Fotomedia’s creativity was put to the test with this project, funded by AusAID in partnership with Opportunity International Australia and APPEND, to produce a 10 unit financial literacy DVDs for distribution in the Philippines.
Our brief was to make the content fun and engaging for the audience, as the Philippine culture embraces entertaining performances in a light hearted and fun style. Research showed games shows were very popular in the Philippine market, so under the direction of Project Manager, Robyn Robertson, Fast Eddie was created as host of the show with two roving reporters …. Eddie, Get, Set and GO!
In a one week shoot – our crew filmed and recorded talent, sound and overlay for the 120 minute educational DVD. The DVD incorporated teaching pieces, vox pops (word on the streets) and game challenges were used as metaphors, in order to communicate basic financial principals to populations with low literacy rates.
Our proven workflow post-production strategies were implemented, including the full transcription and translation of all interview content and the final production of English subtitles.
Fotomedia’s international work extended to Fiji in 2006 with the execution of Advertising Agency Latitude’s creative with the Twisties campaign. The series of 4 commericials shot in and around Suva was Directed, Filmed and Post Produced by the Fotomedia team.
Technically all the lighting equipment was sourced and aquired in country and the Production Team flew in all the Camera equipment. After an initial creative briefing with the client in Suva, the shoot comenced and was completed within the production timeline.
Fotomedia designed the newsprint style of the TV campaign, with the Agency, employing the same style for all their print material including outdoor and product packaging.
Still frame showcasing newprint style TV Campaign advert
Fotomedia’s capacity to deliver multimedia editing services under challenging post-production conditions is exemplified by work on an unusual commission from global charity Opportunity International UK (OIUK).
A US production crew booked by the aid group to produce a financial literacy DVD for Malawi had failed to deliver a fit product.
While the Malawi footage was shot to an acceptable standard, a botched edit had left the educational requirements of the project unmet; the storytelling and basic communication elements were missing and the film was pieced together from various video formats.
Needing a trusted supplier to resurrect the project, OIUK turned to Fotomedia, who had previously been engaged by the group to produce and direct similar DVDs in Ghana and Uganda.
Fotomedia’s work in Ghana and Uganda had, according to OIUK project manager, exceeded the agency’s expectations, making them the obvious choice for a ‘salvage edit’ on the Malawi project.
“Fotomedia is the absolute best multimedia company I’ve ever worked with”, says OIUK project manager. “They’re as great with guys in Africa as they are with corporates.”
OIUK delivered more than 180 minutes of raw footage to Fotomedia, along with a list of required changes, including structural edits and fresh subtitling, which had been incorrectly translated by the US crew.
“It was very messy, we received files from all over the place and it was obvious the previous crew hadn’t followed any kind of workflow,” says Fotomedia editor Jude Kalman.
Work on the Malawi-shot footage proceeded at Fotomedia’s Gold Coast studio, with sections of the re-edited video delivered online to OIUK for approval and feedback.
The supplied footage was also reformatted into PAL (a television picture format used throughout Africa and Australia) from NTSC (the US format the footage was delivered in).
Fotomedia’s edit included new menus for the DVDs and duplication of more than 400 hard copies. The final edited product proved fit for purpose and exceeded client expectation.
Fotomedia’s capacity to create compelling content that crosses cultural boundaries is perhaps best exemplified by a commission to produce financial literacy DVDs for distribution in Ghana and Uganda.
The work, for the global charity Opportunities International UK (OIUK), was won on tender by Fotomedia ahead of competing bidders from the UK, the US, Australia and Africa.
Both 60 minute educational DVDs were produced and directed by Fotomedia and incorporated pieces to camera, vox pops and choreographed drama scenes, in order to communicate basic financial principals to populations with low literacy rates.
Scripts were worked up in English by Fotomedia alongside OIUK project manager Robyn Robertson, then translated into Twi and Lugandan. Clear visual storytelling, designed in consultation with locals, was employed to communicate key messages across dialects.
