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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et3j-ZsZ-k8

BBDO New York has always been on my radar for great ad videos. Deceptively touching Judo Kid from “Dad Insurance for Fearless Dreams” embraced the reality and takes us back to remember our first dreams. The reason why I want to write a blog post about this video is because the relationship between the father and son speaks to me. In this less than 3 minutes’ video, it created an emotional bond between the story and the viewers. Absolutely a bonus point for this ad video.

The video starts with a scene, the father carries a package walking into a house with police car’s siren in the background.  It foreshadows for the neighborhood bullies and judo uniform. We can see the director is building the story arc.

The first sequence is about the boy Mateo watches flamenco dancing video in his bedroom. A wide shot illustrates how much he loves flamenco dance with all kinds of posters on his wall. At 0:05, a close-up POV of the video Mateo is watching. At 0:08, camera shifts back to Mateo.

At 0:24, the dark, scary music starts playing in the background after Mateo realized his father bought him a judo uniform instead of a flamenco outfit. We as the audience know how much Mateo loves flamenco dancing. However, every story never goes as what protagonist or the viewer wanted.

At 0:29, neighborhood bullies’ voice over the soundtrack. We watch his father protect him as he walks past the bullies. The arc of the story is climbing. At 0:36, POV of the moving bus. Camera shifts back to a medium shot of Mateo’s mixed feeling face. At 0:39, a wide shot of Mateo and his father on a bus heading to judo practice.  We all know how we Mateo’s feeling, to do something we don’t want to. This story creates a strong sense of emotional connection between the story arc and the viewers. 

At 0:44, the rhythm of the video becomes faster follows Mateo through his judo practice, where he struggles at first, to bigger and bigger competitions.

 At 1:29, a wide shot shows Mateo’s unremitting efforts to train judo. At 1:58, the story takes an unexpected turn. After Mateo has gained enough skills, strength, and confidence from his judo classes and competitions, his father gives him another package, flamenco outfit. Here it is, the peak of the story arc : a father gave his song the greatest gift anyone could give another person – he believed in his son, Mateo. #dad’slove

After the father and son’s hug, the mood and rhythm of music changed dramatically. From the dark fast beat into a high pleasant pace. Mateo heads down the sidewalk again, he’s walking by himself without fears.  

In this two minutes and thirty seconds’ short film, it brings an emotional demonstration between a father and a son. We often asked our story, “is this a story.” This typical father-son story comes from real life, bit by bit it creates a strong emotional connection along with the story arc.  Sometimes, there is no need for us to use a lot of dialogue or superb post-production. What we need is to bond with people and dig into the humanity.  Show don’t tell.

More : http://creativity-online.com/work/american-family-insurance-dad-insurance-for-fearless-dreams/47809

This Adidas Spec Ad was made by third year German film student, Eugen Merher.  He shared it with Adidas before and after production, but they were not interested.  Recently, the ad went viral to over 9 million views and I was drawn to the universal emotion of the piece.  Essentially a story without words, with the exception of the end tagline, subtle details (i.e. 0:08 chest-rising sigh), music, and techniques, like pacing, color, soft focus, convey the story with no need for narration.

The story is of an older man living in a nursing home, bored (sitting on bed with blank stare, eating routine breakfast while TV drones on in background), yearning to set his spirit free.  Nostalgic for his youthful running days, we see him looking out the window, as a runner passes by in the yard, his running memorabilia on his bedroom walls.  The discovery of a pair of old adidas trainers in a locker shifts the tone of the piece as sadness turns to hope.  The protagonist sets out to run, only to be stopped by facility staff.  

As he becomes more determined to run; the filmmaker employs humorous detail, like the potato-sack bench press and an onlooking resident mindlessly watering his TV, to bring levity to the otherwise somber mood.  

At 0:57 we return to the opening shot of protagonist staring gloomily into space as he sits on his bed, but his gaze shifts as residents enter with his shoes.  A moment of transition.  The music and mood open up, as residents line the halls, cheering him on, in slow motion, as he finally runs the length of the hall and outside to freedom.  Action / Reaction shots heighten the emotion of the scene, as camera shifts POV between protagonist and spectators.

In my research I discovered, in an interview by AdFreak, that Merher’s video was set aside without much thought as he quickly moved on to keep up with new school assignments.  But recently, he showed the fake advert to someone in the industry who suggested putting it to different music.  The transformation was immediate.  In the words of filmmaker Eugen Merher:

“I had forgotten about the ad by last March, but then we showed it to Sebastian Ritzler of e+p films and he put in some new music by my favorite composer Alex David. All of a sudden the ad became magical in a way. It was entirely different. Sebastian said, “The music will make or break the ad.””

