Heather Elder Represents 9 commercial photographers, hosts a stock inspiration website, a

Heather Elder

blog, and consults with a variety of photographers nationwide. She’s written an open letter to Art Buyers that deserves the attention of both photographers and art buyers.  I’ve highlighted the lead sentence in each of her 8 points.  It’s worth a read here.

1)   When I ask you for the budget, please know that I am only trying to get an idea of how to approach the project.

2)   If I ask you who else we are bidding against, it is ok if you don’t want to share that inform But if it doesn’t really matter to you, then I could really use the information.

3)   If you ever have feedback for me about the book, the site, the call, the estimate; any of it, I would really be appreciative.

4)   If I am just a third bid, please let me know.

5)   When we are not awarded the job, please let me know right away.

6)   I so appreciate when you let me come to your agency to brag about our photographers.

7)   I also appreciate when you spell out your expectations for a portfolio show – especially when it comes to what will entice the creatives.

8)   Please do not get annoyed with me when I send email blasts.  I know, I know you get so many.  However, these are one of the only measurable forms of communication we have nowadays.

It’s the time of year that is filled with industry predictions.  No predictions from me this year, just realities.  One reality is that we are able to do much more with less.  What’s more, don’t anticipate clients abiding the same thing only better.  They will not be denied.

Technology and talent has proven itself worthy of turning micro budget into an artful result.  The key is to hold the line on what matters.  When money is tight, the line is paper thin between a film spot resembling a college project and a professional production.  Accept a bid and you’re committing to high expectations.

Friend to Permission to Suck, Director/DP David McCarty,  gave me a heads up on a low budget video spot he shot for Hamilton Jewelers.  Impressed, I asked if he would be interested in answering a few questions for a PTS post.  His response was so generous I reproduced it here along with stills and the finished spot.

Where Style Is Timeless: The Hamilton Jewelers

The inspiration behind the project was the current explosion of interest in the early 1960’s era; almost entirely due to the television show Mad Men. We wanted to stage a dinner theater in 1960 where it would be natural to have men and women very well dressed thus offering a vehicle to feature the client’s diamond jewelry.

The storyline is that of a newly engaged young couple. The scene shows everyone in the room involved with the music with the exception of our young couple who are more interested in each other.

This was a micro budget production, so the first obstacle was securing a cheap location that could play as a 60’s era dinner theatre. Second, it needed to look, more or less, dressed and ready to shoot. Third, we needed the run of the place, controlling everything for 10-12 hours.

We found just the location a short drive from our offices in New Jersey. The brother of one of our Senior VP’s just happened to own an Italian restaurant that had an upstairs dining room. He had designed it to look like the old dinner theaters of that era. It was perfect. He was not only closed on Mondays, but he could handle the catering for us as well.

The second task was talent. We were shooting in New Jersey, outside of Philadelphia, and needed good talent. Our usual suspects for styling, hair and makeup were all out of NYC anyway so we cast our principal talent there. We rented a van and drove our talent, stylists, hair and makeup artists down from NYC. The extras all came out of Philadelphia and provided their own transportation. I recruited my daughter and her fiancé to fill in as our third couple.

My Director of Photographer flew in from SF, and I acted as both Director and second camera operator. We both used our personal Canon 5DMII’s and ultra fast “L” lenses, but rented a Red Rock Micro Shoulder Mounted Rig and a SmallHD DP6 monitor. We also had pro sticks with high-end fluid heads on hand and I provided the 1m Glidetrack HD.

Our Producer handled the rest of the crew and the lighting order, which was small. Basically, we had a lighting truck from which we pulled a bare bones lighting package: A handful of Fresnel spots, a couple of Kinos, some flags, and enough board to block the light from the windows.

Our Gaffer and Key Grip was the same guy who rented us the lighting package. He came with an assistant.

We weren’t shooting with sound so we saved on the sound crew. Our intention was to show the idea of the musicians, a little hint to sell the story without being a focal point.  We anticipated plugging in a piece of stock music during post. Our Producer, who happened to be a musician himself, cast friends of his for the shoot.

