1:30 this afternoon I was requested to pull together a national, public facing project that will debut in about 6 weeks.  Requires filming both in Atlanta and in Tennessee.  2 hours later, concept is completed, film crew is booked and research is underway.  This is on-top of the other 20ish projects I’m already managing.

The beauty of having a right and left brain that play very well together.  My left brain works quickly to come up with the creative and a narrative.  Then the right brain kicks in to plan out the technical, scheduling, crew and travel to execute that creative.  Doing all that in less than 2 hours, well that’s what makes me LOVE what I do.  Telling amazing stories.

Stay tuned for more blogs from the road once we get going.

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The corrugated division wanted to create an emotional connection to our audience.  I decided to let the box tell his own story.  Who knows the story of corrugated better than the box himself?  Drawing on my four seasons of animations with Alton Brown and “Good Eats,” I crafted the animation to be a combination of styles including paper-craft and stop-action.   The style allowed us to inject a lot of fun and humor into an otherwise dry subject.

Atlanta Artist Colleen Finch created paper-craft models which I both photographed and manipulated with stop action photography in GP Studios, Studio B.  The images were photographed in RAW giving us ultimate flexibility in post to manipulate the imagery to suite the style.   Parts 1 and 3 were animated by Atlanta artist Amanda Davis while I animated Part 2.

The wrap-around live action were filmed locally in Atlanta using the Sony FS7 in the 4k format.  The finished piece was produced and uploaded to YouTube in 4k which I believe is a first for Georgia-Pacific.   All in all a very fun piece and the start of what we hope will be a long and varied campaign.

You can view Part 1 here.

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The only tricky part for this Live webcast for me was walking backwards without tripping or shaking the camera too much.  Shout out to colleague Karen Cole for operating the LitePanels Lykos light and keeping me from bumping into anything!

Watch the replay here.   By the way, that huge Christmas Tree you see in the opening scene is real, as are several other trees in the Georgia-Pacific Center lobby.  If you’re in the area, you should stop by and check out the trees.  You can grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate from the coffee shop too.

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Before the scripting even began, I followed my normal plan of attack, working backwards from the end.  How the film would be displayed influences how the project would be produced.  Video framing, camera movement, sound design, graphics design and more are all affected by how the viewer will experience the presentation.   Because the idea was to immerse the audience into the presentation, I proposed filming in a super wide format, akin to the original 1960’s CinemaScope 2,55:1 aspect ratio.  We would film in standard 4k 23.98 and then crop the image vertically to create the ultra-widescreen effect.  This was important to decide before production because the videographers had to frame correctly for the center 1/3 of the image.

I originally proposed an over-sized, wraparound screen for the ballroom.  Something that would fill the field of vision vertically and wrap out from the wall at least 25 degrees to create that ‘you are there’ feeling.  The viewers would have to turn their heads a little side to side in order to see everything.  That was going to require a screen over 75 feet wide and 8 feet tall and proved to be too expensive for the budget.  Then Director of Studio Operations, Brad Hinton discovered a ‘virtual theater’ concept whereby the viewer would be immersed in a 360 virtual theater with the CinemaScope widescreen at the front.   VR goggles using a Samsung smartphone, all triggered simultaneously so the audience experiences the film together.    Straight ahead would be the big screen, wide enough that they would have to turn their heads a bit to see everything.  If they looked all around, they would see the rest of the movie theater.  So we could create a ‘traditional flat’ presentation and our audience would be immersed into a VR theater.  It was a brilliant discovery and knowing that delivery mechanism up front was vital to the rest of production.

Since the viewers would be wearing the headsets, we had to be conscious of camera movement.  This presentation was not designed to be an entertainment attraction so we didn’t want to have fast camera moves that could be distracting or worse, make our viewers motion sick.   All camera movement was designed to be horizontal (left to right or right to left) and it would be done slowly and deliberately.  For the motion shots, we went with an OSMO rig with x5 camera to stabilize the camera moves and all other videography was done with the Sony FS7, both shooting in 4k, 23.98.

