Sometimes the Best Reason to Shoot is None At All

So we found ourselves in between a couple of big projects and needed to take a small break to hone some skill and just shoot for shooting's sake. It's something we like to do from time to time. In the past it's led to great ideas and projects. Over the last three years, we've shot at the Vermont City Marathon and are now in preproduction and sponsorship phase of a larger documentary project.

Today was a gorgeous day. We'd been in early finishing up some final details on a coupel projects while scripting and storyboarding for a few new ones. We had heard that they were going to be doing a ribbon cutting up at Bolton for the new Wind Turbine up there, so we grabbed the camera and ran with it. Awesome day. And actually they had a really good turn out. Just riding the chair lift was a good diversion, so we knew we'd made the right decision. Got to meet some new people, bumped into friends....


And I don't think we could have asked for a better environment to shoot in. The turbine by the way is incredibly impressive and awe inspiring when you first see it up close.

Whatever you do for your creative career, make sure to take some time every now and then to do what you do for yourself. It's advice we don't always follow, but I'm glad we did today!!

AND THE WALLS...CAME TUMBLING DOWN

We're honored that Nancy Driscoll Marketing partnered with Hen House Media to produce a new television spot for Booth Bros Milk. We've been in pre-production on the spot for quite awhile.

First came the construction of the set, which was completed right here at the Hen House studios. It was modular by design for easy transport and assembly on set.

What took the longest was making sure we had all of the safety mechanisms in place so no one, cast crews or cows, would be injured during filming.

We rode the weather for most of the summer, each previously chosen date getting cancelled by rain or clouds. We needed sun and blue skies. Talk about a rough summer for this sort of thing.

Luckily, yesterday was beautiful.

The day at the studio started at 3am, and we arrived at the Silloway Farm in Randolph Center by 6am.

The thick pea soup fog we were in for most of the early morning broke by the time shooting started and the sun stayed the rest of the day.

And we're happy to say that when the walls came down in one of the scenes, it went off without a hitch, only a couple of spooked cows.

PS: Cows can be hard to work with.

Video & Social Media help find missing Essex Woman.

Wow. We got a call from a friend at Comcast who's daughter had been missing from Essex since May of this year. Turns out she had last been seen boarding a train from DC to Phoenix. Her employer stepped up and offered airtime for a PSA asking for information. We produced a simple 15-second spot for her to run in the Phoenix area as well as elsewhere. (Thank you to Comcast for stepping up for one of your own. That was great to hear).

As we were prepping the tapes, we started talking about other things she could do to get the word out quickly and to mobilize people directly. We encoded a smaller version that she could then email, have people post on facebook pages, tweet links, etc.

She's been missing since May. Her mom has been using all the traditional avenues to find her, but has met roadblocks, resistance and beauracracy along the way.

Here's the best part:
In just a few hours today, she had friends forwarding her email with the video, posted on Facebook pages, etc and got the call she had been waiting for.

One of the recipients recognized her face and immediately called the Phoenix Police. She has been found, and she is safe.

That my friends is the power of Social Media. We are thrilled that they have a happy ending.

Thanks to everyone who posted the video, forwarded emails, tweeted. Wow.

My Past Colleague: Bob Ayer

I lost many people close to me this past month.

Two of them were very close family and one of them a friend.

At some point, I will take the time to talk about my family, but right now I am still too raw and wounded by their untimely passing.

Instead, I am focusing on the friend.  Partly because he was an industry colleague and secondly, because I am still in a state of complete shock and therefore find it easier to write.

His name was Bob Ayer and he was an incredible colleague for many reasons.  Bob came into my world as my One Inch Tape Operator, the person who set up the ADO to my needs, etcetera. When we parted ways, we did so as fellow producers.

His quiet demeanor and his sly smile were the distractions to his extreme wit.  If you weren't careful, you would miss the joke.... most people did.

Bob was simply the easiest person I had ever been around.  He didn't appear to have a care in the world.  That is not to say that he didn't care, because he did.  He cared a lot.  What I mean is, he just simply didn't appear to let the world get to him.

Now, I know that Bob had a lot going on.  Probably more than one might suspect, but he was just easy to be around.  He was never one of those people that brooded, held a grudge, or broadcasted every one of life's inequities.  In the years I knew him, I think he only talked "trash" about one person and in doing so, made it completely clear that his anger was based on his own prejudices.... that was just the kind of guy he was.

As for producer?  Bob was just this guy... you know?  He never felt that the job he did was anything more or less than what it was.  He enjoyed meeting with clients, enjoyed lugging the gear, enjoyed shooting the image, and in the end, I think he just enjoyed being around his colleagues.

I am one hundred percent certain that there were tons and tons of things he hated about the job.  But the one thing I know for certain is that when Bob walked in the room, he smiled and in doing so, made others smile as well.

Hey Bob .....   "Bingo-V" had me cracking up for years.  Thanks for the memories.

-Bryan

Hen House Tweets

Which is kind of fitting seeing as we have chickens all over the office. We love Social Media. Chickens are by nature a very social animal, as are the two owners of Hen House Media.

We've been helping our clients navigate these waters as well, eventually showing how all of the marketing efforts really work in tandem together. We'll often see disconnected marketing efforts, many times because of the speed at which things are happening these days. We push our clients to spend an extra 10 minutes to get their ducks in a row. If all the messages are aligned across all media, they'll experience greater success, especially during times such as these.

Hen House Media provides award winning video and digital media production, but we bring all of our disciplines and partners together for the benefit of our clients.

Congratulations to our Friends at BioTek

Attended VT Business Expo yesterday and caught up with some old friends and made some new ones. At 10am, Governor Douglas announced the Deane C Davis Award recipient for this year. One of our clients, BioTek Instruments, was one of the nominees. While they did not take home that award, in our minds they are winners. They represent what we should all strive to become as businesses in this great state, and it is a true pleasure to know them and to work with them.

We congratulate Seventh Generation and this year's winner National Life as well. One of the great things about the Expo is you get to witness first hand the innovation and quality that is happening all around our state. Over the last few years, we've met companies who are doing some incredible things right in our backyard. Kalow Technologies created, among other things, a 3-D prototyping system right in North Clarendon. LED Dynamics, in Randolph, had some amazing lighting solutions on display. And, of course, BioTek, right out of Winooski, has become a global leader in microplate instrumentation. Can't name them all here, but the point is, we have a state filled with amazing and innovative people. They are creating jobs, great products and in many cases, driving technology.

There are some great opportunities out there right now for all of us to band together and make each other stronger, and by default, Vermont as well. Thank you to the VT Business Expo. I for one am inspired.

Hen House to Attend VT Business Expo. Film at 11.

For Immediate Release

Hen House Media will be at the Vermont Business Expo. On the agenda will be a tailgate party in the lobby of the Sheraton as the "men of the hen" (phrase coined by Mark of Interrobang Design) paint there faces to root their client BioTek Instruments of Winooski. BioTek is in the running for this year's Deane C Davis award. Good Luck to our friends and we will chanting as if at a South American Soccer game.

After that it's on to the red carpet for mingling, networking, catching up with old friends and making some new ones.

The Expo runs today and tomorrow at the Sheraton. Just $10 gets you in to a great networking opportunity