I’d asked him to see if he could round up a stand up bass player and a horn player. We’d pay them out of our “extras” budget, which meant I’d have two less people in the audience. As it turned out, the producer’s friends were real pros, and they played while we shot them. I was so thrilled with the quality, that I asked the Producer to find out if they’d be willing to record an original piece of music together and license it to us to be used for the piece. In the end, that’s exactly what we did.

The lighting setup was designed to be pretty simple. A key light composed of a couple of fresnel spots bouncing off a wall, flagged to prevent spill. We had another fresnel bouncing off some broken mirrors to provide a little ambiance, and some hair light. The only light that ever moved all day was the hair light, which we used to provide the edge.

The DP shot almost entirely hand held using the Red Rock Micro rig, while I shot almost entirely off sticks, much of it locked off. We added a couple of “dolly moves” using the Glidetrack set on a couple of apple boxes.

Originally, we had no intention of having video playback for the clients. When you’re working on a micro-production, there are just things you don’t get. Video village is one of them. But the Producer and the AC had worked on some other DSLR shoots and had come up with a pretty effective system.

Using a Black Box video splitter with an aux. battery attached to the rig, we output the HDMI signal to a 17” monitor in the other room for the clients. It worked beautifully. The DP used the new SmallHD DP6 monitor, attached to the rig and fed into the splitter. I could either stand behind him to view, or watch playback through the camera after each shot. The client could watch both live and playback of all feeds, at least from camera A. She just had to trust me on camera B.

The room pretty much came as is; they even had the table lamps. Only problem was they were candle powered. We needed more light so we rented a dozen 40wt lamps and tied them into a dimmer. The restaurant provided the desserts, stemware, drinks and dishes.

We planned to handle hair, makeup and styling on the principals, while the extras were asked to show up ready to go. In the end, while we could get away with everything else, even the extras had their hair done. Our hair guy was a maniac; total overachiever.

Once the talent (both principals and extras) had gone through wardrobe, hair and makeup, we were ready to shoot. Except one last thing. The jewelry. The client actually had a small crew herself.  Together they got the correct jewelry on the correct people, keeping track of exactly who had what. This stuff was the real deal complete with security.

The DP and I had discussed the look we wanted at length, and while there were a few key shots we knew we needed, beyond that, we simply found our shots as we came to them. There were no storyboards, just a story. We work together a lot and had discussed the shoot at length. By the time we had the talent in place, we just went to town.

The shoot was based on a 10 hour day, with talent on a 12 hour day door to door from NYC.

The DP and I worked pretty hard to set the white balance to what we wanted before we started shooting and our cameras were calibrated to one another. We wanted to be a little warm, even to the extent that our whites were warm.

Since we couldn’t show people actually smoking, a smoke machine helped give us the needed atmosphere. The intention was to desaturate the footage slightly in post, but the added smoke pretty much took care of it for me. Therefore, there was almost no grading done in post.

Because of the limited 8 bit color depth on these cameras, you are pretty limited to how much you can manipulate the footage in post. It’s best to go old school and get it right in camera. This is by far the most important thing I’ve learned in several years of shooting with the 5DMII.

The shoot went off without a hitch and we finished on time. (Well almost without a hitch. The van with the talent showed up an hour late because of traffic. We still got it all done.)

The footage was backed up to several drives and that evening I transcoded all the 5DII video files into ProRes 422 (HQ) 1280×720.

The next day the DP, Producer and I all had to catch a flight to a location scout for another job, but when I got back a few days later, I was able to begin editing.

By then, our musicians had banged out a few options for me. They sounded great. Only one problem. The sound was too good. Since they had recorded in a studio, it didn’t feel right, so I imported them into Apple’s Soundtrack, added some room tone, ambient sound effects and even a little reverb to give it an authentic sound. It sounded great and I was ready to edit.

I edited in Final Cut Studio. Because we went to the trouble of getting the look we wanted in camera, I needed only a few slight adjustments here and there; nothing that couldn’t be handled in FCP’s 3-Way Color Corrector.

The voice over was originally done as a scratch track using the voice of an audio editor at our local production house. I loved his voice, a Gene Hackman sound alike, but the client wanted a more traditional VO, so we re-recorded it using non-union talent.

The beauty of creating video for the web is the story can be as long as you can maintain interest. No more :15’s or :30’s. Make it as long or as short as you want. In the end, the piece came out exactly how we wanted. It was a team effort including a trusting client. The client got extremely high value and we all got a nice piece of film.

