

tv30 Anthem
Director's Treatment x2
written by Taylor Robinson
Katie and Betsy,
I hope you guys are doing well. Thanks for giving me some time to come up with some ideas for this video.
Basically, I've come up with two (very) different ideas that I think will work given your goals. I've lined out my two idea below.​
Take a look. Hopefully, one or both ideas will spark your interest. And we can start building a proper production schedule and budget based on what all we need to knock the concept out of the park.
Enjoy.
Idea 1: Photo extravaganza!
In sitting and thinking about what we're trying to create, I kept running into the same road-block.
"How can we possibly shoot everything we will need to give a comprehensive picture of who Samford really is?"
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There are so many things that we need to shoot throughout the whole year to really visually represent Samford well.
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Then I got to thinking about what you said about possibly using photos that you already have that have been taken over the past few years...Typically, I like to shoot all my own content but in this case, I felt that it might behoove us to consider an idea that went this route.
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Then it hit me.
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I remembered the intro video they played at the beginning of the 2010 BCS National Championship game.
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Here's the idea, we take your photos - match them with a killer voice over script, a pumping song...and we'll create a 30 second anthem that covers the gamut.
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Here's that BCS intro from 2010...you're looking at the part from :31 to 1:30.
Basically, it's a photo machine gun.
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The script would be built around the three distinct messaging concepts you're already working with (blue, pink, and purple). With great precision, we'd make sure to cover the prevalent themes behind all three of the colors. We'll bake these truths throughout the entire spot.
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For the song, I'd love to schedule a time with the Samford Band's drum-line. We would work together to create the perfect 30 second song.
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Occasionally, (say 3 or 4 times) we'll let the whole thing breath...and we'll hold on a very important picture for a longer moment, this way we can add some pacing and dynamics to help capture the emotion of the overall spot. In these moments - to even add to they visual dynamics I want to add a paralax effect to the pictures. This parallax effect will breathe movement into the still image and give the illusion of 3D space. Here's some examples of that parallax effect on still photos:
The whole spot will build to the closing art-card, which we'll keep simple and use the already existing and powerful "For God. For Learning. Forever." That forever will quickly morph into our closing image that says "Forever Samford."
When this spot is over we want the viewer to say..."DANG! That place has a lot going on...and it looks soooo awesome!"
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It'll be a fast, fun, high energy, photo-extravaganza with tons and tons of faces-n-places.
FYI, using your staff photos in one of our spots is something we've done before. Here's that example:
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Now, this new idea wouldn't look like this video...I'm thinking big full screen photos with no design or art around. Your photos start around :50.
IDEA 2: samford people

Again, we're trying to make a powerful spot, that comprehensively gives a clear picture of Samford as a whole.
This second idea revolves around the human element that make Samford great.
We'll pick strategic spaces around campus to shoot beautiful portraits of students, faculty, and personnel. It will be a diverse set of faces.
Behind all of these portraits we'll have a voice over that clearly explores your blue, pink, and purple themes.
This spot will have a much slower pace and a more weighty feel. More proper. More sophisticated. Less hype.
As the viewer watches this spot, they'll see inspired, proud people standing tall in beautiful places. That imagery will be matched with a strong song and a warm voice.
As the spot ends, again we'll move into a full screen art-card that matches the voice over. "For God. For Learning. Forever." Then that "Forever" will transition to a closing "Forever Samford" graphic.
I estimate over the course of a full shoot day (if we move fast) we can get around 12 different portraits all over campus. Reed Chapel. The quad. A nursing lab. The football field. The Wright Center stage. Etc.
I love moving portraits of people in their element. Here are a few examples of what these moving portraits have looked like in previous spots we've created.
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Thanks for your time
Now, these two ideas are very different. And I really like them both. The choice is yours. Heck, we could do both!
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Thanks for giving me and our team the opportunity to pitch these ideas to you. If you don't like either, we're happy to go back to the drawing board. If you need anything, or if you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out to either me or Audra.
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Thanks again,
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Taylor Robinson
205.215.9288
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Audra Whaley
940.395.1330
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wait! there's more.
I understand that we've got time constraints on when you need this spot, and the two ideas above are great ideas that will work perfect within your timeframe.
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However, I have a Hail Mary idea that I want to pitch you.
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I want to create a spot for you guys that captures the essence of what the student experience is like at Samford...to do this...it'll take the better part of a year.
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I propose that we do ONE of the above ideas for this year's deadline, AND we come up with a plan for our team to send a micro-crew to your campus multiple times over the corse of the next year to capture ALL of the most important moments.
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We'd all sit down and make a list of the 8 or 10 or 12 most exciting things that happen on campus throughout the year, then make a plan to capture them all in our cinematic style. Graduation. Hanging of the Green. Step Sing. A football game. A baseball game. A huge science conference. Freshman move-in day. Rush. Frisbee on the quad with fall leaves all around. Etc.
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Basically, the formula for a perfect "anthem" video is: Beautiful people doing interesting things in a variety of exciting locations.
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This list of big brands that use this kind of commercial is...well...they all do. Some examples:
This is a big idea, and from where your sitting it probably sounds expensive...but our team at Six Foot Five specializes in shooting at the highest possible production level with a minimal crew...and we do it all over the world.
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To keep the costs of this idea down, our team would pair down the "crew" size for each of these shoot days to the bare minimum (2 or 3 people). In addition, I'd be happy to throw in a multi-day discount on top of all of it.
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Here are a couple of anthem spots we've created in the past:
IF this idea sparks your interest, we should get together again and think through the details. Like I said, if we plan well, and cover our bases this could be some incredible content for Samford to have/use.
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The possibilities are vast with an idea like this. And the content will be useable till the clothing our talent wears goes out of style. HA!
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Think about it!
