Category: iAproductions News

Image Associates, LLC arrived at Snowshoe Mountain on November 26th, 2007 with a crew of 75 local professionals to shoot the fifth in the series of “Games People Play” TV spots for Charles Ryan Associates client, the West Virginia Lottery. Over the last year and a half, iAproductions has produced four muli-spot sets for Charles Ryan Associates and the West Virginia Lottery with creative concepts built around Joe South’s 1970s hit “The Games People Play.”

The shoot required weeks of pre-production planning, a crew of 40 and a cast of 35. The weather played a major role in the production. With temperatures ranging from 34 degrees to 12 degrees fahrenheit, producer Dianna Ballard went through enormous efforts to make and keep track of real snow on the slopes and in the remote locations used in the production. High winds and steep inclines made every setup difficult and taxed the crew and its equipment to the max. With the extreme terrain and temperatures, safety was of great concern in the potentially dangerous environment. Snowmobiles were used to transport the equipment and crew to the slopes safely.

Two Sony HDW-F900 Cinealta high-definition cameras were used to capture the action during the intensive production. Steadicam mounts, a 30 foot jib and cameras mounted on snow mobiles yielded many high energy shots. The wind and snow only added to the action.

“This is where experience counts,” said Image Associates managing member Bill Hogan from beneath layer upon layer of protective clothing. “With the high winds, ice and snow this is not the place to teach the basics.”

iAproductions’ experienced crew braved the elements, the steep terrain and a tight production schedule to complete the fifth installment of the West Virginia Lottery’s “Game People Play” commercial series. The shoot began November 26th and the set was wrapped on November 30th, although over a month’s worth of preparation went into the week-long shoot. The shoot required long 10-12 hour days and the treacherous footing and biting cold made the days seem even longer, but as many crew members were jokingly saying, “this business if for the passionate, not the meek.”

iAproductions was selected to produce the West Virginia Lottery’s 20th Anniversary Game Show.

The hour-long show was hosted by veteran television game host Bob Eubanks and taped before a studio audience in the West Virginia Cultural Center theater. Twenty contestants were introduced by the host and were asked to select letters on giant game boards to determine whether they would move to the next round.

Bill Hogan not only directed the show but also was responsible for set design, lighting and sound and scripted the made-for-television event. The production was pre-taped and televised to a statewide audience in December 2006.

The contestants were selected to participate in the 30-minute game show as a result of a random drawing of monthly winners from the 20th Anniversary second chance drawing that was held on November 20..

Nearly $3 million in prizes were awarded during the show. The show finished with Gladys K. Shilling of Charleston winning the $2 million grand prize drawing.

iAproductions produced four new 30-second television commercials for Massey Energy that began airing statewide in early August.

Bill Hogan wrote the scripts, directed the action and completed post-production in the new Image Associates Final Cut Pro HD editing suite.

Utilizing a Sony Cinealta High Definition camera, the television commercials highlighted the economic contributions made by West Virginia’s largest coal producer and featured a crew of 12.

While most of the shoot occurred above ground, one of the most dramatic visuals occurred when the iAproductions’ crew went underground to shoot Massey Energy miners boarding a man-trip.

IA Production crewmembers were required to undergo specific mine safety training before being allowed to enter the deep mine.

iAproductions provided comprehensive production services to Charles Ryan Associates for the latest series of Games People Play television commercials shot for the West Virginia Lottery.

The five-day shoot included stops in 10 separate locations in Huntington, Charleston and Morgantown. Along with the human cast, IA brought in California-based animal actors who provided 2 trained dogs. One dog appeared in a hayride scene while the other was used in a camping scene.

Working with CRA creatives, Sharon Harms designed the production that included 10 different sets and a myriad of detailed props. Harms set the look for a fall hayride shot, Marshall and WVU tailgate parties, a classic barbershop, a moonlit campsite and turned a hot August day at the Capitol Market into a cool fall day.

With assistance from Parker Webb and Britain Walker, Harms also created several special effects including a birthday gift box with a life of its own and a kinetic hay bale that sprang to life on cue and propelled a bouncing lottery ball down a country road.

iAproductions simultaneously utilized a pair of Sony Cinealta High Definition cameras for the shoot. One camera was mounted on a jib to capture aerial views and fluid-motion shots.

iAproductions provided CRA with turnkey production management, creative art direction, extensive location scouting, talent coordination, a 30-person professional crew, IA’s fully equipped grip truck and complex logistical management for 10 locations around the state.

During the holiday season, the West Virginia Lottery wanted a new advertisement promoting lottery tickets as a great gift idea. Charles Ryan Associates and iAproductions worked together to create and produce a high quality spot. The spot was shot at an historic Charleston house on Kanawha boulevard and featured talent from New York.

iAproductions has a long history shooting for “America’s Most Wanted”, and on May 18th 2004 an IA crew helped America’s Most Wanted document their 795th capture. Carl Richard Djusberg, wanted for violent crimes in Oregon and Minnesota, was captured in Charleston, WV just 3 days after being profiled on the program.

The call came to iAproductions with little time to spare, but we assembled a 3-man crew consisting of a cameraman, a sound engineer and an interviewer who all spent the better part of 2 days recording police and witnesses for the AMW capture segment.

For more information on this capture, visit the America’s Most Wanted website.