Thursday 31 May 2012

Gazza's Umbro ad





Congratulations to Hotheads producer Josh Goode for the new Umbro ad, which was edited by Toast's editor James Gentle. It will be screened at Wembley at England v Belgium over the weekend, and featured in the ad break between England v Norway last weekend. 

Keep up to date with our video production tips, news and analysis by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner, or join us on Twitter and Facebook.

Monday 28 May 2012

RED Epic vs Scarlet review



Toast producer Rob Oliver compares the relative merits of the Epic and Scarlet cameras from REDGet blog updates sent to your inbox by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner of the blog. Or join us on Twitter and Facebook for links to our latest posts, industry news, tips and analysis.

The Epic and the Scarlet are both made by RED and share the same 5K Super-35 sensors. Both cameras share much of the same components and both have the same solid-state drives however they vary on abilities. The main difference is that the Epic will shoot up to 300 fps at  2K whereas the Scarlet will a maximum of 60fps at 2K.

The Epic’s high speed function is a big plus but if you have a multi-camera production and need to shoot some slo-mo then you should consider the Scarlett as a good B camera option led by an Epic. Both cameras are well matched, both capable of shooting up to 30fps at 4K.

With the introduction of low-cost Super-35 cameras like the Canon C300 and the Sony F3, the Scarlett has been designed to directly compete on this level. But it also has the option of using DSLR zoom and prime lenses with the use of the correct mount. This is brilliant news for low budget productions who previously would not be able to afford the premium RED cameras.


If you don’t need slo-mo then shoot on the Scarlet or if you have multi camera shoot then consider a combination of the two cameras. And just so you know the difference – the Epic body is Black and the Scarlet’s is grey.

Friday 25 May 2012

Toast's week in Tweets


Here’s the second of the weekly Twitter round-ups brought to you by Toast TV, featuring the most popular Tweets that we’ve posted over the past five working days. Keep up to date with our blog by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner of the blog, or join us directly on Twitter.


Brad Pitt is to be Chanel No 5's new cover girl, reports @guardian http://awe.sm/5r0Xg #chanelno5

Brad Pitt becomes Chanel No 5 first cover girl who is in fact a man. While he’s no Nicole Kidman when it comes to feminine beauty, The Guardian have decided that this is a bold but wise marketing move.


Did you catch ITV's seminal documentary series 56 Up? If not, you're in luck! It's still available here - http://awe.sm/5qlRl @ITV #doc

ITV’s 56 Up was certainly one of the defining moments of the past week at Toast. It’s going on 50 years since the seminal documentary began charting the lives of a group of seven-year-olds from a range of backgrounds and a lot has changed. The programme asks, where are they now and how do they feel about getting old?


Get your business prepared for the Olympic travel disruptions http://awe.sm/5qziY @GAOTG #olympics

It’s hot, it’s sticky and we now have to seriously start thinking about the upcoming Olympic travel disruptions and how best to avoid them on the way into work. It’s either a great excuse to work from home, or another hour cut out of your free time. Either way, we recommend planning ahead!

Watch the new @007 James Bond trailer here - http://awe.sm/5s7va! Read about it here - http://awe.sm/5s7vv via @bbc

Over the past few months Londoners have been pleased to encounter various film sets for the new James Bond film. It’s looking cooler than ever as Daniel Craig really settles into the role and the major plot location really comes home. Watch the trailer above.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

TV ad eraser ‘Auto Hop’ is causing a stir




Cheeky satelite TV provider the DISH Network’s digital video recorder now offers viewers the chance to skip ad breaks for free, but is advertising its services on TV. Known as the ‘Auto Hop’, the promotional push has caused a stir within the television industry. Major producers are concerned over how they can continue producing high quality shows without income from ad revenue and the networks are fuming.

In retaliation, News Corporation is refusing to air any of the Auto Hop ads and the New York Times reports that other network owners are looking at ways to sue the DISH Network. The chairman of NBC Broadcasting,Ted Harbert said: “Just because technology gives you the ability to do something, does that mean you should? Not always.”

Research analysts strongly believe that this move reflects how scared television companies are of subscribers abandoning traditional TV in favour of internet-based firms. But, the DISH Network argue that in the long term they are encouraging viewers to watch more programming as they will become more engaged with the shows. But, who do they think will be funding those shows two years down the line?


Watch our favourite new TV ads here. Keep up to date with our video production tips, news and analysis by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner, or join us on Twitter and Facebook. For a production quote contact us here.


Monday 21 May 2012

Great new TV commercials

Television commercial production is a large part of what we do at Toast. We’re privileged to work with the world’s top brands and produce their ads because we’re enthusiastic about what we do. And it showed in the huge popularity of our April review of great new television commercials. So we thought we’d bring it back as a regular feature.

