Big Client, Small World

Hammers, hinges, and hacksaws may not be the most poetic objects in the world. Neither are the facts and figures of a multi-national company’s annual report the most exciting. So what do you get when you combine the two? Tribe Pictures finds a symphony.

Stanley Black & Decker, a global industrial company with over 40 brands and thousands of products, presented Tribe with a challenge: produce a video to introduce their 2011 Annual Report and Year in Review investor relations website. Kate Vanek, VP of Investor Relations, knew she wanted something different and demanded one thing: “We want ‘wow.’”

Inspired by Stanley Black & Decker’s ubiquity, CEO & Creative Director Vern Oakley envisioned a film to showcase the company’s role around the world. This film, entitled “Symphony,” asks us to stop and listen—just for a moment—to the sound of Stanley Black & Decker products that surround us in our daily lives. From automated subway doors in China to the socket wrenches that build airplanes to infant monitoring systems, Stanley Black & Decker is present on six continents, surrounding us in a “symphony of life.” He found a language to give a new perspective on these products and services, a more human and personal way of seeing construction equipment, industrial products like power tools, doors, and storage devices, and even security monitoring services. Steve Block worked with him to develop the strategy for the film’s message and implementation.

Felicia Jameson and Chris Holt, the team that planned and produced all location photography, knew how to make the globe a small world from Tribe’s base in Chatham, New Jersey. They called upon our international tribe including award-winning director and cinematographer Michael Spindler from Switzerland and several members of IQ, the International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers, for filming in China, Latin America and Europe.

To capture both the tiny details and global scale, you need state-of-the-art technology, like the Phantom Gold HD camera that can capture over 2,000 frames per second, which was used to create the stunning slow motion footage of tools in action.  Tribe’s most veteran editor—or should we say conductor?—Ray Quaranto made it all come together into its final symphonic film form, an artful blend of picture, sound, music, and narrative. 

Of course, this inventive film concept demanded a soundtrack to highlight the musicality of tools and equipment while capturing a sense of human accomplishment and purpose. Future Perfect, the music composers and sound designers located in Santa Monica, California, contributed their interpretation in their original score.

“Symphony” was a strategic and creative opportunity to stretch Tribe’s global legs for a global client, but still we questioned: how do you define “wow”?

“Goosebumps,” according to Kate Vanek, commenting on her response to the film. Tribe delivered the “wow” she asked for to Stanley Black & Decker’s many current and future investors.
For more information about this branding project, read the accompanying press release and learn about the international awards it received.