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Author: Dan Nesselbush

Blog Skillshop Stuff

Skillshop Recap: Lights, Camera, Action, Edit

Dan Nesselbush
By Jaime Applegate

Last Thursday, Pegula Sports & Entertainment helped us bring in our new membership year with a video production Skillshop. Joe DeBenedictis and Travis Carlson took us on a crash-course in developing, producing, creating and even editing a short video. They started out the night telling us their stories and showcasing a few of their most recent works. We learned that in as little as 30 seconds, a story can unfold through sights, sounds and movement to convey certain emotions to the viewer. But 30 seconds of video takes much longer to create and Joe and Travis took us through each step. By the end of the night, they created a minute and a half video to demonstrate what we learned (with the help of a few lucky attendees!).

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Travis, a videographer with PSE, took us through the fundamentals of story including the “Four P’s” – People, Places, Plot, and Purpose. Each point plays an important role in making “the story that you want to see” and should be considered when developing the narrative. He then took us through the secrets of the camera and demonstrated numerous lighting techniques to evoke certain sentiments about the characters. This is where the attendees really got to engage in this Skillshop – Travis and Joe chose “actors” from the crowd and described the plot for our new reality short – “The Breakfast Show.” Joe produced and Travis filmed the show keeping everyone entertained as we got a real look at what goes on behind the scenes. I will never look at a reality show the same way again!

Joe, a producer and editor at PSE, shared his tips and tricks in editing with Adobe Premiere Pro. He took us from starting a project in the program all the way to a near-finished piece, staying an extra hour for all the diehard editing fans. Joe finished up the video on his own time and uploaded to YouTube for all the attendees to enjoy: https://youtu.be/HNgltaB0oDw

Fav comment during our @AAF_Buffalo seminar: “you’ve ruined every reality show for me”. You’re welcome! #editing pic.twitter.com/FlCD9uRS2s

Attending events like this is always a confidence booster for me because it reminds me of my passion. The storyline, the filming, the lighting – it’s all fun to watch but what really got me excited was the editing portion of the night. As a designer, I’ve dabbled a bit in video editing programs but now I can’t wait to try some of the tips I learned. Attending workshops is a great way to learn about different areas of focus in our field. We have a few more planned for this year – make sure to take advantage of this great opportunity to add to your skillset!

 

Blog Events Stuff

Tipping Big, For the Kids

Dan Nesselbush
By Brittany Klotzbach

Last Thursday, we had one of our favorite events that we host annually: The Big Tip-Off. This has become a beloved tradition the past six years because it allows us to put the spotlight on some of our most notable “celebrity” marketing experts in the area. This event combines networking, friendly competition among local agencies, and easy-to-make drinks (… these are volunteer bartenders after all). Competitive bartending is entertaining and satisfying to watch in itself. Tack on the fact that we are doing it for a good cause, raising money for the AAF Buffalo student scholarship fund, and it makes the experience even more exciting.

Between the promotional videos leading up to the event and the methods the bartenders used to boost their tip money (i.e. glow-in-the-dark glasses, decorated tip jars, and fancy vests – to name a few), they did a fantastic job doing their part to raise money for the scholarship fund and student portfolio review events. This year’s Big Tip-Off brought in a total of $3,716 on tip money alone. Congratulations goes out to Matt Low, this year’s winning bartender who raked in an impressive $1,111. We also had a great turnout with 110 people in attendance, easily packing in the roof-top/upstairs bar of SoHo Burger Bar.

AAF Buffalo is proud to provide scholarship opportunities to local marketing students through the money we raised collectively at this event. A special thanks is owed especially to our celebrity bartenders who worked hard to earn those tips alongside Matt Low, representing Crowley Webb: Ben Siegel, Block Club; Tyler Stanley, EMA; Jason Yates, Gelia; Tim Bouchard & Mike LaDuca, Luminus Media; Jim Lynch & Kailey Kolozsvary, The Martin Group; Frank Conjerti & Josh Gumulak, Quinlan. We would also like to thank all of the generous attendees that tipped big.

We hope to see you all again next year to challenge the returning champions from Crowley Webb!

AdLab AdWeek Blog Stuff

We Got Cultured at Adtoberfest.

Dan Nesselbush

Workplace culture is incredibly important. It’s the difference between having a team full of Gary Go-Getters or a team full of Debbie Downers. That’s why we brought in Aaron McBride and Mark McKenzie from Brokaw, a Cleveland-based ad agency, to speak during Adtoberfest, our 2015 Buffalo Ad Week. Brokaw was named Ad Age Small Agency of the Year for Culture in 2013 and they also lay claim to being the world’s greatest ad agency, a title attributed to their sense of humor and SEO capabilities.

So what’s the secret to a small ad agency in Cleveland (practically Buffalo, just with LeBron James) getting recognized for their culture? According to Mark and Aaron it’s a simple two step approach.

Hire talented, self-motivated people who happen to be nice.

Let them create the culture.

Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? The beauty of that approach is that it isn’t complex and everyone has the opportunity to create a rockin’ culture. You want to be part of a team that wakes up every morning forgetting there is a snooze button on the alarm, don’t you?

The crutches

Of course their trip to Buffalo was more than dropping a two-sentence nugget of wisdom and a stop at their favorite rest area on the New York State Thruway (highlight video below).

Their story illustrated a simplified approach that arrived after the agency overcomplicated things and they caught themselves relying on some crutches many companies rely on such as:

  • FPAs (fancy-pants acronyms)
  • Gobbledygook phrases
  • Razzmatazz numbers (that video that got 4 million views from eastern Europe with no likes or comments – not truly a viral campaign!)

Known as a creative agency first and foremost, the overcomplicated approach wasn’t good for business. They took a step back and decided they needed to get back to the basics of what they knew and were good at. They focused on their creative approach rather than gimmicky pitches, fancy terminology, and a futuristic logo.

Build around the work

A fresh approach where they didn’t try to be all things to all people, which is something we’ve all done at some point, helped them create a culture that draws like-minded people looking to create great work and clients that want the kind of work they do. You know, probably the reason we all got into this field in the first place. By defining their strength and drawing a line in the sand of what they stand for, they turned things around. They got an award from Ad Age. They got great clients. They got projects they wanted to work on. They got a free trip to Buffalo. See, being true to yourself pays off!

A ping pong table and pictures of office dogs will only get you so far with your employees and customers. At the end of the day it’s about the work and the people creating the work. You know, the culture.

12063490_10153240022925678_626218843734215535_nBonus Materials

Missed the presentation and the post-talk shirt toss from the guys?

You can read more about Brokaw’s approach by downloading the handy guide they created to keep themselves in-check called How To Brokaw, or follow them on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).

Also, Mark and Aaron make up 50% of the sketch comedy group Last Call Cleveland – check out some of their work on YouTube.