Well the results are in from the Amazon Ad Contest, and my entry “Wish List” came in 2nd place overall.  First place went to Angela Kohler and her ad “Kindlicious.” After the initial disappointment of not being named a winner, I’m definitely truly excited that we were named as a finalist and that we just missed the top spot.  I’ve added the spot to the video section of the site, so if you haven’t seen it, you can head over and check it out.  You can also shoot over to Amazon’s site to check out all the  finalist videos.

For the first time in a while  I found myself back in director’s chair yesterday and it felt great. (I posted a few snapshots I took up on Flickr)   I got wind of a contest that Amazon was having about a week and half ago and thought it would be a great opportunity to shoot another spec for my director’s reel.  Last Monday I came up w/ a slick concept and pitched it to the gang over at Get-Kinetic, who I’d been in talks with about collaborating on another spec idea.  They loved the concept and off we went.

In order for the spot to work, three key elements had to come together in a weeks time. Actors, location and motion control.  Now, with a budget, these things wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but on a no-budget project, and less than a week prep, they became make or break.  Fortunately, much to the credit of producer Paul Irwin and casting director Ann Gillette, casting and locations came together without a hitch.  Paul found us a killer space over at Memphis Flats in Fishtown and Ann pulled together a solid group of actors.  The last piece of the puzzle was finding a motion control rig, and thankfully, Abad Rosa (of Gato Inc.) and his rig were available and he was ready, willing and able to lend a hand.

I don’t want to spoil the concept, so I’ll just say that the day on set went better than could have been expected and I’m crazy excited to see the ad come together.  Now it’s in the hands of Get-Kinetic’s editor/FX guru Daniel Gauthier and we hope to be finished with post this week.  The deadline for the contest is July 31st, and I think we’ll definitely turn some heads, so keep checking back for updates….and wish us luck.

Update: Check out the latest news on this project!