To promote a new camcorder that provides filmmakers with an easy way to create user generated content, JVC ran a contest at a user generated site for filmmakers to shoot a JVC commercial. The winning spot played on national TV and is running online.
The contest ran at VMIX.com, the site run by VMIX Media that plays independently produced videos and music.
“User generated content is the rage among marketers and we want to do it as an element in our campaign to get our message out and be cutting edge,” said Karl Bearnarth, JVC’s senior vice president of marketing. “VMIX has a robust site that enables consumers to share their content. We make a product that makes it easy to develop user generated content, so it worked well on the site.”
The new product is the Everio, the first tapeless camcorder that records onto a hard disc drive. “They can shoot their videos, edit them on a PC or Mac and upload them to sites for sharing or entering a contest like this,” Bearnarth said.
The contest ran from October to late December and generated over 80 entries. The winner was Martin Whittier, an aspiring filmmaker from Perryville, MD who operates Brumar Films, a production company. The winning spot, called “Danger Man,” featured a motorcyclist driving up a steep hill in a park before the camera is shown. Whittier used a JVC GY-HD100U camera, jvc a 720 hi def camcorder, for the shoot.
The spot played on Spike TV on Feb. 8 during the show Pros vs. Joes. It is also running on the VMIX and JVC websites.
The contest was an example of a campaign from VMIX, which “works with major brands to develop an online presence,” according to the company’s CEO Greg Kostello. “Companies come up with a great idea but don’t have the interactive team or the time to do it. We can get it up and running quickly.”
“JVC was looking to put their brand on the site and connect with new users to get the message out on the new product and have an interactive experience you can’t find anywhere else on the Net,” said David Brown, VMIX’s VP of brand entertainment.
Director AG Rojas Joins Imperial Woodpecker
Imperial Woodpecker has added director AG Rojas to its roster for U.S. representation.
A filmmaker whose work spans commercials, music videos and film installations, Rojas--back in 2017 when he was at Park Pictures, his roost prior to Imperial Woodpecker--earned a DGA Award nomination on the strength of two spot entries: S7 Airlines’ “The Best Planet” for Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, and Samsung’s “The Snail” out of Leo Burnett USA.
Rojas throughout his career has additionally directed projects for artists such as Gil Scott-Heron, Earl Sweatshirt, Bon Iver, Florence + The Machine, Run the Jewels, and Kamasi Washington. His long partnership with Washington includes Truth, a film installation featured in the 2017 Whitney Biennial. And Rojas’ music videos have been recognized with assorted major industry awards.
Beyond all this, his film installations, including Godchild (2020), commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution, highlight his interest in storytelling through different formats. His latest work, Pare de Sufrir (2024), a silent featurette on love and grief, premiered at venues such as Metrograph NYC, ICA London, and Now Instant Image Hall in Los Angeles.
Raised in L.A. by a Costa Rican painter and a Colombian poet, Rojas grew up immersed in an environment shaped by art and storytelling. At 17, he enrolled in the prestigious ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena and discovered a passion for filmmaking. Rojas currently lives in L.A. and continues to channel his expression across a variety of mediums, creating work rooted in thoughtful ideas and meaningful social impact.
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