Launching today is the first teaser from Musician/Troubadour Justin McRoberts’ project CMYK. We’ve been working on this together for the past few months. IN the coming weeks expect interviews and further thoughts from Justin on the idea of faith in community. Check out the teaser below.
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Making the rounds this morning of the web, I’ve come across 2 videos of importance. One is profound and the other much less but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t entertaining.
The first, the more meaningful to life. The difference maker of today. The video that is well executed, incredible content matched with multiple styles of great visual content and animation is To This Day Project. This short by Shane Koyczan highlights his work and part of his life journey. It resonates because it’s true and it shows passion.
The second is much less profound but it has a built in audience. The internet loves cats and they also love ninjas. So have them square off in a seemingly epic battle with some quick shots and great effects and you’ve got yourself a hit. The guys at Corridor Digital made this and check out their other great shorts (I’m a little partial to After DayZ)
So what do both videos have in common and how can they help you?
They focused on making sure their message was received by their targeted audience.
Give your audience what they want but not they way they want it. On one hand, the internet wants cats. And on the other, the internet wants ninjas. Put them together and you’ve got magic. To This Day showed a truth that we can all relate to – the underdog.
They had great shot composition.
One video was 8 minutes long and still I didn’t mind because it never droned. I wanted to know what happened to our narrator. The other shows miniature ninjas and requires the question, “How did they that?”.
Action steps
- Make sure your next campaign has a direct audience.
- Make the center of the campaign a truth that your audience can relate to.
- Execute your story with excellence.
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It’s December and I’d like to take a moment and recap all that happened this year
2012 started with a bang! We launched The Non-Profit Narrative. On location with Jones Coffee and complete with a photo booth. And thanks to so many of you, the book has been a real success. Thank you for buying it, talking about it and for your reviews!
This year we continued our work with The United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Last year we worked together to revamp their digital communications and launched a complete rebrand of their website in just 9 days. It wasn’t a lot of sleep but it was a whole lot of good.
First up, we launched a new site for their Home for Good initiative.
This group of business leaders, state officials, faith communities and non-profit partners are moving people off the street and into permanent supportive housing.
We helped to create a video about their first year results and helped recap their conference.
Over the summer it was all about community heroes.
Together, the team from United Way, Double Vision Inc and Portnoy Media Group all worked together to build a profile for a campaign that was dynamic, engaging and a whole lot of fun.
This was a great integration of print and digital, of traditional and new media to create this campaign.
It was incredible to see top executives from LA’s largest corporations getting involved with the campaign and making it their own.
This year we also got to work with Nnamdi Asomugha and created a PSA about the work that he cares about with the children of LA.
We also provided media and the stage production at this years Homewalk. Over 10,000 angelinos raising money for the homeless it was great! With attendees like Mark Valley from Body of Proof and Jon Huertes from Castle – Homewalk was a star studded community event!
We coordinated cameras, created the production visuals and covered the event. Homewalk is a great event that helps a lot of people but it doesn’t hurt when Kobe Bryant is the honorary chairman.
In the late summer and fall we partnered with ArcLight Cinemas, incidentally my favorite place to see a movie in the country and produced the Behind the Curtain Series.
First we met Frank an incredible man who loves film and loves to set the stage for the best possible movie going experience.
Next we met the actual man behind the curtain, the director of projection and sound Mr. John Sittig. His decades of knowledge and work with the Hollywood studios makes him a legend! My jaw dropped more than a few times at the stories he told.
This year ended with a big bang of stellar proportions. We worked with The SETI Institute and were able to spend some time talking with TED prize winner Dr. Jill Tarter. and Founder of the institute Dr. Frank Drake.
We worked together on The Communicate campaign
It was a really full and fun year and I can’t be more thankful for all the challenges and the great people that have helped make all of this amazing work happen.
For everyone here at Portnoy Media, I’m Dan Portnoy Be safe.
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Last week the United Way of Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA) launched their 2012 campaign. This was a great project for our team to work on. Starting this past May, we began meeting with UWGLA staff on all of the possibilities that were before them.
A few days in the R&D labs and we had a few options panned out. Next, we worked with Jeff Millican at Double Vision Inc. to take the ideas and direction we were forging into some rough templates on look and tone. I think he really hit the mark and gave us some great options. Lastly, UWGLA staff made a choice and we were off to the races creating this video, a campaign website and full integration across social media platforms.
We’ve got a more complete version of the story in the works that will show you all the pieces as they came together (but you’ll have to be patient for now)
Here’s the video and I’d like to thank everyone who worked on it to make it spectacular. (see for yourself)
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Our latest short in the Behind The Curtain Series for ArcLight Cinemas has just released. John and the team at ArcLight have been incredible to work with and we’re big fans of what they do!
Let us know what you think.
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This past month we spent some time with John Sittig, Director of Projection & Sound for ArcLight Cinemas.
