About a year ago a gent by the name of Paul Julien Freed asked me if I was a fan of neorealist films. I confessed that I wasn’t. Not because I disliked them but because I hadn’t really watched any. He have gave me a list. He was sure that I’d enjoy them because of the way I’d described our story telling ethos at Butler Bros. which to him sounded a lot like the following wikipedia entry:

Neorealism is characterized by a general atmosphere of authenticity. Andre Bazin, a French film theorist and critic, argued that neorealism portrays: truth, naturalness, authenticity, and is a cinema of duration. The necessary characteristics of neo-realism in film include:

• a definite social context;
• a sense of historical actuality and immediacy;
• political commitment to progressive, even violent, social change;
• authentic on-location shooting as opposed to the artificial studio;
• a rejection of classical Hollywood acting styles; extensive use of non-professional actors as much as possible;
• a documentary style of cinematography.

Without knowing it really this is very close to how we’ve marketed Brand Films since 2002. The major difference really is the fact that there isn’t a script at all in our films. That and they aren’t violent. We curate questions that highlight a narrative we think we are likely to capture and believe will most compel our audience. True to the documentary ethos though we allow stories to unfold and remold our expectations – and our clients allow this too.

Having spent some time with Alex Bogusky in Boulder recently and sharing our work and POV with him, he coined the term “advermentary” to categorize it. I like this too. It’s very transparent in name. It’s all laid out. Advertising with a documentary ethos. For people and companies that are trying like hell to do things right, to create in a considered manner, and drive needed changes – non-fiction is nothing to be afraid off. More and more the world demands it. More and more companies begin with this notion instead of bolting it on later.

“Bicycle Thieves”, which I watched this weekend, did exactly what I hoped it would – it had me considering the heart and mind of the character, not the surrounding artifice. We believe that companies can achieve this same feat. It begins long before the cameras roll however – it begins with deep motivations held by the “actor”.

When we saw Mitchum’s well crafted invitation to put forth ‘The Hardest Working Person in America’, we immediately thought of our close friend Roly Rolon. He’s worked for us in so many capacities over the years. He screen printed our very first run of Butler Bros t-shirts. He appeared in this piece we created with Shiny Object and Randal Ford. He recently landscaped my backyard. My house is filled with his art and reclaimed furniture.

Roly lives in another dimension. His days are filled with adventures onto movie sets and into the underworld trash dumps. Beyond all the hard work though is a philosophy about life. He is interested in the possibility of every day. He finds beauty in things people throw away. And he writes phone numbers down on his jeans. We created a book filled w/ photographs of his salvage art pieces. There are a few shots above.

Our partner in making this film, Travis Wurges, is new to Austin. He quickly jumped on board to operate camera and edit this piece. Nice work Travis.

Watch his film here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This piece will be for sale this weekend at The Tesla Project event.

We met Randal years ago. He was still a student at A&M. His uncle Creed Ford asked us to work with him while we were creating a pile of work for Rudy’s BBQ. He had a very nice student portfolio and an even better attitude. Randal was the first photographer we had ever worked with who shot exclusively digital. It was an ‘aha’ experience for us. Nothing was lost with a properly exposed digital image and the instant gratification was a powerful tonic. We’ve remained close with Randal through his career and we continue to collaborate with him – like on the rattle snake piece we art directed with him last year (seen in gallery above).

He asked us to design a logo for him 3 years ago, and we just cleaned it up and reissued it to him for his website and this beautiful new paper system.

My neighbor Cathy Savage is a huge Nikola Tesla fan and an artist. To honor him she is co-producing an event at the Pump Project Satellite on Shady Lane July, 10, 2010.

I was asked to participate. Nikola Tesla is the father of alternating current technology – among other very important inventions (like the RADIO). He is far less known than his chief rival Thomas Edison. Tesla won the ‘war of currents’ – where Edison went to great lengths to discredit AC power in favor of his own weaker DC power invention – including performing animal electrocutions to showcase the inherent danger of high voltage electricity. Today, every house in the world utilizes Tesla’s AC version of power transmission.

I was drawn to showcase how Tesla’s invention exists in the world today. His technology has become a part the every day life of billions of people. Today the transmission of electricity is ubiquitous. It shows up in our houses from plastic outlets. It is completely taken for granted. The outlets, like friendly faces, beg us to plug something in. We tap into this resource without thinking twice about how the electricity is produced – think strip mines and noxious gas belching from ancient power plants. We gobble it up. Our houses pulse with it. All brought to us by these seemingly benign plastic faces – the great grand children of Nikola Tesla.

This diptych, titled ‘Tesla circa 2010’ is 20×40 inches. It portrays our modern day outlet at an increased scale. These images were derived from digital photos I took which were scaled up and rendered into half tones. Printed and affixed to cotton canvas w/ matte medium and varnished. This piece will be for sale along with Tesla inspired art from many other artists.

