Follow Flashframe as we make a hearty attempt to produce greatness in video, all the while happening upon cool and innovative new stuff and scouring the globe for the best burger ever.
(written by Alex Kerr)
The season has been keeping us particularly busy, helping people spread some holiday cheer. A couple weeks ago we shot a lovely little stop-motion video for Food Banks Canada.
Lucky me got a front row seat, as I was chosen to be the hand model, check out my big debut here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-mjHS1o9qQ&list=PLCF735F36E25A8E23&index=3&feature=plpp_video
(Written by Alex Kerr)
You are now not only looking at your computer screen, but
FlashFrame Digital’s newest family member! I am beyond excited to be
part of such a great team and progressive company, and can not wait to
learn and grow with them (hopefully as quickly as the company is
growing itself! ) I’ll be here, helping out in any way I can, and will be taking on the role of the social media guru! It will be I keeping you updated on the goings on, not only here at FlashFrame but all over this glorious planet. Stay tuned.
Here’s something to keep you inspired on this terrific Tuesday!
I stumbled upon “Wonder Object” a beautifully shot documentary by
Walley Films, and was completely captivated. Gary Schott, an artist and metalsmith, harbors his talents in such a unique and playful way, creating interactive art pieces that all of our inner child can’t help but be intrigued and enchanted by.
Schott says, “My goal is to create an object that is seemingly simple, but I want there to be an honesty in the sense that there’s a simplicity of cause and effect, that there’s a crank and a handle, you turn it and you can see the mechanisms working, and then you see the output, and I like that connection.”
I think I’m mostly intrigued by this thought. Besides each project being a beautifully constructed piece of art, they’re all interactive. The audience becomes a part of it, you turn a crank and receive an eskimo kiss or turn a handle and a small heart throbs inside a broach. As simple as the idea may be, having all the gears and axels exposed shows you just how intricate the pieces are. Eskimo kissing machines and interactive broaches are just some of the many fascinating playthings that Gary Schott’s magical mind has come up with. 
Mister Schott definitely deserves a hand, check out the rest of his work here,
http://web.me.com/garyschott/garyschott/HOME.html
and don’t forget to check out the 5 min documentary posted here,
(written by Kerry)
This video, created by the LA-based directing team Cousins, has taken the Skittles-parody meme to a whole new level. Whether it’s a new high or a new low is a matter of personal taste I suppose, but there’s no denying that in the five days it’s been online this outrageous video has gone quite viral, with more than 1 million views on Cousins’ Vimeo page and counting.
The production is so slick that when our intern Ben first sent it to me, there was a moment when I thought the brand was actually behind it — which, I’ll argue, speaks to talent of the Cousins team vs. my gullible nature.
But of course the brand had nothing to do with this, which got me thinking about two things:
1. If you’re the Skittles team over at WM Wrigley, how do you deal with this unexpected little publicity spike? I expect the brand will publicly ignore all the activity, but are they quietly loving this? I would love to be a fly on the wall in that meeting room while the brand managers, and the PR peeps, and the lawyers hash out the response strategy.
2. As a self-promotion strategy, did the Cousins team hit a home run or a foul ball? I admire their work – the directing, set design, editing and casting – but not sure I’d want to work with them if I were a brand manager. Maybe I’m just a prude?
Here’s the link – but fair warning: it’s definitely not suitable for work (or public transit, or waiting in line at Starbucks, or while the kids are nearby, unless you want them to get seriously screwed up ideas about where candy comes from).
(Written by Ben)
We here in the office really enjoyed this video, courtesy of National Public Radio program Radiolab. It’s an interesting concept that explores the use of juxtaposition with two simultaneously-running videos. There are some really cool juxtaposed images in the video, like the man eating alongside a cow grazing, and the two glasses of water (one presumably half-full, the other, half-empty). I think there’s a lot of cool potential applications for a technique like this, such as taking a product that people use every day and showing it in use alongside video of the time and energy that goes into making the product.
Another split-screen video like Symmetry (above), but this one takes the split screen effect in a different direction. Instead of juxtaposing images, “Splitscreen: A Love Story” shows how things can be the same. It’s incredible how they made video taken in two completely different locations look so similar. Especially in the motion shots, the framing and content matches up beautifully well. This style would be really effective to show how a product (such as a new GPS-enabled smartphone) could be used to bring people together. We were all in awe watching it.
(Written by Kerry)
So Lee and Mike made fun of me for getting up at 5am last Friday to catch the Royal Wedding. Even our editor Bob, a Brit himself, mocked me. No matter. I think there’s something very special about witnessing these events live. It’s such a trip knowing that millions of people are tuned in at the same moment, that we’re all part of a big collective swell of emotion.
I also enjoyed the spectacle from a professional perspective. Having worked previously in publicity and event coordination, and now immersed in online video, I can’t help but marvel at how flawlessly those crafty courtiers up at Buck Palace executed not only the event but its promotion.
