MotionMasters Blog/News

In a brainstorming session with Dr. Berry of West Virginia State University about how to best position WVSU in TV commercials, we suggested an idea that’s turned into two spots already with a third in pre-production. We thought that a campaign that put the spotlight on WVSU grads who are recognized leaders in the Kanawha Valley would be appealing and it is! The challenge was to keep it from being the usual ‘talking head’ testimonial and turn it into something that really captured attention while selling the benefits of a WVSU education. Our goal was to create beautiful, flowing spots that moved at a good pace while still allowing our featured alumni space to ‘breathe’ within their environments.

Here’s the production rundown for the second spot that featured four female graduates of WVSU: Valery Harper (1996); Amanda Mays (2002); Michelle Raider (1997) and Capt. Dendra Weaver (2004): The first three shots were acquired with our ultra-portable HVX200 camera mounted on a small jib, while pulling focus live with Varizoom’s remote-control unit. For the dolly shots, we used our larger-bodied HPX2000 riding on a Matthews Doorway Dolly, which carried a camera operator to pull focus. Everything was shot at 24PA with as high a shutter value and as wide an aperture as light would allow, creating a very shallow depth-of-field to emulate the look of film. Color was kept flat in-camera to allow a wide range of color-grading options in post-production.

Once in post, each shot was graded inside Synthetic Aperture’s Color Finesse 3 to emulate the classic Kodak 5279 500T film stock. Each transition was built by rotoscoping the leading edge of an object in the foreground of the next shot to ensure that the flowing rhythm of the piece, inspired by Bob Thompson’s beautiful original soundtrack, never faltered.

See for yourself… (click to view commercial)

Windsor Hanger is co-founder of a small business and says videos add an extra element to a website that makes you more approachable to your customers. Her comments are part of a very interesting article about how small businesses are using video to build success. It details four inspiring stories from varying perspectives. But they all have the same message. As Cesar Abeid, the project manager for one of the businesses said, “A picture is worth a 1,000 words. A video is worth 1,000 pictures.”

Read the entire article

Twenty-five years ago, we helped launch the West Virginia Lottery. In 1986, our CEO/President Diana Sole Walko helped the WV Lottery establish its statewide television network and served as the producer of its weekly Jackpot show. Now, all these years and many projects (and jackpots!) later, MotionMasters is proud to have produced the Lottery’s 25th Anniversary television commercial.

The commercial was shot in high definition in our 30 X 30 foot studio at One Creative Place — using our dolly and jib arm to add extra artistry.

The storyboard, created by the Lottery’s agency of record, Fahlgren, called for an XXL-sized birthday cake shaped like the state of West Virginia — which had to withstand a day of shooting under the heat of studio lights.

The solution? A fake cake, made of styrofoam, iced to buttercream perfection by a firm that specializes in the delicacies!
Doug Morris was behind the camera, Wesley Poole directed, then edited and Ward Hiney did the motion graphics — it was a total team effort.

Happy Birthday to the Lottery! (And to us as we enter our 25th year in business!)

Watch the commercial
on YouTube

When the American League of Lobbyists needed to lobby on behalf of the organization, they called on MotionMasters. Our crew traveled to Washington, D.C. and interviewed several industry leaders and shot video at the nation’s capitol and legislative office buildings.

“Lobbying: Your Constitutional Right,” explains what constitutes lobbying and why it is essential to the democratic process. There are two-minute and six-minute versions of the video.

“A lobbyist’s role is to communicate about issues vital to all Americans,” said Dave Wenhold, president of ALL. “The American League of Lobbyists promotes good government through transparency, accountability and integrity.”

Mike Fulton, executive vice president at PR firm GolinHarris, is chairman of ALL’s communications committee and helped develop the video. “The response to the video has been very positive,” Fulton said. “It captures the essence of our constitutional rights as an advocate, as a lobbyist.”

Learn more about the project.

You can view the videos on YouTube
Short (2:00) Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q46kxNc5BLE
Long (6:00) Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TH5fdqBxek

When West Virginia Public Broadcasting needed background in creating commercials for its newest TV series, “This Week in West Virginia,” they came to us. Literally. Their crew shot our crew here at One Creative Place for the Friday, Oct. 29 program that goes behind the scenes of political campaigns.

The first half of Friday’s show will explore commercial production and includes interviews with MM Production Manager Doug Morris and Producer Diane Dimoff. WVPB then turned the camera to another seasoned pro (and MM client), Chris Michael, CEO of Bulldog Creative.

The second half of the program features a panel of experts, including MM CEO Diana Sole Walko, discussing political ads that are making headlines all around the country. With veteran broadcaster Beth Vorhees as the host, you can catch the WVPB program Friday, Oct. 29 at 8 pm.