Thursday, July 10, 2008

Makeup for the Video Production Camera

CNN anchor Sean Callebs is a great friend. I was his producer. Alas Sean had one extremely annoying habit: he enjoyed torturing me on air. He was also a huge flirt. When I finally reached my tipping point (at lunch time), my revenge was often to point out the fact that he was wearing makeup to the cutest girl nearby. It worked. They would take a second look and see a man wearing a LOT of makeup b/c he was made up for work. Not that there's anything wrong with men wearing makeup!

The point here is that video and film do not see makeup the way the human eye sees makeup. An incredibly smoked up room will often barely look smoky on film. The art of makeup in television is rarely subtle. Enter the HD camera and now aging actresses (and actors) who have been relying for years on film tricks like silks (they soften the light and fill in those rascally nooks and cranneis) now must get their makeup spray painted prior to going on camera at the academy awards.

While the consumer loves the HD (high definition) cameras, the on camera talent does not because these HD cameras see everything... spying into those little age lines, wrinkles and smile lines never seen by prior generations of cameras. According to a recent Trendcentral, story, cosmetic makers such as Christian Dior, Smashbox and Cargo have now introduced every day lines of cosmetics that are HD friendly. So rest easy the next time you are out with Paris Hilton partying and the Paparazzi starts to swarm, if you are wearing the right makeup, the HD camera is going to love you!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Watch Now, Watch Often.... Pure Beauty

Dancing with the Universe is one of those videos that you need to watch every morning. You will surely be seeing it everywhere if you haven't already. It was posted June 20, 2008 and it already has been viewed a million times. What's so beautiful about it? What makes it so effective? It's a simple idea, yet it works in every culture, on every point of the earth. So please, take a second out of your busy life and watch this video, and then watch it again when you are stressed out. Where the Hell is Matt?

Monday, July 7, 2008

Advertising

Beer. It's an advertising favorite. We all have seen the Bud Bowl and the Miller ads, but the creativity doesn't stop at the US border. Here's a wild beer commercial -- done for Guiness. Not sure how much they spent on this little puppy, but it wasn't cheap. While I think it's quite original, I am left wondering why this is a beer commercial? Answer -- we have to remember that in Europe they play it subtle. Tag line makes sense -- good things come to those who wait, but I would not hand this commercial a Golden Lion. But, as I always stress, when it comes to recognition. what's important is -- did it drive traffic or sales... did it achieve it's objective?

The campaign has been around for a while, and boy does this advertiser spend money. We don't see their ads much in the states, but they are very original. Just click around YouTube for a while and you'll see.

Here's an all time favorite.... Guiness: Rhythm of Life.