 | music video | Elektra Records |
Things Never Seen | 1989 | short film | |
Francis & Bob's Neighborhood | 1989 | short film | |
Totally Hidden Video | 1989 | animation and graphics | Fox Broadcasting Company |
A Very Very Long Time Ago | 1990 | short film | |
Riders in the Sky | 1991 | gila monster sequences | CBS Entertainment Productions |
What's On Your Plate | 1992 | twenty PSAs | McDonald's |
The Critic | 1995 | "Sherman, Woman and Child" ("Hanukkahtown" sequence) | Columbia Pictures Television |
NFL Films Presents | 1998 | opening | NFL Films |
Cartoon Network Shorties | 1998 | "Jonny Quest: Time Is Running Out" | Cartoon Network |
The Incredible Hulk Coaster Doctor Doom's Fearfall | 1999 | queue | Universal Creative |
Between the Lions | 2000–2001 | animation | WGBH/Sirius Thinking |
The Cartoon Cartoon Show | 2001 | "Uncle Gus: Not So Fast!" | Cartoon Network |
Commercials
- ABC (1987)
- AltaVista (1999)
- Avon Japan
- Best Buy
- Boston Gas
- The Boston Globe
- Britannia Building Society
- Bubblicious
- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
- Cap'n Crunch's Deep Sea Crunch (1993)
- Cartoon Network (2000)
- Chili's (2001)
- Clothestime
- Coca-Cola
- Sprite (1998)
- The Comedy Channel
- Dairy Management Inc. (1995-1996)
- Department for Transport
- Dow Bathroom Cleaner
- Flavor Blasted Goldfish (1998, with Manhattan Transfer)
- Frigo (1997)
- Fruit by the Foot (1996-1997)
- Gillette
- The Grape Escape (1992)
- Group Health Cooperative
- HealthPartners
- Hidden Valley Ranch (1994)
- Kodak
- Kraft Foods
- Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (2000)
- Levi's Jeans for Women (1995)
- Lifetime (1985)
- Mandalay Bay (1999)
- Marshalls (1996-1999)
- McDonald's (1989)
- Miller Lite
- Motorola
- The Movie Channel
- MTV (1984-1993)
- Nabisco
- NBC (1999)
- Nestle Quik (1997)
- Nickelodeon (1985-1986)
- Nick Jr. (1989)
- PBS (1996)
- Pillsbury
- Pringles (1997)
- Samsung (1998)
- San Diego Gas and Electric
- Selective Service System
- Slurpee
- Sony Wonder (1993)
- Store 24
- Truth Initiative
- Turner Classic Movies
- UK Gold
- University of Washington
- VH1
- Winter X Games
- Ziploc
References
- "The Boston Globe". Newspapers.com. August 9, 1989.