“We used a lot of metaphor to explain finance, so instead of talking specifically about ‘loans and borrowing’, we used ‘juggling’ to indicate managing a budget,” says Fotomedia executive producer Peter Crossley.
Fotomedia’s crew overcame the complex logistics of transporting all required production equipment from the Gold Coast to Africa and shooting in some very challenging environments, where security and electrical power were uncertain elements.
Detailed post-production strategies were also implemented by Fotomedia, including the full transcription and translation of all interview content and the production of English subtitles.
OIUK’s Robyn Robertson calls Fotomedia ‘the absolute best multimedia company I’ve ever worked with’.
“They ran exactly to budget, they delivered great value-add suggestions – which saved edit time and our money – and turned around both finished products within four weeks,’’ she says. “Fotomedia are as great with guys in Africa as they are with corporates.”
Fotomedia has been fortunate enough to develop strong professional ties with several clients in Papua New Guinea.
Each relationship has been built on Fotomedia’s reputation for professionalism, creative flexibility and capacity to create compelling video content that crosses cultural boundaries.
PNG NRL Bid
Fotomedia’s first PNG commission was the creation of an emotive four-minute promo film in support of the country’s bid for a franchise in Australia’s National Rugby League competition.
The work was referred by the ex-CEO of the Gold Coast’s Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, who had commissioned Fotomedia for several Gold Coast video production jobs before taking a role with the PNG bid team.
Production involved extensive location work in the challenging shooting environment of PNG, where security issues and the language barrier had to be overcome by Fotomedia crew.
The agency also met with government in-country to establish key messages for the bid and conducted full location surveys ahead of production.
The final product became one of the bid team’s most prized pieces of collateral and literally ‘brought the room to tears’ when it screened at the official bid launch function.
“Rugby league is PNG’s national sport and in the video we had kids, seniors and rugby league players all using this line of ‘800 Tribes, One Heart’,’’ says Williams.
“It really brought the message home that the whole country was together on the bid, all pushing in the same direction.”
Digicel Cup
Fotomedia produced a high-end 45 second television commercial for the Digicel Cup, PNG’s national rugby league competition. Production involved extensive night shooting, with Fotomedia managing the local fire brigade to simulate rain.
► The Digicel Cup – PNG’s Biggest Rugby League Tournerment
Branded Music Video and TVCs
The agency also completed a two-product awareness campaign for, which incorporated a branded music video featuring PNG’s No.1 pop star Honlly Isaac and a 30-second television commercial.
“Your job is to capture and create an atmosphere on screen, so it’s really a matter of interpreting your surroundings,” says Fotomedia creative director Lincoln Williams of shooting in new cultural environments.
“PNG is a very tribal, very vibrant destination; it was easy for us to capture a really earthy, colourful atmosphere because the people are so earthy and colourful.
“And everywhere you go there you find this strong culture of history and tradition, so it was crucial that we represented that in our work.”
We would like to thank you all for a great year! Fotomedia has had the privilege to work on some great projects, special cheers to our valued clients and suppliers. We hope the holiday season brings you much joy!
Here is a staff favourite shortlist of some of our videos from the year. (click to view the videos/articles)
And before we head off on holidays this year, here is the final comment we got to end our year on; from one of our happy international clients.
“Love it, fast paced and engaging even though I can’t speak the lingo. The props, the actors, actresses and support casts clearly enjoyed the experience. The quality of the video is excellent. A great job by a committed team. …….Fast Eddie is the man. This material will be priceless and will bless and impact many.”
~ Mark Daniels
East Asia Regional Director
Opportunity International Australia
Thanks to everyone for all the great feedback this year and we look forwarded to working with you all in the new year.
Happy Holidays!
Fotomedia teamed up with BAM Media to make some noise (Literally!) in a promotional event that took the 500+ lunchtime Brisbane crowd by surprise.
