Ritz Productions

Cisco Enterprise Video

2010-09-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

A brand-new video for Cisco. This one came with impossibly high expectations. Be as good as a million dollar spot the client had fallen in love with. But with a good idea and good execution, it comes darn close.

Produced by Molly McEvoy for Camp Creative. Directed by Dave Mackie. Written by Richard Smith

Schwartz new CNO

2010-05-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release
Frank Schwartz inks deal with Ritz Productions. San Francisco, CA May 14, 2010

Ritz Productions Inc announced today the hiring of Franklin J. Schwartz as Chief Napping Officer. As CNO, Schwartz will be in charge of lying there and doing nothing, except occasionally barking at people out the window.
“We’re excited that someone of Frank’s caliber would be available to us," said CEO, Richard Smith. “ I think it validates what we’re trying to do here at Ritz.”
For Schwartz it is a return of sorts. From 2008-2009 he served as VP of Shedding before leaving to found the startup MyTongueisALittleTooLong.com.

Come Prepared to Sin

2010-05-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

(These headlines are culled from actual church bulletins)

The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00pm - prayer and medication to follow.

The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10am. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.

The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7pm. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

This evening at 7pm there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

The Salem Witch Trials

2010-04-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the more challenging a project, the more creative the results. This series is proof. The History Channel came to us with an impossible task: take complex historical topics, explain them in a fresh, engaging way, and do it for almost no money. Our concept: find one of those professors that can really make a topic come alive, then animate their story on a digital chalkboard. The result is not quite like anything you’ve ever seen. This is one of eight videos in the series. The rest can be found here.

THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS
Narrated by Justin Bates

Series produced by George Young for Camp Creative. Animation by Cobra Creative. Content and Voice over on Jamestown by Professor Harry Chotner, NYU. Content and Voice Over on the rest provided by Justin Bates, The Stevenson School. Written and Directed by Richard Smith.

Ooma In-Store & Web Loop

2010-02-06T11:46:00.001-08:00

Ooma came to us in October looking for a pair of videos for in-store and web delivery. We came back with a single video that could do both. The in-store version has a text graphics layer to carry the message, allowing store employees to turn down the audio (they always do anyway.) It also has a VO layer for the web version where the display size of the video is too small for graphics to be effective.

Produced by Chris Ekeberg and Pronto Pictures. Motion Graphics Clara Cramer. Written and Directed by Richard Smith

Cisco DMS

2010-02-05T13:13:00.001-08:00

John Chambers has said video is the future, and Cisco is putting its money where its mouth is. This video showcases the power of Cisco's Digital Media Suite and how companies might put it to use. Watch out Final Cut Pro! Video editing is moving to the cloud.

Produced by George Young for Camp Creative. Directed by Dave Mackie. Written by Richard Smith

Cisco "Scorpion II" - 1 of 3

2010-02-05T13:10:00.001-08:00

The problem with making one really successful video for not a lot of money is that suddenly everyone wants more. This video, which comes in three parts, is proof. This is the sequel to the wildly popular (within Cisco) Scorpion File video I did the year before.

Part I Part II Part III

1-800 Contacts Spot 3 "Warehouse"

2010-02-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

This is the third in a series of three spots for the online contact lens distributor. Most people get their contact lenses from their doctors. 1-800 Contacts has overturned that model. The goal of these spots, convey that process of ordering contacts from them is easier and cheaper than going to your doctor, but just as reliable and safe.

Spot 1 Spot 2 Spot 3

Produced by Jefferson Curry for the Kenwood Group. Creative Director: Daniel Pinkham. Written by Richard Smith

1-800 Contacts Spot #2 "Doctor"

2010-02-05T13:07:00.001-08:00

This is the second in a series of three spots for the online contact lens distributor. Most people get their contact lenses from their doctors. 1-800 Contacts has overturned that model. The goal of these spots, convey that process of ordering contacts from them is easier and cheaper than going to your doctor, but just as reliable and safe.

Spot 1 Spot 2 Spot 3

Produced by Jefferson Curry for the Kenwood Group. Creative Director: Daniel Pinkham. Written by Richard Smith

Cisco "Scorpion II" - 2 of 3

2010-02-05T13:05:00.001-08:00

Part I Part II Part III

1-800 Contacts Spot #1 "Air"

2010-02-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

This is the first in a series of three spots for the online contact lens distributor. Most people get their contact lenses from their doctors. 1-800 Contacts has overturned that model. The goal of these spots, convey that process of ordering contacts from them is easier and cheaper than going to your doctor, but just as reliable and safe.

