In this Tongaler of the Month, Caleb Light-Wills interviews 1st 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 3rd 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!
