Rowenta Straight & Curl: Instructional Video

There are but many perks when the guys at Silverpoint Media work with the fine people at Rowenta Beauty.  Their brand is recognized all over the world, their products are found in many of our homes, and lucky enough we often get a hand in trying and enjoying many of their latest and greatest beauty products…well...maybe it’s more accurate to say our wives do, but nonetheless.

Recently we once again had the pleasure to work with Sonya Latreille, the Product Manager for All-Clad and Rowenta Beauty, on instructional styling videos teaching consumers and stylist on how to use the new Rowenta 2 in 1 Ceramic Ionic Curling Iron (Straight & Curl).  The idea was to produce a video that demonstrates to both professionals and amateurs alike, the tricks and techniques used to create 5 distinct hairstyles for the modern and fashionable woman.

Suffice to say it ‘s not very hard for us to agree to projects produced by Rowenta as we often find ourselves in trendy locales, surrounded by beautiful women, and working with familiar, smart, and kind people. But some of you might be asking; how do the “manly men” of Silverpoint accomplish the task of instructing women on how to use a feminine product successfully?

Well, apart from the guidance and vast knowledge from experts such as Sonya and Toronto Fashion Week lead stylist & Rowenta Beauty artist Dee Dagher. The key to our success when creating any instructional video has always been to produce a piece that not only effectively instructs the target demographic, but also has the ability to teach even our selves - no matter how familiar or foreign the product. So that’s right ladies, what we have here is in fact the first ever, media production house who can confidently and fabulously: straighten, curl, wave, and volumize your hair.

As a result the video itself was a huge success, receiving numerous compliments within the industry and countless DVD copies readily requested.  The video was also used through online distribution and on their website here with great exposure.

Josh 

P.s. If you would like an appointment with our lead hair designer and COO Vince Chan, please leave a comment in the comment section below with your appointment request and we’ll do our best to fit you into his busy styling schedule. 

Top 10 reasons for quarterly & Bi-Monthly video reports

The Corporate Message – a closer look at Quarterly and Bi-Monthly Video Reports.

Silverpoint breaks down the Top 10 reasons to have one:

1. Bring your company to life – it conveys emotion, trust, professionalism, personality, and an interaction between your company and its shareholders, investors, employees, and the public.

2. Informative – a corporate message video allows you to communicate regularly with your audience and a great deal of information can be communicated in a short period of time.

3. Opportunity – use the distribution powers of a regular message to instil confidence in your existing and potential investors, explain new developments to potential clients, and reach beyond any geographical limitations. 

4. Market trends – 90% of Internet traffic will be video by 2014, and it will be the preferred form of communication.  It is critical to establish your audience today!

5. Return on Investment (R.O.I.) – compared to traditional forms of media, the production of video content distributed over the Internet is inexpensive, but the perceived value in the public is high.  In addition, there is little hosting, maintenance and support costs due to user-friendly sites such as Youtube, Vimeo, and Facebook.

6. Effectiveness – visual mediums are much better absorbed and received versus plain text.  People are more naturally drawn and attentive when they can see and hear it. Furthermore, they are more likely to watch a 2-5 minute video than they are to read text for the same amount of time.

7. Dynamic and Versatile – with the right digital media solution and strategy, any corporate message video can easily be integrated into other forms such as social networks, corporate website, existing corporate videos, presentations, and marketing material. It is easy to create several smaller short videos that can serve many different purposes and goals.

8. Competition – a regular corporate message can help you differentiate yourself from your competitors.  Use your ability to bring your company to life to make you unique and personable. 

9. Energy – by communicating your company objectives and goals, it is an excellent way to channel the focus and motivation of your employees.  In addition, it also a way for you to get your clients/investors excited about new products and developments.   

10. The Silverpoint ‘Cinematic Experience’ – with all great things, comes a great story.  No strategy is complete unless we can connect the company with the audience.  Thus, we dedicate all our energy and expertise to ensure that the story of each of our unique clients is properly delivered. 

Vince

Spex - The New Beats Era

Some people are just born with talent! I met Spex (or Thrizzo) a few years ago through our good friend Jezz. He mentioned that Spex had an incredible flair for creating music and orchestrating tracks for the Hip Hop industry.  As fate would draw our talents together, I bumped into him performing on Yonge St., and equipped with my camera, I took the opportunity to start filming. The result was an interesting short about the drumming buskers who perform at Yonge and Dundas St., a popular location in downtown Toronto.  If you would like to check out the video, please click here and read our previous blog about buskering. 

After some time had passed, I realized a greater need for customized music for our clients. We had long exhausted the stock music out there and wanted to provide a much higher caliber of custom music to complement our videos and animations. If we were going to create a ‘cinematic’ experience, it was not only important that we could stimulate visually, but also through the power and emotion of sound. At this point, there was only one solution, Spex joining the Silverpoint team.

For the past few months working with Spex, I’ve realized that inspiration comes from many directions. I have always tried to keep an open mind, and I have quickly realized with the help of Spex, how visual ideas can inspire music, and how music has motivated me to test my visual art.

As with many things, words cannot describe what is best seen and heard. So I ask you to press play and enjoy one of the latest collaboration between Spex and Silverpoint Media. 

Keith

Yogurt the Ogre - A Magical Tale in Mudd Hollow - iPad App

Our good friends at Pdoink have released their first iPad app based on their 2011 Moonbeam Children’s Book Gold Award winning title - A Magical Tale in Mudd Hollow. 

To some of our regular readers the book might sound familiar and you'd be absolutely correct. Five months ago Raymond our animator/motion-graphic designer extraordinaire created an animated video of A Magical Tale in Mudd Hollow and Sparkle Beach, a short bedtime story also included in the book. In case you haven't seen them, here they are once again. 

It was an absolute honor for us to see Pdoink’s first iPad app come to life, which was developed by our good friends at e-axis. We have formed a strong collaboration and look forward to taking great stories to new heights. 

The iPad app is great for kids 3 to 7. This engaging adventure has it all and lets children enjoy and explore A Magical Tale in Mudd Hollow however they want and using all of their senses - read, record and watch stories as well as play games. This is definitely a must have for all kids and best of all, it's FREE! So the only thing you guys have to do is...

1. Enjoy the app and download it from iTunes here.

2. Give the app a great rating on iTunes. There is also an option for you to ‘like’ it.

3. Tell everyone you know about the app and ask them to download, enjoy and tell their friends.

Cheers, 

Josh 

Here comes the sun - Sun Seeker App Review

I love my iPhone. My colleagues find me a little crazy but I love how this phone can be a powerful tool both technically and creatively. As filmmakers it enables you to slate, create storyboards, calculate DOF, dispatch release forms and even act as a light source. The great thing is that the features continue to expand as long as apps continue to be produced.

 

One example of these apps I use quite frequently is Sun Seeker. This app lets you know when and where the sun will rise and set, today or in the future. One of the amazing offerings from this app is the 3D View, which is an augmented reality view using the phone's GPS, accelerometer and camera to see the path of the sun with reference to time and the phone’s real time camera image. There are other views too, such as the angle of the sun overlaid on a Google Map of your current location or any location you choose to input.

 

This app is very useful when you are setting up a scene and need to be able to predict how the light will affect your shot a few hours later. It's also a huge benefit for planning the lighting for a time-lapse. In the example below numerous structures around us caused undesired lighting situations. Sun Seeker was able to tell me when and where to frame the camera in order to get our desired effect. It essentially also enabled me to see where the sun would situate during the entire time-lapse.

For $5.99 it's the price of a modest lunch. You can download it from here.

Stan