Spot 1 Spot 2 Spot 3

Produced by Jefferson Curry for the Kenwood Group. Creative Director: Daniel Pinkham. Written by Richard Smith

Cisco "Scorpion II" - 3 of 3

2010-02-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

Part I Part II Part III

Ooma CES 2010

2010-02-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Pictures from the Ooma booth at this January's CES. This was a live show produced by Chris Ekeberg. I wrote and directed the performance. The concept, a mock talk show focusing on the dangers of too much free talk. Here's a slide show of the presentation as the irrepressible Enoch August Scott takes the stage for the first show of the day. The show ran every thirty minutes. By the third show, the house was packed.

Here's the script

Nanoball!

2009-06-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Produced by Jodie Marko for Delphi Productions. Art Direction by Jason Perkins. Game authoring and animations by Zero G. Written and Directed by Richard Smith
The centerpiece of Applied Material's booth at Semicon West was Nanoball, a giant, multi-player pinball experience authored in Flash. Six individual pinball stations on the show floor combined to create an enormous overhead panorama that celebrated Applied Materials Nanomanufacturing innovations. Below you will find a very small, but active version of Nanoball. If you want to play a larger version click here.

TO START: click on the frame below to activate. Then hit space bar to initiate the first level. The level begins with a short movie. Game play is active when you see the THINK IT and APPLY IT flippers. The Q and P keys on your keyboard activate the flippers. You get three balls. Only one bumper is active at any one time. Knock out all the rings on that bumper and the next bumper will become active. When you knock out all three bumpers, you will be promoted to the next level. There are six levels.

This game was played on six angled plasma screens on the booth floor. The visual output each was then aggregated into a large overhead panorama. The result was a two level experience. Passersby saw a beautiful, pulsing animation about Applied Materials Innovations. Players got an engaging, hands-on experience that exemplified Applied's new brand attributes. Here's a video Delphi made of the booth experience

This was a uniquely challenging project. A game of this size and scale had not been done before. Combining the game outputs into a larger canvas was a design challenge, and projecting onto assymetrical curving screens stretched the capabilities of the available technology. The end result, though, was the hit of the show. Here are some pictures of the installation.

Cisco HD Interop

2009-05-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Cisco HD Interoperability
I can't believe how well this one turned out. This is what I was hoping for when I wrote it, but things rarely turn out that way. Kudos to Dave Mackie, director, for making this as interesting as it is.

Produced by Catherine Hunter for Camp Creative. Directed by Dave Mackie. Written by Richard Smith

Applied Materials, Solar

2009-05-06T09:06:00.001-07:00

This was a two part experience that was designed to dominate the floor of this years PVSEC Solar conference in Spain. Part A played on a large LED screen. Part B played around the booth on multiple LCD monitors.

Produced by Blake Padilla for Delphi Productions. Motion Graphics by Elastic Creative. Written and Directed by Richard Smith, with Ethan Gunning at the end.

Cisco Telepresence - Smoothie King

2009-05-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

Telepresence is Cisco's hyper realistic video conferencing technology. It's almost like being there. The question is: is that a good thing? These web vignettes find out.

Produced by Catherine Hunter for Camp Creative. Directed by Dave Mackie.Written by Richard Smith
Here's the script

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Internet & Technolog film script

Ooma CES Booth

2009-05-06T09:04:00.001-07:00

This video was the centerpiece of Ooma's tradeshow experience at CES this year. It proves the point: you don't have to spend a lot of money to have a big impact video.
Produced by Chris Ekeberg for Pronto Pictures. Motion Graphics by Clara Cramer. Written and Directed by Richard Smith

Autodesk OTC Opener

2009-05-06T08:55:00.001-07:00

This video opened the Autodesk One Team Conference

Intel Viiv Use Case

2009-05-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is about as close as you can come to making an infomercial without actually making one. The "Eastfork" technology these guys are talking about was a code name for ViiV.

Cisco "The Scorpion File"

2009-05-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

This was the most complicated script I think I've ever written. Coming up with a scenario that could show 20 different Cisco technologies in action and still be interesting was hard enough. Keeping it interesting, keeping it logical while the products themselves kept being swapped took another year off my life. Oh and, the budget got halved twice, and it had to be shot in two days. Nice work Randy & Laura.

