Video Production Terms Translated

Posted on by Apple Box Video Blog Posted in Apple Box Video Blog - Pittsburgh, PA

To those of us in the video production industry, terms like “kill the baby” are common. But for the newbies and curious cats, such slang can be alarming. In this list, we’ve translated some of the oddest, top production terms you’re likely to hear around a video set.

  • Hot Set – A hot set refers to a video set in which there are furniture and props positioned in a precise way for an imminent shot. To keep the set in perfect condition to be filmed, it is labeled a hot set to avoid ruining the shot.
  • Kill the Baby – Lets break this down starting with baby. Babies are 1k or larger and often a small version of lights with just as much luminance. When a director calls “kill the baby” he or she is simply alerting the grip to turn off the 1k light. It is advised to be most aware of your surroundings and setting before calling out such alarming grip slang.
  • C-47 – Although C-47 sounds fancy, or perhaps electrical like a certain light, a C-47 is a term representing a wooden clothespin. It is also known as 47’s, CP47′, bullets and ammo. There a bunch of back stories on how C-47’s got their name. One in particular was because a C-47 refers to an extremely versatile type of military plan used during World War II. In the video production industry, these little tools are also versatile.Our favorite version of the story, is that back in the early Hollywood days, studio higher ups would audit equipment requests from other departments like the lighting department, who would go wild over the idea of spending big amounts of money on tools that simpler tools like a clothespin could take care of. Hence, clothespin was quietly changed to a more impressive sounding C-47 and all requests were immediately approved by clueless studio heads.
  • Pigeon plate on a pancake – This is one of our favorites to hear and say, just because it sounds like a ridiculous and long winded dinner order. Instead, this is something you can find in most grip kits. A 750 pigeon is a low stand used for a light on the floor or an Apple Box (wooden box) or on top of a shelf. The pancake part is a simply a piece of wood that the plate is attached to.
  • Juicer – a Juicer is simply a term meaning a lighting technician, or one who gives power to the video set. These juicers are also called lamp operators or sparks. In other countries like Europe, the electricians carry out much of the work that falls to the grip department in the US, where the lighting work is split into the electrician group ‘juicers’ and the grip group.
  • Mickey Rooney – Yes the old actor is where this name stems from. No offense against Mr. Rooney, but this term means a slow creep with the dolly. Apparently many believe Mickey Rooney is a little creep with a dolly…
  • Stingers – As a juicer or sparks refer to the electrical technician on set, a stinger refers to an electrical cord/extension cords.
  • Best Boy – Best boys in video terminology, are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the lighting or grip department. They are the best for the job and responsible for getting the equipment, returning it, loading and unloading the production trucks and planning and implementing the lighting or rigging of locations and stages.
  • Abby Singer – Abby Singer is a term meaning second-to-final shot of the day. This phrase was named after an actual crew member by the name of Abby Singer would always alert his people of this particular shot setup, scene or the day.
  • Spike that spot – A grip will spike a spot, or mark a certain spot called out by the director so that the talent know exactly where to hit their mark on set.

10 of the strangest video production slang terms translated

Have another favorite phrase you’ve heard on a video set? Let us know it on our Facebook page.

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The Internet of Things and ANSYS

Motion graphics video produced by Apple Box Studios

Posted on by Apple Box Video Blog Posted in Apple Box Video Blog - Pittsburgh, PA

Chances are, you’ve heard of the Internet of Things – A global nervous system that will connect over two hundred billion smart devices to the Internet by the year 2020. Our client, ANSYS Inc. provides the comprehensive suite of simulation software to reliably and cost-effectively engineer high-performance electronic devices and systems.

Ansys logo and The Internet of Things

To promote simulation-driven product development and ANSYS’ simulation software, Apple Box Studios produced a motion graphics video that can be seen below as well as on ANSYS’ website here.




 

 

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Video Production: How Do You Like Them Apple Boxes?

An essential, on-set unifier in video production & the core of our name

Posted on by Apple Box Video Blog Posted in Apple Box Video Blog - Pittsburgh, PA

What’s in our name? An apple box? What is an apple box anyway?

To those of us in the video production industry, an “apple box” isn’t just something your new iphone 6 or mini ipad comes in. The humble apple box is a standard piece of video production equipment that serves several different purposes on set. This wooden box is often considered a great unifier and a core concept among our company, Apple Box Studios.

Apple Box - a video production essential

For our new friends, one of Apple Box Studios’ specialties is full-service video production, hence the related name. Here at The Box you can find many apple boxes lying around paying homage to its unlimited functions.

applebox what it is

Owner and Creative Director, Mike Wertz with Adam Stevenson on set with apple box nearby

As a full service ad agency and video production company, you can be sure to find these wooden boxes on each one of our shoots as well as around our office. They come in handy as seats for our director, as support for equipment, they assist with light stands staying level, they keep dollys flat on a steep slope, get rigged to a ladder to hold a camera high up and are even used to trick the camera into thinking talent is taller than they actually are.