There is no question that you can do amazing things with micro-production DSLR shoots, but if, and only if, client expectations are managed. You have to know what you can and cannot do being upfront and clear with the client. They also have to trust you. If they begin micromanaging the shoot, you will be lost. When you’re shooting a bare-bones production, there is no room for error.

One good idea, if you can swing it, is to have access to a larger lighting package than you think you’ll need. Something you can pull from, a la carte, if you have to. I’ve not needed the extra, but knowing it’s there is certainly a little added insurance.

Critical is your ability to think on your feet and take advantage of opportunities and the inevitable opportune mistakes. On micro-production jobs, you’re going to be more run and gun so you’ll need good instincts and be ready to make quick decisions.

I find another important aspect of successful micro-production is to have good ideas.  Everyone wants to be a part of something with quality. The budget is irrelevant. If you have a good concept and a good plan, you can get highly talented people to come along for the ride. If you’re a demanding asshole that’s trying to do too much with too little, you’ll create a catastrophe. Build a team of creative professionals and treat them like gold. They’ll break their humps for you and thank you for the opportunity to boot.

My final thought: be realistic. You can shoot a $500k film or something 1/10^th the budget. Either one can be great. They won’t be the same scope, but if you maximize what you have and do everything you can to bring every dollar on the screen, it can be great. The trick is to never try to shoot a $500k film for $50k.

Six months ago I was asked a series of questions for Talent Zoo by writer Sara Barton, here are some of the questions with my answers.  There are over 20 questions, but I’ll post installments updating where necessary.  Here’s part III.

Can creativity be forced/rushed?

Rushed, I think yes – forced, not so much.  Deadlines can work well to frame a problem.  “Do your best in three days” can be easier than “take all the time you need” – it’s like built in Permission to Suck without the suck. I like limits. Yet, forced sounds too managed, and I’ve never seen that work well.

Why does the term “creative process” make you cringe?

There was this machine that processed my B+W negatives back in college called “The Versamat” – a Kodak product I think, maybe they still make it. You feed the exposed film in one end and it comes out the other processed and dried – no fuss no muss – no need to get dirty.  This is what I think about when I hear “creative process” – you get predictable results and don’t have to get dirty. Companies love predictable results because they can manage them.  Creativity isn’t like that; it’s messy, surprising, and unpredictable with every stroke of brilliance. I’m much more apt to respond to a “creative culture” in a positive way than to “creative process”.

If you had to choose between being original or adding value, which would you choose? Why?

Can I be both, original and valuable?  Well, if not – I’ll choose adding value because it sounds more team oriented. I love collaboration.  My favorite projects were driven by my relationships with team members. Collaboration is going to be more critical as marketing gets more complex too I think.  That said, there isn’t much that’s more valuable than offering an original viewpoint.

Here’s one issue I’ve been thinking about, forgive me if it’s naive: simple projects can be commoditized; think logos designers or a guy with a camera.

It’s tough to differentiate talent on a small scale; not impossible but very tough. No secret that creative collaboration is the frontier’s edge; think open source systems or crowd sourcing techniques. Forming a collaborative team that produces imaginative solutions to complex projects seems like it’s the inevitable rising tide. Make the team too big and you’ll lose permission to suck, but make the team to small for the project and you may lack the diversity to solve the problem.  Maybe big agencies will fit in well if they have the right culture.

Who do you think is the most original thinker of our time? Why?

Seriously, I thought I’d pass on this one because there are simply way too many talented brains to commit to one.  I watched Alex Bogusky’s weekly show “Fearless Q&A” on Justin.tv last week – it’s a fun folksy hour if you like that kind of thing.  Alex made a comment regarding hiring teams and said he likes to combine the more cerebral creatives with the more action oriented to make a team. I believe that’s right.  A great thinker may get credit but somewhere in the mix are the folks who get it done – 99% perspiration right?  It’s not creative unless you actually make it – saying “I thought of that” or “I could have done that” doesn’t count. However, if you want a thoughtful authority on creativity try Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced: chick-sent-me-high) – his books where ground-breaking – or Rollo May’s The Courage to Create is another must read.

Is there such a thing anymore as truly original thinking? Or have all of the good ideas been taken?

