Tag: San Francisco Video Production

La Crema Winery’s 40th Anniversary

Posted on by Slow Clap

Over the past few years, Slow Clap has grown a partnership with Jackson Family Wines that began with small, one-off projects for the company’s different wineries, such as Kendall-Jackson, Nielsen, Vérité, and others. In the Summer of 2019, that relationship got serious. JFW asked us to create a marketing video that celebrated the 40th anniversary of La Crema Winery, digging into the history books and origin stories of Pinot Noir in California.

Approach

The JFW marketing team wanted to approach this video from both the historic and educational perspectives but also wanted to ensure the video was entertaining for wine enthusiasts. Dan Sutton, Brand Manager of JFW, knew the exact voices that needed to be featured in this video, such as Rod Burglund, the founder of La Crema, and Jenny Jackson Hartford, Co-Proprietor of JFW. To round out the story, we recommended adding a third-party perspective. We often suggest adding the voice of an industry expert, to create a sense of weight and objectiveness in the story. Dan Berger, a top wine critic, was more than excited to talk about La Crema’s place in history.

 

Execution

Pre-Production

Forty years is a lot to cover in a three-minute video. In addition to a surplus of research, our team conducted pre-interviews with the video’s subjects to pinpoint key moments in La Crema’s history that would speak to the two different target audiences of this video. Using this background research as a guide, we developed a mood board, a shot list, and a creative brief.

Crew + Equipment

Directing and producing was Slow Clap’s Dan Lichtenberg, and logistics were managed by associate producer Nicole B Wilson. Leading the camera department was Alan Sanchez, and working as our assistant camera and grip was Jake Richard and Tomaso Semenzato.

We wanted to create a larger than life feel for this forty-year story, so we decided to use a motion control camera system to add some drama to our interviews. To achieve this, we used the Rhino Arc, which tracked our subject on loop, keeping her or him center frame with a fluid, buttery camera move.

 

During this marathon three day shoot, we filmed in several locations, including La Crema’s production facility and barrel room, the Estate at Saralee’s Vineyard, and La Crema’s Healdsburg tasting room. Each location provided a richness to the history of the winery, as well as a variety of elegant backgrounds for interviews and b-roll.

 

Like all productions, there were challenges, and one of the major challenges we encountered on this production was time. We filmed on-site for three days, spread out over the course of several weeks. But unfortunately, the grapes were not hanging from the vine… so, we had to use several shots from our archive of footage shot with JFW to create some movie magic. Another major snag was the drone footage we needed to capture. The vineyards are in the flight path of the regional airport, so we actually had to get FAA approval to fly in a “no-flight zone.” Thankfully, the results of these efforts were worth it.

We worked with our editor, Natalia Lopatina, to begin editing the video in between filming in order to create the story, select broll, and start figuring out music and tone. Once our crew completed their second day of filming our editor work meticulously alongside our Creative Director, and the La Crema team to complete the video.

“The feedback from the organization was very positive… this video has given us a ‘north star’ on the story for the brand.” – Dan Sutton, Brand Manager, JFW

Results

The video premiered at a general sales meeting event in late July 2019. In early August, Safeway, one of JFW’s biggest retail partners, decided to feature the video in the wine aisles in their California stores.

“The video was really well received at our GSM event. It hit all the marketing and selling points, and recieved lots of applause.” – Dan Sutton, Brand Manager, JFW

Collaboration, flexibility, and trust are the keys to any successful partnership. Over the past few years, we gained the trust of the JFW team and got to know the people behind the brands. We fostered that relationship and were able to really show them the value of working with Slow Clap. As a result, we were able to craft a beautiful story to celebrate 40 years and beyond.

Building a Brand Voice with Video: Insightly

Posted on by Slow Clap

Every few years, b2b companies go through the exciting and expensive process of refreshing their brand. As part of the overall marketing campaign around a re-brand, video has only become more front and center to give life to the brand’s voice. But many companies don’t want to spend a hundred thousand dollars to add one corporate video to their YouTube Channel that may or may not get a lot of views, nor do they want to release a piece of content that looks cheap or uncreative.

 

Our client, San Francisco-based tech company Insightly CRM, was grappling with this challenge when they reached out to us about a major branding initiative they were conducting. Slow Clap worked closely with the Insightly creative & marketing teams to produce several branded content videos that perfectly captured their brand voice, looked great, and was produced affordably.

 

Approach

Slow Clap was approached by Insightly’s Product Marketing Manager, John Weeke, who was tasked with doing a full rebranding of Insightly’s website. He wanted to create videos that educated potential customers on key features but were more than just your average 90-second tech explainer video. He wanted these videos to be a reflection of the brand’s voice; fun, smart, and simple.  

