Hope is the thing with feathers." That famous quote from Emily Dickinson in a roundabout way applies to "Birds," one of four promo spots in a campaign for PBS out of Fallon Minneapolis. Except in this case, it’s not just hope but more importantly creative inspiration that sports a plume—carried figuratively by pigeons for a frustrated music composer.
"Birds" begins with fingers on a piano keyboard. They’re the fingers of a music composer struggling mightily with his work. We see the man—played by real-life composer, Walter Boudreau—in deep thought, doing everything he can to break through a serious case of writer’s block. He’s at the piano, then he’s scribbling and furiously crossing out notes, walking about his apartment to clear the musical cobwebs, trying every which way to realize his musical vision—but to no avail.
The composer is then seen standing at his apartment window, as some pigeons fly by. We hear their wings flap in flight but at that point the birds seem no more than incidental window dressing. However, inspiration can pop up in the most unlikely places. Again seated at the piano, the man—seemingly on the verge of abandoning has work—gazes out the window just in time to view pigeons perched on what are either telephone or electrical high wires. The scene is his elusive holy grail—makeshift sheet music with the pigeons serving as musical notes and chords dotted across the power lines. He then plays each note on the piano per the "outdoor" sheet music. An additional pigeon comes to roost, providing the final note to his concerto. The tagline: "Be More inspired," accompanied by the PBS logo.
"Birds" is one of two PBS spots directed by feature filmmaker Francois Girard (The Red Violin). The other two promos in the campaign were helmed by Alfonso Cuaron, another noted moviemaker (e.g., Great Expectations, A Little Princess, Y Tu Mamá También). Both Girard and Cuarón direct commercials through Independent Media, the Santa Monica production house headed by executive producer Susanne Preissler.
The other Girard-helmed PBS spot is "Orchestra," in which a classical sextet gets carried away by its performance, to the point where one musician in particular is acting on stage like an out-of-control rock star. The tagline: "Be More passionate."
Cuarón directed PBS’ "The Emperor’s New Clothes" and "Fish." The former is a modern newsreel-like version of the classic tale in which a world leader parades around naked, but no one seems to notice—until a child breaks the silence, causing everyone to shockingly notice that the emperor indeed has no clothes. The conclusion: "Be More honest."
And "Fish" shows an ambitious goldfish making an incredible journey from his bowl to the great outdoors where he gets to swim upstream with salmon, just as he saw on PBS. The tagline: "Be More empowered."
As for the rationale behind seeking out Girard and Cuarón, Bruce Bildsten, associate creative director at Fallon, stated: "Like the programming on PBS, the spots are thoughtful, provocative and emotional stories. And we thought it appropriate for PBS that the spots not feel commercial, but rather like little films, which made Alfonso and Francois so right for them."
All four PBS spots were previewed recently at the PROMAX confab in Los Angeles and reported on by SHOOT (7/12, p. 1). During the PROMAX session, panel moderator/speaker Lesli Rotenberg, senior VP, brand management and promotion for PBS, noted that the promos will only air on PBS stations—not on any other outlets—due to public television’s budget crunch.
"Unlike commercial broadcasters and cable networks," related Rotenberg, "PBS’ bottom line is public service. Our mission is to inspire people to engage in deeper, more meaningful ways with the world around them—with their families, their communities and through individual growth. The new PBS brand campaign highlights what distinguishes us and the benefits viewers value most about our service. … Most of all, they [viewers] tell us PBS inspires them to grow, to stretch, simply to Be More."
The Fallon creative team consisted of creative director David Lubars, group creative head Bildsten, art director Gerard Caputo, copywriter Mike Gibbs, executive producer Mark Sitley and producer Tom Anderson.
Preissler executive produced for Independent Media. Line producer was Liam Ahern. Alain Dostie served as DP on "Birds" (as well as on "Orchestra").
Visual effects for "Birds" were done at The Mill, New York, with Alistair Thompson as exec producer, Paul Marrangos the Inferno operator and Rich De Cateret the Flint operator.
"Birds" was edited by Stephen Jess of The Whitehouse, New York, with Roe Bressan and Melissa Thornley serving as executive producer and producer, respectively. Colorist was Billy Gabor of Company 3, New York. Handling final Inferno and Flame services, as well as graphic design end treatments was Hi-Wire, Minneapolis. The Hi-Wire ensemble consisted of graphic designer/Inferno artist Cassie Scroggins, Fire operator Tony Mills and product manager Tammy Kimbler-Weber. Audio mixer was Carl White of Brahmstedt White Noise (BWN), Minneapolis.
Lindsay Jahan of Human, New York, served as sound designer on "Birds." Marc Altschuler executive produced for Human. Music composer was the aforementioned on-camera talent Boudreau, with Jeff Layton serving as music editor.
This latest package of PBS promos is a fitting successor to the "Stay Curious" campaign, which scored impressively in industry circles, not only gaining recognition at the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, but also seeing its "Photo Booth" spot—directed by Errol Morris of bicoastal/international @radical.media—win last year’s primetime commercial Emmy Award (SHOOT, 9/14/01, p. 1).
