Caleb Light-Wills – Can you give us a little background about yourself?

Sean Lorton – I’ve loved movies since I was a kid.  When I was young, I wanted to get into visual effects (practical & mechanical effects.)  I also really enjoyed magic.  For me, movies were exactly that…magic.  In high school, my best friend’s parents got a video camera.  We high jacked it and started making shorts & skits.  That was it, I was bitten by the movie making bug and telling a story through images.

CLW – What is your production background like?

SL – I’ve been goofing around with a camera since high school.  I have a Marketing degree and TV production degree.  I was a promotions producer at the local NBC affiliate and a Creative Director for a very small ad agency.  I wasn’t doing videos much at the agency so I decided about a year ago to go out on my own and do video production full time.

CLW – What was the first Tongal project you participated in and what was the result?

SL – My first project was Ace Hardware and I was fortunate enough to win 1^st place.

CLW – You’ve racked up $25,000 in under four months, including two major 1^st place wins from big time sponsors, that’s gotta feel pretty good right?

SL – Absolutely!  I feel very blessed.

CLW – How did you come up with the idea/premise for the “The World’s Most Valuable Seasoning?”

SL – I saw a news article several months ago about a type of fungus that pound for pound was one of the most valuable foods on the market.  I was amazed and filed it in the back of my mind.

CLW – It’s pretty rare that there’s completely vertical creative on a project. In other words, you placed in the Idea phase, pitched successfully based on that Idea and created one of the best videos we’ve ever seen. Did you always have it in your mind to shoot a video for Pringles even if your Idea didn’t place?

SL – No, actually I almost didn’t shoot my idea even after it was chosen.  The original idea was just a mockumentary about the hunter tracking down the screaming dill pickle.  The idea for most valuable seasoning didn’t come until later.

CLW – How long did it take you to produce “The World’s Most Valuable Seasoning” and what was your process like?

SL – I don’t believe you need all the latest gadgets to achieve great creative content.  The overall process took about 3 weeks.  It was shot on a 5D mkII with 2 lenses.  I rented 2 kino 4 banks for lighting.  Funny thing is most of the lighting was for the interviews and I think only about 3 quick shots made it in final product.  I edit with Final Cut Pro.

The majority of the spot was shot at the Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Reserve.  The lodge we shot in was owned by Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips 66.  I had to be careful not to disturb anything as it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places in D.C.  It was such a cool place I wish I could have worked more of it into the spot.

There was much more of the story and little details that were shot that didn’t make it into the final spot.  Like a black market for the seasoning and having to wear earplugs to prevent a headache when you get close to the pickles.

During shooting, the only snag was the rain.  I had to schedule around the weather.  Also, I wanted more people for the auction scene, very few showed up, so I had to grab people who were standing around.  Luckily I brought plenty of releases.  In post I struggled with finding the right type music for the tone I wanted.

CLW – Were you nervous about the competition in Pringles?

SL – Absolutely!  I was very nervous about the competition.  There are great videos from very talented artists.  I really liked the SnapBrothers spot, and the Norman Invasion production value and shot execution was fantastic.  I hope to work with some the great artists on this site for future projects.

CLW – Your other big win was for Ace Hardware. Can you talk a little bit about what went into creating “Soapbox?”

SL – Soapbox was a one-day shoot with a friend of mine and my nephew.  I went to the local Ace store and asked if I could borrow a bunch of tools for the shoot.  I had shot at the store a few days earlier for a second spot that didn’t make the final selection so they already knew me.  Soapbox took about 3 hours to shoot.  I usually make shot lists before hand so I can move quickly since most of it is in my head.

CLW – You also just clocked a win for your Benjamin Moore Pitch. Without giving too much away, what can we expect?

SL – There might be some skydiving involved. J  But mostly a guy living life to the fullest.

CLW – Having been through both types of projects now, open and tournament, which do you prefer and why? What are you thoughts on the tournament / pitch process? Any advice you could offer those trying to break through and convince a sponsor to trust them with a budget?

SL – I probably prefer tournament style because I think you can better communicate your vision to the client.  The pitch is not my favorite part, but I think it’s an important and necessary part of the process to explain how you plan to showcase a client’s brand.  That’s what they’re paying you for.

I would suggest to people to keep at it and don’t get discouraged.  Not every idea is pure gold and not every spot that you put countless hours into will be a winner.  Don’t beat yourself, or others, up.  And don’t be afraid to fail.  I’ve done it many times.  Learn, and keep moving forward.

CLW – What are some key factors you take into consideration when figuring out whether or not to participate in a project?

SL – Money of course is a consideration, but mostly I look at whether it’s something I can be passionate about and bring my best.  The fact that companies are putting their trust in me to represent their brand is something I take very seriously and I have a responsibility to them.

CLW – Do you see Tongal as a viable avenue to further your creative career?

SL – Absolutely.  I hope to continue to grow creatively and keep making bigger and better commercials.  Tongal allow creatives direct access to major brands.  It’s fantastic!

CLW – What have you spent your earnings on?

SL – Paying off bills and buying a few pieces of much needed equipment.

CLW – What’s next for you on Tongal or otherwise?

SL – Currently I’m working on the Benjamin Moore project, but I have some cool ideas for Nespresso, Lego and speed stick if I’m fortunate enough to get that far.

Outside of Tongal I have 2 short films on the horizon that I’m making with Jon Wilson.  The first is a science fiction film set in one location and the second is another sci-fi film, but much more epic with heavy visual effects, set in a steam punk world.

SL – I’m currently in search of some solid 3d artists & compositors to help bring those worlds to life.  If any members know of anyone, shoot me an email.

CLW – How can people stay up to date with your work?

SL – My website is www.seanlorton.com. Vimeo page is http://vimeo.com/seanlorton. And of course the almighty facebook.

CLW – Anything else you’d like to add?

SL – I’m constantly inspired by the work I see on this site.  As I said before, I hope to work with some of the people on here in some capacity in the future.

CLW – Can you give us a little background about yourself?

GK – I have been animating since I was 10 years old, I first started animating using the generic program Microsoft Paint and Microsoft Powerpoint. I got hooked on stick figure death animation and got Macromedia Flash MX9. From there I’ve been working in Flash and other adobe programs ever since.

CLW – Did you go to school for animation?

GK – I am currently finishing up my last semester for my BFA as a double major in Animation and Illustration at the California College of the Arts in Oakland. I plan on pursuing a career in animation and illustration as a freelance artist and have been using Tongal as my launching point.

GK – So far I love being on Tongal. It has opened up a world of possibilities I hadn’t considered before through animating for advertising; which turns out is really fun.

CLW – You’ve been on somewhat of a streak this past month, first with McDonald’s and now Pringles. Why do you think project judges have looked so favorable upon your work as of late?

GK – I am constantly trying new approaches, for every project I think of something from a technical standpoint in terms of how I would tackle it and explore from there. I don’t really think I’ve ever done the things before doing them on Tongal, I am just familiar enough with the software I use to experiment and hope for the best. So each project is really fun in the end and very refreshing. I think the judges can maybe see that process which might draw them in.

CLW – Your McDonald’s video earned you the highest prize ever awarded on Tongal. What does it feel like to win $15,000?

GK – It felt fantastic, I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked. It really was perfect timing in terms of my situation. I am still doubtful that it ever happened I’m not even sure that I’ve fully grasped it yet.

CLW – Were you nervous about the competition in McDonald’s?

GK – The other videos were great, especially the 2nd place winner Kent Yoshimura, incredible production all around. I don’t really think about the competition, I just make the video if I feel like it sounds fun and enjoyable and from there I submit and move on and hope for the best. I was doubtful mine would even place, as it was pretty make shift and spur of the moment, though I always try to view the world in the mindset of extreme pessimism so I can always expect better results.

CLW – Your 30 second animated version of “Romeo and Juliet” was a great take on Jacob Silva’s Bite-Sized Theatre Concept. What made you choose that Play and were you worried that Shakespeare might be hard to summarize in such a short timeframe?