 

We worked with Insightly for about 8 weeks developing the script, cast an amazing actress, and put together a top-notch video production crew. Our Creative Director, Dan Lichtenberg, directed the seven videos shot over the course of four days, working with Billy Golden as producer, and Drew Eckman as cinematographer and camera operator.

 

Execution

In the world of video production, working with the constraint of a client’s budget is essential. So, Slow Clap makes sure that we can be nimble, scrappy, and wear a lot of different hats when we need to achieve a big production value with a small budget. Core to Insightly’s new brand was this sense of constant movement and speed. To visualize this, we made sure the camera was constantly moving to capture our wheeling-and-dealing on-camera narrator. This is a challenge to do without a huge video crew and a big budget. So, our problem-solving cinematographer, Drew Eckman, and his grip & electric team came up with an innovative technical solution, placing the camera operator on a dolly, and rigging our key light to the dolly. This meant we didn’t have to light the entire scene to get great-looking results. 

“What was great about these videos, was we were really resourceful and were able to use the client’s office to save time and money. It was an efficient and tight operation.” – Billy Golden, Producer 

Another way we visualized Insightly’s brand voice in video, which has a big energy since it’s a product that serves sales teams, was to have tons of activity in the background. These videos take place on a sales floor; to make it feel like this sales floor is sealing deals left and right, we used Insightly’s own employees, many of them salespeople, working away in the background. We used clever blocking to time much of this “business” to be coordinated and cross frame at strategic moments as our main actor walked through the sales pit.

 

Results

“It was wonderful to work with Slow Clap. The moment I realized Dan was really going the extra mile was when I asked him about a shot in the edit where it seemed like there was a lot more paper flying across the screen, an outcome we weren’t able to make happen on-set. I asked him about it, and he said he actually set-up a little green screen scene, filmed a bunch of papers, and composited them into the shot… it was well beyond my expectations.” – John Weeke, Product Marketing Manager, Insightly

In the end, we were able to provide Insightly with seven high-quality branded videos that covered the seven features of the product they wanted to highlight, but also capture the authentic brand voice.

 

Insightly leveraged the videos in three key ways. The first was through paid lead generation to get in front of their target market, buying YouTube pre-roll time and other paid advertising, to encourage leads to click through and start a free trial. The second was on their website, where these videos lived at the top of the page of each feature landing page. The final way the videos were used was through their outbound sales process; sales reps sent the videos to potential customers to get them excited. The videos have in total more than one million views, and paid for themselves in a matter of months, said the Insightly marketing team.

 

Insightly CRM

Watch all seven videos below:


Building the Future: GitHub

Posted on by Slow Clap

The new year is already over a month in, and here at Slow Clap, we’re taking the time to reflect on the growth we experienced in 2018. We had some amazing production opportunities that challenged us creatively and operationally. A highlight was working with GitHub on a brand video that launched their marketing campaign leading up to GitHub Universe 2018, their biggest annual conference and event.

Approach

We worked with GitHub’s creative team to develop a story that would highlight the open source community on their platform, and how collaboration can have a domino effect of positive change. To visually demonstrate the use of collaboration, our teams decided to create a story inspired by GitHub open source projects from all over the world, in all different industries, and with all different applications. Projects like Open Bionics, a VR medical training simulation, the da Vinci Surgical System, NASA’s Mars mission, and so many more got our creative brains buzzing. But at the center of it all, we knew this video had to be human, and feature the real human impact that GitHub’s community has in the world.

 

Execution

Style, Look, & Locations

This project took us around the world, to a neighboring planet, and back again even though we never really left the Bay area. We filmed in approximately 11 different locations in 5 days with a cast of over 30 people.  Our art department did a fantastic job creating and recreating scenes to help our audiences feel that they’ve been taken to foreign countries, inside NASA, and to another world. Mars, by far, was one of the most fun achievements of this project. In a studio setting, our art department used different elements to recreate the reddish/orange tint of Mars’s surface using things such as Paprika and a wind machine to simulate Mars’s surface.

To achieve a cinematic look we filmed on the Arri Alexa and used rehoused Cooke Lenses from the late ’60s to achieve a classic and stylized look (click here). Lastly, we utilized the Corba Dolly (click here) which was small portable dolly we used for smooth and sturdy camera movement.

The Robotic & Puppeteering

“He was not only great to work with but brilliant! He doesn’t just build things to look like robots he engineers them to actually work.” Cassandra Jabola – Producer

 

We hired the incredible Brandon Minton, who specializes in robotics and puppeteering. Brandon worked for 6-8 weeks, prior to production, to develop, 3D print, and engineer the hands and arms that are used in the video. Brandon not only built and engineered the robotics used, but he was also on set puppeteering them throughout the shoot.

