The project will now go into development for a shoot later in the year, ending with a trip to Hollywood to meet top producers and executives to get advice and invaluable experience.

The panel had a tough challenge on their hands this year with an outstanding set of finalists, who had developed very good stories. Many congratulations to all ten finalists and especially the runners up Jodi De Souza (Humble Beginnings) and Carolyn Goodyear (Machaerus).

Luke Walton, the Executive Producer of The Pitch, said: ‘This year the top ten all had fantastic ideas and really tempting projects which should definitely go forward, it made the judges job a very difficult one.’

‘Tim Bassford is definitely a talent to watch for the future. His take on Samson is a contemporary and sexy thriller and I am really looking forward to developing the project this year.’
‘He shows just how enduring the human stories in the Bible are when they are retold for new generation.’

Spinning Clock prides itself on innovative and creative video production and this prize just goes to show our team are passionate about film both in and out of work.

If you want to find out more or watch Tim’s teaser trailer that was used as part of his winning pitch follow this link:

http://www.enterthepitch.com/

As we continue to expand, Spinning Clock is now looking for an experienced designer full of great ideas to work in our interactive design team.

This role requires a special kind of creative who knows their way around the usual programs including – Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign but also is able to turn their hand to designing interactive environments, touch-screen interface design and with an understanding of experiential marketing. Ideally you will also be able to use Cinema 4D, After Effects and Final Cut Studio.

Most importantly you must be overflowing with great ideas and enthusiasm to work hard for some high profile International clients.

Email us at jobs@spinningclock.com and tell us what you’ve got!

Watch and rate the film here:  http://www.depict.org/2011/the-launderette/?category_request=2011

Credits:
Director/Producer – Tim Bassford, Girl – Rebecca D’Souza, Boy – Neil Ovenell, Camera/DoP: David Stewart, 1st AD – Simon Reed, Sound – Aston Fearon, Make up and Hair – Sarah Vaites, Lighting and Stills – Cory Christman, Costume – Wild Clothing

1. Story & structure – try to engage your audience with a well-structured and planned out story that carries throughout your video. Uninteresting footage with monotone narration will send our audience to sleep.
2. Interviews & Soundbites – These can add a more personal feel to a video and generate trust in a brand or product. Seeing real people talk about real situations or products in a heartfelt way can make a video much more credible.
3. Motion graphics – Add some visual flair and interest by adding motion graphics into the video mix. These can be informative, amusing or might simply add polish to existing footage. Some footage may not be needed on location if motion graphics or animation can tell the same information more clearly.
4. Soundtrack & audio – The right soundtrack is always key to maintaining momentum and tone thoughout a video.  For example if you want a corporate feel to your film heavy metal might not be the way to go! Also using the correct type of mic and sound equipment will make editing and therefore communicating your message much easier.
5. Lighting – This is key to making many simple shots feel high production. Well-lit interviews and interior shots can add atmosphere and interest to even the dullest material.
6. High production shots – pans and zooms on a handheld camera are fine for a holiday video but can look a little amateurish in the corporate and professional video world. If you have the budget you can include jib, crane and steadicam shots, extreme slo-motion and many other techniques to make your video feel much higher quality.
7. Be professional – always get the best equipment you can afford and inline with this get the best cameramen, soundmen and actors you can find.  Amateur actors and other hirelings are a false economy as they will take twice as long to do a job and you will not get the quality output you need.
8. Make it fun – Don’t bore your audience with a lengthy and complicated script. Try to make the storyline or other material punchy and to the point and don’t try and be too serious with the content unless it really needs to be. If you can make your audience smile with your video then you are onto a winner.
9. Make a plan – Make sure you have some kind of marketing campaign organized to promote your video, and make sure it continually evolves as the popularity of your video does. At the end of the day if no one knows about your video it doesn’t matter how great it is – no one will see it.
10. Get online – Following on from the previous tip, online marketing is a fantastic way to promote and generate interest in your video and brand. Plan an online marketing blitz through video portals and social media – it’s an easy and very effective way to create a buzz about your video if done the right way.
    

As part of our new Spinning Clock video ident we’re out and about at certain iconic national locations close to our heart. Watch this space for more reports of our travels!…

The Mantis stand at the ROWE British Grand Prix

We recently completed our first project for our new client, Reydon Sports Plc – the No1 Sports Wholesaler in the UK.

Reydon asked us to create an exhibition package for this years ROWE British Grand Prix to promote thier Mantis squash brand.

They had a tight timeframe but as always we were up for the challenge!

Our solution covered the complete graphic treatment of the stand, interactive touchscreen presentations and videos promoting their 2011 range. We also added a Wii with a squash game to give the delegates a chance to have a bit of fun on the stand.

“The stand looks fantastic, can you pass on my personal thanks to everyone involved.” Shaun Crampton Sales & Marketing Manager – Racket Sports – Reydon Sports plc

Check out the pictures in this post to see the stand and the video we created.

Here are ten advantages of using video in your marketing strategy:

1)   Instantly engage your audience – The visual medium of video holds the interest of people much more than simple text, and can immediately ‘hook’ viewers and generate emotional responses in a subject matter.

2)   Global access – Video can now be viewed practically anywhere through different kinds of mobile devices and online marketing (eshots, newsletters, online publishing tools). Social media and video sharing can generate massive viral interest in your brand.

3)   View whenever you want – On demand video can be viewed whenever the audience wants to. It can be downloaded and stored offline for later viewing or to share with others.

4)   Make your brand memorable – Video marketing is a proven medium of getting a message across to an audience – just think of the many memorable tv commercials that have stuck in peoples minds over the past few years and even decades.

5)   SEO – search engines now give priority to video over text on websites, so including video on your site will improve your page rank.

6)   Increase your brand reach – A larger audience can be achieved with video, as people prefer the instant hit that video can deliver.

7)   Target a captive audience – Provide short, targeted information about a particular product, service or yourself but in a way that your audience won’t feel like they are being given the hard sell.

8)   Convert sales with less effort – Pre-selling a product or service with quality video will increase the conversion rate of sales, as people can already envisage how they will use it.

9)   Build trust in your brand – video is much more personal than the written word and allows audiences to see who and what they are dealing with.

10)   Save money and time – Videos aren’t as expensive to produce as you think and are proven to generate sales and leads much more effectively than hard selling and the written word. They can be used over and over again and shown to as many people as you like without any extra cost.

Spinning Clock are always looking for engaging ways to incorporate video into your marketing campaign. If you would like some help or advice on this drop us a line.

More cool stuff here: www.spinningclock.com/video

At Spinning Clock we absolutely love new technology. We also like to sketch/doodle/draw and generally put our ideas down on paper. These are often then scanned in manually to be used as part of animations, initial designs or proposals. So you can imagine our excitement when we saw this amazing new product from Wacom! I think we might need to get our credit card out…