Wynnewood, Pa., June 11, 2009—According to Nielsen’s A2/M2 Three Screen report, viewing of video on TV, Internet and mobile devices—the three screens—continues to increase and has hit record levels.  Their report states Americans who watch video on the Internet consume three hours of online video per month.

Embracing that trend, Out of the Blue Productions (www.outoftheblueproductions.com) continues to craft new patient testimonials as interactive online videos for a leading Top Ten pharmaceutical websites. The company has just completed a new series of ‘mini-documentaries’ shot all around the US featuring Real People as brand ambassadors.

Out of the Blue was contracted by Cadient Group (www.cadient.com), a leading independent digital and technology-based solutions provider for the healthcare industry.

Helmed by Out of the Blue’s Director Ron Cohen and managed by Executive Producer Vikki Smith, six new, 90-second patient video stories for a top DTC website are slated for 2009

on-line release. These video stories appear on a new Web site designed by Cadient Group. The patient videos provide remarkable, firsthand insights into symptoms, lifestyles and outcomes for a major brand.

Shot Hi-DEF and displayed as 16 x 9 widescreen videos, Director Cohen and company recreated unique everyday lives in an unscripted way featuring engaging characters, enabling viewers to make a connection with the patients and the product.

Cadient Group helped develop the core creative and strategy behind the patient testimonials, including hand-picking each patient story to fit national consumer behaviors.

National recruitment provided by Out of the Blue and pre-interviews of candidates raised the bar on the selection process and helped insure getting the best patients on camera.

On-Line video is the natural progression of engaging Consumers’ Web experience -- coupled with an increase in broadband video-streaming in the US. It makes sense… people stay on websites longer when there is engaging On-Line video programming

 

About Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue Productions is a creative video production company specializing in healthcare storytelling. The group produces award winning long-form documentaries, medical education, training, broadcast advertising and theatrical trade show/awards films; most recently the 100th meeting Opening film for the American Association of Cancer Research, shown to 6,000 attendees in Denver, Spring 2009.

Media Contacts:
Jim Burt
VP, Business Development
Out of the Blue Productions
jburt@outoftheblueproductions.com
610-645-5665

Out of the Blue creates new TV spot for Fox Chase Cancer Center using
tennis star Billie Jean King as spokesperson

Philadelphia, PA -- Fox Chase Cancer Center and Out of the Blue Productions have been teaming up to create impactful TV Spots and videos for more than a decade. When Fox Chase Cancer Center named legendary sports icon and social activist Billie Jean King as a spokesperson, Out of the Blue was recruited to create a TV commercial featuring the 12-time Grand Slam winner. Known for her candor in things that matter, King is passionate about cancer prevention and research.

"I'm excited to be an advocate for Fox Chase," says King. "Improved health conditions and healthy living is very important to me and the important cancer research being done at Fox Chase particularly in how to prevent cancer before it starts, will have a positive impact on many people."

An initial interview with King sparked the concept that Out of the Blue's creative group
used for the TV spot. Although polished like a broadcast spot, it feels organic and spontaneous like a documentary.

As a full shoot-day, with many tight time constraints for King and the FCCC medical staff,
Out of the Blue employed two cameras -- one manned by Shooters Director of Photography Craig Needelman, and the other operated by Steadicam ace David Taicher. The two pros
leap-frogged locations to cover the large Fox Chase campus.

Under Ron Cohen's direction, King felt at ease talking about the difficult subject of cancer.
To help tell the story, she met with various medical staff on camera, including Fox Chase's new president and CEO Dr. Michael Seiden.

"So often scenes like these can come off looking staged," explained Cohen, "we knew we had to keep it looking fresh and unrehearsed. We had to be ready for Billie Jean when she walked into each setting so that she wasn't waiting."

"That's easier said than done when you're shooting in a busy hospital," added Executive Producer Vikki Smith, "but with a lot of preparation, coordination and teamwork we pulled it off and everyone was ecstatic about the final result."

"Fox Chase and Out of the Blue work really well together," said Julia Goplerud, Senior Director of Marketing at Fox Chase, "Ron, Vikki and the Out of the Blue staff understand the subject matter, are sensitive to patient needs, handle challenging details of shooting in a
cancer hospital expertly and deliver a product that’s outstanding!"

"It was a great shoot day. Billie Jean King is one of my heroes," noted Smith. "she changed the world of sports forever. I think her passion for healthcare issues and cancer prevention will make an impact."

Out of the Blue crafts award-winning Trade Show spectacular

ATLANTA, GA -- In the world of pharmaceutical marketing, getting attention is difficult. Trade Shows are even harder, with doctors milling around various booths and seeing scores of videos. Getting your product seen, and remembered, is close to impossible.

However, Out of the Blue is never one to shy away from a challenge.

Principals Ron Cohen and Vikki Smith were approached by The Cadient Group to create a film to be shown to psychiatrists and doctors around the US; showcasing the positive effects of a drug which helps manage the manic episodes of Bipolar depression.

