Pure Storage is a silicon startup convincing the world that they don’t need disks to spin anymore.

The world and all of its servers can be driven on flash.

Exclusively.

We Want Pure Storage All Night Long (too) from Studio B Films on Vimeo.

Making of the Video

We met the Pure Storage crew last year when we shot their video in homage to the Dollar Shave Club. Real life monkeys on set and transforming an old server into a beer fridge? It was love at first collaboration.

We were excited they came back to us this spring with a new challenge. All we had to do was be funny AND be funny in the first :05 seconds – just like we did last year. Being funny brings in more viewers and boosts search results in Google. Funny. So, let’s see. Make a funny video and make sure it’s funny in the first :05 seconds. Again.

No problem! (gulp)

Our esteemed client Matt had great ideas involving a used car salesman technique to help drive home the ‘pure storage guarantee’. We played with multiple ideas during our frisbee brainstorming sessions (newly installed at Studio B). We pitched a few well-received concepts (pun intended). However, it all changed when freelance copywriter Joe Morgan showed up.

Oh, We Love Our Storage

“Let’s make it about love. Or the end of an era, the end of an affair.” He proposed.

He was right. And we found ourselves with a premise where we could experiment with great actors.

Our casting sessions had us laughing immediately. Joe nailed the dialogue after collaborating with frisbee players Aaron Barry (Creative Director) and Jane Selle Morgan (Director). Aaron took it to another level with the ‘All Night Long’ line (which is what Pure Storage is leading with on their website).

Camille (Producer @ Studio B) brought it all together beautifully. One of our favorite Production Designers – Shayla Dopp – did a fantastic job in transforming a conference room into a psychologist’s office. DP and Studio B Founder David Collier brought the right lighting, lensing, and other DP magic.

DP David Collier

And then there was the brilliant cast: Darren Bridgett as the psychologist and Ryan Drummond as the Storage Admin. “Their talents and comedic timing gave us the chance to speak in the craft of acting. They made my job easy.” Director Jane Selle Morgan said post shoot.

A lovesick Ryan Drummond

Two talented editors finalized the show in post production: Julie Caskey took the first pass and weaved the performances together; Rebecca Grace finished the job by creating a whole new beginning and incorporating her own fun ideas. We took a victory lap over at Colorflow for color grading and we are very pleased with the results!

Let’s summarize. Frisbee, laughing, casting, laughing, shooting, laughing, editing, laughing. Clearly we had a blast.

Producer Camille & Director Jane with the Actors

Credits:

Creative Director: Aaron Barry
Director: Jane Selle Morgan
DP: David Collier
Producer: Camille Goldberg
Writer: Joe Morgan
Production Design: Shayla Dopp
Editors: Julie Casky and Rebecca Grace

Cast:
Darren Bridgett – psychologist
Ryan Drummond – storage admin

They really do believe in goodness.

Berkeley is no stranger to dodging synthetic foods.

That’s why we were thrilled to partner with Annie’s Naturals to help raise awareness around a mantra we can easily ingest: If it’s not real, it’s not Annie’s. 

When Kraft received bad press for using artificial ingredients in their foods (yellow dye #5 and #6) – Annie’s agency Veneer sought our expertise to showcase their opposing mission to reassure their customers. This heartfelt piece celebrates parents who refuse to feed potentially toxic foods to their kids.

Who better to deliver the message of good from the ultimate guardians themselves?

Behind the Scenes

Prepping the first scene in Oakland, CA.

Since there was a sense of urgency to leverage Annie’s Natural’s brand in contrast to other companies that don’t – we had to move fast. We had to concept, cast, shoot, edit, and deliver the video in 2 ½ weeks…at least 3 ½ weeks quicker than our normal production cycle.

Director Jane & DP David working their magic, naturally

The most difficult task on the table was finding a pregnant woman in 48 hours. With the help of the Veneer ladies, Annie’s stellar crew, and the Studio B team – we pulled off an incredible shoot in a beautiful home. We hope you liked the result.

So what’s it like to produce a video for a company whose mission is to turn good into more good?

It’s awesome.

The full day shoot included three cameras, two dollies,  a jib, a truck full of lighting, a tri-caster switcher and lots of healthy snacks. With several hours of footage in the can, our editor dove in to the cut, choosing the best shots to highlight each and every movement. Soon enough, we had a DVD.

It was a pleasure to work again with Jill and her inspiring team. We can’t wait to do it again.