Ha – I’m sure there is an original idea but I haven’t thought of it yet.  Someone will and I’ll say, “I could have done that”.  We keep making new people and they seem different enough – I’m sure there will be an original in there somewhere.

Seriously though, when I hear “there are no new ideas” I always think that sounds like frustration talking.  It may feel as though there is nothing new under the sun, but how can that be if there are no two people alike or no identical snowflakes?

What do you think is wrong with conventional advertising?

By conventional do you mean print, out-of-home, and broadcast? There’s too much of it.  I know that sounds a little snarky but the ads that seem to break through are humorous, clever, surprising, or highly informational (to the point of enlightenment) and I wouldn’t consider that conventional.

I am a huge believer in holistic built-in marketing – there is no more hammer and nail. The marketing idea has to be highly tailored across all channels and start as close to product inception as possible; think design – both big “D” and little “d”.

What do you hate most about advertising?

I don’t like advertising when it crosses into propaganda. In general, propaganda to me is influencing through deception or selectively omitting truth.   Yet, I adore creating campaigns that glorify aspects of a product or service – see my dilemma? I’m tortured.

I’m enjoying social media for its ability to force transparency.  Once upon a time you could sell millions worth of product before being busted. Remember the phrase attributed to Ogilvy, “Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising?”  I’ve got a new one, “Nothing kills a bad product faster than a bad product.” – think Toyota.

Your advice to copywriters or art directors who find themselves less than inspired? How do you get over that?

Everyone is different but there is huge value in getting distance – do whatever you do the fill your tank because it drains quickly.  Stay “horizontal” as long as you can; surf ideas, don’t take anything seriously, and just throw everything out there. Give yourself permission to suck before selecting the best of the bad ideas to explore further – don’t be afraid to start over.

As a photographer sometimes I’ll sit, absorb my surroundings and think about how I’d turn what I’m feeling into an image that would make others feel the same feelings.  I suppose any creative person could do the same with their craft: musician, painter, illustrator, or writer.

You know those stupid online “idea generators” that combine random nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc. to create faux meaningful phrases?  It works if you practice it yourself.  There were times when I kept a notebook of truncated thoughts that I’d later combine into image ideas; stuff you never thought could go together, go together if you’re clever with it.

I suppose there is no great solution other than: all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Who do you think is the greatest Creative Director? Why?

Let’s see, who do I want to work with?  It would be hard to argue with choices like: Lee Clow, Mike Hughs, John Hegarty, Rich Silverstien, Helmut Krone, George Lois, or Hal Riney – but I’m sure with memory aides I could go on for pages.  I guess you’d have to rule on longevity; if they inspired the creative side of their agency to repeatedly produce memorable campaigns over years, it means they hired the right people and made them want to work hard for them.

In your opinion, what is the greatest ad campaign ever created?

I’m probably little different than anyone you’d ask. Of these greats: Just Do It, We Try Harder, 1984, Think Different, Think Small, Be All You Can Be, Ultimate Driving Machine – my fave is 1984 just because it was opportunity fulfilled; an innovative product, a great idea by W+K, and great production.  The impact it had after only running one time in an era with no Social Media enhanced word of mouth, is without peer in my opinion. It still feels fresh doesn’t it?

However, for the long run, “Ultimate Driving Machine” is pretty damn good though. I couldn’t see replacing that with something better, can you?

Today the challenge is greater because your target market has atomized and attention defines scarcity. We’re sick and tired of getting interrupted plus we can afford to ignore everything because everything is at our fingertips anytime we want.  Marketing is about creating relationships from the moment we design the product.  It’s as though your creating followers – as you do on Twitter – rather than consumers.  Remember when there were Ford people, Mopar (Chrysler Dodge) people and GM people?  It’s the kind of passion you need from advocates these days. Consumers shop around; advocates want to be identified with you.

What is the campaign you wish you’d created?

Pick the longest running campaign and I’ll say THAT one.  After all, I’m a business man too; all of us want security.  Seriously though, I’m not good at recalling specific campaigns that I admire because there are so many I’ve seen that make me say, “I wish I had done that”. That said,  I’m a photographer at heart so when I see a campaign that makes great use of imagery I love it.  I’m probably a little like Sarah Palin – “All of them Katie”.

