Corporate Video Production Services

So there we were, in the Grand Hotel in Taipei, using a child’s wading pool to catch the water our shirtless production manager was pouring down his back so we could get a light reading in the candle-lit room. Unexpectedly, the room service boy walked in and we could tell by his horrified expression that we had exceeded his wildest nightmares of gay-porno-Hollywood-weirdo-filmmakers abusing the sanctity of his beautiful hotel. Obviously, it was all just a cultural and technical misunderstanding, but we could tell by the fear in his eyes that he was ready to bolt for security. How we got to this point is an interesting story.

Back in 1995, Duty Free Shoppers asked The Association for a custom video production. We decided to create a spectacular wall of video that would captivate free-spending Japanese visitors and entice them into the DFS store. We were to spare no expense, which meant 35mm film, Taiwanese movie stars, fantastic locations, helicopter aerials, etc. We came up with a proposal to create a stunning visual montage of nightlife, high-end products, and, we were instructed, some golf.

Armed with an ambitious shooting script, I and our video production crew flew into Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, and took a shuttle to the Grand Hotel, a beautiful period piece constructed by the wife of Chang Kai-sheck as a monument to the greatness of Chinese culture. It really was lovely, evoking the glory of ancient China, and we used it as a set for several of our scenes.

But we found that location production in Taiwan promised to be supremely difficult. For one thing, few people spoke English and all of the street signs and store names were in Chinese characters. In Mexico, France, Italy, etc. you can kind of make yourself understood with a sort of Esperanto mix of all the languages. Also, the signs are readable, if not understandable, which honestly helps a lot. Not so in Taipei. We got so lost on our first cab sortie into town that we had to tell our driver to take us back to the hotel. When he obviously didn’t understand what we were saying, we knew we were in trouble. Finally we spotted the hotel and with much grunting and gesturing finally got him to deliver us to the door, empty handed but glad to be back. We realized we needed help. That’s when we lucked into the one person who turned what could have been a nightmare shoot into a dream: Alice Lim, our Chinese translator with the Scottish burr.

Alice worked at a commercial productions company in Taipei, and when we talked with her on the phone we couldn’t believe such a pure Scottish brogue could come out of what she referred to as a “Chinese Face”. We never did get used to that. She was of Chinese descent but grew up with her family in Glasgow before coming to Taiwan. She spoke Mandarin as fluently as English. We were completely lost without her. Fortunately, she was as familiar with film production as she was with the ins and outs of Taiwanese culture. So with Alice as our guide we proceeded with several weeks of relatively trouble-free production in and around Taiwan. That is, until the unfolding of the events described in the first part of this article.

The whole idea for that shot was to have a beautiful Chinese girl sensually bathing herself in a beautiful room full of antiques and candles. The model would only be seen from behind and only waist up, hence the kiddie wading pool to catch the water. The candles were lit, and as the makeup girl prepped our model in the bathroom, the production manager stripped down, assumed the position in the pool, and slowly poured some water down his back from a beautiful glass pitcher. We were getting the right f-stop when the room service boy walked in. His eyes instantly became three sizes larger and we all got the image that he was looking at. Of course there was no use saying, “No, no, it’s not what you think!” in English.

Fortunately, Alice popped out of the bathroom and quickly explained the situation, thereby averting an international incident and new low in American-Taiwanese relations. The shoot went on and the result was a spectacular asset to Duty Free Shoppers market development strategy. Gan bei, Alice, gan bei.

The Association reserves the right to use client feedback in our promotional campaigns as well as for Quality Control purposes. Submitting feedback through this form is considered an “OK to Publish.” If you would prefer feedback is not made public, but would still like to provide feedback, please email trevor@theassociation.tv directly. Thanks!

You might hear opinions that the Canon DSLR 5D’s 4.2.0 color space can’t deliver good keys for green screen. Well, here’s the word from the trenches. Something you can count on. The Canon DSLR 5D Mark II’s green screen shots keyed beautifully. (for more data on 4.2.0 color space got to bottom of this article*)

We did green screen tests prior to the shoot and they looked great. So, the client gave us the “green light”.
Green Screen shot with Canon 5D.

Tom Myrdahl, D.P. at The Association (bottom left corner), set up this green screen shot.

GREEN SCREEN LOOKING GOOD…

We shot the green screen on location. The sun was our light source. So we could shoot at ISO 100. White cards below and to the sides of the talent gave a nice edge.

As we tell our students in our Canon camera classes, always triple save your shots. So, while we were backing up the shots onto two other hard drives, we checked to make sure the key was good (see below).

EVERY WEEK A NEW SHOOT…

We are shooting with the Canon 5D or 7D every week. Green screen, under water, on jibs, process trailers, motorcycles…and we’ve been nothing but pleased with the results. Below is The Association’s 2010 Sizzle Reel with both Canon and older formats combined. Look for the underwater slow mo shot (done with the Canon DSLR 5D). It’s fantastic.

THE “LOOK” of 35mm film for half the price…

Our clients love how the Canon maximizes their budget and gives them shots as pretty as 35mm film.

IT’S DIGITAL FILM…

We totally agree with Gale Tattersall (D.P. on “House, M.D.”) and Shane Hurlbutt (D.P. on “Terminator: Salvation” and his famous “The Last Three Minutes”) – the Canon DSLR delivers images that bring the excitement back to fine filmmaking. The Canon delivers rich blacks with no noise in low light conditions.  It doesn’t do “video freak out” when a bright light source enters the frame. It has a delicious, short depth of field. Plus, editing is a snap.  This camera’s a game changer.

