Moon Walker (Viral Video :60)
Client: Proctor & Gamble, Bounce Dryer Sheets
Agency: TBA Global, Creative: Tom Staege
Director: Kerry Shaw Brown, Production Company: Twitch Films
Editor: Jeff Schwartz, Ki Edit Design
Music: Ron Steele, I Dig Music
Budget: $80K (3 viral videos of various lengths)
Bold by P&G standards, their maiden voyage into social marketing started out with fresh, funny, distasteful concepts that truly fit YouTube mold. Then legal and public relations got involved. Clever “non-scripting,” a relentless production schedule and a meager budget helped push the project forward, allowing us to ignore some of the hand wringing. We hired a comedy writer to help flesh out concepts. I wore many hats including location scout, props and wardrobe. The Moonwalker is the guy that performs in Millennium Park. And no, that isn’t Adam from MythBusters.
Sliders (Viral Video :49)
Client: Proctor & Gamble, Bounce Dryer Sheets
Agency: TBA Global, Creative: Tom Staege
Director: Kerry Shaw Brown, Production Company: Twitch Films
Editor: Jeff Schwartz, Ki Edit Design
Music: Ron Steele, I Dig Music
Budget: $80K
Part two of this viral video series started out truly funny, but was watered down to a chuckle by legal and PR. Full-Service Producer Contribution: I received a distress call from the director the afternoon before the shoot … I designed and sewed an extremely attractive size 5X, matching tank and shorts set the night before the shoot for our plus-size actor. But the fun never ends on low-end productions … it was too humid the day of the shoot in the bounce house to produce static electricity. My solution – Spraymount the shorts to their behinds! Again, my apologies for the download time.
Bubble Wrap (:30)
Client: Lincoln Mercury
Agency: Y&R Irvine, CA, Creative Team: Keith Dickenson and Kevin Murphy
Director: Kevin Smith, Production Company: Backyard
Editor: Rhonda Peacock at Miller Wishengrad Peacock
Music: Jeff Koz, Hum
Budget: $1.2 M
5-spot package, shot at Van Nuys Airport – Kevin and Pete Keenan were troupers. There were tons of changes, additions and subtractions. We had two stages going for a full week: one shooting talent, the other product beauty shots. Everyone at Backyard kept their cool and was great to work with. I don’t have a copy of the most interesting spot we produced – Contortionist. It has GREAT music! If anyone has a copy, please shoot me a quicktime! If you have it stored on something archaic, I know people …
Vending Machine (:30)
Client: Nissan
Agency: TBWA Chiat Day, Creative Team: Mark Reichard and Mark Bobrowski
Director: Sean Thonson, Production Company: Cucoloris Films
Budget: $825K
3 spot package, 50+ versions. A tight budget, made the search for a hungry, eager-to-please prop house a necessity for designing and fabricating the vending machine. Good, Fast, Cheap – Pick Two. A tight schedule was further compressed. Shooting backstage at Paramount 2 nights was a breeze, compared to the grueling Cut-‘Til-You-Drop editorial schedule – 5 days – soup to air, including all versions.
Dominos (:30)
Client: Pizza Hut
Agency: Jack Levy Associates, Creative Team: Dennis Altman and Bill Hesterberg
Director: Peter Elliot, Peter Elliot Productions
Budget: 50K
This century, all but the pizza would be CG. But pre-turn, Peter Elliot accepted the challenge to shoot it. The budget barely covered the production of 4000 hand-painted “dominoes”, complete with tape hinges and 100+ pizzas. The 2-day shoot took place on 2 stages … one shooting beautiful pizzas, the other dominoes. The dominoes took 3 minutes to fall, 4 hours to stand back up. Patience truly is a virtue. The spot was originally produced for the Chicago regional Pizza Hut client, but aired nationally for several months.
