Donnybrook Production Services

Let’s face it…for the past year or two, it’s felt like we’ve all been living in the upside down! And with COVID hogging the spotlight, it’s easy for the average influenza to get relegated to the shadows. So when faced with the task of driving flu shot awareness, the Ad Council turned the whole Fear-Of-Missing-Out dilemma on its ear.

Teaming with multicultural agency fluent360, and the Conshohocken-based Bowstring Studios, the Ad Council added the FluFOMO campaign to its creative inventory. I was on board as Production Manager for all of the principal photography components of the job, and collaborating with Bowstring was a joy. Director/DP Enrique Mendoza, the head of the Bowstring machine, was efficient and capable while helming the days. He was joined by Andy Hayman for additional creative collusion, and the entire team was great. The positive culture extended to our set, and made for enjoyably productive days. Our crew, talent, and agency partners all walked away pleased, a rare but well-received win/win (win).

Here’s a link to one of several spots we filmed over multiple days.

Opulent estates…maverick CEO’s…impeccably dressed teddy bears.  So far so good for ’16, and I’m excited to add to Donnybrook’s growing setwork of production allies.

I’m wrapping up efforts on a follow-up Build-a-Bear shoot, having come on to Production Super another spot campaign at the Christiana Mall…this time for NYC production house Collective.  Producers Ivy Dane and Jo Till have developed a well oiled production machine for Director David McNamara’s creative efforts, and I’m happy to have been entrusted in to the fold.  Thanks as well to Producer Nancy Landesberg, for the ringing endorsement.

I’ve also been keeping busy with LA-based firm REP Interactive.  The production company recently opened a new headquarters in NJ, and has been keeping me out and about for clients Sotheby’s & Century-21.  I’m loving the creative collusion with Head of Production Mynor Sosa, and Creative Director Brian Johnson.  Brian is my favorite kind of Director, and wields equal parts artistic genius and pragmatic production know-how on set.  I’m looking forward to subsequent teamings with REP, as they continue to grow their East Coast presence.  Here’s a fun promo we produced with Century-21, for the upcoming One21 global conference in Vegas.

With the new year off to a quick start, I found myself in Vermont to ring in ’16 with a chill.  Field Producing the television spot campaign for Governor hopeful Bruce Lisman kept me close enough to the slopes to wish for more downtime, but also busy enough to shake off the frigid temp’s that barely broke freezing during my entire stay.

Teaming with agency client Jamestown Associates, and Director/DP Kevin Hack, I was on the ground with the Lisman camp as we compiled footage for a handful TV ads.  And while initially skeptical that I’d be able to secure experienced crew locally, I’m indebted to Adam Lukens, and the entire Queen City Lighting clan, for all of their hard work and support during our shoot.

Here’s the intro TV :60 ‘New Direction’, that hits the air in the lead off spot.

Over the past month, I’ve been collaborating with one of my regular agency clients on a comprehensive re-branding effort for the American Red Cross.  With ARC looking to update all of their existing first-aid course materials, Donnybrook and Agency Producer Michael DelPolito have been prepping for a handful of shoots in the Greater Philly region in the coming weeks.

With the need for first-aid training so pervasive, the shoots will represent all walks of life.  Our casting selects have been keeping our friends over at Philadelphia Casting Co on their toes, and Susan and Sam have been great to work with as always.  When all is said and done we’ll have booked nearly two-hundred talent…not to mention dozens of locations, a fleet of semi’s, and a school bus or two for added measure.  And we’ve amassed a fantastic crew once again, with a number of familiar faces and vendors in the ranks.  Thank you to Expressway Grip, DP Tom Fanelle, and Production Designer Mike Crenshaw for yet another stellar cooperative effort.  And a big shout-out to Erin @ the GPFO for all of her assistance along the way.

The fruits of our collective labors should hit the streets early next year, but here’s the Donnybrook produced spot that kicked it all off for these varied Red Cross co-op’s.  Directed by Josh Mawer, this one still ranks as one of my favorites.

