Being able to travel to new parts of the world for work is a huge perk for a lot of us here at Casual. However, the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt on international travel for the most part, in order to keep our crew and staff safe in a world where travel restrictions and Covid-19 numbers seem to change on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

Yet, content still needs to be filmed, and this new world required us to think creatively and problem-solve to ensure a positive outcome for our clients. When Bloomberg came to us needing to shoot in Angola by the end of 2020, we had to think outside of the box.  

There’s no denying that 2020 was one of the strangest years on record. The COVID-19 virus became a global pandemic and changed the world as we knew it. For me personally, 2020 saw me hitting multiple personal milestones -- none of which were able to be celebrated with friends and family. 

One of those milestones included landing a new job as a Production Coordinator with Casual FIlms, and moving to Los Angeles from a rural town in Southwest Washington. So, what was it like starting a new career and moving cities during a pandemic? Strange. 

Having wrapped up a year of endless surprises, new normals, adapting and adjusting, inspiration can be hard to come by. Well, here are a couple of films to help get the imagination flowing again...

The great thing about working in this industry is that you can have the chance to be creative every single day. However, even if it's is your main job, there's nothing scarier than creating on a blank page without bounds.

Luckily here at Casual, our creativity is always in lockstep with purpose. What does the film need to accomplish? How can we maximize the clients budget so they get the most value? What new filmmaking techniques fit with the client's brand and their audience? 

Creating within these parameters is an opportunity to make something even better. Imagination without bounds can be exciting, but creating with a purpose is in some ways, even more satisfying. Within constraints, creativity can flourish.

So check out these films to get the creative juices flowing for 2021, and you just might find yourself inspired. 

The 'Recruit the Best Talent' Film

With COVID-19 restrictions limiting our ability to shoot live action footage for our clients during lockdown, animation is an evergreen solution to communicate your company's message in a clear and engaging way.  

Animation has the power to be the most agile and future proof piece of communication in your armory. 

2020 has been a year for the history books. We learned, grew, adapted, and persevered. We bonded, we took endless Zoom meetings, and now we're here at the end. This week on the blog, let's take a look back at 2020 through some of our favorite films (to make) of the year. 

December has always been a month of reflection. People slow down, take some time off, and take stock of what all they accomplished this year. But in 2020, that looks a bit different. We're all just glad to have made it through. It's not a year to traverse the cliffs of success, it's a year to buckle down, try your hardest at the things you can control, and lean on each other to make it through the rest. 

For Casual Films, we count ourselves as extremely fortunate. You don't have to look too far to see how businesses across the world have closed, employees been furloughed, and people just generally struggling. Back in March of this year, we went through those same motions, those same worries. As difficult as this year has been, it's been extraordinary that we are all sharing such a common experience. 

As we stand here at the end of December, we just want to say thank you. Thank you to our staff of 45+ across London, New York, and Los Angeles who have persisted in creating for our clients. We launched our Ariel production system. We figured out how to film remotely, film UGC content easily, film on COVID-safe sets, and keep making great films no matter the circumstances. We played team-bonding games, we bantered on Slack, we bonded (virtually). 

We're grateful for the relationships we've built to see us through these tough times. We're thankful that we can look out for each other, lean on one another, and begin 2021 with a bit of hope. Here's to the New Year being kinder to us all. 

In the spirit of reflection, let's take a little trip down memory lane & see which films Casual-ers most proud of in 2020. 

UNHCR - Nansen Awards

Often videos that deal with weighty topics are overwrought and can feel melodramatic. The relative intensities of the subject matter and the visuals were well balanced here. - Edward Beresford, CFO | London 

This year's Nansen winners are truly inspirational people and learning about the achievements of these incredible women put a lot of things in perspective. Projects like this don’t come up too often at Casual and felt very lucky to work on the series with a group of very talented people. It was great to see the team go the extra mile to deliver the films and to see the reaction of viewers, who were equally in awe of these amazing ladies! - Emily Lay, Executive Producer | London

HSBC - Technology and Innovation

My favorite film of the year was the 'Roundtable Discussions' series we created for GoDaddy. Filmed remotely in the height of lockdown, these discussions featured Black entrepreneurs across all industries, sharing their experiences, advice, and thoughts on finding success as Black-owned businesses and helping others in their community.

The films were some of the most urgent, topical ones that we made this year - publishing in step as the U.S. (and the world) had a national reckoning on our perceptions of race.

We also produced these in the height of lockdown. Without being able to film in person, we shipped iPhones and a small tripod all around the U.S. so folks could film themselves easily. A simple, useful filming technique we've since used for several other clients. - Sanica Apte, Producer | Los Angeles

New York State Dept. of Public Health, Wear A Mask PSA

One of my favorites this year was our Wear A Mask PSA for the New York State Department of Health. A project our editor, Aaron, put together in May that sort of marked the beginning of our “new normal”. 
Also, shout out to us receiving an honorable mention from the State on this–whoop, whoop! - Fritz Polax, Production Coordinator | New York

With COVID restrictions limiting our ability to shoot live action footage for our clients during lockdown earlier in the year we had to get creative with our offerings and champion our in-house postproduction talent. 

Stock video and user generated content (UGC) became the most cost effective and engaging way to communicate our client’s messaging. More than ever businesses needed to communicate with their audience, and we were able to support them every step of the way.

Say the words “stock footage” to a video editor and you may ordinarily be greeted with a very long yawn in return. Often what people envision with stock footage is endless clips of alpha male business handshakes, overly enthusiastic office meetings and beautiful people with perfect teeth turning to smile at the camera, all with an extra helping of cheese.

