Let it be known…

On more then one occasion, I have been asked by a client how our videos react in terms of SEO, and if we can translate our work into multiple languages. The concern being how accessible are these videos going to be to brands that function on a global level. The concern is valid, but lucky for us (and you), the accessibility of non-textual web content is advancing dramatically in the “public sphere”.

Between our work with Trek Bicycles and TravelCLICK we have translated our work in over 30 different languages. Using transcription software and video cue points, we were able to do this relatively easy, and with less manpower then the traditional idea of having 30 different transcripts translated individually.

(Please excuse the lower resolution on the below video, as this is a screen grab.)

Also, here’s some great advice from Google’s floating head of wisdom on giving your online content global accessibility.

As the Head also points out, when the public sphere starts to participate in your content, their engagement alone will develop the tools to climb the SEO ladder, making the conversation louder in the “coffee house”.

The term “Global Village”, popularized by Marshall McLuhan, is often used to as a way to describe the scope of the internet. It essentially describes our ability to communicate, through our ever advancing technology, to the farthest reaches of the planet in real time, or close to it.

I would argue, however, that Jurgen Habermas’s idea of the “public sphere” is a more accurate description of where we are in terms of global communication. It’s not just that a doctor in Nebraska has the ability to ask for advice about a patient to a hospital in Mumbai, it’s that the doctor and the hospital can converse about the patient, share x-rays and ultrasounds, and then invite other professionals from around the world to chime in on the conversation. We are now congregating in virtual “coffee houses” to discuss, debate, and engage.

One question is, how are we further advancing the accessibility of these conversations around the globe?

The TREK Belleville Bike

Jack Davidson directed the latest episode of our Trek Document series with episode 22, a profile of Trek industrial designer Michael Leighton.

This piece does a good job of using a ‘hero’ and his story to relay a company’s marketing message in an engaging manner.

The piece explores his inspiration for Trek’s new Belleville bike and provides insight into how it was built to reduce environmental impact.  This is a good example of getting across a “green” message in a nice, genuine manner.

From Trek’s Youtube description:  ”Take a quick spin with Trek industrial designer Michael Leighton through his ideas behind the Trek Belleville, the new eco-design bike. You’ll learn about his inspiration, and gain insight into what makes a truly better built bike designed to reduce environmental impact.”

Manny Marquez

It was still a bit rainy and sad in France, and we headed for the Swiss Alps.

Manny spent several hours with the truck driver — Jerzi — hoping for a happy ending to his story to brighten up the mood.

When it was over, he came back to the hotel, gave me the footage and said… “I don’t think we have anything, man”.

He was wrong:

We cut the episode and sent it to Lance. Within a day, a jersey was on it’s way to Izabel. I hope she liked it.

The next day we woke up to sunshine, Swiss mountains… and a feeling that things were turning. Manny decided to make the trek to the mountain finish. This was going to be a challenge… there was no way to get to the finish easily. I didn’t think he’d make it, as most people had gone up there the day before.

But he came back a day later and handed me the footage saying “Canadian newlyweds man. The husband was a Mountie!”.

That was the day that it became clear that Contador, not Lance, was probably going to win the Tour. There was very little “who is going to win” drama left as we headed into the home stretch.

But the French are amazing hosts, and the fans kept things interesting as we headed to Les Carroz

This is where we met “Bernard the Racer”:

We heard back from Pat that he’d gotten approval for us to go with Trek Travel up to the top of the legendary Mt. Ventoux a couple of days later as the Tour came to an end>>>

The Tour was winding down and we were figuring out how to wrap it up, given that it was pretty clear now that Alberto was likely to win.

It was a “down day” on the tour and we didn’t have anything to film. So Manny decided to go to the team’s hotel and interview the Chef of the Astana team, ‘Chef Duffy’.

Chef Duffy is beloved by both the team and fans… he has a huge Twitter following of his own.

Little did we know that this episode would be “tweeted” by Levi Leipheimer and it would be the most popular video of the trip, garnering tens of thousands of views.

There is a saying that audiences always love films about sex and food. Well, Trek is a family company, so food it is:

Next up was the penultimate leg of the Tour… the awesome and ghostly Mt. Ventoux. We drove up to the top of the mountain (after Manny sweet talked a guard to let us in) and I dropped Manny off. He was on his own, with a backpack and a camera. I left to return the rental car, and Manny capture this ghostly episode:

Trek flew Manny off Mt. Ventoux in the Trek Travel helicopter so he could catch the train back to Paris for the finale. I returned the rental car and flew back to meet him.

We had no idea how to end the series… it was clear that Contador was going to win. The ending was pretty much a coronation. What was the story? Then we remembered a story that Graham Watson had told us a dozen days earlier… and we knew how to wrap up the Tour de France section of “Document”:

I went home on Monday morning. Manny went to England to direct a music video for the band Little Fish.

Here’s hoping that we get a chance to do this again for the 2010 Tour de France.

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Manny was planning to meet up with Santi the next day in the tiny republic of Andorre (nestled in Spain near the French border) and follow him and his friends as they rode the tour route.

While waiting for Santi to show up, Manny shot this episode:

Santi finally showed up at the Andorre cafe, and Manny followed him in his rental car toward the bike route.

