The films were then cut and graded at Sandstorm in Soho.

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DOP: Barney Davis . Sound: Dan Shiells . Editor: Ray Bird

We have been sitting pretty with beautiful mineral makeup brand Lily Lolo creating their website ‘how to’ videos. We also shot some beautiful promo films of their recent spring summer range. www.lilylolo.co.uk

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It has been kiddie madness here in the last few months shooting the new Shrek toy ads and in May, a super marathon of 7 toy ads for various brands. They say never to work with children or animals; we have done both recently and we’re still alive to tell the tale.

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Our green credentials have been flexed while working with Toyota creating visualisations for their sustainable retail centre in France; it’s a centre of excellence for green construction which was fantastic to get our teeth into. We originally worked on the project in 2008 in the early stages of development and have since re-visited the film to make updates as the building takes shape.

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Apologies that our regular newsletter from last year has ceased to exist. By the end of November we were so busy that there was no time to write one.

So we reviewed our newsletter regularity hence this is the first since 2009, hope you enjoy it.

The beginning of 2010 was really interesting all round for Sandstorm. We took on some major productions and delivered them with a nice touch of Sandstorm magic - while a number of productions were put on hold by clients. In fact April was the first time in our history we’ve had over ten projects on hold at once! Luckily they’ve pretty much all been completed now and the year has worked out well for Sandstorm so far.

With any snippets of spare time and no newsletter to write we have kept ourselves busy creating nice little videos for our Vodcast site. From ‘behind the scenes at a commercial’, to a studio tour and the ‘making of a toy commercial’ there is lots to see, so have a quick watch if you haven’t already.

Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter and do feel free to pop in for a coffee and a catch up if you have a spare 10 minutes in the near future.

All the best - Tom and the team.

Go to our Vodcast section

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As many of you know we’re a production house that isnt tied to any specific talent which allows us to work more intelligently with briefs and freely with any director an agency requires (budget permitting). It’s part of the ethos that keeps us successful and vibrant in todays exciting and challenging media environment.

But we do have a number of exciting directing talent who work with us on a regular basis and we want to shout about them from the rooftops. Their work is definitely worth taking a look at…

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Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is now the common version of their world-renowned audio carrier format containing up to six discrete channels of sound. The most elaborate mode in common usage involves five channels for normal-range speakers (20 Hz – 20,000 Hz) (right front, centre, left front, right rear and left rear) and one channel (20 Hz – 120 Hz allotted audio) for the subwoofer driven low-frequency effects. Dolby Digital also supports Mono (one channel) and Stereo (two channel) modes. Batman Returns was the first film to use Dolby Digital technology when it premiered in theatres in Summer 1992. The Laserdisc version of Clear and Present Danger featured the first Home theatre Dolby Digital mix in 1995.

But Dolby are more than just a label on your DVD’s and players, they are a great technology company who have helped to revolutionise the modern film experience with innovative formats that make films bigger and better than ever, their UK headquarters are only five minutes from our studios and we are good friends with a few of the amazing engineers there.

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Eye Exercises - Yoga for the Eyes
Do you spend your days staring at a computer screen? If you do, you probably know how draining and tiring it can be to your entire body, not just your eyes.

Here is information about one natural approach, which is essentially “yoga for the eyes”. The key to doing these exercises is to relax and empty the mind as if you are meditating.
Improving Visual Concentration
The first step is to strengthen visual concentration. Sit comfortably with your back and neck straight but not stiff. Start by holding each posture for a few minutes and gradually increase.
1. Focus your gaze on the tip of your nose without blinking. Remain like this for as long as you can. Then close your eyes and relax.
2. Focus on your “third eye” without blinking. This is the area between the eyebrows above your nose. Then close your eyes and relax. It may feel uncomfortable or hard to do at first, but do not let yourself become frustrated. Keep your focus on that area and with time, you will find this posture easier to do.
3. Without turning your head, focus both eyes on your left shoulder. Remain like this for as long as you can. Then close your eyes and relax. Repeat this sequence with the right shoulder.
After you are finished, place the palms of your hands on your closed eyes and rest for as long as you would like.

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So whether you like it or not you will have heard of new 3D cinema and TV. The stereographic revolution!

But is it really here to stay or just a desperate attempt by a starved industry to find a new revenue stream? Well possibly a bit of both actually, the reality of the TV and film industry is that kit has never been cheaper (or better for that matter) and there has never been so many people in the industry, it means rich pickings for companies like us who need great creative talent, but it means that there just aren’t enough jobs to go around.
When digital TV was launched the thinking was that more channels needed more content and so that would lead to greater revenue streams and more jobs… the reality, the revenue streams were the same but they needed to get 10 times as much output from the same pot of money and in theory (based on the prices of kit) that would be possible… but it isn’t and it has hit the industry hard.
Until 3D, 3D requires larger teams and is a much more tricky medium to deliver to the screens – so in theory this could get the industry up and going again. But does anyone actually want it?
I think the modern stereographic polarising 3D technology is amazing and it does look good, but out of 20+ films I’ve watched only 1 needed to be in 3D and the others genuinely looked better in 2D. I also sat down and watched the demos for the 3D TV’s, they’re great, but the content on the demo isn’t stuff you’d want to watch on TV – it’s just an ‘eye-candy shop’ of little snippets that make the extra dimension work, not helping any narrative, not helping in any way other than as a visual ‘wow’ factor. Sky have just launched their 3D sports channel but consumer ratings are coming back with quite negative comments.
None the less, for now it is keeping a lot of people in work and changing the way that we think about TV, which is a great thing. 3D does have a place, but it is going to take a long time before it really works.

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