The video is a great example of the significance of sound design.  To read more about this viral video and how people are responding to it, check out Huffington Post article Student’s Adidas Commercial is Everything Advertising Should Be.

https://vimeo.com/194112395%20http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/short-film-showcase/curing-blindness-meet-a-doctor-transforming-thousands-of-lives?source=searchvideo

‘A Chance to See Again’ is featured in National Geographic’s online short film showcase.  It was created by Blue Chalk Media, and commissioned by SEE International, as part of a series featuring work the organization supports in Namibia.  If I had to describe how I’d like to use my MMJ skills in the future, this would be a perfect example; telling stories of inspirational people and organizations making a difference in areas like global health, social justice, and human rights.

This moving piece is narrated by Dr. Ndume, who fled during apartheid, received her education abroad, and later returned to her country as an opthamologist.  She provides free eye surgery to people who have gone unnecessarily blind from cataracts.  The film uses natural light, music that gently underscores natural sound, and beautifully integrates still images.  The images and narration blend to create a lyrical and thematic effect (great example ~ 5:00 – connectedness, dancing, transformation).     

Here’s a breakdown of the scenes and techniques:

0:00  Symbolically, the film begins in relative darkness, using silhouettes and available light streaming into mud huts to show blind people living in relative isolation and stillness.  The radio announcement they are listening to, for an eye clinic, serves as a hook for both for the video and to get people to the hospital for free treatment.  Medium and tight shots are used, creating an intimacy and setting a somber tone.   

0:36  Woman is picked up from her bed, shots become wider and lighter as we see blind people being led, by children and family, away from their homes in the village.  Movement is introduced.

0:55  Shots in cars and on the road as eye patients are en route to the clinic.  Arrive at hospital marked with a wide establishing shot outside, and then inside, where patients line floor mats in a huge open room.  Scene closes with a fade to black (1:06) as radio announces “This is your chance to see again.”

1:07  Narrator, Dr. Ndume is introduced and her personal story begins to unfold, with cuts between interview and black and white vintage stills from apartheid and civil war.  There are two different interview settings.  The Dr. wears scrubs while sitting on a patient table in a hospital room and street clothes in another room that may be an office in the hospital.  Both are medium shots with subject looking directly into camera, with depth of field / vignetting used to minimize background ‘noise’ and equipment in the rooms.  I thought the black and white photos were strong in illustrating the hardships of her youth and what the country had been through – they also punctuated her statement about different education offered for blacks vs. whites.

2:07 strong tight shot of Dr. Ndume’s hand gripping a barbed wire fence, opens to a medium shot of her overlooking a countryside scene, reflecting on her time in refugee camps and then going to university overseas.

2:49 Clinic setting, we see various shots of patient interactions with Dr., operating facilities, equipment.

3:19 Series of killer stills / patient portraits

3:52 Rack focus to illustrate the nature of the work

3:56 End Scene with fade to black

3:58

REVEAL: removing of eye patches

Celebration: Ululating, smiles, dance

Benefits: narration of what patients plan to do with their new site

5:04 beautiful culmination of the story.  Brings together the themes of connectedness and transformation as the Dr. dances alongside her patients.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO4k2lLXiT8

I thought this piece of journalism was really interesting coverage of how corporations are taking advantage of poor countries. I’ve always wondered what the incentive is for poor government to allow businesses that harm their people, economy and environment, and this perfectly addresses that.

The video begins with vague images with text flashing over them, while a woman’s voice narrates some of the story. At first it seems like one of those videos where the images have nothing to do with the story, they’re just representations of what’s being said, but if you watch a little long, it begins to look like the people in the images are the real people in the story. I wouldn’t personally start a story this way, but it hooked me, and I enjoyed it. So, I think it worked.

The video then starts transitioning to video that looks older, maybe from another source, but it’s all relevant to the story, and actually does a good job of showing how long this issue has been going on.

Beyond the multimedia components of this piece, the investigative journalism, by Buzzfeed, was really good. I never knew about this secret court before watching this.

So, I came across an awesome list of short films on Youtube featuring famous actors, which lead to Michael Cera’s Youtube page, which is littered with awesome short films his made or been featured in.

“Failure” begins with Cera sitting in a chair and eating something out of a bowl, then a jump shot shows us Cera getting up and leaving the room. I’ve been trying to use the jump cut, most because I like breaking rules, but my attempts aren’t working out.

