In-depth PR case study materials follow. Last Updated 31 October 2024
Visual Timeline and PR Case Study: Roger Darnell
In-depth PR case study materials follow. Last Updated 31 October 2024
Productivity
In-depth PR case study materials follow. Last Updated 31 October 2024
MLK Day of Service 2024
The MLK Day of Service is an opportunity for Americans to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s legacy through service and volunteerism.
Dr. King once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”
Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by coming together on the King Holiday to serve their neighbors and communities. To learn more, please visit https://www.nationalservice.gov/mlkday.
Giving Season: Love
In the video above, in his own words, Narayanan Krishnan says, “I thought, what is the purpose of my life? What am I going to do? … And I quit my job and I started feeding all these people from 2002.” And later: “There are thousand and thousands and lots and lots of people suffering. What is the ultimate purpose of life? It’s to give. Start giving. See the joy of giving.”
Jonah Hill, thanks for the life-changing “Stutz” documentary
Last October, Netflix released a feature documentary directed by Jonah Hill. It instantly leapt to my attention through the platform’s recommendation engine, but its buzz reached me from all directions. Still, it took my wife bringing it up in January for us to make the time and screen it together. For the record, it has changed my life.
Even in the trailer, Hill acknowledges the oddness of “a patient making a documentary about his therapist” (his words). Beyond that, I find Hill to be a fascinating and multi-talented person, and Dr. Stutz to be a bona fide gem. Even more specifically, with his process and his tools, the good doctor has helped the filmmaker immeasurably. To bring those tools to the attentions of others and facilitate understanding, Hill presents them methodically, then uses his own experiences to bring the lessons home in some surprising and authentic ways.
Read moreJonah Hill, thanks for the life-changing “Stutz” documentary
MODE Studios Visual Timeline and PR Case Study
In-depth PR case study materials follow. Last Updated 16 May 2022
Josh Swade and Friends, Thanks for the Inspiring Ricky Powell Documentary
YouTube commenter “Heckler 220” mentions thinking about this documentary every day since seeing it: I can relate completely. Everyone who grew up in my generation was saturated with exposure to the Beastie Boys, Run DMC, and all the stars deemed famous by the non-stop pop-culture shock-and-awe of our era. Imagine hanging out behind the scenes with one of the wildest party people given total free range among the glitterati, who had the tenacity, gumption, and skill to capture them all through his camera lens.
That is the scene writer-director Josh Swade and his collaborators plunge us straight into, turning deep admiration and their all-seeing camera toward the world famous Ricky Powell, who lived that feverish dream until leaving us a year ago today at the age of 59. On film,
Read moreJosh Swade and Friends, Thanks for the Inspiring Ricky Powell Documentary
Ting Poo and Leo Scott, Thanks for the Val Kilmer Documentary
For American high school students of the mid-80s, “cable” and MTV radically impacted our perceptions of the world – and of the realm of possibilities. Driven, determined, ambitious, and male, my own dreams of success (focused in aerospace – and/or show business) took high-contrast form under the spells of John Hughes, Randal Kleiser, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg. “Risky Business” was another phenomenon of time-space that refracted my aspirations. When the bold “Real Genius” and the ridiculous and ballsy “Top Secret!” appeared on HBO, I was star-struck. Next came “Top Gun,” and the alchemy of Cruise, Kilmer and their like cinematically orchestrated by master storytellers subconsciously seized control of my outlook.
Thus inspired, I brought my A-game to the film and television industry. Along the way, through digitalization, cameras became more accessible. Despite not being in position to direct my own “National Lampoon,” I could shoot stuff for fun, experiment, and document my life.
It winds up, while he was living the life millions dreamt about, heartthrob and “Einstein of the 80s” (according to the “Real Genius” poster) Val Kilmer was also shooting stuff for fun, and documenting his life.
Read moreTing Poo and Leo Scott, Thanks for the Val Kilmer Documentary
Sharing Secrets: Social (Media) Rules of Engagement
Two months from today, our son will turn 18. Searching memory banks and analyzing recent conversations, I am recalling that unwelcome rise of daunting external pressures. As an adult, I understand that pressure makes it extra hard for most people to make good decisions … overall in life, and even in basic conduct.
Read moreSharing Secrets: Social (Media) Rules of Engagement
Brilliant directors: Ben Strang
Filmmaker and photographer Ben Strang joined the directorial roster of one-stop cross-media production company Sarofsky in 2019. As a director of both scripted and documentary works, Ben’s stories are born from the unique locations and individuals he has encountered as an independent photojournalist for over a decade. His scripted pilot “Beast” won the SXSW Grand Jury Award for Best Independent Episodic, and his latest documentary series “A Mystery To Me” won a 2021 Cannes Lion, and was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick, as you can see here.