If you’re a Modern Family fan, actress Sarah Hyland often uses this trick. See her Instagram post below from just a few days ago.

Actress, Sarah Highland uses apple box to trick the camera into thinking she's a tad bit taller

If you’ve ever been on set, you might have taken a squat on an apple box (although, we don’t encourage our crew to take regular box squat’s, unless they are the camera operator), but do you know there are all kinds of different sizes and names for these wooden boxes?

Sarah Hyland, above, isn’t just giving her box a cute nickname, “get me a few pancakes” is actually a call you’re likely to hear on set.

Apple boxes in the “action” department

Apple boxes in the camera department are most obviously used to elevate the camera anywhere from a few inches to a few feet depending on how many are stacked, the specific size and side you choose to use. One tip we’d give is also using camera wedges – they are smart to help level the camera for times when the boxes are not as stable as they could be.

Camera operators and camera assistants (ACs for short) as well as directors of photography (DPs) heavily use apple boxes as seats. These people aren’t lazy, the boxes provide support and stabilization and are used to hit subjects at a certain angle or height.

If you’re on set, a third common use of these boxes is for resting the camera on them in handheld situations.

If you’re a 2nd AC, it’s usually appreciated and more time efficient to have an apple box on standby for the 1st AC to rest the camera on in between takes. Cameras and attached equipment are heavy, no operator wants to keep lifting them from the ground all the way onto their shoulders.

Of course there are a million more different uses for apple boxes, but many of them are unique to certain situations.

Sizes, names and types 

Apple boxes come in a variety of sizes:

  • Full Apple (8″ x 20″ x 12″)
  • Half Apple (4″ x 20″ x 12″)
  • Quarter Apple (2″ x 20″ x 12″)
  • Pancake (or Eighth Apple) (1″ x 20″ x 12″)

The different sizes are designed to be modular so two half apples would be the same size as a full apple box or two quarters would be the same as one half apple.

Different sizes and types of Apple Boxes used in video production

Did you know about these fancy positions?

An apple box can be placed in one of three positions, New York, Los Angeles, or Texas/Chicago position. The New York position refers to The Big Apple’s tall skyscrapers and sits on the box’s shortest side making it the tallest position. The Los Angeles position, however, is when the box is at its lowest, or when it rests flat on the floor. Finally, the Texas or Chicago position is when the box is resting on its longest side, sitting at a medium height.

Have some free time on your hands and want to see an apple box in action? Check it out here.

We’re always impressed with the creative ways grips, production assistants and different crew members use apple boxes. They are practical, serve several purposes, time and cost effective, come in different sizes and shapes, are unifying and often serve as great solutions. For all these reasons and more, the humble apple box was chosen for our company name years and years ago – it’s where it all began for our Pittsburgh video production and ad agency. It’s still a core concept for us today.

How do you use apple boxes on set? Any tips or stories? We’d love to hear them. Share your apple box experiences or fun facts with us on our Facebook or Twitter page!

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Producing Mobile First Video

Text legibility, cuts and sound for mobile friendly video marketing

Posted on by Apple Box Video Blog Posted in Apple Box Video Blog - Pittsburgh, PA

This is where I would normally insert a sparkly statistic about the increase in viewing video on smart phones and tablets, but there is no need because this is old news. Mobile is and has been taking over as the go-to platform for content viewing/sharing and seeking information for a while and it’s only a matter of time until desktops and TV sets are completely replaced with wearables and phones. How does this effect us? A mobile experience on a 3-inch (or smaller) screen is going to be much different than an experience on a 36-inch, standard TV screen or even on a 13-inch laptop screen. In the past, it wasn’t thought to be problematic to have smaller text, or a larger amount of text on screens or to pay as much attention to hard-cut sound between edits. Today, however, producers need to understand the medium itself and what kind of impact it will have on the viewer as well as respond to this mobile experience takeover right now. Building off of a previous post from our own Thad Ciechanowski (Motion Pictures VP), here are some tips on producing video for today’s mobile user.

