Thank you to all our clients that made 2022 a banner year for SC Pictures. We are looking forward to creating compelling visuals in 2023.
We thought we’d share a fun back-story on a Unilever Men’s Grooming Coordinator project that came dangerously close to not happening.
During the bidding process, the agency stipulated the part of the “Grooming Coordinator” spokesperson be a celebrity football player and needed to trust we could pull a convincing performance out of him. We thought that would be a piece of cake.
However, after we were awarded the project, the agency’s first choice for the spokesperson got into some “bad-boy” trouble on social media and was nixed. Then their backup became a liability as well. Suddenly, the project was jeopardized because the client was hesitant to cast any football celebrity who could potentially also get damaging publicity that could negatively reflect on the brand.
No first down yet.
Fortunately, our suggestion to simply cast an actor in the role, was approved at the 11th hour. Our in-house casting team spent a frenzied 48 delivering a half dozen solid spokesperson choices for agency review and one was chosen.
Problem solved!
As the side dramas unfolded, our production designer moved forward with conceptualizing the set. The preliminary sketches kept it non-descript enough to look like any college locker room, but flexible enough to achieve all the angles needed for the shoot.
One for the home team!
Another major hurdle was choosing the team colors, as we couldn’t portray allegiance to any specific team. It was quite a process to get all parties to agree, but it was ultimately decided the color blue, was neutral enough. Serendipitously, that was the only fabric color our supplier could get in time for the shoot.
We’d cleared another one!
Our next challenge was shooting all four videos and numerous stills which included a Standee in a single, production day. Like most shoot days, they kind of blur by, and this was no exception. With our super tight schedule, we were lucky the talent delivered with style and effortless grace, and the set worked seamlessly with a few tweaks here and there.
Score!
It was decided the last shot would be the “Grooming Coordinator” sitting in an ice bath, figuring he’d be done after that, even if it was fake ice.
Not exactly a Gatorade shower, but we counted it as a big win!
We are very proud our SCPictures team who super-hustled to put this project together. The client was thrilled the campaign was a success. And because there was leftover AXE, we were all smelling like teenagers weeks after the shoot.
-Stewart Cohen, Director, SCPictures
Watch spots…
Recently, I received a storyboard from David Farmer, of Ad Giants, who I’ve known and collaborated with for years. The project was for the City of Mansfield, to stimulate economic development. The script was using reverse psychology by telling people not to move there. After looking at it I said, “No way,” but he insisted that the campaign was sold and the city manager had signed off on it. So, I said, “I’m in.”
Farmer engaged Stuart Hill as the writer and called his friends at ASA Productions out of Atlanta, to write the music. The client liked the musical concept so you will notice Broadway similarities, kind of like “The Music Man”.
We scouted the City of Mansfield and although we had grandiose plans for the shoot like marching bands in the street and stuff like that, the budget just wouldn’t allow for it.
So, we decided that most of the choreography could be shot within a one block area on Main Street using an improve group. We had used this improve team before on a Frito-Lay project with Garth Brooks and they’d done an amazing job.
We wanted it to be very sketch comedy, so we gave the actors the parameters on each script and then just let them do their thing while covering it with three cameras.
After filming, Mark Hoffmeister was selected to edit it. His timing was impeccable. When David and team showed it to the clients, they loved it, including the part when the actress adlibbed a line about using her naked husband to keep people away from Mansfield. I thought no way was that going to fly, but it did.
A week or so after we delivered, I heard that someone on the school board said, “But what do you mean? We WANT students to come here.” They didn’t get it. It escalated and someone on the City Council complained to another city official, and then it spiraled downhill from there. David and the client presented it to different council members at different meetings. They sold hard, we thought, our ally, another city official was going to lose his job. David was lobbying so hard that he stood up at a City Council meeting and asked, “Why would you spend all this money and not use this campaign? “
We are still waiting on the final word as to if it will actually see the light of day.
Evidently other municipalities have also used the whole reverse psychology thing and been quite successful.
We did get permission to show it so at least we can all enjoy it here.
It was a blast making the project come to life and we do believe that ultimately it will be a very successful campaign for the city of Mansfield. How will local politicians vote on it?? Only time will tell.
Stewart Cohen of SC Pictures is a a well-known director/photographer who has been in DFW for over 20 years. He has earned his stellar reputation by approaching each project with a trained eye and a desire to create beautiful imagery for his growing stable of clientele.
His work encompasses a vast array of subjects that capture the true essence of the famous to the ordinary. Whether what is needed is lifestyle, portrait, storytelling or humor, companies like Gatorade, United Way, Whataburger, American Airlines, Dickies, Honda, Pizza Hut, Baylor Scott & White and other less known ones, have trusted SC Pictures to tell their story.
AdChat DFW’s Patty Harrison grabbed a moment for an “QuickChat” with Stewart, and had a blast getting to know him a little better. What a nice guy!
