is he whale, or is he human?

Over the weekend, I took the time to watch Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s ‘Blackfish.’ While I found the documentary to be interesting at its face-level, I can see why it was overlooked by the Academy when Oscar Season sprung upon us in late November. In essence, while the film attempted to portray a two-fold argument, it failed in presenting a double-sided argument which accounts for both sides of the story.

 

 

Blackfish’s opening alone is enough to get the viewer immediately hooked. Cowperthwaite juxtaposes the 911 voice call audio with the footage of what the viewer suspects will be the infamous YouTube video documenting the 2010 death of Seaworld Trainer, Dawn Brancheau. However, it is not. The user-generated video footage is revealed to be a normal, fantastical Orca trick. This just makes us, as the viewer, hungry for more. Following this tease, they don’t even start with this large event – the event that arguably, sparked the film. They begin to break down Seaworld, and they do this by establishing the scope with which we are about to experience at ‘insider’ look at Seaworld. We get a ‘personal’ tale from previous Seaworld Trainers (established as ‘unqualified’ by their documentary introductions). We sense a feeling of regret and wrongness from their voiceovers from their film. Clearly the antagonist here is Seaworld. However, taking that approach would seem much too corporate. Cowperthwaite needed a better angle – a more human angle. That angle came in Tilikum – Seaworld’s supposed ‘killer breeder.’ He takes the shape of the film’s anti-hero. But is he really a hero?

The major film elements utilized in Blackfish are numerous. However, the ones that really make an impact are the user-generated found footage, the audio voice recordings (with no visuals), and the interviews. The interviews allow the viewer to attach onto a personal story and opinion – a first-hand account, if you will. These interviews also filter through and show the level of Seaworld’s ‘manipulative’ tactics, especially in their depictions of why they bought Tilikum in the first place and how his presence was explained to the trainers. You also see the self-regret of these people giving the interviews, which makes their stories more believable. The found footage allows you to see it as it was. The film boldly shows footage of several of Tilikum’s killings – namely, one at a Canadian seapark called ‘SeaLand of the Pacific.’ They show the footage, typically following interviews with people that witnessed it – it’s proclaiming that these were real events. It really puts an emphasis on the fact that these events actually did happen. It’s much different reading about the death of a 13-year old, and seeing it through the shaky hands of a presumably old-school video camera.

 

 

However, while Tilikum’s story is interesting and heartbreaking and surprisingly scary – this is not the story that made me regret my 2013 spontaneous Christmas trip to Seaworld. Cowperthwaite had to establish what the ‘whale’ was exactly. Why was it important that Tilikum was human-like and intelligent? Because we had to make the connection between human and whale – so we could relate to them on that level, and see them in our scope of thinking. This heightened the argument against Seaworld. We, as viewers, are almost forced to adopt a care-based ethical approach to Cowperthwaite’s argument. The scene in particular that really touched me, and caused me to remember this documentary was their depiction (both through interviews and found footage) of a mother whale being separated from her daughter. They spoke a lot leading up to this sequence about how whales have their own language and how we’ve been working to study it. They described the sounds the mother whale made after her daughter was moved to a different park as ‘unheard of.’ She reached a scale of sound that no whale had ever been recorded making before —- in an effort to recall her lost child. This was the scene that resonated with me most. This was the reason this ‘presentation’ was evocative.

 

 

After watching this film, I know that it’s important to make sure that whatever the topic it is – it must be relatable, and it must be so on some type of emotional level. I’ve found that funny and sad are the emotions that resonate with me. However, a range of emotions is better. There’s a reason that stories always follow an arc. We’re in disarray, we find a sense of union with ourselves, then it’s disrupted to finalize in some type of conclusion. I need to be able to incorporate this arc into every presentation, so that I can take my audience through a full set of emotional reactions. My next presentation very well may be our final on Budweiser. I’m sure the possibilities for a range of emotions are endless – maybe.

give me beer, give me bands

Ok. I saw this yesterday and I tweeted about it. And I Facebook posted about it. Facebook is a very serious thing. Like most of its users, I purely use it on a stalking basis. I think the proper term is ‘lurking?’ Regardless. This was totally post worthy. Firstly, I love a good Stella Artois. Secondly, I love Cold War Kids. And I’ve seen them in concert numerous times. Sadly, none of those times I’ve ordered a Stella. Here’s to next time – because of this campaign.

Before I talk about why this all makes perfect sense, I’m trying to dig back to how they even got on the right track. They must’ve dug a heck of a lot of leaves out of the way. But my first thoughts center around the word ‘craft.’ Stella is, essentially, a craft beer. And whether we want to admit it or not, craft beer has a lot of connotations in its own. I’ll admit, I’ve taken my fair share of Buzzfeed quizzes: ‘which drink are you?’ ‘what does your favorite drink say about you?’ Anyway, apparently I’m a super hipster who always knows ‘somewhere better.’ Maybe that’s true. I’m leaving it up in the air. But there’s an obvious connection here. Craft. Like, was that the word they wrote on the board to contemplate? I really hope it is. The copy in the ad, (I’m not sure it’s the one that I posted) is brilliant. It makes the connection perfectly. They talk incessantly (but in a great way) about the way that these glass chalices are crafted. They’re ‘crafted’ in a way that each makes its a unique noise which makes a larger part of this symphony. The ‘craft’ of the beer. The ‘craft’ of the chalice. The ‘craft’ of the sound. That’s fantastic stuff. And it leads way to the perfect way to drive interest to their product. Music.

