When it comes to Fantastic Sams, the client chooses their hairstyle. In the case of their advertising though, Fantastic Sams sought out Litewave Media and their award-winning Tampa film crew to write, shoot, cast and edit a series of national quality TV commercials.
Fantastic Sams with the Litewave Media Film Crew and Cast
Litewave Media’s veteran Tampa video production company brought their comedic expertise to the project to create some truly unique commercials. Writer Jeff Zampino scribed three scripts, and director Christian Schwier along with the Fantastic Sams marketing team chose two which eventually became the “Night Owl” commmercial featuring a vampire who is in dire need of a haircut and the “3 Color Days” commercial featuring a Snidely Whiplash type character set in the 1920’s.
Larry Bukovey as The Vampire in “The Night Owl Special”
The Litewave Media team combined with the technology of their newly acquired Canon C100 camera, produced exceptional results. The commercials were filmed over a series of 3 days at the Litewave Media video studio‘s backlot and two Fantastic Sams locations. Video editing and special FX compositing took place at Litewave Media’s Tampa post production facility.
Actors Ed Olson and Serrelle Baker in “3 Color Days
The first of the two scripts promotes Fantastic Sams “3 Color Days” special, and takes place in the 1920’s and features a Snidely Whiplash character. Christian and his Tampa video company decided to give a vintage film treatment to this commercial. It begins in black and white then shifts to color when the female lead goes to Fantastic Sams to brighten up her style. The second script focuses on the salon’s late night hours and highlights characters who can only visit during the night. The main character is a friendly vampire…who needs his hair done, just like everybody else.
Fantastic Sams Salon Set
Be sure to stay tuned to your TV to see these two commercials next week!
[UPDATE 6/11/14 Videos online!]
As always, please like our Tampa film crew on Facebook, and keep up with the latest video news on the blog! Don’t forget to give us a call for a free consultation for your next Tampa video project!
Each year teams of filmmakers from around the world compete in a film competition known as the 48 Hour Film Project. In this no-holds-bar event teams have only 48 hours to write, shoot, edit and submit a short film in their randomly chosen genre. As if that weren’t enough, there’s also a list of requirements that each film must contain in order to be eligible for the competition. This year required the prop of “bubble wrap,” a character named “Charlie/Charlene Sparks,” the profession of “farming,” and the line of dialogue “He never tells me anything”. On top of all that, the Litewave Media team was chosen to be part of a documentary about the 48 Hour Film Project as the team had won last year with their award-winning film “F”. And so, a film crew documenting the madness of the film project had their cameras pointed on the team the whole weekend.
Director Christian Schwier and his Tampa production company drew the genre “Buddy film” out of a hat on Friday, July 26th. They quickly swapped “Buddy film” out for a wild card genre “B-Movie” and began their race to finish: Sunday, July 28th. (A “B-Movie” can best be described as a lower budget, melodramatic film.) Perfect for our Tampa video crew!
A MELODRAMATIC Litewave Media 48 Hour Film Project Cast/Crew
The first thing the team had to do was decide on an idea, which Schwier said was “The most difficult part”. They looked to old 50’s B-movies for inspiration. With a room full of writers, brainstorming wasn’t an issue, instead it was picking the one idea and saying “this is it!”
Christian Schwier, Jeff Zampino and the rest of the crew brainstorming in the Litewave Studios conference room
By 3 a.m. three things were decided: the movie needed a robot, an overly dramatic kiss, and blue speckled aliens. Make-up artist Anya Yushchenko quickly got to work bringing two of those elements to life.
Anya Yushchenko applying blue speckled make-up to BobbyAnn Loper
Anthony Brock (QX-45 robotic support droid) being assembled by Anya Yushchenko
When the 48 hour time constraint started affecting the film, the team had to take action quick. “We had to edit down the script and cut two locations out in the middle of shooting to make this film doable”, Schwier stated. And so, on July 28th at 6:42pm (18 minutes to deadline) with the help of Jeff Zampino’s set design, Steve Allen’s special effects, Andrew Ortoski’s lighting, Stephen Maxwell’s original music, and an amazing crew and cast, “Man-Eating Hatchlings of Galvac-7” was born and officially submitted.
