A New Dimension to the Gamma Lair™
Our New Ninja on Set
We’re so pleased to add to our motion graphics and visual effects capabilities with the addition of our newest Gamma Blast video artist. Sam Stringer-Hye has already hit the ground running creating motion graphics and visual effects for key Gamma Blast projects. He not only does graphics and effects, but is also a lightning-fast Final Cut editor and, if needed, production ninja. When he’s not at Gamma, he’s been known to mix it up hitting the 1′s and 2′s as a DJ at a party or two. No, you can’t hear “Celebration”.
Big & Rich & Chad in South Dakota
Chad making Christmas magic with Big & Rich
Check it out–airing from December 12th through Christmas is a Christmas special featuring Big & Rich that’s directed and edited by Gamma Blast’s chief Chad Denning. “Christmas in the Black Hills”, a music special on GAC (Great American Country) features artists Big & Rich, Thompson Square, Tracy Lawrence, a new trio called “The Farm”, Bradley Gaskin and Andy Gibson. Set in the city of Deadwood and the surrounding Black Hills in South Dakota, the special aims to brighten the Christmas spirit with holiday songs by each of the artists set against the landscape of this picture postcard, winter wonderland. Chad and Gamma Blast Team Member and DP Jeff Johnson shot the project through High Five Entertainment.
It was a large-scale endeavor as the city of Deadwood literally opened its town to the project for shooting–with hundreds of residents used in many of the outdoor musical numbers; a segment shot on a 1800s era steam train and a horse-drawn sleigh as the setting for another musical sequence. For additional dates and times, check http://tinyurl.com/7qcotl9.
Journeys Brand Video
Check out a new video Chad edited for Journeys, the chain of retail shoe stores. Journeys used it to excite their corporate audience and tell the story of the Journeys brand.
This project was right in Chad and Matt’s wheelhouse.
Chatting Online Video with IABC
For sure, there’s an interest in online video, as evidenced by the crowd and participation at the August 15th meeting of the Nashville International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) held at Sunset Grill. Gamma Blast’s Liz Denning and Steve Thomas from the digital marketing firm The Net Impact gave tips about how to strategize, market and track online videos to get the most return. Thanks IABC for letting us talk about what we love –video. Check out the Keynote.
Stoking the Creative Flame — Blog Post
At the time, I didn’t know these music videos were sparking a flame in the deep recesses of my mind. It was the early days of MTV, and as a teenager, I watched the show “120 Minutes” like it was my classroom. (If you’re of this era, skip this next sentence.) Videos from every ’80s-’90s “alternative” “indie” or the now quaintly labeled “college” band played on the show — The Smithereens, The Cure, Depeche Mode, you name it. The show filled oh-so-many of my weekend nights, along with USA Network’s “Night Flight” and TBS’s “Night Tracks”. It was the pulse of what was cool outside of my small, Iowa town. Fast forward to 2010, and, thankfully, “120 Minutes” is back — now on VH1 Classic. (It’s time slot is 3-5 in the morning, which can be easily fixed by DVR.) But now, it’s better. It spans the entire gamut of my teen years and bundles the videos up with a tidy little bow. One minute, Kurt Cobain is swinging around by a chandelier encouraging me to “Come as I am” and the next, Romeo Void is telling me “That she might like me better if we slept together”. Excellent.
Watching the show takes me back and in a strange way, forward. It was the beginning of MTV so directors were going all out with a new medium. Have a 13-year-old do skateboard tricks in an abandoned house for R.E.M.’s, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” video and not show the band? Sure!
Paint an actual city block red for a Human League, “Fascination” video? Why not? Run playback at 33% while wearing giant heads of William Allen White so They Might Be Giants will have one of the most frenetic videos ever made? Hell and yes.
Now, these videos still spark the flame of creativity. If you look beyond some of the technical tricks that don’t stand the test of new technology and the time period’s limitations, the spirit of many of the images is still cool. The video for “Burning Down the House” is an unbelievable 27 years old, but it still works.
I watch the show now for nostalgia and to help turn on that creative spigot; it’s amazing what a 25-year-old clip can inspire, all the while knowing that whatever creativity it stokes, it will need to be packaged into a 2010 marketing message. That’s ok, that’s what we do, make artful commerce.
Videos –
Come As You Are, End of the World, Fascination, Don’t Let’s Start – They Might Be Giants, Burning Down the House.
Supporting our Neighbors
Horray. The recent telethon on Great American Country (GAC) raised more than $1.7 million dollars to help victim’s of Middle Tennessee’s recent floods. What a difference this will make for thousands of lives here. Gamma Blast was happy to edit many of the show’s video packages so that we could do our part. The show not only raised a lot of money, but also featured some rocking performances. Keith Urban’s version of the Beatles “Help” was a standout.
Clients
Clients Include:
- Nissan of North America
- PBS
- CMT
- GAC
- Speed Channel
- United Methodist Publishing House
- The Grand Ole Opry
- Charlie Daniels Band
- Curb Records
- Sony/BMG Nashville
- Emblem Records
- Tennessee Performing Arts Center
- The YW
- Aegis Sciences Corporation
- Seigenthaler Public Relations
- McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations
New Music Video for Gloriana
Brand new to screens everywhere is a music video directed, edited and produced by Gamma Blast for the country band, Gloriana. Directed/edited by Chad Denning and produced by Matt Nahay, the video for “The Way It Goes”, was shot in Seattle, Portland and Spokane, and gives fans a one-of-a-kind look at life on the road as the group opens for Taylor Swift on the singer’s “Fearless” tour. Denning shot over 15,000 stills for the piece, cutting them together with live and behind-the-scenes footage to give the video a unique look.
The music video is the latest in a long line of projects that Gamma Blast has created and continues to create for Gloriana and Emblem Records. We’re pleased to present the video. Click here and enjoy.
Now that you’re on social media — what are you going to say?
It’s a marriage. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace … potentially great applications, but without content that makes sense for your brand, social media apps are like going to a party without anything to say.
To find out how to begin a lasting conversation with your customers, follow the eyes. As of November 2007, more people are using the Web to watch video online than they are for e-mail, according to Nielsen Online. Then in February, social networking usage surpassed e-mail usage as well. Shocking, but true.
Gamma Blast knows the balancing act of creating content that’s entertaining, emotional or thought-provoking, yet media that doesn’t beat the customer into submission with the brand message. We know that hurts.
We’re now creating 6-month to yearlong strategic plans for clients that include consistent, eyeball-pleasing web content for their social media sites and websites. Overall, they’re designed to increase sales and to keep a brand sticky. A good example is our work for the up-and-coming band, Gloriana. Check out the webisodes here. These webisodes’ high level of finish have gotten the band a lot of attention.
Every company has something to bring to the social media party. We’d love to chat about how to make your social media community talk about you.
Jeff Johnson’s Director Reel
L.A. + Nashville + a love for music equals the glossy, superstar looks in Director Jeff Johnson’s reel.
Music Video – Ty Williams
Barn on a Rooftop — Directed by Chad Denning
