The video is a perfect blend of everything a top promotional video should have.  Cutting between Greg Martel and the testimonials of two satisfied clients, the video shows some stunning clips of new developments around Victoria.  The experience is rounded out with interactive graphics and the voice of Aclara Promotions’ own house narrator.

“It was great to receive different cuts of the video after such a short time,” noted Lia Robbins, the media liaison at Harbour View Mortgages, “the whole process was very speedy.”  Working around the clock, Aclara Promotions’ staff had a unique opportunity not only to work with Greg and his team, but also with social media experts Sunstar Creative, who helped re-brand the company and develop the website.

“We aimed to set the bar high with this video,” said Aclara Promotions principal, Christopher Ruffell, “It’s a classic example of what can be done not just for financial providers, but for organizatons of all stripes.”  Overall, the professional experience and business relationships that were developed made the Greg Martel video a raging success.  “We would definitely recommend Aclara Promotions,” said Lia Robbins. Terri Davies added “Video on the home page is perfect for conveying this message, and Aclara Promotions is the obvious choice for professional video production.”

About Aclara Promotions
The heart and soul of Aclara Promotions is found in our dedication to quality. Because our mission is to exceed our client’s expectations, we first seek to exceed our own. Every stage in our process, from writing to photography to editing, is completed with pride.

About SunStar Creative
Sunstar Creative Inc. believes in bridging the gap between brilliant businesses and effective online marketing. We incorporate state-of-the-art web development, online marketing, graphic design, and social media to create a remarkable online presence for each of our clients. Our specialty is the production of Inbound Marketing Platforms for small and medium sized businesses around the world.

To gain more information about Greg and to watch his video, visit his website: www.gregmartel.com

Victoria, BC August 17, 2010 – Cole Grifter, local Victoria band, has rocketed to national televised status with help from a local up and coming video production company, Aclara Promotions. Fresh out of the gate, the music video ‘Habit’ is now playing twice daily on the MuchLOUD rock television channel, placing Victoria along side Vancouver and Toronto as a source for great production and musical talent.

‘Habit’, the band’s showcase song, was turned into a high-grade music video this year when Victoria first-time music video director Christopher Ruffell, of Alcara Promotions, was asked to lead the team.  Despite a scarce budget, the band and crew banded together to pool resources to create a flashy breakthrough – and it worked. “We could have spent fifty grand with someone else and it wouldn’t have turned out as nice.” said band guitarist Michael Worth.

The song and concept, based on the story of a woman struggling with addiction, takes musical and fashion cues from bands such as Our Lady Peace and Moist. The video is “a well directed, well cut music video from an up and coming director to watch out for,” says Colin Minihan, winner of the 2009 Much Music Video Award for director of the year.

The music video debuted at the top of the charts on MuchLOUD, surpassing the band’s most ambitious expectations, and widening the scope of success for Victoria’s home grown talent.  This achievement, coupled with the band’s status as “Band of the Month” on 91.3 the Zone, has resulted in a strong following in BC, and growing support across Canada. Featuring local talent Aidan Logans, Michael Worth, Alex Campbell and Brandon Fry, the band plays regularly at such venues as Logans and Lucky Bar.  “Being placed alongside Canada’s top artists will certainly take us to that next level,” stated band guitarist Michael Worth, “we’ve built a strong following in BC, and now it’s paying off; our music’s being played around the world!”

The music video was directed, produced and edited by local director, Christopher Ruffell, and features locations such as Bastion Square and Gordon’s Beach in Sooke, bringing national attention to some of the notable landmarks and geographical features Victoria offers.  As principal of the Victoria based video marketing company, Aclara Promotions, Christopher Ruffell has distinguished himself as a competitive top quality video producer.  Since the official launch of Aclara Promotions in February 2010, Ruffell has attracted attention from a number of notable online video producers via his extensive Vimeo presence, and has caught the attention of more bands and lovers of music.

The music video can be viewed on the MuchLOUD website by visiting:
http://watch.muchmusic.com/video-playlists/muchloud/clip309092

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A-Channel’s Adam Sawatsky Interviews Brandon Fry & Christopher Ruffell

Contact:

Christopher Ruffell
Aclara Promotions
http://www.aclarapromotions.com
tel: 250-516-0211
info@aclarapromotions.com

In-Depth Article Behind the Scenes & The Process:
aclarapromotions.com/aclarapress/2010/08/making-of-habit-music-video/

