Results tagged “advertising” from Andrew Kornylak Photography Blog
In January I was hired by Grassroots Outdoor Alliance to produce a video piece for their retail members. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance is a group of over 70 independent outdoor retailers around the US. Membership in Grassroots gives retailers a strong national voice to "protect and promote the experience of outdoor enthusiasts across the United States." Grassroots also provides resources to its member retailers to support their local activities such as recreational access and environmental initiatives.
The shoot was coordinated by Widgets & Stone, a Chattanooga, TN design studio that handles brand communications for Grassroots. We worked with Chattanooga-local GOA member Rock/Creek Outfitters as an example retailer and backdrop for the video. Grassroots wanted the video for the Outdoor Retailer Show, which was only a few days away once we finalized the project. The stakes were made higher by the fact that this video would be shown to all the top independent retailers in the country - Rock/Creek's main peer group.
It's a situation that happens all the time in this business. Things come together at the last minute and once you get the green light you might have half the time you initially planned for. You don't want to cut corners but maybe it just can't get done in time. What do you do? It's a lot like climbing. You plan carefully for a long climb, wait for good conditions, but maybe by then the window is too short. Do you go for it and pass that line of commitment? Or do you back off, hoping the opportunity will still be there later?
Luckily, having worked closely with Rock/Creek a lot in the past, we had a good game plan going in, and they trusted I could do great work under time pressure. We shot all the footage in an afternoon and the edit came together within 48 hours, just in time for the show. As Rock/Creek owner Dawson Wheeler said later, "Putting a video like this out in front of all the best independent shop owners in the industry made me nervous initially, but Andrew came through with a fantastic video that served the group's needs and went over very well with my peers."
We also produced a separate video that explains what the relationship between Grassroots and a retailer like Rock/Creek is fundamentally about: local ownership and activism, unique customer relationships, and a national platform to promote these ideals.
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance from Rock/Creek on Vimeo.
Some behind-the-scenes shots:
Below: Shooting Rock/Creek Marketing Director Mark McKnight with the Panasonic HMC40 on a Redrock Micro 35mm adapter. We combined daylight and a single Westcott Spiderlite fluorescent bank rear and left of Mark. (Rachel Tucker)
Below: We shot the landscape footage at Lula Lake Land Trust, a 4000-acre preserve established around the Rock Creek watershed in the mountains above Chattanooga. This was my first time at Lula, and it is absolutely spectacular. A great reminder of why I live in this part of the country! (Rachel Tucker)
Below: Hero Shot (Mark McKnight)
You can see more BTS stuff at Rock/Creek's Flickr page
I love working with organizations like Grassroots and Rock/Creek because I can get behind their brand message 100%. That is rare, especially in the commercial world. I believe creatives should be actively pursuing those kinds of clients for themselves, rather than just waiting for clients to come to them to help sell a message. In this case, everyone shared the same passions and ideals, and I think it and added to the quality of the final product. What's more, it made shooting it a lot of fun!
photographers, videographers, writers : I'd love to hear your examples of working for clients whose basic principles you also share!
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Committed To Grassroots
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I'm thinking about weaning you, me and the rest of the world from the e-Promo and here's how:
My monthly email card is going out soon to my list of 7500 photo buyers. Between design, list management and email services, this gets expensive and time consuming.
The key to e-promos, as every photo rep will tell you, is consistency: Hammer the buyers with your name and a image relentlessly for a couple years and you will build brand recognition, or at least bug the hell out of them. Either way, you'll get noticed. And it does work. I don't hate it, but let's be honest here - it's just so much spam.
Life is short, and creative people would rather not spend it wading through hundreds of e-promos. True, the best get noticed, but the delivery medium is so constraining for both sides, don't you think?
Today there are so many better ways to connect on a more natural, and potentially personal level. So, I'm trying something new with this month's e-Promo. If the recipient follows me on Twitter, I take them off the e-Promo list.
Go.
Tom:
Holy blackmail Batman. This could very, very well blow up in your face. "Follow me or I'll spam you to death" Rut ro.
(12.09.09 @ 07:46 AM)
akornylak:
Fair enough, Tom, but these are folks on my regular consented mailing list. They can unsubscribe at any time but have chosen to accept my periodic promos (along with many others from Agency Access). So, not spam, not blackmail. Just offering a friendly alternative.
I should also mention that only a couple have decided to follow me instead of receiving ePromos. Too much trouble to sign onto Twitter? Maybe the ePromos are not as hated as I thought...
(12.09.09 @ 08:31 AM)
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Do you hate the e-promo?
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"Wiley X is really about versatility, and it is one of the few brands
that can meet occupational safety requirements while being cool enough
and functional enough for outdoor sports and just hanging out. Andrew
has really helped us bring the versatility story to life in a very
authentic way." - Mike Smith, Partner at Sasquatch Advertising.