John is the next subject in the Behind the Curtain series for ArcLight and a true wizard. He dropped so much knowledge on us that our heads were spinning. I was thrilled to see the projection rooms, all of the digital technology that currently supports the theaters and also the 35mm and 70mm projectors with a nod to the golden age of Hollywood.
John had so many stories about premieres and big name stars and directors, our team was giddy. In fact, there was so much information we suggested to ArcLight to cut a few teasers to their Cinerama Festival (it begins this weekend, get tickets here) and they agreed.
Check them out.
Big thanks to the crew:
Producer – Tiffany Johnson
Co-Producer – Jen Fodor
Director of Photography – Ryan Prouty
Production Assistant – Matt Thornton
Editor – Justin Dial
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Super thrilled to announce the launch of a new look to DanPortnoy.com. A few months back I talked with the crew at OutThink about what it could look like, it’s function and expectations of what it could do. I chose the workshop because it’s where trial and error happen, research and development and very little judgement happens in the workshop.
Here’s Joseph Hinson (aka Cptn Safety) putting the whole thing together in just 53 Minutes!! He’s like a wizard or a genius.. or a genius wizard!
Let me know what you think and let’s connect if we haven’t already.
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The United Way of Greater Los Angeles released the first picture from our shoot last week. We can’t wait to share the whole project with you. This campaign keys on the incredible work that so many volunteers and donors accomplish on a daily basis. The final project should be live in just a few weeks.
Let us know what you think in the comments.
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After a sold-out program in Silicon Valley, Social Media for Nonprofits is heading to Los Angeles on August 14, featuring an all-star lineup sharing practical tips and tools for leveraging social media for fundraising, marketing & advocacy.
Join me along with Giulia McPherson, CARE; Lee Fox, KooDooz; Lisa Rau, Confluence; Tom Kramer, Fundly; Michael Bellavia, HelpsGood; Stephanie Rudat, Movements.org; Richard Levy, give2gether; and Lauren Winkler, Save a Child’s Heart..
This stellar lineup will provide attendees with concrete insights and takeaways for nonprofits to use social media to advance their cause.
Discounted tickets are available for small nonprofits at $95. For-profit and larger nonprofits can use the discount code “Portnoy” to save $20 off $125 and $175 tickets. Registration includes access to the full conference as well as breakfast, and lunch.
For more information or to sign up, click here
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I’ve seen this trailer a few times over the past several months and it’s finally hitting theaters. As soon as I saw it, I knew that would be a great outing for the Portnoy Media team. I’m a huge fan of Friday Morning Movies. Not a lot of people in the theater, it disrupts the day in a very positive way (your team will feel like they are playing hooky, which they are) and leads into the option to take your team to lunch and talk about what you’ve just seen. Don’t plan it too much, let the discussion be organic. Ask a few questions, “What did you find inspiring?” “Can we adapt any of that to our workplace/office?” “What would stop us?”
You’re company is better than recycled content with an overused metaphor.
We’re not a big firm so the idea of bringing in a consultant to help us hone skills of teamwork, trust and open communication would be way beyond our budget. Instead, I try to focus on experiences that help us see each other in different lights, connect us with ideas and behaviors of those who have come before us and been incredibly successful.
And you should do it too! Check out the trailer.
Here’s a few tips to help your team building:
Don’t Be Boring.
When was the last time you thought, “This Powerpoint is so inspiring!”? I’m guessing never. Your team wants to do more than just sit and hear another speech/presentation.
Get out of the office.
They dynamic of your office shifts when you leave the workplace. It humanizes your team. The pecking order adjusts a little and it’s a great way to see leaders rise from your ranks.
Think Multimedia
Use pictures for inspiration – but don’t pass on the supposed photos from an email. Think bigger, think better. You’re company is better than recycled content with an overused metaphor. Take your team to a movie, a concert, a museum, or the library. There’s a ton of options!
Story, story, story
Imagine what your best office scenario would be. Then think about the activities that you would have. Next, create one of them. Start small – see how your team adjusts. Think about the conversations that your team will have about the day. Will they be inspired or is it just another something in their work life? My guess is that it’ll be the former and that helps your teams identity. Identity = story = brand.
A few suggestions to check out
Beauty is Embarrassing (Obviously!)
Eames: The Architect & the Painter (You can watch the whole thing here for free, Thanks PBS!)
Encourage your team to check out a site like BehanceFfffound or DeviantArt to pull out some inspirational work and explain it to your team.
Grab a favorite audio book and make it required listening, then talk about it over lunch (that you buy!) A few of my favorites are Lead the Field or The Art of Exceptional Living – I have to thank Josh Kaufman for the introduction to such great works.
Remember, if it seems odd that’s ok. You don’t want a “normal” team. Normal equals boring and a boring team produces boring results.
So start today and get your team jazzed!
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