GK – Shakespeare was my 2nd choice, the only thing I considered before Romeo and Juliet was Little Red Riding Hood, but I realized that wasn’t really theatre. I thought Shakespeare would be great because I figured through compressing a drama you could end up with a comedy rather than a comedy to a comedy or an action flick to a comedy. Also it seemed like judging from the concept it sounded like it was more meant for classic theatre so I just picked the play I knew everyone would know and understand that way the audience has an easy reference point.

CLW – How long did it take you to create “Romeo and Juliet” and what was your process like?

GK – Romeo and Juliet was much easier to create then my previous three entries, it only took a week to produce and was animated entirely by me, as per usual. All the animation is tween based done in flash combining shape and motion tweens by a means of puppeting out all the figures. There is some frame-by-frame patch ups but mostly it is automated with intention due to the tweening and keyframe based method. I looked at 50s animation styles made popular by John Hubley’s UPA studio, and the short film “Gerald McBoing-Boing.” I know that this modern 50s style of animation values limited movement, simplification, clarity, and more deadpan delivery, which would allow for comedy and snappier timing. I also looked at “Waltz With Bashir,” a documentary completed using Flash and other programs from the Adobe suite, where they employed a break up puppetting and tweening technique in order to create fluid movement.

GK – I used Adobe Flash for all animation, Photoshop for the texture, After Effects for compositing, and Premiere for editing. The big snag was I went through several iterations of how to treat the characters and backgrounds determining where to use the McDonalds colors and how, as in what combinations or amount of each color work and don’t work or if to use them at all. Some of the earlier designs were atrocious as I was trying to get acquainted with this style of working though throughout production I knew their names would float above them, similar to Run Wrake’s short film “Rabbit” and that their actions would be simplified.

CLW – What are you thoughts on the tournament / pitch process? Any advice you could offer those trying to break through and convince a sponsor to trust them with a budget?

GK – I looked at what was winning and noticed that it was all about being clean so I just made the ultimate goal for my work to be making it as clean as possible. This is why I switched to puppetry and for a pitch I feel it is more about making one to one comparisons.

GK – Don’t let the judges assume anything, present them with everything you can to give them a better taste of what’s to come. It’s good to show them exactly what you are going to do rather than a scribble representing what you are going to do so they don’t have to be doubtful of your execution. These might just be tips for animation but still, even with live action. If your character looks a certain way and you know it’s going to be great, show them the character fully developed instead of a rough idea so they know how it’s going to be and what it will look like.

CLW – Has Tongal helped you professionally, like has it helped you build a usable portfolio, get gigs, jobs, etc?

GK – Yes, my portfolio of commercials through Tongal just got me a job doing puppeted animation for a music video for a popular indie band.

CLW – What have you spent your earnings on?

GK – I used the money from the Q-tips project to purchase a Cintiq, a monitor you can draw directly on that is made by the Wacom company. And I established a Limited Liability Company with the money I made from the McDonalds job as well as funded a trip to New York and Europe where I plan to promote myself and my work. The rest of the money is going toward buying more equipment like hard drives and software to repair old hard drives as well as payment for my brother Ross Kolton who did the voices for the characters in McDonalds.

CLW – What’s next for you on Tongal or otherwise?

GK – I plan to keep submitting to Tongal when a project piques my interest or sounds fun, going for it with my usual attitude. Right now I am working on launching a new YouTube channel that you can view here http://www.youtube.com/grantkolton which I will be adding content to at a steady pace as well as constantly updating my website http://www.grantkolton.com. If you want to stay updated on all my animation and illustration shenanigans you can like me at http://www.facebook.com/grantkolton

February’s Tongaler of the Month is three-time 1^st place award winning, FCR Creations. When Fred first started participating in April of last year, I don’t think anyone could have predicted his meteoric rise through the ranks to become the second most highly paid creator on our site. Nine months, eight wins and 199 Leaderboard spots later, Fred was kind enough to answer some questions about his experience and what it takes to win consistently on Tongal.

Caleb Light-Wills – How and when did you first find out about / start participating on Tongal?

F.C. Rabbath – My friend Carrie Hunter, who is a fellow Tongaler told me about how great this site was. Ever since then I was hooked! I’m very thankful for her referral to the Tongal site.

C.L.W. – Most people only know FCR Creations as thumbnail on a profile page. Can you tell us a little bit about your creative background?

F.C.R. – I’m self taught. Never took a single film class in my life. My real life job is either being a consultant for engineer projects/firms, or creating videos for companies or individuals. I also make iPhone apps, and have written several children’s books. Essentially, it started off as a hobby from age 8, and since then I’ve created hundreds of videos. My team consists of several individuals who act for me and sometimes hold camera equipment. They have been essential to the video making process. Key people to mention are Michael Varde, Elan Elias and Jacob Harrelson. We enjoy working with Tongal and hope to keep doing so for many years to come!

C.L.W. – What was the first Tongal project you participated in and what was the result?

F.C.R. – My first project was for Benjamin Moore, we didn’t win but it was a fun little project about Benjamin Moore’s new website and how much faster it would be than other ways to get paint. In the end we took some valuable lessons on how to approach the next few projects. We began the process of learning what it was exactly clients were really looking for on Tongal. Which in the end was “something different”. Outside the box of normal ads because if they really wanted something traditional they would’ve gone elsewhere. That’s what I keep telling myself whenever I start a new Tongal project.

C.L.W. – McDonald’s marks your 8th video win, bringing your total earnings dangerously close to $30,000. Has Tongal become like a second job for you?

FCR – Tongal is more than just a second job, it’s something my team looks forward to doing during our real boring jobs.

I think it also gives us an opportunity to compete with others in order to grow. The Tongal community learns from each other by watching what the other person came up with which in turn expands our own horizons. Trying something new is the motto we came up with after working here for about 2/3 of a year.

C.L.W. – What winning Tongal video are you most proud of?

F.C.R. – That’s tough. I think we’re all very proud of “The Smallist” and “Leinenkugal’s White Christmas”. However if I had to pick I’d say “The Smallist”. It’s a fun look into someone’s life that is unique.

C.L.W. – How did you come up with concept for “The Smallist?”

F.C.R. – We based it off Margaret’ Ho’s “Bite-Sized Mocumentary”- but essentially we had a hard time coming up with ways to show a short story that showed both small things positively, funny and useful. After all, comedy is not an easy task as everyone’s sense of humor is very different. However, I think we found the best direction after several takes and cuts.

C.L.W. – How long did it take you to shoot “The Smallist” and what was your process like?

F.C.R. – It took a couple of hours from three separate days. It was interesting to see how much stuff could go wrong in such a small amount of time. For example, we had to shoot a scene with a tiny mug, (I’ve owned this mug for 10 years and finally found use for it!) and as we were about to use it in the scene – it fell into the ground and shattered into a million pieces. So we had to find something that looked like tiny mug at the last minute. Unexpected and frustrating, but that’s how it works. How can you adapt? After all, anything creative is basically finding a unique way of adapting into something and still finding uses in something useless.

C.L.W. – Are you already familiar with the companies you create videos for or do you have to do research?

F.C.R. – Yes! However research is always key. Looking at prior works/ad work of theirs helps me guage what it is they need and attempt to replicate their message in a different format.

C.L.W. – What are some key factors you take into consideration when figuring out whether or not to participate in a project?

F.C.R. – Our goal is to participate in every possible one. Of course time is a factor, but making time is also part of making the video. Scheduling is half the battle to making a video.

C.L.W. – Has Tongal helped you professionally, like has it helped you build a usable portfolio, get gigs, jobs, etc?

F.C.R. – Of course! I’ve got a much bigger and dynamic portfolio that I could show potential clients my previous works!

C.L.W. – What have you spent your earnings on?

F.C.R. – More equipment and funding for other projects. That way we potentially increase our odd of winning with better equipment and opens doors to other projects. It’s an investment that I think will be worth it in the long run.

