BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:

The Burbank offices of LAgraphico and Midnight Oil Creative, sister graphic solutions companies that design and print promotional materials for movie, television, video game and retail clients, are liberally sprinkled with award-winning posters, 3-D stands, packaging and interactive content.

But for a nose-pressed-against- the-vinyl perspective, the folks here recommend getting a little closer to the action — say, by flipping through Creative Director Max Cameron’s sketchbook.

“We have the coolest jobs in the world,” said Cameron, thumbing the notebook. “We’re like a bunch of Willy Wonkas in the sense that anything we can dream, we try to create, or at least work into projects.”

Judging by his sketches and the final projects lining the office, there is not a whole lot the Midnight Oil Creative team cannot dream.

There’s the theatrical display for the movie “Sweeney Todd,” which uses a bright red for the notorious barber’s chair and acetate to convey a foggy mystique.

There’s the oversized photo album for the Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly buddy comedy “Step Brothers,” appropriately called “Our Precious Memories.”

Then there is the theater display for the movie “Horton Hears a Who!” based on the 1954 Dr. Seuss classic.

The display features a large elephant, its head cocked to the right and its eyes focused on a small flower with a hole in the center.

In the book, the elephant looks into the flower and accidentally discovers the world of Whoville.

In the display, a look in the hole reveals a similar world, only this time created by using flashing lights and 3-D images.

“The remarkable thing is seeing kids’ reactions when they look into the hole,” Cameron said.

The “Horton” display collected one of three “best of show” awards at the Outstanding Marketing at Retail Achievement Awards presented by Point of Purchase Advertising International. Winners were announced March 24 at GlobalStop in Las Vegas, a primary marketplace for in-store marketing and display.

“The award was like winning an Oscar in our industry,” Cameron said. “It is a huge honor for all of us.”

Al and Liz Shapiro founded LAgraphico in 1978. Originally a print brokerage, the company started Midnight Oil Creative in 2003, merging design and print operations under one roof. Today, brothers Tom Stillwell, Dan Stillwell and Brandon Gabriel head the companies, which together boast 300 employees.

In the company’s location on Vanowen Street near Bob Hope Airport, a team of men worked Monday in a large ground-floor warehouse readying 26-by-24-foot posters for the upcoming movie “Terminator Salvation.” There, they also print theater-size movie posters, bus and automobile wraps, DVD packaging, mall signage and automobile billboards. Above them, characters from the movie “Shrek the Third” hung from a rope.

Midnight Oil Creative recently ventured into the world of 3-D video and plans to install viewing stations at area malls, said Gabriel, who oversees new business development.

The furniture and layout of upstairs offices conveys notions of Silicon Valley more than it does Hollywood. Designers sit in separate sections based on what studio they design work for.

Account Executive Wayne Zimmerman has been with the company 23 years.

Despite the rough economy, clients appreciate doing work with a company that does much of its work in-house, he said.

Said marketer Michael Griffin: “We do so much so fast that my challenge is to keep an eye out for what we’re going to do next.”