It was several hours before the race. But the police pulled everyone over to block off the route for the race. Manny was stranded and without a subject.

He took a nap in the car, and when he woke up he found himself parked next to Liam and his dad, who had brought their Trek bikes from America to ride the route of the Tour:

It took eleven year old Liam to finally say on camera what everyone was talking about: Lance and Contador were at odds and a drama was emerging.

Barry editing in a cafe in Barcelona.

We decide to take a couple of day in Barcelona to catch up on edits. Manny hung out in town, took pictures and shot b-roll.

I was editing wherever I could could… hotel rooms, cafes, even the car.

We caught up with the team back in France in Limoges on their first ‘down day’ and got a coup — an interview with Academy Award winning director Alex Gibney.

Gibney is making a film about Lance and we were able to get his take on the growing rift between the two superstars — Lance and Alberto:

It was raining when we got to Gueret, where the race was coming through the next day. It’s kind of interesting how the race zips through these small towns along the way and we wanted to capture this. Manny shot this on Bastille Day:

In a wild stroke of luck we ran into Graham Watson the next night in a restaurant near our hotel. If you don’t know who Graham is, he is the premiere cycling photographer of all time.

After sharing a bottle of wine with us, he said “this is your lucky day” and agreed to let us follow him the next day in Tonnerre as he went about his work. It’s hard for me to pick, but this is one of my favorite episodes:

That’s when things turned ugly. There were hopes that Lance, Alberto and Levi Leipheimer (also on Astana, and a hell of a nice guy) would take one-two-three on the podium. But Levi had a bad spill and was out for the rest of the tour. And then it started raining again.

It took a sweet couple in the French Alps to lift our spirits as the Tour rolled on… they weren’t really Astana fans, but they were gracious hosts and didn’t let on when the cameras were rolling:

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We arrived in France over the July 4th weekend to begin shooting the next phase of the “Document” series for Trek Bikes. Pat Buckley is producing the Tour de France section of the series and Manny Marquez is directing.

We began in Monacco. Manny hadn’t arrived yet, so Pat directed AND produced the first episode. Pat recently directed a festival favorite flick — “William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet“, so he was a great stand in while we waited for Manny to show up.

The folks at Trek had been working with us for a while and were cool with letting us upload the episodes directly to YouTube without review. This way we were able to get the videos up within a day or two of the actual shoot.

I uploaded the first episode on the Trek website and YouTube page on July 5th:

The strategy was simple:

• Tell stories along the route of the Tour that seldom get covered.
• Avoid standard race coverage.
• Follow the human stories.
• Look for the unexpected.

The next episode, shot in Montpellier in the south of France, provided a rare opportunity to see what it’s like to ride in the team “follow car” with coach Dirk Demol.

Joining Dirk is actress Christine Taylor. How Manny wrangled his way into the car with Ben Stiller’s wife is still beyond all of us at AboutFace:

Ben Coates is the Trek Team Liaison to the Astana team. Manny rode with him to Le Cap D’Agde to the start of the fifth stage of the Tour de France and shot this episode:

Director Manny Marquez

As we continued on along the south of France, it was definitely getting tougher and tougher to get any time or attention from the Astana team. After all, it is the Tour de France.

We always intended to mix up episodes between the team and the fans. Manny I decided it was time to focus on fans.

But how can we still get to the Trek Bikes story without following the team? And how hard would it be to find good stories ‘on the fly’? Nothing was planned. The series was called DOCUMENT UNSCRIPTED after all… we are about to give some serious testing to the “unscripted” part.

In this episode Manny meets Santi from Girona, France, and uncovers an amazing story about Lance:

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We just began a series of docs for Trek Bikes called “Document Unscripted”.  The series will follow Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and the Astana racing team as they traverse the world in the 2009 cycling season.  Eventually we plan to follow them at the 2009 Tour de France.

Trek will weave their bikes and message throughout the pieces, thus creating marketing content that is entertaining and interesting to their audience of cycling enthusiasts.

The agency is Hanson Dodge.

CONTADOR AND THE WIND TUNNEL. The journey to the Tour De France begins for Astana Team members Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer, and Lance Armstrong in the speed wind tunnel. Testing bikes and riders to lower drag and make them “faster, better, lighter, and stronger.”

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THREE STARS. Levi Leipheimer, two-time Amgen Tour Of California winner, goes for his third victory aboard his custom Trek bike. This is the biggest race in America and “it’s about psyching yourself up,” Levi says.

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THIS IS AXEL. Lance Armstrong and Trek Bikes team up to create the new Trek LiveStrong U23 team for riders under 23 years of age – to be coached by the legendary Olympic medalist Axel Merckx. These are the cycling stars of the future.  Also featuring Lance Armstrong.

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WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS? Lance Armstrong is racing again, this time with a custom painted 1274 Madone – and the numbers on the bike have a very special meaning. “When you see the bike and you see the message… it gives you goosebumps.”  But what happens when somebody steals the 1274?  ”We’re not going to let anyone steal our hopes and dreams.”

Next up: “Document Unscripted” at the 2009 Tour de France >>