MVP wins 3 Silver ADDY’s!
MVP Video Production, and our very own Kirk Monson were awarded three (3) Silver ADDY’s this past weekend at the annual ADDY award ceremony. It was a great night and the CSPS hall looked fantastic.
Kirk was awarded three Silver ADDY’s for elements of advertising. They were:
– Cinematography – Virginia Gay Hospital : Matt
– Cinematography – Eastern Iowa Airport : Take Me Away
– Special Effects – Eastern Iowa Airport : Take Me Away
Congratulations to our very own Kirk Monson for his great work on these spots. Well deserved praise.
GoPro HD Camera Vs. Fire Truck!
The pieces that we initially found
Who says that GoPro camera’s are indestructable? We have proof that they aren’t. Especially when being run over by a really really big Fire Truck.
Our task – show the underneath side of a vehicle (specifically a fire truck along with a couple of other vehicles), using a product that a local company makes. This product, is a device that when activated flips down to the wheels, and spins in conjunction with the wheels, and spins around chains that fly under the vehicles wheels giving it traction in the snow and ice. Pretty cool huh?
Well, the hurdle was how do we film under the vehicle and see the product working. Kirk didn’t really want to be strapped under a fire truck driving through snow, so we had to get a camera under the truck. Enter a GoPro HD camera. Perfect! It’s little, easy to position and shoots in HD.
Well, after some maneuvering, we got it attached to the underside of the truck. Unfortunately,
GoPro versus Fire Truck
not good enough. On one of the trips out, down went the GoPro and since it was basically right in front of the wheels, it got run over, and batted around by the chains.
As it would happen, we still needed the card out of the camera, and it looked like the card may have survived. So we had to tear apart the camera. It was trashed anyway. So, now you can see what the inside of a GoPro looks like. As it turned out, the SD card did not make. DOA. We tried several times to revive it, but alas, it was not meant to be.
As a follow-up. Kirk did get a second GoPro HD camera rigged underneath the truck, and we got some great footage! Pretty cool what it looks like under a fire truck.
More carnage
Carnage!
More Carnage
Firetruck 1 - GoPro 0
Jumer’s Casino & Hotel new TV Spot “Office Escapism”
Here’s a brand new TV Spot that we just finished for Jumer’s Casino and Hotel. This spot was produced in collaboration with Henry Russell Bruce here in Cedar Rapids. The entire spot was filmed in one very long day. Almost all the shots are at the casino, with a few of the office sh0ts actually done at a local business about 10 minutes away from Jumer’s.
It was a jam packed day that started early and ended fairly late. The crew was great to work with. Our talent was a good sport all the way through the day.
You can see the spot on the local TV stations as well as some of the cable channels. It’s airing now!
Mt. Mercy University Basketball Commercial
Here is the latest commercial for Mt. Mercy University that we just completed. This spot has a lot of history behind it. David, the subject of the spot is the third person of his family to play basketball for Mt. Mercy University. His father and brother both played basketball for Mt. Mercy. And, his father met his wife (David’s mother) at Mt. Mercy while going to school. So you could say it’s truly a family affair, and that Mustang pride runs deep in his family.
Mt. Mercy University Commercial
We recently wrapped production on a brand new commercial for Mount Mercy University featuring NAIA National Champion in the Javelin throw, Jenna. You may have seen her picture before if you have been driving around Cedar Rapids as she is on a number of billboards.
We filmed the spot a few weeks ago, when it wasn’t all that cold yet, and Jenna was a great sport. We were assured of her accuracy so we naturally had her throw the Javelin at the camera for a couple of shots. 20 to 30 feet, was no problem. So, we upped the challenge for Jenna, and Kirk moved down the field a good 100 feet or so. then we had her throw it again, and again and again. Great accuracy! A fun afternoon working with a National Champ. And as usual, Mount Mercy were great hosts.
Hit the link below to see how the spot turned out.
Intern Isaac has been busy at Stanford
Well…..it’s pretty quite around the studio without our two interns that we had over the summer. However, we know that they are actively involved at their respective schools (Stanford University and the University of Iowa), so we forgive them for not checking in with us and keeping us updated on what they are doing.
But, we did get an email today from Isaac, our Intern from the past three years, who is now at Stanford. Seems the young lad has landed himself on the student Senate, as well as is writing for the Stanford Daily. To see his first article that got published in the Stanford Daily, click the link.
And, it has come to our attention that he is attending the Jay-Z / Kanye West concert as press for the Stanford Daily. Way to go Isaac! We are sure he will have a blast!
Kent Stock in Studio
We had the pleasure of having Kent Stock in Studio this week while we were working on a video for him promoting his speaking.
Kirk and Kent take a break for a picture - yeah, that's Sean Astin on the monitor
Kent Stock, for those of you who don’t know was the subject of the the film “The Final Season” staring Sean Astin and Powers Boothe. The movie is about the last season of baseball at storied Norway High School. Kent was the last baseball coach and took the team to being the the State Champions for the 20th and final time. The movie is based on Kent’s final season and his book that he wrote “Heading For Home”.
We had the luxury of working with several of the clips directly from the movie as well as some footage from some of his speaking engagements.
It was great having Kent in studio, and of course being the Cardinals fan that he is, it’s all about baseball right now. Go Cards!
Corridor Business Journal – Best of the Corridor ! ! !
2011 Best Video Production Company in the Corridor
On Monday the 25th, of July, the Corridor Business Journal and their readers named MVP Video Production the Best Video Production company in the corridor!
The survey is done yearly, and this is the first time that we appeared as the Best of the Corridor. The “Best of…” comprises many different industries from best coffee shop, to best printer to best golf course, etc…The composite list has grown so much over the past few years, that the Corridor Business Journal now divides the winners up into two issues.
“Being recognized by the Corridor Business Journal readers as the best in the corridor is a huge thrill. It’s a great way to start the week.” said Kirk Monson, president and co-owner of MVP Video Production.
A few photo’s from our filming with Artist Laura Kelly
Here are a few of our photo’s from when Sharpie guru and artist Laura Kelly was in the studio to film some webisodes for Expressionery.com. We produced four short “webisodes” for Laura Kelly and Expressionery.com that will be hosted on Expressionery.com’s website. The pictures show some of the fun we had that day in the studio. To see more of the photo’s, check out our facebook page.
MVP Donates to C.R. Downtown District
Kirk Monson and Jeff Zahrt from MVP Video Production recently stopped down at the Cedar Rapids Downtown District to donate some of the proceeds from the movie which they produced and directed, “Resilience; The Spirit of Humanity”.
The movie “Resilience, The Spirit of Humanity” is about the 2008 flood in Cedar Rapids, and more specifically about the people that were dealing with the flood waters.
In the picture below, Kirk and Jeff are handing Doug Neuman of the Downtown District a check for $100. 
