TV & Video Projects
The client wanted something a little more than just a basic TV ad with running footage and a closing lot-shot, so we brought in a small but bigger-than-usual crew, a mini-jib, and outfitted our talent with a wireless mic instead of just a boom. We went through several rounds of casting without finding a spokesperson the client and I could agree on, when in came Lizzet Lopez. She not only nailed the read, but also told me how much I needed her, since the script needed a little more nuance for the Spanish language audience, and she would take care of it for me. HIRED! She is incredible and extremely professional and played a big part in a successful location project.
BEHIND THE SCENES
For the outdoor shots, we set the camera inside the box of this big utility truck that held all the equipment, then slowly rolled forward while Lizzet walked down the line of cars. DP Roger Boller had done this before so I wasn't too worried somebody would fall out, but it was an entertaining scene seeing 4 of us hanging off the back a this truck. Inside the showroom, we had to really get creative with the jib to be able to get the whole thing in the room while trying to get the showroom in the shot, but I'm very happy with what we ended up getting. For the showroom scene and the closing shot, I grabbed every employee I could find and put them in. Everyone had a good time being part of the show. For the close, the client had seen a gag where the keys are tossed up and stick to the screen, and wanted the same effect. I worked on it with Lizzet to get just the right motion, then through the magic of Adobe Photoshop and After Effects, re-created the effect.
I wanted to do something simple and different that would attract the attention of the casual viewer. If someone happened to look away, every scene was designed to be so different from what they expected, the would have to look and see what it was. This was a spec for Las Vegas Mitsu, but we had done the exact same spot in Anaheim. It's a 30/30 with the moving mouths followed by a simple-format factory footage style ad.
BEHIND THE SCENES
It's probably pretty apparent that I'm no animator! But this was really meant to be a concept and not necessarily a finished ad. It was fun to create using mostly Adobe After Effects. It's also important to note that the idea for the moving mouths hit me as I was putting up the graphics to match the V/O. Instead of factory footage and animated graphics, why not ad something new to the mix that would be out of the ordinary?
This ad was intended for multi-purpose viewing, but principally was intended to run on closed-circuit programming at hotels and event centers hosting events for medical professionals. For this project I worked with Producer Alex Teklak, who hired the talent and booked a studio where we shared in directing the talent on a green-screen. I did the final editing and post in my studio using Adobe After Effects and Premier Pro.
This was a spec project conceived and financed by Ken Dab-Row with the hopes of landing the auto mall as a client for his ad agency, Dab-Row Broadcast Advertising. The concept was to pair the values and integrity of an old-west character with a big city like Philly. Ken Dab-Row came up with the concept and character of Buffalo Ken Cody, then wrote and starred in the ads. Gary Sparks and I scouted the location and came up with several scenes from which to build a series of ads. This is a sampling of some of a couple of them.
BEHIND THE SCENES
We scouted Calico Ghost Town (a couple of hours outside of LA) for the shoot. We selected several locations around the park and blocked out our day, choosing mid-week since we were told it would be the slowest time. On production day as we were unloading, three buses of Japanese tourists pulled into the lot. Needless to say, everywhere we set up, we had a large group of people clicking pictures. I think they had the impression it was all part of the park experience. On the production crew, we came up short a sound man, so I ran the sound board. Let me tell you, it’s not easy directing a location shoot while trying to do sound at the same time, but I think I pulled it off. Although I will admit to one funny human misstep: On the second ad (where Ken’s sitting on a bench with the paper) I actually forgot I was running sound, even though I’m sitting there with headphones on in front of the sound board. So when the DP yelled “speed”, and I heard nothing after, I said “sound?” … “SOUND!?” … then realized, it was me I was yelling for. We all had a good laugh over that one. Back in the studio, I created the lower-third sign graphic using Adobe Photoshop. I took a picture of Ken’s hat against green cloth and took that into After Effects where I made it fly in and land on the sign. That was a fun effect!
Another project with Producer Alex Teklak, who had created a new company featuring drinking water with a positive affirmation message and charitable support program. This is one of several segments we produced to show at the company's trade show booth, which explained the product.
BEHIND THE SCENES
This was a fun project but not without its challenges. I had gone through the entire editing and post process when something caught my eye: Alex was holding a bottle of the product, which had green in the label. You guessed it ... since we were shooting against green-screen, every time the bottle crossed her body it punched a hole in her! Luckily I caught it before final render ... that would have been embarrassing! I created the opening graphic using the company logo and some stock footage I had, along with a custom track from one of my music libraries ... happy with how it turned out!