The Music

“When you hear the score it sounds like the beginning of the song, but it’s really the ending. It was reverse engineered.” – Diana Salier

Prior to filming, we worked with TV & Film composer Diana Salier, to create a unique piece of music that is both diegetic and non-diegetic in its use throughout the video. The phrasing that Diana, and pianist Jessica Yap, created was integrated into how the story was told. In fact, the music had to be written prior to production so it could be utilized during the filming process for both young Michael and adult Michael to play. As a key storytelling element, the music had to show progression over time, which mirrored what was going on in the narrative.

 

 

 

 

Results 

As a creative agency, this was one of our most challenging and most rewarding projects to dates. We successfully completed the video on time, and in September GitHub launched their video campaign starting with the branding video. The video gained over 250,000(+) views between its launch in September 2018 to the opening of the Universe conference on October 16, 2018. During that same time, GitHub gained nearly 40,000 new followers and had over 45,000 social engagements across all platforms.

Awards & Recognition

In February 2019, Slow Clap was awarded the Platinum Honors from the AVA Digital Awards. The award recognizes outstanding work by creative professionals involved in the concept, direction, design, and production of media that is part of the evolution of digital communication.

View the finalized video below

Future Builders

Posted on by Slow Clap

Slow Clap believes that authentic storytelling lies at the heart of all great videos, campaigns, and outreach programs, so when GitHub wanted us to share stories of a few future builders who’ve used GitHub’s platform to transform their community we were excited to produce those projects. These stories took our team around the US and across the pond. It was an amazing learning experience for our team, that pushed us to find a more impactful way to share stories.

Approach

During pre-production, GitHub’s marketing team shared that they wanted to produce a series of 4 mini-documentaries that would follow the launch of the branding video and lead up the Universe conference. They wanted each video to highlight individuals who have used GitHub’s open source platform to create and launch new products or opportunities within different industries and celebrate what developers were doing around the world when they come together. GitHub provided a list of people who they were interested in interviewing and we began the vetting process. We conducted multiple pre-interview phone calls to confirm who was truly interested in being apart of videos, who had a deeply impactful story, who would be available, who would be comfortable speaking on camera, and who would have some very dynamic visuals available for us to capture at the time of production.

After a few weeks of follow up and scheduling,  we narrowed down the list to the final 4 subjects. We confirmed availability and scheduling at each location, what we wanted to capture, and confirmed who would be available as secondary subjects for each video.

Execution

Production Begins on Mini-Documentaries

Once production of the branding video wrapped, our team packed up our gear and headed across the US to Detroit, MI to capture the story of Tifanni Bell, who built her website, The Human Utility, using GitHub. The team spent a total of 3 days with Ms. Bell capturing her, Ms. Helen Griffin, a benefactor of The Human Utility, and the amazing city of Detroit. We utilized a local production assistant to help with loading gear, set up lighting, and maneuvering around the city. Our team conducted the interviews and capture the amazing aerial and street-level broll.

The Human Utility

“Start really small with whatever you can. You just need a couple of people. If you make an impact the whole thing will just, kind of, blow up from there.” Tiffani Ashley Bell, Founder of The Human Utility

Following Detroit, our team flew to Boston to capture Conrad Hollomon, a former US military Office, (Afghanistan veteran) who utilizes GitHub’s platform to help to transition members of the military service community learn software development and code the future. We hired a local production assistant to help us on this 3-day shoot which allowed us to conduct and capture the interviews and capture some of the city’s history in images such as the cobblestone streets and classic architecture.

Operation Code

“I served overseas in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011. The things I think about when I’m going through tough times, ‘By going through this have I helped make someone else successful. Have I helped contribute to something larger than myself?” – Conrad Hollomon, Founder of Operation Code

 

 

Once we wrapped in Boston our team flew across the pond to the UK to interview Julius Sweetland, the creator of OptiKey, a free on-screen keyboard that allows the user to communicate and control their computer with their eyes. Julius initially placed his idea on GitHub 3 years ago, and with the help of the open-source community, it has been translated into 19 different languages. Similar to the first 2 videos, we had a 3-day shoot, where we captured interviews and broll of the subject in his natural environment. We hired a production assistant from the UK to help us with getting around and to act as a fixer prior to our arrival.

OptiKey

“I’ve been into computers since I could walk. These magic boxes that I’ve always been in “AW” of, they can do good. I’ve always wanted to have a project that I could go, ‘Hey, this cool thing, I wrote it and look at these people over here that it’s helping.” – Julius Sweetland, Creator of OptiKey

 

 

Our final video took our team back home to the Bay Area. We traveled to Oakland to capture Jamica El, who is part engineer, part storyteller, part curator, and a creator of stories through music and the use of technology. We spent 3-days filming in Oakland with Jamica, capturing her in her home, downtown, a speaking engagement, and all around the city. 

