Social Media evolving the 30 second spot

What happens when you combine high quality content creation with social media? Well here is a clever experiment where creatives produced real-time follow-ups to further engage people in their brand content.

This article is about "a team of creatives, tech geeks, marketers and writers who gathered yesterday and produced 87 short comedic YouTube videos about Old Spice - in real time. They leveraged Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and blogs. Everybody loved it; those videos and 74 more made so far today have now been viewed more than 4 million times and counting. The team worked for 11 hours yesterday to make 87 short videos, that's just over 7 minutes per video, not accounting for any breaks taken.

The group seeded various social networks with an invitation to ask questions of Mustafa's character, a dashing shirtless man with over-the-top humor and bravado. Then all the responses were tracked and users who contributed interesting questions and/or were high-profile people on social networks are being responded to directly and by name in short, funny YouTube videos.

We just brought a character to life using the social channels we all [social media geeks] use every day. But we've also taken a loved character and created new episodic content in real time. This is something new. We're operating on Internet time but with a level of quality you'd get on a TV slot. That combination was what really got many peoples' attention."

The Changing World of Film

Despite the fact that the i"Phone"4 doesn't really make calls all that well, it is a pretty impressive piece of technology. After watching this film I was surprised by the quality, especially considering it was shot and editing without leaving the iPhone 4. The team chose their subject well because the shots they captured would have been near impossible using many other recording devices.

This really got me thinking about how powerful portable technology will be used in the future. From a journalist standpoint capturing, creating and sending a news report from a cellphone has some pretty powerful implications. I'm excited to see how other skilled individuals start to use this technology.

"Apple of My Eye" - an iPhone 4 movie / film - UPDATE: Behind the scenes footage included from Michael Koerbel on Vimeo.

Slacker Uprising

Today Michael Moore released his newest documentary called Slacker Uprising which can be downloaded here and watched for free compliments of Mike. It's an effort to encourage younger generations to get out, vote and make a difference this upcoming election. I hope the film helps, after all our president doesn't use the internet and our vice president doesn't believe in dinosaurs.

Digtial is the new color

I listened to an NPR podcast today about Hollywood's reluctance to embrace color filming back when black and white was the standard. A lot has changed and the film industry is experiencing an evolution backed by digital video and equipment and software. The power of the Red One camera enabled this beautiful film that was shot at 120 fps. It demonstrates the power and quality that is more readily accessible to the average filmmaker.

Pangea Day

We're in the golden age of film. Sharing content on a global level is a refreshing concept and an idea that brings culture and class together in a fantastic sharing experience. Pangea Day went live this morning and has executed the event well. I've already watched several short films and I'm impressed and moved. There are some great films, inspirational to filmmakers and filmlovers alike.

This American Life's "What I Learned From Television" recently explained how sharing content on such a tremendous scale has pushed the bar higher and is causing filmmakers to reach new levels of creativity. Pangea Day is another wonderful example of how we are all working together to advance and evolve. Advancements in creativity and innovation are made by building off past ideas and events like this create an environment to share content and make progression.

I saw this film, "A Thousand Words" and it was great.

Sound of Color

We expect more from brands these days. Our generation has evolved into a culture of Free Love where we want experiences to function on different levels and expect a full bodied experience where things are given to us for Free. Companies have raised the bar and we've come to expect more than just a product or service, we expect a full experience from a brand.

The Sound of Color is a great example of just this. We think of color and we associate the artistic and entertaining experience with which we are engaged with the company who produced it. Experience THE SOUND OF COLOR for yourself. One of the biggest flaws is it's not made to be viral; but does it resonate with you? Watch the 'making of' on their site for a brief 3 minute explanation.