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    2017 Year End Survey – Mike Densmore

    By Mike MorgeraUpdated:No Comments549 Views
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    2) Like a great deal of agencies we’re in constant evolution mode trying to adapt as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality of our output or impact for our clients. The great thing about KBS is the fact that we have already established incredibly robust technology, media and social/digital offerings so our focus this past year has been on talent. We’ve hired an entirely new leadership team along with 30% of our overall agency new hires have significantly improved our diversity. Diversity will continue to be a main focus for our future.

    Everyone in advertising knows the lack of diversity within our industry doesn’t properly represent the realities of the world we live in and this issue needs to be addressed with tangible action in order for things to change. And there’s no question industry leaders agree that this is a social issue they strongly believe needs to be fixed. The problem is most people are viewing it incorrectly. Diversity is much greater than just a social issue: it’s actually a productivity and economic issue. There are multiple studies that prove the companies with the most diverse talent base thrive the most from an employee satisfaction standpoint as well as bottom line growth. It’s our mission at KBS to educate others within our industry through our own actions which is why we’re incredibly excited to have partnered with She Runs It and Diversity Best Practices on the Inclusion and Diversity Accountability Coalition (IDAC).

    5) I don’t know that I have a New Year’s resolution from a business or personal standpoint. I feel resolutions are easily broken. What I strive to do on a daily basis and apply to both my work and personal life is to be transparent with the people whom I have business and personal relationships with, and hold myself accountable for the plans that I put in motion. I’m a big believer in being actionable, decisive and empathetic with those who are a part of those plans. By taking that approach I hope for reciprocation which I believe builds strong, trustworthy and long tenured relationships. We work in a people business first and foremost so I value partnering with people that enable me to be at my best and I hope I can provide the same value for them as well.

    Mike Densmore
    New York president
    KBS



    Does “Hundreds of Beavers” Reflect A New Path Forward In Cinema?

    Monday, November 25, 2024

    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

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