1. Text – Legibility, clarity and relevance is everything.
Trying to read a paragraph of small text over top of moving video on a three-inch screen is not only hard on the eyes, it sets you up for a definite un-follow. At Apple Box, we try to shrink designs down to about the size of a mobile screen so that we have a constant visual reference. This is an important UX step to consistently implement when designing for the user. It’s important that the size of your text be a little larger than usual as well. The text needs to be easy to read, just like the text on billboards on the highway needs to be big, bold and right to the point. Just as drivers only have a less than a few seconds to read those billboards, mobile users only care enough to lend you less than a few seconds (if that) to try and understand what text is on the screen, why it’s there and why it’s relevant to them. If you must have a decent amount of text, at least stick to a simplified or even a flat background design. For example, in between motion cuts, try having a solid color background under your line of text.

Hello Happiness Coke Ad

Hello Happiness Coke Ad

2. Typefaces

If you’re adding text – choose your typefaces carefully. Typefaces can quickly ruin a user’s experience and make them bolt for the “x” button. These are few Design 101 typeface tips we try to keep in mind at Apple Box.

1. Ellipses, ligatures, and diphthongs can improve the aesthetics of your typefaces.

2. Bulleted lists start under the first character, end marks finish an article.

3. There is a place for bulleted lists and it’s more often than not in video.

4. Display and script typefaces may be used in some instances, but they do not mimic handwriting.

5. Bold and italic typefaces have their place, underlined and blinking tyepfaces do not.

6. If you incorporate numbers, old style numbers improve readability. Old style figures blend in well with lowercase, as they have the same x-height, and also have ascenders and descenders. One of my favorite sites for new mobile fonts is youworkforthem.com (can be seen below from you work

www.youworkforthem.com/mobile-fonts

Image from https://www.youworkforthem.com/mobile-fonts

7. Try to avoid stacking type. Stacking letter forms interferes with the way the eye interprets words. Try instead forming blocks with your words. Balanced type is not only easy on the eyes but also pleasing and can lead to extended engagement.

8. Avoid type effects that serve no purpose like distorting type…if you’re about that, then you might as well be using comic sans. Instead of producing effects that just look cool to you, make meaningful decisions for the user’s benefit.

9. All caps should be reserved for sans serif typefaces.

10. Any large text requires kerning, which is adjusting the space between letters. Headlines and other instances of large text require kerning because the large size amplifies the space between letters and can make the text appear awkward. More of an art than a science. Should be uniform throughout.

However, part of achieving great and effective content marketing with mobile video is also figuring out a way to be highly creative and engaging without the use of text. This is where sound, strong visuals and cuts come into play.

3. Sound

Sound or narration is a great alternative to text when dealing with mobile in the video production and post-production process. We are seeing more and more mobile video have close to no text at all except maybe at the end when the brand and a slogan pop up or a name in an interview. The cat food brand Friskies launched a new campaign this past year called Dear Kitten, which has proved to be a definite content marketing win and fitting example. If you haven’t seen the video, check it out below – unless you get weirded out by personifying cats.




The online video campaign now is made up of two videos featuring an older cat gracing a new kitten with its wisdom on its new home with his humans. The second is even more hilarious as it features the new “thing” in the house…a puppy. It’s really just a big ad for Friskies cat food, but the videos are so well done that many do not even realize they are watching an ad for cat food. Back to my point, the only text that appears is at the very end when the Friskies logo appears. During the span of the videos, the older cat’s narration, voiced by Ze Frank, is the only sound playing. The story being told through the cat’s eyes offers a unique and comical perspective that engages the viewer throughout the video. It’s story telling in its natural and original form. Weren’t the best kinds of stories the ones that were read to us out loud? If the content is good enough you get almost lost in a trance following the voice as the story unfolds.

It’s also important to note that mobile viewing experiences also often involve listening through headphones, which is even more of an intimate experience. As Thad also mentioned in his post, speakers on a mobile device and headphones will sound different than in a sound system or a move theater. This means you as the producer or whoever is overseeing the video production process need to listen for things like a hard-cut sound between edits and lose those low end subtleties, which will be lost to the viewer on mobile anyway.

4. Cuts can sting
Cuts are also important to pay attention to in mobile video. When, where and how often you cut in a video can set the tone, feel and pace of any story, especially on a three-inch or smaller mobile device. A critical factor in video production and story telling through this format is the placement of cuts. Thad described his approach, which is to follow Walter Murch’s Rule of six, which is a set of priorities when determining a cut. “You can afford faster cuts than on a big screen when dealing with mobile video. The content has less of a presence than a big screen. The principle behind it is your eyes have less to look at in terms of size. The less you have to move them back and forth, the quicker you can comprehend a concept.”

https://vimeo.com/92762664

Editing and design are only part of the mobile video production process of today. The Apple watch may not be coming out until 2015, but it’s only a matter of time before everyone is viewing video on those screens, which are way smaller than the standard smart phone screen size. Like any effective marketing should do, always keep the user in mind. Produce for the user. Produce for their platform…the mobile platform. A great story combined with great user experience sets you up for a content marketing win.

