December 3, 2021
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Author

Lucky 21

From the directors to the production team, Lucky 21 pursues creativity with a great voracity, bringing a contagious energy and tireless drive to each collaboration. They’ll admit to being obsessed with what they do, and why not? At the end of the day, giving everything they’ve got just comes with the territory. That territory is a complex landscape where hilarity, performance, and striking vistas thrive.


Production
The Salvation Army Helps People “Keep It Going” In New PSA | Produced by Camp Lucky For Agency LERMA/
Lucky 21 Posted On December 2, 2021


Camp Lucky is honored to help bring to life The Salvation Army’s new giving campaign PSA, “Keep It Going.” The film, via agency LERMA/ and directed by Jeff Bednarz, is a holiday tribute to the families The Salvation Army serves. It features real people who face critical choices and still continue to move forward. The film is an authentic, compassionate look at the challenges many face and highlights that when you give, hope marches on.

Camp Lucky Director Jeff Bednarz, who has collaborated on previous projects for The Salvation Army, explains, “The Salvation Army threw open their arms to welcome us in, as did the people who are their clients who we feature in the piece. We wanted to make this moment a special one and honor the hard work and dedication of both the Army and their clients.”

As noted on The Salvation Army’s website, millions of Americans are still reeling from the ongoing impacts of the pandemic. People from all walks of life were pushed into poverty for the first time – joining the millions who were already struggling to make ends meet. “Keep it Going,” describes, through moments that are both simple and poignant, how vulnerable families and individuals often face impossible choices between bills, rent and food.

Bednarz describes Bill Cochran’s script as the guiding light of the PSA, allowing for the documentary process on location in Chicago to “reveal the magic moments.” Those moments were carefully curated and interwoven in the edit by Camp Lucky’s Sai Selvarajan with whom Bednarz has worked on a variety of projects. Camp Lucky also provided color, audio and finishing support for the moving project.

Project Credits:

Agency: LERMA/
David Morring: ECD-Principal
ECD/Writer: Bill Cochran
ECD/Art Director: Brian Linder
Broadcast Producer: Kathy Fawcett Martin
Brand Management/Principal: Jon Lee
Brand Management: Cassidy Wren & Chelsea Sweat
Business Affairs: Melissa Sinkoski

Production + Post: Camp Lucky
Director: Jeff Bednarz
Executive Producer: Brandon Tapp
Editor: Sai Selvarajan
Assistant Editor: Katian Kerr
Post Production Executive Producer: Jessica Berry
Line Producer : Evan Murphy
Audio: Matt Cimino
Color: Neil Anderson
Finish: Mark Sullivan


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Production
Richards Partners with Camp Lucky for Rallying Video “Hope Rises: Rebuilding Greenville, CA
Lucky 21 Posted On November 18, 2021


The Dixie Fire — one of the largest, most destructive wildfires in California’s history — reduced towns, homes, and lives to ashes. And yet, hope remains. In that spirit, Hope Rises is an organized effort to help rebuild the community and town of Greenville, California and the surrounding communities of Plumas County that were destroyed by the fires. The effort is the work of The Richards Group which delivered strategy, creative, and in-house production, and partnered with Camp Lucky to provide post production services for the centerpiece PSA.

The Richards Group’s involvement with developing the initiative was inspired by agency creative writer Jay Cook, who is originally from Greenville and witnessed her close-knit town devastated by wildfire. Rallying around the community, The Richards Group’s production team traveled to California while the fires were still underway and worked with local authorities on safe ways to shoot the videos and produce the content. Camp Lucky was honored to lend support with editorial, color, graphics and sound design & mix for the powerful call to action. 

Donate

DIRECTED BY:
Paul Nelson & Ben Winter

Agency: THE RICHARDS GROUP
Glenn Dady, Chief Executive Officer
Sue Batterton, Chief Creative Officer
Sean Donovan, Chief Innovation Officer
Chris Ferrel, Chief Strategy Officer
Paul Nelson, Head of TRG Studios
Cassie Greenwald, Senior Producer
Sara Sax, Director, Business Affairs
Kerstin Fredrickson, Business Affairs, Print
Corey Austin, Head of Creative Technology
Danny Bryan, Group Creative Director
Arthur Stewart, Brand Creative, Art Director
Sam Langford, Brand Creative, Art Director
Jay Cook, Brand Creative, Writer
Whitney Plonka, Brand Management

Post: CAMP LUCKY
Tammie Kleinmann, Partner
Jessica Berry, Executive Producer
Kendall Kendall & Jennifer Brannon, Post Producer
Marc Stone, Senior Editor
Neil Anderson, Colorist
Mark Sullivan & Tim Nagle, Flame Artist
Seth Olson, Graphics
Matt Cimino, Sound Design/Mix
Jake Odgers & Matt Fritsche, Assistant Editor

Music: STOREFRONT MUSIC
Adam Elk, Partner
B Muñoz, Head of Production
John “Scrapper” Sneider, Partner
Kari Steinert, Composer


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Post-production  / Production
Lucky 21 and Lucky Post Go To Camp Lucky
Lucky 21 Posted On June 1, 2021


Sister companies Lucky 21 and Lucky Post have officially united as collective studio Camp Lucky a place where creativity and lasting relationships thrive.

