In-Mid Stream

Media Week posted an article entitled, "In-Mid Stream," about how marketers are leveraging online video. The article points out that people are still receptive toward online video, while marketing spending is projected to increase from $775 million this year to over $4 billion by 2011.

TYD in The Grand Rapids Press

John Serba from The Grand Rapids Press reviewed The Yesterdog Documentary in Friday's paper. Read the article below or click the link on mlive!

Film: Secrets revealed in Yesterdog documentary

Friday, October 05, 2007
By John Serba
The Grand Rapids Press

So, Yesterdog has secret hot dogs that aren't on the menu, eh?

This is one of the revelatory bits of information in "The Yesterdog Documentary," a locally produced 25-minute film examining the popular Eastown hot dog eatery. The place is certainly deserving of its own movie, boasting (arguably) the best dog in Grand Rapids for the last 30 years.

Local filmmakers Andrew Tingley and Aaron Carriere, founders of Creo Productions, filmed the documentary in 2006, interviewing Yesterdog owner Bill Lewis, employees and patrons. Some dog-eaters are young, some are old, some are, in the movie's own words, Yester-Virgins, others Yester-Veterans. And some are apparently inebriated, which is a key element of the restaurant's clientele, being open late specifically for the post-bar crowd.

So yes, "The Yesterdog Documentary" is a fun watch, especially for those of us who have been happily chowing Cheddardogs for many years. The film is available on DVD, which includes deleted scenes, an extended interview with Lewis and filmmaker commentary. Purchase it at Yesterdog, 1505 Wealthy St. SE, or on the Web at Yesterdog.com or Yesterdogdocumentary.com.

TV on the Web

"Stuart Elliott's In Advertising" newsletter from The New York Times is featuring two great stories on the emergence of web video. The first is about a Volvo TV series that's been created specifically for the web.

The second, "TV Remote Moves Over for a Mouse," is about network TV making room for downloading shows online. The first line sums it up well: "Media consumers have said, loudly and repeatedly, that they want to watch what they want, when and where they want it."

Introducing TugLink.com

We created two videos for the launch of TugLink.com, a new international job networking site.


“Retaining Creo's services was one of the smartest business decisions and best marketing investments for our start-up company. Working with Aaron and Andrew on creation of promo videos for TugLink.com was a pure pleasure. Besides exceeding our expectations artistically, their team demonstrated a very professional approach to project management. The final product was delivered on time and within budget. Communication was always so timely and detailed that it made us feel that we and our video were getting a VIP treatment. Highly recommend Creo to anybody with video production needs.”

—Vadim Nemtsev, President of TugLink.com

crimson & gold

We were interviewed last week for Ferris State University's alumni magazine Crimson & Gold. Andrew and I are both FSU grads, and Andrew is currently teaching a course in 3D animation in LightWave at Ferris. The story is about Creo Productions and The Yesterdog Documentary, and will be included in the upcoming winter issue.

The Yesterdog Documentary

We’ve released The Yesterdog Documentary, an independent, all original documentary uncovering the mysteries of Yesterdog, a widely popular hot dog restaurant nestled in the historically hip, eclectic Eastown district of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Why create a documentary about a hot dog restaurant?

The Yesterdog Documentary utilizes the new media we’re always blogging about. Please visit www.YesterdogDocumentary.com to watch four commercials and an FAQ about the project. Watch the official trailer below.



(You can order the full-length DVD for $15 online or at Yesterdog, including the 25-minute feature documentary and 45 minutes of special features…)

Three Out of Four

The numbers keep on growing for online video viewers:

"Nearly 75% of US internet users watched, on average, 158 minutes of online video in May, and Google sites topped the monthly rankings with both the most unique video streamers and the most videos streamed, according to the comScore Video Metrix report for May 2007."

A Whole New Mind: Meaning

“Meaning has become a central aspect of our work and our lives,” writes Dan Pink. According to Pink, in an age where our basic needs for survival are usually met in abundance, (although this is biased, much of our world still struggles to meet daily needs), people have been freed to search more deeply for meaning in all areas of life.

Meaning is why we started our company, to help people exchange ideas, to create new ways to communicate, to present old things in new ways, to meet the challenges of a changing media landscape.

We recently signed a video contract with an entrepreneur who is seeking great social change through his work. His life aim is to help disadvantaged people break through slim odds to become successful contributors to society. He has chosen something “meaningful” for his life, and we’re excited to help him.

There is nearly endless potential today to communicate meaningful, powerful ideas.

Technology has broken down the barriers of global communication, once limited to television, radio or newspapers and magazines. Today, everyone can have a voice.

However, when that voice carries meaning and purpose, it will be heard.

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This is the seventh blog based on A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink (Riverhead Books).

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

I read the book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell while on the beach, and I have to admit, his concepts are still churning in my conscious and subconscious. At least I'm thinking about thinking without thinking.

(Try saying the previous sentence five times fast).

Gladwell is a brilliant storyteller, and uses catchy narrative to illuminate what he calls “thin slicing,” the ability to pull together mounds of information instantly to make quality decisions, rather than mulling over mounds of analytical data.

The benefits of this type of thinking is situational, Gladwell shows, including the often positive outcome of trusting gut instincts, yet revealing the darker side of human snap judgments, often made irrationally with subconscious stereotypes.

Gladwell also pointed out an interesting corporate oddity—a high percentage of CEOs in the United States are extremely tall.

It’s a book far too complicated to break down into neat formulas, and in the end, it settles somewhere in the subconscious, a place, Gladwell says, we should all pay more attention to.

A Whole New Mind (Play)

"Play." In the conceptual age, Pink writes, having a bit of fun is crucial to keeping work and life interesting and balanced. Divided into one part games, one part humor, and one part joyfulness, Pink makes a case for the three dimensions of "Play," including his own personal visit to a "laughter club" in India.

We all need a break. In one hour, I'll be boarding a plane to celebrate a week of "Play" on the beach.


Enjoy your 4th of July holiday!
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This is the sixth blog based on A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink (Riverhead Books).