Excited to share Danner Boots’ 2024 “Go There” campaign that I had the honor of producing last fall. This is Danner’s annual, flagship brand campaign. The truly epic imagery and footage was created by photographer Corey Arnold and Director/DP Aly Nicklas, alongside Danner Creative Director Justin "Scrappers" Morrison, and spearhead by Danner’s Will Pennartz and Kate Maciejowski.
The campaign — shot in Oregon’s iconic Columbia River Gorge — features pioneering individuals who kayak these waters, fish the rivers, farm the land, and sculpt the trees. We spent six days exploring world-renowned locations to create this anthem video and profiles of organic farmer Andrea Bemis of Tumbleweed Farms, professional kayaker/arborist/writer Adam Edwards, the log-sculpting wizards at Dee Mill, and native fisherwoman Terrie Brigham of the iconic Brigham Fish Market.
The shoot was made possible by our incredibly dedicated, talented and hard-working crew.
Photographer: Corey Arnold
Director/DP: Aly Nicklas
1st AC/Drone Pilot: Ben Canales
Photo Assistant: Zack Smith
DigiTech: Jonah Sutherland
Stylist: katie oscar
Producer: Keith Carlsen / Gold Pants Productions
Production Manager + Locations: Dustin Kimsey / PNW Locations
Production Coordinator: Stephen Zafuto / No Problemos
Set Medic: Russell Tart-LaFleur
PAs: Cristian Paluso-Serrano, Nash England, Christopher Lisle
Video Post Production:
Producer/Director: Aly Nicklas
Editor: Chris Cresci
VO: Jed Alger
Special thanks to Maren Levinson of Redeye Represents, Inc. for additional production support and guidance.
Solarcore asked me to help curate this unique and exciting experience and shoot for world-renowned YouTuber Ruhi Cenet to feature NASA's aerogel and the Portland-based, future of insulation, Solarcore. The video hit nearly 7 million views in its first two weeks.
One of the greatest feats of this shoot – from a producer standpoint – was getting nearly 1,000 pounds of custom-cut ice hauled two miles into a remote lake near Mt. Hood, Oregon, so we could assemble the branded ice throne (see photos) at the edge of the lake for epic views. With production, logistics, and snowmobile support from Dustin Kimsey/PNW Locations, and the willingness and support from PDX Ice, we made it happen.
Additionally we worked closely with the forest service to ensure we wouldn't cause any environmental harm. The shoot was topped off with a flame thrower segment and a day of wild experiments in the Solarcore labs.
Ruhi Senet Solarcore Viral Video
The InLightWorks team is proud to share the dream of Dream Mountain film. Under the production of mountain sports expert Keith Carlsen, the project brought together multiple teams of talented individuals from around the globe. It was an honor to work alongside veteran Sherpa mountaineers in the Himalayas as well as visionary technicians at the heart of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. InLightWorks Productions integrates art, adventure and awareness to shed light on the power of inspiration.
When is it right to follow your dreams? Let's take the lead of international mountain guide Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita as she questions, then follows her intuition on the most important expedition of all – her own life. Pasang, an accomplished mountaineer, humanitarian and now mother, has won numerous prestigious awards, including National Geographic's People's Choice Adventurer of the Year in 2016. In "Dream Mountain," Pasang reflects on her personal highs and lows and rediscovers for herself just how much the mountains have meant to her. The film offers insights into her struggle to balance mountaineering with motherhood, and the pressures of respecting her traditional culture while pushing boundaries as an elite female athlete. Returning to her mountain-home and life-long passion to face Cholatse, a sheer 21,130ft/6,440m peak in the heart of the Everest region, Pasang leads by inspiration, proclaiming, “Everyone has a right to follow their dreams.”
For this event and film, we brought immersive theater to the world of running with an experiential campaign in L.A. that invited urban runners to take part in a film noir-themed story.
We invited a group of runners, including journalists and "influencers," to step into the shoes of Hollywood detectives with a film-noir style case to solve. Using a customized communications and runner tracking system, mapping, routing and timing, the runners were choreographed across a 5K urban course taking in multiple locations for theatrical interactions. They raced through the streets unravelling clues through downtown L.A., taking in locations including the Roxie Theatre, Dutch Chocolate Shop and Bank Reserve Building.
The event was created by 180 Amsterdam and produced in partnership with L.A.-based production company HeLo. The experience was made into this promotional film that aired across the U.K., U.S., China, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Holland, France Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and Mexico.