C.L.W. – What’s the best thing about Tongal?

F.C.R. – The best thing about Tongal is that you get to improve in a real world setting. Meaning that when it’s good, it’s good enough for BIG companies to buy it. You get paid for it. How much better can that get?

C.L.W. – What’s next for you on Tongal or otherwise?

F.C.R. – I will keep attempting to push my team into working on more creative ways to make videos both unique and compelling. The key here is to keep trying and to communicate to the team that this process is a growing one.

December’s Tongaler of the Month is Robert Capria, 1^st place winner of the Capitol Records Beach Boys Music Video Project on Tongal.com. In addition to $5,000 and a one-of-a-kind custom Hobie surfboard, Robert earned what many would consider the greatest reward of all – title as creator of The Official “Heroes and Villains” Music Video.

Caleb Light-Wills – What is your animation background like?

Robert Capria – My background is in illustration and art. I went to film school but didn’t study animation until years later. I started doing animation in 2006 when I entered and won second place for the GenArts Beastie Boys Music Video Contest for their song “Sabotage”. It’s a very rudimentary animation in which I used a montage of comic book drawings that I created a few years earlier. I also won second place for the SxSW Film and Music Video Festival in 2009 and second place for the New York Film Festival in 2010. Around that period I started to enter contests and see the potential. I also started to get hired for paid work doing animation, music videos, web commercials, and other projects.

C.L.W. – Are you a filmmaker as well as an animator?

R.C. – I wrote and directed a television comedy pilot about the casting industry called “Typecast”. It’s intended for an adult HBO-type of audience. It has a very New York sensibility with liberal use of four letter words. It is in the process of being pitched by my brother who is a television director. People can view it at: actualityfilms.com/typecast.

C.L.W. – The Beach Boys video wasn’t just your first Tongal win…it was your first Tongal project. How does it feel to come right out of the gate ?

R.C. – I feel great, of course. I’m happy about the recognition and prizes! I also know that my work can gain more exposure this way.

C.L.W. – I assume you’re a huge Beach Boys fan, right?

R.C. – Definitely, I started listening to Pet Sounds at around age 15 and loved it right away. I had read in some music magazine that it was some kind of masterpiece album — which I still listen to often.

C.L.W. – How does it feel to have created THE official “Heroes and Villains” music video?

R.C. – It feels satisfying to have created the Official Music Video for The Beach Boys “Heroes and Villains” or any of their songs, period. They are one of America’s greatest bands. It would be great to make an animation for Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” but I think The Simpson’s did that already!

C.L.W. – How badly do you want to hang out with Brian Wilson?

R.C. – We would love to meet Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, if even briefly.

C.L.W. – Would you describe yourself as a Music Video Creator, or is that what you see yourself doing in the foreseeable future?

R.C. – We would love to make other music videos for the Beach Boys and other classic artists for Capitol Records. I have directed a number of other music videos that range from funny to artistic. It could be animation or live action. I love shooting on Super 8 or 16mm film, whenever possible because the look is great and more of a sense of “filmmaking” by shooting rolls of film. I just shot a music video for an indie artist in Chinatown and Dumbo Brooklyn on Super 8 film and will be out in a few weeks.

C.L.W. – How long did it take you to create the video for “Heroes and Villains” and what was your process like?

R.C. – I worked with a fellow artist named T. Nakayama. We used Photoshop for the drawings, After Effects for the animation and then edited it altogether in Avid Media Composer. We tried to do as much frame by frame animation as possible within the time limit by the deadline. It took about a month to create the music video.

C.L.W. – Were you nervous about the competition, i.e. what did you think of the other videos?

R.C. – I wasn’t nervous because I was too focused on making and completing the video the best that I could by the deadline. I was excited to see the videos and everybody’s work looked great. I was surprised we won.

C.L.W. – Did you ever image that Capitol Records would place the video front and center on Yahoo Music?

R.C. – No, not at all. But I know these days the Internet is the new marketing tool. It’s like being on global television.

C.L.W. – You also just clocked a win for your Ace Pitch. Without giving too much away, what can we expect?

R.C. – Something cool and visually fun using stop motion animation.

C.L.W. – Having been through both types of projects now, open and tournament, which do you prefer and why?

R.C. – The open competition is exciting but the tournament is more secure and actually motivates me more because it’s not as much a shot in the dark. The open competition is thrilling to win if you are lucky but it’s more unpredictable.

C.L.W. – Do you see Tongal as a viable avenue to further your creative career?

R.C. – Absolutely, you can hone your creative skills while building your professional portfolio that will be seen by potential corporate clients. It also helps to think more like a creative agency and animation studio.

C.L.W. – What’s next for you on Tongal or otherwise?

R.C. – We’re working on an animation pilot and web animation for a social app for two clients. We’ll be making our own animation pilot and lauching our creative agency next year. We will also start to build more of a presence on Facebook — a must these days.

C.L.W. – How can people stay up to date with your work?

R.C. – People can follow us on our website, YouTube and soon on Facebook at: actualityfilms.com and youtube.com/actualityfilms.

November’s Tongaler of the month is 1^st place winner of the $20,000 Benjamin Moore “Big Transformations on a Small Budget” Project and Pitch-creator extraordinaire, Courtney Dixon. In just three short months, Courtney has reeled in $9,350, earning her the title of highest paid female creator on Tongal. As if that wasn’t huge enough, her amazing Benjamin Moore commercial, “Spend Less, Get Moore,” is currently being broadcast on TV. Any creator out there can tell you that this is exactly the type of thing people spend years trying to accomplish, having it happen in less than 90 days is basically unheard of. Honestly…we couldn’t think of anyone more deserving.

Caleb Light-Wills – How and when did you first find out about the site?

I had just decided I was moving back home, to Georgia, and I happened to randomly find the website at around 3 in the morning. I saw the pitch phase was open and thought I would give it one last go before I left. Needless to say, I have yet to move back.

C.L.W. – Were you apprehensive about the Tongal process or was it something you understood?

C.D. – I remember reading through it and thinking the set-up had to be too good to be true. Not only could I make money in every phase, but also I could have a direct line to the brand representatives themselves. In my case, the ideas were already provided all I had to do was make it my own.

C.L.W. – Most people only know Courtney Dixon as tiny thumbnail on a profile page. Can you give us a little background about yourself?

C.D. – Growing up in the middle of nowhere I had a lot of imagination and a lot of time to kill. So we made recreations of movies as kids.

Later, I moved out here started taking film theory classes, working on sets, writing, etc.

A couple weeks into film school I was so blessed to get really large budget to direct a short that I had wrote as a school assignment. I showed up on set to a huge crew, grip trucks everywhere, and a closed restaurant just for us in the heart of Hollywood- I did not know whether to cry or throw up. I didn’t do either one. I told myself to stop being a girl about it and just film. It ended up doing fairly well in festivals and I was hooked from that moment forward. Now here I am.

C.L.W. – What is your production background like?

C.D. – Filming is my life. I work a full time job to pay rent and I spend the rest of my time trying to shoot. I am a film school drop out because of finances, it was the hardest decision I ever had to make. Thankfully, I was able to learn the basics of filmmaking. I was determined to prove to myself that, what I might not know technically, I would make up for creatively. It just means I have to work that much harder on every project. Learn as I go.

C.L.W. – “Big Transformations on a Small Budget” wasn’t just your first Tongal win, it was your first Tongal project. How does it feel to come right out of the gate with such a huge win?

C.D. – I still keep checking to make sure it is real.

C.L.W. – Your commercial was based on David Rorie’s “New Living Room” Concept but you definitely made it your own. What made you choose that concept?

C.D. – Honestly, I liked a couple of the concepts to start with, but I tried to storyboard all of them out to see what would actually fit into 15 seconds and still tell a cohesive story. For me, his idea flowed the best with the allotted amount of time. Then I just built from there.

