Archive for December, 2007
McCain’s Daughter is Making Movies on the Road
John McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, has been blogging his race for a while. Not content with the mere written word, she now is making movies on the campaign trail. The first two clips are above and below.
Shannon Bae, who is credited with producing the pieces, has two really nice works here – even if she should back off on the canted angles!
More than most of the videos I have seen this cycle, these two pieces from McCain have a give a nice feel for what it’s like on the trail. I loved the shots in the second clip of the seats with the name tags on them. Totally inconsequential, but also so familiar. How many stools have I striped tape across with names the same way?
These pieces are behind the walls in ways that other campaigns have not achieved. I guess the moral of the story for all you campaign videographers is this:
Be the candidate’s daughter, and you’ll actually get to see what’s going on!
Despite my affection for these videos, I’m still no McCain fan. Hearing the stories of the country clubber and the Wall Street young turk who left their cushy lives behind to get John McCain elected, I am reminded why I am a Democrat – where the “what did you leave behind” stories are a lot more salt of the earth.
Joe Trippi is Out of Ideas. Supporters to Make John Edwards Next Ad!
Enter your :30 second spot between December 28th and January 16th – just in time for the Nevada Caucuses!
More details are available at JohnEdwards.com.
No word if the winner gets the customary cut of the media buy.
Edwards Sending Resources to New Hampshire. What does it all mean?
With theories abounding that former North Carolina Senator John Edwards is quietly winning Iowa, his campaign released this video yesterday telling people to get their asses to New Hampshire.
Even the candidate himself hit the streets in the Granite State:
Just a week from the Caucus and the Edwards team is turning attention to state number two…are they confident of a win, or worried about a defeat?
Kid and Play were NOT in attendance, but Barack was on the phone.
Ah. The house party. Staple of organizing.
What once was a time for community to draw together in discussion, is now a chance for neighbors to sit and listen to a conference call together.
Because nothing forges neighborly bonds like deciding who gets to say their name before pressing pound.
Press one if you are fired up. Press two if you’re ready to go.
Here’s my thank you card, Senator Clinton…
At least it’s not another damn sweater!
Another Good Supporter Action Video from Edwards
The Edwards team dropped another nice video showing supporters in action today.
Big Opening Week: Edwards Works for Box Office Gold in Iowa Caucus
Don’t expect to see this before Sweeney Todd when you go catch it this weekend!
John Edwards campaign put out a “Trailer” today for the Iowa Caucus. It’s meant to draw attention to the Edwards Campaign Caucus Command Center.
I like the piece a lot – especially because it draws on the talents of one of their supporters who does voice work for “real” movie trailers.
The one thing I’m torn on is whether or not Edwards should be the “star.” If I were to go a slightly different direction with the story it’d be about the people rising up against powerful corporate interests, with Edwards leading the way. The American People would be the star.
Nonetheless, it’s another nice creative piece from the Edwards camp.
Presidential Debates and the Special Olympics…
…What are places where everyone is the winner, Alex?
Wait! Before you think Edwards ran away with the debate, here’s a clip saying how great Obama was:
And since everyone was the winner yesterday, here’s a clip that the Clinton campaign has put out:
So, in three clips from three campaigns – all culled from the same news segment – we have three winners. Rashomon, anyone?
BONUS!!! Here’s a clip from Fox News where Edwards is the winner!
Since he has clips from two networks, does that make Edwards the real winner here?
John Edwards’ Campaign (and Parents) Reaching Out And Touching Republicans
Today, John Edwards released a trio of videos featuring voter contact work in New Hampshire.
The second video sticks to the same formula. A phonebanker tells their story of talking with a Republican. It’s a positive reaction, resulting in good feelings for the volunteer.
Both of the clips are pulling triple duty. They hit some policy points: Iraq and Good Government. They hit some messaging: that Edwards is more electable in the general (as evidenced by these New Hampshire Republicans who are open to him). They create an opportunity for action, and one which will leave you feeling so good you’ll want to tell your own story of how well it went.