Also, Stewart was kind enough to share his SC Pictures’ year end video, that recaps their 2021 productions.
Check them both out…
It’s that time of year when everyone is abuzz with back to school excitement. What does this conjure up for you visually? I think it depends on how old your children are, right? Think about it. The first day of school will mean lots of different things throughout the years. The first day of school in kindergarten brings new clothes, new haircuts, new book bags, and excitement. From enthusiasm in second grade to dread in middle school, anxiety the first year of high school, and so on. Then college brings its own set of emotions and life changes. Well, it is the time of year again to get back to school . . .
With my daughters, I took a picture the first day of every school year before getting into the car to head to school. Before this post, I had never before put them all together or printed anything, it was the thought of them that created the memories. Both of my girls are now in college and some of the best back-to-school experiences for me recently have been the “off to college for the first time trips”. I was able to convince each daughter that a dad/daughter road trip was in order to get them to their respective destinations before their freshman years. They each agreed, granted in different years with different destinations.
Each trip we planned had a solid five days of driving, exploring, hiking, more driving, listening to music, etc. Luckily, they both go to school on the west coast so there were some great itineraries to be found. We got real maps and they both loved the experience of looking at physical maps vs their phones. The road trip possibilities from looking at maps stirred more wanderlust. I remember driving across Utah and hearing a comment from the passenger seat, “Wow, I had no idea there was so much space out here”. For families who regularly fly around the country, the road trip has become a lost adventure.
So this year when my younger daughter asked to take her car to school, the only stipulation was that I get to do another drive with her. She agreed, so I had another road trip to look forward to. This time she planned it all, the stops, the hikes, the attractions. It was amazing. She was also in charge of provisioning the car, so we ended up with more snacks than a college lacrosse team could have consumed in a week. She also made sure that she stocked up on my drink of the summer called “Celius” – it is a super energy drink if you haven’t tried it.
Little did she know that the excitement and anticipation of back to school were now resting with her dad. I enjoyed it so much that I convinced my other daughter to plan a quick four-day Labor Day road trip in her neck of the woods so we could hang out and do more exploring.
My point is, back to school doesn’t need to end. These are special moments, to take the pictures and savor the moments you will never regret or forget.
SC Pictures killed two birds with one stone while recently shooting a spot for their SDG&E client. Since they were following the Texas Film Commission guidelines anyway, they decided to produce a shoot within a shoot to show the precautions they take to keep client, cast and crew safe. We asked Stewart Cohen, Director/Owner at SC Pictures about the shoot and the video.
AdChat DFW: Why did you make this video specifically about shooting safely during COVID-19?
Stewart: We were producing this project so I figured that we should take the opportunity to film this and get the message out to our clients and friends and show how we are getting back to work in a safe manner.
AdChat DFW: What have been your biggest challenges to meet the Texas Film Commission guidelines?
Stewart: The biggest challenge has really been getting adjusted to working under these different conditions. I will just say that I hope it is not the new normal and this passes soon.
AdChat DFW: How much fun is it to be back at it?
Stewart: It is a lot of fun to be back on set. You know, after a day shooting you remember why we do what we do, and how much fun it actually is.
Also, I think that future work is going to get much better since everyone has stepped off the treadmill for a second and have been forced to reassess our true directions.
AdChat DFW: On another note, it’s exciting that you’ve added Jodi James as your new representative for SC Pictures.
Stewart: We are very excited to have Jodi onboard. We’ve worked with her for many years at StudioTribe and know that she is a great fit for us. Her knowledge and expertise will lend well to show off our work.
Here’s a little bio on her.
SC Pictures is now represented by local Artists’ Rep, Jodi James. For those that don’t know her already, Jodi has worked in the creative production industry for years and continues to represent StudioTribe, a local post-production studio. “Adding Stewart and his team to my roster just felt like a great idea as clients continue to look for turnkey solutions for content creation,” Jodi states. “Stewart has vast experience in lifestyle photography and commercial production both on location and in-studio. That paired with the post-production services that StudioTribe offers (retouching, video editing, & color, animation, CGI & visual fx for motion), equips me to partner with clients to produce projects of all scales and for any medium.” Jodi looks forward to introducing (or re-introducing in many cases) SC Pictures’ book of work to DFW agencies and corporations as the area continues to grow. If you have any inquiries or would like to collaborate on how to produce your next project, you can email Jodi at jodi@stewartcohen.com.
Watch the video.
The Cosmopolitan Hotel‘s CMO, Tom Evans, requisitioned Stewart Cohen to shoot this dark and quirky campaign because of his photographer/director hybrid talent. He, in conjunction with local Las Vegas media and public relation firm B&P Advertising, shot the campaign on site at the Vegas hotel and ended up with a jackpot of motion and stills… fabulosity.
