Two business men leave an office building after a successful presentation. One congratulates the other for his total “dunk slam.”
“What?” responds the colleague.
“The presentation–you totally dunk slammed it. I set you up and you scored the shot,” he says, waving his arms like he’s swinging a baseball bat.
The other guy is a bit perplexed at the guy’s obvious lack of basic sports knowledge. Nonetheless he understands the spirit of the congrats and raises his hand high above his head for a shared high-five.
However, the sports ignoramus doesn’t understand the raised hand, reacting by extending his hand to his colleague to shake it at an awkward angle.
A supered message appears reading, “Sports Skills Are Life Skills.”
This is followed by a super that asks us to help make sure that no youngster goes without sports skills.
The spot is tagged with the website address kidsport.ca.
“Dunk Slam” is part of the first campaign for KidSport B.C., a community-based sports funding program that provides grants for children to participate in a sport.
“Many of us grew up playing sports. Whether we were involved recreationally or competitively, it was part of our childhood. The challenging and rewarding experiences we had through our participation were formative in developing who we are today,” said Bart Given, director, KidSport Marketing & Communications. “Sadly, not all children have these same experiences–not because they don’t want to, but rather because they don’t have the financial means to take part. We believe there should be no financial barriers preventing children from fully experiencing the benefits of sport.”
The campaign includes three TV PSAs and eight radio spots out of DDB Canada, Vancouver.
The TV work was directed by Adam Goldstein via Industry Films, Toronto. (Goldstein is handled in the U.S. by Santa Monica-based harvest.)
The DDB team included creative directors Cosmo Campbell and Dean Lee, copywriter Neil Shapiro, art director Chris Moore and producer Sue Bell.
The DP was John Houtman.
Editor was Daniel Pruger of JMB Post, Vancouver.
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