Again, I’m going back to that idea of the ‘hipster.’ It’s a negative word, but there’s clearly a cultural lifestyle out there that is prevalent and may or may not resemble this derogatory term. We’re more cultured. Anyway. These are the people that are drinking your product, your ‘craft’ beer drinkers. And a lot of these people also happen to be really into music. Really into music you’ve probably never heard of. That’s the crossroad. And it’s amazing. I’ve been to my fair share of concerts, and more – the more craft the beer (but you’ve always got your solid PBR drinkers), the cooler you are. You don’t go to concerts and see people holding mixed drinks – often. I’m not saying it hasn’t happened, because it did. It happened right in front of me in Richmond, Virginia this July at the Local Natives concert – and it ruined an otherwise unearthly experience. These are beer drinkers. And they like beer for the taste. And they know their beer. It’s not a ‘specials’ type environment. Music venues and beer are a thing. These people are your drinkers. And Stella took great advantage of them.

Cold War Kids is a band that’s been around, but their old enough that you respect their stuff. They might even have had a new album come out in the past few years? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s better if they haven’t? (Your’e itching to get at their new stuff). They’re a staple. They’re a kick-back. And it’s super cool that Stella decided to team up with them to make music. Beer, bands, and bad-ass instruments. The minute they released the song on their website, I clicked so hard. So hard. I’d like to see some stats, actually – it’d be pretty interesting stuff. But beyond the drive of awareness of their brand, they’re totally making connections that are going to sell. These people are not drinking out of solo cups. It’s a multi-focal attack and I dig it. They’re pressing a lifestyle here, they’re driving their main product, but they’re really giving you incentive to make them big bucks (I haven’t priced the chalice yet, but I’d totes be itching to get one and I bet you they cost a pretty penny). The way they know their consumer is unreal, assuming I’m tracing them back the right way, which I hope I am. Regardless, it’s a very cool campaign and I’m all over it.

Not to mention it’s helluva creative. As I’ve said over and over and over again, I’m interested in the ways that things intersect, and this intersection is magnificent. Kudos to you.

she lit a fire

We don’t have a blog post this week, so instead I’m posting about something I think is out of this world. And that ‘thing’ is one of my favorite bands, Lord Huron. In specific, their frontman Ben Schneider. (I wont’ even go into all the details about that time he threw his drum stick into the audience and how it landed at my feet…..but that’s a pretty pivotal part of the story as well). Anyway, my goal in advertising (and maybe life in general) is to find new and interesting ways that various media hit, bump, and intersect. I want to make media a real life experience, and move it beyond being a stationary timeline or a feed. I’m interested in the ways that media can  springboard and be applied as background to real life. In a storytelling element. That’s always the key here. Storytelling. We make up stories about ourselves, our lives. We go see movies, watch television — listen to music. I want to be everybody but me, and I think that’s why storytelling is so appealing to me. And it is to Ben Schneider too. I literally have the biggest brain crush.

I recently read this NYT article about the band. The title caught me — ‘A Musical Project that is Also An Alternate Reality Game.’ Interesting. Schneider, go figure, has an advertising background.  He talks about his inspiration for his creation, (or his many creations stemming from) a Mr. George Ranger Johnson. I won’t lie, I have a record player and I love listening to music on it. He’s right, it is nostalgic. He wanted to embody this thought in the new digital age. An inspiration. A feeling. And he embodied it through a great media-esque game. George Ranger Johnson, while he does have his own website, is a fictional character out of Schneider’s mind. His books (all conveniently out of print) are titles of the bands many songs – Time To Run, Lonesome Dreams, etc. The music videos for their various songs function as trailers for movies. Schneider is telling the ultimate story, and he’s doing it through so many mediums that it’s incredible. Again – biggest brain crush ever. And it all stemmed from his original thought about what it was like to see an album cover after buying that new vinyl. This is an insight. A great insight. What did that album cover say about the band? Who designed it? What type of thoughts did it provoke? Schneider has intensified this feeling ten-fold. This band is so in-tune with the media world around them, it’s crazy – and it helps that their music is equally as incredible. Beyond Schneider’s genius, it’s also amazing branding.

I know a Lord Huron music video when I see it, and critics praise their sound. They’re  imaginative and dreamy. We’re waiting for the next installment. Both of their ongoing music videos as well as their new album. ‘Like’ them on Facebook, they even post these wonderful rhythmic tunes of post-cards. This blend of old and new within the digital age is incredible. Schneider’s brilliant (but maybe inconvenient) idea for his next album is to release the songs based on location. To unlock a song, you will have to be in a certain location. Literally, invoking. While this could be a pain, I think it’s a great experiment. It’s daring. And it’s doing exactly what Schneider wants it to. He’s really putting his fans into a world. Go see one of their shows; they literally put you in a different world. He wears a cowboy hat. There’s a mountain background. Everything about them is invoking of something wonderful and Southwestern and Schneider’s ability to tie something that visual to a digital medium is fantastic. As I’ve said before, I’m very interested in this real-life intersection between the digital and life. I think that Schneider has found a way to combine it in a most fantastical way. Kudos to him and his project. I want to see more of this. Less of tweeting pictures of yourself or hashtagging a phrase and more of the brand itself being involved. I don’t want to know I’m directly participating in this social media brain wall. I want it to feel natural.

Thanks Lord Huron.