How do you produce mobile first video? Keep the conversation rolling on our Facebook page.

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Visit Milwaukee: Martin’s Visit

Animated video produced by Apple Box Studios for Visit Milwaukee

Posted on by Apple Box Video Blog Posted in Apple Box Video Blog - Pittsburgh, PA

Visit Milwaukee recently launched their latest video ad “Martin’s Visit to Milwaukee” – produced by Apple Box Studios.

Screen shot 2015-05-27 at 12.02.01 PM

Based on “Barney Visits Pittsburgh,” Apple Box Studios was able to quickly and cost effectively create this animated, membership video for the city of Milwaukee, which can now be found on their website.

Get ready to see the Brew City in a whole new light. “Martin Visits Milwaukee” brings to life the amazing ROI of hosting just one convention in the land of beer and cheese.




Have you ever been to Milwaukee? What’s your favorite part of the city? Let us know on our page!

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VisitPITTSBURGH Names Apple Box Studios Tourism Partner of the Year

Posted on by Apple Box Video Blog Posted in Apple Box Video Blog - Pittsburgh, PA

On Thursday, March 26, VisitPITTSBURGH announced the recipients of its 2014 Travel & Partner Awards. The awards, recognize “outstanding contributions” to the region’s convention, travel and tourism industry.

VisitPittsburgh names Apple Box Studios their Tourism Partner of the Year

Along with Pittsburgh Transportation Group and Pittsburgh Restaurant Week, Apple Box Studios and Mike Wertz (Owner & Creative Director) received the Tourism Partner of the Year Award.

In 2013, Apple Box Studios produced the first Barney Visits Pittsburgh promotional, animated video for VisitPittsburgh, which features Barney bringing his business to the Burgh. The video also received a 2013 Silver Telly Award.

In 2014, Apple Box Studios produced the “Mighty Beautiful Pittsburgh” video for VisitPittsburgh, which highlights the richness and quality of life from above using UVAC (unmanned video aircraft carrier) technology. UVAC technology allows us the unique ability to capture beautiful, aerial imagery never seen before. The video (seen below) even went viral months later after being featured in a realty blog post from Movoto titled: “If you’re from Pittsburgh, this will be the most jaw-dropping thing you see today…”




Last month, VisitPittsburgh released the sequel to Barney Visits Pittsburgh. Also produced by Apple Box Studios, the animated sequel features Barney brining his whole family to Pittsburgh including his pitbull, of course named Pittsburgh.

Apple Box Studios is grateful for an ongoing partnership with VisitPittsburgh and looks forward to another year of showing off Pittsburgh to the world.

For the original VisitPittsburgh news release click here.

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Barney Visits Pittsburgh: The Sequel

The sequel to Barney Visit’s Pittsburgh, produced by Apple Box Studios

Posted on by Apple Box Video Blog Posted in Apple Box Video Blog - Pittsburgh, PA

The Pittsburgh region has a proud sense of identity. Our work ethic, our shared history, our diverse ethnicities, lifestyles and businesses are reflected in the buzzing, daily activity and neighborhoods that make up one of the most livable regions in the country. For these reasons and more, Apple Box Studios is excited and grateful for an ongoing partnership withVisitPittsburgh and the opportunity to show off Pittsburgh to the world.

Screen shot 2015-05-27 at 1.07.07 PM

As Pittsburgh continues to shine as a must-see place to visit, the Apple Box creative team recently went to the drawing board (literally) and brought Barney back to the Burgh for a sequel to the Barney Visits Pittsburgh campaign. You may remember Barney when he brought his convention to Pittsburgh back in 2013.




Fast forward to 2015 – Barney is back and this time he brought the whole family.




Why illustration? The visual revolution is here, and simple (but smart) illustrations can be marketing dynamite on cutting through the clutter. Don’t get us wrong, we use photography on a weekly basis, but it’s important to remember – video is not glanceable. Depending on the content and goals of your video, using illustrations can be a great tool for helping audiences focus on what you want them to focus on – without cluttered backgrounds. This can even lead audiences to better understand and remember abstract concepts. When people understand they are more engaged and likely to take action. Also, illustrations give you an unlimited ability to give your content personality. Illustration in the first Barney video allowed us to convey Barney’s quirkiness, making him relatable and fun to follow. The next time through, with Barney’s family, we had even more fun giving subtle personalities to each of his family members.

We are looking forward to seeing what’s next for Barney. We’re also excited to continue embracing illustration as a format for bringing our stories to life.