The mid 90’s Porsche print ads were damn nice.  I think they were shot by Clint Clemons; attaching the camera to the car as it moved – pioneering for a still guy.  That technique transformed the way cars look in ads I think.

I also wouldn’t mind if I could brag about shooting the original Dewar’s Profile ads – they were iconic.

What are your thoughts on commercial advertising today?

This has to be one of the most demanding, confusing, painful, and potentially innovative – wonderful times we’ve ever seen in advertising.  From the perspective of the folks who actually do the hard work of creativity, it’s been challenging and it doesn’t look as though it’s going to let up anytime soon ever.  It’s a tough way to make a living unless you’re some kind of prodigy, creative maniac, workaholic, or magician – it helps to be 3 out of 4.

If a client said to you, “make the logo bigger,” what would be your immediate reaction?

That’s happened and I asked, “what makes you want to make it bigger?” They had a good answer in that case but regardless, if they had said, “my target market is over 45 and can’t read it” my reaction would be much different than if they said, “Because I like it and want it to take up more room on the page.”  I’d have an answer either way.  Presenting creative without being able to walk your client through the design of a well integrated thoughtful plan would be a big mistake in my opinion.

You’re working on a new campaign. What’s on your iPod?

My musical taste is roots based: blues, bluegrass, blues based rock, roots country, jazz and that goes for local music too. I have some very talented friends who take up some space on my iPod; isn’t it interesting how music becomes more compelling when you know the people playing it? Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Jerry Douglas, Bonnie Raitt, Big Bill Broonzy, Delbert McClinton, Doc Watson, Emmylou Harris, Mark Knopfler, Jorma Kaukonen, Lyle Lovett, Mavis Staples, Mississippi John Hurt, Santana, Prince, Stevie ray Vaughan – You picking up any patterns?

Yet, when I need to write or when detail work gets too intense, the music goes off. Sometimes there is no extra room in my brain for anything but the task at hand.

What blogs do you read religiously?

I have a large collection but I’m usually up to date on these:

http://www.aphotoeditor.com/

http://www.pixelpress.org/afterphotography/

http://edwardboches.com/

http://www.shirky.com/weblog/

http://bbh-labs.com/

http://farisyakob.typepad.com/

http://creativity-online.com/

http://blogs.hbr.org/haque/

http://www.twistimage.com/blog/

http://thelostjacket.com/blog

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog

http://heywhipple.wordpress.com/

http://www.heathermorton.ca/blog/

http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/

What does Samuel Taylor Coleridge have to do with advertising and branding?  Well, in 1817 he wrote a phrase that’s endured for 190 years.

A good brand constitutes “poetic faith”. They tell a “semblance of the truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief”.  The critical word here being: “willing“.

“In this idea originated the plan of the ‘Lyrical Ballads’; in which it was agreed, that my endeavours should be directed to persons and characters supernatural, or at least romantic, yet so as to

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

transfer from our inward nature a human interest and a semblance of truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.” – Coleridge from Biographia literaria

Have you ever fallen victim to a good lie?  A liar’s skill is one that weaves fantasy into truth in such a way that no difference can be found.  They tell us what we want to hear with evidence that proves a true but ancillary element in the story. We hear it in politics all the time, often followed by “I misspoke”. We suspend our disbelief and buy the story. Call it our unwilling suspension of disbelief.

Marketers spend small fortunes asking targets what they want to hear. They ask through focus groups, questionnaires, interviews, or whatever, assembling quantitative, qualitative and anecdotal evidence because they want to seem authentic; do you believe this story? Do you want to be the Marlboro Man?

Brands are encountering authenticity when disbelief isn’t willingly suspended. Authenticity happens when we boast of ducking sniper fire that never existed and get busted.

Authenticity is the wizard behind the curtain. Good is done only after the big reveal. Discover a good authentic message after faux sniper fire and all is forgiven; human frailty is grounding because we all understand it. The good stuff comes when we  make up for frailties with actions that prove our authenticity.

OK, so there was no sniper fire. Please take a look at who I really am, I have good qualities, and I’ll prove it to you. I’m sorry for the deception – I was a fool.