The scripting process involved many stakeholders including the Sustainability department in Atlanta, research and development in Wisconsin, Dixie brand in Atlanta, paper making facility in Alabama and the Dixie plant in Kentucky.  What I discovered was that there was no way for me to script the intricacies of the entire manufacturing process.  The better way to tell the story would be through the people who actually know the process at the facilities.  They can speak freely in their own words because they live it every day which creates a more natural piece.  So the scripting process was more of an outline and key bullet point process.  In order to keep the running time reasonable, I worked with the stakeholders to identify the key elements of each step of the process.  Then created an outline so each person would focus on only those key areas.   I designed the presentation to go from start to finish of the process with each segment handing off the process to the next step.  The two areas that were fully scripted was the opening segment on Sustainability and the close featuring the head of the Dixie brand.  I Directed the opening scene in the forest while the filming in the Naheola and Bowling Green facilities was Directed by Doug Congleton.

Once filming was completed, I pulled together the storyline from transcripts and worked with Editor Scott Franklin to assemble the story.  Ultimately we ended up with a frame size around 4096 x 1605.  It created that ultra-widescreen look and really forced your eye to look at what we wanted you to see.  Because the screen was so big in the viewers eyes, we chose a small, minimalist graphics package that would not detract from the visuals and break the ‘you are there’ feeling.   Because the audience would all be wearing individual headphones, we ensured that there was good stereo separation and sound placement to further reinforce the ‘you are there’ experience.

Ultimately the presentation far exceeded what was requested from the client and multiple divisions from GP have come back to request a public facing version be created.   Understanding the delivery mechanism of the message and working backwards from the end is how you achieve engagement results for your message.

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Rockin the snake chaps.

So why was I wearing snake chaps in the first place?  Well it was just another day in the life of a Creative Director running around the woods of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.   Each year Georgia-Pacific is audited by an independent auditor to ensure we source our natural fiber in a sustainable manner that meets rigorous environmental standards.  I was tasked with bringing that story to life, but of course it could not be told wholly by GP.  A company saying “we’re good stewards of the land and forest” is not nearly as strong as independent third parties speaking freely about the company.   I developed a storyline and production plan that would create a natural sound piece with no scripting.  The people would tell the story in their own words.

Bill and Nick filming on Fred Hight Jr’s land

In pre-production meetings two of the key messages that came out are that there is more forest in the United States today than 100 years ago and one of the reasons for that is consumers using paper products incentivizes land owners to plant more trees.   That was an aspect of paper products and the timber industry I had never heard, but it makes sense.  In a sense, sustainable forestry is gardening on a grand scale.  Instead of hundreds of acres of crops like corn, beans and apples, you have thousands of acres of trees.  The more people use paper products, the more acres of forest are planted to meet the demand.  Thus, more trees today than 100 years ago.

Nick and Bill filming in the woods on Fred Hight’s land

Working with Bill and Nick from Mother Nature News, we spent three days roaming the woods of Hattiesburg, MS with our trusty Nissan Armada 4×4 to tell the story.  I really wanted a cinematic look to this story, so the crew filmed with the Canon C100 in 24p mode and long lenses to allow a lot of separation between our on camera talent and the background.   I Directed the shoot, conducted the interviews and then created the first outline for the post production edit.

Long lenses allow a more cinematic look by separating the talent from the background.

Telling the story was the team from the GP Leaf River Cellulose facility, PwC Auditor Cheryl Woode and the Atlanta based GP Sustainability team.  Local landowner, Fred Hight Jr. set up the story brilliantly by telling us about his land which led directly into the sustainability story.  Cheryl, the auditor, confirmed that not only does GP meet the required standards, but exceeds them.   GP’s Forest Certification Manager David Brabham delivered the message on incentives to using paper products.  And finally Fred closed out the story with a declaration that his land will be here for many years to come.

In Post I pulled together the transcripts into a loose story and then turned it over to Nick for the edit.  We worked together very well to create the final story.

Our trusty Nissan Armada 4×4 sitting proud under a gorgeous sky in Mississippi

The entire piece came together to tell a well rounded story on the commitment of GP to ensure forests are going to be here for many years to come.  Our very success depends on it.

