When a group of original new products comes along, it takes a truly creative shop to give them a proper launch. TEAK did exactly that recently, working from concept to completion to produce a 2:00 promo in a direct-to-client relationship with Joby to introduce their innovative magnetic tripod products - the GorillaPod, GorillaMobile and GorillaTorch.
The products allow users to mount lights and cameras nearly anywhere, opening up vast possibilities for the creative and inspired. Director Greg Rowan assembled just such a crew - a TEAK art director, producer, and several of the producers friends (all of whom had film or art backgrounds). Rowan then cut them loose with a crate-full of Joby products.
The result is a wandering mini-odyssey, set across myriad landscapes from the pine-filled Lake Tahoe wilderness to off-road diners to the inside of an itinerate SUV. As a narrator talks of inspiration and possibility, the carefree crew demonstrates a few of the limitless ways in which these quirky little products can be used: they hang a camera from a restaurant ceiling and snap an upside-down still shot; they stick a video camera on the outside of their truck and capture themselves hanging out the window as the vehicle speeds down the road; they cover their SUV in lights and film it barreling, apparition-like, across a midnight landscape.
"It was clear that when put in the hands of a small group of creative people, this experiment would lead to a nice little visual story," noted Rowan, who also wrote the spot's script and acted as CD on the project. "When you have interesting products like these it's really about building the story around it. This was truly an inspired group experience, with the creativity of Joby and TEAK really coming together to deliver a unique experience in front of and behind the camera."
TEAK adapted to the two-month project's small budget using a variety of low-cost tools to produce a high-quality final spot. They worked on a Canon 5D Mark II camera to capture the footage of the talent filming themselves, then finished the project using Final Cut Pro and After Effects for edit and Photoshop for graphics and title cards.
"We made conscientious efforts to fit within Joby's financial means because we felt our two shops worked well together and TEAK believed in Joby's brand vision," stated TEAK EP Greg Martinez. "This really allowed us to harness our potential and tap into the core of our creativity and resourcefulness. Through it all, our cast and crew worked as one uniform team to achieve this great outcome. You could see on set and in the video the bond that was created."