YOUR CHOICE: Take our Canon camera classes OR  Hire one of our trained Canon DSLR crews:

1) Learn the Canon DSLR at our Canon Boot Camp (http://www.canonbootcamp.com).

Canon Boot Camp students shoot a script from beginning to end in one day,
practicing what they learned in Pro Level I and II.

When I’m not instructing the Canon camera classes at The Association, I’m usually out in the field shooting video. This time I was the gaffer on a video about a new airship called the P-791.  Much of this material, including all the interviews, was filmed on a Canon 5D by cinematographer Eric Schulzinger, who is the head of the digital media department at Lockheed Martin.

Click to start video:

Tom is a very experienced D.P. who has shot projects in Asia, Europe, Central America and every state of the Union. TV Commercials, Internet advertising, documentaries, and corporate image projects from Lockheed-Martin and Boeing to Bratz Dolls demonstrate not only Tom’s versatility but point to his unquestionable demand for excellence in image which is the Director of Photography’s responsibility.

One of the key instructors of The Association’s Canon Camera Classes, Tom is a master of the “film look” using the Pro 35 adapter with Cine Lenses or the new “Cine Style” Optimo zoom lenses from Angenieux and the “Cine Style” Zeiss Primes. These “tools” are the foundation for achieving excellence in image ..that’s what Tom does every time out!

E-mail: tom@theassociation.tv

Tom’s personal site: http://www.myrdahlHDVideo.com

Is your marketing budget sucking your company dry?

You spend a ton of money on promo and get one lead?

Or NONE!

It’s a bloody shame !

But you don’t have to put up with anemic marketing. You COULD have an effective marketing plan.

What if I could show you how to make your promotional dollars go four to eight times farther? So you could get 4 to 8 leads for your marketing dollar, instead of one?

Wouldn’t it be great to get EIGHT responses instead of ONE out of a hundred (1%)?

The Association has perfected a method of getting four to eight times the industry average. The Association’s Stat – 4 to 8 times the industry average.

The Association’s Pay Per Click campaigns perform 4 to 8 times better than the industry average?

HERE’S THE PROOF

Below is the Google Report: The Association’s PPC ads are pulling an average of 8.48% !!

The proof – 8.48% conversion rate

How do we do it?  We use proven, scientific marketing methods that WORK.

Wouldn’t you like your email stuffed with leads in the morning? Clients have literally asked us to turn off the marketing campaigns because they were so backlogged following up on the leads we generated.

How does this apply to your marketing?

Let’s say you spend $100. on your promo marketing. Let’s say you make a $100. on each close. Well, if  you only get one reach out of the hundred (a 1% return), that reach cost you $100. If you close that one lead, you make $100. So, you break even. If you don’t close that reach, you just lost $100. This is why people stop marketing. THEY’RE LOSING MONEY. DUH!

There’s NO WAY you can EVER, EVER, EVER make money with anemic marketing. Period. But we still see people throwing money away on marketing that only gets a 1% response.

POWER MARKETING – But with The Association’s scientific methods,  you can get four to eight leads.

Applying this to the example above, instead of a lead costing  you $100,  you know get 8 leads which cost you $12.50 per lead.  If you close a $12.50 lead, you make $100 (you pay back your marketing investment of $100). But here’s the good news. If you close two $12.50 leads you pay back your marketing expense and you make another $100. If you close three you made $200. profit. This is the secret to paying for your marketing and making a lot of money. This is “power marketing”!

Be smart. Let us put our scientific methods work for you.

This is the time to grab market share, when everybody else has cut back. Power Marketing will give a better return on your marketing dollar and increase your profits. Break out of anemic* marketing. Call us.

*(def. anemic – lacking force, vitality or spirit.)

(def. anemia – Anemia is a condition in which you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your tissues. If you have anemia, you probably feel tired a lot. Etymology – anemia – 1824, from French medical term (1761), Mod.L., from Gk. anaimia ”lack of blood,” from anaimos ”bloodless,” from an- ”without” + haima ”blood”)

I’m Nancy but the guys I work with call me "Office Mom".  I mostly handle all areas of communication within the office but I’m most famous  for my coffee.  And,  I frequently throw in muffins or cookies or fruit, hence the title, "Office Mom". 

My mind has different production lines:

This week’s idea comes from the “Third Grade Shelf” in the half-baked idea locker.

Why serve half-baked ideas?

Well, I tend to think that people like to come up with their own solutions, so they may like half-baked ideas rather than fully-baked.

The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other publications are stuffed with fully-baked ideas. All the thinking’s been done for you and the
articles are just poured in you like baby food. All you have to do is swallow and nod.  But if you want to do your own thinking, if you want to be
your own chef, so to speak, you might prefer half-baked ideas.

So, I present half baked ideas. With fully baked ideas  I risk losing the interest of the reader.  So, here goes with another half-baked idea.

HALF BAKED IDEA 20110717 – Let’s say you’re in line at a restaurant. In this half-baked simile, the main difference is that you don’t tell the waiter
what you want. You just show up, sit down and take what the waiter brings you.

You may grumble, but you eat it anyway and hope for something better next time, something more like what you really want.

(Here’s the philosophy part) Life is like the  restaurant. Life brings us many items we didn’t order. Life will continue to do so.  If we place our
order though, we might be happier with what Life brings us.

So, tell Life what you’d like.  Then, you might start liking Life.

NOTE – Careful inspection of what Life is bringing you now may reveal what you’re really wishing for. So maybe it isn’t everyone else’s fault.  Those
hidden dreams you have may be quietly placing orders for you. You may not even be aware this is going on.

Anyway, don’t go too deep on this.  Just place your order. Be specific as you can. You don’t even have to realistic. Let ‘er rip.

©2011Fletcher Murray