Music Video:
vimeo.com/9391372
youtube.com/watch?v=FaiaMdaO4dM

colegrifter.com

Director, Camera Operator & Editor:
Christopher Ruffell
aclarapromotions.com

Director of Photography & Gaffer Extraordinaire:
Karl Schoepp

Starring:
Sharman Ellis-Toddington
Brandon Fry

Cole Grifter Band:
Aidan Logins
Alex Campbell
Michael Worth
Brandon Fry

Makeup:
Suzi Q
Sharon Clarke

Awesome Crew & Extras:
Joseph Boutillier
Marina Miller
Sarah Elizabeth
Jordan Harbour
Kevin D Murray
Heather Clebo
Chris Orchard
Carly Reinbold
Morgan Quinn
Megan Tannock
Kevin Tannock
Mr.Tannock

Produced By:
Aclara Promotions
LightHeadProductions

MuchMusic
Much Music Canada
MuchLOUD

“The crowd fell silent,” said lead singer Brandon Fry, reliving the night with a smile that beamed across his whole face.  “Then they erupted in applause!”

No doubt about it, the video and CD release party for Cole Grifter’s latest album was a huge success.  The house was packed and the mood ecstatic.  Before they went on, the band teased the audience with the new music video.  At first, people were quiet, watching intently.  But before the first chorus everyone was cheering.

After watching the video, director Colin Minihan said of it, “a well directed, well cut music video from an up and coming director to watch out for.” Colin Minihan won the 2009 MuchMusic Award and has directed videos for Papa Roach, State of Shock, Social Code and many others.

“I think the big shock came because no one expected the video to look as good as it did,” said first time music video Director Christopher Ruffell, “we had almost no budget and the bulk of the crew came from the band itself.”  With a keen eye for the shot and a finger on the pulse of the latest technology, Ruffell has proved great video doesn’t have to blow the budget.  “We could have spent fifty grand with someone else and it wouldn’t have turned out as nice.” noted Guitarist Michael Worth.

Karl Schoepp, the Director of Photography (DP), held nothing back, “I think I speak for everyone.  We were all blown away at how good the video turned out.”  Juno-award winning producer Mark Makoway, formerly of the Canadian rock band Moist, cut to the chase, “very impressive.”

The Song

Ruffell chose the grittiest song by Cole Grifter for his music video debut.  The story revolves around a woman’s beginning addiction to drugs and her projected future of devastating effects.  Ruffell has shot footage for various documentary projects on the issue of homelessness, life on the streets and addiction. “In Victoria, it’s something everyone’s seen.  We wanted to be that stark reminder that these people are real.”

In Habit, Ruffell saw an opportunity to challenge his own comfort level.  ‘Dark’ was a literal theme throughout the production, including the entire video being shot at night. “I most often work with the daylight in video, just enhancing the shots with additional day-light balanced lights.  However, given the chance to shake it up with a dark story, I just had to break that mold.”

The Crew

The bulk of the crew consisted of a few volunteers—some trusted independent film makers and the band themselves.  Guitarist Paul Michael Worth, assisting in production and always active in the film community, was a life saver on more than one occasion.  When the lead actor pulled out at the last minute, panic ensued.   Worth made some quick calls and found a replacement.  With only hours to spare, Sharman Ellis-Toddington pulled through and saved the day!

Having only a few hands could sometimes be challenging.  “There were many times I wish we had more crew,” lamented Schoepp after moving heavy generators and gear into remote and forested locations at night.  Drummer Alex Campbell offered his own spin, “it can be hard to appreciate the amount of work that goes into creating film–not many people understand the degree of persistence and talent required to create a quality video.” Bassist Aidan Logans finished with “It was a huge effort, but working with talented people makes it almost painless.”

Shooting in the Dark

Shooting low budget projects at night can be a challenge and flawed imagery is often the result. Camera limitations can lead to artifacting where the dark areas show a lot of gain.  Also, most camera’s inability to see as well as the human eye can sometimes mean the camera operator won’t even know what he’s looking at!   With only a few lights, Ruffell avoided these problems with the use of  incredibly fast Nikon prime lenses.

When asked to describe the experience of shooting at night, DP Karl Schoepp gushed, “it was Great! I didn’t have to fight with any daylight, so I was able to be a lot more creative with the lighting. It was difficult to have enough light for many of the scenes however, because of the size of the shots and the limited power of the lights we had with us. Thanks again to the Nikkor 50mm F1.4 lens! I don’t think many of the shots would have been exposed without these fast lenses.”

Lighting & Decoration

“The original plan was to have the band in a forest with clear house-hold large bulbs floating eerily around them,” reminisced Ruffell.  “Schoepp suggested running the lights off a control board so we could switch them on and off during the shoot.”

“I lit rock concerts before I got into film,” explained Schoepp.  “Many concerts are lit this way, so I thought I’d try it out.”