This is an example of one of the most affordable types of broadcast production, using factory footage mixed with graphics created in-house. This ad features product and price along with the benefits of the manufacturer warranty.
BEHIND THE SCENES
To dress this ad up a bit. I added a little punch to the price and dealer location, and used Photoshop and Adobe After Effects to animate the warranty information in the warranty scene.
The client wanted to have some type of video presence on their website that would introduce the business and practitioner.
BEHIND THE SCENES
It was nice to meet all these people she has helped and hear their stories. As an added bonus, the client provided some awesome homemade Chinese cuisine for everyone. Best craft services I've ever had!
For this project, the client wanted something “in your face”, so I framed the ad with an action graphic I created, with the dealer name blended in. The client provided a lot of footage so I had plenty to choose from of the lot was provided by the client.
BEHIND THE SCENES
I had a lot of fun with the graphics on this one, including the exploding letters in the "Super Low Sale Price" scene, and the "10 Day Trial Exchange" scene. For the closing scene, we took a static shot of the big freeway sign and I animated in the graphics using Adobe Photoshop and After Effects.
The concept was to create one ad, but have the ability to change in and out phone numbers. Then build a nation-wide network of debt settlement companies who could utilize the ad in their market and insert their own local phone number. Another example of a budget ad using animated backgrounds and static images.
BEHIND THE SCENES
The disclaimer was a real pain in terms of killing any creativity and essentially making this a :23 second ad. But the rules are the rules! And here's a not so fun fact - the math is true!!!
Here's another production designed to run at the company's trade-show booth. This presentation is intended to introduce dealership managers and salespeople to the advanced sales methods offered by the program.
BEHIND THE SCENES
There were a lot of static graphics and webpage images used in this piece that I took into Adobe Photoshop and After Effects and animated in one way or another. You'll see the webpage grahics in a number of different scenes. I also used After Effects to create the pulsing logo in the opening scene from a static image. I had a lot of fun acting like a customer at my local pet store, and when nobody was looking, pulling out my handicam to get a shot of the hamster on his wheel!
The company had an aggressive expansion plan and wanted to host several job fairs to find staff for new stores. This video was designed to show at those job fairs and introduce prospective employees to the company and the benefits of becoming part of the team. It is hosted by the company's owner, Michael Cope. This project had a number of different locations with a decent budget, with the "A" being shot at the main store, and the "B" being collected over several weeks throughout southern California. Jeff Killian was the DP and also handled sound. This is an excerpt from the finished production.
BEHIND THE SCENES
There were a lot of fun stories from this project, which took many different locations and fun effects to finish. One of my favorites is when I went with a friend to the Port of Long Beach to get a shot of some cargo ships coming in for "B" roll. We had no sooner parked and I pulled out my camera than a security car pulled in and "invited" us to leave. Apparently you need to get special permission for that sort of thing. Chalk it up to a post-911 world, which I understood completely. Another fun story came from a track shot (not seen here) where the camera is moving back and Michael is walking toward it. Jeff of course was facing forward and pulling the camera and none of us saw the pole behind him. You guessed it, he backed right into the pole and the scene looked like we'd just had an earthquake. Everybody had a good laugh over that one!
My first love was Radio and this is where I developed my production abilities, so when it came time to segue into TV and video production it was simple. In fact, I used to work with a Chief Engineer who would say “TV is just radio with pictures.” Which is in fact true from a technical sense, since we’re dealing with frequencies and airwaves and such, but you’ll need to ask him the specifics.
In radio and audio production you have Producers, Directors, copy-writers, voice talent and actors, studio engineers and post production people to do the editing and get it all ready for the final airing. In TV and video production you have all those positions, but now you’re adding lights, cameras, and a host of visual elements and equipment. Over many years in production I’ve worn the hat of pretty much all the above in both audio and video production … sometimes all at once. Budget was always a concern, so the samples you see here were all done as affordably as possible, and that meant that I did all the post work in addition to my other duties such as producing, directing, copy, etc., etc.
I went digging through the archives to find some examples of TV and video work I have done, and realized a good degree of it got “lost in the flood” (a metaphor for forgetting to take files after leaving a station, crashed hard drives, old tech and so on). Sadly I have nothing from my on-camera work, but I did come up with a few things that I’ve included here, along with a little explanation about each. I’ll add more as it comes in. Some of the quality has suffered because of “the flood” but I figured something is better than nothing, yes? For the samples here, I would like to acknowledge some people I have worked with who truly are pros in their field, including DPs Roger Boller and Jeff Killian (and thanks Jeff for some awesome editing and equipment advice), Producer Alex Teklak, all around MacGyver and Producer Gary Sparks, and legendary Producer Jim Spero.