Film Producer: Keith Carlsen
Head of Production: James Okumura
Film Director: Zachary Guerra
Immersive Director: Annie Saunders
Production Company: HeLo
Client Agency: 180 Amsterdam
For the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S6, promoting the Verizon network, we deployed two film crews simultaneously to Denver, Colorado and Aspen, Colorado. The concept: film and capture a realtime trick-off between pro skateboarder Trevor Colden and pro snowboarder Scotty Lago, utilizing the video chat app so each athlete could watch it unfold in real-time. Click play to see the result.
Supervising Producer: Keith Carlsen
Production Company: HeLo
Director: Kyle Ruddick
DP: Michael Stine (Denver) / Ian Rigby (Aspen)
Agency: McGarry Bowen
Clients: Verizon & Samsung
Big Metal Bird is an ongoing show about all things United. During 2018, I produced 5 episodes of the series that plays on United airplane seat-backs around the world.
Show Description: Get an inside look at how we get up in the air and down to business. We go behind the scenes to offer you an inside look at our operations and global network. Each video is dedicated to showing how we're getting better at providing every customer with a great travel experience every day, every flight.
Line Producer: Keith Carlsen
Production Company: HeLo
Agency: McGarry Bowen
Director: Alexandra Roxo
DP: Eric Robbins
Host: Phill Torres
ALASKA: We assembled a 5-day shoot in Talkneetka, Alaska to test the “Power of Pizza” with hardcore locals, including a female dog sled captain, bush pilot, + a master brewer. Utilizing EEG technology we took mood readings of our subjects in their daily lives and then again while cooking, smelling, eating pizza.
Supervising / Line Producer: Keith Carlsen
Post Producer: Keith Carlsen
Production Company: HeLo
Agency: Facebook/Creative Shop
Director: Mike Marshall
HOUSE FLIP: We bought a house in Cleveland, Ohio, then hosted an open house while baking fresh DiGiorno pizzas in the oven, then sold it. For a profit. It was a big one. Hidden cameras and all. And it worked.
Supervising / Line Producer: Keith Carlsen
Production Company: HeLo
Agency: Facebook Creative Shop.
Director: Mike Marshall
DP: Eric Robbins
From AdAge magazine:
What does the "all-American" family look like? For many people, the phrase conjures an image of a mother, a father and a few kids. Oh, and they're white.
But that describes only a third of American families these days. A true picture is more complex, varied and colorful. To prove the point, HP put some people to the test. Along with production company HeLo and client agency Edelman, 13 real families were gathered in Chicago, mixed up the groups and asked strangers to assemble what they thought looked like an all-American family.
In general, the strangers paired off heterosexual pairs of the same race, along with a couple of kids. An African-American lesbian and her baby ended up with an African-American man who was actually married to a white woman. Their partners ended up in similarly mixed-up groups. When the real family units are revealed, it becomes apparent that there's no "real" archetypal family in America. Same-sex couples raise children, single men adopt, love crosses racial boundaries.
Supervising / Line Producer: Keith Carlsen
Production Company: HeLo
Client Agency: Edelman
Director: Annie Saunders
DP: David McFarland
Photographer: Mike Marshall
STILLS + MOTION SHOOT
To introduce DevaFresh, a new product for active curly hair women, our camera crew documented the lives of five models living together for the week in Los Angeles. We shot a brand stills shoot in Malibu, videos of cross-fit workouts and skateboarding in DTLA, and social imagery on nature hikes in the hills and nightlife in K-Town. The result is a diverse brand, social, stills and motion campaign that mimics the real lives of curls on the go.
Supervising / Line Producer: Keith Carlsen
Director: Ryan Marshall/Deva Curl
DP: Ben McMillan
Photographer: Josh Letchworth
These are branded content pieces for Toyota in conjunction with Winter Dew Tour action sports event + television show. We profiled Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim on her path to the contest leading up the Olympics.
Producer: Keith Carlsen
Production Company: Dew Tour
DP: Ian Rigby
Director: Jeremy Pettit
For this Minute Maid holiday activation and short film, we built a cozy writing nook, holiday hangout zone in a Chicago mall. We invited people to write a letter to someone as a gift, then gift wrapped it for them. Participants were interviewed for their raw thoughts on the experience.
Producer: Keith Carlsen
DP/Director: Mike Marshall
Production Company: HeLo
I took a film crew to Rwanda, Africa, twice in 2018 to produce promotional videos for Inyenyeri Energy, a for-profit renewable energy company. They sell cooking energy in the form of Fuel Pellets. Like telecom providers that offer deluxe phones to customers that sign contracts, they offer high-tech stoves to customers that agree to buy their fuel. Customers receive as many stoves as needed to replace all deadly stoves. Their social business model delivers measurable impact and will scale nationwide.
To date, these videos have helped Inyenyeri Energy raise $10 million.
Producer: Keith Carlsen
DP: Keith Carlsen
Director: Tom Price