Cadient wanted a powerful film for their client to create buzz on the trade show floor.

No small order.

Teaming up with the Cadient Group, Ron and Vikki researched Bipolar mania; seeing its dramatic effects on the patient, their family and doctors.

They developed a plan of attack: Go big or go home.

The duo planned on delivering a “shock and awe” presentation, designed to leave Trade Show attendees breathless as they witnessed someone going through a manic episode; characterized by rapid speech, abundant energy, and reckless behavior.

Without holding back, they created a concept that would address everything realistically.
Opening on a man going through a full blown manic episode during a work presentation, to a tearful confrontation with his wife and son…the film is an immersive look at what living with Bipolar mania really means.

In an effort to make it an honest film about a man’s life with the disease, and how the character gets through it all, the product details were inserted during commercial breaks and not during the film itself.

Written by Edwin Endlich and shot on HI-Def 24p by cinematographer Kyle Rudolph,
“Ethan” is a painstakingly crafted program to deliver a most visually powerful and
engaging psychological patient presentation.

To physically create the manic effect, the Trade Show audience was surrounded by five huge 84” gas plasmas TV screens with an audio track that shook the private theatre with dedicated
5.1 Surround Sound.

Ron and Vikki’s work and ingenuity paid off.

The presentation was met with wide praise. Doctors left the screening room visibly moved, and when the reps approached them, the viewers were full of questions and comments about the film…which in the trade show business is “gold.”

The film has gone on to win several video festival awards.

Out of the Blue gets honorary Nursing degree

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- When you think of Nursing Instructional Videos, the words “Creative”, “Innovative” and “Entertaining” rarely come to mind.

However, Out of the Blue Productions and Shooters Post and Transfer did deliver
creativity innovation and entertainment for leading medical publisher Lippincott Wilkins
and Wilcott.

While most of the industry subscribes to the format of an intimidating Voice-Over, robotic nurse, and silent patients -- the Lippincott, Shooters, and Out of the Blue team knew there was a better way to get information across while also engaging an audience of nursing students.

The result was a groundbreaking 17-part series, managing to marry the standard educational video with the energy and realism of a Reality Show. The 30-minute programs, shot and edited by Shooters Post and Transfer, follow an ensemble of likable and believable nursing students as they deal with a variety of patients (a retired dancer, a grizzled mechanic, and even a woman afraid of long pauses) while they learn complicated and technical nursing skills, i.e, injections, hygiene, catheters.

“Although there has been many nursing instructional series produced, I don’t think anyone has ever attempted what we just did,” says Danielle Di Palma of Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Nursing.

“Nursing instructional videos are notoriously boring and unrealistic,” she said, “we wanted to create a series that nursing students could relate with - that mimic their lives while also maintaining the instructional integrity of the skills. And that is exactly what Ron and Shooters did for us.”

Choreographing the dance between quality instruction and engaging characters was
Director Ron Cohen. Aside from wrangling the cast made up of real nurses, actors and nurse/actors (yes, they do exist), he also worked closely with screenwriter Edwin Endlich to make sure that the conversations between nurses and patients felt real and natural.

“Keeping it interesting with realistic conversation but making sure the nursing skills were perfect was a challenge – and Ron pulled it off,” says account executive Carrie Spott from Shooters Post and Transfer, who provided all the crew, editing and graphics.

Vikki Smith, Executive Producer at Out of the Blue, and the coordinating team from Shooters brilliantly handled the ambitious logistics of five programs being produced at the same time.

Shot on location in area hospitals for more than 34 days, the Shooters / Out Of The Blue team pushed through blizzards, hospital closings, and temperamental prosthetics to create something new and exciting for the nursing student community.

AWARD-winning CD-ROM: "Philadelphia Speaks”
and EVERYONE is Listening!

Out of the Blue joined with D4 Creative and Swain Entertainment to work on an in-depth entertaining CD-Rom for GPTMC (Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation)
promoting tourism throughout Philadelphia and its countryside.

MANAYUNK, PA -- Heading up a video effort of an enormous scale, Director Ron Cohen proved his love for Philadelphia, aka “The city that loves ya back.”

It was truly a labor of love, after days of shooting and weeks of editing, resulting in 16 video modules incorporated onto a clever CD-Rom. The people on camera interact with "Philadelphia" a whimsical off camera character played by Wes Heywood.

The on-camera "guest to the city" is played by Linda Swain. Swain, along with D4's Kurt Shore, wrote a new song, "The Philadelphia Song" from which the original idea of the CD-Rom
was developed.

The Out of the Blue/ D4 team coordinated some rather imposing shoot days -- from Independence Hall and the Arden Theater to Valley Forge -- and from Morimoto's to Geno's Steaks. There was lots of great cooperation from the city and all Locations personnel to make this shoot a success!

The program won several awards, including a Philly Gold award for Best Interactive
Business-to-Consumer category