Camp Lucky brings together Lucky’s directors, designers, animators, visual effects artists, editors, color, and audio talent under one roof and moniker. The organic evolution delivers creative dimension and ideation, flexibility and fluid collaborations, with the considered togetherness that is evoked in its Camp Lucky namesake.

“This move to be a complete 360 collection was realized only through our ability to listen to our clients,” says CEO Tammie Kleinmann. “For 33 years now, our mission has been to make our clients successful. As one of the founders of two stand-alone companies, Lucky 21 and Lucky Post, it has become crystal clear, our clients need us to be a complete team of collaborators and artists in order to achieve their missions, our only mission. This move is unique in our industry in that we have two fully developed companies – aligned philosophically from the start- coming together as one. This is our merger of expertise for the sole benefit of making our clients successful.”

Expanded content opportunities and the needs for brands to strategically connect with audiences has shaped the direction of Camp Lucky. Rather than being all things to all collaborators, Camp Lucky is about being resource-minded and craft-forward. It’s a model that can be integrated specifically to suit the project or creative brief; That process can start as early as the spark of an idea or lend the finishing shine on a piece of content in any format. Additionally, the Camp Lucky studio model allows talent with a multitude of skills to transcend a single creative discipline.

“Coming together affords us the ability to approach projects more holistically, with a clearer view of the overall scope and scale,” notes EP Brandon Tapp. “Turning our focus on the bigger picture creates efficiencies as we move projects across multiple disciplines with a seamless and succinct flow of communication. Simply put, we’re more nimble—this translates to savings for our clients while simultaneously providing an environment where creative can thrive from inception to delivery under one roof.”

Camp Lucky is designed to be a partner to agencies, brands, and content producers in both advertising and entertainment


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Director  / Production
Lucky 21 Welcomes Award-Winning Directors Ben Steinbauer & Berndt Mader
Lucky 21 Posted On October 7, 2020


Lucky 21 is excited to unite with directors Ben Steinbauer and Berndt Mader for advertising and branded content collaborations. At Lucky 21, Steinbauer and Mader join a talent roster that reflects a variety of genres and styles.

Mader and Steinbauer were introduced to Lucky 21 via mutual friend and Lucky sales representative Gay Guthrey (SamuelGuthrey). As Steinbauer explains, “Our decision to join the Lucky squad is all about people. Lucky’s impeccable relationship with crew members – many of whom we work with frequently – and their shared interest in creating a joyful, collaborative atmosphere on set, preceded our meeting. When we started talking it quickly became clear how much we shared.”

“Texas is a place of vibrant creativity, and Ben and I were both drawn to Austin to be a part of this hotbed of indie filmmaking,” adds Mader. “To join forces with Lucky, beloved in Texas and beyond, is an expansion for all of us – a deeper connection that will only intensify what we will create together.”

Steinbauer & Mader are widely known for their creative endeavors via The Bear, a creative incubator founded by Mader and Steinbauer over a decade ago. Formed to unite the branded content and feature worlds, The Bear continues to thrive as a vibrant hub for content, and is a complement to their national commercial representation as individual directors via Lucky.

Berndt Mader came to directing through writing and his approach is defined by a desire to add value and dimension while having fun in the process. Mader’s branded content storytelling includes performance-driven comedy and docu-style projects including Yeti “Soul of a City” a finalist for the Tribeca X Film Award, as well as commercials for Dodge, Budweiser, and Alfa Romeo. He has also directed the hybrid documentary/narrative feature Booger Red (Austin Film Festival) and the quirky and original coming-of-age film 5 Time Champion (SXSW).

Ben Steinbauer’s passion for documentary storytelling with comedic underpinnings earned appreciative audiences and critical acclaim for his documentary cult classic Winnebago Man (which Michael Moore called “One of the funniest documentaries ever made!”). Relatability and a sense of discovery are ever-present in his work for Popeyes, Indeed, Yeti, Crate & Barrel and Whole Foods, among others. He traverses the landscape of short-form to features fluidly, with episodic television credits and his Vimeo Staff pick documentaries Slow to Show, Calls To Okies and Heroes From The Storm.