Keep up to date with our video production tips, news and analysis by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner, or join us on Twitter and Facebook.


Jammie Dodger’s A Certain Gooey Thing parody

This commercial is weird as hell. But that’s what makes this biscuit brand interesting. They aren’t everyone’s first choice because the concept of the biscuit itself is strange. But they do inspire devoted followers. In this ad, they’ve decided to work their offbeat recipe to their advantage with a red haired monkey acting out a rock tune in the style of a music video. And he’s got the biscuit attached to his head. Tasty.


M&M’s Sexy And I Know It 2012 Superbowl campaign

In this ad, a male M&M strips at the site of an embarrassed brown female M&M, thinking that she’s naked because she’s got a shell the colour of chocolate. We’ve all have over-enthusiastic moments, and encounter annoyingly over-enthusiastic people, and it’s embarrassing. It makes us feel vulnerable. So we look for comfort food, like M&Ms.


Tetley’s Five Minute Tea Break commercial

Tetley takes a step away from their cartoon representatives and parodies the troubles of the modern woman. The ad shows a husband who expects his dinner, but doesn’t know what to do with himself when his wife reacts by taking five minutes to herself to enjoy a tea. When she puts her mug in the dishwasher, he holds her tight.


For more great TV commercials read our post on the IVCA Award winners.

Friday 18 May 2012

Before making a corporate video

Here is our guide on what to think about before making a corporate video, brought to you by the Toast TV team. Keep up to date with our video production tips, news and analysis by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner, or join us on Twitter and Facebook.

Toast's week in Tweets



Here’s the first of the weekly Twitter round-ups brought to you by Toast TV, featuring the most popular Tweets that we’ve posted over the past five working days.


Thinking of making a business video? Here's a guide from @MarketingB2B. Send us any questions for our production team! http://awe.sm/5r0Bl

B2B Marketing wrote a great guide for businesses on making a successful video production. So, we thought that we’d add our own two cents and upload our ‘Things to think about before making a video production’ guide to our blog. You can read it here.


According to @klout ToastTV is a social media 'Specialist'. We have a rating of 47! #socialmediagurus

We were extremely pleased to discover that our Klout rating has reached 47. This means that more of you are joining us on our social media portals, and we’re influencing what you think about social media and television. They even went so far as to call us a ‘Specialists’.


A big congratulations to The Big Issue on its 1000th issue! Read what TBI's editor had to say here - http://awe.sm/5qL7u @bigissue

It was a seminal moment for homeless charity The Big Issue team as they reached their 1000th issue. So, we sent them a big congratulations for all of their hard work. Click here to donate to this worthy cause.

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Keep up to date with our Tweets by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner of the blog, or join us directly on Twitter.

Thursday 10 May 2012

Stock footage tips





Researching stock footage for a corporate video or a television commercial can be a long-winded and sometimes fruitless process. It’s very difficult to get it right the first time around. Particularly as there are far too many sites to get through and the correct search terms aren’t always obvious. So, thought we’d run you through some approaches that we’ve picked up here at Toast

First off, do a bit of research and write a list of the search terms that you think are suitable. Then methodically run through them on your chosen selection of stock footage sites. It sounds simple, but if you don’t do your research on the terms and run through your results in a constructed way, then you’ll end up missing out on potentially useful clips and just end up browsing.

If this straightforward approach isn’t working, look at how you can make your search terms wider or narrower in order to expand or contract your results. A good start is to look at synonyms of the words that you are using, in case you’ve missed something out.

If you’re still stuck for ideas, run an Internet image search on your keywords and see what comes up. Let’s say you’re looking for skyscrapers under construction, perhaps there’s a skyscraper that’s due for completion in the next few months. Run a search on its name, architect and surrounding area. Chances are that someone has covered it recently, because skyscrapers tend to be newsworthy.

This is the point where you might well want to call the stock footage company, an expert, your client, or a friend who works in the field for more information about the search that you’re conducting. For example, if you’re making a film about specific types of flowers, they may be able to advise you on places where you can find these flowers. It sounds odd, but even just asking the person sitting at the desk next to you might give you some new ideas for related search terms.


Keep up to date with our video production tips, news and analysis by subscribing to our RSS feed in the top right hand corner, or join us on Twitter and Facebook.

Further resources

Thursday 3 May 2012

IVCA Awards winners 2012




Toast would like to congratulate this year's fantastic set of IVCA Award winners. The bar was set very high and our expectations were exceeded. Best charity piece winner, Luke’s world, was a particularly moving piece produced for the Private Equity Foundation. The short film is about living entirely on benefits and opened our eyes to the reality of growing up in childhood poverty.