I thought this film make good use of the jump cut for a few reasons, mostly because watching someone eat isn’t very interesting, and moving past it as soon as possible is nice.

I also really appreciated the minimal use of lighting. It was produced by Daniel Kellison, who also produces Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman, which probably means some really cool gear was involved. I’d be surprised if they didn’t alter the light at all, but the esthetic of the lighting gives an impression that the film is low budget, which I think works for this piece.

Most of the shots are also pretty shaky, which seems to be intentional, because it looks like it’s on a tripod in some shots, but it definitely added to the indie-film esthetic.

Once Cera leaves the room where he’s confronted with a strange woman (Aubrey Plaza), at the bottom of his stairs. There’s a cool shot from beside Plaza, looking up at Cera.

There’s a really cool sequence when Cera clumsily drops a glass bowl and breaks it down the stairs, with piece of glass tumbling down towards Plaza. The camera goes from a medium shot on Cera, to a closeup of the bowl breaking, to a panning shot of pieces of glass rolling down the stairs, until Plaza’s in the bottom right third of a really cool horizontal shot of stairs.

Overall, I thought this was a really cool short film. It’s interesting, considering the ending, but some of the comments said it’s in reference to the two actor’s personal rivalry. (Google: Aubrey Plaza Red Carpet Rage)

Johanna Under The Ice – NOWNESS from NOWNESS on Vimeo.

Sounds of wind lead the opening image in the Ian Derry’s video about Finnish freediver Johanna Nordblad, in a beautifully shot film under four minutes.

I had only skimmed the summary on Vimeo before clicking play, so I had no idea what to expect: something about cold-water treatment after a bicycle accident. But as I watch, I kind of felt like gasping for air as I watched the protagonist hold her breath in ice cold water, literally.

What struck me the most about the short film, however, was the use of color or lack there of.

At the start, the viewer sees mostly wide shots with Nordblad walking on snow from a considerable distance to the camera. Everything looks black and white: dark trees contrasting bright snow.

A medium shot of her head and shoulders and a super-tight shot of her eyes briefly reveal other colors, but I feel the simple color choices accentuate the coldness the viewer will soon feel from the images.

The viewer hears Nordblad explain she almost lost her leg after an accident before starting cold-water treatment. That’s while you see her a few shots of her using a metal saw to cut into ice below her feet.

Just after 1:10 in the film, she dives into a lake, without any oxygen tanks and wearing a single large flipper that fits here two feet — sort of like a mermaid.

The underwater scenes add the blue to the film. It appears that the bright snow above the ice serves is the only source of light for the underwater camera as the viewer watches her swim while holding a single breath.

Several underwater shots are again taken at significant length away from Nordblad as the light reflect from her goggles. It makes it look like her eyes have lit up in the dark cold water.

However, my favorite moment comes when she exhales a bit releasing several bubbles that get trapped under ice.

When she returns to the surface, you again see the tan color of her face, and bits of blue appear in the sky. Among the final sounds you’ll hear are her breaths, a symbolic contrast to the wind at the start of the film.

Valsa das Máquinas, Paramount Têxteis from grafikonstruct on Vimeo.

Music and detail shots are the name of the game in Valsa das Maquinas, a 1.5 minute video that flies by the first time you watch it.

Made by Grafikonstruct, a multiplatform studio in Brazilian, the video syncs an original waltz composed by Lucas Lima as the viewers sees really cool images of a textile plant. Musical notes are precisely edited to the movement of machine parts that you can’t help but notice the intentionality of the musical composition.

Within the first three seconds, you’ll hear the quick strikes of piano keys match the percussion-like movements of a machine. As you hear the introduction of the full compliment of string instruments at 15 seconds, you’ll see a the textile plant’s variety of threads and strings dance back and forth.

I counted 25 shots for the 1:31 second video. All the cuts between shots are fast without any transitions.

Most of the details in each shot have shallow depths of field that are subtle, and you have to really pay attention to see what’s out of focus in each shot. That’s because the producers do a good job of making the eye focus on what’s important in each image. The machines appear to be under soft lighting. However, there are some shots with shallow depths of field, such as in the 53^rd second.

The camera stays motionless in all but one of the shots as the producers let the parts do the movement. It’s only until the 23rd second, where you’ll notice a huge roll of thread unwinds, can one pick up slow camera movement to the left that must have been shot from a mounted position or the movement created in post production.