In addition to advertising projects, the duo is co-directing a feature documentary for David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jody Hill’s Rough House Pictures (HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones,” “Vice Principles” and “Eastbound & Down,” and feature films Halloween, Joe, The Comedy, and Prince Avalanche, among others.).

Find out more about Lucky 21 at http://www.lucky21.us/


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Animation
Lucky Post Editor Sai Selvarajan’s Animated Film “Coup d’état Math” Wins SXSW Special Jury Recognition
Lucky 21 Posted On March 31, 2020


Part of MailChimp Presents: Support The Shorts

Though this year’s SXSW in person event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the film festival has announced 2020 award winners, among them “Coup d’état Math,” the animated short film written and directed by Sai Selvarajan, which earned Special Jury Recognition: Texas Short. The festival described its decision to award the honor thusly: “Coup D’etat Math is an inventive and complex film about the struggles of the refugee community. The social realism captured in the film’s animation adds an element of vulnerability and rawness to the storyline. Sai’s intentional and thoughtful approach is illustrated in every detail of the film. It presents a rich visual tapestry of mixed media combining animation and live-action with gripping stories of pathos and human resilience.” The film is also a featured project on MailChimp Presents Support The Shorts.

The film depicts four immigrant stories — a fight to be born, a fight to survive, a fight to find your place, and the fight to maintain. In collaboration with fine artists Amanda Selvarajan and Olivia Saldivar, Selvarajan applied distinct visual language to each narrative and journey, for a truly unique viewing experience.

In his online acceptance speech, director Selvarajan thanked his collaborators for helping bring this labor of love to life, along with his appreciation to SXSW for the award. He further noted, “I’d just like to say to all the immigrants out there keep fighting, your struggle is our struggle. And lastly please everyone stay strong out there. Hope is a very powerful word. Keep hope alive.”

Selvarajan has developed a body of short film work that speaks to the truth of people that are often misunderstood and underrepresented. “Coup d’état Math” was conceived shortly after the Trump administration announced what became known as a Muslim Ban. In the face of the increasing demonization of immigrants, Selvarajan knew it was a pivotal moment to tell his story and others that help describe the journey people undertake.

Just as each immigrants’ story is unique, so too is each narrative in the short film. Watercolor paintings were created by Amanda Selvarajan with whom he collaborated on the short film “Sugarless Tea”; longtime friend Olivia Saldivar created the illustrations and wood cuts. Together, with the help of his colleagues at Dallas-based Lucky Post, where he is an editor, they united four narratives into one including audio with voices from different cultures that provide both distinctiveness and commonalities. The result demonstrates that the immigrant experience is not singular; it is connected by a fundamental desire to live without fear or persecution, to rise from poverty, and find a sense of belonging.


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Editor  / Post-production
Lucky Post Embraces “The Little Things” For JCPenney’s New Holiday Campaign
Lucky 21 Posted On November 25, 2019


The new campaign for JCPenney reminds viewers to remember the little things – special moments and small gestures that make the holidays a special time. The little things are also small children, eager to embrace the magic of the season and welcome it with helping hands and smiling faces. In one of the spots a mother of a young boy eagerly doing chores asks, “What’s gotten into him?” The answer? Christmas.

The campaign was directed by Don Broida of Spears & Arrows and edited by Lucky Post’s Logan Hefflefinger for JCPenney’s in-house agency. As the entire campaign is comprised of :15 second spots, Logan explains that he started with the hero moment in each, reverse engineering the edit to build a story to effectively fit into the small space of time while allowing the reveal to breathe.

“It was a great collaboration,” Logan relates. “The agency team concepted the campaign around these quick, relatable moments and were decisive and supportive throughout. The edit was built on visual language that quickly builds to reveal each hero moment – one that connects with the playful, family-centric experiences that are part of the holidays.”

Lucky Post also provided audio, color, graphics and finish to help deliver this sweet holiday package.

Client: JCPenney
Creative Director: Lucinda Simmons
Senior Creative Manager/Copy: Candyce Vanterpool
Senior Creative Manager/Art: Josh Schoemaker
Executive Producer: Kathleen Torres

Production Company: Spears & Arrows
Director: Don Broida
Executive Producer: Jason Wolk

Post: Lucky Post
Editor: Logan Hefflefinger
Assistant Editor: Jake Odgers
Executive Producer: Jessica Berry
Graphics: Seth Olson, Ryan Wilson, Jake Odgers
Audio: Scottie Richardson
Color: Neil Anderson
Finish: Mark Sullivan


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Production
Air Studios Opens Swanky Production Studio in Dallas Design District
Lucky 21 Posted On May 22, 2019


Freshly Launched 18,000 Square Foot Production Studio Elevates Productions With Multiple Stages, Production Offices & A Premiere Prep Kitchen

Air Studios has officially launched in Dallas’ vibrant Design District. With over eighteen thousand square feet, the studio features soundstages with state-of-the-art grip and electric packages, turnkey production offices, and a professional tabletop prep kitchen.