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Addicted to Video

More and more brands hitting play on video marketing strategies

Posted on by Apple Box Video Blog Posted in Apple Box Video Blog - Pittsburgh, PA

As predicted, video is becoming the content of choice in 2015 and it shows no signs of pausing. According to eMarketer, analysts are bracing for the US audience for digital video (video consumed on any digital device) to pass 200 million in 2015 – two-thirds of the entire population. Looking at the end of last year, YouTube was the number two search engine in the world. A third of all online activity was spent watching video. It was estimated that each day, 100 million Internet users watched a video online. And, more video content is uploaded and shared on the Internet in 30 days than all three major US TV networks combined have created in 30 years. It’s clear – we’re addicted to video.

Today, video is streamed to us in a range of formats on a variety of competing, social platforms like 6-second Vine videos, 15-second Instavideos, 2 – 3-minute auto plays on Facebook, in-line news feed on Google+ and now we’re seeing LinkedIn’s video feature being released as well as videos being pinned to Pinterest and even talk of auto-play videos on Twitter’s feed. For brand marketers, the result is an ongoing upgrade of advertising options and tech features to embrace in 2015 – all surrounding video.

Twitter (owns Vine) and Facebook (owns Instagram) are two social brands leading the way with video ad opportunities. Facebook in particular has way upped their video reach and even passed YouTube for video views on desktops, delivering nearly a billion more than YouTube. If you’re on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed it’s autoplaying of videos feature – a feature that has a great advantage over YouTube’s user initiated engagement.

chart

As Marketing Land reported, in September, Facebook announced it was generating more than a billion video views daily, which was a result of the site adjusting its newsfeed algorithm in June. The algorithm update enables serving up more relevant video content to users that were more likely to watch a video. Sean Mills, president of the mobile news operation NowThisNews claimed “our growth in monthly Facebook video views has increased by 30x since July, and we’re seeing tens of millions of views on Facebook each month.” To give you a dollar amount – just 24 months ago Facebook did $1 billion in revenue and now does $4 billion. That’s impressive. Facebook also credited the explosion in video advertising to users who are posting more videos themselves too. Without user interest in the format, the ads would be jarring in the News Feed, but the numbers prove positive the interest is more than there.

Facebook is even pressing play on their own video ad campaign with the latest launch of their three, 60-second ad spots on what friendship means to people. And they succeed on almost every level as these ads are gritty, immediate and powerfully evocative. They show not only the true essence of the brand and the values it was founded upon, but also the power of video to resonate with such a wide audience even in a quick 60 seconds.

https://youtu.be/bOWRQfo-RGk

Twitter is also proving its power with its own tech feature updates and ad opportunities. Twitter recently added the ability to capture video within the app up to 30 seconds in length and allows you to edit them inline with basic cuts. As Tech Crunch states native video might mean people resort to using the Twitter-owned Vine less for sharing videos, but the focus here is to keep users within the service, and provide an experience that not only offers inline content viewing, but also ensures users don’t pop off to another destination and potentially not return.

This is great news for brand marketers. Twitter’s video content restrictions (30 second limit) a good length for advertisers looking for new ways to reach audiences on the service. Twitter also announced their plans for this inline video feature are to give marketers a new way to share videos – with autoplay. The autoplay feature allows marketers to create a six-second video preview, a quick opportunity to entice users to click their ad. However, it doesn’t have to be the first six seconds of the video. Brands can choose which six seconds to take for the autoplay preview. It’s no secret that getting clicks on video is all about an exciting hook from the start. The autoplay video will also not have sound until a user clicks to watch the promoted tweet, like Facebook. But advertisers don’t pay until they get that click. Brands will in total be offered up to 10 minutes of video time, but no worries – that’s like an eternity in social media time.

No social video article today would be complete without mentioning Instagram. The Facebook-owned photo and now video sharing app has exploded to 200 million monthly active users with 20 billion photos and videos shared in total and more than 2500 brands have now joined Instagram to date with the top brands being Nike, Starbucks and Adidas. Since launching its video capability, there has been a 37% increase in Instagram shares on Twitter and Instagram videos are creating two-times more engagement than Instagram photos.

Besides brands taking advantage of organic reach on Instagram, Instagram now offers video ad opportunities. Starting in October of 2014, Instagram now allows advertisers to run 15-second video ads that’ll appear in your feed the same way that sponsored image posts have for almost a year. Either way, it’s clear brands are embracing the video trend on Instagram, especially big brands like Nike and Victoria Secret who were recently featured in AdWeek for their intense follower gain from their social Instavideos. Although it’s clear these brands didn’t use their in-app video recording capability, Victoria Secret more than doubled its audience from 4.2 million to 10.5 million, while Nike skyrocketed from 4 million to 12 million.