The only natural sound you’ll hear comes at the end of the video. That’s when the waltz ends and the viewers hear the sound of the last machine and see final textile product made by Collezione Paramount.

All in all, it’s simplicity and synchronization makes the experience fun to watch.

And by the way, if you’re Portuguese is not up to date, the video’s translation means “Machine’s Waltz.” My headline’s translation: Who knew machines can waltz?

Mass Appeal’s web series “Rhythm Roulette” plays like a game show for hip hop producers. The premise is that an accomplished producer wanders their favorite record shop blindfolded and, sight unseen, picks three records. They then take those records home and look for samples, chop them up, and make a beat. There have been wildly successful producers on the show (e.g., Black Milk, Just Blaze, El-P), a producer who only samples from video games, and even the masked MF Doom. As a huge fan of sample-based music, I love this show. And one of my favorite episodes features 9th Wonder who has worked with Jay-Z, Destiny’s Child, Talib Kweli, J. Cole, and many others.

This episode, like almost all episodes of “Rhythm Roulette”, very neatly compresses the time it takes to make a beat. Producers sit in the studio for hours dropping the needle on record after record looking for the perfect sample. Even after a producer finds that sample, they play it fast, then slow, then backwards to find exactly how to sample it. Kelsey Smith, who edited this episode and a number of others, does a great job of using only what is necessary to show the process of making a beat. She uses matched cuts to make the session move smoothly. Her blatant use of jump cuts, however, reminds us that it takes time to make a beat.

At 5:01, for example, she shows 9th Wonder listening to the Jermaine Jackson record. Jackson sings, “Have I told you that I’ll love you forever?” Wonder finds something he likes in the sample and, without showing the process of recording and slicing the sample, Smith jump cuts to Wonder tapping his sampler with the word “forever” playing over and over again. She then jump cuts to him quickly tapping a single note. This is followed by yet another jump cut to Wonder bouncing his head up and down to a breakbeat. It looks at first like he’s tapping the drums on his sampler just out of frame. But Smith is actually showing him warming up to tap the Jackson samples over the drums that he has already made. The jump cut goes almost entirely unnoticed but still shows how much time it takes to put a simple loop together.

While the jump cuts show that some time has passed between the different stages of making a beat, they also give us a glimpse into the thought process of a producer. At 8:51, Wonder drops the needle on a track, speeds the record all the way up, and then Smith cuts to him listening to the track. She jump cuts to him playing bass notes on his sampler and then both the sample and the notes are audible. Hip hop beats are often made in pieces with random cutaways and noises woven throughout the final product. By showing this disjunctive process, Smith is staying true to the art of beatmaking while allowing us to see it happen quickly.

“The film is made in the editing room. The shooting of the film is about shopping, almost. It’s like going to get all the ingredients together, and you’ve got to make sure before you leave the store that you got all the ingredients. And then you take those ingredients and you can make a good cake – or not.”

-Philip Seymour Hoffman

You had to know I was going to do a post about The Blair Witch Project (1999). It’s my favorite movie and it’s a good blend of fiction and non-fiction storytelling. In nearly every scene, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez (the film’s directors and editors) make compelling editing decisions. They had over twenty hours of raw footage and they managed to cut it down to 81 minutes.

I do have to offer a brief defense of this post. The Blair Witch Project is, of course, fiction. But it’s important to note that Myrick and Sánchez gave their actors very loose scripts and geographic locations to reach every day–and then proceeded to hide in the woods and (actually) scare the hell out of them. It was, essentially, a completely fictitious, mostly unethical documentary. After filming, the directors then had four different types of material to sift through. Here’s the list:

• Video from a Hi-8 camera
• Film from a 16mm camera
• Audio from the Hi-8 camera
• Audio from a DAT machine

They had to make very deliberate decisions about how to put all of these types of media together. The way that they chose to do it disorients the viewer while, at the same time, gives us clues about the locations of each character. Take the final scene of the film, for example, in which Heather and Michael are looking for their lost friend Josh:

Heather has the 16mm (black and white), and Michael has the Hi-8 (color with audio). They no longer have the DAT machine so all audio comes from the Hi-8. That is to say: all sound is being recorded by Michael. This scene starts off quietly because Heather (who is being loud) is holding the 16mm with no audio. She can only be heard when she gets closer to Michael. She asks, “Mike where are you?” and, as if to remind us that we can only hear through Michael’s ears, Michael says, “I’m right here!” Throughout this entire scene we get two visual representations of space while only getting one auditory perspective.

