TV / Film / Animation Archives | Page 9 of 11

This week marks Skylark Media’s 15th birthday. Although it’s a bit of a weird time to celebrate we wanted to say thanks to the fab clients, partners, colleagues and friends who’ve crossed our paths over the years. Without you we wouldn’t be here.

It feels like yesterday that Jo Haywood, fresh from making climate change documentaries for the Beeb and Discovery Channel, mustered up the courage to set up her own video production company.

Running a creative business isn’t always easy (especially in 2020!), as our peers in the creative industry will agree. Now more than ever, it’s vital to support each other and take collaboration to another level. Over Lockdown, 92% of independent agencies have either collaborated with another agency to take a brief, or are willing to. That’s fantastic news – and we hope that in our partners we’re able to fill skill gaps, deliver great client service and aid creativity where we can. We are looking to expand our network of creatives and agencies, so please get in touch if you’d like to partner at [email protected]

As we enter another Lockdown, we wanted to reassure everyone that it’s business as usual, and we’ll continue to film according to APA guidelines. If you’ve got a few minutes, we’ve launched our new website this week at www.skylarkmedia.co.uk and Jo has a few words to say herself: https://bit.ly/3kQOxkH

This month I’ve been stunned by two different films that come from popular mobile brands, Samsung & Orange.

Although the films are very different, they have some telling things in common. Neither of the films feature any product or service whatsoever, apart from the logo at the end. How refreshing…it’s as if the Covid crisis has forced many brands to have more of a conscience. Both these films support an idea that benefits humanity. Brands are beginning to realise that unless they put their money where their morals lie, unless they can actively demonstrate they are purpose-led, as well as creative in their communications, consumers will just switch off.

SAMSUNG’s film – ‘Inspired by a True Photo’ – is really inspired by an original photo, a simple sack of ‘Onions’, taken by a real person called Scott Anders. But we don’t see Scott take the photo, instead Director Sam Hibbard of Somesuch imagines a story behind the photo that sees a boy meet a girl for the first time – but full of comedy, pathos and using a surreal style. At its heart, the film is about connection – the hope & expectation of the boy’s journey.

Samsung have realised that it’s not the quality of camera that is important but the way people use images to communicate with each other. Samsung claim that when we take and share our images, they take on a life of their own. The shot becomes the conversation. The beauty of Sam’s film is that it avoids all the brand’s technology to tell a fun story using great characters, images & original music.

Connection & communication that is funny & uplifting in the time of Covid has never been more important.

The ORANGE film – ‘The Toy’ – takes a more direct approach to saving humanity by encouraging us to recycle our old phones. Millions of old phones are to be found hibernating in long-forgotten draws & these phones are wasting our planet’s precious resources.

The film is directed by Frédéric Planchon of Iconoclast, aimed at a European rather than UK market. It shows the relationship a little girl has with one of her first toys, the famous ‘Fisher-Price’ rolling phone. We see the girl become an adult & then rediscover her old toy in the attic with her own child. The recycling parable is clear.

Like the Samsung film, ‘The Toy’ uses great images & music to tell a life-affirming story with emotion.

“Wolfie’s walking to work, like he always does. But today is his birthday. Surely something should be different??”

This experimental interactive short by filmmaker Ru Howe is one of the first films crafted with trailblazing technology from Bristol based start up stornaway.io which lets filmmakers create story game experiences easily and creatively without coding. Released at Immersive Encounters this week, you can watch it here.

Part funny vlog, part game, the viewer gets to follow Wolfie all over Bristol, on multiple paths through the city – encountering and re-encountering memorable characters across two timelines.

Behind Howe’s signature jump cut editing and Wolfie’s wide eyed vlogging are layered some wonderfully meditative moments and conversations.

Life Moves Pretty Fast was made hand in hand with the creation of Stornaway.io itself. Originally mapped out on Howe’s kitchen wall with pieces of paper, he and producer Kate Dimbleby used the creative production process to design and prototype an authoring tool which would put the creative process at the heart of stornaway.io‘s revolutionary drag and drop vision.

The film was shot in 2 days with a cast and crew of professional friends on a minimal budget.

But wait! This is interactive, how long will it take to play?

