Big Teeth Productions Blog

you're currently viewing all posts filed under Clients

Big Teeth Intern Danny McCarthy at the plate: Locavore Dinner Video

 

As a small business we have to be creative in the way we operate - both in who we employ and in the projects we choose to take. This blog post is a convergence of those two things - we allowed our intern Danny McCarthy to oversee a project for the “Locavore” movement and he writes about his experience below. The final video is at the bottom of this blog post.

Last month I worked on a project for a friend of Big Teeth Productions - a video about the Locavore Movement focusing on a dinner held at the Hopleaf bar and restaurant that was put on by food scientist Jim Javonkoski, Michael Roper (owner of the Hopleaf) and Ben Sheagren (Executive chef of the Hopleaf).  

This project was brought to the Teeth by Jim with no money but a good heart so it was embraced. Because of the lack of budget and more relaxed schedule I was given the chance to produce  it on my own, under Elise and Gregg’s guidance. Initially, I took this opportunity as a way to gain more experience working on different aspects of projects from start to end; but through the experience I gained a greater appreciation for the local food movement. One of the things that really helped with the production of the video was all of the participants passion for the cause.

(See Video)

PRODUCTION
One thing that I enjoyed was actually shooting the event. I didn't have much experience shooting and this gave me a chance (especially because it was an event) to experiment and get more comfortable with operating a camera. The Hopleaf was a good setting and everyone seemed relaxed,  so I was able to get some great interviews with guests.  However, one thing that I had been taught but really became ingrained in me by this experience is that as much as you want it to, a camera cannot capture anywhere near what the human eye can. The lighting at the event was very dim as it was an intimate candlelit setting – great for ambiance, not ideal for shooting. While not what I would have preferred, it gave me a lesson on planning ahead and troubleshooting.

POST-PRODUCTION
After loading the footage from the event it was clear that something was needed to shed some light on the project, literally and figuratively. So, I returned to the Hopleaf and sat down with Jim, Michael, and Ben. I found a location away from where most of the customers were - the only issue being that they were doing some noisy prep work on the floor below. While not ideal, it was okay because it captured the ambiance of a restaurant and was only an issue when they started aggressively banging what I assume were iron pots together (or at least that's what it sounded like).

Earlier, I mentioned how passionate my subjects were and this was clearly evident while filming the interviews. They had a lot to say. A lot. This was another learning experience for me. If this was a documentary about sustainable agriculture and the benefits of being part of a local food system, this wouldn't have been an issue, but with the video being geared for the web, the target length was around two minutes. At a certain point I had to direct the interviewees to give shorter, to-the-point responses. This helped a bit... so did editing. This second day of shooting completely changed the video. Besides the interviews, I got B-roll of the interior and exterior of the Hopleaf and its kitchen which filled in some blanks. With this second day of shooting, doing some color correction and laying B-roll and some graphics over the darker of the shots, I was able to make it work.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Though I’ve mainly discussed the production aspects of this experience, I have to say something about the food.  During the event I had a plate and glass on the side and got to sample the various courses.  With Jim and Michael’s beer knowledge combined with Ben’s culinary skills, the dinner was great.  I am a beer fan and an amateur foodie and the pairings were on point and delicious.

Overall, I have to say that while I’ve worked on many projects with various levels of involvement, I’ve come out of this experience with a higher level of gratification gained through being the sole creator of the project from beginning to end.

The final video is here so let me know what you think about my first independent project at Big Teeth Productions.
Note: Learn more at http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/eatlocal/ or Jim’s blog at http://www.localfoodwisdom.blogspot.com/

Can You Pitch New Business in Flip Flops?

It's pitch time. Quick put on your suit and tie, hook up the powerpoint and memorize those talking points.... Not for us.

We love our direct clients in need of intriguing videos, but also recognize the benefit of working with agencies who have built-in client rosters and could use our production skills. These agencies don't just come to you, so a-pitchin' we shall go. But I think the nature of the pitch has changed. Is it still necessary to button yourself up when new business hunting.

We had a recent meeting at a mid-sized B2B Ad Agency in Chicago. Rather than deliver a "talk at you" Powerpoint presentation, we decided to just go in and chat. This way we could ask them questions about their business practices and what video needs they may have, and they could grill us on what our shooting methods were, editing style, how we do estimates, past experiences etc. We did no slick pitch, just chatted about our respective companies, and then pulled up our website so they could look at some samples of our work and let us walk them through the choices we made.

Some might think this way of doing it appears too casual and shows a lack of preparation (and in some cases with larger companies it might not be the best approach) but I argue that after an hour-plus of this type of meeting, we walked away thinking this is the type of company we would be happy to do work with because the people we met, who would be our direct contacts, all seemed nice and approachable and appreciate the type of work we do. It appeared that they felt the same about us, and will very likely come calling next time a video project comes up.

After all, isn't that what makes for successful working situations; the relationships? As unique as all businesses think they are, there are usually others who can do similar work, so wouldn't you rather work with someone you know you can talk to and trust... even if they wear flip flops instead of loafers?

note: Any flip flops referred to in above post were strictly metaphorical. All toes were concealed, but nice jeans may have been worn.

 

Big Teeth: Meet the Clients – Misericordia

From time to time I’ll use this space to show off some of our work and our clients. We’re proud of all (or most) of the work we do but sometimes you just really connect on a personal level with certain projects, a great plus of self-employment. One such example is Misericordia. Misericordia is a facility in Chicago that houses several hundred mentally and physically disabled people ranging from very high functioning adults who work in the community, to those who need assistence in even the simplest movements.

Rather than go on further about Misericordia, if you’re interested take a look at the video we created with them. It’s a little long for the web, but was really created to be shown at the Chicago Auto Show First Look for Charity. If the video moves you at all, or you’re looking for a great place to volunteer I can’t recommend this place enough. The residents, staff and volunteers all share the same enthusiasm for what Misericordia does – treat each individual with the dignity and respect that they deserve. There’s much more to say, but we hope the video goes a long way at actually showing how it feels to spend time there. We are also working with them to take some of the many many great aspects of the organization and break them down into smaller more web friendly videos… so stay tuned for that.