Over the past two years, Studio 84 has worked to capture the entire cotton process, all the way from planting the cotton in the field to making it into a fabric used and worn around the world. Alan Underwood, president of the Texas Cotton Association for 2011-2012, along with the rest of the Underwood family, contributed this cinematic piece to the Texas Cotton Association. Underwood Cotton Co., based in Lubbock, Texas, is a family business that trades all U.S. growths to domestic and foreign markets. The 101st Annual Convention of the Texas Cotton Association convened at the J.W. Marriott Hill Country Resort, in San Antonio, Texas. The video was first presented at the convention. Studio 84 was able to take the Underwood’s vision of the Texas farmer and convey the spirit, heart, and work ethic of the individuals in the cotton industry through the use of our cinematic style and production.

The vision was to capture the history of Vista Bank by providing a nostalgic feel. Vista wanted to portray how they value their clients as well as the surrounding communities. Vista Bank was first started in Ralls, TX in 1912.

Using pictures of the first bank, as well as the community of Ralls during that time period, we recreated the town using After Effects and Photoshop. After meticulously cutting out people, buildings, and fences in Photoshop, we then placed each object in the scene within After Effects. Using camera movements to give it the 3D feel, the viewer feels like they are pulled backward out of the bank and through the town.

We were glad to bring this creative concept to life and join Vista Bank in celebrating their milestone of 100 years in business.

Intro/Preproduction:
One of the most exciting and interesting projects Studio 84 has worked on to date, The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office Recruitment video, proved not only to be a privilege, but a challenge as well.

The Studio 84 crew with Sheriff Rowe

As we began the production process, we could see through our research that most of the recruitment videos for other departments around the country were pretty bland and dry, generally consisting of a slideshow and a stand up with a few department personnel. We began to think of ways to make this video have quality and flare , while still communicating the message desired by the client.

Discussing the plan with Lt. Stewart

Preproduction began with numerous meetings with Sheriff’s Office personnel in order to decide what divisions needed to be covered and how to capture them with efficiency. We knew the Bomb Squad, K9 and SWAT divisions would easily add the high-energy glamour that most people would expect from a job in law enforcement, but the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office is much more. From dispatch to warrants, medical to clerical, there are many areas within the Sheriff’s Office that an average civilian, who may watch law enforcement shows on TV, may never think about or see. For this project, a wide range of jobs and skill sets would need to be shown in order to properly convey all of the opportunities available to a new recruit of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office.

Reviewing footage with the DRT team

Shooting:
The acquisition stage of this project consisted of an intense three-day, highly coordinated shooting schedule that began at the Detention Facility and expanded to include the firing and bombing ranges, training facilities, the courthouse and various field offices located throughout Lubbock County. It was through this process that we began to see the surprisingly wide range of personalities and talents that work together to form the men and women of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office.

One of the most exciting sequences to shoot was the tactical team making an explosive entry into a house. It’s one thing to watch this on a reality TV show but its totally different when you are there, feeling the anticipation of the flash grenade followed by the smell of burned gunpowder as it fills the air. Our crew was in the middle of the action, within feet of the blast; once for the exterior shots and again for the interiors.

TACT team breaking into a house

Another memorable sequence was with the K9 unit. Being dog lovers ourselves, you would think that our crew members would not be scared of these creatures, but it’s a different feeling when you realize that these dogs are trained from birth to chase and subdue you at any cost. As we watched the footage in playback from the trainer’s point of view as the dog runs toward him, we began to sense the certain terror felt by any suspect who chooses to be on the wrong side of those teeth.

Dog attack

Watching the meticulous work of the Crime Scene Investigator, or the dedication of the support staff, there are just too many great memories of the acquisition stage of production to share here. I could not begin to communicate the pride and professionalism that exuded from Sheriff Kelly Rowe and each and every officer and support staff member we encountered.

Post Production/Summary:
The post production process was difficult if only for the fact that we had so much great footage to use but such little time to fit it in. We started with finding appropriate and motivating music, knowing this would set the mood for the entire production. After putting the music together, the shot selections and editing fell quickly into place, first with the major hits including explosions and lunging dogs, and then filling in with SWAT, suspect arrests, cell extractions and everything else. The hardest part was not showing all of the hard-hitting footage too soon, but using it to help sustain the attitude of the project throughout its entirety.

The recruitment video project for the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office was a new adventure for us. It allowed us close access to interesting subjects and new situations. It also allowed us the great opportunity to meet many of the men and women that work to protect the citizens of Lubbock County. This was more than just another project, it was a chance to challenge our talents and at the same time push the conventions of what a video of this kind could be.

The Studio 84 crew with the sniper team

Click here to view all of the behind the scenes pictures

Photographs courtesy of Linda Schilberg Photography.

We asked Linda to come along to document this project. This project was a blast to work on and we knew we would get to see things that we would probably never see again. Although, we did joke around about who was the most likely to see the inside of the detention center again Linda did a great job, got the images we wanted and was a pleasure to work with.

Here’s a little about Linda:
It all started out with a wooden camera my dad made me and dreams of running off to California to pursue my other passion: surfing photography. But it wasn’t until my senior year at Texas Tech University that wedding and portrait photography captured my heart. I dove right in and haven’t looked back. I live by the phrase “Photograph Your World®”. My camera enables me to keep moments of time from running away. Photography is the way to my heart.

Linda Scilberg

Website: www.LindaSchilbergPhotography.com
Contact: 281.414.4378
Linda Schilberg Portfolio

Since we have an outstanding relationship with Tech we were fortunate enough to be asked to work on this e-card. We were approached with a couple concepts and we worked with Tech to narrow down and develop one concept, produce and deliver. As in any creative process, there was discussion and tweaking to get ideas from a team of creatives down and agreed upon to produce a creative and effective video that pleased everyone.

Here’s the video that was sent to over 172,000 people.

One area we’ve already starting shooting for and conceptualizing is the 2012-13 fire up video. Having a plan from the beginning is crucial to achieving the final product everybody wants. Yes, we could come up with a sweet intro video from just highlights that we happen to capture, but having that plan in place allows for focused creative juices to flow.

We’ve been shooting specific basketball games and getting the shots we need for next year’s video. Sometimes you get lucky (or you are working with one of the top teams in the country) and have a perfect storm unfold in front of you. A large crowd, a #16 vs #19 match-up, energy and an underdog win that came down to the wire. We were lucky enough to be there. We got the shots, we made the edit and we are all (us and Tech) are enjoying the benefits.

Here’s our take on experiencing Texas Tech Women’s Basketball

We worked with Malouf’s on how to reproduce this concept. We all know that the West Texas cotton industry struggled this year with the lack of rain and consistent high temperatures. So, finding a good looking cotton field was not the easiest. The field we finally did find was drip irrigated and was about the best in the region.

We waited on the perfect light, wanting to capture the beautiful West Texas sunsets we all enjoy. We also fought the not-so-perfect high-plains wind. We wanted a little natural movement in the hair and clothing and after about 20 takes finally found one that worked.

Malouf’s was great to work with. They had a clear vision and communicated effectively. We took the information they provided and ran with it, coming up with 2 spots that we are all proud of.

Oh, and the video aspect ratio is nice and 4:3 to cater to the USA’s RaiderVision screen.

We edited in clips from the first exhibition games of the 2011-12 season to give it an up-to-date feel for today’s team. Check it out!

The concept features the beautiful campus of Texas Tech and highlights from the 2010-11 season. Almost each shot was composited to add more interest. Obviously the magical flying ball is composited along with the sky and highlight video on the sides of building structures. The final step was enhancing the audio with sound effects and color-enhancement.