Anya Yushchenko, Maylin Morera, Linda Roser, and Karleigh Chase on set
Jim Flynn in the “hibernation pod” with Steve Allen, (Special FX) hovering over
Karleigh Chase, Jeff Sheppard and Jim Flynn stand by on set location two
All the sleepless hardwork and dedication paid off in the end. The Litewave Media crew received seven nominations: Best Film, Best Director, Best Sound Design, Best Use of Line of Dialogue, Best Special Effects, Best Costumes, and the Audience Choice Award. The winners will be announced on August 27th, Muvico Centro Ybor at 7 p.m.
For more information about the 48 hour Film Project click here, 48 hr. Film Project
Without further ado, here’s “Man-Eating Hatchlings of Galvax-7”
Don’t forget to like and follow us on Facebook to keep up with our Tampa Video Production Company’s new projects!
And please contact our studio for any of your video production needs or for a free consultation! Until next next time… 🙂
Litewave Media, one of the most innovative Tampa video production companies, recently celebrated its seventh anniversary, so we thought this was a great time to share some of our very best work from 2012 in our 2013 demo reel!
What began in Litewave Media founder Christian Schwier’s home in 2005 has expanded exponentially over the last few years. Our production team has worked on a variety of projects from feature films, national reality TV shows, corporate training videos, TV commercials, and award winning short films. We’ve worked all across the U.S. and around the world in locales like Nigeria, Europe and the Cayman Islands.
Litewave Media founder Christian Schwier and Producer/Writer Jeff Zampino win a 2012 ADDY Award for their Trend Apprentice video.
Our Tampa video crew has grown from a one-man operation to a team of camera operators, set designers, producers, writers, make-up artists, video editors and more. We’ve continually expanded our range of video equipment and editing suites. Our arsenal now includes multiple HD and 4K camera packages, including the RED Scarlet, Panasonic HPX-170, HVX-200, Canon 5D Mark III, and Canon 7 D.
Our client list has grown tremendously. We filmed a concert for gospel stars Cepeda McKay and No Limits and dove into ABC’s Shark Tank to shoot the backstory for a local contestant. We also helped women Shrink Their Dress with nutrition and fitness expert Dr. Delrae Messer and met Dr. Condoleeza Rice at the Republican National Convention. Our current projects include a series of over 50 training videos for Microsoft as well as filming two episodes for ABC’s “The Chew” that will air next month!
As Tampa corporate video producers, we filmed projects for clients like Health-e-Systems, and Ideal Image, and won multiple ADDY and Telly awards for our work. We participated in national film festivals with our short and feature-length films, and took home 8 trophies at the 48 Hour Film Project this year including best film for our short titled “F” (which will be competing nationally at Filmapalooza in LA in March).
As we plan for our next stage of growth, we look forward to taking Litewave Media to a whole new level as Tampa’s leading video production company. In December 2012 our company opened a new 3200 square foot Tampa video studio facility, Litewave Studios, in St. Petersburg, Florida where we will produce, shoot and edit our video projects, as well as provide studio rental space and crew for other productions.
The world premier of Litewave Media’s feature film Jules Dongu Saves the World at Gotham Screen Festival 2012 in New York City.
We also look forward to completing our next film,The Skyship Chronicles and acquiring distribution for Jules Dongu Saves the World, a full-length anime-action adventure film which premiered at The Gotham Screen International Film Festival in New York City last October.
In closing, we’d like to share a reel of some of our Tampa production studio’s favorite work with you. We hope you enjoy.
To keep up on all of our video projects, be sure to like our Facebook page, and if you have a video project coming up, contact our Tampa production studio to make it memorable. E-mail us at [email protected] for a free consultation. Are you ready for your close-up?
