company meeting Videos
Wacky and Fun, Featuring Employees As Actors
Within a creative powerhouse agency like Modem Media, the bar to entertain employees was always extremely high. Celebrated as uplifting morale boosters, these videos required scripting, casting, set builds, costumes, editing, and directing scores of employees with zero acting experience. Every video was a frantic rush job, each made in 13 days or less from script to showing.
Back in '07, I put together a DVD of these videos and because I often got asked a lot questions regarding production and the inside jokes, I created intros for some of them to help explain. Those are included here as well.
Modem Media Reunion – 2013
GM and Bob graciously hosted a rockin' Modem reunion at the Westport Inn where this video was shown to 200+ primed Modem alumni. It's a highlight reel of past videos, Modem employees, samples of work, and more.
"Wingman In The Muddle"– 2006
By 2006, Modem wanted to showcase themselves as an agency that understood how to manage brands through multichannel customer relationship trends (brands collaborating with consumers, user generated content, etc.) For brands, there was a lot of clutter out there and they needed a proven guide to break through it all. With Modem, they could have...A Wingman In The Muddle. Video was successfully received and shown around the globe for two years at client meetings, road shows, media events, and company meetings.
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"Experiences, Not Messages"– 2005
After Modem was acquired with Digitas, I was asked to assemble a highlight reel of Modem work for a series of global audiences. I did so around the theme of Modem's core differentiator, "experiences, not messages" – our brand approaches that brought more sensory, animated communications to life.
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"Parakeets II – Attack Of The C.L.O.W.N.S."– 2004
Last week of June, 2004 and the same drill...There's a company meeting in less than 2 weeks and suddenly there needs to be a video. I thought I had passed the torch on these things after Trek, but got pulled in for "one last one." So another rush job was under way...
Wasn't sure where to start, but remembered the "Digitasians as clowns" thing had resonated well with employees since being introduced in "When Parakeets Crash". So, in wanting to boost morale, it was time to create the ultimate battle between the heroes of Modem and the clowns of Digitas, winner take all.
By far, this was the most difficult Modem video to pull off. It had 3 times as many employee actors as usual, and each actor needed an hour before and after shoots for costumes/make-up. There were also multiple sets that had to be built from scratch, actors doing stunts, choreographed fight scenes, dummies built and thrown off the Modem roof, indoor/outdoor shots, securing/working with many props and almost all of it edited to music and sound f/x.
As always though, the toughest part was getting even a few employees in the same room at the same time; everyone's schedules were insane. But somehow, my incredibly helpful co-worker, Adrienne Durkin, worked her scheduling magic to get 45 minutes here and 30 minutes there and we got the scenes done. BARELY. Final touches were still being edited as the company meeting began.
Some more notes...
First off, Jeff Kroll and Rob Silk should've won academy awards for their portrayals of the lead Digitasian clown and kidnapped Modem victim respectively. All employee actors did amazing jobs, but those two guys required the most amount of filming/make-up time and were incredibly committed to nailing their roles. These videos were supposed to be ridiculous fun, but every now and then some employees showed some true acting talent. And when I was struggling to finish editing the night before the showing, it was Kroll who arrived at 2:30 a.m. with Red Bull mixed with whatever else to get me through. And it worked!
Meanwhile, we all love him dearly, but Rob Powers was a filming disaster. Every line required a hundred takes. I remember Joe Salvati (Underdog) and I getting SO frustrated with Powers in a McDonald's parking lot because he only had 1 freaking line and it took almost 15 minutes to film! We had to do it over and over and over...My blood's starting to boil just remembering!
Speaking of of McDonald's...Looking for a connection to clowns, Ronald McDonald seemed a natural and therefore a McDonald's franchise became the natural place for a Digitasian headquarters. We illegally filmed at two separate McDonald's locations and, unfortunately, were caught both times and chased through the parking lots by McDonald's employees screaming about how they called the cops. But we got away with all the footage. Hats off to Erica Lyons, Laura Hurwitz, Dana Cobb, Powers, and Salvati who had the gumption to get in costumes and go through it all.
The end outdoor scenes...Filmed in BRUTAL, 100 degree heat on the Friday before July 4th weekend. The whipped cream fight was disgusting as it immediately melted and hardened into people's hair, clothes, etc. The heat was absolute torture and many can remember a red-faced Tom Deitelbaum – inside his all-rubber "Robin" outfit – gushing sweat and trying not to pass out. Everyone was begging to leave and get started on their holiday weekend, but – even while cursing Galley's name – they sucked it up, stayed under the relentless temps for 2 hours and got it all filmed.
You'll notice the end dance/celebration scene is a little extended time-wise. That was deliberate. For when this scene came on at the meeting, all characters (in costume) suddenly jumped out in real-life and began dancing with their on-screen counterparts. The tune was cranked and soon all the characters turned and started dancing with all the employees in the audience. Instantly, 200 people were up clapping and wildly dancing with each other. The whole place was rockin' and as the video ended, the heroes/clowns led a parade of employees out the door and straight to the favored company bar – the Black Duck Cafe – to celebrate.
Was an amazing finish -- and start to the night! But the most incredible note? Just 2 days after this video was shown it was announced we were bought by Digitas! WHOA!
