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Charlie Bee Company
TYPE: Other
GENRE: Documentary
STATUS: Post-Production
LOGLINE
A quirky beekeeper must safely remove and relocate bees before they terrorize communities or fall victim to extermination.
SYNOPSIS
A fun, new, 8x30min episodic television series that buzzes like a swarm of bees! Charlie Bee Company is a show about a quirky bunch of Texas beekeepers who rescue killer, “africanized” honeybees from desperate and dangerous situations; with each painful sting, raising awareness for our planet's most important pollinator.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
In terms of filmmaking, Charlie Bee Company will be shot in a documentary, reality television, run and gun-type format, using three cameras to allow complete coverage. We feel that this format would best suit the story as it lends to the real life, nitty gritty work that Charlie and his team do. Not only does it complement the narrative, but it also provides a vibe that many people are familiar with, found in productions like, Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs and HGTV’s Fixer Upper. Not only would we shoot in this format, but we would also employ the use of tools like sliders, steadicams, cranes, etc, which will allow us to further enhance the style and quality of our footage. Using tools like these would add some flair and give the production a much more polished and high quality feel. Not only would we use regular cameras to film, but we would also incorporate the use of action cameras in the form of GoPros and drones. GoPros will provide an even closer look into the work Charlie and his team are doing, attaching them to anything and everything we could possibly think of. Imagine vivid close-up shots on the end of a bee vacuum as it removes bees from intricate cracks and crevices, the kinetic, frenzied motions of a sawzall as it cracks open a crate filled with a raging swarm of bees, or even a POV shot of Charlie, making the viewer feel as if they are in a bee suit, surrounded by swarms themselves. Drone shots would take our establishing shots to a whole other level, providing scope and context a traditional wide would not be able to. We could even take our drones straight into the action of a removal, zipping through the air in the middle of an angry swarm, as we circle around our protagonists in grandiose, sweeping motions. The show will also utilize exciting new tools such as infrared cameras which can be seen in the pilot episode. Lastly, we would incorporate simple, but effective motion graphics and transitions to tie everything together. These animations would follow a style that borrows from our logo, using the same feel and color scheme, but working in different textures and fonts that would provide a freshness to each and every different graphic, while still feeling uniform to the spirit of the logo and the show. Using all of these filmmaking methods, we hope to make Charlie Bee Company a production that not only provides a great value content wise, but artistically as well. By marrying conventional documentary-style filmmaking with rough-and-tumble action camerawork, we aim to provide a unique style and vision for this show that will keep audiences glued to the screen.
KEY CREW
Ashley Davison - Producer/Director
Ashley Scott Davison is a director+producer+writer+editor with 15 years of international production experience leading a team of professionals in adventure and wildlife documentaries as well as commercials. His innovative cinematography & unorthodox editing techniques are helping change the way our planet perceives wildlife, such as giraffes and bees. In 2017 he was credited as Director, Editor, and Producer of NatGeo WILD’s "Walking With Giraffes" (an official selection in more than a dozen film festivals worldwide) and one year later he was credited as a Director, Producer, Writer, Editor, and Narrator for his 2nd giraffe documentary film, the award winning, "Catching Giants" (alt title: “Saving Giants”). Most recently he directed, edited, and produced an award winning TV pilot called "Charlie Bee Company". His team is currently in development of a third (and in all likelihood final) giraffe documentary to be filmed in Zambia. Ash graduated from Colorado State University in 2001 with a degree in Fashion Design and later attended Colorado Film School. His years of work have led him across the wilds of Africa on a quest to produce documentaries that seek to raise awareness and promote engagement for the environment. In 2017 he co-founded a 501c3 in the USA called Save the Giraffes. Ash has also served on a number of boards and steering committees aimed at promoting economic development in New Braunfels, Texas where he resides with his wife, three kids, two dogs, and two Jeeps.
Charlie Agar - Lead Talent, Producer, Writer
Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Charlie studied film at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University before earning an undergraduate degree and later Masters in English. Years of teaching overseas and travel led to a career as a guidebook writer in Southeast Asia, and his work has run the gamut from full-time journalist and freelancer to corporate content producer, from outside sales and marketing rep to non-profit leadership. Today he runs a small media/marketing agency from home, and continues to write and produce creative work when he’s not chasing bees around Central Texas.
Julie Creveling - Director of Photography, Assistant Editor
Also from Pennsylvania, Julie graduated from Elizabethtown College in 2015, earning her degree in Communications before joining iniosante inc and becoming Editor of NatGeo WILD’s Walking With Giraffes and Catching Giants. Julie has always had a passion for bees and motion picture production and has held multiple internships and freelancing jobs in the field. While Julie is originally from the arctic region known as Pennsylvania, she moved down to the Texas heat as quick as she could.
Brent Ramirez - Action Cameraman, Animator, Assistant Editor
Brent is a graduate of Texas State University with a degree in Electronic Media and Mass Communications. He is credited for developing the motion graphics seen in NatGeo WILD’s Walking With Giraffes. He was in charge of action cameras (drones and GoPros) on Catching Giants. He was an assistant camera and editor for the award winning tv pilot, Charlie Bee Company. Brent has a passion for creativity and is an amazing musician.
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