Author: beast
Brighton Housing Trust – Christmas Appeal
Beast was approached by PR agency, Fugu PR to create a Christmas Spot for their client the Brighton Housing Trust. The brief was simple. They wanted to generate awareness and urgently needed donations over the Christmas period. BHT gave us some case studies as part of the research to help us with the development. What stood out to us, was the amount of stories that centered around very normal people and families. What was heartbreaking was the unfortunate chain of events that lead these families to become homeless. Many people just lost control of their finances because of a job loss, or unexpected bills. With only two weeks to deliver the final video, we took just 24 hours to come up with a host of ideas. But with such a short time frame we had to be practical as well as creative. We wanted to highlight how quickly any of us could get into trouble. The advent calendar was the perfect metaphor to show this. A family face a sad reality when a chain of events told through the timeline of an advent calendar leave them homeless on Christmas Eve. Our story centers around a family heading into the advent period. The catalyst for their downward spiral comes from the dad finding out he has lost his job. The calendar then reveals over a number of days that they have missed some important payments, including their rent. With credit cards already maxed out, in four weeks, they have no choice but to leave their family home. Brighton Housing Trust offers a fantastic ‘First Base’ for people to go to. They provide emotional support, qualified advisors, food and a hot shower to help people get back on their feet. Our campaign title #WhoWouldYouTurnTo has become the catalyst for an additional social media campaign that we have developed with Fugu PR that will run in the new year. Watch this space! Victoria Taylor, Jo Berry, Russell Shaw.
Letus Double Helix Gimbal and Exhauss Exoskeleton
Letus Double Helix Gimbal We can’t wait to get our hands on this amazing piece of kit. The Letus Helix is a one, two, or three axis modular camera stabilizer system. It utilizes the optical center of the camera for both balance and image stabilzation. Originally designed to roll the camera on optical center, the Helix has evolved from a 1 axis auto-horizon system to a full blown, hand-held, 4 axis stabilizer. The patent pending 4th Axis is one of a kind solution for the Letus Helix as well as any other exisiting stabelising systems on the market. It’s the cruise control feature in the operating of the Helix 3 axis system. It allows the operator to realistically utilize the high payload capability of the Helix system (16-20 lbs) without risking back or arm stress/injury to the operator. The incredible and unique 4th axis can either rest on a third pary balancing system such as our L’Aigle Steadicam arm/vest, with all 3 axes in function. When flipped over to the top, it can be attached to a handle to provide yet another handling point for a low angle shooting as well as top mounting option for jib or crane.
Harbour Brewing Shoot
Harbour Brewing Shoot When Harbour approached us to make a film for them; we had some pretty big smiles in the office. We were already familiar with the product, infact, we loved the product. We also loved their already great brand positioning, to us, we couldn’t have asked for a cooler beer company to work with. Their brief was simple. They wanted an introductory film that helped to define the core elements of the brand – and they didn’t want it to be a product placement advert. Having met with the Harbour team at their factory located on Trekilick farm in North Cornwall, and having had the pleasure to sample a variety of their excellent craft beers, it was clear to Beast the direction we wanted to take. Harbour is establishing a ‘culture’. Their factory has a custom built skate ramp which most of the crew use during the lunch hour. There is a dusting of surfboards around the office which are all well worn, and usually still wet; and with an approximate length of 80 meters between the hop room and the fermentation tanks, skateboards are the choice of travel. In a corner of the factory sits their 1963 Chevy Corvair Rampside Pickup which they use for local deliveries. On a sunny day with a few more added palm trees in the forecourt we could have been in California. It was clear to Beast that Eddie wanted the lifestyle outside the work place to be brought into the work place. He doesn’t want people leaving their pleasures at the door when they come to work. He believes this makes a difference at Harbour, because they don’t brew beer as a job, they brew as an extension of the life they are living. We are convinced this is what gives Harbour its magic dust. Beast went about creating a storyboard that was based around lifestyle as a theme. We wanted to show the factory, and parts of the process, but we ultimately wanted to create a story that reflected Eddie’s love for Cornwall, and how Harbour have brilliantly blended work and pleasure. Inspiration is key to the Harbour story. It was