abc billboard awards - promo

Directed and Edited by Tom Cole

Produced by ABC Entertainment Marketing & Black Label Content

ABC needed a 60 second promo for the Billboard Music Awards to play during the NBA Finals. They only had a week till broadcast, but they did have the incredibly talented 8 year old dancer, Aiden, who shot to stardom after his appearance on The Ellen Show. 

Because of his background in music videos, ABC turned to Tom to direct and edit a dance video with Aiden. Tom planned out a sequence and routine with Aiden and the Graphics team, where Aiden would dance in and around moving graphics of the artists performing. They shot Wednesday and delivered Monday, with Aiden dancing to a mix of all the artists we see graphically. 

The only challenge was they couldn’t get clearance for all the tracks in time for broadcast, only SIA. Luckily, this is where Tom’s skills and foresight as an editor came to the rescue. Tom had made sure to record lots of sound effects of sneakers squeaking and sliding, Aiden cheering and clapping etc while on the shoot. So instead of having to rely on clearances, Tom built a whole sound effect track bed to the beat of the music and made that the focus of the spot, then transitioning into the music as a climax. This is a great example of adapting to challenges and turning a limitation into a benefit. The resulting spot played at the awards show was viewed by over 8 million people.