Life Moves Pretty Fast is designed to be watched and replayed multiple times – there are over 40 minutes of gameplay (if you find all the secret paths!) but allow yourself 15-20 minutes to take Wolfie through 2-3 different journeys of discovery.

The short film was made for Viniv Wine during lockdown & released in April. It was written & created by Bristol freelancer, Gavin Knight. The film is made entirely from existing footage, either shot by Viniv themselves or sourced from rare films about Bordeaux. It is voiced by Hugh Bonneville, who recorded the script in his ‘garden shed’ studio at home!

Viniv have developed as a new luxury concept in wine, where customers are allowed to blend their own barrel of wine (240 bottles!) under the guidance of the experts at Chateau Lynch-Bages. They decided to create a promotional film to extend their reach, particularly in the American & UK markets.

Evcom is one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals in Europe for brand films & usually takes place at the BFI in November. The full shortlist can be seen here:

Above & Beyond, the official charity for Bristol city centre hospitals, has launched its Bristol Against Cancer campaign to “talk about the other ‘C’ word.”

JonesMillbank, a Bristol-based video production company, have been working with the charity to create a series of films highlighting the personal stories of those affected by cancer and working in cancer care.

“We met such inspiring individuals and had the privilege of hearing honestly and openly about their journeys and the amazing people who helped them along the way” said Emma Baker, Producer at JonesMillbank.

“From Simon, who was alerted by his vet and went on to beat the disease, to Jonathan, a radiologist at Bristol Royal Infirmary who was asked by a 7-year-old if he would remember him before sadly passing away, we hope the films highlight the strength, struggles and dedication of their stories.”

One in two of us will be affected by cancer in our lifetime, and today, like every day, 2,500 new patients will take their first steps through the doors of one of Bristol city centre hospitals.

They work exclusively in-house with a talented team of multi-disciplined creatives, all the while telling authentic stories long before it was cool for a range of clients such as University of Bristol, Battersea, The Royal Mint and IDLES.

It’s well known that pictures boost engagement, and videos even more so. So, how and why should you start incorporating video in your business right now?

These days video is everywhere we look. We, as people, like to see moving images. From FaceTime, to Netflix, Zoom and the rise of TikTok – it’s evident people like to have visual stimulation and moving pictures. It’s no surprise that, according to HubSpot, more than 50% of consumers want to see videos from brands. And this doesn’t discriminate – be it beauty products, recruitment agencies, clothing brands, or legal services. For each and every sector there is a way that video can boost your business.

We’re always being made aware of how easily people are put off using video in their marketing strategies. It’s a common belief that video is difficult and expensive to produce, as well as time consuming. However, it doesn’t need to be any of these things – and there are a tonne of benefits to using marketing for your businesses. Not to mention that video can actually save you time and money in the long run.

As well as just looking good and being user friendly, videos can also have some pretty positive effects on your conversions and sales. Videos are great on landing pages; they can increase conversions by up to 80% and directly lead to sales. Visitors to your website who watch a video are 64-85% more likely to purchase after watching a product video. Explainer videos let you show, not just tell, all your potential customers what you’ve got to offer them, and how that solves their problem.

Trust is a key factor in the decision-making process of your potential customers. Content marketing is a concept that exists partially to create long term relationships and trust. Your videos needn’t be ‘salesy’ but more focused on providing useful information and creating value for your customers.

Focus on building trust and creating a relationship so when the time comes when someone requires your product or service, you’ll be the first place they go. It’s really important to think past product and profit – enlighten your audience about your philosophy, show them some valuable information, or tell them about an event they may find interesting. Let them know about your positive practice and they’ll be more likely to stick around. 90% of consumers say that videos give them more confidence to purchase online.

Boost email click throughs
Even just having the word ‘video’ in the subject line of your emails can increase open rates by 7-13%. And not only do videos just get your emails opened, they significantly increase your click-through rates too. Including videos in your emails is a sure-fire way to increase engagement and see real results.

SEO – Google loves video
It’s predicted that by 2021 over 80% of all web traffic will consist of video. Search engines love video – they’re seen as high-quality content and SEO ranking is all about quality. Combine your video with the right key words, an optimised meta description and a solid title, and it can work wonders for your SEO. More about SEO and choosing your keywords.

