A Video-Editing Breakdown:
Comedy Central's Boobtober 2022
A Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign
PROMAX AFRICA 2023 WINNER:
GOLD | SOMETHING FOR NOTHING | Category
PROMAX GLOBAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023 - WINNER:
GOLD | PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT PROMO OR CAMPAIGN | Category
SILVER | SOCIAL CAUSE PROMO OR CAMPAIGN | Category
THE CHALLENGE:
Breast cancer awareness is an important issue, but it can be challenging to get people's attention when there are so many other important causes competing for attention. The challenge for myself and the OMNI Creative team was to create a unique and attention-grabbing video that would both entertain and educate viewers about the importance of breast cancer awareness.
THE PROCESS:
In a brainstorming session with Comedy Central and OMNI Creative, our goal was to create a visually striking video that would be both entertaining and informative. My brain then set forth on a journey of research that consisted of compiling video references, a dark hole through viral videos and reading through case studies like the one you are reading right now. The first promo's concept was Boobs Through The Ages: A Historical Journey Through Boobs, which took us through the evolution of breasts throughout history. I decided to set the first promo to a remixed rendition of "Blue Danube", a classical piece of music that would help tie the historical theme together with repetitive lyrics centered on the subject matter: Breasts, Boobs and more Boobies. For the second promo, we landed on the idea of a rap song taking us through the ABC’s of our B-O-O-B-I-E-S.
Myself and OMNI Creative were given a shoe-string budget to execute a powerful campaign, and as the video editor – I prayed to the creative gods to help pull this together. Using our budget-friendly creativity, we utilized any and all resources that we had without breaking the bank. This included recruiting female voices in the office to sing the catchy lyrics. The laughs that was had at the studio, it's not everyday that you can say you belted the lyrics "BOOBIES!" at the recording studio.
EDITING APPROACH - PROMO 01 "Boobs Through The Ages":
Before sourcing footage, I first sourced the promo's primary music track - "Blue Danube", a musical piece by Johann Strauss II. In order to fit a 8:37min track into a 35 second promo, I analyzed the piece and timecoded sections in the track to splice together the music bed for the structure of the promo. The original track is quite 'slow' and to keep the promo punchy and pacey, I increased the speed of the music track by 20% every few seconds. Once the music structure was locked in, it was time to gather the visuals.
To create the montage, I used a combination of historical images and stock footage. The promo took the viewer on a journey through time, showcasing the changing attitudes towards boobs throughout history. What took the most hours was cross-referencing each image to ensure that any historical images were used in a respectful manner. In the post-production process, over 300 images were used throughout each draft.
Finally, it was time for vocals. We didn't have access to a choir and thus, we formed a choir of our own. Mind you, none of us had previous vocal performance experience (aside from those in the shower) but we channeled our inner Adele. By we, I mean our creative directors, producers and even our client chimed in to sing the next big billboard hit (not really). It was a blast in studio but the real work happened in post. Shout out to Suds from 144 Studios, he made magic in final mix.
At the end of the montage, we weaved in messages about the importance of breast cancer awareness and the importance of regular check-ups. From ancient goddesses to groovy dancers, to modern-day men - the montage was a fun and educational journey through the ages.
Comedy Central's Boobtober Campaign 2022_Promo V1
Comedy Central's Boobtober Campaign 2022_Promo V2
CREDITS
Production Company: OMNI Creative Agency
Production Company: OMNI Creative Agency
Client: Paramount - MTV
Creative Director: Waldo Buchner
Art Director: Chris Savides
Animation/ Design: Robbie Fripp
Video Editor: Jae Martinez
Final Mix: 144 Studios
Thank you for taking the time to read through this project!
