Thank you for visiting this blog. If you are on this page it is because you wish to check out my work and you have received this link via myself of a colleague of mine.
I've officially moved my portfolio to a more flexible platform. Please feel free to visit me there. Thanks for your interest in my work.
www.christopherbowes.com
Monday, August 1, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
RED BULL SOUND CLASH
This is an interesting concept! Two bands pitted against each other on opposing stages, in a musical conversation (or battle) with hundreds of fans cheering them on. Just as interesting was a fun and honest look at the two groups in question (k-os and Dragonette) via a 6 part promotional web videos that were produced for Red Bull.
I was handed a hard drive filled with RED CAMERA and 7D footage and was given some mild guidelines. The 6 part series had to be a cohesive unite but each video had to stand alone. Someone watching all six had to see a common thread but also had to see an evolution. And it all had to come together in only 1 week of editing.
Please watch the video below or click HERE for all 6 parts.
CREDIT:
Editor
I was handed a hard drive filled with RED CAMERA and 7D footage and was given some mild guidelines. The 6 part series had to be a cohesive unite but each video had to stand alone. Someone watching all six had to see a common thread but also had to see an evolution. And it all had to come together in only 1 week of editing.
Please watch the video below or click HERE for all 6 parts.
CREDIT:
Editor
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
REDBULL INVASION - MONTREAL
Here's a video I edited quick and dirty!
RedBull spent less than 2 hours with one of their F1 drivers walking around Montreal and then we had 1 night to turn it into a video promoting the RebBull Invasion App. BOOMBOX and I brought our stuff to the RedBull Montreal office and had a slumber party (minus the slumber) in their board room!
For one night's work, I'm pretty happy with it.
CREDIT:
Editor
RedBull spent less than 2 hours with one of their F1 drivers walking around Montreal and then we had 1 night to turn it into a video promoting the RebBull Invasion App. BOOMBOX and I brought our stuff to the RedBull Montreal office and had a slumber party (minus the slumber) in their board room!
For one night's work, I'm pretty happy with it.
CREDIT:
Editor
Monday, May 16, 2011
THE DIRT ON K.B.
Here is an interesting project that came my way! I was asked to put together 2 five-minute features for the upcoming video game release of DIRT3. I was provided with 2 interviews videos, some game play footage and so b-roll footage and was told "focus on Ken Block as brand/icon and then make sure it is connected to Gymkhana and DIRT3".
That sounded easy enough, only it wasn't. First of all, 10 minutes of content on two interviews is quite long. It was a challenge to keep it interesting and moving at a good pace. Secondly, it was part of a bigger 1 and a half hour broadcast on ESPNHD. So without knowing what was going into that broadcast, I had to keep the production values in line with the rest of production. And lastly, it is typical that a client will have very specific guidelines as to what they want, key messages they want you to hit, style guidelines, and even specific graphics they want you to use but in this case there was none of that. But that was the point. To have something on message and hitting key branding points without taking away from an already very busy production team.
In the end the client approved the features on the first edit and pieces went to air on time and on point! I am very happy to have been able to take on that project and have been so effective in my choices. I truly was able to offer the client a "hands off" experience without large amounts of their time being used up in revisions. In my eyes, this is a true success story.
CREDIT:
Feature Director/Editor
That sounded easy enough, only it wasn't. First of all, 10 minutes of content on two interviews is quite long. It was a challenge to keep it interesting and moving at a good pace. Secondly, it was part of a bigger 1 and a half hour broadcast on ESPNHD. So without knowing what was going into that broadcast, I had to keep the production values in line with the rest of production. And lastly, it is typical that a client will have very specific guidelines as to what they want, key messages they want you to hit, style guidelines, and even specific graphics they want you to use but in this case there was none of that. But that was the point. To have something on message and hitting key branding points without taking away from an already very busy production team.
In the end the client approved the features on the first edit and pieces went to air on time and on point! I am very happy to have been able to take on that project and have been so effective in my choices. I truly was able to offer the client a "hands off" experience without large amounts of their time being used up in revisions. In my eyes, this is a true success story.
CREDIT:
Feature Director/Editor
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
HELLO FROM MONTREAL
It has been an incredible journey to swap over my life from Toronto to Montreal. But what has been most unexpected to me was the very sudden support and opportunities that have come my way. I’ve been blessed to have worked on some seriously fun projects and although I do not have any actual video to show you, I’d like to tell you a little bit about some of what I’ve been up to.