Click here to see Nike’s Instagram Videos

image006

Gap is another brand embracing video on Instagram with the first-ever Instagram micro-series called Spring is Coming to introduce their Spring line. The micro-series tells a timeless tale of boy-meets-girl romance between comedian and “Marcel the Shell” creator Jenny Slate and indie actor Paul Dano, in his commercial debut. The first clip hit more than 7k views right after it’s release.

https://youtu.be/pXsVlwyolSY

As video continues to take over as the content of choice in 2015 and on, social platforms and digital advertising opportunities will continue to respond. For brand marketers, this is an ongoing upgrade of opportunities for reaching and connecting with audiences using video. It’s clear consumers want this format. The numbers are there. Video is becoming a luxury of the past for brands, but don’t let this shake you. There is a close to endless supply of tools today for mixing up your video marketing strategy. It’s about creating consistent and relevant media that voices the essence of your brand with unique and meaningful messaging.

How is your brand embracing video? Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

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Apple Box Weighs in on Ad Bowl 2015

Winners & Losers

Posted on by Apple Box Video Blog Posted in Apple Box Video Blog - Pittsburgh, PA

During the four hours of the Super Bowl or (Ad Bowl 2015), top brands and agencies compete off-field for the most talked about and shared ad spots. Now that the games have ended, the Monday morning quarterbacks at Apple Box Studios are pleased to bring you the top five best and worst ads of Super Bowl 2015.

Our Top 5 Winners

1. Be More Human – Reebok

To push their new logo and brand message, Reebok has launched a fully integrated campaign designed to decode what it means to be human – capable of anything. This ad not only highlights the physical benefits of fitness, but also the mental, emotional and social benefits that appeal to every type of human. We’re used to brands like Nike and Under Armour tellings us we need to be more like the star athletes in which their ads focus on. Reebok, instead, shows us the parent, the protector, the coach – roles any audience member can relate to. It’s not about being strong like Michael Jordan, it’s about being strong in your daily life and facing the non-stop punishments no matter who you are. Let’s not forget to mention their kick-butt, interactive website, equipped with a first-ever “human score” test.

https://youtu.be/UDb-7DY3CjU

2. Newfangled Idea – BMW i3

BMW’s ad “Newfangled Idea,” pushes aside the muscle trucks and Internet newbies of the past and braces for a high tech today. In 1994, no one knew how big the Internet would be. Not even broadcast journalists Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel. 21 years later, a new big idea has them scratching their heads again. In this spot, BWM shows it has a clear vision of the future and innovative technology with it’s new i3 produced with good fuel economy.

https://youtu.be/U1jwWwJ-Mxc

3. #LikeAGirl – Always 

Following Dove’s lead, Always shifts the spotlight on an under-represented issue. During a ritual that seems to be dominated by men, they pose the question: when did doing something like a girl become an insult? By giving women a voice in the conversation, this ad proves that “like a girl” doesn’t have to be something negative. A personal favorite of all the ladies at Apple Box.

https://youtu.be/q3GpXgFwWmk

4. “Lost Dog” – Budweiser #BestBuds

No Super Bowl ad mecca would be complete without Budweiser pulling at our heartstrings yet again. As the supposed final chapter of the best buds story, Budweiser reminds the beer-in-hand audience that beer is more than just a drink. It’s about friendship, love, home and…wait…a cute puppy?

https://youtu.be/xAsjRRMMg_Q

5. The Brady Bunch – Snickers

“You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” – a commercial we’ve seen a hundred times over takes it to the next level with Danny Trejo starring as a very hungry Marcia and if that’s not enough funny, Steve Buscemi swoops in at the end as the perpetually forgotten Jan. Great writing plus an unexpected casting lands this ad the final spot in our top five.

https://youtu.be/rqbomTIWCZ8

 

Now for the Bench Warmers 

1. Showdown with Jerry Rice and Andrew Hunter – Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes let us down with this prequel to their content marketing win, “Fable.” Mercedes-Benz is supposed to symbolize luxury and opulence and to us, the ad screamed tacky and a lack of focus. The best or nothing? Not with this ad.

https://youtu.be/eWLeqIV4XGc

2. Kate Upton – Game of War

Kate Upton in this ad, hid her disdain for Game of War about as well as she can act. That’s all we have to say.