You’ll learn every aspect of production, help out on set, and be right in the thick of things with our producer and production manager. We’re looking for someone who is computer/email savvy, enthusiastic, willing to learn, quick and dependable. If you know basic Final Cut Pro, or Video production.. all the better.

This internship is a 3-month, 20 hour per week commitment starting February 1 and running through the end of April. We offer a daily stipend of $75/day.

Studio B Films is a full service video production company made up of a half a dozen creative professions producing a wide range of work from highly graphical branding videos to documentary style marketing pieces. Before applying please check out our web site so you will know more about what we do – www.studiobfilms.com

Interested? Send your resume & cover letter (any links to any video projects you’ve worked on) to rachel@studiobfilms.com. Please write SPRING INTERN in the subject line. We’ll be accepting applications from Jan. 1 – Jan. 15.

1. We all love the Outside Lands Festival
2. They said there was a good chance that MC Hammer would work on the video with us.
3. It’s fun to try to be funny

So we got right to work and pitched a few concepts.  The one that emerged a winner (as in Hammer himself chose it) came from the brain of Studio B’s Creative Director Aaron Barry. The video reveals the back story of how MC Hammer became The MC Hammer with the right moves, right pants and fancy tag line.

As you can plainly see, there were several production challenges along the way. They included, but were not limited to: creating a 70’s house set, finding a record shop to shoot in, casting talented actors to  play MC Hammer as a boy, his Momma, the prom dates, construction workers and the record store boys, fitting wardrobe for all and  — the icing on the cake — creating the perfect cake to write band names in icing of course! Oh, and we had to make it  happen in like 3 days. Thanks to Stars agency for submitting such great talent and Rachel Speirs for her amazing cake decoration magic and all-around production coordination.

Since my house is stuck in time, the 70’s house location challenge  was solved pretty easily with the help of some very creative art direction from Shayla Dopp. Director of Photography David Collier and the Red Epic brought down some gorgeous images. It was an all hands on deck project for Studio B and was super fun shoot day, even though it was pouring buckets for most of the afternoon.  Fun fact, you can see and hear the rain in the construction scene.

And… if you’re wondering… the answer is yes! MC Hammer was a true pleasure to work with. Be sure to watch to the end of the video for the bonus hilarity with him in my kitchen!

See you all at the Outside Lands Festival!

Credits:

Creative Director/Writer: Aaron Barry
Producer/Director: Jane Selle Morgan
Director of Photography: David Collier
Production Manager/Icing Goddess: Rachel Speirs
Art Director: Shayla Dopp
Editor: Kevin Oliver

Cast:
MC Hammer: as himself
Record Store Boys: Michael Campbell & Griffin Skylark
Little Hammer: Kishaun Lewis
Mama: Tanee Osborne
Auntie: Ms. Lewis
Prom Boy: Jamany
Prom Girl: Taylor Jones
Construction Workers: Kevin Clarke & Chris “Tex” Fountain

Music:
Beck  “Mixed Bizness”
Fun “We are Young”

Special Thanks:
Joe and Graham (70’s house)
Dave’s Record Shop in Berkeley
The entire production crew!
And of course, our clients at Superfly Presents/Outside Lands!

The video was shot in Downtown San Francisco at the Sephora Test Store. We were lucky to be able to work with one of Sephora’s top of the line Pro Artists, Eric, and Sephora’s lovely Collection Trainer, Marisa, who hosts the video.  Enjoy!

Credits:

Producer/Director: Rachel Speirs
Director of Photography: Mike Epple
Gaffer: Art Aravena
Sound: Greg Miller
AC: Sierra Haworth
Grip: Jeff Schwinghammer
PA/Talent: Chelsea Grey

Editor: Rebecca Grace
Motion Graphics: Karen Hansen

For this customer story, we used an ‘audio’ only interview approach, so instead of capturing her voice on video, we only rolled audio during the interview process. This approach creates a sense of intimacy where we get to know the character only through her voice as we see her going about their day. The combination of a fantastic local DC based crew, warmer than usual weather for January, and a sweet family made for a very nice shoot. Editor Kevin Oliver brought his A game, and it’s always a pleasure to work with our friend Jeff Severtson from Adobe. Next month we’ll be shooting another Photoshop Elements customer story with Jeff Severtson, which we are all looking forward to!

Credits:

Producer/Director: Jane Selle Morgan
Director of Photography: Jim Ball
Editor: Kevin Oliver

Star: Michele McGraw