Monday, December 17, 2018

The Stay - Ritz Carlton

Ritz-Carlton, Esquire, and Harper’s Bazarr teamed up to give 5 Directors a chance to tell stories using the Ritz-Carlton as a backdrop. They describe the concept as, “What happens next to intriguing characters who find themselves inside one or our spectacular suites.” Each filmmaker was also given to criteria. Each film needs to show the hotel lobby and the suite, and the filmmakers were limited to two main characters.

After filming at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis and learning about its film history I can see the draw for a luxury brand to advertise this way. These stories allow you to imagen what it would be like to stay in these hotels. Also, I noticed on YouTube they had links to book at the hotels. That being said it was kind of hard for me to find these videos once I learned about them on Facebook. Makes me wonder who they are really meant for.

How could we use this in our own work? Perhaps if I would have saw this when Tru was a new client and they wanted to introduce the brand to the new team members I would have suggested something like this? Tell several stories that allow are inspired by the brand and inspire them to image the interactions they would have with future guests. And I am sure we could do the same with a non-hotel client.

Which one do you think is your favorite so far?


Tuesday, March 6, 2018

From Paper to Screen

FROM PAPER TO SCREEN from Thibault de Fournas on Vimeo.

Interesting usage of kinetic type, the exploding letters and clean usage are pretty cool. The music shifts from paper to film are certainly dramatic and emphasize the difference well. The differing titles also remind a lot of the opening to Kroll Show... which is awesome always

Friday, January 5, 2018

Films with Empathy

Every now and again, when writing a treatment, I find myself describing one of the objectives is “to create a sense of empathy.” And this short stood out to me as an example of when a film can sucker punch you right in the feels.

I also noticed a few parallels as it relates to the kind of work we do. For example, the scene with Salote and her manager could be compared to some of the communication and coaching themes that we deal with from time to time. Likewise, the idea that “everyone has a story” and “you never know what another person is going through” is a concept we've explored on a few occasions and I specifically like how, in this example, the audience is learning Salote's true motives along with the supporting characters - the misdirection is very clever.

Lastly, this film is simply shot really well. I would be interested in thinking about how we might be about to bring this sort of cinematic quality to our work as well.

Night Shift from Zia Mandviwalla on Vimeo.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Short Films Without Dialogue

I was checking out my Vimeo feed this morning and, coincidentally, I stumbled upon two very different pieces that do not feature any dialogue. These two examples made me think of how many times we've been asked to create something that transcends language - in other words, something that wouldn't require translations or subtitling.

Square Peg from Mighty Nice on Vimeo.

THE DIG – The First Film Shot on Sony’s CineAlta VENICE Full Frame Camera from Sony Professional USA on Vimeo.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Naxxramas Trailer 2017

A teaser someone made for old content in World of Warcraft. It's just cut together real nice and TONS of effects added after the fact.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

World Press Photo - 2017 Digital Storytelling Contest

While in Amsterdam, I had an opportunity to check out the World Press Photo exhibit. Founded in 1955, World Press Photo is an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, Netherlands and is known for holding an annual press photography contest. In addition to the photos, there was also the Digital Storytelling Contest.

“For the seventh annual Digital Storytelling Contest (previously known as the Multimedia Contest), the international jury selected 12 winning productions in four categories. This year, 282 productions were submitted to the contest: 135 Short Form, 54 Long Form, 62 Immersive Storytelling and 31 Innovative Storytelling.”

Here's the winners that I was able to catch during the screening (I even noticed a few familiar content creators like the New York Times and Great Big Story...

When the Spirit Moves Trailer from Jared Moossy on Vimeo.

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

SQUARESPACE x John Malkovich

I wanted to highlight this example based on some of our conversations related to the “engagement” film. While they're ultimately trying to sell a platform, it's kind of cool to see John's transformation from doing something that's emotionally draining to something for which he has passion. Although, admittedly, it doesn't really solve one of the issues we've been struggling with - how do we illustrate a character's transformation without them essentially quitting their job and “moving on to greener pastures”...

SQUARESPACE x John Malkovich from Miles Jay on Vimeo.

Now That's Democracy

The Truth is podcast on the Radiotopia network that specializes in short radio dramas. About four years ago they produced a piece called “Now That's Democracy”...

A little later, two filmmakers would adapt it into a short film...

That's Democracy from Cliff Traiman on Vimeo.

Then it comes full circle in this interview on The Truth with the filmmakers...