This might put me in the minority of the self-employed, but over my first few years in business I’ve yet to be outright stiffed on an invoice.  Granted, I’ve had a bill or two contested, but ultimately an outcome was reached amicably and I wasn’t left completely in the lurch.  Nevertheless, there are many who have been, and in the coming months a noble undertaking will look to shed light on this demoralizing trend.

Drafting what they’re referring to as the ‘worlds longest invoice’, the Freelancers Union is endeavoring to thrust deadbeat clients in to unflattering cross hairs of exposure.  By providing independent contractors with an opportunity to tell their story, and add their outstanding invoices to a collective tally, the advocacy non-profit is hoping to curb this all-too-common fiscal evasion…and perhaps get a few folks paid in the process.

If the immediate gain is exposure, the long run objective seems to be enacted legislation that would offer more readily available recourse to freelancers that are due payment. Regardless, it’s an initiative worthy of publicity, and more information can be found on the Freelancers Union website.  #FreelanceIsntFree

I recently partnered with one of my long standing agency clients, to produce the campaign spots for self-made real estate maestro Allan Domb‘s run at City Council.  The collaboration marked another successful foray in to the political production world for Donnybrook, and I’m happy to have been a part of the efforts.  Allan has a clear vision for the City of Brotherly Love, and one that could serve to right many of the educational woes that have plagued Philly in recent years.

The shoot also offered up a chance to work with Director Todd Wolfe, and both he and I were able to bring out our kids for a cameo opportunity.  His daughter Morgan is fantastic to have on set, and is a consummate professional already.  And my son Chase has been enlisted by me on more than one occasion, and has begun to develop an affinity for spending time on set.

There’s little chance I could have pulled things together without the support of Jeni Miller, local talent and casting aficionado.  Jeni’s call to action in support of the project yielded amazing results, and introduced me to a brand new pool of talent I’ll be sure to leverage in the future.  Here’s one of the finished spots, which features a bevy of tenacious tykes, Chase and Morgan among the bunch.  Also present is a coherent message for educational reform that has Allan putting his money where his mouth is.

Save

Save

Closing on a highly productive stretch, I’ve been contemplating the perennial adage ‘no man is an island’ of late.  And while Donne’s sentiments at the time were likely far more rooted in the metaphysical, the statement nevertheless translates as effective business advice.  Cliché?  Well OK, perhaps a tad trite. Ill-founded?  Not by a long shot…and as a freelance professional, it’s stout wisdom worthy of adherence.

That said, when I first set out on my own back in 2011, after a long staff producing stint, the notion of avoiding ‘the island’  seemed daunting.  But over the course of my varied Donnybrook adventures, I’ve learned to adopt the cooperative spirit and embrace networking as a necessity.  I’m certainly better off, and thankfully busier, for it…maybe even a smidge less lonely in the process.

In recent months, I’ve been fortunate enough to kindle newfound CoOp’s with the likes of Philly pharma-force Evoke Health and respected ratings maven Nielsen.  I’ve also just wrapped another effective effort with Schott Productions, on behalf of Novo Nordisk, co-producing an inventive campaign for the Danish drug-makers.  So as I reflect on the first few years worth of freelance achievements, I’m grateful for the strategic partnerships forged along the way.  Collusion takes company, so here’s to many more creative undertakings as I continue to build Donnybrook’s diverse ‘setwork’.  Onwards…

In a timely twist of fate, I’ve found myself surrounded recently by ghosts, severed fingers, petulant blobs, and even the occasional DeVito or two.  Originally slated to UPM the period feature ‘Treetop’, in the City of Brotherly Love, I instead returned to NYC to manage Hulu’s sophomore season of ‘Deadbeat’, for Lionsgate, when the aforementioned philm initiative fell through.

