This week we were honored to collaborate with National Geographic and the hit show Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller. Acting as their Los Angeles-based film crew, Derek Doublin and James Mills of Motion Factory swooped in to help the Trafficked team shoot content for an upcoming episode. We are both humbled and excited to be trusted by such an incredible production, full of intelligent producers and journalists, that have shaped Trafficked into one of the best documentary series on television. Some of the producers on Trafficked also worked on Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” and have clearly brought their expertise to this program. We anticipate a bright future for this collaboration!
Cobra Golf, HP and MF Create History
Cobra Golf is the subsidiary of the German sports company Puma. This year, Cobra Golf and Hewlett Packard have developed a groundbreaking new golf product that will change the game of golf forever. They have developed the first-ever, mass-produced 3D printed golf club, using 3D Metal Jet technology. For this truly historical moment, Cobra and HP needed a partner that could help them announce their new product on a global stage. Since June, The Motion Factory has been hard at work writing, developing and shooting a series of videos all across the state of California to announce their revolutionary new product to the world. We are proud to have earned Cobra and HP’s trust as the chosen production company for a release such as this. This October, the big announcement will be made, and our work will be shown to all, so stay tuned!
New Clients! Mattel, L'Oreal, Essie, NYX & HP
As we continue to grapple with the impact of COVID-19 on our industry, Motion Factory has been hard at work adapting to the current climate and forming fresh working relationships with new clients.
Right at the outset of this pandemic, we got right to work building a custom stage, white cyclorama, and tabletop set for shooting product videography and photography. For the past month we have been busy shooting every single day, focusing primarily on toy product demos for Mattel. This gave us a reason to use our special, experimental lens (Venus Optics Laowa 24mm Probe Lens) designed for macrophotography, which we’ve been having a blast with. Seriously, if you’ve never seen this lens before, look it up. It’s like sticking a GoPro on an anteater.
Additionally, we began multiple animation and post-production projects for L’Oreal, Essie, NYX and Hewlett Packard. Since in-person productions have not been possible for the past month, we’ve been creating new ways to produce branded content with existing assets, stock footage and custom animations created right from home. We feel extremely grateful that we’ve been able to keep busy throughout this lockdown and focus on forming new relationships with new brands. Forward march!
REMOTE PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY COMES TO THE MOTION FACTORY
As coronavirus continues to reshape our world, Motion Factory has been hard at work adapting to the plethora of new challenges set upon us by this unprecedented pandemic. Having cut our chops in the world of documentary film, we were already well-rehearsed in working with minimal crews within tight production schedules. To that extent, our workflow has fit quite well within the latest safe production parameters outlined by the State of California. But we wanted to take things a bit further, so to augment our productions, Motion Factory has begun implementing state-of-the-art, remote broadcasting tools to allow clients to attend our shoots from the safety of their homes or offices. By streaming our shoots live, clients are free to issue feedback and toss out suggestions remotely. Streaming devices are mounted onto RC controlled stands at eye level, so clients have a viewpoint akin to other crew members working on set. This allows us to keep our sets to a bare minimum, which ensures a safe and productive working environemnt. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us for more information on our production guidelines and how we’re staying safe in the workplace.
Motion Factory, Futerra and The Sierra Club Change Minds
For 2021, the Motion Factory has partnered with Futerra, the world’s leading “change agency”, to create a cinematic, awareness film and subsequent ad campaign to push clean energy initiatives and expose the lies of dirty fossil fuels. The combination of Futerra’s unique brand strategies and clever concept development, coupled with The Motion Factory’s 25 years of experience in film production, has resulted in a beautiful short film and ad campaign that is both artful and effective in changing minds. We are particularly proud of this project, as it was created with a barebones crew on a shoestring budget, and yet the images we captured could easily stand up against any multi-million dollar feature film. We poured our hearts and souls into this project and we are very excited to showcase our efforts to the world this July.
Making Frames work with Michael's
The Motion Factory has not slowed down one bit in 2021. Throughout the summer we’ve been hard at work creating new branded documentaries highlighting the designers and artists that work within the custom framing departments of Michael’s craft stores. Last week we had a lot of fun shooting overnight inside a closed-down Michael’s store off La Brea in Los Angeles. We’re all artists here at The Motion Factory, so being locked up inside a giant art store by ourselves was like locking up a kid in a candy shop. The Michael’s team allowed us to pull anything off the shelves that we might need for props or set dressing, so Vanessa (our art director) was in heaven! We had a great time working with everyone at Michael’s. Their staff is made up of genuinely kind and creative people and it was a pleasure to collaborate with them.
Our Operations During COVID-19
The world is grappling with an issue of enormous scale and human impact, and our hearts go out to all who have been affected by the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19).
At Motion Factory we are committed to the health and well-being of our team, clients and the safety of our productions. Our response to the coronavirus pandemic continues to be informed by the guidance of official bodies, scientists and experts including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Our business model is well suited for the new production guidelines issued by the State of California. Working in documentaries we’ve always kept our crews lean. And even working with reduced crew sizes, we continue to have the ability to produce incredibly high-quality content with minimal assets. If you are interested in learning more about our production methods, please speak with our Executive Creative Director, Derek Doublin, for more information.
We are constantly assessing the situation and instituting additional measures as the pandemic evolves. We are closely monitoring all developments related to the coronavirus and are prepared to adjust our operations and procedures as needed to ensure the health and well-being of our team and our clients.
Best of luck to everyone and stay safe out there.
MOTION FACTORY RETURNS TO THE SUPERBOWL
We are proud to announce that Motion Factory will once again return to the Superbowl for the 3rd time, creating branded content for NFL Films and Bluemedia! We will have our crew on the ground for 3 days leading up to the event as well as in the stadium during the game. Stay tuned for more!