Produced by Laura Marks for Camp Creative. Directed by Randy Field. Written by Richard Smith

Obama Time Capsule

2009-05-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Recently had the chance to work with Emotion Studios on a promotional video for what is purported to be the first on-demand, customized book. The book is a photo memoir of the Obama Campaign. What's unique about it is the ability to customize it by having it printed with some of your own photos and captions in it.

The video has been getting great press. Here's an article in USA Today. And a link to the video on ABC News and on MSNBC. Here's a link to the book's site. You can also order it on Amazon if you're so inclined.

The trick to the video was coming up with a simple, elegant visual concept that could capture the essence of what makes the book unique without belaboring it. And, of course, a concept that could be executed for no money and less time.

Sun - HIgh Powered Computing

2009-01-01T22:14:00.000-08:00

Sun - Les Clew Gets a Clue

2009-01-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

Sun Standards

2009-01-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

Long before anyone else, Sun had the idea of utility computing.

Produced by the Kenwood Group. Motion Graphics by Elastic Creative. Written and Directed by Richard Smith

George W Bush and Salesforce

2008-12-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

Sling at CES 09

2008-12-10T15:09:00.000-08:00

slingBoothPresentation3c

Adobe Acrobat Videos

2008-10-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

Here are six videos I wrote for Adobe to showcase how Acrobat helps educators. This set was a follow on to a series of 20 other videos aimed at different verticals. Some highlights can be seen here, here, here and here.

The videos were produced by eMotion Studios of Sausalito.

Summer of Sling

2008-10-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

Attract Loop
The video was one of those projects where everything went right. The idea was to celebrate the freedom SlingBox gives viewers by tapping into the style of the Summer of Love. We put together an amazing team and let them run with it. Everyone got so excited by it, they put in a lot of extra time on it, and it shows.

CES Booth
Originally the booth was going to be a somewhat generic high tech thing, but after seeing the design for the attract loop, the client changed the whole look and feel to match. The booth then won Event Marketer's Top 25 Booths at CES.

Booth designed and fabricated by MC2. Video Produced by Chris Ekeberg of Pronto Pictures. Still photography Toby Burdett. Art Work Cobra Creative. Motion Graphics Elastic Creative. Written and directed by Richard Smith

Intel Mockumentary Series

2008-10-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

This series of five videos was commissioned by Intel to show how different cultures use technology in different ways. The Content was based on sociologists field research. Fictional characters were then created. Imaginary interviews took place. The resulting scripts were based on these edits.

The stories include Chinese parents staying in touch with their son in America; a Korean school girl managing her overwhelming school schedule; a French/American family organizing a wedding from two different continents; and Indian and Hispanic families coping with challenges of aging parents.

Produced by Cheryl Rosenthal for Pedersen Media. Directed by Dave Mackie and Dan Smith. Written by Richard Smith

Cisco Partner Summit

2008-10-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

The Cisco Partner Summit in San Diego was the beginning of Cisco's official push into video. The client wanted something that really reflect the leadership role Cisco was taking. For me this was one of the most successful and rewarding shows ever. I got to do everything from sell the concept to choreograph the opening to outline the presentations to direct the video.

Concept
We pitched several great concepts. The theme we settled on was "EDGE" Here is the winning creative.

Assymetric Set Design
The set design was based on creating a dynamic, asymmetrical space that would capture the audiences attention, and suprrise them with giant, movable elements.

VJ Walk In
This event was Keith Goodwin's debut before the community, and it was important that it be dramatic. We set the stage with a cutting edge light show VJ experience for walk in. Here's the creative brief. And here are a few photos

Opening Experience
For the opening we worked with national champion Riverside CC drum corps to create a powerful percussive experience that captured the energy of Cisco's strategy, and culminated a dramatic reveal of Keith Goodwin as one of the drummers. Here's the breakdown. And here are some photos.

Keynote
Keith's keynote needed to be a good one. We worked closely with him to hone his message, and then supported him with a cutting edge holographic touch screen display

Day Two Opener
Second day openers usually get the short end of the stick, but this video, directed by me, designed by Jason Perkins, is maybe the coolest thing off the whole show. It's an endless fractal-inspired zoom in.

