U.S. Navy “Forged by the Sea”

Branded Content Ad Campaign

THE MISSION

Help the Navy recruit Gen Z.

THE RESULT

We created a content library for every Navy job (over 140) — from Culinary Specialist to Fighter Pilot — and provided over 3 years of key video content for the U.S. Navy’s social and digital campaigns. Tens of thousands of Gen Z now view the Navy as more than just a defense and combat organization.

WHAT WE DID

Direction
Video Production
Photography
Editing
Color Grading
Sound Design

Sailors aren't born. They're forged. #ForgedByTheSea Director's cut by Leif Ramsey for the U.S. Navy's recruiting campaign.

Production – great stories are found in the field.

When VMLY&R called, we went into full documentary mode with a director and a crew of five.

We’ve embedded with aircraft carriers, SEALs, secret bases, and warships. We’ve been honored to meet some of America’s finest sailors and tell their story to the next generation of recruits.

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Content Generator

The content we produced powered the Navy.com website, social and digital campaigns, and more than 1,400 recruiting offices around the United States.

HELO SQUAD celebrates the hardworking men and women that fly, maintain and support helicopters in America's Navy. They have three main missions: 1) Plane Guard, running as search and rescue support during air operations. 2) Anti-Surface Warfare, on the lookout to intercept small craft. 3) Anti-Submarine Warfare. Primary filming took place on board the CVN 77 U.S.S. George H.W. Bush during a "vert rep" in the Atlantic alongside a supply ship and another air craft carrier. Other scenes were filmed on base in Norfolk, Virginia and in Mayport, Florida. Production took place for The Navy Partnership as part of a recruiting effort to show every Rating in the Navy, and show what life is like for the sailors that do each job.

As an Air Traffic Controller, you command the skies. You work against moving runways, inclement weather and mechanical issues to get personnel safely to the ground. But, instead of working with commercial flights, you’ll be assisting C-2A Greyhounds to land on airstrips, and helping F/A-18E Super Hornets to perform catapult launches on aircraft carriers. Navy aircraft are moving around the clock—it’s your responsibility to organize air traffic and communicate critical information to pilots. With extensive training in radar and air traffic communications, this rate is one of the easiest to translate into a civilian career post-service. Learn more at http://bit.ly/2N6kbO4

Few rates have stood the test of time, but Boatswain’s Mate is one of them. You’re the go-to Sailor aboard every ship, with skills that can’t be forged anywhere else. From ship repair, to security detail, to driving an aircraft carrier, your job is as versatile as you make it. There’s also opportunity for temporary duty in damage control and surface rescue or visit board search and seizure (VBSS) teams. Your crew is your family, and this tight-knit group of Sailors forms bonds for life. Out here, Boatswain’s Mates are the lifeblood of the ship. Do you have what it takes to be one of them? Find out more at http://bit.ly/2CN0nuk

The Shooter is the conductor of the flight deck—but their batons glow in the dark, their symphonies are afterburners and their instruments are million-dollar fighter jets. As a Catapult Officer (a.k.a., Shooter) your job is about quality control, ultimate efficiency and teamwork. Shooters are leaders. Before you give the signal to get the jet in the sky, you work with flight deck personnel to give the “good to go.” You are the final check, the last say, the signal everyone is waiting for.

USS MOMSEN (DDG 92) is a highlights reel that we cut for America's Navy from an underway along the West Coast with a guided-missile destroyer. The U.S.S. Momsen is one of what the Navy calls "small boys." Anything smaller than a battleship or aircraft carrier earns this nickname. The captain and crew where extremely open and helpful during production. We couldn't have gotten most of the moments in this reel (drone aerials, weapons systems, 5-inch gun firing, man-overboard drill, etc) without their support and can-do attitude. All aerial shots were captured using a drone. The rest of the footage was shot on ARRI cameras. Production took place for The Navy Partnership as part of a recruiting effort to show every rating in the Navy, and show what life is like for the sailors that do each job. AWARDS 2019 Gold ADDY for Cinematography

Photography

Production included a library of over 25,000 images for use throughout the Navy's advertising and recruiting campaigns.

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Post Production — Where Magic Happens

This isn’t your normal documentary: The stories are told in the edit. The visuals are pulled from a 70TB footage library that we shot over two years, in dozens of locations, in two oceans.

And when it's time to finish, each video is polished with color grading and sound design, so that a Helo takeoff from Florida can cut seamlessly with a carrier landing in Alaska.

Time for some views!

The content we produced powered the Navy.com, social and digital campaigns across platforms, and more than 1,400 recruiting offices around the United States.

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