C.L.W. – How long did it take you to shoot “Spend Less. Get Moore” and what was your process like?

C.D. – Music is fundamental for me as a director. I can spend hours searching for the perfect song. With “Crazy as You” I knew instantly.

The shoot was one day, there were 8 of us. The preproduction is what took a couple of weeks. I knew I wanted it highly stylized so the design elements had to be key. I wanted the couches to be characters on their own as well. So we built them. I have a problem with thinking outside of my means sometimes. So I have to scale back, get creative, and think of how I can do it with the money given. That usually means a lot of diy projects. I go to the team and I’m like this is what we are going to build. I usually get looks like I am crazy. Halfway through the build we are all certain I am.

I discovered my intense love affair with the hardware store from this shoot. Being able to take PVC pipe and turn it into a couch bordered a religious experience for me, haha.

The lips couch was slightly harder. We used wall insulation as cushioning and they are not joking when they say that it’s itchy. I advice reading the directions on anything because they tend to put a couple of key facts on there that probably should not be overlooked.

I was very nervous to go up against Sean Clark. His videos for Benjamin Moore and others have been amazing. Then when I saw he had also done David’s concept that gave me even more anxiety.

I think it was so cool though to see how the same idea can be interpreted so differently and they each can be so unique.

All of the videos turned out great. I was really impressed with how much the other filmmakers could do with 15 seconds.

C.L.W. – Did you ever imagine that Benjamin Moore would ask you to cut a broadcast version of the spot and actually air it?

C.D. – Not in a million years. I set the bar really high for myself though so I try and make every project as perfect as it can possibly be. In the end, there are a thousand things I would have done better on every project, but hindsight is always 20/20.

However, in the make believe world I live in, every commercial we do goes on tv… as for the real world I live in, this is the first to actually do so and that is amazing to me.

C.L.W. – Having been through it twice now, what are you thoughts on our tournament / pitch process?

C.D. – I’m sold! I love being able to work so closely with a brand. I feel like I do not have to walk blindly into a project and there is a lot of freedom in knowing that. I can be as creative as I want while still remaining in their boundaries.

C.L.W. – What are some key factors you take into consideration when figuring out whether or not to participate in a project (money, competition, time, difficulty of task, exposure, etc)?

No matter what brand or contest, the idea is pivotal. It is the jumping off point for everything. A good idea is magical.

C.L.W. – Has Tongal helped you professionally, like has it helped you build a usable portfolio, get gigs, jobs, etc?

C.D. – I can say I have a commercial on tv now! It also has a huge impact on my portfolio. When a brand allocates money for me as a filmmaker just to produce a commercial for a contest, I take it seriously, it is benefiting my reel way beyond what I could do on my own right now.

C.L.W. – What have you spent your earnings on?

C.D. – More projects! In life and work, I have a problem with just enjoying the moment… everything is a chess game and I am always thinking three moves ahead. So the money gets spent before it even makes it to my bank!

Maybe a little will send me to a beach somewhere, anywhere soon.

C.L.W. – What’s next for you on Tongal or otherwise?

C.D. – I am always, always working on commercials- I am a tongaler for life!

I just started my own Production Company, Slate825 Productions. 825 is the address of the house that I grew up in. It’s the house that built me.

I have a short film, Cold Feet, a drama that I am trying to get Ben Savage for, from Boy Meets World. He doesn’t know it yet. He will soon. I fully intend to stalk.

C.L.W. – How can people stay up to date with your work?

C.D. – www.vimeo.com/courtneydixon or www.imdb.me/courtneydixon

C.L.W. – Anything else you’d like to add?

C.D. – Tongal has been so incredibly supportive and helpful through every step of the way. I feel like everyone there sincerely wants us all to do a great job. I feel incredibly lucky to have stumbled across this site!

Caleb Light-Wills – Most people only know David Brashear as tiny thumbnail (of Mickey Rourke) on a Portfolio page. Can you give us a little background about yourself?

David Brashear – I just put the photo of Mickey Rourke up because I don’t want to see a picture of myself every time I log into Tongal. And that Mickey Rourke picture makes me smile every time I see it. And he’s a badass.

I went to USC film school, but I was in the Critical Studies section of the department. Meaning I only took one production class. I also went at a weird time, when digital was starting to take over, but it hadn’t quite hit saturation point. So all the videos I did in school were shot in Standard Definition or 16mm, and then transferred to tapes. So everything looks like crap.

Just about everything I learned about film I learned from watching movies and trying to emulate stuff that I liked. I think film school is kind of overrated. I learned a lot more just going out and trying stuff. Learning as I went along.

I graduated. Worked as a set PA in Los Angeles for a while. Worked as an office manager for Klasky-Csupo (they made the Rugrats) for about a year. It took me a while to realize that that wasn’t the right path for me. I didn’t want to work as an assistant on other people’s stuff.

While I was doing those other jobs, I was also working at an indie movie theater – not only because living in LA is expensive and I needed the extra money, but also because I really love movies. I know A LOT about movies. And I also know that I want to make my own movies some day. Doing these commercial contests is great because I can hone my craft, build my reel, and get paid to do so.

I work for a company called Ryactive now, directing commercials. Although, at this point, most of the work still comes through crowdsourcing sites.

C.L.W. – Duck Tape is your first major Tongal win, how did it feel to walk away with 1st Place?

D.B. – Every time I enter a contest I’m nervous. Also, for me, I tend to be sick of the video I’m working on by the time I finish it. Like I think its complete garbage. So it’s always surprising for me when we get a brand purchase.

C.L.W. – Were you nervous about the competition?

D.B. – In terms of competition, I’m always scared of videos with songs in them. I’ve seen a lot of them win. So those made me nervous. I figured, worse case scenario, somebody that used my original idea might win and I would get a small cut.

C.L.W. – It’s pretty rare for someone to place in both the Concept and Video Phases of a project, but it’s even more rare for someone to produce a video NOT based on their winning Concept from the previous round. What was your rationale behind that change in tack? That is, why did you produce a video based on Adam Thorsfeldt’s “Stop-Motion Duck” Concept rather than, your 2nd place “Castaway” Concept?

D.B. – When I do the concept phase stuff, I don’t like to limit myself. I don’t worry about logistical stuff, like do I have access to a desert island? So when it was picked, I realized it was going to be a huge hassle to shoot and pull off convincingly. Also, we had been talking to our friend Tyson about working together on a project. He’s a stop motion animator. So when I saw the other concept I was like, lets just do that instead.

C.L.W. – How did you come up with premise for Duck Tron, i.e., re-creating the Light cycle scene, including Tron guy, and adapting Adam Thorsfeldt’s “Stop-Motion Duck” Concept to make it your own?

D.B. – Well, we decided we wanted to do a stop motion commercial with Duck Tape. Our initial concepts were closer to the idea that Adam pitched, which is Duck Tape going around the house fixing stuff. We had some pretty neat ideas and we had already started storyboarding it, but something didn’t feel right. It was going to be a cool video, but it wasn’t going to go viral. It was just going to be like all the other well-made spots you see hundreds of times everyday – instantly forgettable.

So we went back to the drawing board. One of the ideas we had in the original storyboards was a roll of Duck Tape competing with another roll to fix stuff in the house – like who could fix the most stuff the fastest. And we had a note in the script like Duck Tape rolls racing like light cycles from Tron. We all liked that idea, and at some point it was mentioned that it would be cool if we did a recreation of the scene from the movie. And then we decided to add a human element. So we made it a guy playing with Duck Tape. And that turned into Tron Guy playing with Duck Tape.

C.L.W. – How long did it take you to shoot “Duck Tron” and what was your process like?

D.B. – The whole thing took about a month. The stop motion animators were Drayson Helberg and Tyson James. They also helped develop the concept. On their end, there was about a week of building and planning and then about two weeks of actual animation. They split up all the shots. Sometimes they were animating together and sometimes it was just one of them working on a shot. Tyson’s dad actually built a rig that allowed them to get some of the more complex camera movements. They used the program Dragon, which is kind of like industry standard for stop motion.

