A guy runs into a buddy at a Starbucks-like coffee shop as they wait for their order. “Hey Josh, looks like we’re twins,” says the first gent, noting that both of them are wearing the same style shirt.
A third man in a business suit and necktie then approaches the chap who made the “twins” remark and proceeds to rip the shirt off of him, leaving him bare chested.
Josh apologizes. “Sorry about that. He’s my banker.”
While we’re left to wonder about that “explanation” from Josh, the coffee shop employee hands Josh his order: a triple, no whip skinny mocha.
Turns out our bare-chested guy ordered the same brew. But once he is handed his order, the banker again enters the picture and knocks it to the floor.
A super appears which offers a better explanation of the banker’s behavior: “We’re here to protect your identity.”
An end tag contains the 1stBank logo.
This viral spot was directed by Steve Miller of bicoastal/international @radical.media for TDA Advertising & Design, Boulder, Colo. Client 1stBank is Colorado’s largest locally owned bank.
The TDA creative ensemble consisted of creative director/copywriter Jonathan Schoenberg, creative director Thomas Dooley, associate creative director/art director Matt Leavitt, associate creative director/copywriter Jeremy Seibold and producer Susan Fisher.
Miller’s support team at @radical included executive producer Frank Scherma and line producer Barbara Benson. The DP was Eric Schmidt.
Editor was Kevin Zimmerman of The Whitehouse, Santa Monica.
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