McKinney & Silver Advertising, Raleigh, NC produced mini-documentaries as TV and trailer promos for Raleigh's annual DoubleTake / Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Commercial director Tim Bieber of Chicago's Mr. Big Films, shot the two- to three-minute long trailers on 16mm film with a six-man crew, natural light, and no props or wardrobe.

The spots include a piece on the ever-bustling Ganges river; an informative look at a lawn mower racing club in Alabama, narrated by a charming speed enthusiast; a conversation with an odd middle-class man demonstrating his relationship with his pet robotic dog; a peek into the handlebar moustache club in London; and a look at the unusual singing style of Chicago's "350-pound schizophrenic lyrical messiah" Wesley Willis, a homeless man whose sidewalk wailings got him signed to Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles punk label. Says Bieber, "Dealing with eccentric people is good practice for dealing with actors."

All the spots fit within the tagline, "How much reality can you handle?"

Editors Michael Elliott, Lucas Eskin and Brad Wetmore of bicoastal Mad River Post edited all but one into TV spots.

Webfiles:
Mr. Big Films> http://www.mrbigfilm.com