They went through a lot of Duck Tape, I wish I kept track of how much, but I’d say it was at least 50 rolls. The grid and background was also made out of Duck Tape, so that’s where a lot of it went. I think the people at Michael’s were probably wondering why we were buying so much, but they never asked what it was for.

Nate Milton helped come up with the concept and also took all of Tyson and Drayson’s shots, cleaned them up, and turned them into video in After Effects. Jason Ragosta filmed the live action stuff. He also did color correction for the whole piece. Andrew Wickens did all the sound effects for the stop motion. He just responded to a Craigslist ad that I posted. Ryan Pamplin produced it. He’s the one that got on the phone and got Tron Guy to agree to do it. I think he held the boom pole too.

The whole commercial was filmed at our house/office in Oakland. We filmed the live action stuff right after we finished the stop motion.

Tron Guy (Jay Maynard) stayed with us for like 4 or 5 days. He’s a really nice guy. He mostly kept to himself. He’s really into Second Life, so I learned a lot about that from him – probably more than I wanted to know.

It was cool to finally see him in his Tron suit on the day of filming. The light on one of his shoulder pads was out, so we had to try and shoot around that. At the end of the shoot, he told me he had to go to the bathroom like the entire time we were filming, but he held it in because the whole suit has to come off if you need to tinkle. He was a real trooper. One thing I tried to do was make sure he wasn’t the butt of the joke, like he was on America’s Got Talent. That type of stuff is mean spirited and not funny to me.

The only thing I will say is this: that man can eat. I brought a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts home one night and I told Jay to have as many as he wanted. When I came downstairs in the morning, I think there was like one and a half left.

C.L.W. – Duck Tron is the perfect storm of Internet meme, technical genius and brand affinity. Did you make conscious decisions along the way to maximize the video’s viral potential?

D.B. – The hope was for the video to go viral, but we didn’t write it with that in mind. There’s not really a formula to make a successful viral video. It’s not like you can just take a bunch of random elements and make a viral video – although there was a SmartWater commercial with Jennifer Aniston that kind of poked fun at that idea.

For Duck Tape, the brief was pretty open ended. It was basically: show us cool things you can do with Duck Tape. We were a little apprehensive about doing the Tron homage at first, because it was a departure from the idea Duck Tape approved and wasn’t really an ad in the traditional sense. I’m just glad Duck Tape had faith in the idea.

C.L.W. – Did you have a plan in the works to seed this thing, like was it a conscious effort on your part to make the video go viral? If not, how did it happen?

D.B. – I had already forgotten about the video and had moved on to other projects. I put it on Vimeo a week or so prior so that we could add it to our company’s website. I sent the link to the cast and crew. So it must have spread from there.

C.L.W. – So it’s Monday morning and the video already has 35k views on Vimeo…what’s going through your head?

D.B. – I was just happy people were seeing a video I had directed. Most of our other videos had a couple hundred views. So to get 35k in one day was amazing. That’s my number one goal when doing this stuff – make videos that people connect with and talk about. I’ve been doing this for close to two years and most of the videos I’ve done never really see the light of day, even when they’ve been purchased by the brand.

C.L.W. – There was a ton of incredible press surrounding the video from Wired to Gizmodo to Ad Week to G4’s Attack of the Show. Did that lead to inbounds or inquiries about producing more viral videos?

D.B. – We’ve had a couple discussions, but nothing has happened yet. I feel an incredible amount of pressure to follow up Duck Tron with another viral hit. But realistically, it’s like catching lightning in a bottle. I do think I’ve learned a couple secrets from the process though that will help me in the future.

C.L.W. – Which of the following achievements are you most proud of: hitting #6 on Reddit, debuting at #2 on the Ad Age Viral Video Chart, living on as #10 Most Viewed of All-time on Vimeo?

D.B. – All of those are awesome. The Ad Age thing was pretty amazing because we beat out some big videos. But honestly, I haven’t really paid too much attention to that stuff. My producer Ryan is all over that. I just want to focus on making more cool videos.

C.L.W. – What do you think of Tongal’s new Tournament Style process? I.e. pitching for work, securing a budget, etc.?

D.B. – I like the new Tournament Style Process. To me, it’s almost not even a contest at that point, because the process is very similar to how a real production studio would pitch to a client. It’s nice to see brands starting to recognize the professionalism of the best creators.

The evolution just makes sense to me. The video contests are great, but they are a huge risk. If you want to do something good, you have to spend time and money if you want a chance at winning. Even if you know for sure you are going to win, that money you invested is in limbo until they announce the winners. Anything that takes more risk out of the equation for us (and probably for the brands as well) is a good thing in my opinion.

C.L.W. – Seems like you’re on a bit of a Tongal streak – without giving too much away, what’s in store for us from the mamaRoo Video you’re producing?

D.B. – Jason Ragosta, who did the cinematography for Duck Tron, is directing that one. I’m more of a producer or baby wrangler I guess you could say. Since he’s a cinematographer I expect it to be very visual and colorful.

C.L.W. – You’re not stranger to the online video contest world. How do we stack up relative to the other sites out there?

D.B. – I feel like I’m cheating on my other sites by saying this, because I’ve been working with them for a while, and Tongal is kind of like a new love, but it’s been the best overall experience. Not to say anything bad about the other sites. But announcing winners on time and paying your creators in a timely fashion goes a long way in my book. And Tongal excels at both of those. Like I said before, I also like the pitch system because I know if the brand likes the idea before I go and make it.

C.L.W. – I would argue that Maximum Borgnine is by far and away the most memorable entry from last year’s CTSB, I mean it’s not everyday that a video contest entry features an academy-award winning actor. What was that whole experience like?

D.B. – It was a blast. My producer Ryan Pamplin was a family friend of Ernest Borgnine’s publicist. He helped set up a meeting with Ernie in Los Angeles.

I forget why exactly, I think Ryan was working on something, but we didn’t leave the bay area until 3 or 4 AM the morning of the meeting. But we drove straight there and got in right on time for the 9 AM meeting. Bug eyed and highly caffeinated.

We pitched the idea to Ernie and showed him an animated storyboard. He said: “When do we start?” Then he let both of us hold his Oscar.

The actual production was great. Honestly, I was super sick the day before filming. In the hospital sick. The doctors said there is no way you are going to film. I called around and had a friend ready to step in to direct. But at the last minute, I told myself I wasn’t going to let an opportunity like this slip away and I took a bunch of pills that got me through the day.

There was also a scare early on when Ernest Borgnine tripped and fell on a rug when we were rehearsing the first shot. I thought he broke something for sure because he’s 94 and he hit the ground REALLY hard. I figured the shoot was over before we even got the first shot. But he was fine. He was cursing up a storm. But he got up on his own and didn’t complain about the incident once. He was super nice to everyone. He took pictures with everyone in the crew. Dian Bachar was also great to work with. It’s funny, both of them were in the movie BASEketball, but they didn’t have a scene together in that movie.

I was surprised it didn’t make the finals. One complaint I heard was that if you take Ernest Borgnine out of the commercial, the concept itself is kind of weak. To which I was always like – well he is in the commercial! I wouldn’t have done the same concept if I had just some random old guy. It was written specifically with Ernest Borgnine in mind.

C.L.W. – What’s next for you on Tongal or otherwise?

D.B. – I just finished a bunch of videos and pitches that I’m waiting to hear back about, so I have a somewhat clean plate. There are some personal projects that I have been working on, but they need a little more time to simmer. I’m really waiting for the Crash the Superbowl announcement. I’m determined to win that contest this year. There are also some cool projects on Tongal right now, like the Beach Boys music video. We might be doing something for that. You can check out most our videos at ryactive.com

In this Tongaler of the Month, Caleb Light-Wills interviews 1^st place “Outside the Box” video winner and pitch creator extraordinaire, Sean Clark. Of the four tournament style projects we’ve hosted, Sean has come out on top three times (the only member to ever do so), earning him production budgets and guaranteed prizes for each of those finished videos. With the announcement of Freshpet’s Video winners and Benjamin Moore’s “Find Your Perfect Color” submission phase closing this afternoon, we couldn’t think of a more opportune moment to discuss past wins, future ambitions and what it’s like to have one of your commercials aired on TV.