You can see the story here on MNN’s site.

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The way the service works is you simply upload your audio files and get your transcripts back in near realtime and often faster than realtime. I just uploaded 4 hours of interviews yesterday and had all the transcripts ready in just over an hour.   What’s AWESOME is that the text is sync’d to the audio file.  Click anywhere in the transcript, click “Play” and you hear the audio play back as you read. No more searching through the video to hear what the SOT actually sounds like.  This sync to sound is just the icing on the cake for me.   Oh and if you highlight any portion of the transcript, Trint tells you how long that SOT is.

There’s also a Adjustable Timecode feature allowing you to set the start TC time for an interview.  Perfectly matching it up to the original TC from the video.

Just had to pass along this tip.  Hope it helps you too!

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WalterBiscardi.com is advice, inspiration & training from working creative professionals on all aspects of the creative industry from pre-production to post to growing your career and business. Learn from working editors, photographers, sound designers, colorists, producers, directors and more to not only learn the basic skills, but real-world, insider knowledge on getting the right job and then building your career in the Film, Television and Creative Media Industry.

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DP Brad Hinton showing some moves in GP Studios, Studio A

We filmed entirely in GP Studios, Studio A, located in Georgia-Pacific’s headquarters.  A 2600 square foot space with a 3 wall hard cyc so we were able to get the nice, neutral white limbo for the backdrop.  Camera was the Sony FS7 set up for 4k, 23.98.   We put out an open casting call for any and all employees at GP HQ to come on down in intervals over a 4 hour period.

Using the storyboard for a guide, I had most of the talent perform most of the lines and scenes so we had lots of options in Post for the assembly.  With the huge space of Studio A, we were able to let the employees cut loose with the basketball and got some great moves on camera.  The GP Dubuque facility makes pizza boxes, so we incorporate that into the piece and it was hilarious watching the employees try to spin a pizza box like a basketball.

Believe it or not the hardest part of the entire shoot was getting a vertical stack of 26 Dixie cups to stay in place.  The tallest basketball player ever was 8 foot and 1/2 inch.  I wanted to visually show that height with the cups.

The original idea was to scotch tape them together, but the tape would not stick to the Perfect Touch outer shell.  DP and Director of Studio Operations, Brad Hinton rigged a tall pole into the lighting grid.  We used the lids as an interlocking device, you can see the dark strips at every second cup.  Very thin strips of white gaffer’s tape to the hold the stack to the pole and voila!  We had a stable stack of Dixie Cups.

I cut the piece in Adobe Premiere Pro and did the color grade using both the Adobe Lumetri tool and Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Color Suite to really give the piece a punch.   The piece recently premiered on GP’s Facebook Page.   Enjoy the spot and Happy March Madness everybody!

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Two sets of envelopes are on stage at all times. One PwC rep on one side of the stage and one on the other, each with the exact same set of envelopes. The rep who handed the envelope to Warren Beatty inadvertently gave him the unused envelope for the previous category, Actress In A Leading Role, which was Emma Stone for “La La Land.”

And what did Price Waterhouse Cooper do? They owned the mistake, almost immediately and without reservation.

A human error was made, the wrong envelope was given, and instead of looking to blame everyone else, PwC took ownership of the mistake immediately. This is called taking responsibility and the hallmark of outstanding leadership. It’s a great lesson for any company, but especially for small businesses.

No person and no company is perfect. Well all fail. We all make mistakes. We all fall short of client and consumer expectations. It’s the response of you and your company that makes the difference in your reputation and client retention. When you do not, or simply cannot, deliver what is expected, you owe it to yourself and to your client / consumer to own the shortcoming. It’s then up to you to provide the resolution up front and without reservation. Throwing the blame around to others will simply lead to frustration and ultimately loss of client / consumer support of your brand.

PwC went 83 Academy Awards without a major mistake. Yes there was a minor hiccup in 1964 but that was a music category and long before social media. Nobody is perfect. I sincerely hope The Academy retains the services of PwC and for the rest of you, use this as an outstanding example of how to handle a client shortcoming. Own your mistakes, learn from them and grow from them. Your reputation and business depend on it.

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