“Air Studios was founded by production experts who put all of the things they’ve craved in a studio over the years into one place. It’s a dream set up for any size production,” explains Air Studios Manager/Representative Summer Whitley. “We love being a resource for local and out of town productions alike and we aim to infuse that enthusiasm into each experience here.”

Air Studios offer two soundstages—Little Air and Big Air.

Big Air is 3,500 square feet with a two wall/ compound cyclorama and an eighteen-foot grid. It is drive-on capable and houses a scissor lift for easy rigging. Also on stage and available for rent is a state of the art motion control for precise movement of any shot.

Big Air Studio

Little Air is just over 1,100 square feet. With a cyclorama width, Little Air is perfect for any smaller scale photography, video, or greenscreen shoots. It is also available for use as a casting facility, with pre-installed hanging kino-flos ready to go at the flip of a switch.

Little Air Studio

When renting out either stage, productions are given use of: clean and spacious shared kitchen, a production office, vanities, and the front reception area including the fishbowl conference room.

What truly sets Air Studios apart is the newly installed tabletop prep kitchen. Designed with foodies and food shoots in mind, the prep kitchen is fully stocked with equipment, devices and utensils for any food shoot. This clean, well-lit space is equipped with monitors to view a live camera feed.

Independent of the stages, Air Studios offers four single or double desk offices, as well as two larger “production pits.” Two clean and comfortable conference rooms supplied with speakerphones and monitors are perfect for pre-production meetings or conference calls. The larger Client Conference Room can double as a video village and is ready to stream live picture from either stage with the click of a button.

Grip and electric packages at Air are available through by Electric Light & Power Co. Camera bodies and accessories can also be rented through Air, provided by 4:4:4 Camera.

For more on Air Studios, please visit: airstudios.us


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Advertising
Dallas’ Advertising Industry Comes Together To Support Local Community Organization: Bonton Farms
Lucky 21 Posted On April 25, 2019


Many Seeds Of Change Bring Awareness To Bonton Farms

Bonton Farms is redefining community in its neighborhood in South Dallas in unique ways. Among them, utilizing the wider community of supporters, including the Dallas advertising community, to help make an impact. Over the past year, Element Ad 2 and AICP member companies, including Lucky 21 and Lucky Post, came together on a journey of discovery that would ultimately result in a pro-bono 360 awareness campaign for the organization. The campaign underscores “Redefining Community” to show that Bonton Farms isn’t just about food. It’s a collective effort to highlight and address systemic inequity.

Bonton is located in a South Dallas neighborhood where poverty is rampant, jobs are scarce, and access to what many people take for granted is limited; a school, for instance, or a place to purchase groceries. A mere seven minute drive from downtown Dallas, Bonton residents have a 58% higher risk of cancer and a 61% higher risk of stroke than the rest of the metroplex.  Still, it is a place of hope where residents and transplants have come together to help make meaningful change.

At the heart of this movement is Bonton Farms. Since its establishment, Bonton Farms has expanded from a hands-on place of sustenance and education to a 40-acre center with a market and resources that help residents pursue job opportunities, open businesses, maintain housing stability, and provide education to their families.

Element Ad 2 – a consortium of advertising professionals who work on an annual pro-bono campaign as part of their Ad 2 membership – took up the challenge to communicate the multifaceted ways in which Bonton Farms and neighborhood locals are making change.  The goal is to provide viewers with a greater understanding of the socioeconomic inequalities present in Dallas, and to drive support for Bonton Farms.

“I’ve always said that once you are exposed to an issue, you have two choices: pretend it doesn’t exist – which is very hard to do – or help,” says neighborhood resident and Bonton Farms founder Daron Babcock. “The more people really see, the greater the involvement. So to have this investment of energy and talent in telling our bigger story is really vital to being a catalyst for change.”

For the people involved in making the campaign, the process began with firsthand experience at Bonton Farms, absorbing, listening, volunteering, and understanding. From there, the team at Element Ad 2 developed a digital and broadcast campaign, including spots produced in partnership with production company Lucky 21 and Lucky Post.