Caleb Light-Wills – You’ve been on Tongal for over a year now, but how and when did you first find out about / start participating on the site?

Sean Clark – My friend Cecile-Anne Sison first told me about it. She’d registered on Tongal without really competing at all, which is what I did for a long time after joining.

C.L.W. – Were you apprehensive about the Tongal process or was it something you understood?

S.C. – I think the process was always pretty intuitive, but I was apprehensive about spending a lot of time, money, and energy making videos because I’m always skeptical when it comes to all things involving getting paid from the Internet. I mean, I’ve never actually met a person “with a computer, making $5000/week working from home!”

C.L.W. – Good point. What is your production background like?

S.C. – I finished a master’s degree in documentary in 2008. I’ve been mostly freelancing since, which usually amounts to a feast or famine lifestyle. I’ve camera-assisted on commercials and camera operated on a couple low-budget documentaries. I seem to always be in pre-production of some documentary of my own that rarely gets off the ground.

I guess the clear demarcation point was when I quit my well-paying bank job to have no money.

C.L.W. – There’s basically an 8-month gap between the time you joined the site and your “Outside The Box” win. What inspired you to dive into Tongal?

S.C. – Sometime around last October, a good friend of mine Micah Gardner started winning on Tongal – a lot – so I figured it was definitely worth it for me to start putting my energy into creating videos.

C.L.W. – How did it feel to win $5,000 for your “Balloons” Video?

S.C. – Winning first place on my first video was an amazing start. I was anxious about the competition because I had seen some very good videos submitted to other competitions, some with high production values. On the other hand, I got very positive feedback from the “Balloons” video, so I figured I had a shot.

C.L.W. – What did you think of the other videos submitted to the project?

S.C. – I liked the Shackleton’s expedition quality of Jeffrey King’s video and thought it would be very formidable competition.

C.L.W. – How did you come up with concept for “Balloons?”

S.C. – Benjamin Moore gave really loose guidance on that project saying it could be almost anything as long as it was creative. I thought that was a rare opportunity so I really wanted to make something that didn’t feel much like a commercial. Using vibrant colors in drab surroundings isn’t the latest thing, but I was surprised I couldn’t think of a paint ad like that. Being thrifty was my first concern and balloons are very cheap. I also didn’t want to use actors because I don’t really know any. So I started looking for locations and it just built from there. Some places seemed like it would look better for the balloon to be moving vertical, others were better suited for horizontal movement. That’s where the idea came to have them sort of emerging then traveling, then flying into the sky. I think the final shot of the balloons coming down to the house really makes the video.

C.L.W. – How long did it take you to shoot “Balloons” and what was your process like?

I suppose we did about 6 days of shooting (plus another 6 days of Photoshop work), which is hilarious because wonderful short films have been made in less time. My girlfriend Caitlin Wicker and I did the whole thing ourselves with balloons moving on pulleys using invisible string (which mostly had to be photoshopped out anyway.) The whole thing was really a disaster. I hadn’t counted on one small thing: wind. It’d take us an hour to get a balloon just to move 6 feet horizontally. Between calming my frustrations and moving the balloons, Caitlin probably deserves more credit than I do. I shot it all on a Canon 7D using the RedRockMicro rig and the only lens I owned at the time, a 24-70mm 2.8L.

C.L.W. – Your video was beautifully scored, who did the music?

S.C. – A friend of my girlfriend’s Ellen O’Meara did the music. I gave her some examples, requested something haunting with piano, and she gave me this beautiful piece. If anyone is need of a composer, she is excellent and extremely friendly. She’ll be doing the music for the new Benjamin Moore video I’m doing as well.

C.L.W. – “Find Your Perfect Color” marks your 3^rd Pitch win in two short months, bringing your earnings dangerously close to that $10k mark. That’s got to feel pretty good, right?

S.C. – The best thing has been just the ability to keep making videos. Everyone in film/media knows that most of us spend far more time talking about work or ideas than we actually spend working. I’m just appreciative to be able to be the creative force behind something that actually gets made. Oh the money has been nice too, a fabulous supplement, and at times, the only money coming in.

C.L.W. – What are you thoughts on the new tournament / pitch process?

S.C. – I love the pitch style competitions! It’s guaranteed money if you win, plus most of the time you get to start from your own idea.

C.L.W. – What advice would you offer to other creators about how to put together a winning Pitch and convince sponsors to trust you with a budget?

S.C. – I think the sponsors don’t want to just “have faith” that you’re going to make a good video. They would prefer to see step-by-step of how you imagine your video looking.  For the latest Benjamin Moore pitch, I spent days basically making a mini-version of my actual video.

C.L.W. – Without giving too much away, what’s in store for us from the Freshpet and Benjamin Moore Videos you’re producing?

S.C. – The Benjamin Moore video is being shot half on Super 8 and half digital so I think it’s going to have a unique look for Tongal videos. For the Freshpet video there’s going to be a talking dog. I thought this was going to involve some tedious animation of the dog’s mouth that probably would never look exactly right, but as luck would have it, I actually found a talking dog, and he speaks four languages!

C.L.W. – What are some key factors you take into consideration when figuring out whether or not to participate in a project?

S.C. – I don’t really have a formula like the Norman Invasion so it’s really come down to if I have an idea that I think holds water. It should also be thrifty. The brand names matter a lot too. Actually, I would love to have a formula for this.

C.L.W. – Could make for a good future blog post. Has Tongal helped you professionally, like has it helped you build a usable portfolio, get gigs, jobs, etc?

S.C. – Tongal has been a huge asset over the past year and not just monetarily. The best part has been having projects that create content for my reel. It’s hard to create reel material when you aren’t working on anything. Just taking a camera outside and shooting anything doesn’t usually yield much for your show reel. I couldn’t be more excited about the news that the Benjamin Moore “Balloons” commercial is apparently going to be on On-Demand television. That’s been the icing on the cake.

C.L.W. – Did you ever imagine that “Balloons” would end up on TV?

It’s interesting when something positive happens that you never even considered a possibility. You almost aren’t prepared how to react. I’ve worked on commercials in the past but the Benjamin Moore “Balloons” video was the first commercial where I’ve been the creative force behind it. The fact that it’s airing on television was never a realistic possibility in the first place and it actually happened on my first video. It was created by only myself and one other person so it’s a credit to how far something can go with a simple idea and the connections that Tongal offers.

C.L.W. – What have you spent your earnings on?

S.C. – I’ve bought a couple lenses but that’s about it. I’ve paid out for sound, composers, voiceover, graphics, etc from the earnings. I wish I were more of a one-man band, but I’m not.

C.L.W. – What has been your favorite Project on Tongal so far?

S.C. – I’m finishing up the Freshpet video at the moment and it’s been a lot of fun to work on. I didn’t have to shoot very much and I got to do it with old friends from Louisville and their pets. Micah is doing the graphics so it’s been pretty low stress so far and that’s been great.

C.L.W. – What is your favorite thing about Tongal?

S.C. – For anyone who’s ever seen a bad commercial and thought “hey I could do better than this,” Tongal lowers the barriers to enter a world that was once open for only a few major advertising companies with six figure budgets.  My favorite thing is that it gives me the opportunity to make a start in something I would love to do for a career.  I can’t say enough how friendly and encouraging the people at Tongal have been.

C.L.W. – What’s next for you on Tongal or otherwise?

S.C. – I’ve got Freshpet and Benjamin Moore’s “Find Your Perfect Color” going concurrently at the moment so things are very busy. After those wrap up, it’s back to looking for more work!