Authenticity is the old GAP logo or the taste of Classic Coke. The good news: both companies learned that they own an authentic brand.  The bad news: you can’t attempted to close the curtain after your family spent holidays with the wizard; it is silly to suspend disbelief when so few are willing.

The bottom line is that we must be willing to suspend our disbelief about authenticity that we experience. Halloween is authentic; we know its fantasy. On the other hand,  the brand “John McCain”,  is not. His brand is a mess. Our experience needs to match the story, or we must know the story is fantasy and share that knowledge with the story teller with a wink and/or nod.

Reality meets fantasy on a global scale pretty damn fast.  The modern communication channels hammer that point daily.  Society no longer tolerates manipulation the way it once did.  Brands start with authenticity; all else is fluff at best.  At worse it’s unwilling suspension of disbelief.  If you don’t know your brand’s authenticity you’ll never control in and probably won’t sell it.

Alex Bogusky

Big Buzz Kevin Kelly interviews Alex Bogusky about FrearLESS Cottage and his vision for the next “thing”.

Alex is a designer. That is how he started his career and used design thinking to become one of the most influential ad men of the last 20 years.

In this interview Alex talks about Design Thinking, the trend toward transparency (as opposed to proprietary or secrecy) as a power base, and “Triple Bottom Line” capitalism: People, Planet, Profit.

Monetize ideas not ads. The idea economy needs a new business model but I’m not sure a “model” will be the end result.

When does a model become a franchise? The agency model has nearly become a franchise with various nameplates boasting proprietary creative processes and methodologies that – peel back the curtain – are identical.

Creative franchises are oxymoronic. If you’re a franchise it doesn’t necessarily mean that you share the name plate with other shops, but instead share their structure to the disadvantage of individuality.  Franchises don’t want individuality, they want structure with “plug and play” predictability.  If a part wears out, efficient replacement depends on a machine-like operation.

It’s easy to see the age old pendulum swing of fear (good economy: build your brand, bad economy: sell product) and the typical industry churn (grass is greener; look over there, ewww shiny) but this feels different.  This is different.

The idea has no time for bull shit.  A good idea needs to be made and made fast because it’s life cycle is being perpetually truncated with a fresh idea waiting to jump in line.  It’s a good time to be “a creative” with guts and a bad time to be an overgrown behemoth with an ocean sized turning radius.

It’ll be interesting to see if a balance is ever found.  It may just happen that the answer is imbalance rather than stability; when can we decide that a new balance is reached?

via Ad Age -  read about a trend that makes perfect sense to me:

Graf, Montague, Bogusky, Hirshberg — a Parade of Top Talent Departs Big Agencies, or the Industry Altogether

“Longtime agency watchers will say this kind of churn has always been part of agency life, but to dismiss the trend as part of some cycle is ignoring some key questions that agencies need to answer.” – Matthew Creamer

Great article, read more

Here is a 1 minute marketing course – very well done by CakeGroup.com

Alex Bogusky

Mad Man – Business Week Article July 29:

On June 30, Alex Bogusky went for a bike ride in the hills outside Boulder, Colo., then made his way downtown to the century-old house-cum-studio he had renovated and dubbed FearLess Cottage. Once inside, he called Miles Nadal, his boss in Toronto, and resigned. Bogusky was 46. Adweek had named him creative director of the decade, and the agency he helped build, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, was bringing in more than a billion dollars in billings. He had a dream title of his own making, chief creative insurgent, and a salary close to $2 million.  [from the Business Week article Mad Man by Susan Berfield]

Update August 11, 2010:

Dear Alex,

I still regret having handed you the Lance Armstrong signed jersey his coach gave me during the 1998 “I Want To Die” campaign shoot, even though it was probably my best move at the time.  I’m pretty certain you, in turn, handed it to your friend and AD on the campaign Dave Swartz .  At least I have a copy of these ads signed by Lance , Greg Herbold, Ruthie Matthes, and Jurgen Beneke – nice consolation gift, thank you btw.

Seriously though – Thanks for the opportunities and we’re all looking forward to what’s next.

Best,

Bruce DeBoer

Check out FearLess QA

I had a chance to talk with Creative Director and Copywriter Mike Allen about his career in Advertising and get some of his thoughts on branding and creativity.  Here are 10 minutes from that discussion.

