14 DAY TRIAL // After releasing a video focused on Windows as a key “instrument” in the creation and production of Andrew Belle’s “Sky’s Still Blue,” Microsoft is offering consumers two new advertisements designed to illustrate the connected and entertainment power made possible by its products. “Making of a Flash Mob” and “Road Trip to Mt. Hood” were both written and directed by Keith Rivers, just as it was the case for the Belle video.
In the first of the videos embedded below, Rivers documents the work that goes into coordinating and planning a flash mob.
Technology such as the Dell Inspiron Duo, Samsung QX410, as well as Windows Phones, together with software products including Windows 7, Windows Live Messenger, SkyDrive and Mesh were used to put together an amazing flash mob performance in Pioneer Square, Seattle.
The second video at the bottom of this article documents a group of skiers and snowboarders hitting the slopes on Mt. Hood. Users are bound to recognize Windows Phones, but also Kinect and Xbox 360 and even the ASUS Eee Slate.
“Keith happened to be good friends with Bobby Bonsey and Egan Orion who are flash mob choreographers and producers in Seattle. He had been fascinated by the idea of a flash mob and thought following the design and production of a flash mob could be really interesting for people to see.
“And Keith also grew up skiing in the Pacific Northwest and had done some really great videos early in his career on freestyle skiing. He also knew of some local skiers and snowboarders who participated in competitions in the area.
“So deciding to do a video on a flash mob and another on skiing came as easy choices. For the skiing video, he chose the location of Mt. Hood because of the weather and because it had a beautiful lodge that gave an antique, historic look he was looking for,” revealed Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc.
Both video ads tell entire stories rather than pushing one product or another into the background. The focus is placed instead on the high level of integration between Microsoft Products.
Users of Windows, Windows Live, Windows Phone, Zune and Xbox already know that the experiences made possible by the devices running the software can easily extend into the Cloud through the services Microsoft is offering.
Some might have heard the Redmond company talk about its three screens and Cloud strategy, in which the same content is synchronized and can be accessed via multiple devices through the Internet.
“Each video shoot had its challenges. The shoot for the flash mob video was done pretty fast and because of that, Keith called it “one of the most insane productions we’ve ever done”.
“For the Mt. Hood shoot, getting the live-action shots of the skiers and snowboarders was pretty challenging and the lift shots proved to be really challenging with the person holding the camera literally hanging off the back to film.
“His team was also shooting live products in use, which sometimes took extra time to light correctly to adjust for the brightness and contrast of the screen,” LeBlanc added.