ONE and Optimus recently teamed with Burrell Communications to produce, edit and finish “Today is Black History” videos and radio spots for Comcast’s celebration of Black History Month. The videos, helmed by ONE Director Ben Chappell and cut by Optimus Editors Aaron Porzel and Erik Law, feature African-American innovators in technology, content creation and entertainment – all core components of Comcast’s business. The videos were featured on XFINITY® On Demand and on XFINITY CelebrateBlackTV.com in February and can be viewed at https://reel.io/bDh. Chappell also worked with Optimus Audio Engineer Marina Bacci – who mixed the videos – to produce four radio spots as part of the campaign.
The “Today is Black History” videos and radio spots showcase interviews with “Selma” Director Ava DuVernay; Writer and Producer Issa Rae; Writer, Blogger and Digital Strategist Luvvie Ajayi; and Author, Journalist and MSNBC Host Touré. In the interviews, each celebrity tells his or her story and discusses the current media landscape.
“Each of the four people we talked to are creating great work and are only in the beginning of what should prove to be long legacies,” says Chappell. “It was a unique opportunity to have conversations with such influential people who are relevant at this very moment. I worked closely with Terrence Burrell to capture their stories and perspective on the industry in a real and honest way, and he in turn worked with Aaron, Erik, Marina and the post team to sculpt the work into what it is now.”
“We chose Optimus for this project because we knew they could run it from production through post,” said Burrell VP and Creative Director Terrence Burrell. “Also, we had a lot going on with the schedules of the talent, and needed to shoot in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York in a very tight window of time. Ben was very nimble and set the tone of the videos from the first one we shot. He was very astute and captured the humanity of the talent simply and authentically.”
To view the videos, please visit https://reel.io/bDh.
To view Chappell’s reel, visit http://www.optimus.com/reels/ben-chappell/.
About Optimus
Optimus is a leading production and post-production house with offices in Chicago, Santa Monica and New York. A true one-stop shop, Optimus offers a full suite of creative services, including production, editing, color correction, visual effects and design, audio mixing and finishing. With ONE, the company’s live-action production arm, Optimus offers all production services, from shoot through post, under one roof – a singular, streamlined creative-driven machine. For more information, please visit www.optimus.com and www.optimus.com/one. Connect with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Optimus161 and www.facebook.com/OneAtOptimus.
