There is so much to consider when you're contemplating a video campaign that I thought I would help you break it down. As they say, "you don't know what you don't know." Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
BCC invests in low-income communities so they can be self-sustainable and prosperous. Watch as collage artist Mark Wagner creates a model urban community from pieces of money.
This is a film created for a nonprofit company who invests in self-sustaining low-income communities to create opportunities for its residents. After sitting with the core management team for hours, talking about the 'why' they do what they do, we came up with this video. Also, the collage artist is Mark Wagner and is the nicest guy you'll ever meet. He has stacks and stacks of pieces of money that he cuts and creates the most beautiful works of art. With Jeff Powers as DP and Christian Williams as my sidekick, we spent the whole day shooting in a 13x13 room, standing around a tiny desk, using macro lenses to do all this live action. Small Army Studios team: writer/director - Steve Kolander ACD - Christian Williams AEs - Paul Dome and Lisa Johnson Asst. Producer - Sylvain Lucarelli
Small Army Studios: writer/director Steve Kolander, ACD/art director Christian Williams, Editor Brian Cassin, AEs Paul Dome and Lisa Johnson, Asst. Producer Sylvain Lucarelli,
Anthony Pettis had to dig deep after his dad was murdered across the street and his mother had to raise he and his brothers. His outlook on life is amazing.
Few personal trainers understand the human spirit like that of David Jack. His best word of advice, "Hold on to that child inside as long as possible."
Urban Edge is an amazing nonprofit organization in the Roxbury area of Boston and helps keep their neighbors thriving through investments, respect and a deep sense of community. I was honored to write the melody and lyrics for this project.
Designing a machine to cure jaundice in the developing world can save hundreds of lives daily . Design That Matters made it happen.
Wayne has terminal cancer. And still believes he's the luckiest man alive. Boston Medical Center is an amazing hospital that gives its patients all the resources they need to make the most of their lives.
Motocycz is the world's fastest electric motorcycle. Micheal Cycz is all too aware that when you're creating a first, you're going to have take a lot of arrows.
This is one man's dream to create a robot that can help mankind. It is becoming a reality.
We spent one week in Stockholm documenting this 6,000 fitness person event, following three of the most elite Les Mills trainers in the world. Watch the documentary as well as the six social media videos that surrounded this event.
This amazing nonprofit was started by co-founder Jeff Freedman after his partner died of cancer in 2007. To keep his partner's memory and zest for life alive, Jeff dreamed up a non-profit company to raise money to help fight cancer. His team has raised over 1 million dollars to date.
I spent seven years writing headlines and copy for automobile advertising. This was one of my favorite billboards. Other brands included Nissan at Chiat/Day, Mazda at FCB and Toyota at Satchi.
This is from a campaign I created with Gary Kaczmarek for Beefeater in Chicago's DDB office. Their clientele for Beefeater was literally dying of old age and the client wanted to make the brand 'hipper'. We got a few laughs when we created this campaign. Imagine taking a shot of Beefeater before you faced the neighbor's dog to get your paper.
Chestnut Hill School - Admissions Video
Middle School Musical Video
Home Movie With My Son During Pandemic Lockdown. (shot with my iphone.)
Music Video To Experiment with AI
Chestnut Hill School - Farewell Video to Head of School
Young Woman With A Rare Disease - Story for A Bio-Tech Upstart
Story Of 10-year Old Who Was Born Deaf and Can Now Hear - Mass, Eye and Ear Hospital
Home Movie of Three Friends
Home Movie of Sledding During Pandemic
10-Year Anniversary Gala Video of Modern Taekwondo Center
This is the story of a young woman, Olivia, who has a rare disease called SLS. And a company called Aldeyra who is proving they just might have a cure. And what that discovery will mean for both of them.
Anthony Pettis had to dig deep after his dad was murdered across the street and his mother had to raise he and his brothers. His outlook on life is amazing.
BCC invests in low-income communities so they can be self-sustainable and prosperous. Watch as collage artist Mark Wagner creates a model urban community from actual pieces of money.