Two weeks after my arrival in MTL, I began working on a Radio-Canada show called “30 Vies”. The show aired in prime time at 7pm Monday to Thursday and was a blockbuster success for SRC. Boasting over 800,000 viewers per day and a market share of over 40%, 30 Vies has solidified itself as a lock in that time spot. I worked on this show as the data wrangler, which is unusual for me who is more accustomed to a lead-editor or director position. But my knowledge of tapeless formats and post-production needs proved valuable to Radio-Canada and the 30 Vies crew and the project eased me into a MTL life so I jumped in!
We produced 60 episodes in 4 months and we shot an average of 25-30 pages of text per day. 30 Vies is on hiatus for the summer but you can catch all the shows on www.tou.tv
Another exciting project I have been working on is a new series being launched on ESPN and ESPN3.com called the “Global Rallycross Championship”. This is a new race series with big dreams and big time interest. Two-time world rally champion Marcus Gronholm, BMX and X GAMES legend Dave Mirra, Top Gear host and Formula Drift champion Tanner Foust and RedBull and Hyundai supported Rhys Millen have all jumped on the series. Adding to that, DC shoe founder and WRC star Ken Block is expected to run some of the series and X Games star and founder of the me Metal Mulisha founder Brian Deegan has a deal in place to run the rest of the series. Sponsored by Codemaster's DIRT3 and Best Buy, this series is expected to grow and is the feeder series to get to the X GAMES in L.A. I was fortunate enough to have been asked to join the production team as Feature Director and how could I say no?! Although these are not my work, feel free to check out some of the highlights HERE or visit GRC’s website for all the information.
To be on board for the start of some pretty exciting projects has been really great and with my MTL contact list growing and my outlook as positive as ever, I can’t wait to tell you about whatever comes next!
Friday, November 12, 2010
WHY I'M QUITTING RALLY
If you have seen the most resent season of AMC’s Madmen, You will recognize the title of this post as a parody of a show that I truly admire. (clip) The truth however is that I don’t quit rally. I’m very much addicted. Much like any sport, from the outside it seems simple and boring but the eccentricities are captivating. Some good things must inevitably come to an end and for me the time had come to find a new challenge.
Two months ago, my wife and I decided to move to Montreal. We were both looking for the next step in our careers. MJ got great offer in Montreal and off we went.
So when I say “Why I’m Quitting Rally”, what I truly mean is, I am now a rally fan. As Director of Post-Production, I packaged over 40 rally shows, in two languages, edited, directed, story produced, location scouted, integrated a collaborative work space with 4 work stations all working off a metadata server as well as trained young editors to keep the TV2GO production department running smoothly. All this while still attending to numerous other clients and projects of all scopes and scales. I will forever have fond memories of TV2GO and the people who worked there. I can’t thank them enough for the opportunities that I had and will have. Doors have been opened due to the experiences I have had there.
That’s why I present you with the final shows that I location scouted, directed, produced and edited, in both English and French for TV2GO and its clients, which aired on TSNHD and RDSHD.
CREDIT:
Director/Field Producer/Lead Editor
Two months ago, my wife and I decided to move to Montreal. We were both looking for the next step in our careers. MJ got great offer in Montreal and off we went.
So when I say “Why I’m Quitting Rally”, what I truly mean is, I am now a rally fan. As Director of Post-Production, I packaged over 40 rally shows, in two languages, edited, directed, story produced, location scouted, integrated a collaborative work space with 4 work stations all working off a metadata server as well as trained young editors to keep the TV2GO production department running smoothly. All this while still attending to numerous other clients and projects of all scopes and scales. I will forever have fond memories of TV2GO and the people who worked there. I can’t thank them enough for the opportunities that I had and will have. Doors have been opened due to the experiences I have had there.
That’s why I present you with the final shows that I location scouted, directed, produced and edited, in both English and French for TV2GO and its clients, which aired on TSNHD and RDSHD.
CREDIT:
Director/Field Producer/Lead Editor
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
WHAT IS “MY HYPOTHETICAL SEX LIFE"
The year is 2004 and I am in my final year at Ryerson University. A friend of mine, Ben Iscoe, tells me that for our “practicum” (aka. Thesis), he’d like to produce a sitcom. I jump on board. Ben pitches the project and it is approved and he and I along with a hand full of other students make a team and produce the sitcom.
Next to Ben, I would argue to have played the biggest part in the project since I took on the role of Technical Director, Director of Photography and sole editor on the project.