important for us to capture lots of huge landscape shots and rugged coastline while capturing the key aspects of their daily routine. Flavour is also another important key word for Eddie. He loves to talk about food as much as beer, and how the two go together perfectly in so many different ways. We wanted to reflect the experimental flavors and techniques that go into each brew. To achieve this we chose a rugged location on the beach, using a BBQ and fresh simple ingredients to really highlight the authenticity of the product, the process and the brand. The craft beer market is now an extremely competitive one. Harbour have shown their spirit in being the pioneers for video content in this category. This really is just the tip of the iceberg for Harbour, and we can be certain the trend they are setting here, will be quickly followed. To see the work in situ visit www.harbourbrewing.com
Viral Video
A Simple Framework for Creating a Viral Video Do you ever wonder what it takes to create a viral video? Do you want your video content to spread to the masses? While creating a viral video is part science and part art, there are 5 key principles you must follow when creating your own viral video.If you think creating a viral video is all luck, then stay tuned, because I’m going to show you a simple framework that many companies have used to achieve success. 1. Think like a Street Magician David Copperfield performs magic in front of thousands of captivated people who hang on his every movement. Each trick combines elements of story-telling with amazing visuals that build anticipation until the final reveal. One magic trick can last anywhere from 20-40 minutes. And, like all great magicians, Copperfield is as much an actor as he is a magician. But he has the luxury of an engaged audience. We, in the online video world, are up against many distractions that can pull away our viewers. Unlike David Copperfield, we must think like a street magician. We have only a few seconds to capture and maintain the attention of our online passers-by. We must forget about showmanship and hit the audience with quick snippets that keep them wanting more. That means no logos, no product shots, and definitely no screen casts. Consider GoDaddy’s Super Bowl ad below. They spent millions of dollars on this ad promoting their website builder. And yet 1/3 of this ad is on a kiss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS9-CDcDNZ8 Moreover, this isn’t your typical Hollywood kissing scene. Here we see a nerdy guy with a super model. While the ad made me somewhat uncomfortable, it was absolutely brilliant. And what you didn’t see in the ad were screen shots of how easy the website builder is to use. But will this type of video actually yield results? Mashable reported that the day after the Super Bowl ad ran, GoDaddy posted its highest sales day in history, adding 100,000 customers. 2. Be a Purple Cow Seth Godin said it best. We don’t notice a brown cow; there are plenty of them. However, when we see a purple cow, we can’t help but notice, and we can’t help but talk about it. How often do you come across a purple cow? Think of the typical video ad for a blender. We usually see blenders mixing the normal fruits and vegetables. Look at the speed and power, the ads tell us. That is a brown cow.But, when you watch the “Will it Blend?” videos from Blendtec, you can’t help but watch, and you can’t help but share. https://www.youtube.com/user/Blendtec To show the power behind their blenders, Blendtec’s CEO Tom Dickson decided to blend things we normally wouldn’t associate with blenders. Who in their right mind would break a working iPad in half and then put it in a blender? That’s the power of a purple cow. 3. Use High-Quality Production As referenced in the 2013 YouTube Marketing Guide, gone are the days when YouTube was exclusively a place for one-hit, user-generated viral videos. In fact, according to The Wall Street Journal, 9 of the top 10 most viral videos on YouTube in 2012 were created by professional producers. Back in 2007, when YouTube first published its list of top 10 videos, many were accidental home videos made by amateurs, and they were never designed to have wide-spread appeal, said YouTube Trends Manager, Kevin Allocca. “There are more and more people who know how to build an audience, how to use YouTube,” Allocca said. “There are companies that spend millions and millions of dollars trying to create these videos.” In fact, the only video on the 2012 list not professionally produced was the controversial “Facebook Parenting.” Therefore, if you’re just starting out and don’t have a big budget, it’s okay to start a little scrappy and produce a video on your own. In fact, Wistia has a great video on how to shoot a video with your iPhone. 