Tick, tock. You move your cursor over to your e-mail. Refresh. Nothing. You stare down at your phone, mindlessly going through Facebook. Tick, tock. Not even a minute has gone by. You can hear your boss approaching in the distance. “Please don’t walk this way,” you think to yourself, as you pray for the last 9 minutes and 32 seconds of your work-week to end.
Unfortunately, for many people, this plight is all too familiar. Rather than their job being something that challenges them toward growth and success, it mindlessly numbs them into a dull existence 40 hours a week. That is why it was so exciting for us to partner with Black Diamond, who seeks to flip the average job experience on its head.
Black Diamond CEO Keith Duncan Jr. challenged our team to come up with a script that would target young people and catch the eye of someone who felt stuck in their job. That led us to create the character of Derek, someone far too many people can relate to. We watch him comedically struggle with his day-to-day menial tasks and with bad management.
How it came together
It all starts with the scripts and storyboards. We use these as a gauge with the client, and it eliminates any guess work on the part of our clients. We then make sure that everything is outlined and correctly budgeted for in our proposal. Once everyone agrees on the terms, we start filming.
While this may seem like a tedious process, it gives our clients peace of mind on set, since all expectations have been clearly set.
We then hire the crew. The cool thing about Chronicle Cinema is that we have a network of freelancers, so we find the right people to work on your project. We get the best team together, even if that means bringing someone in from out of state to make your project the best it can be.
On set, everyone is on the same page, from the cast to the crew. For this project, we filmed for two days. Doing this provided us with ample time to film both videos we were tasked to shoot. Our assistant director kept us on schedule, while our director of photography, Jordan Danelz (Top Chef, HBO’s Quarry), worked with director Zach Meiners on shot selection and lighting.
Post-production
Then comes post-production. This was the first project to be produced in our brand-new post facility, and it played a huge role. Editor Ken Lutz handled the video editing, while our composer BJ Davis (The Bye Bye Man, Left Behind) wrote the score. Audio engineer Rick Boone created the perfect mix and added all the foley and sound design elements.
All of these elements, paired with our wonderful cast and dedicated crew, are the reason this project was so successful. Working with such an amazing team is the main reason I love my job. So if you’re happy where you are, keep pushing after your dreams. If not. You should go check out Black Diamond.