This is an online video campaign that showcases the global SolidWorks community and their ability to design a project together. Host Jeremy Luchini asks the audience what it is they want to build together and using social media, they talk to Jeremy and give him ideas on how to better design the projects. In this episode (1 of 6 episodes for project #3), Jeremy is building a man-grade baby buggy. In the end, it will have tank treads and weigh 500 lbs. Doh!
Chestnut Hill School is a private elementary school in Chestnut Hills and was established in 1860. This school has amazing teachers who nurture the whole child through a thoughtful, balanced curriculum. They intentionally build a diverse school community and foster the growth of their students so they will become responsible, contributing members of the world who stand up for their beliefs, express their thoughts, and care about the rights and feelings of others. Our job was to capture these sentiments through teachers, kids and staff alike. This is an ongoing campaign and the work is in progress.
Ebola tests in the developing world takes anywhere from one day to 5 weeks. Diagnostics For All is developing a rapid diagnostics test that will give results in just 45 minutes. This is a game-changer. And it was created using SolidWorks CAD software. SolidWorks is the industry standard and is embraced by game-changing companies and their engineers and designers.
These are internal videos for GE that are not really for public consumption. This is the behind-the-scenes communications to keep their employees in the loop and to speak with their partners.
The Saphire Partnership Project
The Pipeline Industry
FEMA - HOMEOWNERS FLOOD INSURANCE
Marketing for the government isn't easy. There are many gatekeepers to getting creative through the pipeline. But these two TV spots were very effective as well as creative. These two commercials ran for six years they were so successful. (Art Directors Guild (ADG) 2004 Excellence in Production Design Award for Commercials.) These two spots were the templates and they would add phone numbers and brochure visuals to each commercial to match local state insurance companies.
FloodSmart - Ignore the Flood
Floodsmart - Operatic Destruction
Wicked Good Cause helps people on Boston's South Shore deal with unforeseen illnesses and tragedies through donations and other resources. When approached about creating a couple of TV spots, I said yes in a heartbeat. Research shows that people want to help others when they feel good about the subject matter. So instead of telling a sad story, we decided to celebrate what the recipients loved most in life. The results were bigger donations and more of them. Furthermore, the TV spots were then used in Social Media posts to further gain traction and spread the good word, encouraging others to work for the common good.
Sticky Story Inc. Team: Co-Directors and writers Steve Kolander and Christian Williams, Editor Steve Kolander Editing Consultants Brian Cassin and Christian Williams
When first asked to film the Winter Ball for Wicked Good Cause, I paused. I didn't want to simply document an event. After all, I'm a storyteller before I'm a videographer. Then I rethought how I might film the ball. Instead, I set out to tell a story using the event as my canvas. The story turned out quite emotional.
This is the story of a group of MIT grads who started a company called GRIT, who is designing wheelchairs for the developing world, changing the lives of those who are mobility impaired and often shunned from society because of their disability. This is part of the Born To Design series from SolidWorks; CAD software for engineers and designers.
Being a storyteller, I don't just film stories for companies and organizations, it creeps into my personal life, too. And even though my son is 6-years old and demands much of my time, every now and then I find a way to capture a moment that is meaningful to us. I'm sharing them here because I think that these kinds of authentic stories are also powerful ways to connect viewers in positive ways with brands. The Legos story is a great example of such.
Mass. Eye and Ear is an international center for treatment and research and a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. Their clinicians are driven by a mission to find cures for blindness, deafness and diseases of the head and neck.
COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
Mass Eye and Ear asked us to tell the riveting story of a little girl who was born profoundly deaf and can now hear and speak perfectly. We told the story in 6 minutes for their Gala, 2 1/2 minutes and 90 seconds. This is the 90 second version.
CATARACT SURGERY
Cataract Surgery is quite common but is very meaningful and life-changing to those who need it. This is the story of three patients who regained their confidence and independence after Mass Eye and Ear gained their trust and respect.
In 2015, we created a story that celebrates how we use all of our senses in a single moment to soak up all that the moment has to offer. This TV spot ran for two years and was recently replaced by another series of TV spots that we created for them.