“Bonton Farms touches so many lives, and is helping to turn around a largely ignored neighborhood with hard work and hope,” comments Creative Director McKenzie Teng. “Our goal was to provide Bonton Farms with 360 branding to help communicate their mission and story. It’s a life-changing organization, ours included.”

“Working on this campaign was electric – you could feel the energy and passion from everyone involved,” says Lucky Post Editor Sai Selvarajan. “Having volunteered at Bonton Farms, I understood how they are working holistically to address change – and am excited to contribute to a campaign that further amplifies the message and the importance of what they do.”

Credits:

Element Ad 2:
McKenzie Teng, Creative Director (Citrus Advertising)
Christin Workman, Creative Director (Publicis Hawkeye)
Parnia Tahamzedeh, Art Director (Publicis Hawkeye)
Labri Heaton, Art Director (Freelance)
David Taylor, Copywriter (Tracey Locke)
Adam Johnson, Copywriter (Publicis Hawkeye)
Chelsey White, Account Service (Saatchi & Saatchi)
Jessica Tran, Project Manager (The Richards Group)
Kira Stearns, Media Director (Zimmerman Advertising)
Ethan Bailey, Strategist (Resolution Media)
Kelsey Damon, Brand Strategist (The Richards Group)
Cali Thompson, Digital Strategist (Hostway/HOSTING)
Stephanie Murdoch, Mentor (TM Advertising)

Production: Lucky 21
Andrew Ryan Shepherd, Director

Post: Lucky Post
Sai Selvarajan, Editor
Jake Odgers, Assistant Editor
Seth Olson, Graphics
Neil Anderson, Color
Scottie Richardson, Audio Engineer
Jessica Berry, Executive Producer:

Music: Joey Kendall

Photographer: Christina Childress


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Director
Lucky 21’s Norry Niven Shares Fun Details on Directing Promos for 2nd Season of Fox’s Smash Hit “The Four”
Lucky 21 Posted On May 30, 2018


Plus Comedy with Fergie on Monster L.A. Shoot

The two day shoot was in L.A. at SmashBox Studios. I had the honor to direct and interview, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Fergie, DJ Khalid and the amazing Meghan Trainor along with the FOUR main performers for FOX’s second season of THE FOUR, a singing competition show.

FOX Vice President, Julio Cabral, was the creative behind the vision on this campaign and was key to the look and design of what was filmed. Julio and I have worked together on many amazing projects over the past decade, he’s truly a creative partner for some of my best work.

This is the second time I’ve worked with these celebs and loved this experience even more, as Diddy and team were a lot more comfortable with me and with the show. It’s much more defined now compared to when we filmed the first time, the show really hadn’t been shot yet.

We shot three cameras, Arri Alexa Anamorphics and filmed on four stages, had 6 motor homes and a crew of more than a hundred…it was a big shoot.  Post is handled internally at FOX but I’m cutting a “director’s cut” with Republic Editorial here in Dallas.  The second unit in L.A. was masterfully handled by King Hollis and the great steady-cam operator Manolo while A Unit was handled by the legendary Hollywood based DP, Ray Peschke and Dallas’ own Bongani Mlambo. Producer for the production was Diana Bland.

One unique highlight for me was getting to film a comedy piece with Fergie for FOX Sports, where she and I had some lead time to rehearse and get her performance in the right place, she is hysterical and a gifted actor….on top of being a mega star singer…must be nice to have that much talent.

Watch Promos…

https://youtu.be/JB2_65RpwJg

 


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Director
Norry Niven with Lucky21 Shoots Promotional Spot for The Four | Fox’s Hot New Singing Competition
Lucky 21 Posted On January 16, 2018


Norry Niven with Lucky 21 was chosen to direct the promotional commercial for “The Four,” the latest singing competition airing on Fox. The celebrities Norry directed included the show’s panel of experts: Fergie, Black Eyed Peas stand out solo star, P. “Diddy” Combs,  an American rapper icon, DJ Khaled, a famous A&R man (artist and repertoire),  Meghan Trainor, an American singer and songwriter (All About That Bass), and last but not least, Charlie Walk, President of Republic Records.

The Four is a new twist on television singing competition. Its main difference is that there are no auditions on stage. The artists, aka challengers, are held in a holding room before they sing in front of the judges and studio audience. The panel ultimately chooses the best candidates to compete against “The Four” and their decision must be unanimous. The vocalists must win challenges against new artists competing for their seat on The Four and at the end of six weeks the last singer standing wins.

Prior to shooting for the spot, Norry and his crew also designed the sets for the show. He used Ray Peschke for his DP and Manolo Rojas for his SteadiCam Operator.

Check it out THE FOUR BEGINS below.


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