well, it's been awhile!! please forgive me, as a couple important things have happened in the past two months of my blogging hiatus: parker and i got married, went on our honeymoon, and are now roomies in our lovely new apartment! needless to say, but i've been just a little busy...

more photos from those events later, but for now...let's talk more about YOPLAIT!

after winning third place in the MOFilm contest to create an ad for yoplait, parks and i were awarded a budget for film equipment, which we used to buy a camera (that's called reinvesting in our careers, folks). MOFilm and the yoplait team also personally extended us the offer of flying us to NYC for the MOFilm awards events and partnered events with the TriBeCa film festival. So, after a restful 48 hours at home in LA after getting back from hawaii...we flew off to the east coast for 3 days in the big apple...



as soon as we landed, we were rushed to our hotel (the tribeca grand), where we did a quick wardrobe change into "smart casual" and popped down to a MOFilm mixer. let me tell you: for those three days they treated us right! wined and dined, meet and greets with MOFilm/Yoplait/major brand's marketing chiefs, and even a Q&A session with susan sarandon (who was there to encourage brand partnerships with important social causes.




we screened the very creative winning commercials from the NY MOFilm competition (ours was actually entered into the previous Barcelona contest, so it wasn't shown here), and we even voted on the grand prize winner out of the first places from each brand. we had a great time networking with all the marketing people and befriending the MOFilm executives (who are all super personable), and the fellow young filmmakers, who we look forward to keeping in touch with!

see the top tribeca videos here (lamasil was the overall winner):
http://www.mofilm.com/competitions/tribeca2010


the next day, we met with the yoplait marketing team, a couple of their agency's creatives, and the other 2 teams who made the 1st and 2nd place yoplait commercials. the yoplait team was so complimentary of our spot, and immediately recognized us as "jane" and "fiance," which was fun! they were so interested in hearing the back story of how we came up with the ad, our real-life relationship, the film's tiny budget, etc. they also talked about how to use all these viral ads and fresh ideas in the future for this brand and others. we feel like there's definitely a new wave of advertising/creative filmmaking/young filmmakers beginning, and this experience made us really a part of it.

that evening, MOFilm sent us to the premiere at TriBeCa of a film called "Beware the Gonzo." not my favorite new movie, but it was fun to see, and the acting was actually pretty good. the most fun part for us was the whole experience, though, because we actually walked the real red carpet, spent time in the green room, and attended the after party with the cast and MOFilm people!!! check out all the photos!!! we just ate it all up!

new york newlyweds

morgan and pia: 1st place yoplait team from australia


the paps loved us! haha:





we mingled with some of the actors at the after party...

i told jesse mccartney how i still unashamedly listen to his pop hit "beautiful soul:"


judah friendlander from 30 rock:


we're both very excited about the prospects of working with MOFilm and it's amazing brands in the near future, and are already brainstorming some new commercial ideas! so look out for those hopefully soon. it's great to have an outlet for our creativity and a product to show for it in the end!

in case you haven't yet heard, we finally have the results in from our yoplait project and...WE WON 3RD PLACE!!!!!!! not too shabby out of several hundred entries!! parker and i are so stoked, and can't wait to get more details about what'll come next. details to follow, i'm sure!

here's the video if you'd like to watch it:

Yoplait: Meet Jane

hope you enjoy it! let me know what you think! maybe we'll start pushing out more of these puppies soon!

lp

a lot of major companies are getting smart. they are realizing that instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to make one commercial, they can hold an online video submission contest and enlist consumers/amateur filmmakers to create hundreds of commercials for prize money (which to them is chump change, relatively).

enter yoplait.



a few creative friends of ours had recently entered an online video contest and actually won! not to mention, they had a great time making a short commercial. so...parker perused the contest circuit, and came up with a site asking for submissions for companies including at&t and yoplait. it's not like we have anything else we're really working on right now (ahem. yeah right!!), so we both decided to write a couple scripts. a couple of scripts turned in to...writing, producing, directing, acting in, voicing, editing, and submitting two whole commercials--(with the help of a few friends) start to finish--in less than two weeks. phew!!!





we had so much fun working together as a creative team!! i wish i could show you our final videos, but due to contest rules, we're not posting them for the public yet. as soon as we can, you'll be the first to know, of course! even if we don't win anything for either contest, we loved the experience and already can't wait to do it again sometime...i already tried to get parks to brainstorm another video concept, when he lovingly reminded me that we're also in the midst of planning this little event in april, so we may not want to get too ahead of ourselves ;)

yes friends, it's true, I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!!





my sweet fiance (aah, crazy!?!), parker, proposed to me last wednesday, september 9, 2009, fittingly around 9 pm. we're not obsessed with the number 9, it just happened to work out that way...

to make the story short and sweet, we went to dinner at a french restaurant in santa monica, and then planned on walking down by the beach, before heading back to parker's to play the newly released beatles rock band (which was a total ruse, but don't worry, i did get to play it finally and it's pretty sweet!). walking on the beach at night is a usual event for us, so it wasn't weird, but when we made it there, there were hundreds of people at the pier celebrating the 100th anniversary of it, and watching fireworks. parker knew about these but played it off so well. so, we walked and watched the fireworks, and made our way to our typical spot, a lifeguard stand where we had our first serious relationship conversation. we watched the end of the fireworks, and people on the beach started to walk towards their cars. once it was pretty empty, we hung around and talked, and then started to leave. as soon as i turned to go, white lights came on making a lovely glow atop our lifeguard stand. at that point i thought, oh man, this is IT!! parker then said some very sweet things, and got down on one knee, pulled out a ring (which i didn't even pay attention to until 5 minutes later, and it is perfect!), and asked "will you marry me?" i think i first said "mmhmm!!!" through my tears and hand over mouth excitement, but then said a clear "yes," and gave him a huge hug. turned out, our two friends, matt and jon, were staked a few yards away, warding off other beach-goers, and ready to take photos of us! (below is a link to the whole album in case you want to see more!)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2406820&id=15902030&l=21c9c923d5

after all that, we stopped in a hotel lobby right on the beach to "use the bathroom," which turned out to be an engagement party with 30 of our friends! parker went all out, and i felt so loved the whole evening, and since then, too, with all the congrats, calls, emails, and everything. we feel so elated and supported by our wonderful friends and family--so thanks to all of you for making this exciting time so special! no details yet as far as the wedding, but i'll keep you updated so check back! and, we're so grateful for many of you keeping us in your thoughts and prayers as we excitedly prepare for our marriage!!