If you’ve been on Tongal in the past few months, you’ve probably noticed that a new style of project that we’re calling the “Video Tournament” has emerged as a dominant force on the site. The premise behind the tournament is simple – Video producers Pitch their take on how best to accomplish a Project Objective using 500 characters of text, storyboards, screen tests, and links to their reels or other previously created content. The Project Judges select the best Pitches and those creators are given a budget to go out and produce their video. Once their video is completed, those creators are then guaranteed one of the prizes in the following video phase, with a shot at the 1st place grand prize. It’s a win-win for both sponsors and creators, because sponsors are guaranteed an array of creative interpretations with a larger degree of control or input and creators are guaranteed payment for their completed videos and have more guidance before setting out on a shoot.

When we first launched the Tournament Style Project with the Dialogue Earth “Energy” we weren’t sure what was going to emerge as a result or even what a winning Pitch looked like. This made it hard to instruct people as to how best to tackle the assignment. Then, Robert Deutsch submitted his Pitch and everything changed. Not only was it beautifully crafted but his previous Tongal videos also gave the Judges all the confidence they needed to select him as a winner. Since then, we’ve been able to reverse engineer what a winning Pitch looks like and give everyone a leg up in subsequent competitions.

BACK IT UP

It’s best to think about a Pitch as you would a court case – It’s all hearsay until you have evidence back up your claims. If you show up babbling about six-camera set-ups, 30 extras, cranes, jibs, and 10-minute track shots, but have zero evidence to back up your abilities, you’ll never convince a jury (or a panel of Project Judges) that you’re capable of pulling it off. The more evidence you have to support your case the better your chances of winning, period.

• Video: Nothing says, “I can make this happen” like a short video explaining how you plan to tackle the production of your piece. Some of the best examples come from Robert Deutsch, Sean Clark and Michael Ring. It’s both a way to personalize your take and show off your cinematic technique.

• Image / Storyboard: Another great way to convey “the look” of your video or to hit upon more specific story-telling aspects is to upload some stills or put a storyboard together.
  

• Links: Including links to your reel and past work is always a good idea. Even if your show reel is a year old and that music video didn’t quite turn out the way you wanted, judges want to get a sense of your capabilities. Remember, you’re trying to convince them to finance your video production, so giving them more reasons to do so is always better than less!

WIN ON TONGAL IN AN OPEN CONTEST FORMAT

This isn’t to say that if you haven’t won on Tongal, you won’t be selected. Just competing in an open video contest is enough. The whole point is having evidence to back up your Pitch, and submitting videos to previous Tongal contests is one of the best ways to build that trust. However, it’s worth noting that previous winners are more likely to land gigs. Why? Because it lets the judges know that that you

1. 1) are capable of delivering superlative work

1. 2) can work effectively off of a creative brief

1. 3) can work within set of limitations or restrictions

1. 4) will deliver on time

Basically, if you submit to or win in Tongal’s open contest format, you’re leaps and bounds ahead of most videomakers out there. Be proud.

EXECUTE WITH STYLE

It almost goes without saying, but executing what was laid out in your Pitch is only 80% of creating a successful video. With 4 – 6 other creators going after that 1st place grand prize and Pitches kept private, you never know what someone else has up their sleeve. Behave accordingly and always strive to outdo yourself. Remember, a lackluster performance can affect future selections and likewise, fussing with last minute uploads is sloppy and unprofessional. Put your best foot forward and make a lasting impression…it will pay for itself many times over.

In this Tongal Of The Month, Tongal’s own Caleb Light-Wills interviews four-time 1^st place winning video creators and current #2 All-Time Leaderboard ranking, The Norman Invasion. For those of you who have been living under a rock (or just joined the site), The Norman Invasion dominated Tongal from May through August of last year – placing first in three consecutive video projects, assuming the 1^st place position on the Tongal All-Time Leaderboard, and racking up well over $10,000 along the way. Then, mysteriously, The Invasion slipped quietly into the digital abyss, leaving in their wake a gaggle of stunned creators and a portfolio of unparalleled renown.

It’s that time of the year again and The Invasion is back with a new big win under its belt ($9,500) for its most notable client to date (Benjamin Moore). With Tongal’s new Tournament Style Projects and a reel like theirs, you can expect to see a lot more of these guys on the site in the near future.

Caleb Light-Wills – You’ve been on Tongal for a while now, but how and when did you first find out about and start participating on the site?

The Norman Invasion – First of all, Tongalers of the Month! Woohoo! Thanks guys! We’re totally sending this article to our mothers immediately, btw.

Anyway, we found out about Tongal through a friend in Fall 2009, and shortly thereafter started trying our luck at the concept phases and predicting the winners (we did terribly) and made our first video for the site a few months later.

CLW – Were you apprehensive about the Tongal process or was it something you understood almost immediately?

TNI – The process is pretty self-explanatory, and by the time we started getting into it, there had been enough contests/winners at that point that we knew it could be trusted.

CLW – So who is The Norman Invasion?

TNI – The Norman Invasion is a masked vigilante army of crime-fighters-turned-filmmakers. We stopped crime-fighting when the masks got too hot. Mainly it’s myself (Colin Duffy) and Aaron Moorhead, but we’ve kinda expanded our team a little over time to include a fairly regular group of crew members and actors.

CLW – What role does each of you play in the production of your videos?

TNI – Usually the way it goes is I handle the prep (concept, script, casting, organizing the shoot) and direct it, while Aaron does the cinematography, and handles the post-workflow (editing, vfx, color timing, delivery). Of course those aren’t set in stone. We’ve co-directed a couple, and we’ve done a few projects where our friend Brian Barrow did a lot of the shooting, and I’ve edited a couple of them, and on the most recent one, we had an outside producer, Gio Orellana (of Anchorbolt Studios) which was a first for us. We aren’t too territorial.

CLW – What is your production background like?

TNI – Aaron and I are Florida State University film school grads. And for anyone wondering, the answer is “Yes. Miami sucks”, and “Yes, our school’s fight song contains the phrase “scalp ‘em”.

Both of us have steady work in the film industry these days. Aaron has been finding very consistent work as a DP, VFX artist, and Colorist for the past couple of years (too steady to always be available for my shoots, I might add, annoyed), while I am currently in the Directors Guild of America Producer Training Program, and trying to build my directing reel/resume in my down time. For me, making commercials is more like a side-job for now, but it’ll get there.

CLW – What was the first Tongal project you participated in and what was the result?

TNI – The first Tongal project we did was for the Kiva: Loans That Change Lives contest. It was actually before Aaron got involved and it was the first thing I’d directed in about a year. We got beaten pretty soundly in that competition, and I didn’t have the heart to compete again until Record My Calls came around like 8 months later. We learned some lessons on Kiva though.

CLW – Flash forward: Benjamin Moore marks your 4th (and largest) 1st place win on Tongal, making you the only creators on the site to ever do so. It also pushes  your lifetime earnings over that $20,000 mark. That’s got to feel pretty good, right?

TNI – Oh definitely. We were stoked. We were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to come back strong after not competing on Tongal for a while, so this was a big win for us. Tongal has been kind to us.

CLW – Were you nervous about the competition?

TNI – There are always nerves before the winners are announced, just because it’s so subjective, and sometimes the judges are looking for something so specific in the brief, and if you don’t have that, or don’t hit it as well as another video, what might seem insignificant to you could cost you the competition.

CLW – Was Benjamin Moore a company that you were already familiar with or did you have to do some research?

TNI – I was familiar with it, because my parents are both Architects, so they knew all about it and they were quite excited that their son was finally doing an ad for a product they actually use.

CLW – Your commercial was based on Carrie Hunter’s Concept but you definitely made it your own. What made you choose that concept and how did you adapt concept to make it work for you?