Myrick and Sánchez create this dissonance just in time for Josh, who has been missing for a few days, to call out to his friends from a distance. (Unless, of course you don’t believe that that is really Josh!) Michael says, “I hear him. I hear him. I’m going upstairs,” because sound is the only way that Michael, Heather, and the audience can figure out where the characters are in relation to each other.

But it’s the next part of the scene that is probably the most skillfully crafted sixty seconds of the film. In the attic, Michael believes he hears Josh in the basement and runs to find him faster than Heather can follow. Myrick and Sánchez cut back and forth between the Hi-8’s video and the 16mm’s film, but they are still forced to only use the Hi-8’s audio. So, without wide or establishing shots, the directors are able to give us a sense of increasing distance between Heather and Michael. They do this by showing that her screams get quieter and quieter as Michael bolts to the basement while she slowly moves down the stairs, paralyzed with fear.

After Michael’s camera is knocked out of his hands (thereby no longer providing useable video), we can only see through the 16mm and we can only hear through the Hi-8. We don’t need to know the exact layout of the house to know how close Heather is getting to what we know will be her death. Her voice gets louder and clearer as she descends the stairs, rounds the corner, and is overtaken by the Blair Witch.

The late Philip Seymour Hoffman said that films are, “made in the editing room.” There are few films for which this is more true than The Blair Witch Project. (Turner p. 30) Even though Myrick and Sánchez had a somewhat clear idea of what they wanted their film to be, they left almost all of the camera work to chance. It was their decision to carve a compelling narrative out of the footage that makes this film work. Because, in the end, the directors did have the final say over what images and what sounds came through, and they were able to mold that material into a kind of film that had never existed before and has yet to be duplicated.

 

Work cited:

Turner, Peter. The Blair Witch Project. Leighton, Buzzard: Auteur, 2014. Print.

“Powerful, Strong, and Beautiful” is an interview driven feature story about painter Aramis Hamer. KEXP and several non-profit Seattle art funds commissioned Hamer to create a mural on the Seattle Center campus. The mural was more than 130 feet long and 8 feet tall. The video uses a mix of sit-down interview, interactive interview, and dialogue.

I really like the opening sequence

The first few frames show The Seattle Times branding over a closeup of Hamer’s hands picking up a respiratory mask.

In the next three seconds we see a series of three jump-cuts showing Hamer putting on the mask. This is cut to a minimalist soundtrack of just a few notes going up and down a scale. The music helps to seam together the action and allows the jump-cuts to be less jarring.

The next cut in the sequence is to a medium shot of Hamer’s arm shaking a can of spray paint. We hear the clean sound of the can rattling. Then a jump-cut to a close-up of the hand spraying and we hear the hiss of the can shooting out color. The hiss of the can is continuous but the video match-cuts to the same action from low-angle medium shot while crossing the axis 180 degrees. This is followed by a close up of paint being stirred in a can, and then a rack of three spray paint cans. Then a medium shot of Hamer assessing her work. That’s when we see a lower-third graphic revealing her name.

Hamer is cropped at the shoulders and her face only takes up about one third of the screen. However, The attention is drawn to her because of her expression, and the fact that the image is exposed for skin which blows out the background. This removes some detail in the background, but still illustrates the relationship between the artist and her work.

I think the intro works for two reasons. First, the action in the sequence is immediately recognizable. Hamer picks up a mask, puts it on. Shakes up a can of spray paint, sprays it. Reacts to her work. The mind is quick to fill in the missing pieces and easily follows the action. Second, the audio is smooth, not choppy. The music, although simple, provides a soundscape that unifies the visual cuts. The use of natural sound was deliberate. It fades in and out in an unobtrusive way.

At :26 there is an exceptional use of slow motion and shallow depth of field. There is a close up on Hamer’s hand as it brushes nearer and farther away from the camera through the shallow depth of field. Painting requires repetitive motion which is fairly easy to sequence.

At 2:20. there is a sequence of closeups of the wall that highlights the painting’s color and texture.

The piece resolves itself with a soundbyte of Hamer reflecting on how working on art helps fulfill her life.

This video takes full advantage of the saturated colors in Hamer’s work. The close ups of the rich acrylic paints lend themselves to emotional content of the story. However, I decided that the organization of the interview segments is what makes the piece to be so successful. The soundbytes explore the relationship between the artist and her work. The vocals sound very rich although there is some room noise and audio hiss. The music helps unify the visuals. Natural sound only used selectively. However, when natural sound was used, it supported the story and enhanced the visuals.