Video shows great ROI
A pretty widespread belief is that producing video content is expensive. Sure, it is more expensive than other content to produce, however the ROI is so great that 52% of small business owners report that videos have the greatest ROI in marketing. So even if you’re worried about the initial cost of equipment and time investment, you can be reassured that the ROI will make it worth it.

Besides, if you’re creating videos for social media, you don’t have to go all out on professional equipment. A neutral background and a decent camera will get you there.

Video is accessible to the masses for the masses
Video is super accessible to mobile users, and you see people using their mobiles everywhere. From your commute, to at the gym, sat in the pub or walking their dog. The world is phone-obsessed, and this means people are watching video everywhere, all the time. 90% of consumers watch videos on their mobiles, so if you want to be reaching the masses using video is a no-brainer. Just remember to add captions – not only for the large proportion of people who don’t browse with sound, but because it’s also much more accessible for people who’re deaf or hard of hearing.

Show up more in social feeds
The way the worlds going is heavily based on algorithms and social media feeds use these to show people exactly what they want to see. These algorithms are based on users’ previous activity and can make it pretty difficult for smaller businesses to be seen or discovered by new audiences.

Video posts, however, are rising to the top of everyone’s newsfeeds everywhere, and people are more likely to stop scrolling for an eye-catching video, helping your reach. So, when it comes to your social game, video is your ticket to getting noticed.

Staying competitive
While in marketing, the point is trying to separate yourself from the competition and stand out most the time – you also have to stay competitive and over 80% of businesses are now using video for marketing. By using storytelling, you can catch and hold people’s attention. By not using video when so many businesses are, you could be falling behind the market.

YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine
YouTube boasts over a billion users who watch over 250million hours of video each day. It’s where your potential buyers are, so it only makes sense for you to have a presence there too. One of the most popular searches on YouTube is ‘how tos’, these tutorial videos can teach everything you could ever imagine.

Some tips
In terms of how video performs differently across platforms here are some tips for best practice when working out what video you want to show across different platforms. You can always start producing the longest and cut it down when don’t need it as long.

You should always make sure auto play is on your videos so your audience doesn’t have to click play – this way you can capture their attention without them needing to do anything. If you have a voiceover or someone speaking in your videos you should always make sure to have it muted if it plays automatically – it doesn’t make for good user experience if a video starts playing loudly when someone’s on their daily commute!

Conclusion
The only way is up! Video is not likely to go anywhere in terms of popularity. Consumers are craving connection and personality in an impersonal digital world. And to appeal to them you need to allow them that – to see and hear people, to give a real glimpse of what you can offer them and show them about your positive practices. This will in turn have significantly positive effects or your brand, conversion and sales.

As we crawl towards the end of lockdown, it’s unlikely that we’ll return to pre Covid-19 days overnight. Restrictions on social distancing will be commonplace for a while yet – and this will impact across businesses in how they protect staff, how they are run and how they will continue to work with external partners.

So what if you’ve got a story to tell or a product to sell and you want to do it with video? Filming in a busy office or a client testimonial is not on the cards, what other options do you have?

Like most businesses, filming at home with a basic camera has its limitations. Vlogs, community initiatives and live streaming educational videos are among the most commonly produced videos during the Covid-19 crisis. But if you’re yearning to roll out your message sooner through more professional means, animation might just be the answer.

People love watching animations, in fact one of yesterday’s distractions was the show-reel for anime streaming service, Crunchyroll, that doubled its subscribers last year and is now one of the top 10 streaming companies in the US.

At Skylark, we love anime too but it’s just one of the many styles of animation we offer. But what style would be right for you?

How about employing an illustrator to create original characters for your brand? They could be 2d vector people with stick arms all the way to photo-real characters or even a train that animates in your logo. One Big Circle had a complex story to tell about how their automated intelligent video review works on trains and they needed it explained in under two minutes to their audience of train operating companies. Here’s what we came up with:

Or if you want something a bit more minimal, how about this example for Brunel Insurance where we bring to life the two circles that make up their logo to tell the story of investment portfolios. I know, it doesn’t sound possible, but one you’ve got the visual analogy going I hope you’ll agree that the results are very pleasing and will resonate with their sophisticated, high-net-worth audience.

