A large-scale TV and web campaign for Toys "R" Us created by agency The Escape Pod, and produced byWondros with director Ray Dillman, turns an everyday field trip to the forest into the best trip ever for busloads of underprivileged kids. What started as a promise to "Meet the Trees" became a dream come true for over 200 unsuspecting kids when they were instead driven to a Toys "R" Us store in Middletown, NY. Having the store all to themselves, they played to their hearts content and then got to shop for a gift, any toy in the store, to make their holiday wishes come true. Pulling off this covert stunt was an elaborate undertaking. The scheme was put into action through some good-natured trickery on behalf of everyone involved – including the parents.
Toys "R" Us relates the holiday campaign to making wishes come true, especially for those who are less fortunate. Dillman captures the emotion from the kids, to launch a diversified campaign that spans multiple platforms, integrating broadcast, print and digital media. The expansive campaign includes a 90-second online commercial, a number of 60 and 30-second TV commercials, and several 15-second spots that capture the genuine surprise of these children.
#WishinAccomplished punctuates each of these spots to push the social media effort.
"Not knowing whether the kids would go crazy, be confused or apathetic was the big mystery." Dillman also made the point, "From the very beginning, I wanted to make sure that we were intimate with the camera, down on the children's level, not from the point of view where you are looking at the tops of their heads with a shouldered camera."
On the bus, there were hidden GoPros at every single seat, a Red Epic recording in 4K and a pair of hidden surveillance cameras. In the store, once the secret was revealed, the kids were followed by five full-camera units including a Steadicam, each with a boom operator for sound. A pair of robotic cameras with remote operators and planted GoPros were also implemented.
Organizing and monitoring so much information, coming from so many places, in real time, was quite a challenge. Dillman remarks that it was a "Herculean task" for his long time video assist technician, R. Scott Lawrence, feeding all the information to him, the agency and clients. His crew and team members also included an on-set editor, who was instrumental in overcoming issues such as keeping the shots organized and knowing what they had at the end of each day of shooting.
Stefan Czapsky was brought on board as DP. He was not only an expert on fielding the production, but also lent his expertise on the overall look and feel of the spot. Czapsky is known for his work on films such as Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns and Ed Wood. Dillman said, "Stefan was my field general. He was the perfect man for the job; a wonderful, talented collaborator and a genuinely sweet guy."
Finally, Dillman added, "The very best part of the whole production was seeing the joy on the kid's faces when they posed with the toys they had chosen."
Beth Melsky handled casting key talent on the Toys "R" Us side of the story and Strickman-Ripps Casting + Research was enlisted with the arduous casting of children of all ethnicities between the ages of 6 and 13. It was a three-week massive and complex effort to keep the project top secret while pulling together work permits and accounts to insure that not only each individual child take home a toy, but also got paid. The company reached out to organizations supporting underprivileged children such as the Boys & Girls Club of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Neighborhood Housing Services. There's been an overwhelming response from the kids, the parents, and members of the organizations, expressing their gratitude for an incredible and fulfilling day that most kids can only dream of.
After Delay Over Legal Issues, Oscar-Nominated Documentary “Black Box Diaries” Finally Premieres In Japan
"Black Box Diaries," a documentary in which Japanese journalist Shiori Ito investigates her own sexual assault case and the barriers she faced in pursuing justice, has been screened widely abroad since its 2024 festival debut and earned an Oscar nomination early this year.
It finally premiered in Japan on Friday, a long-delayed domestic release that began with a single-theater run.
In Japan, sexual assault victims are often stigmatized and silenced. But the barrier to the film's release at home was largely the result of a legal dispute over her use of some interviews and footage of witnesses and involved parties without their consent.
The 102-minute film was screened to a full house on Friday at the T. Joy Prince Shinagawa, a large cinema complex in downtown Tokyo.
Ito expressed relief that she could finally share her story with an audience in her home country.
"Until last night, I was afraid if the film is going to come out or not," she told The Associated Press after the screening. "The reason I made this film is because I want to talk about this issue openly in Japan. It's been like my little love letter to Japan, so I'm just so happy that this day came finally."
Ito, who went public with what she says happened to her in 2015, has become the face of Japan's slow moving #MeToo movement. She is the first Japanese director to be nominated for an Oscar in the category of documentary feature film. The film is based on a 2017 book she wrote, "Black Box."
What happened in 2015
As an intern in 2015, Ito was seeking a position at private TBS Television and met one of its senior journalists, Noriyuki Yamaguchi, who became her alleged assailant. She has said in her book and film that she became dizzy... Read More