Jamica”Afrodjiak” El

“I’m a maker, and I want to inspire others to make. Being a DJ lead to me being comfortable with creating with my hands. Whether it’s curating, putting together mixes, or scratching records, and soldering wires together. My DJ life made my hardware life less intimidating.”  – Jamica El, Community Storyteller

 

Results

“These mini-documentaries are the logical points of our effects over the last 5 years, as a company.” – Dan Lichtenberg, CEO & Creative Director,  Slow Clap

 

The four documentaries were shared on GitHub’s social media platforms and organically garnered over 250,000 (+) views during the initial marketing launch between September 2018 to October 16, 2018 (the start of Universe 2018).  During that same time, GitHub gained nearly 40,000 new followers and had over 45,000 social engagements across all platforms. In addition to their social media, there was a write up in Forbes about their branding campaign highlighting Black Female Founders, and got a personal shout out from Reddit Founder, Alexis Ohanian, on Twitter regarding the successful marketing campaign for Universe.

Platinum at the Muse Creative Awards 2019

Posted on by Jake Richard

Out of more than 3,180 submissions from 46 countries, Slow Clap has won Platinum recognition in the 2019 Muse Creative Awards competition. Our video, Building the Future, produced for GitHub, has taken home the platinum award for the corporate identity category in video production. Slow Clap is one of a handful of Bay Area video production companies to win on the platinum level, an award level that less than 5% of entrants received.

Our collaboration with GitHub in 2018 was one of the most challenging, and rewarding, in our company history. We’re really proud of the amazing creative team behind the concept, scripting, production, cinematography, robotics, editing, 3D animations, VFX, and so much more that went into this video.

The Muse Creative and Muse Design Awards are international competitions for creative and design professionals from all disciplines, who help push the evolution of their industry in a positive direction. “We recognize the breakthrough achievements of these true innovators, who live by the words, ‘make the world a better place for all’” said Kenjo Ong, CEO of both competitions. “They have earned this recognition.”

Both the Muse Creative and Muse Design Awards are administered and judged by International Awards Associates (IAA), and stellar panels of internationally-recognized professionals from both fields. IAA oversees awards and recognition programs, assembles judging panels, and sets rigorous standards for both competitions.

Grand Jury Panel:

This year’s Jury Panel includes 42 renowned, experienced, and brand-new Judges from 22 countries worldwide. Judges hail from leading companies in the creative and digital industry from all corners of the globe and include professionals from such power brands as Grayling, DMG, McCann Worldgroup, Stewards of Wildlife, United Nations Children’s Fund, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, etc.

Entries in all categories were ranked according to industry-best standards. During blind judging, panelists evaluated the effectiveness of creative and design concepts, selecting winners from a deep pool of international submissions.

The 2019 competition included entries from United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Republic of China, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Honduras, Hungary, India, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Macau, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and Yemen.

Slow Clap Receives a Standing Ovation on Clutch

Posted on by Slow Clap

The internet has provided a space for the burgeoning market for web video, with quality content being produced across countless subjects and in countless formats. And we are proud to leverage this development to help drive business for our clients.

Furthermore, we’re proud to announce that we have been named an industry leader on Clutch, a B2B ratings and reviews platform that identifies top service providers, helping teams make smarter choices in vendors. After being the subject of thorough market research, we were listed as one of the top video production companies in San Francisco, one of the most competitive creative spaces in the country.

Clutch provides firms with the opportunity to receive verified client reviews from their clients, and we’re pleased to share that we have a perfect rating of 5 stars as a result of our client feedback. We welcome any client feedback, but reviews like,

“We’re confident in their ability to deliver great results. Even for the less interesting subject matter, the team knows how to make the video and photos visually compelling”

help us know that we are hitting the mark for our clients. We appreciate everything our clients have shared with us so far, and we cannot wait to continue to use this source of evaluation to improve our work and hone our craft.

Slow Clap Wins BBB 2018 Torch Award for Ethics

Posted on by Jake Richard

In 2018, Slow Clap entered the race for the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Awards for Ethics and won, beating out all of the applicants in the San Francisco Bay Area. The criteria for this award is no joke; the judge’s panel looks at each entry’s commitment to ethically operating a business, as well as its dedication to community leadership.



“Torch Awards winners demonstrate the highest ethical standards of trust toward customers, employees and the communities in which they do business,” said Lori Wilson, President and CEO of BBB serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California. “We are proud to present this prestigious award to Slow Clap Productions and grateful to them for their part in creating a marketplace where people can trust each other.”



“When I first saw this award I thought that it could be on our roadmap to accomplish. The reason I put it on our road map, was because one of the big reasons I started this company was to do the type of work and work with the type of people I wasn’t able to at the last company I worked at. I want to make an impact with the work that I do and I thought starting my own business could be a vehicle for that.”



-Daniel Lichtenberg, Creative Director


BBB 2018 Torch Awards for Ethics Winner Slow Clap Productions