For those of you who forget birthdays and anniversaries, the Rubik's Cube turned 30 this year -- and our camera crews were in Manhattan to celebrate with some of America's rising stars in puzzle resolution.
Most of us on the Award Productions creative team consider the Cube a pivotal toy from our childhoods, so it was an absolute honor to witness a competitive tournament.
It was also a bit humilating to see the kiddies solve the Cube in mere seconds. Because we have no formal training in the Rubik Arts, it can take many of us hours to reach completion. (For the record, we do have formal training in video editing, shooting, producing, writing and graphic design).
Back in our wonder years, we recall the strategy of forcing one cube block to pop out and then having a pile of Rubik's pieces to rebuild like LEGOs. You could always tell the cheaters because their Cubes were always loosely rattling from having been taken part too often.
Check out these brilliant kids:
Turns out that there is also another kid who can do it blindfolded.
And if that isn't impressive enough, check out these amazing artists who craft mosiac murals out of disassembled Rubik's Cubes!
Joe White, executive producer of our Emmy-nominated documentary "Beyond Kitty Hawk," was just recently honored with the coveted President's Medal by the Aero Club of New England (ACONE).
ACONE is the oldest aero club in the Americas, predating the first Wright Brothers flight, and is globally renowned for its efforts to promote aviation history and educate the public about the value of general aviation.
White, a recreational pilot, oversaw production of our "Kitty Hawk" film and dedicated it to the unsung heroes who helped advance flight technology from the invention of the airplane to the Space Age.
Besides appreciating this well-deserved recognition by his professional peers, we candidly think this medal is one of the coolest-looking awards we've ever seen. Medals have an Olympian aura, far more than a traditional plaque or trophy.
Congratulations, Joe!
For those of you outside of the Greater Boston area, let's get you up to speed. The gentleman on the left, 48-year-old Michael Chapman, just spent $12,000 building an elaborate four-story treehouse in his suburban backyard.
Citing code violations, the city of Worcester has demanded that the leafy McMansion be torn down -- under the threat of a $300 per day fine.
Chapman was widely mocked in the print media and talk radio for allegations that his nefarious clubhouse was meant to spy on his neighbors. We have no reason to doubt his claim that he is a nature lover.
However, we're most intrigued by this analogy he shared with The Boston Globe:
Yesterday, Chapman took reporters on
a tour of his creation, which is sturdy enough to support several
adults at one time. As acorns rained down from the higher branches,
Chapman said he will not appeal (the city's demolition) order.
He
compared the time that he has left with his treehouse - he did this for
himself (he has no children) - to a story by the Argentine writer Jorge
Luis Borges, in which time suddenly slows as the protagonist faces a
firing squad. Like the character in the story, he gets to complete his
work of art.
“It’s the act of creation, not the ownership that matters,’’ he said. “I’m never truly happy unless I’m making something.’’
Chapman's philosophy raises the eternal question: If an elaborate four-story treehouse falls in the woods and no one gets to use it, was it ever really a treehouse?
No offense to the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, but we starkly disagree with this approach.
In the world of video production and filmmaking, results and outcomes obviously matter. We certainly enjoy the artistic process. But creativity is useless if it is not applied with a project's final goals in mind.
A treehouse without occupants is meaningless. So is a promotional video or viral video without an audience.
Over the years, we've had the rare misfortune of working with a photographer, graphic designer or other creative type who puts their artistic vision ahead of the project. These working relationships inevitably do not last very long.
If we are editing a promotional video for your business or gathering a critical element for your news program or documentary, we are delighted to share our creative vision. But ultimately, when there is a conflict between our art and your message, there is no doubt about the final outcome.
Simply put, we don't like building treehouses that will have be torn down.
(Beep Baseball Photo by the Louisville Courier-Journal)
Hand-eye coordination. Keep your eye on the ball. Staring down your opponent.
How is it even possible to compete in sports -- any sport -- without your sight?
Acclaimed documentarian Vikram Jayanti ("When We Were Kings," "Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine") is making a splash on the film festival circuit now with "Snowblind," the travails of a blind woman trying to win the grueling Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska.
Even with 20/20 vision, one unlucky turn and you can find yourself neck deep in icy waters. Instant hypothermia.
We've had the opportunity to spend some time with some other remarkable blind athletes. They don't have to worry about drowning, but taking a line drive in the face is a constant danger.
Beep Baseball is a game where players field and hit the ball by hearing sounds, and everyone wears blindfolds to even out the field of varying degrees of vision impairment. No guidedogs allowed.
Check out the action we captured between the Boston Renegades and the Lowell Lightning!
For additional information on the National Beep Baseball Association, check out the Wall Street Journal's coverage of the Beep Ball World Series between California and Taiwan.
(Award Productions HD camera crews regularly capture sports action ranging from Major League Baseball to competitive cheerleading to Paralympic sled hockey. Check out our Sports & Entertainment portfolio here.)
By Al Ward
If you watched TV at all last week you probably saw at least some of the non-stop coverage of Ted Kennedy's wake and funeral. Our HD camera crews were hired for 3 days of 24-hour coverage for ABC. When I arrived before dawn that Friday morning, about 50 people were already lined up in front of the JFK library even though it'd be three more hours before the doors opened.
