Ok so we’re not that regular doing blogs but this one comes with good news!

We have signed up to do Group S Classic Car Racing’s social media account.   After several months following Group S and making teaser and related content, we finally got the go ahead to create and share social media content.   This is awesome as we now have the power to roam around the racetracks of Australia to get the shots and footage we always wanted.

Other news.   Our office has moved and we no longer have a balcony but we have an amazing layout to work in and as we are both together in the same room, our ideas fly thick and fast.   On top of that its now a mixture of photography studio, editing room, aircraft control centre, dining room, bedroom, kennel, think tank, art studio and arcade.

WE ALSO HAVE MERCH!   We have baseball caps, snap caps and t-shirts!   Thanks to the guys over at Dreamcatcher who printed out everything, we have been roaming around in our own-labelled gear on our last trip to the track.

The brief of our last shoot; create a video about PIF and the prize of a Hot Lap.   Armed with new cameras (go pro style cameras) and our tried and tested D5100 we interviewed the winners who both got a 1:48 and 1:49 around Sydney Motorsports Park in a 1967 Porsche 911 Carrera.   With internal footage of the passengers and our trackside shots, we accumulated quite a lot to work with.

There was one little hiccup as Dan was sick and we missed out on the second day of racing but we did get the last race of Group S.   With three cameras in three cars, we filmed the inner workings three of the drivers over the grid.   The production has been slow as there have been several quick jobs that turned into major works due to the deadlines too.   Other than that, the productions that have been kept under wraps until we get the go ahead from the client.

We also had fun making our first introduction film with the crew.   A mixture of our madness and the back-story of who we and what we do is explained while having a whole lot of fun.   Everything people have asked us or prefer not to read about is in there.   We haven’t done the bloopers and outtakes though which will be enjoyable as Dan and I were both rolling on the ground with tears when we saw it the first time.

That’s all we really have to say.

El Hefe Gigante Signing off

So its been three months, kinda, since our last post. What have we done since then? HEAPS! We have set up an office, bought equipment and been chasing clients like no tomorrow. Every day has had its challenges but each has come with a bacon and egg roll with coffee or hot chocolate.

Our adventure has led us to the racetrack on several occasions and one of our potential clients. Like many times before we have been there, this time was for real. After nearly six months of following DHR, I have been tutored in how to shoot at a racetrack without a media vest. This time though was very different. Two days of shooting and filming our client’s class of vehicles.

Our brief was “Make the client want us by proving what we can do.” This was a challenge for both of us on the team as it was considered my day. You see I am the technical one while Dan is the master of ceremonies and mischief. So after lugging my gear around to where we have called home many times over the last few months we found our base of operations. There was only one problem, it was wet which is bad for camera equipment if water gets into the mechanisms.

Knowing that the café has an undercover section, Dan and I raced there to get the job underway as our brief was about to get underway. Shooting cars in the wet is a gift as most cameras can’t pick up the speed in the background. The shots from this were amazing (but can’t be shown as they haven’t been viewed by the client yet so we’re keeping them under wraps). There is speed and determination of each driver was amazing as they seemed to be going harder than the other class racing out there in their assortment of cars.

After shooting we raced off to interview and film the drivers about what their first racing memories, why they choose their class of cars, why they chose their car, what was their favourite track and who is their biggest rival. The two we interviewed gave us amazing answers as they, like Dan were naturals in front of the camera. With the weather clearing up was went to film the second round of the day. When they finished we hunted down the drivers to interview more but they had all packed up and headed home. With that we did the same but with plans about what we were going to shoot the next day.

Day two rolled around and we were out there ready to go. With a tripod and back up camera at the ready, I left Dan with the setup and tested tripod while I went to get driver shots.   Knowing that the first lap is a dry run I shot all the cars I could before racing back through the crowds to the tripod to get the grid start. Praying to the weather gods, I shot the grid start.

Packing up the gear after getting bits and pieces of the race we went back to the pits to get some more interviews. As we started interviewing the gods damned us all and dropped the rain heavily onto all. We interviewed several more drivers before the next race began and ran off to another vantage point. As it was lunch break, Dan went shopping for his new race suit that will have HOUND across his front and back. While Dan shopped I looked at the Go Pros before the rain started again and brought in Dan’s race team chief.

While it rained and the only cover we found was the shop. We talked to the team boss about my experience day in the same type of car that Dan races. We also talked about what we were doing out there and other things about the racing world that I’m starting to know. Then the rain lifted and we set up again.

Filming the last few parts of our visual portfolio piece, we bid adieu to the track and headed for home. After the two track days and data collection imminent we said our goodbyes at the office and went to rest our weary limbs from running around the limited section of the track. A day later I fired up the office computers, trawled for racing tunes and went through the nightmare that is editing.

The video produced was something to be proud of and with the rest of the collection that is steadily growing into a better calibre. This also helped with the tester we did a UKS several days later.

El Hefe Gigante Signing off

HOUND interactive media agency was born out of desperation of two friends looking for work in a big bad world. Coming from two very different backgrounds in the creative field, both had suffered under the tyranny of  being in positions that were unfulfilling. With the urging of those around them, these two friends went into business together.   And here is the result.   

The players

Peter "El Hefe Gigante" Spratt                                                                   Daniel "King Pup" Holihan

Now we have been under the pump by several parties in saying we should go into business together. 
Any venture would be successful as both of us had strengths that the other lacked and could utilise.
So we put our heads together to see where our skills could be used for the good of our fellow man.
We came to the conclusion of creating an interactive agency.

Why? Well there are media agencies, social media agencies and social media multiple platform launching software and websites that all give a computerised robotic feeling to their client.

Big companies have access to these agencies that provide personal touches of creating a relationship with their customers. Small companies don't have such a luxury and lose their feeling for the convenience of multiple scheduled posting software and websites. We wanted to level the playing field.

Yeah its more than we can handle... NO! It's really not.   

Dan is an expert in Facebook, communication and the people person or a face man. 

Me (El Hefe Gigante)? I'm the guy behind the camera, lurking behind the computer and making things pretty. I'm writing this post aren't I? But enough about us and back to company speak.

We were born on 21/3/2014 when Dan and I finally agreed to go into work together. I had just started shooting Dan as a photographer as he wanted to tell the story of Daniel Holihan Racing from behind the scenes as there are many photographers shooting the track and not many in the garage. After showing off the stockpile of photos collected on the test day, Dan wanted to create a website as he wanted a fan base to move away from the generic Facebook fan page and go to a place where the stats, photos, videos and a human feeling. I agreed to do this for him as I was interning at another company as a graphic designer and it was an easy thing to draft up, conceptualise and create.

When the internship was over after three months I had nowhere to go. I finally agreed to work with Dan in his basement, building up his image in the background on the web while he controlled of his Facebook. As there are only so many angles you can shoot a car and crew at a race track, I upgraded my camera and started filming Dan and his crew. Dan had also purchased an onboard camera which increase my persistence to create a youtube channel to share his experience behind the wheel with a soundtrack that Dan has been trying to get off me for years.

When our first and second movies went up on youtube, that was when the lightbulb clicked on for actually knuckling down and creating a company. Our financial backers stated that we could not have a premises, sell goods or go into hospitality as they would be expensive to start, run and operate at a profit. They said pick your strengths. So we did. An interactive agency.

El Hefe Gigante Signing off