Teaming once again with fellow DGA conspirator Michael Chandler, who was also attached (as 1st AD) to the ill fated ‘Treetop’, this big apple run has been an entertaining ride.  I had binge watched Deadbeat’s pilot season once I learned of the opportunity, a luxury afforded me by hulu’s batch release strategy, and was invigorated by the strength of the final few episodes.  Starting on a strong note, and wisely upping the involvement of Lucy DeVito’s Sue, the second season picks up once again on the lonely shores of Brooklyn’s East River.  But to discover where things go from there, you’ll have to tune in to the Season Two launch in the Spring.

Tyler Labine kills it as Pac, a stoner medium that wages consistent psychic warfare with Cat Deeley’s buttoned up celebrity clairvoyant Camomile…yeah, like the tea.  I’d actually had the pleasure of meeting Tyler a year or so back, at a convention Q&A for ‘Tucker and Dale vs Evil’.  He’s proven to be as much fun to work with as I’d anticipated during that brief encounter, and is easy going and enjoyable whether on set or off.  The show’s creators, Brett Konner and Cody Heller (the writing duo behind FX’s ‘Wilfred’), are both as acerbic as one might assume, and a total blast to be around on a daily basis.

Hulu will launch Season Two on April 20…and if the date 4.20 doesn’t have any immediate recognition for you, then you’ve likely lead a tedious life on the straight and narrow.  No worries, someone had to clue me in too.

There are always certain clients that you make an extra special effort to accommodate, and enjoy working with.  For me, Michael DelPolito, the Creative Producer at StayWell in Yardley, PA is high on that list.  So when Del came to me with the need to pull together a PSA, focusing on Water Safety & Awareness for the American Red Cross, I jumped at the chance to add to our growing list of successful collaborations to date.  After all, I just couldn’t let things remain this woefully outdated!  And while competing production commitments made it impossible for me to travel to Texas, to Field Produce the project, I assured him that Donnybrook could handle all of the prep & coordination logistics nonetheless.

In what’s becoming less of an anomaly, and more the status quo in general of late, the scheduling restraints and demanding location logistics made for an ambitious undertaking.  But by leveraging the well respected Red Cross brand, we were able to secure the complete cooperation of Sea World San Antonio, and maintain the project’s inherently quick turn around.

Sea World was great, and the week long shoot simply would not have come together without their tenacious support.  Equally integral in the project’s success was Entourage Modeling and Talent Agency, where Cindy and her team of casting professionals kept composure while filling all principal and background roles with equal spirit.  Del and I were also happy to enlist MP&E’s services once again, for all essential grippage and grunts…this time, taking advantage of their convenient Austin-based locale.  In the end, Donnybrook managed to help Del keep his head above water…minor sunburn not withstanding.

I don’t golf.  I never have, and save for a foggy bachelor party recollection, years ago, my endeavors on the green have been solely of the ‘mini’ variety.  So when a regular agency client of mine came to me with a tight deadline, and a creative concept that necessitated marching a full film crew (and half a living room) on to an unsuspecting course, I rated the potential for success as anything but a ‘fore’gone conclusion…ba-dum-chh!  Hey, for what it’s worth, I almost chose that as the title of this post.  Mercifully, cooler (and less corny) heads prevailed.

At any rate, mission critical to a successful undertaking was finding a golf course that would even consider allowing this to take place.  Enter frame right the fine folks at Westwood Golf Club, in South Jersey.  Through a delicate combination of intentionally vague disclosure, and the locations lack of experience hosting film crews, the gig came together better than I’d hoped.  But the clincher was renowned sports network DCPN offering up their ace commentator Wes Heywood for the cause.  He may be a poor man’s Howard Cossel, but he was stroke perfect for our singular needs on this one.  And even though we were summarily shuttled to the club’s 19th hole (yup, count that, 18 plus one), a fairway typically reserved for practice swings and the occasional armchair politician, it all came together in the end.  So if all’s truly well that ends well, then score this one a success…no mulligan necessary.