We were filming live shots for network affiliates, and very quickly I saw the 50 people grow to 500, and then again to almost 5,000 men, women and children of all ages and backgrounds. One FOX cameraman turned to me amazed and noted that unlike the huge crowd in front of us, we were getting paid to be out there.
I couldn't help but think what it would take for someone to stand in line for several hours, waiting only for a 45-second walk past a casket.
Ted Kennedy had been my Senator my entire life. There were things I liked about him and things I didn't like about him. I never had really strong feelings either way for him. This final act in his storied life did finally reach me though. Politics aside, I am blown away by how he touched so many lives in such a positive way.
I could only dream of living a life that affects so many people so profoundly.
The country is in a recession, your budget has been
slashed and you still need to get things done. You need to do a new video
project, but you also need to keep the cost down and manageable.
What do you do?
Your
production company can help trim your budget without sacrificing the overall look of the piece. That being said, if you're looking for a Michael Bay
"Transformers" video but only have a $1000 budget, the production company won't be able to meet those expectations.
Here are some general tips to help keep your budget manageable:
1. Consolidate Your Shoot Days: Instead of interviewing three people on three different days, arrange the schedule to fit them all in one day. Let's say you need to interview a couple of doctors or you're a non-profit and you need to interview people who have supported you in the past. Do you have an event, conference or gala coming up? These can be great opportunities for interviewing people all in one location.
2. Provide Your Talking Points: Prepare a concise outline of what key messages you want your video to project. Who knows your product better than you? This doesn't mean you shouldn't brainstorm with the production company on other creative avenues. Your project outline will help focus the conversations to where you need them to go.
3. Pre-interview Your Subjects: Arranging for your production company to informally chat with your interview subjects beforehand can assess how articulate and passionate they will likely be on screen. Some people are
natural soundbite machines, while others need a little more finesse to get the right soundbite.
4. Minimize Travel Expenses: When shooting out of town, ask your production company to arrange for a
local crew through their approved, pre-screened network of quality crews. Hundreds of dollars can be
saved if you send just a producer to conduct the interview and have him or her direct a local camera crew.
Note: This approach is not recommended if your chosen cameraperson is especially attuned to your subject matter or has significant experience in the same setting.
5. Use Real People Instead of Actors: If you are doing a video to promote your company, it is incredibly rare for actors (except maybe for Meryl Streep) to come across as more believable than your employees. The most passionate people about a product are the ones who create it. But if you can hire Streep, please skip Tip #6.
6. Scrap Your Script: Well, not totally. Outlining your storyline and objectives make sense, but insisting on sticking to it can pigeonhole you in a vortex of mediocrity. It's better to shoot first and then tailor your script to the most compelling soundbites and visuals. It's also more cost-effective.
Overall, hiring a production company is a lot like hiring an interior designer or wedding planner. Find one that is
eager to collaborate with you and include you in the creative process.
Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes...
While working on a promotional video for Boston's WROR 105.7 FM, we had the pleasure of observing comic genius Tom Doyle -- who might be the only human being capable of rolling his pupils back into his head.
The ongoing party trick, performed for visitors at Boston's "See New England" tourism expo, was framed in a retro circus sideshow tent he wore on his head.
Put your face close to the computer screen for the third slide. We dare you.
Everyday more and more people are purchasing Blu-ray players and Playstaion 3 to watch high definition movies or play video games on their High Definition TVs.
What is blu-ray? Blu-ray was developed by a group called the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). Some of the members are Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Phillips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and TDK to name a few.
DVD and CDs use a red laser to read and write data on the discs and typically a DVD can hold about 4.7 GB per disc. By focusing a blue violet laser in a thinner beam, blu-ray discs are able to store 25 GB to 50GB on a disc - that’s 10 times as much information as a standard DVD!
Who’s using Blu-ray? Right now movie studios are the driving force behind the movement. Blu-ray is looked to be the successor to the DVD.
Is Blu-ray right for me? If you want to showcase a High Definition video at tradeshows, museum demonstrations or anyplace where all you need is a single player, this is the format for you.
Just don’t count on every consumer to have a Blu-ray player yet — especially in this economy.
Has anyone pulled a Christian Bale on you at work?
In our insane 24/7 news cycle, the “nuclear” temper tantrum (as Entertainment Weekly put it) of Christian “Batman” Bale is ancient history.
We’re not linking to the original rant from the movie set of Terminator Salvation because we are a family-friendly blog. (Here’s the cleaner Saturday Night Live spoof of Christian Bale).
But from a media production perspective, we’d like to make two vital points about the profanity-laced incident:
1. We believe that the original Batman, Adam West, would NEVER treat his co-workers that way; and
2. We admire the calm demeanor of director of photography Shane Hurlbut and some lighting guy named Bruce, who both maintained a calm and consistent level of professionalism while under the most brutal verbal abuse imaginable.
In the name of decency and human respect, we hope you are never subjected to this kind of unjustified and demeaning treatment in the workplace.