Today I look at that project and see many flaws. Then I remind myself, I was a student, it was produced on a budget of 7k and it was a first stab at something we had no idea how to do. Furthermore, MHSL was purchased by Protocol Entertainment (train 48, Metropia, Puck Hogs) as a potential project to pitch to networks. Nothing ever came of it but what student project ever earns money for the students who make it? MHSL also took home the "Best Video Practicum" TARA award, which is the highest award we could have won that year within Ryerson.
The project is great for what it is, a student project, and is a great platform for me to build on whenever a dramatic/scripted production comes my way.
FYI, this post is for the many who have asked to see it. And here it is.
CREDIT:
Technical Director/Director of Photography/Editor
Next to Ben, I would argue to have played the biggest part in the project since I took on the role of Technical Director, Director of Photography and sole editor on the project.
Today I look at that project and see many flaws. Then I remind myself, I was a student, it was produced on a budget of 7k and it was a first stab at something we had no idea how to do. Furthermore, MHSL was purchased by Protocol Entertainment (train 48, Metropia, Puck Hogs) as a potential project to pitch to networks. Nothing ever came of it but what student project ever earns money for the students who make it? MHSL also took home the "Best Video Practicum" TARA award, which is the highest award we could have won that year within Ryerson.
The project is great for what it is, a student project, and is a great platform for me to build on whenever a dramatic/scripted production comes my way.
FYI, this post is for the many who have asked to see it. And here it is.
CREDIT:
Technical Director/Director of Photography/Editor
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
MITSUBISHI COMMERCIAL
The following was produced for mitsubishi canada by the ad agency BBDO. They came to us a couple of months ago with the intention to produce a rally centered commercial for their vehicles. All the footage that is in this commercial was shot by the TV2GO crew and was in the CANADIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP television series.
I was asked to put together the best shots for use in this commercial. After a short meeting with the agency's creative team, we put together a 10 minute reel and this is what they used of it. They were very happy with what they got and the end result was a 30 second sport that has been airing all over the place, including the series finale of LOST.
The commercial as since been taken down but you can still find some remanence of Mitsubishi's rally spirit (and TV2GO's rally footage) at the heart of any of their commercials. Take a look.
CREDIT:
Series Broadcast Director/Lead Editor
I was asked to put together the best shots for use in this commercial. After a short meeting with the agency's creative team, we put together a 10 minute reel and this is what they used of it. They were very happy with what they got and the end result was a 30 second sport that has been airing all over the place, including the series finale of LOST.
The commercial as since been taken down but you can still find some remanence of Mitsubishi's rally spirit (and TV2GO's rally footage) at the heart of any of their commercials. Take a look.
CREDIT:
Series Broadcast Director/Lead Editor
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
DOCTRINES OF RALLY
Back in 2007, I was asked to co-produce a featurette to be aired in X GAMES 13. The goal was to create hype about the Rally Car portion of XGAMES which at the time was the newest event in the roster. The key points: Make it cool, make it big, make it extreme. At that time, TV2GO (my employer) was the producer of the Rally America series which was the governing body handling the X GAMES rally car segment, so we were the perfect pick for the project. I worked along side one of ESPN's Emmy Award winning producers. He only known as "Harrington" and was an odd fellow with long grey hair and yellow Crocs, who gave lots of freedom in the development and concept of the feature. "You're the dude that knows this stuff... I'm just the guy who is bringing the tape to L.A. when its ready to go", he said a couple of times as he leaned back in the chair.
Today I look at the finished product and although it is 3 years old, I am still pretty happy with the way it came out considering we only had 2 days to put it all together after only getting the call from ESPN 48 hours before that.
The featurette includes interviews with Nitro Circus star Travis Pastrana, Youtube sensation and DC shoes co-founder Ken Block as well as rally and video game legend Colin McRay.
Music in the video is: "What I've Done" - Linkin Park, "Light up the sky" Yellowcard and "Hey Bebe" DJ Unk.
CREDIT:
Editor
Today I look at the finished product and although it is 3 years old, I am still pretty happy with the way it came out considering we only had 2 days to put it all together after only getting the call from ESPN 48 hours before that.
The featurette includes interviews with Nitro Circus star Travis Pastrana, Youtube sensation and DC shoes co-founder Ken Block as well as rally and video game legend Colin McRay.
Music in the video is: "What I've Done" - Linkin Park, "Light up the sky" Yellowcard and "Hey Bebe" DJ Unk.
