Natural History Museum Evolution iPad app

The Natural History Museum Evolution iPad app features moving image assets edited by Toast and produced by Hotheads’ Josh Goode for his client, Authored Apps.

The 360° panoramic app animates the lives of over a thousand organisms in their natural habitats over a humungous timescale and is now available through iTunes.

Using the amazing Timeglobe feature you can locate where any creature used to live on our plant and where they live now.

From mass extinctions to the rise of homo sapiens, it takes you through major evolutionary events of the earth.

Plus, learn about all kinds of cutting edge evolutionary science from leading experts of evolutionary theory with video tutorials, audio commentaries and animation.

This footage is provided in HD with touch screen functionality built in, allowing you to explore every minor detail at your own speed.

The content brings to life meticulous research conducted over a hundred archaeological sites around the world.

It was researched and authored by science writer and lecturer, Douglas Palmer.

It is accredited, endorsed and supplemented by experts from the Natural History Museum’s world-renowned Palaeontology Department.

Contributors include Dr Paul Kenrick, Prof. Chris Stringer, Prof. Adrian Lister, Dr Jerry Hooker, Dr Martin Munt and Dr Angela Milner.

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Vicky interviewed for Job of the Week by IdeasTap.com

Thanks to IdeasTap for publishing this Job of the Week article about what I do at Toast. I'm very flattered!

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.

Gazza's Umbro ad

Congratulations to Hotheads producer Josh Goode for the new Umbro ad, which was edited by Toast's editor James Gentle. It will be screened at Wembley at England v Belgium over the weekend, and featured in the ad break between England v Norway last weekend. 

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.

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.

Toast's week in Tweets

Here’s the first 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.

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.

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

GettyImages.com

ClipCanvas.com

SciencePhoto.com

Pond5.com

BPVideoLibrary.com

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.

Developing TV

More than any other industry, broadcasters are having to learn to keep up with advances in technology and social media. The computer industry has never before been so significant to shaping approaches to television and expressing the voice of a generation. But there's a lot of rubbish to wade through and a lot to catch up on. So, we thought we’d point you in the right direction with a few tip offs.

A portable aerial that allows you to stream live TV anywhere.

Portable aerials from Aereo (pictured above) are being test run in New York. If it gets past the potentially hazardous legal licencing complications then live TV streaming will no longer confined to living rooms and computers. You could watch the channels of your choice on the train, on the street and in a restaurant on your phone, on your tablet and at your own convenience. Programmes and advertising will have to compete the wider world. 

A secondary device or a secondary screen;
your secondary computer, tablet or mobile device.

Rising secondary device (or ‘second screen’) use also means that TV channels and advertisers can more effectively gage reactions from specific audience sectors. This means that television viewing is now more flexible and group reactions are more transparent. Media producers can harness user engagement to their advantage. Useful reaction overviews are supplied through social TV analytics companies such as Bluefin Labs and SocialGuide. But a simple search on Twitter will give you a good idea of what people are or are not saying about your production.

Shazam will offer its users the opportunity to interact with live TV ads on ITV.

In a further recent development, ITV have begun offering their advertisers Shazam enabled TV spots exclusively within the UK. Their 10 million strong users will be able to interact with enabled commercials. This may span from competitions to free music downloads. 


Simon Daglish, Group Commercial Sales Director at ITV, said: “This exciting and exclusive partnership means that ITV is able to offer customers a real first for UK media and allow brands to innovate their spot campaigns and connect directly with audiences on a large scale.”

Great new TV commercials

Ikea have revolutionised the television. This is exciting. They have integrated the everyday HD smart television, DVD player, stand and speakers into a singular customisable piece of furniture with hidden wires and one remote control. It also has a five-year guarantee. We want one right now. But it’s launching in the second half of this year. So we wait.

Read more here.

Levi Roots returns to our TV sets with a new ditty and a singing BBQ. But this time he’s shaped in the form of an Aardman character. Singing sausages that are marinated in Reggae Reggae sauce accompany him in the sunny suburban scenery, making us long for the return of the good weather.

Read more here.

Gumtree rolled out a nationwide ‘Quick Conversations’ campaign that’s rumoured to be worth over £1m. Hamish Stone, head of Gumtree’s marketing, said to The Drum: “Our previous ad campaigns really paid dividends for us, driving those looking to buy or sell their goods on Gumtree in record numbers. The new ads are all about bringing people together.”

Read more here.






Have you seen our new Cetaphil commercial yet? Post us your thoughts!