Archive for February, 2012

And the Oscar goes to …

This Sunday, February 26, 2012, marks the 84th annual Academy Awards.  As our way of honoring this tradition, we conducted an informal office poll to see who the Snippies staff thinks this year’s Oscar winners will be.  Before presenting the results, we should probably mention that there’s nothing even remotely scientific about this poll.  We certainly don’t suggest using this data for any wagers you may be contemplating.  However, if you do and it results in a win, please do alert us to our powers of clairvoyance so that we can start an office pool for the next Powerball jackpot!

 

Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help

 

In this category the Snippies staff favored Octavia Spencer for her performance as Minny Jackson in The Help.  Octavia has been working steadily for many years now, but The Help is clearly her breakthrough and suggests that we’re in store for a lot of amazing work to come.

 

Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees: Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help
Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

 

It is cliché that we chose Meryl?  It’s entirely her fault.  She really is that good.  And, of course, she portrays a historical figure in The Iron Lady, which typically gives people an edge.  In the interest of full disclosure―we’ve got a fair number of employees from New Jersey here, so there may be so hometown favoritism taking place!

 

Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

 

And the Snippies award goes to… Christopher Plummer!  To be fair, this choice has as much to do with residual affection for his portrayal of Captain Von Trapp as anything else, but no matter.  Mr. Plummer is no beginner.  He’s been delivering great performances for years, and the general consensus is that his time has come.

 

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir - A Better Life
George Clooney - The Descendants
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt – Moneyball

 

This one was close.  George Clooney almost won for his work in The Descendants, but he was edged out by the always superlative Gary Oldman.  Granted, Oldman was brilliant in TTSS, but, given the number of Batman fans here, we can’t help but think that some Snippies were actually voting for Commissioner Gordon!

 

Best Picture

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

 

On June 14, 2011, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made a decision that the final number of Best Picture nominees can now range from five to ten, which means a lot of choices.  Even with all of these options, though, the Snippies winner was chosen by a wide margin. Maybe it’s a yearning for simpler times… or maybe it’s our appreciation for black and white cinematography.  At any rate, oui love The Artist!

 

And, finally, we asked the gang if there were any films not appearing on the Best Picture list that should have been nominated.  In response, they chose something called Troll Hunter. (Please note that we will not be asking this question again next year.)

 

We hope you’ve enjoyed this special Oscar Edition of the Snippies blog.  To keep things pithy, we focused on the “big five” categories.  But when you’re watching the telecast this Sunday, please be sure to remember all the grips, camera people, audio techs, and production assistants who work tirelessly to make films like these possible.  Snippies salutes all of you!

 

Standard Vs. High Definition

During the ten plus years that Snippies has been in business, we’ve witnessed a series of technological advances in the video production landscape. Perhaps the most fundamental change, though, has been the switch from Standard Definition to High Definition. In the course of this transition, we’ve discovered some important findings about what HD means… and what it doesn’t. So we thought it might be helpful to review some of the realities and misconceptions about HD video.

 

Firstly, HD isn’t neatly defined. In fact, HD actually encompasses a number of different video formats with a variety of resolutions. Common formats include 720p, 1080i and 1080p. If you have a specific format in mind for your project, we can definitely deliver. On the other hand, if you know that you want to shoot in HD but aren’t sure what format you might need, we can help with that, too!

 

Secondly, HD means bigger files. Since storage is so inexpensive nowadays this isn’t necessarily a problem. Where file size does become a factor though, is with electronic delivery. Sending a completed 2-3 minute HD video is simple. On the other hand, if you’re looking for us to deliver full-resolution raw footage, the best approach is for us to copy the files to a hard drive and ship it to you directly. This approach is actually faster than electronic delivery, and delivery on a hard drive will help to keep project costs down!

 

Finally, HD isn’t quite the equalizer some people believe it to be. Just because something has been shot in HD doesn’t automatically mean it will look good. Lighting, focus and composition are still the key factors that will determine the quality of your footage. In fact, HD makes these elements even more important. Due to the fact that the images it delivers are far more detailed than Standard Definition, HD makes flaws more apparent! So, even though your camera phone can shoot HD, it’s still a better idea to have your footage shot by professionals! You’ll be guaranteed the best image, the best sound, and the best overall experience!

Four designers, four shoots, two days of editing and one blizzard

“How quickly can you turn this around?”

 

We get that question all the time.

 

Late last week, Diet Pepsi reached out to us to produce videos profiles on four upcoming designers illustrating their creations for the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week on February 9th at Lincoln Center. The videos were be used for Diet Pepsi’s Facebook page in anticipation of the designers’ debuts at Fashion Week, which of course starts today!

 

The turnaround was fast, and so we began our very own Pepsi Challenge!

Our crews in Dallas, Denver, Columbus and Chicago set out to shoot with the designers over the weekend. Just to keep things interesting, a blizzard in Denver added to the challenge making it almost impossible to meet our deadline.

 

Mother nature aside, the footage made it to our NYC headquarters  and as with every project, shooting is only half of the equation. Our Post-Production team had only 48 hours to review raw footage, select highlights, and create four separate, unique and compelling-yet-personal videos.  Needless to say, the edit suites were humming this week.

 

It was really fantastic to see how each designer incorporated their own local style into their designs and how well it plays out on camera. We’re truly grateful to our Diet Pepsi team for their generous compliments on our work and the opportunity to take part in such a wonderful project.  In addition, we hope that the designers have the time of their lives here in New York City as they enjoy the glory and glamour of fashion week!

Check out the rest of the videos on Diet Pepsi’s Facebook Page! Good luck to all of the designers!