CREDIT:
Editor
Thursday, April 29, 2010
THIS GREAT LAND: CANADA WELCOMES THE TORCH
The 2010 Vancouver Olympics brought a new level of Patriotism and pride to Canada and it all started with the igniting of the olympic flame in Greece. This Great Land was a documentary commissioned by the CTV Olympic Consortium to highlight some of the personalities that would be carrying the torch across Canada. This one-hour documentary, airing on numerous networks across canada in both french and english with a premiere airing on CTV, attempted to ignite the excitement of the flame before it got here.
We traveled all over this country learning about people that would cary the torch and people that were in charge of the relay. We learned about the inspiration of the torch's design and about its historic journey in 1988. The documentary was delivered at the very last second as to include footage of the flame's ignition ceremony, in Athens, just a couple days before the documentary's aired. As the flame embarked on to a plane to make its journey to Victoria BC, "This Great Land: Canada Welcomes The Torch" aired across the country as Canadians across the country watched in anticipation.
I'm particularly proud to have been a large part of this project. I believe it is something I'll be able to look back on as a true reflection of Canadianism and it will remain a piece of work that I can hold dear to who I am and where I come from.
CREDIT:
Lead Editor
We traveled all over this country learning about people that would cary the torch and people that were in charge of the relay. We learned about the inspiration of the torch's design and about its historic journey in 1988. The documentary was delivered at the very last second as to include footage of the flame's ignition ceremony, in Athens, just a couple days before the documentary's aired. As the flame embarked on to a plane to make its journey to Victoria BC, "This Great Land: Canada Welcomes The Torch" aired across the country as Canadians across the country watched in anticipation.
I'm particularly proud to have been a large part of this project. I believe it is something I'll be able to look back on as a true reflection of Canadianism and it will remain a piece of work that I can hold dear to who I am and where I come from.
CREDIT:
Lead Editor
Sunday, April 25, 2010
MAKE THINGS BETTER
Recently, Toyota has had a tough go in the media. But not so long ago, Toyota was held up as a gold standard of sorts. A car manufacturer that you could trust, who built good cars and who empowered their employees to always "Make Things Better".
Before people had ever heard of Toyota Canada Inc.'s tag line "Make Things Better", Toyota Canada Inc. had an internal company culture that they believed set them apart from the rest and they wanted Canada to know about it. The video entitled "Make Things Better" was the result of a brainstorming with their ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi and was put together for internal use. The video was a hit from coast to coast within the company and from there "Make Things Better" soon became the tag at the end of every toyota commercial and despite recent PR issues remains at the core of its company culture.
CREDIT:
Editor
CANADIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2010: ROUND 1
With a new year brings a new rally season. After producing 2 full seasons of the Canadian Rally Championship one starts to think "am I simply producing the same show over and over?" and "how can I bring something new to production?" The result was a series of ideas to bring a new look and feel to the series.
Featured in the first show of the season was a new set of graphics with the exception of the series logo, new show format, the introduction of a third voice and lastly a "recap" style cold tease to bring in fans who've either never seen the show or missed a couple episodes along the way.
This show aired in late march/early april and reviews were very positive. I'm proud of the "evolutionary" approach we took. We've brought a great new look while maintaining the original feel and style of the series.
CREDIT:
Director / Field Producer / Lead Editor
THE BRAND FACTORY WEB VIDEOS
A few years ago, while I was employed at a small ad agency called The Brand Factory, we set out to create a unique and different website. The goal was to think differently about the way a website could work. The result was a subway scene that features the look, feel and attitude that The Brand Factory believed itself to be.
Today there are many websites that are of the virtual space concept. But back then it was pretty new. As one of the key people working on the website, my task was to create videos that allowed the people within the company a chance to explain what they did in their own words while making sure the video was completely integrated with the original look and feel that we had set out to achieve.
It is amazing what a couple DV cameras and a little creativity in Photoshop can create. These were done on the cheap and goal as far as I am concerned was achieved. These videos still live at www.thebrandfactory.com and the website remains in its original form.
CREDIT:
Director/Editor
Thursday, January 7, 2010
CANADIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR IN REVIEW
The 2009 Canadian rally Championship has come to completion. Have a look at the Year In Review show that was produced in Canada for TSN and RDS and was distributed to Europe with MotorsTV which is distributed to 90 million households throughout Europe.
It was a great year for the sport and a great year for myself. The Championship had a great story and the TV coverage told that story well. These are simply the highlights.
CREDIT:
Director / Lead Editor
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