Thursday, 31 May 2012
Gazza's Umbro ad
Monday, 28 May 2012
RED Epic vs Scarlet review
Toast producer Rob Oliver compares
the relative merits of the Epic and Scarlet cameras from RED. Get blog updates sent to your inbox by subscribing to our
RSS feed in the top right hand corner of the blog. Or join us on Twitter and Facebook for links to our latest
posts, industry news, tips and analysis.
The Epic and the Scarlet are both made by RED and share the
same 5K Super-35 sensors. Both cameras share much of the same components and
both have the same solid-state drives however they vary on abilities. The main
difference is that the Epic will shoot up to 300 fps at 2K whereas the Scarlet
will a maximum of 60fps at 2K.
The Epic’s high speed function is a big plus but if you have a
multi-camera production and need to shoot some slo-mo then you should consider
the Scarlett as a good B camera option led by an Epic. Both cameras are well
matched, both capable of shooting up to 30fps at 4K.
With the introduction of low-cost Super-35 cameras like the Canon C300 and
the Sony F3, the Scarlett has been designed to directly compete on this level.
But it also has the option of using DSLR zoom and prime lenses with the use of
the correct mount. This is brilliant news for low budget productions who
previously would not be able to afford the premium RED cameras.
If you don’t need slo-mo then shoot
on the Scarlet or if you have multi camera shoot then consider a combination of
the two cameras. And just so you know the difference – the Epic body is Black
and the Scarlet’s is grey.
Friday, 25 May 2012
Toast's week in Tweets
Here’s the second of the weekly Twitter round-ups brought to you
by Toast TV, featuring the most popular Tweets that we’ve posted over the past
five working days. Keep up to date
with our blog by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner of
the blog, or join us directly on Twitter.
Brad Pitt is to be Chanel No 5's new cover girl, reports @guardian http://awe.sm/5r0Xg #chanelno5
Brad Pitt becomes Chanel No 5 first
cover girl who is in fact a man. While he’s no Nicole Kidman when it comes to
feminine beauty, The Guardian have decided that this is a bold but wise
marketing move.
Did you catch ITV's seminal documentary series 56 Up? If not,
you're in luck! It's still available here - http://awe.sm/5qlRl
@ITV #doc
ITV’s
56 Up was certainly one of the defining moments of the past week at Toast. It’s going on 50 years since the
seminal documentary began charting the lives of a group of seven-year-olds from
a range of backgrounds and a lot has changed. The programme asks, where are they
now and how do they feel about getting old?
Get your business prepared for the Olympic travel disruptions http://awe.sm/5qziY @GAOTG #olympics
It’s hot, it’s sticky and we now have
to seriously start thinking about the upcoming Olympic travel disruptions and
how best to avoid them on the way into work. It’s either a great excuse to work
from home, or another hour cut out of your free time. Either way, we recommend planning ahead!
Watch the new @007
James Bond trailer here - http://awe.sm/5s7va!
Read about it here - http://awe.sm/5s7vv via
@bbc
Over the past few months Londoners
have been pleased to encounter various film sets for the new James Bond film.
It’s looking cooler than ever as Daniel Craig really settles into the role and
the major plot location really comes home. Watch the trailer above.
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
TV ad eraser ‘Auto Hop’ is causing a stir
Cheeky satelite TV provider the DISH Network’s digital video recorder now offers viewers the chance to skip ad
breaks for free, but is advertising its services on TV. Known as the ‘Auto Hop’, the promotional push has caused a stir within the television industry. Major producers are concerned over
how they can continue producing high quality shows without income from ad
revenue and the networks are fuming.
In retaliation, News Corporation is
refusing to air any of the Auto Hop ads and the New York Times reports that
other network owners are looking at ways to sue the DISH Network. The chairman
of NBC Broadcasting,Ted Harbert said: “Just because technology gives you the
ability to do something, does that mean you should? Not always.”
Research analysts strongly believe that
this move reflects how scared television companies are of subscribers
abandoning traditional TV in favour of internet-based firms. But, the DISH Network argue that in the long term they are encouraging viewers to watch more
programming as they will become more engaged with the shows. But, who do they think will be funding those shows two years down the line?
Watch our favourite new TV ads here. Keep up to date with our video production tips, news and analysis by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner, or join us on Twitter and Facebook. For a production quote contact us here.
Monday, 21 May 2012
Great new TV commercials
Television commercial production is a large part of what we do at Toast. We’re privileged to work with the world’s top brands and produce
their ads because we’re enthusiastic about what we do. And it showed in the huge popularity of our April
review of great new television commercials. So we thought we’d bring it back as a regular feature.