Animated explainers make up the bulk of our work here at Skylark. The compelling thing about this style is the way that text is given life which makes reading it so much more fun. Then when you add in animations of the icons you’ve used on your website you’ve got a winning formula for a social media campaign (see recruitment firm identifi’s social ad).

But for products or services with more complex ideas, animation has always been ingenious in that it takes viewers to the most abstract and far-reaching places. When Carbon Gold tasked us to create an explainer to inform viewers on its product – a biochar soil improver – there was only one way to go. Underground. Take a look for yourselves:

When you’re making an animation you start with a blank canvas which can be quite daunting. There’s no location footage to fill the frame. But it’ a challenge we love. Give us a call and we can help you to decide on the style to suit your brand and your budget whether it’s a social media campaign or a TV ad.

Nick Cope’s Popcast’ produced by Terrific Television and Complete Control to hit screens on 25^th April

Nick Cope’s Popcast is available as a BBC iPlayer boxset from Friday 24^th April and will air on the CBeebies channel every Saturday morning at 9.20am from Saturday 25^th April.

‘Nick Cope’s Popcast’, a mixed media kids’ entertainment show commissioned by BBC Children’s Head of Content, Cheryl Taylor, is to air on 25^th April at 9.20am on CBeebies.

The new 5 minute music show is the first production from Terrific Television and Complete Control, who came together to pitch for and win the commission for the channel.

Fronted by accomplished singer/songwriter Nick Cope, each episode sees Nick, accompanied by his companion Norman the Whippet, looking for ideas for a new Popcast song as his quirky caravan is transported to a different location. Taking inspiration from his new surroundings, and with the help of “The Popcasters”, a team of young children who give Nick ideas and themes to sing about, Nick sits down to write an unforgettable song which is then broadcast to the nation. Songs to feature on the show include ‘Baby’s Done a Poo’, ‘I’m a Little Lizard’ and ‘A Round of Applause for the Dinosaurs’.

Terrific Television, based at Maidstone Studios, co-devised the live action and scripted content working closely with Complete Control who created the distinctive visual and animated style from their picturesque studio in Bath.

Terrific Television is a UK production company specialising in content for children and young people. Formed in December 2016 by Nic Ayling and Driana Jones, the company has produced three series of My World Kitchen, for CBeebies and is currently working on commissions yet to be announced.

Complete Control is a leading children’s digital agency producing the most imaginative, innovative and playful experiences for the younger generation. Our work across digital content includes apps, games, on-line experiences, digital strategy, animation and TV. Founded in 2000 by Creative Director, Glynn Hayward, the company has won numerous awards including two BAFTAs.

Skills to Screen comes to Bristol on 28-29 March at The Bottle Yard Studios with production company Calling the Shots running the weekend’s events and activities. Electricians, office administrators and people working in events or logistics with at least five years’ experience in their area, who live within one hour of the city, are being called on to take part in free workshops and panel discussions, followed by the opportunity to meet employers from the film industry looking for talent to hire.

Participants will explore a range of skill areas, gain an understanding of the connections that exist between disciplines and develop an insight into how production teams are managed in the film and television industries. The weekend will also include panel discussions with recent industry entrants, workshops led by experienced film and TV members and a facilitated tour of a production set in action. It will be followed on Wednesday 8 April by an evening of networking with a range of industry practitioners.

Calling the Shots have been working to widen participation in the film industry for over 20 years, starting with a film about homeless teenagers in St Pauls and recently a talent development scheme New Creatives that gives young people the chance to have their work commissioned for BBC platforms.

Steve Gear from Calling the Shots said: “Bristol is a leading light in the screen industry. It’s home to The Bottle Yard Studios, the largest dedicated film and TV studio in the West of England, where recent titles like The Trial of Christine Keeler, The Pale Horse and Poldark have been filmed.

“To keep going from strength to strength we need to bring in more and more skilled people. Calling the Shots is all about sharing the opportunity to work in this creative industry that we love. It’s important to us that people from all walks of life get to express themselves, which is why we’re excited to be able to offer this opportunity for free.”