Awards Night
There was an awards night, of course, which I had to script, and many breakouts, all of which were designed with the theme graphics.

Close
The event closed with John Chambers doing what only an ex minister can do, rev up the crowd

Special thanks to the team at InVision. Gianna VIllegas, Des Moncton, Aaron Hiester, Spencer Jarret and of course, Rod & Drew for making it happen.

Sling Lobby Loop

2008-10-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

This three screen, vertically oriented triptych plays in SlingMedia's Foster City lobby.

Tandberg TV Interactive

2008-10-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

Ice Canoeing

2008-04-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

I did not get hired for this project. I came up with it all by myself. And I should point out that it actually seemed like a good idea at first. I had gotten tired of riding the toboggan standing up, and wondered if the old canoe in the shed would be more interesting. I'd never heard of anyone canoeing down a hill. I could be a pioneer!

What I didn't know, because there's no warning label for this on the canoe, is that canoes, particularly plastic ones, are really fast on ice. And they don't turn well. Or at all, really. Even with a paddle. At the moment of this picture, I'm just figuring that out. I'm also beginning to realize that the hill (which is steeper than the picture lets on) doesn't have a flat run out, and that the line of trees that's just out of frame is probably how I'm going to stop.

Lucent Genome Excerpt

2008-01-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

Lucent Partner Solutions

2008-01-01T22:23:00.000-08:00

Medtronic TCT Loop - Expect More

2008-01-01T22:22:00.000-08:00

NVLS - Semicon Goggle Video

2008-01-01T22:21:00.000-08:00

AVE - Playing Doctor

2008-01-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

AMAT - Oasis Clean

2008-01-01T22:18:00.000-08:00

Sun - SunNetwork Opener

2008-01-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

Sun - Elevator Pitch

2008-01-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

Sun poking fun at its competitors. See if you can guess who they are. Answers below.

Dell and its catalog sales, Microsoft and its buggy software, HP and it's messy Compaq acquisition, IBM and its global sales force.

Every Six Seconds

2007-10-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

Visa Avenue 2010 - Overview

2007-04-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

The Avenue 2010 experience was created to give The Visa International Board (bank presidents from all over the world) a sense of where commerce is going given the rapid technological changes in communications and payment technologies, and how those technologies create new opportunities for member banks.

Avenue 2010 is a stylized street scene set in Beijing that immerses board members in a series of realistic transactions that give them first hand experience with the future of commerce and how Visa plays a role. The street was full of stores, cart vendors, business, restaurants and entertainment, all of which were designed to highlight the intersection of communications and commerce technologies.

Here is a map of the street

Produced by The Kenwood Group. Set design by Acme Studios. Written by Richard Smith

Visa Avenue 2010 - Teahouse Presentations

2007-04-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

One of the primary destinations on Avenue 2010 was the Tiger Tea House. Here attendees could buy tea for friends and relatives, sit and enjoy tea themselves, or go behind the scenes to visit with the President of the Tiger Tea Company and hear how Tiger Tea uses Visa Commercial solutions to simplify commerce. Tiger Tea, of course, is a fictional company. Here's the presentation I wrote.

Presentation Deck
Visa 2010 Teahouse Presentation
Produced by The Kenwood Group. Graphic Design by Anthony Delgado. Set design by Acme Studios. Written by Richard Smith

Visa Avenue 2010 - Visanet Experience

2007-04-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

Behind every Visa transaction is Visanet. This is Visa's special sauce, the reason their payment system is number one world wide. The highly sophisticated network makes near instantaneous transactions possible on a global basis and has turned Visa into the international currency. At this stop on Avenue 2010, attendees could see a highly dramatic version of how Visanet works.

Here is the video...

Produced by The Kenwood Group. Motion Graphics by Elastic Creative. Set design by Acme Studios. Video directed by Kris Johnson. Written by Richard Smith

Here's what the installation looked like...

Visa Avenue 2010 - CEO Presentation

2007-04-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

At the end of Avenue 2010, in the auditorium, attendees saw a provocative presentation by Chris Rodrigues, the president of Visa International on how the world is changing and what the new opportunities are. Rodrigues really wanted to startle the audience. The presentation was a combination of motion graphics and his own VO.

Here's the video

Produced by The Kenwood Group. Motion Graphics by Elastic Creative. Video directed by Kris Johnson. Written by Richard Smith

Here are some photos of the experience