Corporate Re-Branding Video
Move Communications

Have you ever heard of the “First Follower?” The story goes like this. There’s a man dancing, wildly, in a park. On his own he looks like a crazy person…until someone joins in. Suddenly, the dancing man doesn’t look so crazy anymore.

As it turns out, he’s not out of step with the surrounding culture. He harnessed the transforming power of those who can help him achieve his goal.

In addition to producing this project as the agency producer, I was also the shoot producer and assistant director, both of which were new for me. This was collaboration and teamwork at its finest. All in an effort to help rebrand Move Communications, a vigorous marketing agency owned by Don Hart in Ann Arbor Michigan. Constant refinement of connected thinking to forge a new dance.

A film crew of 24 – only eight of which had ever worked on a film production. Four cameras including aerial. One professional choreographer and one lead dancer. Eight primary student dancers. Fifty non-professional crowd extras who were enlisted to join the movement. And a lot of tenacity and passion by everyone involved in this adventure.

The creative and logistical challenge was creating high quality work on a very limited budget using a grassroots approach that didn’t involve the layers of an advertising agency and client structure in the traditional sense. It was a breath of fresh air for me to help shape the idea from concept to execution and mold the story with the film director more than I typically have the opportunity to do.

We shot at Roosevelt Park in front of the iconic Michigan Central Station in the Corktown district of Detroit.

Directed by Jim Pinard and edited by David Peterson.

New possibilities to accomplish results.

Social Media Content
Chevrolet

We sat down with over 100 kids who are not professional actors and asked them about how much they appreciate these important people in their lives – Mothers, Dads and Teachers.

We asked what they like best about their Moms and how they would celebrate her on Mother’s Day. The kids’ responses about their dads was exuberant as they lit up about what they would like to do with and for their dads on Father’s Day. For Teacher’s Day the kids had A+ ideas on how to bring extra kindness to their favorite teachers.

These wonderfully endearing web videos were part of a social media web campaign called #DayItForward that the Chevrolet clients liked so much they aired them on TV as well. Different lengths were edited for various social media use. This Teacher’s Day video gives you an idea about how charming these kids’ responses are. And, BTW, there’s no vehicle shots.

Directed by Christopher Gruse of The Work. Edited by Shane Ford of The Work. All post-production completed by The Work, including original music.

Working with little kids brings big smiles.

TV/Web/Social Campaign
Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

This is the story of a motley crew of California ambassadors consisting of the state mammal, state reptile, state bird and state rock who are advocating for the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid to be the state vehicle. This campaign tailored specifically for the California market has multiple TV commercials, web videos and social media.

Their wry conversations are a bit absurd in a vaudevillian sense but, hey, they get the point across about why they think this minivan should become the state vehicle. The looks are spot-on real. And the lip-sync dialog…well…intentionally off. We’re not fooling anyone, right?

Puppetry and animatronics are a great combo, especially when they interact with humans. The comedy rhythms had to be concise and work well with the improv bits we used. Through the power of character voices, each animal became a distinct personality. The ensemble of Grizzly Bear, Desert Tortoise, Valley Quail and Serpentine Rock were stellar in the handful of scripts we shot and then edited for multiple uses. Pure Hollywood. Directed by Neil Brennan of Caviar.

Talking animals and a non-talking rock as the main characters – what’s not to like.