How Little Bird Is Spreading Its Wings with Tech Innovation and Strategic Industry Partnerships
By Becca Falb0rn, CEO and Founder/President of Little Bird
In the fast-paced world of advertising, the rapid evolution of technology is driving fundamental shifts in how campaigns are brought to life. Little Bird is at the forefront of this transformation, providing brands and agencies with innovative production solutions that embrace the latest in immersive technology, AR/VR, and Virtual Production.
The industry now demands expertise beyond traditional production. Agencies and brands turn to us for creative partners and insights on leveraging new technologies. If I don’t have the solution, I’ll find it and bring the right partners on board. The approach is showcased by our commitment to a full-service offering, ensuring that the companies within the roster push toward the cutting edge of new technological advancements and production efficiencies. When I launched Little Bird, I knew I wanted to offer a full range of services—from advanced software to the latest cameras or gear—so we could ensure every company on the roster was informed and at the ready.
This commitment to innovation was sparked in part by a memorable early collaboration with Jeff Wolfe, who was then serving as Post Production Supervisor at Radical Media. Wolfe reached out, seeking sound partners for an immersive project for Illuminarium, marking my first exposure to experiential production. Now the founder of Nervy Pictures, Jeff notes, “Clearly, agency and brand relationships are evolving towards a radically different model than the one that we’ve seen in play over the past two decades. It used to be straightforward—here’s the broadcast campaign, here’s how it feeds into print and OOH, and boom—it’s out there. Now, social media is dominant, and broadcast campaigns have become a tighter and more competitive market for traditional production companies.”
Audio mix and sound design has also become a critical element of new tech and immersive experiences. Tom Paolantonio, audio mixer, sound designer, and technology expert at Lime Studios, emphasizes these new possibilities. “We’re in a really exciting time for immersive audio right now,” he says. “Consumers not only continue to have more and more accessibility to listening to immersive content, but a lot of it is just becoming the default now. Apple’s native support for Spatial Audio is a big step, and their inclusion of allowing ear scanning for Personalized Spatial Audio is fantastic. Creating convincing binaural experiences has always been a tough sell, because we all hear and perceive things so differently. Personalizing the experience through personalized head-related transfer functions (PHRTFs), or other personalized calibrations certainly isn’t a new technology, but having that built into consumer devices from the start is a huge step forward.
“Standardizing delivery and decoding formats for immersive audio has come a long way as well,” Tom continues. “Dolby has done a great job with bringing Atmos decoding to the consumer market. Between Atmos and MPEG-H, content creators are continually getting more tools at their disposal to deliver audio tailored to the listening experience. Being able to deliver a mix that will sound great on headphones, from a TV, through a soundbar or home theater setup, in a car, in a proper theater, or anywhere else you can imagine is such an exciting thing. Object-based mixing is helping us get there.”
As the pandemic spurred new approaches to production, Virtual Production emerged as a key solution. Let It Rip Pictures, part of Little Bird’s roster, has responded with a cutting-edge 360 Virtual Production stage in Copenhagen. Tomek Kulesza, co-owner and co-founder, explains, “Everyone is actively seeking the best solutions to make the production process more cost-effective, efficient, and creative. The key lies in thinking strategically to determine what best serves the creative idea. We are now in an era where production and ideation are merging, and the methods we used just three to four years ago are no longer applicable. The tools available, the culture within the industry, and brands’ approaches to their products and services, have all transformed the process. While live production will continue, it will be optimized.”
In Tomek's opinion, Virtual Production is a game-changer, enabling quicker and more efficient creation of AI-powered CGI sets, leading to better results at lower costs. “Soon, traditional background builds may become a thing of the past,” he observes. “Virtual Production allows brands to reduce costs and minimize the environmental impact of shoots without compromising on creativity. It facilitates streamlined, high-quality production—whether on the street, at the beach, or even on Mars—all under one roof. This approach cuts travel, lowers carbon emissions, and maintains complete creative control over elements like seasons, weather, sound, and lighting. Utilizing image-based lighting effectively simulates reality, allowing creators to build immersive virtual worlds, enhance live performances, minimize budget overruns, and visualize concepts in real-time. Techniques like photogrammetry and 3D scanning enable filmmakers to authentically recreate real-world sets. Game engines further enrich this by allowing for landscape manipulation, repositioning elements like trees and buildings, and creating unique lighting conditions, such as a perpetual twilight ambiance.”
Let It Rip’s unique 360 LED VP stage provides clients, agencies, and filmmakers with a flexible, creative, and cost-effective environment. “In today’s production landscape, true collaboration is essential,” Tomek says. “As noted earlier, production and ideation are blending. Engaging production partners early in the creative process helps identify optimal strategic solutions for each brief and offers fresh perspectives for creative agencies. A strategic approach to production is vital; even a small team can produce impressive content that appears to have been made in a million-dollar studio.”
With its extensive roster of pioneering companies, Little Bird continues to chart our path in the charge to support agencies and brands in this transformative era. Constantly adding to and evolving a trusted list of partners to empower creators with cutting-edge tools and strategic insights to thrive in a world where technology is reshaping the very nature of advertising and content production.
