Get Flasky-Commercial Video

GetFlasky from Story House Media {SHM} on Vimeo.

What a cool product.  We had to order some of these custom flasks for Story House Media to give to some of our clients.  A creative way to help make your brand stand out a bit.

We met with Ashten who owns Get Flasky and loved talking with her about her vision of the product and what she would like portrayed for this concept.  It’s a fun product but we also wanted to add a little sexiness to the overall vibe.  The commercial was shot in 1 day at a cool place in Indianapolis called The Speakeasy.

The process of producing these marketing video’s are to first get a feel of the product.  This may involve using the product or at least experiencing what the product is all about.  This helps us understand what the product or service is and what it represents.   Exploring the product or service often times involves talking to customers.  Learning about the company is also a process of observing and trying to soak up the culture.  We want to produce a product from a commercial standpoint that effectively communicates the overall vibe of the product or service.

Once we get a good grasp on the company, product and service, it’s time to brainstorm a concept.  There is a fine line between creating a concept / storyboard in a timely fashion but also trying not to force or rush creativity.  Our clients understand that they hire us to “create” and they give us quite a bit of a blank canvas to work with, which really helps to not confine our creativity, within reason.

After a brief concept is developed, a treatment is written to specifically describe, the look, the feel, storyline, color grade, etc.  The Treatment is shared with our Stylist, Brittany, who will get a visual interpretation of the concept and develop some wardrobe options that compliment the concept and something that works with the set design.

Director / Director of Photography  :  John Moon

Second Camera :  Ben Poenisch

First AC  : Jennifer Moon

Stylist  :  Brittany Terhune

Hair & Make Up : Madgeline Parrish

Actress  : Liane Steffes

Actor  :  Brandon Whyde

Behind the Scenes Videographer : John Gunnell

Get Flasky – Commercial Video

It’s a wrap!

One important element in any commercial project we produce whether photo or video is that we love the product, service or brand.  Along comes Get Flasky, which is a cool homegrown product from Indiana Artist, Ashten Houpt.  Story House Media loves working with creative people because they appreciate the heart and soul that goes into taking something from some loose ideas to a specific concept.  For this we wanted something that was a little sexy and rugged at the same time.  The flasks are custom designed and if you already have a logo it would make a great promotional product or grab one just for the cool design.

We have off loaded all of the footage and it looks really good.  This is just a sneak peak of the team after we wrapped and a look at our actors, Liane Steffes and you might recognize singer songwriter Brandon Whyde.  We will be shooting a music video for Brandon in the very near future.

Special thanks to Speakeasy in Indianapolis for the location, which really had the vibe we were looking for.  Many of the design elements inside were the brainchild of Nikki Sutton with Level Interior Architecture + Design and Nick Allman.

Hair and Makeup by Madgelin Parrish

Director // John Moon

Co-Director // Ben “Danger” Poenisch, Father of Special Agent Jackie Bower

Production Manager // Jen Moon

STyling for SHM, Brittany Terhune

Thanks to John Gunnell with Urban Basement Productions for shooting some behind the scenes footage.

What’s a Stylist?

Model / Stylist Brittany Terhune. Photo by Polina Osherov.

Stylists help show off your best self or brand by selecting wardrobe that projects the intended image. Keeping with trend and Pop Culture, a stylist will keep you looking fresh and modern.

A Stylist can put together looks that you may like but are not sure how to pull together, and to provide for a more clean presentation. Story House Media utilizes the expertise of a stylist in order to maintain the look the project calls for and to also assist on the day of the production. Making sure there is continuity and the wardrobe, hair and makeup work cohesively with the set. Depending on the complexity of the production, the Stylist may work very early on with the talent or it may be just the day of. While the cinematographers are busy composing the shot and looking at framing, the Stylist also keeps a close eye on the little things that may not get picked up by the camera operators.

As a Stylist, we are so much more than people who just make you look awesome! A stylist can help refresh a brand like a creative director. We can be an advisor for commercial shoots and ads to help decide the overall look of your company and how you want the public to view it. Some of the largest fashion houses in the world like Chanel , Versace or products including Nike and Coca Cola have a stylist and/ or creative director to help bring their products to life.

Stylist,
Brittany Terhune
Story House Media, LLC

Video continues to grow

More and more people are watching video and using video, it is weaving it’s way into the culture not only in the United States but many other countries as well. Video provides quick, consistent and entertaining information.

One of the major goals of a business is to make a profit and one big factor is grabing a slice of the market share. Attracting and engaging your customers is accomplished in a number of ways but video can be a very important vehicle to use. The use of video is in a very dynamic state. Web related content is competing at different rates with mainstream commercials. There will continue to be growth of online video but mainstream TV will maintain an edge for the near future. This, however, presents an opportunity for companies to capitalize on multi-screen distribution. Meaning content that appears on laptops, desktops, smartphones, web connected TV, etc.

Mobile media is huge and is continuing an aggressive growth trend. Using video is important to the support of your brand and again, this is about engaging your audience / customers. From a production point of view, we have the responsibility of creating a video that keeps the audience attention and maximizes the viewer completion rate. Completion rate is calculates whether the viewer finishes watching the video. According to www.emarketer.com, they have some interesting stats that look at the length of a video and completion rates. A link to the article is at the end of this post.

There is a tendacy for companies to rely upon user generated video or self produced video. There is definitely a use for user generated video and they can be quite beneficial. Part of SHM consulting is to first establish a series of polished video that specifically reflects your brand. User generated video can be used to compliment the more refined content.

5 tips to keep in mind when planning your commercial

When Story House Media is approached to produce a video whether a music video, business or non-profit video, there are some questions you need to be prepared to answer.

1. Objective

Your commercial / video should have a framework of objectives to help define the project. Taking some time to write down your goals of the video will help in the creation of a well thought out concept. Objectives often mirror some of the marketing goals of the business.

2. Branding

Another element we like to look at in depth is your branding. It’s the overall look and feel of the company. Brand Identity is a huge part of a company. If your branding is top notch, you can take identical products and if one company has put time and effort into cohesive integrated branding, they will win stand out. Your commercial should have subtle references to your brand.

3. Culture

Does your company have an unwritten culture that has evolved? If so be prepared to describe the culture. People love to do business with companies that set themselves apart. Maybe they are quirky, maybe they are just fun people, etc. An example would be Apple. They have a distinct culture within that bleeds into the customer base. If you have done business with Moosejaw (www.moosejaw.com) you will quickly understand the sense of humor that exists there. If you are a new company it’s likely that your culture doesn’t have a foot hold yet but with vision, you can help foster the culture you desire. So be prepared to discuss this with your creative professional.

4. Target Audience

Again, if you have a marketing plan, you should have an idea as to what your target audience is and it will be important to keep this in mind as the fabric of video develops. The whole idea of using video is to engage your audience and tailoring the video to them will be important. Knowing who the message is intended for will help keep you focus on the overall objectives.

5. Budget

Understand that quality professional productions inherently have direct overhead costs including but not limited to actors, models, locations, music licensing, production tools, etc that all add to the cost of video. It is important to establish a sufficient budget that will allow a smooth process from a production standpoint. If you are not willing to pay for locations for example, a lot of time is spent trying to negotiate the use of a space and this can take quite some time. If a certain amount is allocated, appropriate budgets will increase the production value. The great thing about using video is that it can be used many times in several different delivery mediums, which over time, the upfront cost is spread out over time and reflects a respectable return on investment.