Profits will benefit Easter Seals and the Pump Project. There will also be live music by the band ArcAttack as well as a Tesla Roadster on display. Don’t forget on-site tee shirt screen printing, public poetry reading and a screening of a Tesla film. This is a family friendly event. See you there.

The gusher in the Gulf only fuels the fire of innovation. What I am seeing here is a very Jedi like attempt to channel the rage / fear / confusion into kindling for a bonfire of solutions. Call it the fire under our collective ass. You get it, metaphor extended. Yesterday the entire conference sat in a room with Stephanie Owens from the EPA, Charles Hambleton producer from The Cove film (who is now working the Gulf region camera in hand), and Philippe Cousteau via Skype. The dialogue was very real but carried reason over reaction. It was heart wrenching to hear Philippe describe his dives into the spill site. “Looking up from under the plumes, the sun shines through, turning the sea a red color and outlining dead sea life.” He then spoke of visiting the Exxon Valdez spill site and spoke of the ongoing devastation to the ecosystem these many decades later. The takeaway – this isn’t going away in our lifetimes. The conversation then turned to action – Charles and Stephanie both made a great point about not punishing private owners of BP stations saying that it only hurts locals, not the company who trades fuel anyway. My take – retribution made in individual acts that curb personal consumption of petro products is the first order. Use this as a personal call to action. First look within, then look out. We finished this session with a moment of silence guided by Dr. Larry Dorsey. I prayed that I would have the perseverance to make personal change and the wisdom to teach my children a better way.

This takes me to the last thought on yesterday which spawned while listening to a man named Tom LaForge, whose company puts a drink on the lips of billion people everyday. Tom is Global Director of Human and Cultural Insights for Coca Cola. You can follow and inspire him on twitter at @otama Tom is smart and affable. He carries a massive corporate line on his shoulder when he comes to a conference like this. He tows it well. Coca Cola does some good. Does plenty of harm too. Not going to get granular here but I will share what I believe the most powerful thing Tom shared with us. It felt more like a poker tell then a direct call to action but still he said it though I am paraphrasing here – “the most important thing consumers can do is organize and speak to companies in a compelling collective voice.” The mandate for massive change will be an external force. Seems to me like he was asking for help, blinking morse code at the audience.

So what the heck is a LOHAS?

Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) describes an estimated $209 billion U.S. marketplace for goods and services focused on health, the environment, social justice, personal development and sustainable living. The consumers attracted to this market represent a sizable group in this country. Approximately 19% percent of the adults in the U.S., or 41 million people, are currently considered LOHAS Consumers. This is based on surveys of the U.S. adult population estimated at 215 million.

What’s the forum all about?

LOHAS offers a rare opportunity for both business owners and consumers to meet with the decision makers from many large companies, including Coca Cola, Petco, eBay, and the CEO of Ecover, and for those larger businesses, who may not know how to navigate the rapidly changing market, to learn from smaller ones who are making it work. It is also a place to find out about new trends and approaches to engage conscious consumers, who pay close attention to more sustainable and ethical ways of doing things.

This trip also gives me the opportunity to connect with Alex Bogusky and Robyn O’Brien prior to their scheduled talk, “Phood and Kids” where they will be joined by Chef Ann Cooper the “Renegade Lunch Lady”. I fully expect to be very inspired by the cross pollination of idea people, world changers and ‘do the right thingers’. So many of our passions as a company overlap here – cause marketing, food truthing, holistic thinking about work and life. I hope I can put some energy back on the passion grid because I know I will be pulling plenty off.

Several years ago now Andrew Yates of Beef and Pie Productions asked if the Butler Bros would like to become a sponsor of their nascent cycling team. Filled with mountain bike masters, a few good roadies, and people who take having a good time seriously we knew it would be a great fit. Mike and Andrew (Beef and Pie) are old friends. We met Mike at GSD&M in the mid nineties when he was a copywriter and Andrew around the same time when he was a still shooter (he still is). Today they run a great production company that’s focused on both commercial work and documentary film. The rest of team Beef and Pie is stocked with designers, ad folks, a judge, lawyers, a scientist and entertainment types. It’s all very Austin and all very fun. We hope to see you in lycra soon.

Maybe it was a memo from the brass that prompted this wave fest. Likely was. But for me it felt like there was a chance that the people that worked there thought – we’re open, no one is here, so let’s get out there and ask for some business. After all their livelihoods depend on it. Still those guys waving out there said more than we’re desperate for business. To me it said we care about people. It projected old school, look you in the eyes, trust based, service and did a lot to undo the idea that you are gonna be up-sold into three figures when you pull in.

A wave can say a lot. At least it does to me. Makes me wonder, what we not getting out in front and asking for? What about you?

Waving people down still works.