If you’ve walked through the doors of Videobred, chances are there’s been at least one four legged companion roaming the halls.  Steve’s dog Archie literally just walked up to my desk.  We’re dog people here at the ‘Bred.  We love our dogs and we love bringing them to work.  That’s why I was so excited when I met Sunny for the first time. She came in the lobby just as excited and happy to meet us as we were to meet her.  Sunny, as some might recall, was the pit bull that was thrown off the Clark Memorial Bridge in July 2009.  Kelsey Westbrook rescued and adopted sweet Sunny. Saving Sunny Inc, a non-profit organization founded by Westbrook, rescues, shelters, and finds new homes for abused and neglected dogs. Saving Sunny Inc. also dedicates their time to promoting “public education about responsible dog ownership, spay/neuter, and reporting animal abuse, neglect, and dog fighting.”

Our team could not be happier to help Westbrook, and her tireless crew, promote their message and mission to the community.  In December, we followed them to Crestwood Elementary where Westbrook spoke to the students about the dangers of stereotyping, what you should do if you see animal abuse, and how these sweet and loving dogs need a good home just like any breed.  As you can see in the above picture, the kids loved Sunny and she loved them right back.

We are excited to document this organization’s journey, through a video mission statement that will live on the Saving Sunny website. Stay tuned for the final project. My hope is that by seeing the story of Saving Sunny, you will be inspired by their strength, dedication, and most importantly their fight to save these voiceless victims.  Please check out SavingSunnyInc.org to learn more about Sunny’s story, and  Westbrook’s blog about the “Unsaveable Six.” Learn how you can help in their efforts to give love to dogs who some said did not deserve it.

http://www.savingsunnyinc.org/

For this project we were lucky enough to partner with producer/director Kay Milam of Donna Lawrence Productions, to create a short video documenting the history and growth of the company. With so much history to cover, this project required an all-hands-on-deck approach. The team combined elegant interviews shot on location, by Brian Cunningham, with archival images and motion graphic treatments.

Sorting through hours of photos, footage and news clippings, to bring the story to life is quite a task. Steve Hurst and Chris Johnson worked together to piece it all together. “I loved working on this project. It was a perfect team effort that allowed each person to truly focus on what they are best at,” Johnson reflects.

Annie Ratterman’s guidance as producer and Hurst’s “unshakeable calmness” Johnson said, allowed for a successful completion of the video. The final product was shown to the entire Humana staff in the Yum! Center, to which David Jones, Jr. said was a difficult act to follow.

I’d say that’s a job well done. Click over to our portfolio to see for yourself!

In short, you might very well have to be crazy to try and accomplish this task.  So this past sunday, over 2,000 certifiably insane (and insanely in-shape) people dedicated anywhere from nine to seventeen hours of their life to achieving the glory of completing the Iron Man challenge.

I was there with a camera, documenting the event and gathering b-roll for future projects including a video for the Louisville Sports Commission.  After a few hours of walking with camera in tow, I was ready to call it quits.  I really don’t know how the athletes felt.

I was also at the finish line to watch the winner sprint back and forth, high-fiving the crowd as he came in to claim his substantial (but undefined to the audience) cash prize.  Then he ripped the finish line down, held it above his head, and proceeded to let out a silent scream of celebration…before sprinting BACK down the line of people for a high-speed victory lap and returning to the finish line for a barely out-of-breath interview.

And as I saw this specimen of human excellence treat one of the most difficult feats known to man as if it were a quick jog across the street, two very clear thoughts came into my mind.  1) I’m terribly out of shape.  And 2) I sure could go for a beer right about now.

I’ve been around Videobred forever. And when I say forever, I literally mean FOREVER. My birth was induced by excessive dancing at a Videobred party. I used to sprint around the office on all fours barking at everyone who passed. I was dangled off the studio balcony by some idiot at my sister’s 13^th birthday party. Now after interning at Videobred for almost three months, I fully understand how the company works, and figured out that the production business is where I want to be. I started my internship as a print journalism major trying to find an industry that wasn’t dying, but still involved communications and media. I couldn’t have asked for a better atmosphere and group of people to be around to figure out my future endeavors. Not only did I learn a ton about production, but I had a killer time while doing so.