Ruffell, who also operated the camera on the Habit shoot, went on to describe how the unique light flares were created, “I placed the camera with the 50mm lens right up against one of the hanging lights.What you see is nice out-of-focus areas/bokeh, but created with pure light! I can’t recall of every having seen anything like it.”  Schoepp described the other types of flares in the lens “I thought it would be a nice touch to point the lights at the lens like JJ Abrams did in Star Trek.  I wasn’t expecting the lens flares to be so big! On the GH-1 monitor, we didn’t really see the flares much at all. In post, our minds were absolutely blown by how good the flares looked.” Both Director and DP noted that all lens flares are entirely one-hundred percent in camera, and are not in computer generated!

Creating the Look

Ruffell wanted to keep the colouring process simple.  “Compared to most stylized videos I’ve worked on, this really had the least amount of post production.  The blues were upped in the beach-fire scene to enhance the moonlight, but the orange flicker from the fire was real.”

The concept and implementation were standard, but not complex.  “The original footage served us very well,” said Ruffell. He nodded as he continued, “As has been echoed repeatedly, given the budget, it turned out better than we expected. We’re all proud of what we’ve created.”

Written By Jordan Habour
StoryArc Communications

Aclara Promotions is a video production company located in Victoria, BC. It specialises in promotional and educational videos for organizations of all types. Please contact Aclara Promotions to discuss how they can help create a video for you.
aclarapromotions.com

Our Place Society recently showcased a video titled ‘Hope & Belonging’ at their annual gala event, A Taste of Britain, held at Crystal Gardens. The goal of Our Place is to give a ‘hand up’ to people who are down on their luck and need a place to sleep, a hot lunch, or counselling on how to get off the street. The video showed guests at the fundraiser event what Our Place does so as to build an understanding of issues facing the homeless and describe how the community centre can help. The video was met with praise from board members at Our Place, as well as from guests at the fundraiser who said it gave them an emotional connection to the society.

CLICK HERE To Read More on the Hope & Belonging Page…

VICTORIA, BC – Our Place Society recently showcased a video titled ‘Hope & Belonging’ at their annual gala event, A Taste of Britain, held at Crystal Gardens.  The goal of Our Place is to give a ‘hand up’ to people who are down on their luck and need a place to sleep, a hot lunch, or counseling on how to get off the street.  The video showed guests at the fundraiser event what Our Place does so as to build an understanding of issues facing the homeless and describe how the community centre can help.  The video was met with praise from board members at Our Place, as well as from guests at the fundraiser who said it gave them an emotional connection to the society.  The consensus was that the video helped raise funds for Our Place by touching the audience in a meaningful way.

“A Taste of Britain came alive through the video presentation by Aclara Promotions,” said Reverend Al Tysick of Our Place, referring to the production company that made the film, “what a gift of kindness and generosity.”  To help add depth to the film, the Aclara Promotions team was given a full tour of the facility, which included very clean showering areas, a games room, nursing stations and a host of other services.  They were also able to film one of the permanent housing units, and to catch the large kitchen in action.  “Our Place Society has really dispelled the myth that street life has to end in tragedy,” said Christopher Ruffell, principal of Aclara promotions, “Our Place is a living model for empowerment and hope.”

‘Hope & Belonging at Victoria’s Our Place Society’ can be viewed at Aclara Promotions – Click Here to View

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Our Place is a non-profit society formed by the alliance of the Open Door and The Upper Room in 2006. It offers a sense of belonging to Greater Victoria’s most vulnerable citizens. Our Place provides a home, nourishment and hope through living, sharing, learning and worshipping together.

Aclara Promotions is a promotional video production company offering distinctive cinema-style production value to local organizations and businesses. Contact Aclara Promotions to discuss how they can help create a video for you.

Natural Growth: The Story of Dockside Green

This documentary tells the story of a unique development in Victoria, BC. While other developments meet the minimum standards of sustainability, Dockside uses this as a first principle. It follows a ‘triple bottom line’ approach, where equal weight is given to ecology, economics, and society. Occupying water front property near Victoria’s downtown core, it has become the pride to the city, and receives visitors from around the world.

Future projects include an extended version of the documentary, where a broader approach will place Dockside into the context of Victoria’s evolving relationship with sustainabilit.

Natural Growth: The Story of Dockside Green was produced/shot by Christopher Ruffell and written/directed by Jordan Harbour. An Aclara Promotions Production.

To Read more, visit the Natural Growth page on Aclara Promotions…

Related Links:
Natural Growth Press Release
Deborah Curran & Company Website
The City of Victoria Website
Mayor Dean Fortin’s Website
Dockside Green’s Website
Dockside’s Architect’s Busby Perkins + Wil Website
Farmer Construction’s Website
Selkirk’s Architect Fran D’Ambrosio’s Website