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OHSU launches war on skin cancer: Start Seeing Melanoma

OHSU launches war on skin cancer with new awareness campaign: Start Seeing Melanoma: The only cancer you can stop with your eyes!

What’s the first thing we did when we got the call for a full-blown campaign, complete with an 18-month media buy that includes billboards, magazine placements, and cinemagraphs? Yeah, we got pretty excited. There may have been a short happy dance. Since social platforms have become the dominant advertising medium, ‘one and done’ feels like the mantra of image use these days. It’s fantastic to know that’s not always the case.

The “Start Seeing Melanoma” campaign was one of those holy grail assignments we’re always hoping for—the ones that give us the ability to contribute to society and to do some very creative storytelling.

Sockeye wanted to literally paint a message across skin with light—which is easier said than done. Their concept called for using bodies as our canvas—to use nudity in a provocative fashion without being exploitive.

Peter suggested we work with 3 dancers for this project, which is exactly what Andy was thinking! They are some of his favorite subjects to photograph—as they truly understand the visual impact that comes from a great pose. He worked directly with each dancer as a collaborator, giving them wide discretion over pose and their comfort level, and inviting them to view the work as he created it.

Behind the scenes – and behind Tony is first AC Galvin Collins adjusting a light.

Work like this hits all the sweet spots for me. I needed to find a technical solution to a tricky lighting challenge—deliver crisp projections, balance the key lights and avoid a slow shutter speed. Once I had a solid technical solution, I was able to put it to work as a creative tool. Having both of those in hand allows me to concentrate on directing and collaborating with my talent on shoot day.

It’s a crazy thrill to be challenged by a project like this, to take my rough sketches and put them in motion, and then to discover all the ways I can build upon that first rough idea

Andy
We created still images and cinemagraphs during the shoot

All good projects are collaborative, and this one is a perfect example. We worked hand-in-hand with the Sockeye team to bring their concept to life.

It’s always a thrill to see Andy’s work in the wild—whether via the social channels or on an outdoor board—but it’s even better to know that the work is getting attention and delivering an important message!

This is an exciting campaign and will be rolling out over the next 18 months. Check out some of the work, including gifs, at this hidden gallery!

  • Kayla Banks’s billboard on Burnside and 6th
  • Xena Guitron billboard in the Pearl District
  • Kayla Banks billboard

As always, thanks to the village that made this possible – to OHSU, to Sockeye Creative’s fabulous team of Peter Metz, Zo Barazzuol (thanks for the billboard shots!), Yen Nguyen and Stacy Lorts, and my team, Terri Lodge, Galvin Collins, Cameron Browne, and Brandon Bondehag. The dancers we feature in this campaign are Kayla Banks, Xena Guitron and Tony Coray. We’re honored to be a part of this family!

don’t miss Galvin and Therese doing their happy dance!
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The Bad Choices Project gets it’s first graphic novel, with support from Lensbaby

Two characters from the world of Bad Choices stumble in the late afternoon along a riverbank

photographed by Andy Batt

Lensbaby, makers of creative effect camera lenses, asked me to help them launch a new lens, the Sol 45mm. They wanted me to choose a personal passion project, and for me, that meant a new story within the world of Bad Choices .

My first job was to integrate the Sol 45 look with my storytelling.

Lensbaby gave me a pre-production model to carry around and experiment with. It’s a distinctive lens with loads of personality. The important part for me was integration; I didn’t want to simply overlay a lens on top of an image. The lens needed to be part of the storytelling. There’s a swirling, dreamlike quality to the images the Sol captures, and I wanted my story to be communicating that idea as well.

My attempt at a storyboard. Don’t judge.
A lost inmate from an apocalyptic jail wanders the forest wearing a yellow helmet
Subject Fourteen wanders, lost, through the woods

I spent time sitting the writer’s chair.

I needed to discover which characters would be part of this world. This became an opportunity to add a character to my world. “Subject Fourteen” is someone who’s been stripped of his own name and lost in the woods. After creating a quick set of graphic novel storyboards to help me map out the story, and discovering what the visual story would be, I went looking for locations.

No matter how rough, creating a storyboard is integral to my process.
The look of the Sol 45 lens really became a part of the story.

“I wanted the helmet to feel like something that would trap someone, with various test probes and hoses attached to it.”

I turned to my costume designer Becca, and we came up with a backstory for 14’s outfit. He’s not the first ’14’ to wear it—it’s old, patched and worn, and now that it’s been through salt water, and a muddy slog through the woods. It’s real ugly. The helmet was tricky. I didn’t want it to be military or look like a robot. I wanted it to feel like something that would trap someone, with various test probes and hoses attached to it; a helmet for testing someone and keeping them isolated. My prop master Galvin Collins jumped in to create a ‘savage’ level build. He created a full package of working parts, age and damage, mysterious hose attachments, medical gauges and straps.

Sketch storyboard for Misled #1
Amitesh Prasad plays “14” and Tina Kraft is Turner

We had an amazing day on location, creating everything that ended up in the book, and working with the crew from Lensbaby. It took some time to refine the design process, do a few rewrites of the sparse text and dialog, but now that I can look on it as a final printed piece, I can say that I’m happy, and truly looking forward to writing and shooting Misled No. 2

-andy batt

Misled issue No. 1 on sale now!

As part of the fundraising to continue the project, this beautifully printed 24 page graphic novel is on sale for $25—completely overpriced! BUT it comes with a signed mystery 5×7 print, my hearty thanks, and the joy of knowing you supported ART! You can always go read the comic online—it’s FREE to read, and FREE to share. If you like it, buy a print copy!