Why We Forged a Horseshoe for a Broadcasting Conference

The Four Winds team got to travel back in time to a place where blacksmiths forge horseshoes by hand and couples travel via horse and carriage. The project was to tell a visually compelling two-minute narrative of a horseshoe’s creation and function. For a seemingly short video, weeks of planning went into securing the location, hiring actors, booking a horse and carriage, getting a production crew together and even  finding a blacksmith. All of the pre-production planning pays off when it comes time to shoot, though, because the goal is to have two flawless days on location.

All aspects of the crew worked together to capture stunning 4-6K footage of the forging process, the horseshoe being fitted, and a couple of well-dressed Victorian Era actors riding in a horse drawn carriage. With a cast and crew of 17 (including two horses), this short video was quite the production. In the end, we created a two-minute video chock full of gorgeous high res footage showing the beauty of a traditional craft.

So what was all of this for? The video is headed to Intel’s booth at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference to showcase Intel’s Thunderbolt technology. Aesthetically pleasing and large in file size, the video aims to attract conference attendees to the booth while also showcasing Thunderbolt’s workload capabilities and speed.

Compared to our typical shoots, this set was entirely different. We traded in boardrooms for rolling hills and got to work with horses who, by the way, were extremely well behaved and social. Our production assistant learned the true meaning of “other duties as assigned” when she was asked to have a conversation with one of the horses to keep them still during a tricky take. This project is just one example of how integrated the creative and tech worlds are becoming.

We’re excited to see the video at NAB 2016, where our very own Charlyn Villegas will be attending. If you’re going to NAB, swing by to see our work at the Intel booth, let us know what you think and if you’d like to catch up with Four Winds Creative, give Charlyn a shout!