Film Craft > Film Craft
PIRO, New York / CHIPOTLE / 2014
Overview
Credits
BriefExplanation
"Farmed and Dangerous" is a 4x22 minute (TV format) scripted satire on industrial farming, from Chipotle, who wanted to start a conversation about how food is prepared and raised in American fast food restaurants.
"Farmed and Dangerous" follows Buck Marshall (Ray Wise) and his PR firm, the Industrial Food Image Bureau (I-Fib), as they hilariously try to handle PR for the flawed industrial agriculture industry. "Farmed and Dangerous" satirizes Industrial Farming's PR claim to "feed the world" by pointing out the unsustainable, unhealthy and inhumane ways it gets the job done. Buck's nemesis is Chip Randolph, a sustainable and ethical farmer who represents Chipotle's values. Cows explode, chickens are mutated and laughs abound in this "Smart and wickedly funny" show (NBC News).
Execution
Once the idea of a scripted comedy series about industrial agriculture was born, the task was to:
- make it good enough for "earned" distribution in the competitive entertainment landscape.
- YET make it inexpensively so the brand wasn't too exposed.
- make sure the content made multiple factual points about the subject matter, per client request.
- reflect the brands values without product placement.
- make it newsworthy so the PR would pick up the brand story.
We sourced an Oscar nominated screenwriter (for a political satire film) and a television writer to be included in a wirters room with the creatives and the client.
We filmed after they gave us access to blockbuster crew without the blockbuster price, knowing that we would air on-line first. So it was important NOT to have any television distribution prior to filming.
Scripts were read as "table reads" to the client for approvals.
Directing, production and editing was done in-house. One week per episode filming in LA. Aggressive schedule for the result. We also shot a music video on top. We negotiated all talent directly and secured Ray Wise.
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