Corporate – Pickerel Pie

A Deep Dive into the Layers of Netflix’s New Promo Spot

Date: December 4, 2024 Category: Corporate, Corporate Film School, Uncategorized Comments: 0

Netflix's latest spot is more than just a promo, it's a layered masterpiece of coded storytelling. From subtle (and not so subtle) use of film language to reference the style and themes of some of its shows to cameos (some quite obscure) by stars of Netflix Originals, the spot also rewards careful viewers with a clever sonic Easter egg only film nerds will catch. In this video, I go in deep (too deep?) to unpack the layers: https://vimeo.com/1036073686?share=copy

Why Don’t More Companies Have Sonic Brand Identities?

Date: November 6, 2024 Category: Corporate, Corporate Film School, Uncategorized Comments: 0

We were recently producing content for a client in the midst of a rebranding and we were trying to figure out which version of their branding package to apply to the videos while at the same time thinking about music to underscore the narratives and wearily reaching for the same stock music libraries… It struck me that, for the same reasons that companies invest in distinct visual identities to distinguish their brand, including logo, typeface, palette, photographic style and specific guidelines for their use in every medium, they should also create a sonic identity with a recognizable musical theme translated into stings and beds for…

Corporate Video & AI…5 Amazing Things AI Can Do For You Right Now

Date: July 10, 2023 Category: Corporate, How To Tags: corporate communications, corporate films, corporate video filmmaking tips Comments: 0

At Pickerel Pie we help our clients make better corporate videos and one of the ways we do that is by keeping them aware of evolving technology that is constantly changing the way videos are produced and delivered. I'm sure, no matter what business you're in, you've been hearing about the (potential) impact of AI on what you do and how you do it. In terms of corporate video production, the impact of AI is really interesting, in part because of the inherent mix of creativity/originality and technology in creating video content. Even knowing that AI's impact and application to video production is in the very early…

Bees, Rockstars and Pollination

Date: July 10, 2023 Category: Corporate, How To Tags: corporate films, corporate video filmmaking tips Comments: 0

AI-generated image of a “Summer Office Party with Watermelon” (disturbing or impressively expressionistic?) This is the season of the Summer Office Party – woo hoo! – one of the few times a year that some companies gather to hang out and get to know one another; a social cocktail of liquor, chlorine, watermelon-crazed bees and dissolved office hierarchies. Companies may also have a Holiday Party (liquor, egg nog and dissolved office hierarchies) and/or an annual meeting (coffee, liquor and reinforced office hierarchies) but that might be it for the human side of so-called corporate “culture”. Almost every company (except, perhaps, Twitter?) says, “our strength…

Top 10 Tips to Make Better Corporate Videos

Date: June 27, 2023 Category: Corporate, Corporate Film School Tags: corporate films, corporate video filmmaking tips Comments: 0

Concepts Every Producer and Client Should Understand We call it Corporate Film School because, after a couple of decades of producing videos for top companies, and coming from a film school and broadcast background, we’ve realized that the basic (and fascinating) elements of film language not only help you make better videos but enhance the collaboration with your creative partners. #1. Film Language To figure out how a video or film is working (or, crucially, not working), it’s essential that you understand that film is a kind of language with its own particular grammar based on the placement and/or movement of the camera, editing and other production elements. Being able to “read”…

Talking Heads: King Charles Edition

Date: September 13, 2022 Category: Corporate, How To, Uncategorized Comments: 0

We were just working on a new episode of #corproate film school about Talking Head shots when this very momentous talking head shot was broadcast. Some notes on the King’s inaugural address: https://vimeo.com/749251403 Want more tips on making corporate videos? Sign up for the Corporate Film School newsletter!

Get Back to Setting: The Beatles on Location

Date: December 13, 2021 Category: Corporate, How To, Uncategorized Comments: 0

George Martin: “Location isn’t really a main problem at the moment” Paul McCartney: “Breathing is, actually.” Sure, Get Back is amazing on many levels but, setting-wise, you’re stuck in one big and then one small plain room for most of the 8 hours of the hit new doc series - (Peter Jackson’s [Lord of the Rings] re-cutting of the Beatles footage that was shot for Let It Be [1970, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg]. So, it’s ironic that discussion of setting turns out to be one of the major narrative threads (perhaps eclipsing even whether and how to keep George in the band) of the documentary. It’s a great opportunity for us, interested in…

What I Learned From that Octopus

Date: December 4, 2020 Category: Corporate Tags: film production, how to make video, My Octopus Teacher Comments: 0

On the surface (ha), My Octopus Teacher is your typical man meets mollusk love story. But, in terms of film language (below the surface, as it were), there are some very interesting things going on: for starters, it’s almost 95% b-roll with voice-over. The story is told - and we’ll get into the filmmaking aspects of that later - by Craig Foster, a filmmaker*, whose year-long relationship with an octopus in the wild is, basically, the whole story. * It’s interesting that he’s credited neither as a director (Pippa Ehrlich & James Reed) nor a writer (same) even though his recounting of his personal experience is the only narration/voice in…

10 (surprising) Lessons Learned Producing a Large-Scale Virtual Event

Date: November 19, 2020 Category: Corporate Tags: #virtualevents, #virtualmeetings, virtual event software, virtual events, virtual meetings, virtualengagement Comments: 0

My home control room! After decades of doing it live in hotel ballrooms all over the world, our client’s global meeting was now going to include 2 global live streams, 14 high-profile webcasts with VIP guest speakers hundreds of Zoom breakouts over 4 days in two time zones … what could possibly go wrong??? Spoiler Alert! PLENTY. And, despite – perhaps even, because of - that, it was all good. Because hey, if you’re not trying to push the (constantly expanding) boundaries with your virtual events you’re not trying hard enough! Over the next two weeks I’ll share 10 tips culled from the last 8…

The Art of Asking Questions

Date: September 28, 2016 Category: Corporate, How To Tags: corporate films, corporate video, dewey thompson, filmmaking tips, pickerel pie entertainment Comments: 0

The Interview is one of the fundamental modes of storytelling (what can you tell me about…?) and, yet, one of the most under-rated and, thus, under-examined skills to be mastered by creative producers and directors. Charming/cajoling/extracting information or stories from someone on camera is an art - with as many possible approaches as practitioners - but there a few basic guidelines to keep in mind – particularly, if you decide (perhaps, for effect) to ignore them or do the opposite – to enhance your chances of getting good material from your interview: 1. Prepare. You should have both a good grasp of what your subject…

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Category: Corporate