Monthly Archives: September 2010

Lemon Law Behind the Scenes Fun

The Association Direct Response TV Ads Clapboard
The Association delves into several facets of marketing and promotion. One of our most effective marketing plans include direct response TV ads. That’s exactly what we did for Norman Taylor and Associates.

At our film production studio we used our green screen stage to help produce the spot for Norm. The green screen allows you to save both time and money by eliminating the repositioning of equipment and costly location expenses. And, if you have a good lighting director, gaffers and grips who work fast, you’ve got more time to get the best performances from your actors. That’s why we decided to use this for Norm’s Lemon Law TV spot.

“Our video shoots not only produce a great product for the client, we manage to have some fun along the way.”- Fletch Murray, Director

Click the video below and see some of the behind the scenes at our recent shoot for Norm’s new Lemon Law TV spots.

 

"Behind the Scenes" Video for Norman Taylor & Associates, produced by The Association in Burbank, CA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RD769Modmw

Historical Documentary Uncovered

"Chicano Moratorium: A Question of Freedom" documentary filmed by Tom Myrdahl of The Association

In 1970, The Association’s Director of Photography, Tom Myrdahl, was a graduate film student at Loyola-Marymount, where he became involved in the “Chicano Movement” and began custom video production in documenting their demonstrations. On August 29th, 1970, Tom and his associate Nick Sherbin stood their ground while filming the LA County Sheriff’s police action against the demonstrators attending the “Chicano Moratorium,” a protest against the Vietnam War held at Laguna Park in East L.A.

This documentary, “Chicano Moratorium: A Question of Freedom” was seen by many audiences in Los Angeles in the latter part of 1970, but the film has not been distributed or viewed since then for over 40 years, until now.

Now, in an effort to share his work with the public, Tom is releasing the production for general viewing.  What better place than The Internet?  Tom also recently presented a copy of this work to Professor Mario Garcia, head of the Chicano Studies program at UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Garcia was elated to have this short and accurate depiction of the tragic events of the Aug. 29th police riot. Bert Corona did the original “voice over” for Tom’s documentary and Dr. Garcia recently published his biography of Bert Corona, LA’s legendary Chicano leader.

 Tom also gave a copy of the documentary to Rosalio Munoz, who was one of the original organizers and speakers at the historic Moratorium Event. Rosalio was also pleased to have a copy of Tom’s film. You can also view the film below:

Fun & More Fun With Little Tikes

It’s common knowledge in Hollywood that you don’t want to work with kids or dogs. Video production crews find them to be too unpredictable and therefore too much of a handful. That’s why we continue to have such a good relationship with Little Tikes, the iconic brand name for kiddie toys.

In December The Association shot two spots simultaneously, both to be shown in Toys R’ Us stores. One was for the Little Tikes Outdoor Grill and the other was for the Little Tikes Mudpie Maker. We had a ball watching the kids run around making plastic hamburgers and real mud pies. The Director Theresa Soulliere did a wonderful job in keeping everything calm and organized and at the end of the day everyone was very pleased.

The Association has several areas that he love to work in, such as corporate social media and working with Canon DSLR 5D cameras. However, we also love doing commercial productions and this time around we got to shoot another spot to be shown in Toys R’ Us stores. This shoot was for the Little Tikes Spray & Rescue Fire Truck, a fire truck that pumps real water! Imagine watching kids riding around, spraying water everywhere as they put out pretend fires. It was awesome!

And once again, Director Theresa Soulliere kept everything under control as we shot some very creative spots out of the mayhem. It was great fun for all!

Google Me Filmmaker Jim Killeen on Oprah!

Jim Killeen’s 90-minute documentary, “Google Me,” was recently featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The Association is proud of Jim’s stunning achievement in a genre which usually focuses on what’s wrong with the world.

The Association was lucky enough to be involved in Jim’s documentary as he contacted our corporate video production services.  This documentary shows a different view of the world….a world which is not a dangerous place. A world where people will extend the hand of trust and friendship and invite a stranger into their home just because they have the same last name.

The Story Behind the Film:
Jim Googled his name and found six people with the name “Jim Killeen,” including an Irish priest, an Aussie CEO, a wife-swapping swinger and a New York cop. Jim took a video production crew with him as he visited Google headquarters to see the powerful search technology in action, as well as visiting his namesakes in four countries to learn how these very different people are actually quite similar.

If you’d like to restore your faith in mankind, or you’d like to cheer up a friend who’s down in the dumps, check out “Google Me.” It’s about the world we believed in as kids. It’s a world that’s still there, it’s just covered up by lots and lots of bad news we’re deluged with every day. After you watch “Google Me” you’ll see things in a whole different light. It’s available on Amazon. Also check out the trailer on Youtube:

Jim Killeen of the documentary, "Google Me" gets himself on the map

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INz4I7-lhSA

New to the team: Tom Murray- Artist/Animator


We would like to introduce a new member of our Video Production Crew at The Association, Tom Murray. Tom has spent most of his life working with art and technology. As a child he used to draw spaceships and dinosaurs. He even created flip books using Post-it pads, much to the chagrin of whatever office staff happened to be around at the time. After several years and quite a few career path changes, Tom is motivated and ready to create and take over the animated world.

In what little free time he has, Tom works on a number of personal projects, including painting, game design, and graphic novels. Though his particular forte is design and digital painting, Tom is highly proficient in a number of tool sets, including 3D, post-production, sound editing, web design, and advanced scripting, which makes him a new and unique addition to our direct response advertising agency. Tom’s style shows a handy blend of artistic skills and technological savvy which allows him to navigate the rocky waters of today’s creative market and shows his value in custom video productions.

One of Tom’s many accomplishments is that he was the recipient of DigiPen’s BFA in Production Animation. Check out “The Weed”, a short he completed for a senior project.

Tom adds, “It’s not enough for something to ‘just work.’ Today’s end-users demand something that’s aesthetically pleasing and intuitive to use, and also works flawlessly and smoothly. I love using the tools at hand to create something that is all of those. I insist on working with the client and getting a solution that they can easily handle themselves. I want everyone to be happy with what’s there – quality is the savior of our economy.”