A Little Summin Summin for the Holidays

Posted & filed under Husky Boy, Work.

A little something to get you in the Holiday spirit! Late in 2010, I teamed with Sunrise Advertising and the fabulous Tim Hogan (and yes, you have to say “fabulous” when you mention Tim, it’s in his contract) creating several commercials for the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park holiday production of ‘The Christmas Carol”.  A true ‘gorilla production’, we ran around town with our small crew shooting Scrooge as he merrily wrecked havoc on holiday cheer. (You can see one of the spots above.) The scenes were simple, quick and numerous, but thanks to many individuals donating their time, equipment, props and locations, we got the job done. As often happens when you have a… shall we say “challenging” budget, we ended up having a great time on the shoot and the client got (in my opinion) a terrific product. A special thanks to Jeff Barklage for giving his time (and Red One camera) to the cause.

Eric Nuelsen at Red Echo cut together an interesting and wildly different alternative spot from our footage. (see below) Another great example of the impact that music, color and editing has on a commercial’s mood.

 

Before Youknowit

Posted & filed under Husky Boy, Work.

Last Spring I directed a humor spot for College Advantage, a tax free college savings plan from the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority (OTTA). The Ohio 529 plan offers tax free earnings and you can contribute as little as $25 at a time. The  commercial is a humorous reminder that it is never too early to think about saving for your child’s college education. I was lucky to team with the terrific Ben Bass of Spotfish Films and sbc Advertising to produce the spot.

The production was shot in a now empty hospital and we faced some interesting challenges. There was no nursery viewing window in the location so the crew shot mocked up a nurses station counter as the window in wide shots and brought in a fly wall for the closer shots. We were extremely limited in our choice of angles because we could not give away our rigs,but the shots that were available were perfect for the mood of the spot.

 

My Favorite Director? Chuck runs Amok!

Posted & filed under Opinion.

Whenever conversation lulls on the production set or at parties or at pre or post shoot meals with clients, I am invariably asked the same question. “So, who’s your favorite director? I understand, after all, it’s what I do and I am the opinionated sort. (Still, I do not remember ever asking my clients about their favorite marketing director. Perhaps I should.) I really do not mind the question though, because I have an answer and I do not mind telling anyone foolish enough to feign interest. Now, I love Kubrick, David Lean, Akira Kurosawa, Coppola, Capra and Billy Wilder. The Coen brothers are gods. But none of them touch my heart like my favorite director, Chuck Jones.

If you don’t know, and you should, Jones was the genius director of many Warner Brothers Looney Tunes classic cartoons as well as the spectacular, “The Grinch who Stole Christmas”. Known for his deft comic timing and stylized backgrounds, Jones created the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote (super genius), Pepe Lepew, Marvin Martian and Michigan J. Frog. Perhaps more importantly he refined, perhaps defined the personalities of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. The fact that Jones won three Oscars is remarkable only because it means that the Academy stiffed him at least half a dozen times. Nine of his works are included in the 50 greatest cartoons of all time (as selected by 1000 animation professionals and critics) including four of the top five and the overall number one selection, “What’s Opera, Doc?”

Think cartoons are just kids stuff? He made a cartoon skewing Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” and Disney’s “Fantasia”… at the same time! Check out the details in Jones’ work, the impressionistic backgrounds in Pepe Lepew, the timing, slapstick and dialog in “Duck Amok” and “Rabbit Seasoning” (“Pronoun trouble.”), the music and shadows in “What’s Opera, Doc?, the pantomime of “Feed the Kitty” the Road Runner series and “One Froggy Evening”. Directing is all about making choices and Chuck Jones made fantastic choices in angles, composition, expressions, timing, music and casting (can you imagine anyone but Boris Karloff as the Grinch?). I could go on and on but I’ll give the last word to Chuck, “These cartoons were never made for children. Nor were they made for adults. They were made for me.”