Happy Holidays from the team at VMG Cinematic!

The past year has been a roller coaster of excitement for us at VMG. This accelerating journey has contributed to our growth on many levels as we constantly experienced change for the better. We were fortunate enough to work on some amazing projects with even more amazing people. 2009 has been full of late nights, early mornings, and great times. 2010 landmarks a special occasion not only because it’s the beginning of a new year or even a new decade, but because it’s a breakthrough in ways more than one – for our quickly flourishing industry, our continuously growing client base, and for us. The past has been encouraging and the future looks promising. Thanks to everyone who was a part of VMG in ‘09, we can’t wait to see you all in the new year!

Cheers,

The VMG team.

Brent resigned a few weeks ago.  He had been with us almost from the beginning helping build VMG up from a small, basement operation into the successful company that it is today (and yes we have moved out of the basement).  I went to school with Brent, we were in the same Film Studies program at Western.  It was a terrible program, underfunded, understaffed, and dull.  So dull in fact that Brent and I and several others realized that if we were going to learn proper filmmaking technique there was only one thing we could do: teach ourselves.  And that’s what we did.  We wrote scripts in between essays, borrowed equipment between classes and begged favors from anyone who would listen. Those were heady times. We won film festivals, not big ones but significant enough to convince us that we had something, something that could be developed.  And from that hard knock, teach-yourself-education, friendships were forged, good ones, long lasting ones. The kind that inevitably define your life in some way for years afterwards.

Brent didn’t leave in anger or disgrace.  He wasn’t kicked out because of a raging coke habit or a pimp that would call late at  night demanding to know where he was and how much money he was making.  No, Brent left for his own reasons, and they are his to know and his alone.  As the character Laroche said about his fish collecting hobby in Susan Orleans’ “The Orchid Thief” (and later Spike Jonze movie “Adaptation”)- “done with fish”.  Brent was “done with VMG” and it was simply time to move on to see what else life had in store.

God speed good friend.  You helped us create something truly unique and you will be missed.

- Evan

Since the site is freshly launched, we don’t have much in the way of metrics yet. But our experience is that video-rich sites like this have a significant impact on visitors and encourage longer visit durations. When the goal is to communicate an open, accessible, authentic brand persona, video is a tough medium to beat.

It’s also becoming more popular not just on campaign-specific microsites, but – like in TSH’s case – as a fundamental component of a brand’s main website.

Nike is a great example of this. A slick video carousel serves as a portal to Nike’s portfolio of category-, product- and campaign-specific microsites. A home-movie microdoc spot about pond hockey plays next to a mashup of richly lit behind-the-scenes footage of industrial sewing machines with Beyoncé-like glamour shots of the finished kicks. Although the videos are unrelated, they all share the brand’s classic just-do-it messaging. The result is a brand entry point that speaks to both the core brand personality and the diversity of the company’s offerings.

-Nick

Search VMG Cinematic on Facebook and join the fanbase – (and tell your friends!)

VMG Racing dominated the OFFC over a rainy weekend, earning 2 wins in two days.

VMG Cinematic sponsored race driver Matt White reinforced his reputation in the A class as a rain master on Saturday, earning pole position and gaining 15 seconds on the second place car within the first lap.  By the time he was given the chequered flag, Matt had lapped all but seven cars. Sunday saw a somewhat drier repeat performance, with Matt again starting from pole and immediately distancing himself from the pack, leading the race from flag to flag.  With only 2 races left in the season, VMG Racing looks to clinch the OFFC Driver’s championship.  Way to go Matt!

“…online video is expected to be one of the fastest-growing emerging mediums in 2009, with a growth rate of 45% and spending of $800 million.

“It is the one medium that advertisers are most comfortable with,” [Magna's] Brian Wieser said. “The assets that are required can be the same as those with TV, and there has been an increase in supply of inventory of A-grade content.”

So ended a rather gloomy article from AdAge entitled “Coen Revises ‘08 Forecast Down in Face of Grim Economy”.

The sum of the article amounted to a declaration from Magna Global’s Robert Coen, senior VP-director of forecasting, that 2008 ad spending would not be as high as originally anticipated. The paragraph quoted above was the only good piece of news to come out of the whole article and fortunately it’s good news for us (and possibly you) and reaffirms our long held belief that online video (in its various forms) is the new frontier of ad investment. The eyeball shift is in full force, shrinking economy be damned! People may be more cautious with their wallets in the months to come but they’re still going to go online for their news and entertainment. And that’s where we’ll reach them.

This has been my first post here on the VMG blog, expect more ranting and raving to follow as I rediscover my writer’s voice. But be warned, a grain of salt may be required for what I say from time to time, this is after all opinion and I’ve been known to stir a few pots with mine.

Article link:

- Evan VMG – CD

There’s also a rock climbing gym in the building (rock climbing is the new golf, if you didn’t get the memo), so bring your chalk bags to the next meeting.

Our complete address is:

29 Fraser Ave, #4
Toronto, Ontario
M6K 1Y7