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"Credia" – 2003
The pilot episode of Modem's first internal news show. The vision was to do a version of this monthly. Good idea, especially for the time, but due to the day to day workload, wasn't sustainable. We at least got this one done!
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"Modem Star Trek" – 2002
December, 2002. With 13 days before Modem's 15 year anniversary party, a video was requested to help celebrate. This was the result.
A video within a video where the Enterprise travels back in time to battle Digitasian spies and discover Modem Media's secrets to superior digital marketing. Of course in doing so, the Enterprise's main view screen provides a nice backdrop for highlights of employees, past Modem work and company videos dating back to '97.
This is the original version that was never shown. At just over 40 minutes, it has longer battle scenes, more work samples and features a greater amount of employee interviews. As with most of these videos, Managing Director, Dave Lynch, would roll his eyes at the length and force me to cut stuff before the company meeting. In this case, the Star Trek version that was shown was about 10 minutes shorter than this.
To answer a question...a highlight from an earlier video has us spoofing Modem Founder, Doug Ahlers' many speeches of equating "1 to 1" marketing with the customer-centric practices of local apparel shop, "Mitchell's." To help with the spoof, we brought in the head of "Mitchell's" and family friend, Bill Mitchell, to berate Doug's speech. I was asked a lot if that was really Bill Mitchell and now to clarify, it was.
Shown at the LOFT bar on Washington Street, Norwalk, CT to a very loosened up Modem audience (to say the least). Folks were SCREAMING and goin' wild.
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"When Parakeets Crash" – 2002
Back in '01-'02, the bubble burst and Modem went through extensive layoffs. Those who remained now had to work the jobs of 2 or 3 people, further growing the stress and worry. Morale was disastrously low. Absolute rock bottom.
Sometimes however, the best way to get through tough situations is to flat-out make fun of them. Hence this video which was created to humorously contrast Modem's glory day '90's with the tough, frugal times of 2002. In the end, hopefully boosting morale and optimism throughout.
As an analogy, it uses the true story of a bird truck that crashed on I-95 near Westport, CT and accidentally set free about a hundred parakeets (happened in early 90's).
Because the parakeets were indigenous to tropical climates, "experts" predicted the parakeets would soon die off, especially in the winter months. Instead, the birds shocked everyone by not only surviving, but FLOURISHING in countless numbers. Today, they're squawking and gawking their brains out up and down the Connecticut coast. They somehow found a way.
And so could Modem. Like those parakeets who crashed, Modem could persevere through the toughest conditions and flourish. And that was the video's message.
Oh, coffee machine joke...So many costs got cut, including the folks hired to make/maintain coffee. So employees were left to do it themselves and the ensuing weeks of "coffee machine" confusion got so crazy and messy that the help was soon forced back.
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"The Codfather" – 2001
"The Godfather" spoof was made to help welcome new Modem CEO, Marc Particelli, and "humanize" him to employees. Video was created in 12 days, finishing hours before it was shown in the Modem Media headquarters. Yes, those are real fish being thrown and used as weapons!
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"Modem Media TV Commercials" – 2000
For an upcoming company meeting, it was requested a video be created that also included our London, Canada, and San Francisco offices. As a result, this approach was a bit "forced," but attempted a bit of sarcasm by creating 2 fake TV spots that revealed how things really were run behind the scenes.
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"The Making Of 'Me-Business'" – 2000
Helping celebrate Modem's revolutionary "Me-Business" approach, this company video was shown on the IMAX screen at the nearby Norwalk Maritime Center to 200+ employees. Though from this point on, all videos would need to first be approved by Modem legal before being allowed to be shown.
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"ENO, You're New Home" – 1999
Based in Westport, CT, Modem's sky rocketing success demanded bigger offices in nearby Norwalk. To help get the employees jazzed, we gave them a sneak peek of the property in development that we'd all be moving into. All a series of spontaneous gags.
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"Modem 10 Year Anniversary" – 1998
Celebrating the first decade of the company was a big deal and to reveal the remarkable story, we explored the early lives of the leaders, GM, Doug, and Bob. Special guest appearance by Bill Mitchell, owner of Mitchell's Clothing in Westport. Part of the very early early videos that were very raw, silly, and with poor editing especially, but still fun for the employees.
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"The Modem Wars" – 1998
Created to help inspire a rapidly growing group of employees toward beating all competitors. As an internal video, using movie clips of actors resembling Modem employees was only humorous to those recognizing the comparison. Video below helps explain.
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"True North Acquisition" – 1998
Uh oh. Modem was just acquired by True North?! In classic Modem fashion, it was time to mark the occasion with dolls and hastily made army sets!
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"Modem's 'Immediate' Shower Installation" – 1997
Use of video was especially scarce in these days. Yet, only a few months into employment, HR Director asked Creative Department to create a fun, uplifting video for upcoming company meeting in 4 days. With my film/TV background, I volunteered to whip something together best I could and hit on the employees' current frustration with operations head, Peter Massey, toward getting showers installed for employees -- especially relevant in those days for employees seeking ways to exercise during the work day. Was promised to be finished in days, but instead wasn't completed for another 6 months. Very raw, rushed, poorly edited stuff, but still very memorable.
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