Our Tampa video production company was hired by ABC to film the back story package for two local contestants appearing on the new season of the hit show Shark Tank.
ABC producers flew from Los Angeles before the show to film the story of David Mealey, an unemployed golf equipment salesman, and his pregnant wife Nique. Footage was shot on a North Tampa golf course and inside the clubhouse. Their product, Back 9 chicken dip, was presented to the Sharks on October 5.
The Shark Tank crew was eager to partner with Litewave Media, a veteran reality show production company, and was thrilled with how smoothly the day went. The Tampa video crew included camera operator Christian Schwier, sound technician Mike Barnitt, and production assistant, Harold Hood.
Litewave Media founder, Christian Schwier, on the Shark Tank set.
“It was a fantastic experience to work with the Shark Tank producers,” says Schwier. “We shot on the Sony XDCAM PDW-700 and used a variety of sound gear to get great audio for the different shots.”
The Mealeys pitched their dips, which include Bubba’s Chicken Wing dip, then stayed poised during an interrogation from Shark Lori Greiner. After some negotiating, the couple secured $150,000 in a partnership deal from Greiner and fellow Shark Robert Herjavec. The money will be used to fund production and distribution.
Litewave Media was hired by the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) to film two projects at the Republican National Convention, which recently took place in Tampa, Florida this August. “The RSLC found us online through our website,” Litewave founder Christian Schwier explains. “They had viewed some of our company’s previous work and thought we would be a good fit for their documentary video project.”
Christian working at the RNC.
Despite storms from Hurricane Isaac, gnarled traffic and huge crowds, our Tampa film crew had an exciting week filming for the documentary. Our onsite editor and Tampa post production crew also created short daily video updates that were uploaded online directly from the convention.
The Fox studio at the RNC in Tampa, Florida.
“Once we got past the security check points, bomb-sniffing dogs and car searches, the shoot was a breeze,” jokes Schwier. The documentary video project centered on five Latino Republicans from around the country who are all running for office, including House and Senate seats and a governorship. The film will tell the story of their candidacy and experiences at the RNC.
Christian and Taylor with their passes to the RNC.
The team also shot footage for five three-minute shorts, which allowed our Tampa video production company to get involved in several different aspects of the convention. Among the events filmed were an interview with Mike Huckabee, a tech panel with Joe Green, (Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard roommate) who developed applications for Facebook, and an educational summit featuring Dr. Condoleezza Rice.
Taylor using the MacBook Air mobile editing station.
Directory of Photography Christian Schwier, and the crew—Taylor Girard, Editor and 2nd Camera and Rachel Lappe, Camera Assistant—used both a Panasonic HPX-170 and a Panasonic HVX-200 to shoot the video segments. Litewave Media’s new ultra-mobile post production station includes Apple’s MacBook Air with Final Cut Studio and Adobe CS6, which allowed the footage for the video shorts to be edited onsite from almost anywhere. After they were finalized, the mini-movies were immediately uploaded to the RSLC’s YouTube channel, enabling Republican supporters to follow the activities at the convention in close to real time.
Although the Tampa video crew enjoyed many parts of the gig, Schwier says the highlight was meeting Dr. Condoleezza Rice. “We got to chat with her for a few minutes before she went on stage,” he shares. “She’s very eloquent and gave a fifteen-minute speech with no teleprompter. The room was really engaged when she spoke. You could feel the energy.”
Christian filming Dr. Condoleezza Rice.
The Republican National Convention is yet another major event to come to Tampa recently, bringing additional film and video business opportunities to the city. Schwier feels that’s good news for both the industry and Litewave Media. “Networking at the RNC will hopefully earn us future jobs when these companies and people come back to Tampa Bay for their next video project,” he says. “We’re working hard to establish ourselves as Tampa’s premier video production company—a one stop shop for crew, production, and post production needs.”
Rachel and her RNC pass.
If you have a video project you’d like to discuss with us, please contact us and to keep up with all of our adventures, like us on Facebook
