The Colonie’s remote capabilities were tapped by The Marketing Arm for a State Farm® broadcast spot with a timely message to customers facing financial burdens during the current pandemic. With production not an option, the company edited, color graded and finished the live-action spot remotely. 

The Chicago-based company's team rallied, pulling volumes of stock shots, user generated content in conjunction with Catch & Release and even augmenting footage by filming their own families at home in scenarios that have become the new normal.

Joe Clear edited the commercial on Adobe Premiere. Focused on finding the best approach, he reviewed the wealth of content selecting spot-on footage that brought home State Farm’s message. The editor weaved together an engaging visual story that viewers can relate to as they go through this unprecedented shared experience.

“Working on this spot was actually a pretty amazing experience,” says Clear.  “This job had a lot of moving parts and would have been difficult under normal circumstances, but our collaborative remote approach was seamless, and our team never missed a beat. Once I put out the call, within hours everyone was contributing.”

“Because of the tight timeline, there was an incredible amount of collaboration with TMA. We were able to share ideas and explore options very quickly,” adds Clear. “All opinions were welcome to make the spot the best it could be. I loved the creative energy that surrounded this commercial.” 

The spot, entitled ‘New Normal,’ features typical scenes of families engaging in the kinds of activities that fill the days of a homebound population. We see people working at their computers, staying connected to friends with video chats, and spending more quality time with their family - playing, dancing, and cooking with their kids.

The commercial closes with the voiceover acknowledging: ‘Our world is suddenly different. But one thing stays the same - State Farm® is there.”

Addressing issues created by the mix of footage from different sources, The Colonie’s Jennifer Gaida used DaVinci Resolve to color grade the spot and created a unified look. Tom Dernulc finished the commercial on Autodesk Flame.

The Marketing Arm’s home-based creatives worked directly with The Colonie’s team.  The job came in on a Saturday afternoon, and The Colonie took it from script to air in five-days.  The seamless workflow provided the efficiency needed to deliver a compelling campaign that met the client’s high standards and tight deadline. 

The Colonie has been working remotely with editors and artists for years, communicating and working as team with talent at home, as well as on-sets throughout the US.  The company's experience provided a tested approach to integrating editors, motion graphic artists, color graders, finishers, and producers working from different locations into a cohesive, collaborative team.

“Productions are on hold during this pandemic, but creativity hasn't stopped,” says Partner, Bob Ackerman. “The Colonie is providing agencies with out-of-the-box solutions - from creating visual stories that tap its experience repurposing existing footage to integrating stock footage to craft fresh, new content. At the same time, our motion design division brings a level of skill and technical savvy that's called on to create memorable design-driven content for commercials and a wide range of social media.”

“The Colonie  remains committed to providing agencies and brands with creative solutions that help them move forward as we meet the challenges created by the impact of the Coronavirus on the industry’s landscape,” adds Partner/Executive Producer Mary Caddy.

For more information, visit www.TheColonie.com or contact Executive Producer Mary Caddy at 312-225-1234. 

CREDITS: 

 BRAND: State Farm®

 GENRE: Broadcast Commercial

 TITLE: ‘New Normal’ :30

AGENCY: The Marketing Arm / Chicago     

SVP, Executive Director of Production: Scott Kemper

SVP, GCD: Harris Wilkinson

CD/Writer: Dave Wasserman

Senior Producer: Tony Grossman

        Producer/PBM: Ellen O'Donnell

 

PRODUCTION COMPANY: N/A

POST-PRODUCTION: The Colonie / Chicago

Creative Editor: Joe Clear

Assistant Editor: Nathan Rodgers

Finishing: Tom Dernulc

Colorist: Jennifer Gaida

Producer: Anne Siwek

        Executive Producer: Mary Caddy

     

AUDIO & SOUND DESIGN:  NoiseFloor / Chicago

Mixer: Cory Coken / Jamie Vanadia