3. #MakeItHappy – Coke

#MakeItHappy? more like #MakeAFire, cause that’s what would have happened if a full coke bottle were to spill on a bunch of computer wires. We had much higher expectations from the monster brand after a year of success from their “Share a Coke” campaign. Coke probably should have explored a safer and more realistic approach to solving cyber bullying.

https://youtu.be/ibgvkXm9Qkc

4. Make Safe Happen – Nationwide

“Sadvertising” continues to be a common wrap-up word describing this year’s Super Bowl ads, but many are arguing Nationwide took it too far. Although the Insurance brand is gaining a lot of buzz surrounding preventable child accidents, no brand should want to be associated with headlines like “child-death ad.” This could have been an extremely disturbing moment for the tens of thousands who have lost children to a tragedy.

https://youtu.be/dKUy-tfrIHY

5. Tackle It – Jublia

First of all: who is Jublia? and why are they showing us thirty seconds of toe fungus on one of the most food-loving days of the year?

What ads made it on your top five? Continue the conversation on our Facebook page.

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Video Keeps Rolling

Strap in for a year of GoPros, UVACs and 4K Production

Posted on by Apple Box Video Blog Posted in Apple Box Video Blog - Pittsburgh, PA

In 2014, three key technological forces combined to keep the creative power and business of video rolling. Today, the use of this impressive trio has proved to CEOs, commercial producers and clients alike that video is no longer a luxury but rather a necessity that can be affordable and effective in telling a compelling visual story. As the video production industry heads into 2015, our tech compass is pointing at the GoPro camera, UVAC technology (unmanned video aircraft carrier, or “drones”) and the growing attraction to (and use of) 4K production as drivers of strong growth in video production.

1. The GoPro

Let’s start with the GoPro. Since the company went public in June 2014, no device, company or innovation had symbolized the surge of video usage we all experienced this past year like the GoPro. A point-of-view camera made famous by extreme sport athletes and risk-takers alike. 2014 was the year this mobile mini wonder expanded beyond the weekend warrior platform and went mainstream production with commercial and corporate pros behind the lenses.

The camera became a force for transforming the way consumers and pros capture footage and express meaningful life events in video. GoPro has pushed not only its users but also the art and science of video production to new extremes during a year that ultimately showed production personnel and clients that the GoPro can serve as a powerful and even cost effective production tool.

The company’s web site (gopro.com) touts that the GoPro enables people “to capture compelling, immersive photo and video content of themselves participating in their favorite activities.” Typically, those activities have been outdoors and involved athletic activities.  Bloomberg.com, a financial web site, even noted that by mid 2014 there were 500 million+ views on YouTube of GoPro generated video content. It’s important to note that most often, these are consumer-views. However, if we drill down deeper, filmmakers and Directors of Photography from all over the world along with corporate and commercial video pros are using the GoPro to capture some never before seen shots. Check out www.Vimeo.com for a deep pool of GoPro-created videos.

In 2014, we’ve seen feature films like Need for Speed, cable shows like Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, and corporate video productions for manufacturing, training and marketing. In these productions, the GoPro has become a staple in the producer and videographer’s toolkit. And let’s not forget to mention quality… the GoPro can quite clearly hold it’s own when intercut with high-end production cameras. In a recent episode of Bourdain’s Parts Unknown produced by ZeroPointZero Productions, Bourdain and his crew outfitted a fishing boat working the waters of Cape Cod with five GoPro units. The cameras, intercut with the compliment of cinema-styled Sony F5’s and 55’s, captured stunning point-of-view imagery of the boat dipping in and out of seas, high and wide-angle views of the boat’s deck from above and unique perspectives from the Captain’s wheel as the boat headed out into even deeper waters.

Screen shot 2015-05-15 at 9.09.24 AM

The GoPro camera is like no other before because it goes where most do not or “cannot” go – on helmets, cycles, torsos, in places the size of a coffee mug, in environments where the air is thin or the water is deep and even strapped on and bouncing on top of animals’ heads.  A great example can be found in To Climb An Iceberg, part of the Adventure in Life 4k series www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kBjb1yfabI. The filmmaker’s ventured through dangerous arctic waters in Greenland’s Disko Bay looking for the ultimate iceberg to capture on video and send home. The GoPro’s and their videographers risked their lives and pushed their limits climbing fragile icebergs. Shot 100% on the HERO4® camera, we see one more dramatic example of how and where the GoPro is taking us.




 

2. UVAC Technology

How about flight? UVACs (unmanned video aircraft carrier technology) also notoriously known on the streets as the aerial drone, is our second force that keeps video rolling into 2015. UVAC simply means a drone unit is holding or strapped to a GoPro, DSLR or larger camera. Let’s just say this technology has really taken off in 2014 (pun intended).