The Fotomedia crew teaming up with BAM Media
The aim of the event was to raise awareness of this year’s Gold Coast 600, and Fotomedia’s brief was to cover the event and produce a video ready for broadcast and online distribution within a 12-hour turn around. Team Vodafone provided the entertainment, a full-blown pit stop at the bottom of the Queen St Mall. At 1:15pm on the 13th October, The roar of Jamie Whincup in the Team Vodafone’s V8 Holden echoed through the city. The camera team (Directed by Lincoln Williams) was well equipped for the lunchtime arrival with a 11-camera set-up.
Camera break down:
3 x GoPro Hero - Pit Crew Helmet cams.
3 x GoPro Hero Car mounts – Wing, driver, front window.
2 EX1’s
3 Sony HDV Z1p
Spot the GoPro!
The execution from all parties involved was crucial. The planning and communication between the Vodafone team and the production crew was timed to perfection, to coincide with a largely unaware city lunchtime crowd. Lincoln explained,” I think when that first rattle gun echoed through the heart of the city, it was game on, we called action for the camera crew and it all happened very quickly.”
Jamie Whincup hammering down Edward St
Jamie screamed down Edward St (thanks the to Brisbane police) completely silencing the hustle and bustle of the busy lunchtime. The massive crowd watched in awe as the pit crew performed a driver change and a swapped a full set of tyres. Within a few seconds Team Vodafone’s co driver Andrew Thompson was buckled in and roared off into the distance. At this point the entire crowd erupted with applause and hooting still trying to make sense of it all.
Fotomedia Director - Lincoln 'Tough Guy' Williams
Fotomedia had the task to compile all the footage and get the edit started. The crew had a mobile edit suite running two machines in Brisbane and on the drive back to the Gold Coast and into the night. ”The biggest challenge was managing and ingesting all the files from 11 sources, splitting them across 2 machines and also making the files available for the (Bam Media) VNR for TV, as well as producing a high impact viral edit within the shortest time possible.” Lincoln said.
The next morning the public woke to the news stories and this viral campaign from V8SuperCars. Leading up to the beginning of the Gold Coast 600 one week after it’s release on youtube, the video had received in excess of 50,000 hits.
Toto Communications and Fotomedia recently flew over to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to film and direct this 45 second TVC for the Digicel Cup, PNG’s National Rugby League Competition.
Kick off!
Toto Communications brief was to create an emotive 45 second television commercial that captures the essence of the rubgy league culture of Papua New Guinea. They wanted us to incorporate water and a brewing storm to represent the coming together of all the teams in the Digicel Cup. Having equipment restrictions due to weight, we chose to use Cannon 7D and Cannon 5D mkII. The brief requested slomo of the water, so the 7D in 1280 mode, 50 frp was a good “light weight” option to achieve this.
The Hohola Kids
The two key locations for the shoot were both based in Port Moresby. The day shoot was in a small village area in Hohola. The kids were really excited to get in front of the camera and show us some of their Rugby skills.
Let it rain!
The script called for rain, so with the help of the local fire brigade, we were able to simulate the stormy environment we needed to help achieve the overall mood of the TVC. The simulation of rain gave us some great opportunities for mixing slow-motion with wet fields and high energy sport.
Behind the scenes in the locker room
Digicel had organized a captain from each team, to represent their region in the TVC. The players told us they felt very blessed to be a part of this project, they really wanted the younger generations to be inspired by what they were doing on and off the field. It was nice to hear this kind of passion for their local communities and how strongly they felt about putting positive focus on the kids in their area.
On location with the Fotomedia
The commercial is currently playing on PNG national television.
Fotomedia is now a provider of AutoCue / Teleprompting services for the Television, Corporate Video, TVCs, Documentaries, Webcast and Conference industries.
We mount the AutoCue system on the same tripod as the camera, therefore allowing you to look directly at the camera whilst reading your script. The camera shoots directly through the AutoCue screen assisting to develop a slick and confident presentation.
Contact us to discuss our competitive rates. Fotomedia offer a full autocue / teleprompter rental package including experienced operators, camera or conference display equipment which will be customized to your needs and job requirements.