When I try to explain Videobred to my friends, I feel like I can’t quite do it justice. It’s hard to explain to people on the outside why Erika and I filled Tori’s office with balloons, why the president of the company is in love with a Blue Bell radio jingle, or why most of my mobile uploads of Videobred on Facebook involve dogs and fake guns. But I guess that doesn’t matter. The only thing that really matters is that I know why all of those things are awesome.

So thank you, Videobred, for showing me a great time. I’ll be around.

Love, Rachel.

Gina:

So Long, Hamilton Avenue.

It’s amazing how much can change in two months or in one day for that matter. Something that’s been a part of my life since I can remember dramatically changed while I was interning at Videobred. It was something I never encountered before or knew how to react to yet it was something that supposedly happens to everyone. It didn’t define my summer though. Instead what I learned and developed here did. I observed how a production crew operates and communicates. I saw friendships blossom. I saw employees say goodbye. In an industry dependent on collaboration, it was impossible to gloss over the interactions.

I was given the opportunity to be involved in every facet of production from concept to finished product. Not only were the productions here done with professional grace but somehow by the pure entity that is Videobred every project was just as much fun as it was work.

That’s the secret though, right? Find work that’s just a tad too much fun to be called work. I’m a hundred percent sure that I discovered what that is for me now. It’s just time for me to squirm my way into the industry through ambition and determination.

So, Videobred. It’s not you. I never want you to think that. It’s been fun and I’ll always have fond memories. I don’t want to say that I’m moving on. I want to say that I’m going in the direction that you suggested. I grabbed something conceptual here that no one can take from me–a higher sense of teamwork and an old furniture factory full of new contacts, cohorts, friends.

Barrett:

Internships get a bad reputation. I don’t know who’s fault it is but they do. You hear a lot about the bad and not very much about the good. You almost always hear about ones where all someone did for the entirety of their internship is meaningless monotonous bull shit. If that was the case with this one, I would of ran back to school this next semester and changed my major to something involving wearing a tie and slack everyday and I would of probably have to face my fear of cubicles. Hallelujah that this was not the case.

My first full day on the job I arrived over an hour late, I was involved in a four car pile up. No one was injured, not much damage was done but I was a little shook. The next week I got a speeding ticket going to get lunch. Somewhere in between I deleted a file of Matt Niehoff’s that took him four hours to redo. I was too physical with some gear, I was terrified of the phone, and I wasn’t sure what to do during down time or how to handle clients when they arrived. I was a bad intern, maybe VB staff didn’t think so but I did. I sucked.

In the weeks that followed I started to get it. I knew where gear was, I understood expectations and I realized that announcing lunch was awesome. I found my role and it was awesome. The staff of Videobred showed me how to not only work hard but to enjoy working and those you work with. I laughed hard all summer at the shenanigans that went on in the building. It was great when we had visitors such as Archie and some of the other four legged friends who came in. Cookouts, viewing parties and even the occasional hoop session in the studio were great ways to unwind after a long week.

Between editing, shooting and producing I feel like I ran the professional gauntlet to a degree. I have a lot to work on to prepare myself for my future but I appreciated those who took the time to help me lay the foundation. If there is one thing I know I’m going to be able to rock out it’s Time Lapses. They are sweet. Thanks Steve and Will. I’m waiting on my copy of Overtime after Brian and Matt make a sweet deal or VB wins the lottery either or. I also can’t wait to use what I’ve learned on projects this year in school and in the future.

The greatest part of this summer was hanging out with people who are talented, humorous, and grounded staff who knock out projects with style and efficiency and as I said on my last day, never take themselves too seriously. It was a great way to spend a summer and I look forward to seeing all the great work VB does in the future. I wish everyone there the best and to my fellow interns Rachel and Gina, Thanks it was awesome even if I never did girl talk.

Videobred is pleased to welcome Rebecca to the team. Rebecca has a degree in marketing from Western Kentucky, and wanted to be in a creative environment that involved advertising and communication. When she found the opening at Videobred, she “had to have this job.”

Rebecca said she’s impressed with Videobred’s past work, creativity, and all the positive things she has read about Jamie Pence. “Everyone here is so nice and welcoming. This job is so exciting and promising and liberating,” she said.

So, welcome to Rebecca! We couldn’t be more excited to have her!