In this installment of the Tongal Twelve, Caleb Light-Wills interviews Kevin Almodovar, 1st Place Winner of the $10,000 Firefly Video Project. Kevin is one of the few Tongalers with a perfect video production batting average – that is, every video he’s produced on the site has either placed or been purchased. With consistency like that, and two aces-in-the-hole (his twin daughters), it’s no wonder Kevin nabbed Firefly’s top spot, earning almost $5,000 and catapulting him into the Top 20 on Tongal’s All-Time Leaderboard. The best part – Kevin is putting most of the money away for his daughters’ college funds. Maybe we should think about changing our tagline again… “Tongal – putting your kids through college.”
Caleb Light-Wills – How did you first find out about Tongal?
Kevin Almodovar – I've had my video production company for about 6 years and I really wanted to work on projects that gave me more creative freedom. I did a Google search for video contest and saw the Tongal website.
CLW – Were you apprehensive about the Tongal process, or was it something you understood almost immediately?
KA – I immediately spread the word, because I thought that the collaborative process mimicked many of the real world productions where you had to go through the steps of concept, development and then marketing. It was easy to understand and, as a director, it was nice having a Tagline completed allowing me to go right into the script.
CLW – What is your production background like? Are you a video creator by trade or is it more like hobby?
KA – I have been in technology my entire career, but I decided to purchase my very first camcorder only 6 years ago. It was a prosumer level camera and I thought it was one of the most intricate pieces of electronic equipment I had ever purchased. After a while, home videos of the family, although fun, were not creatively challenging and there was no money to be made. So, I started a production company and now we service a large client base. I enjoy all facets of video production, but the Tongal projects really give me the freedom to do something I love in a very relaxed environment.
CLW – What does it feel like to win close to $5,000 for 30-second commercial?
KA – It was a great experience, not only because of the money, but also because of the recognition for my work. The money also helps purchase better equipment for future productions. I wasn't really nervous, because I understood that it was a competition and anything could happen. The other winners had excellent production value and, overall, I give credit to anyone who is willing to grab a camera and just go out and do it.
CLW – Was Firefly a product that you were already familiar with or was there some research involved?
KA – I was not familiar with the Firefly product, even though I have kids. But I thought it was a brilliant idea and, of course, now it's the toothbrush of choice for my girls.
CLW – Your commercial is a very clever interpretation of Sean Ruggeri’s 1st Place tagline, “Lights, Toothbrush, Action!” Can you talk about how you came up with the idea of having the kids hold production equipment, etc?
KA – Years ago, one of my daughters came up to me when I was editing some footage at home and she was curious as to these big black things I had on my ears. So, I put the headphones on her and she looked so cute with them on because they were so big on her little head. Plus the look on her face of hearing music for the first time through headphones was priceless. When I read Sean's tagline, I immediately thought why not use the headphones again? I added a shotgun microphone with a pistol grip, because they were too small to hold a boom, and I thought the slate would be an easily applied prop as well.
CLW – Was it helpful to work off of the assets created in previous phases like the bumpers and taglines? Do you think that made the process feel more collaborative?
KA – I love the Tongal workflow. To have a community of creative people coming up with Taglines and Concepts feels like a real production. Two heads are always better than one and I think the end product shows that.
CLW – How long did it take you to shoot “Double Trouble” and what was your process like?
KA – The girls are my daughters and so casting was not an issue. Now, dealing with twin 4 years-olds with short attention spans in a production environment is a whole different story. I decided to do this one on my own because I was not sure how they would perform with a lot of people around. I changed the bulbs in our bathroom to daylight balanced compact fluorescents and shot my video handheld over three nights when they were getting ready for bed. They thought the toothbrushes were great and when I explained to them how they worked they were eager to show Dad that they understood. I used a Canon 550D/T2i with a Sigma 17-70mm constant aperture 2.8 lens, a Sennheiser ME66 shotgun and edited on Premiere Pro CS5 on a Mac Pro.
KA (CONT) – I thought the funniest moment was when I had one of my girls wearing the headphones and because I was just using them as props, they were not hooked up so, in essence, it was like putting earmuffs on her. She could not hear a thing and the look she gave me was more like "what the heck are you doing Dad and why am I wearing these things again?" The look was precious so it made the cut. Also, after I was done shooting, my daughters asked where the pretty blue lights in the bathroom went (The daylight balanced compact fluorescents gave the bathroom a bit of a blue hue).
CLW – What are you going to spend the money on?
KA – Half of the money went into their college fund and some was put away for a rainy day. I did use some of it to buy some equipment and accessories, of course.
CLW – What is your favorite thing about Tongal?
KA – I like the process and how it allows all types of creative people to participate. With taglines, concepts, video and marketing components it gives people, who are not just production folks, the capacity to gain exposure for their creativity and make a little money along the way.
CLW – What’s next for you on Tongal or otherwise?
KA – We plan on trying to participate in some more of the Tongal project. As for my company, we stay busy with the local productions of broadcast commercials, corporate videos and vacation rental promotional videos. My goal is to eventually do a feature and I am in the process of finalizing a deal for a script.
CLW – What types of improvement would you like to see on Tongal in the future?
KA – The Tongal system is as near perfect as one could ask for and the Tongal treats their creators very well, but I guess I could come up with a couple of ideas...Maybe once a year have a video contest that is not product driven to give those creative individuals a venue to show their capacity and allow them to express themselves through this great medium with less guidelines. I also think a tutorial section for people who want to improve their production skills would be a great addition and, if there are none currently, prizes for the leaderboard.
This interview was conducted via email on October 15, 2010.
