This spot shows us repeated scenes devoid of people–a lone tree, the side of a building on which is perched a metal pipe, a city crosswalk. A war veteran with a laptop computer, though, is able to click his way through to find humanity as we see other vets emerge from these objects–a camouflaged soldier steps out from the tree into view, as do other vets from all over the city.
A voiceover relates that there are fellow vets all around you–all you need to do is access them via the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) website (www.iava.org). There you can connect to an online community of veterans and resources–others in the armed services who are going through the same challenges you are facing and who can help.
This PSA is part of a joint IAVA/Ad Council campaign that debuted earlier this month on Veterans Day. “Camouflage” was directed by the team of JacobsbBriere of Hello! for Saatchi & Saatchi New York.
Editor was Jesse Reisner of The Now Corporation, with post/VFX provided by DTrain, Los Angeles, and FlyFx, New York.
Does “Hundreds of Beavers” Reflect A New Path Forward In Cinema?
Hard as it may be to believe, changing the future of cinema was not on Mike Cheslik's mind when he was making "Hundreds of Beavers." Cheslik was in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with a crew of four, sometimes six, standing in snow and making his friend, Ryland Tews, fall down funny.
"When we were shooting, I kept thinking: It would be so stupid if this got mythologized," says Cheslik.
And yet, "Hundreds of Beavers" has accrued the stuff of, if not quite myth, then certainly lo-fi legend. Cheslik's film, made for just $150,000 and self-distributed in theaters, has managed to gnaw its way into a movie culture largely dominated by big-budget sequels.
"Hundreds of Beavers" is a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a stranded 19th century applejack salesman (Tews) at war with a bevy of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in mascot costumes.
No one would call "Hundreds of Beavers" expensive looking, but it's far more inventive than much of what Hollywood produces. With some 1,500 effects shots Cheslik slaved over on his home computer, he crafted something like the human version of Donald Duck's snowball fight, and a low-budget heir to the waning tradition of Buster Keaton and "Naked Gun."
At a time when independent filmmaking is more challenged than ever, "Hundreds of Beavers" has, maybe, suggested a new path forward, albeit a particularly beaver-festooned path.
After no major distributor stepped forward, the filmmakers opted to launch the movie themselves, beginning with carnivalesque roadshow screenings. Since opening in January, "Hundreds of Beavers" has played in at least one theater every week of the year, though never more than 33 at once. (Blockbusters typically play in around 4,000 locations.)... Read More