In early February I shot a third campaign for California-based WileyX Eyewear. Another fun shoot with a client whose products I actually use.
We shot for a week in my old hood, Tucson and Phoenix Arizona. I brought my crew from Atlanta:
At the Denver Airport: Left, John Kelso, pro skater, pro punk rocker, pro-beard. Right: Sharif Hassan - the Egyptian MacGuyver.
The theme for this campaign was "Recession Proof Eyewear," i.e. shades that can be worn for work, play and hanging out. All the product we shot this year, from performance cycling blades to bubble shades meets ANSI standards for safety. So you can throw away that box of cheap throwaway safety glasses youd never be caught dead in without a hard hat.
So for this concept, we shot four different models in three different scenarios each: recreational, occupational, and lifestyle. Since a lot of the sunglasses are multi-purpose (thats the whole point), we also needed to get each permutation shot with 2 or 3 different glasses. So we were looking at like 48 different shots. I knew that math degree would come in handy some day.
Luckily Art Director, Matt Graff from Sasquatch was on location, to keep the math straight and to provide, well, art direction.
Total Airheads. Matt Graff of Sasquatch Ads, left, and the crew stoke up on Sour Cherry and Green Apple at the Mastercraft facility in Phoenix.
We were joined by stylist/MUA Valerie Badalian from Tucson. We also worked with Set/Prop coordinator Maggie Macfarland and had locaton help from Jason Mullins and my good friends at Rocks and Ropes Climbing Gym, Ed Foster at La Suprema Bikes, and Luke Bertelsen at Contact Climbing Holds. Peter Catalanotte and The folks at the Tucson Film Office went out of their way to get us last-minute permits and location advice. Mastercraft of Arizona provided a sick new wakeboat for the shoot.
Some behind the scenes shots:
Here are two of the four advertisements that will be running from this campaign:
In early February I shot a third campaign for California-based WileyX Eyewear. Another fun shoot with a client whose products I actually use.
We shot for a week in my old hood, Tucson and Phoenix Arizona. I brought my crew from Atlanta:
At the Denver Airport: Left, John Kelso, pro skater, pro punk rocker, pro-beard. Right: Sharif Hassan - the Egyptian MacGuyver.
The theme for this campaign was "Recession Proof Eyewear," i.e. shades that can be worn for work, play and hanging out. All the product we shot this year, from performance cycling blades to bubble shades meets ANSI standards for safety. So you can throw away that box of cheap throwaway safety glasses youd never be caught dead in without a hard hat.
So for this concept, we shot four different models in three different scenarios each: recreational, occupational, and lifestyle. Since a lot of the sunglasses are multi-purpose (thats the whole point), we also needed to get each permutation shot with 2 or 3 different glasses. So we were looking at like 48 different shots. I knew that math degree would come in handy some day.
Luckily Art Director, Matt Graff from Sasquatch was on location, to keep the math straight and to provide, well, art direction.
Total Airheads. Matt Graff of Sasquatch Ads, left, and the crew stoke up on Sour Cherry and Green Apple at the Mastercraft facility in Phoenix.We were joined by stylist/MUA Valerie Badalian from Tucson. We also worked with Set/Prop coordinator Maggie Macfarland and had locaton help from Jason Mullins and my good friends at Rocks and Ropes Climbing Gym, Ed Foster at La Suprema Bikes, and Luke Bertelsen at Contact Climbing Holds. Peter Catalanotte and The folks at the Tucson Film Office went out of their way to get us last-minute permits and location advice. Mastercraft of Arizona provided a sick new wakeboat for the shoot.
Some behind the scenes shots:
Here are two of the four advertisements that will be running from this campaign:
Peter Catalanotte / Tucson Film Office:
I just stumbled upon this posting you did about your shoot in Tucson. Thanks for the plug--we were delighted everything worked out well. Please do visit Tucson again when you have a chance. We love the way your lensing makes us look!
(05.11.09 @ 07:46 PM)
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Wiley X - Recession Proof Eyewear
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I am a photographer based in Atlanta, Georgia.
akornylak@gmail.com
www.akornphoto.com
www.weddingsbyandrew.com
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Thanks Andrew! Great working with you on this shoot. It was a bit nerve-wracking to work on that schedule but it turned out brilliantly. Lula Lake is such a great place too, it was amazing to see it frozen like that.
(02.25.10 @ 12:21 PM)Thank you Andrew. And thank you Rock Creek for supporting conservation, trail development and access to climbing for Chattanoogans and all Americans. And especially, thank you VERY MUCH for supporting Tennessee Wild. You Rock!
(02.25.10 @ 07:14 PM)Really beautiful job. Makes me want to shop there!
(02.27.10 @ 12:08 AM)