As this embedded spot for American Airlines demonstrates, Mike gives voice to a brand’s essence.  This spot and two others in the campaign ran shortly after the 9/11 tragedy.  Worried that the country didn’t need a reminder of plane flight or the of who’s company mark was stenciled to the side of the terrorist weapon, American Airlines was on the verge of canceling all Advertising for 6 months.

The alternative was to show the emotion of what plane flight means to those who chose to travel; don’t show planes, show what planes can do besides fly into buildings. It’s easy to see how the “We know why you fly” campaign was born from these early spots written by Mike.

Additional 30 sec. spots in the Campaign from American Airlines 2001:
“Friends”
“Family”

Summery of Mike Allen’s Advertising History:

His 24-year advertising career includes creating brand-building work for American Airlines, Bank of America, Nortel Networks, Subaru of America, the U.S. Air Force, Bell Helicopter, Terminix and Bennigan’s while at Temerlin McClain in Dallas, TX.

From 2003-2009, He was ACD, then VP/Managing Creative Director at Rockett, Burkhead & Winslow (RBW) in Raleigh, NC, overseeing work and writing for BB&T, Biscuitville, Wavecom, Queens University of Charlotte, CORT Furniture and Old Dominion Freight Line across all media channels.

I can’t grip rational leverage on conceptual composites that look like photography but really aren’t, even though they defy any other category and have original photographic components. What are these things?  Common sense says they’re illustrations yet they’re not freehand creations.

On the other hand, I know what feels real.  When I see a photograph I don’t have to speculate about manipulation, my senses care less because they’re consumed by examination and filled with emotion. Once I whiff movement too far from photo-authenticity, I sense too much personal jurisdiction lost over interpretation; I begin to feel as manipulated as the image.

A postcard manipulated or not, is a great souvenir but nothing compared to my family standing near a Paris landmark. When I put my camera between me and my family it transcends mere memento.  If I choose enhancement it loses nothing, yet choices made by another are highly destructive.

Photographic images, pixilated or otherwise need integrity or risk reflecting a downright feeble notion of authenticity; revealing a strong agenda yet one relatively easy to dismiss.

Pulitzer Prize winning Photojournalist Renee Byer tells a powerful story with her images. I don’t care how she captured them.  I don’t care what she did with them post capture – if anything. I easily place my trust in her and the honesty of the message she’s offering.

When is it that we lose this trust? If photography isn’t dealing with hard news and world events don’t hinge on precision, there is more editorial leeway; still there is an instant where manipulation annihilates the story.

Do I like these clever, often funny, conceptual illustrations that use photography tools?  I still haven’t decided whether they are worthy or fade as fast as a Hallmark Card with sloppy wet prose.

“Once the images begin to replace the world, Photography loses much of its reason for being.” – After Photography by Fred Ritchin Director of Pixel Press .

Watch Renee’s presentation and look at the conceptual slide show (above)  and help me out.  Where is the line we know exists; what is lost and what is gained?

TEDx – Tokyo Presentation – “The Story Telling Power of Photography”

Renee Byer – A Mother’s Journey: [via The Pulitzer Prize Website]

With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, Renée C. Byer is an award-winning photographer, designer and picture editor.

She has taken honors from the National Press Photographers Association, Society of News Design, Associated Press, and the Best of the West photo and design contest. She has twice been featured in Photo District News magazine for photo stories while working as a staff photographer at The Sacramento Bee. Most recently in the September 2006 Photojournalism issue for her yearlong story “A Mother’s Journey.”

Her series of photographs on biotechnology titled “Seeds of Doubt” won the Harry Chapin Media Award for World Hunger in Photojournalism in 2005. The series also won first place in the Best of Photojournalism contest sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association.

In 2005 she was awarded the McClatchy President’s Award for her photographs in the “Women at War” series. This was the first time that a Sacramento Bee photojournalist was the sole recipient of the award.

Byer has been a staff photographer at The Sacramento Bee since 2003. Previously she worked at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer where her photography was a finalist for a Dart Award for excellence in reporting on victims of violence. Byer is a long-time newspaper photographer who has worked around the country at a number of top dailies.

She recently served on the faculty of the Mountain Workshop for photojournalism sponsored by Western Kentucky University.