British filmmaker and video guru Phillip Bloom, known for his DSLR filmmaking, blog and workshops, says he loves flying a GoPro mounted on his DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter, and, “How freeing it can be” even comparing it to his dreaming of being an astronaut (source: Digital Filmmaker Issue 18). More and more, video production pros are using this birds-eye tech to grab shots that typically would have been off limits due to cost or capability- shots that in most cases would have been attempted using a camera crane or even pricier – helicopters. Today, however, it’s getting more and more commonplace to use UVACs to shoot aerial footage for commercial purposes like real estate marketing, outdoor events, travel videos, training videos, wildlife conservation videos and even as delivery vehicles (as we’ve seen with industry leaders like Amazon.com). But to experience the freedom Bloom speaks of, professional UVAC operators are working hard to gain experience, record training flight-time and seek out clients. And, on a positive note, never before have we seen pilots flying with such an eagle-eye on safety.

Prior to October 2014, UVAC regulations permitted use only for personal applications or hobbies. Commercial and paid use of UVACs was banned. However, on September 26, 2014, the FAA granted rights to use UVACs in commercial applications to 6 production companies giving certain exemptions and special status specifically for the purpose of aerial (source: Wikipedia). As we head into the new year, we are beginning to see more structured and safer use of UVACs with much needed governmental guidance in the works at the same time.

Today, video production pros and firms like us have expanded on and embraced UVACs for commercial and marketing use. For us at, Apple Box Studios, we’ve been getting high over beautiful, city landscapes, tall and detailed architecture and buzzing street ways with UVAC technology. In fact, you may have even come across one of Pittsburgh’s 2014 viral videos, Mighty Beautiful Pittsburgh, a spot for Visit Pittsburgh and produced by the Apple Box crew.UVACs gave us the ability to capture Pittsburgh’s mighty beauty from all angles. As the video proved positive, utilizing UVACs is a powerful tool for destination marketing, one of our main services at the Box.




We can point to a dramatic example of the growing UVAC phenomenon as in the case this past Fall in the Northeast U.S. when videographer James Grimaldi used his UVAC to capture the first major snowfall of the season in West Seneca, NY. A storm had hit Southern Buffalo and its southern-most towns killing 14 and covering the region in more than seven feet of snow. The storm created a surreal landscape and from high above Grimaldi’s drone brought a magical view on unplowed streets, buried vehicles and a treacherous Arctic landscape. Grimaldi published the footage on YouTube showing the world his UVAC in action as the unit flew through a garage door and out across snow-covered neighborhoods. The footage is breathtaking and can be seen below.




 

3. 4K Video Production

Not only did Grimaldi seem to capture the attention of the world with his now classic “snow flight”, he shot the footage with the help of a GoPro shooting 4K footage. 4K. The third force fueling video’s growth storming into 2015.

If you open up almost any television and film production magazine today, you’re bound to see at least one article showcasing 4K resolution cameras and tools. 4K is in. 1080P is fading. In fact, one of the many new podcasts being published for producers, videographers and directors, 4K Shooters, is heralding the new wave of high-resolution 4K production tools and viewing displays. Whether it’s lenses, recording media or cinema-quality digital cameras, 2015 is looking like it will be the year 4k gets a warm embrace.

So what is 4K? 4K Ultra HD, standardized by the International Telecommunication Union, has four times the pixels (four times the resolution) of the 1080p HD format, today’s most-used format for acquisition and viewing. (source: tvnewscheck.com)

We saw many ads this past holiday season pitching 4K television sets for consumers. Although 4K viewing is slowly becoming a player, networks, studios and producers like Sony Pictures Television, Netflix and director Peter Jackson (Lord of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies), believe it makes sense to shoot in 4K because the cost is low and because it’s always best to have as much resolution as you can. (source: tvnewscheck.com) Having said that, until producers and distribution networks make 4k programming available, 4k will most often be down-converted to 1080P or 2K formats (source: wikipedia.com).

The good news for 4K shooters is that both YouTube and Vimeo’s are making 4k content platforms available to consumers and pro’s. Although currently limited to mostly nature documentaries and tech coverage, 4k content production and usage online is expected to grow, and as of 2014, Vimeo PRO members and Vimeo On Demand sellers can allow people to upload and download 4K video files. Creators have been able to upload in 4K for some time, but now these files can be downloaded and played on high-end, 4K-compatible displays (source: vimeo.com).

 

The Bottom Line

What’s the bottom line for our three powerful video industry drivers? These are tools that help our clients and our projects push the bar higher. With new point-of-view technology like the GoPro and the strong embrace of commercial and industrial applications for the UVAC we’re getting wider and more compelling aerials and ground shots than ever before. Drones are soaring and as long as we’re safely operating them when we’re after the next great shot from above, they’ll continue to be a go-to tool along with 4K production that offers the production pro of today and 2015, more resolution, color and vantages than we could have ever imagined.

So, video content lovers and producers alike, brace yourself and hold on tight for an exciting, high-flying, high-resolution year for video production in 2015.

 

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