Take The Royal Channel on YouTube for example. Have you checked it out yet!? If not, it’s a must see. Apparently it’s been around since 2007, but now with this wedding the Queen is ROCKING YouTube. On the wedding day, the Royals collaborated with the BBC to live-stream the entire event on YouTube, augmented by Twitter commentary direct from Clarence House. According to Google, more than five million people watched the Queen’s webcast, and several online pundits were calling it the best wedding coverage of the day. Well done your Majesty!
You can still view the entire video, plus an array of nicely edited highlights vids, the twitter feed, and – my favourite part – a wedding book page where you can upload your own personal video message to the happy couple!! I’m sure we could produce a KILLER video shout-out from the Flashframe peeps – if I can just get Lee and Mike to agree.
I won’t hold my breath.
Recently the New York Times ran this article by Kermit Pattison that was full of tips on how small business owners are using online video as an effective, yet low-cost, marketing tool.
Pattison writes: “Online video is becoming a first stop for many customers. It is akin to what the Web page was a decade ago — something that can give early adopters an edge over competitors. It gives them a channel to talk directly to customers in ways previously accessible only to large companies that could afford TV advertisements.”
Seeing this in a mainstream publication – the NYT no less – elicited a collective “HELLS YEAH!” from the Flashframe team. For years we’ve been seeing our early-adopter clients get great results with video: creating stickier websites, connecting with customers via YouTube, and engaging employees. It’s seems like such a no-brainer to us that it’s easy to forget that for many marketers, online video hasn’t yet hit their radar screen. So thanks New York Times for spreading the word about the power and potential of video.
We’ve been slumming it in Vegas this week, posting regular video updates from the International Consumer Electronics Show happening here each year around this time. We’re hanging out with our friends from LG Canada, producing choose-your-own-adventure style videos for YouTube about all their new gadgets on offer for the coming year.
Check out the intro here…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M4b69iYHJQ
Lately we’ve seen an increase in the number of clients who are integrating more video-based tactics into their employee-communications strategies. And it makes a lot of sense: because of its ability to connect with audiences on an emotional level, video has always been recognized as a powerful medium for motivating and inspiring employees. But in the last few years, several factors – including advances in production capabilities, better online viewing options and a surge in bandwidth and network resources – have converged to make video a more cost-effective, accessible and effective employee-comms tactic.
Some of the projects we’re having fun working on lately include:
So based on our experience with the successful campaigns we’ve been working on, here are our top five tips for making your employee-comms video strategy the best it can be:
1. Make it a two-way conversation
One of the most exciting things about using online video in employee communication is its’ potential for interactivity: wherever possible, add a ‘like’ button and/or allow for commentary so that employees can join the conversation.
2. Don’t make it all about the CEO
Sure it’s important to capture the leadership perspective, but some of the most inspiring videos we’ve done have reflected other viewpoints: profiles of how customers have been touched by a company’s product, testimonials from suppliers, or stories from front-line employees are great angles from which to tell your company’s story. Which brings us to our next tip…
3.Tell a story!
It should be more than just a corporate presentation captured on video. A good video-production company should help you communicate your corporate messages in a way that tells an interesting story and engages your audience.
4. Make it high-quality…but not too polished
When shooting and editing videos of company leaders and the management team, the subjects should appear as natural and authentic as possible – never too rehearsed or slick. We’ve found that the videos that come across as unrehearsed, natural conversations resonate the best with employees.
5. Integrate video-based tactics with other communications tools
Remembering that each individual’s learning style and communication preference is unique, and that people tend to retain information better if it’s repeated over time, it can be beneficial to echo the video-based messages in other tactics, like newsletters, email or voicemail.
So we’ll be poppin’ champagne up in here tonight. PROFIT magazine has just named Flashframe in its’ 11th Annual PROFIT HOT 50 list!
Billed as “the definitive list of Canada’s emerging growth companies”, the PROFIT HOT 50 ranks young Canadian start-ups by two-year revenue growth. We placed 17th on the 2010 list, and we’re extremely proud and excited to be ranked among Canada’s fastest growing start-ups.
News of this win has given us pause to reflect on the last few crazy years. When we started Flashframe in 2006, we were just a couple of film-geek refugees from Toronto’s beleaguered film- and TV-production industry. The work was drying up as US-based productions fled the rising Canadian dollar, but we wanted to keep doing good work in our field, and we saw an opportunity to put our passion for filmmaking to work for corporate clients. Going out on our own was a scary proposition, but the work has proven to be every bit as creatively fulfilling as we’d hoped, and financially rewarding to boot.
From the beginning, we prided ourselves on our commitment to client service and our drive to make every production the very best it can be. It’s helped that the majority of our clients are PR and communications peeps; they’re a smart, demanding bunch, and we love that about them. No doubt, we owe a great deal of our success to our amazing clients, who keep us creatively challenged and motivated with each and every project.
Flashframe’s success is also a reflection of the exciting and endless possibilities of the new-media industry. Given the escalating growth of social media and online marketing, we can’t help but think that the most exciting times are ahead – both for us and for our clients.
On Location with Black Mountain
…and the Final video