Jammie Dodger’s A Certain Gooey Thing parody
This
commercial is weird as hell. But that’s what makes this biscuit brand
interesting. They aren’t everyone’s first choice because the concept of the
biscuit itself is strange. But they do inspire devoted followers. In this ad,
they’ve decided to work their offbeat recipe to their advantage with a red
haired monkey acting out a rock tune in the style of a music video. And he’s
got the biscuit attached to his head. Tasty.
M&M’s
Sexy And I Know It 2012 Superbowl campaign
In this ad, a male M&M strips at the
site of an embarrassed brown female M&M, thinking that she’s naked because
she’s got a shell the colour of chocolate. We’ve all have over-enthusiastic
moments, and encounter annoyingly over-enthusiastic people, and it’s
embarrassing. It makes us feel vulnerable. So we look for comfort food, like
M&Ms.
Tetley’s
Five Minute Tea Break commercial
Tetley takes a step away from their cartoon
representatives and parodies the troubles of the modern woman. The ad shows a husband
who expects his dinner, but doesn’t know what to do with himself when his wife reacts
by taking five minutes to herself to enjoy a tea. When she puts her mug in the dishwasher,
he holds her tight.
For more great TV commercials read our post on the IVCA Award winners.
Friday, 18 May 2012
Before making a corporate video
Toast's week in Tweets
Thinking of making a business video? Here's a guide
from @MarketingB2B. Send us
any questions for our production team! http://awe.sm/5r0Bl
B2B Marketing wrote a great guide for
businesses on making a successful video production. So, we thought that we’d
add our own two cents and upload our ‘Things to think about before making a
video production’ guide to our blog. You can read it here.
According to @klout
ToastTV is a social media 'Specialist'.
We have a rating of 47! #socialmediagurus
We were extremely pleased to discover that
our Klout rating has reached 47. This means
that more of you are joining us on our social media portals, and we’re
influencing what you think about social media and television. They even went so
far as to call us a ‘Specialists’.
A big congratulations to The Big Issue on its 1000th issue! Read what
TBI's editor had to say here - http://awe.sm/5qL7u
@bigissue
It was a seminal moment for homeless
charity The Big Issue team as they
reached their 1000th issue. So, we sent them a big congratulations for all of
their hard work. Click here to
donate to this worthy cause.
What's wrong with this picture?
Keep up to date with our Tweets by
subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner of the blog, or join
us directly on Twitter.
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Stock footage tips
Researching stock footage for a corporate video or a television commercial can be a long-winded and sometimes fruitless process. It’s very difficult to get it right the first time around. Particularly as there are far too many sites to get through and the correct search terms aren’t always obvious. So, thought we’d run you through some approaches that we’ve picked up here at Toast.
First off, do a bit of research
and write a list of the search terms that you think are suitable. Then methodically
run through them on your chosen selection of stock footage sites. It sounds
simple, but if you don’t do your research on the terms and run through your
results in a constructed way, then you’ll end up missing out on potentially
useful clips and just end up browsing.
If this straightforward approach isn’t working, look at how you can make your search terms
wider or narrower in order to expand or contract your results. A good start
is to look at synonyms of the words that you are using, in case you’ve missed
something out.
If you’re still stuck for ideas, run an Internet image search on your keywords and see what comes
up. Let’s say you’re looking for skyscrapers under construction, perhaps
there’s a skyscraper that’s due for completion in the next few months. Run a
search on its name, architect and surrounding area. Chances are that someone
has covered it recently, because skyscrapers tend to be newsworthy.
This is the point where you might well want to call the stock footage company, an expert,
your client, or a friend who works in the field for more information about
the search that you’re conducting. For example, if you’re making a film about
specific types of flowers, they may be able to advise you on places where you
can find these flowers. It sounds odd, but even just asking the person sitting
at the desk next to you might give you some new ideas for related search terms.
Keep up to date with our video production tips, news and analysis by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner, or join us on Twitter and Facebook.
Further resources
Thursday, 3 May 2012
IVCA Awards winners 2012
Toast would like to congratulate this year's fantastic
set of IVCA Award winners. The bar was set very high and our
expectations were exceeded. Best charity piece winner, Luke’s
world, was a particularly moving piece produced for
the Private Equity Foundation. The short film is about living entirely on benefits and opened our eyes to the reality of growing up in childhood poverty.
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