Seetha Kumar, CEO, ScreenSkills said: “Bristol is home to so many UK screen industry success stories, including The Bottle Yard Studios and Aardman Animation – so we’re delighted to bring our Skills to Screen initiative to the city. It’s a wonderful opportunity for people in the region to learn more about the job opportunities within TV and film, and the various ways in which their existing skills can transfer to these thriving sectors.”

Skills to Screen is part of a nationwide drive by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK’s screen industries, to encourage those with skills needed in film and television to transfer them in. The initiative is supported by National Lottery funds awarded by the BFI as part of the Future Film Skills programme.

Fiona Francombe, Studio Director at The Bottle Yard Studios said: “Film and high end TV production is consistently rising in Bristol. More job opportunities than ever are opening up and we want local people to benefit from them.

“We hope this initiative will inform people about how they might transfer their existing skills into roles within this exciting growing industry.”

The deadline for applications is Monday 9 March. For more information and to sign up: www.screenskills.com/skills-to-screen-bristol

The Royal Television Society West of England today announce the shortlist of nominations for its annual awards, in association with Evolutions Bristol, in the fields of on screen talent, craft, animation, regional television news and across a range of factual programming including natural history and documentary.

The RTS West of England Awards is the only annual celebration of the region’s creative community and this year the awards include work from the RTS Devon and Cornwall centre.

There is an array of talent represented in the on screen talent category, from Steve Backshall (Blue Planet Live) and Angela Rippon (The Truth About: Antibiotics) to Nadeem Islam (See Hear on Tour) and Iolo Williams (The Watches)

BBC Studios Natural History Unit has 13 nominations for a wide range of programmes including landmark series Seven Worlds, One Planet and Earth from Space. And there are nominations for the BBC’s Sunday night hit, Countryfile – for their Evacuee special and reporter Charlotte Smith.

Last Breath, a MET Film Production & Floating Harbour Films, is nominated in four categories. This feature documentary tells the story of diver Chris Lemons, who was stranded on the seabed with 5 minutes of oxygen and no chance of rescue for more than 30 minutes. Drummer TV has four nominations and Silverback Films pick up 3 nominations for Our Planet, broadcast on Netflix. Keo Films, Icon Films, Twofour and Axis Studios pick up a handful of nominations between them.

In News, ITV News West Country score four nominations across the Flying Futures, News Story and News Reporter categories, as do BBC Inside Out West, who are nominated twice in Short Form and in Reporter and News Story

“The West of England is now, rightly recognised as an international centre of excellence in film, tv and digital production and our judges had a really tough job this year, with entries from an impressive range of programmes from our public service broadcasters and streaming platforms, like Netflix.

“In the year that welcomed Channel 4 to the West of England creative community, these awards are a great reflection of the exciting talent in the region.” said RTS chair, Lynn Barlow, who is Assistant Vice-Chancellor Creative and Cultural Industries at UWE, Bristol, and a documentary producer.

The RTS West of England Awards will take place on Sunday March 29th at Bristol Old Vic.

Tickets will be on sale soon from the Bristol Old Vic Box Office.

For more information on the awards, please contact Suzy Lambert on [email protected]

EVOLUTIONS

Evolutions Bristol are delighted to once again be headline sponsors of the 2020 West of England RTS Awards. Offering an end to end post production service including production offices, workflow consultancy, offline and final post with some of the best talent in the country, we are proud to be an integral part of the South West post production community supporting our ever growing sector.

With an established team in Bristol as well as our three Soho facilities, VFX team, as well as bespoke Rig and Location services, Evolutions provide an integrated post production service to enable our clients to work across the region and internationally with great flexibility, and deliver high quality programmes across all genres from Natural History, Documentary, Animation, through to Commercial Short Form.

Once again we congratulate all of this year’s nominees for the hard work that has brought them this far. The standard of work in the list of nominations is testament to the creative talent and ambition throughout our region, for which we should be very proud.

Sponsors of the RTS West of England Awards include: Doghouse, Icon Films, Wounded Buffalo, Plimsoll Productions, BBC Studios, Films at 59, Silverback Films, The Square Club, ITV, Evans Audio and Wall to Wall West.

“Wolfie’s walking to work, like he always does. But today is his birthday. Surely something should be different??”

But wait! This is interactive, how long will it take to play?