One of my favorite work projects in awhile is the “Save Our City” promotion for 105.7 the Point and Shapiro Metal Supply. I’d been looking for a creative project for our video team that would break away a bit from the usual documentary style of our productions.

Shapiro didn’t lend itself easily to typical promo ideas outside of your basic radio spots. What can you do to make a metal supply yard exciting for a male 18-34 demographic?

Being a lifelong fan of sci-fi and cartoons, the first thing that came to mind was the construction of a giant robot, Asian b-movie style. And why would you need a giant robot? Why, to stave off the attack of a giant monster!

I proposed a pretty crazy promotion, led by an in-house created video (see YouTube video above) shot to look like an amalgam of 50′s sci-fi noir and Sin City style green-screening. The client loved the idea – turns out they have a nice niche business selling scrap and parts to guys building Battle Bots. There was a thematic fit, and we were off and rolling.

The video was shot in a make-shift studio with green screen fabric drops. Documentary portion was shot on location. Filmed on DV tape in 1080i HD, edited in Final Cut Pro. Key Art backgrounds designed in Photoshop.

Special thanks to my co-conspirator Nathan, who really busted his hindquarters on the editing and learning the chroma-key and desaturation techniques on the fly for this project.

• Written, Designed and Directed by Adron Buske (me)
• Videography, Motion Graphics and Editing by Nathan Cowen
• Narrators: Ed Brown and Drew Patterson
• Costumes and Props courtesy of Jason Heeren and Lisa Foiles
• Featuring: Sammy Caputa, Ashley Elzinga, Katie Sorensen, Nathan Cowen, Patrick and myself

Click here for the promotion page on the 105.7 the Point’s website.

Hustler Hollywood Holiday Gift Guide 2009

Last week, under a serious short-term deadline, I produced another digital catalog for St. Louis retail store Hustler Hollywood, in conjunction with a promotion on 105.7 the Point. You can view the Flash catalog here (pretty SFW, unless your workplace is really prudish).

This was definitely a “so many irons” project – I contacted models, arranged the shoot, did all the photography, performed all post-production on the photos, designed the catalog and set up the Flash interface.

Because of the aggressive schedule from client sign-off to launch deadline, I wasn’t able to give this one the high-gloss look on the models that I used in earlier digi-catalogs (Holiday 2008, Valentine’s 2009). Instead, I went for a more natural feel, closer to some of the stuff I’ve seen in magazines like Nylon. The local HH store manager really wanted the models in this catalog to have a girl-next-door approachable vibe, as opposed to the adult stars that usually populate their print catalogs. I think we pulled that off.

The paneled backgrounds were inspired by the DVD box set packaging for Batman: The Animated Series.

The Point models here are Meagan Adamo, Sheila Shafie and Danielle Stewart. They were all a lot of fun to work with and very accommodating given the short notice.

EcoLifeSTL.com is a Green-lifestyle portal focused on promoting sustainability and environmental awareness in the St. Louis community. Our aim is to bring the green-lifestyle message to both the average consumer – new to eco commitment and wanting to learn, and to aid and connect those actively pursuing a sustainable lifestyle. As a gathering place for green-minded individuals, companies and organizations, we facilitate connection, education and cooperation in St. Louis’ eco-lifestyle.

EcoLife is Emmis St. Louis’ first truly web-only brand (the general focus usually being radio stations and their online brand-extensions). The Emmis team perceived that while the Green movement is alive in the StL, and there are many small sites addressing various sustainable businesses and topics, there wasn’t a hub – a natural starting place for the St. Louisan looking to go Green. So that’s what we set out to create.

From conception to site launch was a scant couple of months. The aggressive schedule and nature of the product (content-oriented as opposed to promotion-oriented, as our radio station websites are) made EcoLifeSTL a challenge. However, I’m really proud of the way the site came together. As a hands-on creative director, I designed all visual elements of the brand – logo, color scheme, website design and all promotional materials.

My mission was to create a logo and website that communicated a friendly, organic tone, and that differentiated itself from other green-related brands. So many of the non-regional sites devoted to eco-matters feel cold, cookie-cutter or corporate – the antithesis of what our brand needed to convey.

Did it work? Our clients and visitors seem to think so. But what about you?  EcoLifeSTL.com

I’ve been an absentee friend lately, a non-blogger, a work-a-holic. You might have wondered, “where’s that Adron guy been?”. Or maybe not. Maybe you were too busy to notice. I understand completely.

I’m always busy – that’s just a fact of my life. My close friends know I am driven and obsessed with my ambitions and projects, and sometimes undone by them. My wife always says I’m a work-a-holic, and that’s been true these past few weeks, since work is about all I’ve done.

The weeks since our return from New York have been a continuous streak of peaks and valleys, all work related. Suffice to say that my job has been stressful lately, with the occasional upshot (for instance, I recently won my national division’s quarterly award for excellence on the job. I received the plaque today – still waiting on the bonus money).

Also since the NYC trip, my freelance work increased from a trickle to a deluge. I’ve been spending my night’s creating websites for medical testing clinics, popular area tribute bands, sports bar chains and communications schools. I love designing, and enjoy creating product for such diversified clients. I’m doing one site largely in Flash, which is a first for me, and a daunting task.

I wake up. I go to work. I come home. I work out. I do freelance stuff. I fall asleep at my desk. I take the dog out to go number two. I crash.

The freelance stuff is good – monetarily and creatively. But I haven’t spent enough time writing. My short stories remain unfinished. My redraft of the script for Gene and I’s animation project is still incomplete. My submission for Dark Wisdom magazine remains unsent.

Conversely, I have fit some writing in during my lunch break and before work, at “my desk” (ie a large table) at Starbucks in Union Station. Today actually marks a milestone for me. A little over two years ago I bought a finely-graphed, dense blank book to write in. At my wife’s practical and brilliant suggestion, it was chosen for its simplicity and free form. I had tended to try and force my creativity into “methods” previously, to frustrating ends, but Wendy saw that a free-form collective point for all my varied creative drives was necessary.

This morning, I filled the last page with notes for an animation script. Every right side page of the book is filled with my miniscule, draft print. The left sides are scrawled with hasty notes, random asides, character sketches, snippets of dialogue. The pages contain story ideas, extended narratives, poems, song lyrics, website layouts, a full comic script, the first draft of a novel prologue, short editorials later published as newspaper columns, accounts of dreams, free form ramblings.

Any time I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything, I flip through that book and know that, while most of the projects are not complete, I have still written more in the last two years than in all those previous. More of those creative sparks have kindled into full-fledge concepts, detailed storylines, actual prose.

I filled that end page. Then I unwrapped the successor, the same style, gridded ledger, this one’s cover black where the other is blue. I wrote my name in the front of the book, and continued where I had left off in the last. I covered the first page in my angular scrawl.

I can’t wait to fill up the rest.