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The Facebook contest film is after the jump.

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When organizations are interested in our brand film content they often ask how they can measure ROI for it. One of the first answers we give is – flexibility and durability of use. When you craft a traditional :30 spot, the use and shelf life of that piece of communication is very limited. With our brand films approach we can leverage the content to drive different initiatives and program offline and online channels. It’s all about designing in use scenarios upfront. As a production company / agency hybrid we have the ability to project and exercise content strategy. The metrics that are built on the back of the strategy are unique in every case.

When we looked at content gathered for the Southwest piece we saw opportunities beyond the first use edit. First use was a 40th anniversary video that rally’s internal stake holders. But the content is about the love people for have for Southwest and more specifically what they “like” about it. This type of documentary gold scores high on the “authenticity meter”. In a world where organizations need to be increasingly transparent and engaged in an honest dialogue with their customers this style of content connects. The edits above are simply speculative proof points.

Thanks to Andrea Perry for use of her track in the Facebook piece. And just to remind everyone – this isn’t a real Facebook contest. Yet. But we still encourage you to like Southwest on Facebook all the same. It’s, “Better than Farmville.”

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Stepping into the cottage the day before the COMMON launch was energizing. It had pitch energy. It’s a hell of a pitch when you think about, trying to convince people to share a brand in service of the greater good. Everyone was fried but inspired. The close proximity of the unveil provided the adrenaline to finish strong or, more accurately, to start strong. Because really that’s what the “launch” was, the start. But still, the baby was about to get a christening. And it was gonna be live streamed.

About a month prior to this day Alex and I discussed documenting the launch. He was totally game. Felt like an important moment to capture. At Butler Bros we are big fans of organizational documentary work. We call it Brand Films and more recently Advermentary. This content helps drive stakeholder conversation and create the feedback loop needed to make things better. Again this is only the beginning of COMMON and likely the first of many films. But this is a raw look at what happened on day one and what Alex, Rob, and John had to say hours before the launch.

Butler Bros pre-produced the film with the merry band of insurgents over at the Cottage. It was a fun collaboration. Art, Jeff, Isaac and Evan worked their butts off on this little production. I had the pleasure of talking to people and bringing the idea to film. Then I brought the footage back to Butler Bros and my bro and our editor Travis hammered it out. Special thanks to Moby and Monahans for the tracks.

Many of you have had Alex as a creative director or your agency guy. Let me assure you it was fun heaving him as a “client”, I mean an insurgent collaborator. Please continue to share your thoughts and ideas over at COMMON. The world’s first collaborative brand needs just that – collaboration.

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We’ve been producing, directing and editing content since the day we opened our doors 8 years ago. We love the process and we believe in the product. Everyone needs a Brand Film.

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We lifted this :30 out of 32 hours of footage captured for the Brand Film.

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Fifteen years ago we got our first taste of working on the Southwest Airlines business. For me it began with a job as a traffic manager at GSD&M. For Marty it was as a junior art director at GSD&M doing TV spots about searching for flights online.

Being asked by GSD&M/Idea City to produce and direct a short Brand Film that highlighted the airlines 40th anniversary was a lot like coming home. We shot on location at Austin Bergstrom International Airport for one day. Believe it or not the TSA was very helpful. So, too, was the entire SWA staff at the airport, taking a film crew in stride gracefully as anything else. All of which helped us turn this piece around about as fast as SWA does their planes.

These are the LUV stories of five real people told in their own words. There are doubtless tens of thousands more who could sit down and say very similar things about SWA. That’s one hell of a resume. Congrats to SWA on 40 years of rocking the industry and putting customers first. That’s a concept that ages quite well.

Special thanks to Rob and Ellie at Static West for hammering out this killer little music track. Thanks also to Bill Bayne and David Crawford who creative directed the piece from GSD&M as well as agency producer Maria Ivicic.

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TReND is the Tobacco Research Network on Disparities. As the film illuminates tobacco control policy is not a one size fits all proposition. Far too frequently low-SES and minority populations in the United States aren’t being seen, heard or helped in the fight to control tobacco use. There is disproportionate suffering and death as a result.

Last year we produced a short film for the TReND program. We edited down the film into a hard hitting web release short.  Thanks to Andrea Perry for letting us use her track Fastbox on this web release. See the full length film after the jump.

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A partnership of the National Cancer Institute and Legacy, TReND became a model of team science, housing a group of interdisciplinary researchers from public and private institutions. This longer film served as a capstone piece for TReND’s final conference and a call to action for and into their dissemination tool tobaccodisparities.org

Big thanks to StaticWest for music and StuckOnOn for sound sweetening and color correction.

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”.

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Legacy exists to ensure longer healthier lives for Americans through outreach that prevents youth from becoming smokers and programs that enable and empower adults to quit smoking. Their effectiveness is legendary.

This film shares the scope of Legacy’s work and the stakes of their success. It will be used to connect with partner organizations to inspire them to help further development of Legacy’s existing activities and perhaps even innovate their own. Legacy is open for partnership.

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Founded in 1976 Jason’s Deli is family owned company that currently operates in 25 states with 215 locations. This film articulates the story of the brand. From its humble beginnings in Beaumont, Texas to its growth across the nation. This is the tale of a company that consistently takes the road less travelled in service of people. Sound lofty? Watch the film and see for yourself.

Want to give credit to our collaborator and director / camera / editor Keith Maitland for bringing his intensity and documentary prowess to this process. Tod Campbell for his contribution as a DP at the bulk of our locations. Ben Powell for his jack of all trades impact along the way. To Julian Londono for being more than an assistant editor. To David S Gardner for prepping the edit with the precision of a librarian. David Hamburger for the pitch perfect score. Joe Malina for the color correction. And finally Alison, Parke and Lyman at Stuck On On for helping us finish it all with style.

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The brief – design the program for the TEDxAustin event. The theme – PLAY BIG. The solution – kids. Special thanks to Ben Powell for jumping on board and helping us capture this amazing event. See the finished piece here.