TNI – Gio (the producer) just messaged me one day and told me he thought we should do that one (which just happened to be written by fellow FSU film school grad Carrie Hunter). He figured “no one else will have an ice-cream truck”, and found out what it would take to get one for our shoot, and just made it happen. As it would turn out, EVERYONE had an ice cream truck somehow, but obviously his instinct to go with that pitch still worked out well for us.

CLW – How long did it take you to shoot Live The Legend and what was your process like?

TNI – It was about ten hours of shooting, and a day and a half of editing. I wrote/directed/edited, Gio produced, Brian Barrow shot it, Rocky Collins did some booming, our wonderful composer who we use on everything, Dan Martinez, did the music, and Aaron did the color timing and logo replacement.

CLW – What sorts of techniques did you employ to make your story more effective?

TNI – I figured the more epic and serious and beautiful, and emotional the build-up was, the funnier it would be when we tore it all down. That and have guys scream like girls.

CLW – What equipment did you use to shoot and edit the piece?

TNI – We shot mostly on the Canon Rebel T3i, with the occasional 7D as b-camera, recorded sound on the Zoom H4n, cut in Adobe Premiere (due to our PC, MAC, and After Effects workflow requirements), and finished in Color.

CLW – Any funny stories?

TNI – You can’t tell at all in the final video, but when everyone is standing around getting the paint at the truck, that whole group was improvising and shouting the most absolutely insane lines, while looking as happy as could be.  My favorites “I want the purple stuff!!” “This one will be great for your washing machine!!” and “I can’t hear what the director is telling us!!” For the record I was telling them “cut”.

CLW – Your commercial was beautifully cast, I even noticed a few familiar Tongal faces are those people professional actors, friends, fellow tongalers?

TNI – Everyone (with the exception of Brian, Gio and myself), are actual trained actors; all really talented. Gio helped cast our narrator and the narrator’s wife, while pretty much everyone else had been in other commercials that I’ve done. Rocky Collins, aka the guy reading the newspaper, has a solid Tongal record with his business partner Gio, so he’s no stranger to the online ad competition world. If anyone is in LA and wants to use anyone they’ve seen in our ads, message us on Tongal and we’ll put you in contact.

CLW – Even though it didn’t place, I would argue that “Finding The One” was one of the best videos produced for the Winepicks Project. Do you guys have a favorite video that you produced for the site?

TNI – We agree! Haha. We got $200 for like 7th place, but we were definitely hoping for more. I think the Benjamin Moore one might be the best one we’ve done on Tongal, but our Winepicks: Blanc et Noir ad was really the turning point for us creatively, where we started to understand how far we could stretch a pitch and have fun and be creative and still make something that advertisers would want.

CLW – What has been your favorite Project on Tongal so far?

TNI – I think maybe Winepicks. Those were fun shoots, and we ended up with two commercials that we’re proud of, and it vaulted us to #1 on the site. All of the Binaca movie competitions are hilarious as well. We didn’t compete, but we watched the winners.

CLW – What are some key factors you take into consideration when figuring out whether or not to participate in a project?

TNI – I think Aaron thinks I’m a little nuts for trying, but I actually spent about 10 hours working on a really complicated excel formula that calculated how worth it it is to enter a competition. I mean, it isn’t perfect, and I wouldn’t use it to base my decision off of, but that being said, I made it like a week and a half before deciding to do the Benjamin Moore competition, and it showed it as being slightly worth entering. So it was right. I guess. Haha.

CLW – Proprietary algorithms aside, what would you say is the single biggest factor?

TNI – I think the biggest factor is always the number of competitors. When everything is being done for no money/or spending your own money, and you’re having to call in favors, you have to think about the odds first and foremost. Usually the decision to enter or pass is made about a week or so before the deadline when we see how many people have entered, then you have to figure that the number of submissions will increase by a couple per day, and then always more than double in the last 24 hours.

More and more though, we’ve been selecting competitions based on how cool the product is, and how open to interpretation the briefs are. If it is a very limiting brief, for what we see as a boring product, the prize would have to be astronomically high, and the competition very slim for us to consider it.

CLW – Has Tongal helped you professionally, like has it helped you build a usable portfolio, get gigs, jobs, etc?

TNI – Absolutely, They were not only good no-pressure crash-courses in “what are advertisers looking for?” and how to be concise and creative and informative in 60 seconds, but they’re still things that I have on my reel, and are helping us get more work and attention in the commercial world as we speak.

CLW – What do you think sets Tongal apart from other video contest sites?

Aside from it being the only site we know of where people can make money without having to have a camera and a crew and having to go out and make a video, there is also more of a sense of community on Tongal than on other sites., and I think a lot of that comes from how you and the other administrators treat the filmmakers.

Doing any work on spec is somewhat exploitative in its nature, and Tongal is the only site I know of that doesn’t take that for granted. You are obviously working hard to appease the clients with the pitch phase and suggestion phase, but more importantly for us, we feel like Tongal has the backs of the filmmakers. For instance, you are the only site that creates a deadline for the advertisers to make a decision, and you promise the fastest turnaround of prize winnings once the competition is over. There is nothing more disheartening than working so hard on a video, and struggling to make the upload deadline, and then be told that a decision will be announced sometime in the next eight weeks, and then if you win, they say they’ll send the money out in another six to eight weeks. And for anyone who’s gone on these other sites, they know that is not an exaggeration.

Contestants on Tongal should know how well they are treated here, and I think the people who come here really appreciate that when they go somewhere else.

CLW – What are you thoughts on the new tournament process, that is, the ability to put a Pitch together, secure a production budget and be guaranteed a prize for producing a video?

TNI – We just saw that, and it is really cool. We’re kinda wondering how it’ll work in practice, but it’s just one more way that illustrates how you guys are always trying something new in an effort to inspire better work, and to reward those that do it.

CLW – What have you spent your earnings on?

TNI – Hmm. I think it’s more like “how many crappy jobs have we not had to take as a result of the winnings?” The winnings have allowed us to stay focused on the things we want to do, and to go ahead and keep trying to make videos and spec commercials and write. That, and we bought a pony and named it Tongal. It was a mistake in retrospect.

CLW – What is your favorite thing about Tongal? We’ve gotta be doing something right, if you’re still around, right?

TNI – Caleb, you’re our favorite thing. Also, the big paragraph we wrote for question 12 about respect for the filmmakers. Respect, and Caleb Light-Wills.

CLW – What is your ideal Tongal project?

TNI – A really well-known brand with a super cool product, a large prize purse, a totally nonrestrictive brief, with the option/risk/ability to do a video based on a pitch not selected in the competition. Also, no other competitors. Please hire us?

CLW – What would you say has been the single best improvement on Tongal since you started using it?

TNI – The brands have definitely gotten stronger and more recognizable. It feels good to be working for something that we’ve all heard of.

CLW – What’s next for you on Tongal or otherwise?

TNI – This month is I’m doing a short for my friends’ show Backyard Effects  (www.indymogul.com). I’ve also got my first music video coming out on Vevo in this month (check out the teaser on my site) and am directing another music video next week. I’m pretty excited—it’s going to have ghostly dancers, an alien spaceship, a relationship drama—epic stuff. I’m also trying to get a pilot episode shot of a webseries I’ve been developing in my head for a while. Hopefully I’ll get a couple of small commercials squeezed in there, and maybe a spec commercial at some point as well.

Aaron is furiously editing away on a feature he just got done shooting and co-directing in San Diego, and then as soon as that is done, is scheduled to shoot another feature. In the meantime, he’s also squeezing in VFX and coloring gigs here and there. He’s a very busy guy. Too busy? Never.

CLW – How can people stay up to date with the Norman Invasion?

TNI – One of these days we’ll get the Norman Invasion website going, haha. Until then, check out my site colinhduffy.com or Aaron’s site: plpfilms.com. Also look us up on Vimeo or Youtube.

CLW – Anything else you’d like to add? Questions I should have asked, etc?

TNI – Favorite colors: Colin’s: Blue. Maybe Green. Teal is for idiots. Aaron’s: Black like his soul/ the hair of an Arabian princess