In fact, it’s such a good experience that even Edwards’ folks get in on the action…
Not content to trade her recipes for campaign contributions, Edwards mom brings along dad (the one whose job at the mill we’ve heard so much about) for a day of campaign work. I wonder if Hillary Clinton had her mom working the phones in the videos I posted earlier…
Even Rudy Giuliani’s “YouTube-Style” Video Is About Tall Buildings Being Terrorized
Still clearing out a number of videos I have wanted to post about. This one is Rudy Giuliani’s “YouTube-style” clip from the GOP’s CNN/YouTube Debate.
It’s got a nice mix of humor, information and attacks on Hillary Clinton. If I were a Republican, I’m guessing that’d be a web video trifecta.
But did anyone else notice that even his “YouTube-style” clip managed to include skyscrapers in peril? Joe Biden was right.
Old People Talk to Themselves, Just Watch Mike Gravel.
Another very creative video from the Gravel camp. What is it about Gravel’s supporters that gives them such a creative edge in the online video battle?
Is it that the suspension of disbelief needed to go full-throttle for a candidate who will never win sets free supporter’s creative juices?
Great Online Organizing. Poor choice of words. Ron Paul certainly has “seen it all.”
Maybe I’m being a bit puerile here…
…but…
…after dropping their tremendous “money bombs” on the political process, the Ron Paul campaign puts out an ad with the unfortunate coincidence of having their narrator use the script…
“He’s been doctor. He’s seen it all.”
…while showing him giving a female patient an – ahem – exam and ultrasound.
For all of their money, couldn’t they have come up with a less embarrassing shot, or changed the script?
Obama “Green Gathering” Trailer
I’ve been going through old videos, looking at the campaigns’ work with an eye toward a year-end wrap up. One that I just watched that I had missed before was this piece from the Obama camp.
This video (like their Iowa J-J invitation piece, and others) shows the great creativity that every campaign draws. Even (perhaps especially) the Gravel operation has created interesting, different and creative work.
Campaigns without resources can make up for it in creativity online.
The lower resource barriers of web video production make adventurous pieces like these a lot less risky. A “why not try it” spirit not only makes for interesting videos (though they won’t all be winners!), but also fits well with candidates who a selling “freshness.” Heck, they can even help candidates selling “experience” not seem so stale…
So why not more of them?
Shooting Your Ads on the Road – Edwards “Together” Ad
One advantage to having cameras on the road is an abundance of footage. With cost barriers to high image quality cameras evaporating, you can roll Hi-Def tape day after day after day and – provided your cameraperson has a good eye – have what you need for better commercials, when the time comes to go up on television.
I ran into Edwards’ videographer – Peter – at the debate in Vegas. We’d met here and there before, going back to the winter DNC meeting in Washington almost a year ago. One thing we chatted about was how his footage was providing a great deal of the material in Senator Edwards ads. Armed with a Sony HDV camera (I think he uses the HVR-Z1U), Pete’s strong lens work holds up to broadcast specs and provides Joe Trippi and company with an endless stream of footage for their ads.
The key point here is not the abundance of footage, though. It’s the realityof the footage. Watching this Edwards ad, it’s clear that it’s not a setup. This is a real campaign event. The crowd is a real crowd. What Edwards is saying is the same thing he’d say in a meeting hall or living room.
Most ads that feature the candidate speaking to a group of folks are completely forced. There is nothing real about them. A good videographer on the road, with a high-quality camera, gives you all the tape you’ll need to convey the authenticity of your candidate and campaign.
Romney Delivers Speech on His Mormon Faith…I Think
Mitt Romney just wrapped up what may be the most important speech of his race for the GOP presidential nomination. At least that’s what the media has been hyping for the last week or so.
The speech addressed the fact that Romney seeks to be the first President who is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints – a Mormon.
At least, I think it did.
Here’s a note to the Romney camp – who have actually done some good and interesting video work over the course of the campaign – if your’re going to hype a “Biggest Speech” for a week and even embed a streaming player on the splash page of your site, do a soundcheck and make sure the audio isn’t completely over-modulated to the point of being hard to understand.