4. Be Insanely Practical Another factor in creating a viral video involves providing actionable practical tips. It’s one of the elements conveyed in Jonah Berger’s book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On. Moz (formerly SEOmoz) put together this fantastic graphic detailing that “Practical Utility” of an article increases the likelihood that it will appear on The New York Times most-emailed list. Do you want further proof? Take Wendy Nguyen, a fashion blogger whose YouTube channel has over 425,000 subscribers and over 47 million views. In her most popular video, she shows viewers 25 ways to wear a scarf in 4.5 minutes. The video has attracted over 19 million views and continues to drive the bulk of the views on her YouTube channel. Also, try searching for “how to tie a tie” in YouTube. You’ll find that the top 20 search results have a combined total of over 60 million views. 5. Promote like a Kardashian There’s a little-known secret for getting your videos to spread. It’s a tactic that’s been around for centuries yet very few people use it when it comes to video content. It’s called promotion. With over 50 million views on YouTube, Rebecca Black’s Friday was one of the most popular videos of 2011. However, for its first several months, it garnered very little interest – stuck in the YouTube grave yard. It wasn’t until Daniel Tosh covered it on his television show Tosh.0 and a popular video blogger sent a tweet poking fun at the video that it become the sensation we all love to hate (or hate to love). In his TED Talk, Kevin Allocca shows this graphic on the views of the wildly popular “Friday” video. And, yes, all of the spikes are on Fridays. But many of us aren’t creating videos that will be featured on Tosh.0, so how do we marketers go about promoting our work? Research. Research. Research. Before creating a video, think about your target audience. Who will watch the video and what will resonate with them? The very same way we build buyer personas, you should build a viewer persona. Think about all of the web sites that your audience visits and try to reach the Tosh.0 of your target audience. Once you have the list,
Xcel “Making Of”
We travelled to Cornwall to meet Christian Parry, a Geotechnical Project Engineer and sworn cold water surfer. We spent a few days with Christian getting up at 5.30am so he could catch a surf before he started work at 8am. During the day he travelled the length and breadth of Cornwall managing construction sites, finishing most days back at the beach until sun down. Christian’s love of surfing was infectious. He owned four wetsuits, a couple were pretty battered, one was over 13 years old! And all were Xcel. When we asked why he only had Xcel suits he simply replied. “because they are the best”. Our ambition with this film was to highlight one man’s story, and the daily journey’s he makes while proving his dedication to the surf. It was important for us to use a local surfer, not a champion. An everyday guy, 6ft tall, weighing 15 stone and riding a 5’10″ long piece of fibreglass gave us the diversity we were looking for. We wanted to highlight the dedication and reverence that regular surfers exhibit in this sport. They are loyal to the sea as much as they are loyal to the equipment that gets them out there.
Beast In Show
Introducing the newest member of the Beast family, our 1966 Californian import. She has had a full make-over, and to celebrate her beauty we are launching an Instagram competition. We are giving away 5 trucker caps a month to the best Instagram shots of the bus taken by you. We want to see her and you from the best angles, and the most interesting places, so don’t be shy- #capturethebeast
About Barry and Art
First and foremost the best content is about inspiring people. The way we do that, is by finding great stories to tell. Barry & Art inspired us. So the logical thing to do, was to carry that inspiration to as many people as we could. Shot on location at T-street Beach San Clemente CA on a Red Epic, and a GoPro3, our Beast director shares his need to tell their story. I met Barry and Art about 15 years ago at T-Street Beach in San Clemente, California. I can’t remember a specific day but I was in high school at the time. First period was surfing, something my English work buddies laugh at! I remember showing up to the beach on cold, stormy morning and wanting nothing to do with the ocean. Barry and Art would be putting their wetsuits on and paddling out while us young guys were sitting in cars trying to get out of going in. The phrase “getting old” can often times have a negative connotation attached to it. As we age we all experience moments when we realize that our bodies aren’t quite what they once were. We get sick, injuries take longer to heal, we’re not as quick or flexible as when we were young, and every day the couch and tv look more and more inviting. The purpose of this film was to show people that how we age is as much a choice as it is a natural process. Hopefully Barry and Art inspire people to get old in a positive way.
Multiple Sclerosis Post Production
Multiple Sclerosis Post Production For our latest spot for The Multiple Sclerosis Society, we turned to The Mill LA for all of the 2D post production and the color grade. Stay tuned for more articles. http://www.themillblog.com/2015/04/director-lawrence-jacomelli-recreates-the-ms-experience-in-earthquake/