So how do you make stock video look cool? I hear you ask. At Casual Films we have access to a range of stock footage and image libraries that offer a brilliant variety of appropriate and “fromage free” content that fits most needs. Our editors are well versed in bringing this content to life and finding innovative ways to present it, cut it and link it together to perfectly deliver on a chosen narrative, mood and pace. The great thing about stock footage is that it only requires a small team, keeping costs down, and opens up a variety of options for your film that are easily corrected or updated at a later date should your messaging need to change with the ever-changing business climate.

Below are two examples where we’ve married together stock footage, motion graphics and UGC/existing footage.

HSBC - Technology and Innovation

 

The first example - HSBC Technology and Innovation delivers the key message of innovation within HSBC through a dynamic and stylised edit. Each contributor recorded a voice over which we cut between, intertwining each voice to create a sense of both diversity and togetherness. This narrative is then brought to life with content of the contributors provided by HSBC and carefully selected stock footage.

 

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Plan Zero - A Mitie Initiative 

Plan Zero – A Mitie Initiative is another brilliant example of how stock footage, simple graphics and sound design can be combined to create a fast paced, slick film that helps engage an audience on important, information heavy subjects, that may ordinarily lose interest. 

Plan Zero – A Mitie Initiative

Bold, clear typography gets the messaging across quickly and effectively whilst quick match cuts and clever shot compositions are brought to life with bespoke sound design, this then acts as a common thread that ties the film together. 

Sound useful? Get in touch with one of our experienced Exec Producers for a test drive..

As Thanksgiving rolls around each year, we are reminded of all that there is to feel grateful for. 

As we turn the corner into 2021, there's no doubt we'll all go into the new year having learned something - about ourselves, about our communities, about the world. 

We'd like to take this opportunity to take stock, and give thanks. To inject a little optimism into this time of year. 

At Casual, we're grateful for our team. Through strange times, our staff of 45+ across London, New York, and Los Angeles have persisted in creating for our clients. We figured out how film remotely, film UGC content easily, film on COVID-safe sets, and keep making great films no matter the circumstances. We played team-bonding games, we bantered on Slack, we bonded (virtually). 

Empathy is the keyword of this year. Stressors extend beyond just work-tasks. We're all cooped up in our homes, worried about loved ones, feeling a range of emotions. We're so thankful for how supportive our teams have been to each other.

We're grateful for the relationships we've built to see us through these tough times. We're thankful that we can look out for each other, lean on one another, and take this Thanksgiving holiday to rest and reflect. 

As technology has improved, the little cameras embedded in the back of our phones have become a key selling point for Big Tech. They now have large sensors, stabilisation and are perfect for grabbing a snap of your gran doing the splits on her birthday. For all the wizardry, Big Tech still hasn’t solved one big problem... the user.

A weird location with no light, a piece to camera directly up the nose, or the old classic, a thumb over the lens. Yep, UGC or ‘user generated content’ can be a great idea for your next global campaign, but a real pain to execute. The content can be questionable to say the least and sometimes the final edit can end up being a mix of stock footage with the one or two UGC clips that made the cut.  With everyone trying their best, but failing, it’s an awful lot of wasted time and effort.

The solution to these UGBs or ‘user generated bloopers’ is Ariel Capture, a new mobile app from Casual that makes producing user generated content a breeze. To kick off a project your staff just need to download the app via the App store, drop in a project code, and they’re ready to go. Everything is on-screen: bespoke shot lists, questions and on-screen filming tips. Once the footage has been shot and uploaded to our secure servers, our award-winning post-production team will bring your content to life.

With your workforce at home and a desire to record this exceptional time, Ariel Capture offers a cost-effective solution for not only remote filming, but also for managing your UGC projects in one place. Gone are the days of tracking down the clip named DC000375 from forty emails memorably named ‘my clip’. All your footage will sit in one project on the cloud rather than your desktop, where it’s draining the computer memory and sending your fan into hyperdrive.

Sound useful? Get in touch with one of our experienced Exec Producers for a test drive...

We all need a drink sometimes - this year more than ever – but the harmful effects of alcohol are a problem, and something needed to be done about it.

Casual Films and our interactive video partner WireWax worked with ABInBev and their safe drinking force the ABInBev Foundation, to create an epic Interactive video to Reinvent How We Drink.

Moderation remains a fundamental factor in consuming alcohol, and ABInBev have spent more than three decades promoting responsible drinking, setting Global Smart Drinking Goals to be achieved by 2025. These Goals are informed by the unique and diverse causes of harmful drinking in the 50+ countries they operate. Casual Films traveled to Zacatecas, Mexico; Leuven, Belgium; as well as right here in New York City to uncover the stories of how ABInBev are bringing this change.

Alcohol free beer: all the flavour, none of the danger!

In a powerful 6 minute interactive video, our interactive production partners Wirewax did an incredible job planning and mapping hotspot technology to reveal a deeper layer of content for the viewer. As you watch, there are 13 additional pieces of clickable content to increase engagement, including videos, imagery, articles and social campaigns. The narrative is neatly wrapped up in the hero film, hosted by ABInBev talent and Directed by David Potvin. Shot on location in a Brooklyn studio over one long shoot day, we were able to create a diverse set of locations as a way to reveal relevant stories and navigate the viewer through all facets of the Smart Drinking programme.

Launching on “Global Beer Responsible Day” - Friday, September 18th as a way to reaffirm ABInBev’s commitment to reducing the harmful use of alcohol, this is a campaign we are truly proud of.

If you are interested in using Interactive Video, or would like to learn more about the process and some of the key pitfalls to avoid, Casual's Nick Francis is going to be discussing the project with Emily Wallen, Global Manager, Brand and Digital Communications at AbInBev and WIREWAX Co-Founder Dan Garraway on Wednesday 18th November at 12pm EST. You can sign up here.

It should be a fascinating discussion and well worth a listen if you want to know more about making really impactful interactive video content.