Tank Vision (:30)
Client: Lincoln Mercury
Agency: Y&R Irvine, Art Director: Leo Circo
Shooter: Tom Cox, Production Company: Concrete
Music: Jeff Koz, Hum
Budget: $55K
Yet another triumph over the tight budget … Lincoln Mercury and Shamrock Oil hatched a plan for a promotion, but didn’t allocate a budget to promote it! The Shamrock connection dictated that the spot be shot in TX, which actually made this spot possible … non-union production crews and talent. Tom Cox was a cameraman, building his director’s reel. We were blessed with a beautiful day (good thing, ‘cause there was NO cash for a rain delay!) and great casting. Full-Service Producer Contribution: I was the car prep company … 5 months pregnant and taping out the underside of a truck … now there’s a pretty picture.
No! (:30)
Client: Nissan
Agency: TBWA Chiat Day, Creative Team: Mark Reichard and Mark Bobrowski
Director: David Rosen
Editor: Mike Pomykalski, Skyview
Budget: $180K
One spot and at least 20 versions, yet only this … a spoof made for my freelance producer’s reel remains. David did a great job casting and directing this spot. Working with Marv Albert post media frenzy was great. There was no biting on set, or back stage. In fact, Marv gave me an awesome set of court level Bulls tickets! Thanks to David Leffel at BAM! for the spoof VO.
Pillow (:30)
Client: Kimberly Clark – Kleenex
Agency: FCB Chicago, Creative Team: Jay Dandy and Jim Sheriff
Director: Hank Benson, Production Company: Crossroads, LA
Budget: $200K
Uneventful, lovely spot to work on, great director, location, hotel, client, creative and account team, nothing interesting to report. A wonderful experience. Full-Service Producer Contribution: I made 5 Kleenex pillows for legal approvals.
Skate Attack (:30)
Client: Kraft – Handi-Snacks
Agency: FCB Chicago, Creative Team: Chip Fuller and Bert Hoddinott
Director: Rich Carroll, Production Company: Chicago Story
Editors: Scott Harris and Arturo at Filmworkers Club
Budget: around $115K
Lawyers … what started as a simple live action shoot, ended up a victory for HAL (and HOURS and HOURS of compositing). The idea of kids skating in a park to promote giving away skates seemed simple enough … but Kraft legal pronounced it was “too risky.” Apparently kids can’t skate on sidewalks, in parks, near people, past trees … the list was endless. In exasperation, I commented that anything goes in cartoons …
Memorandum: Rich Carroll was a great guy and talented director. I am a better producer and person for having had the opportunity to work with him.
Flick or Treat (:30)
Client: Coors Brewing Company
Agency: FCB Chicago
Director: Frank Tamarillo, Production Company: GMS
Budget: $145K
Pyrotechnics, Tarantula Trainers, Pregnant Celebrity Talent, a Body Double AND Compositing on HAL in LA – this spot had disaster written ALL over it. Add to that list of tight budget killers a first-spot-EVER-client contact and a freshman creative team. We pulled it off and brought home the board … of course that’s when the fun began …
Get Moving (:60)
Client: Gelita Healthcare, CH Alpha
Agency: Williams Labadie, Creative Director: James McGuire
Director: Maria Demopoulos, Production Company: ZGroup Films
Editor: Jeff Schwartz, Ki Edit Design
Budget: $40K
Pull in the favors! My first production with this agency, I consulted on business, creative and media strategy, as well as production. The budget for this project demanded expert production management, PLUS favors from the production and editorial companies. We shot at the gym in Swedish Covenant Hospital. Everyone was thrilled with the look and feel of the commercials, but this direct response effort fell flat. The client rejected the agency’s recommendation to purchase 1-800-CHAlpha, in favor of testing phone center messaging.
Waterfall (:60) Director’s Cut
Client: Botanical Laboratories, Wellesse
Agency: Williams Labadie Creative Director: James McGuire
Director: Kerry Shaw Brown, Production Company: Twitch Films
Editor: Jeff Schwartz, Ki Edit Design
Budget: $52K
In my second over-the-counter health aid venture with WL, I consulted on creative strategy, as well as production, wardrobe and script supervision. Seriously under-funded, this project required exceptional production planning and resourcefulness. Starved Rock served as our rugged-looking location to convey how Wellesse helps people maintain an active lifestyle. The client was pleased with the initial sales results in the test region and the project was rolled out nationwide.