By Ken Liebeskind
SAN DIEGO --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.
Damien Chazelle, Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons On The Return Of “Whiplash” To Theaters After 10 Years
Ten years after " Whiplash " took the film world by storm, Damien Chazelle's breakthrough feature is returning to theaters nationwide Friday.
In 2014, "Whiplash" was the ultimate indie movie Cinderella story — a Sundance discovery made by a 20-something that that would go on to become both a box office hit and an awards darling: It won three Oscars, including for J.K. Simmons ' portrayal of a semi-sadistic and ever quotable jazz ensemble instructor; launched Chazelle's directing career into the A-list stratosphere; and established Miles Teller as a next generation movie star. Now, audiences will get another chance to experience it on the big screen.
Chazelle, Teller and Simmons spoke recently about the re-release, their memories of the 20-day shoot (including when Teller accidentally broke his co-star's rib) and making something with staying power. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: What has it been like watching "Whiplash" settle into the culture in the past decade?
CHAZELLE: It's very cool, a little surreal. It doesn't feel like 10 years. It's fun to have a moment like this to relive it a little bit.
SIMMONS: It's sobering to know that I'm 10 years older. It's kind of shocking and kind of awesome that the movie actually holds up. I just saw it a few days ago in Toronto: That's a good piece of cinema.
TELLER: This is the first time I've ever had a movie re-released. I'm still fairly young into my career, but it's an incredible movie. The one thing that's frustrating for me is that people just yell out at me all the time, " not my tempo." So that's stuck around well.
SIMMONS: Maybe if you get the tempo... Read More