Tag Archives: video production

Case Study: Georgetown University’s Lacrosse Season Recap Video

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Georgetown University was our very first client and we have been working with their lacrosse program on their season recap videos since the beginning.

The final product ends up running about 20 minutes in length. A snippet of our most recent video with Georgetown Lacrosse can be seen below (see the full version here).

A lot of our video services go into this video including:

• Scriptwriting (Telling the story of the season)
• HD sports videography (A fast lens and a wealth of knowledge of the game come in handy here)
• Non-linear Editing (To compile a season’s worth of games into 20 minutes)
• Motion Graphics (Think ESPN titles)
• Graphic Design (For the DVD artwork)
• Encoding (For multiple delivery methods)

Starting in February we shoot games in HD video and capture the footage in our edit suite. In the meantime we construct a script with the coaching staff retelling the story of the season. As the season ends we organize the footage and then videotape an interview with Coach Dave Urick, letting him recall the season as it happened.

We then compile all the footage according to the script, adding in soundbytes from Coach. We add motion graphics and transition to tighten everything up. Finally, we design the DVD label and encode for DVD and YouTube.

The Georgetown coaching staff enjoy the video because it gives them something memorable to present at their annual banquet. Furthermore, it helps them in their recruiting efforts by showing prospective players the story of the school, the ability of the team, and an overview of the Georgetown LAX experience.

3 Ways To Use Your Smartphone To Help Plan Your Next Video

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Smartphones have truly revolutionized the way business is done.  They have become a sort of digital Swiss Army knife that can be used in many different ways.  I am going to take a minute to share 3 ways you can use your smartphone to help plan your next video production. Using basic features, no 3rd party apps, these tips will save time and money on your next video production as well as give you a clearer plan of action.

1.)  Use The Photo And Video Feature Of Your Phone To Perform A Site Survey

Any video that includes on-site production should include a site survey.   This survey is where a producer or scout analyzes the area where any video production will take place, trying to discover any issues that would adversely effect the production.

 

Some examples of would be:

  • noise from an air-conditioner or natural environment
  • size of a room
  • placement of windows
  • background visual distraction
  • access to electrical outlets

Use your phone to take detailed photos and even record video of the areas where you envision your video being shot.  Make sure to label each picture and video appropriately with descriptive names such as: boardroom facing front, boardroom facing back, hallway windows, et cetera.  If you record video of the room or area, make a note of the level of room noise.If you do a good job of using the basic photo and video features of your smartphone, you can possibly eliminate the need for an in-person site survey and save yourself some money.  You will also gain insight into areas you feel are best for shooting video, and might be able to select a better area based on your results.

2) Use The Voice-Record Function To Rehearse Your On-Camera Delivery

This tip is priceless and will save you and your video team tons of time and frustration. Let’s face it, if you don’t speak on-camera for a living, it is a nerve racking and anxious process.  Your instinct is going to be to write out what you want to say and then memorize it.  Don’t do it!  We don’t write the way we speak and some things that are written just don’t sound as good when spoken.  If you encounter this as you are trying to present the message on-camera you will try to make changes and start second guessing what you are trying to say.  Instead, whip out your smartphone!

Use the voice-record feature to practice delivering your message on-camera.  You should still write down ideas in advance, but use an outline to map out your main thoughts instead of creating a written script.

Record two or three takes of the message you want to present and have a listen to them and share them with your team.  If your delivery sounds weird to you or you are not coming off in the way you feel you should refine your message, alter your delivery, and record again.

Most people never feel warm and fuzzy about the sound of their recorded voice so use the opinion of trusted friends or team members.  By using your smartphone to record what you want to say on-camera you will refine your message as it will be heard by the viewer, and build confidence, making for a smoother and shorter video production process for you and the crew.

3)  Time The Length Of Your Script Using Your Phone’s Stop Watch

This tip is mostly for businesses looking to produce a promo that intends to be aired on television or radio.  Most advertising copy needs to fit neatly into 30 second or 60 second packages. Businesses always have a large amount of information that they want to convey within a short amount of time. We receive a lot of this type of copy from clients, and it rarely conforms to the time restrictions of their commercial.   We then have to take time to revise the copy for the client and proof it out with them which takes time and costs money.

One great way to avoid having your copy being too long is to use the stopwatch feature on your smartphone to time it out.

Here is how you do it:

  1. Sit down with your final script and phone in front of you.
  2. Get a glass of water and warm up your vocal cords.  Practice your best voice-over voice, “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday at Race Way Park!”
  3. Give yourself a count down, “3 – 2 – 1 “, and on one, hit ‘Start’ as your begin to read.

If you come up a few seconds short or a few seconds long you are in good shape.  One or two seconds can usually be adjusted by delivering the script a bit faster or slower.  If you come up more then five seconds short or long, it is time to go back and do some revisions.
We are always looking for tools and methods to make the process of creating video easier and more effective and hope these tips help you in planning your next video production. We’d love to know if you have any other ways to use a smartphone to help plan a video production.

3 Tips For Working With A Video Company

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Recently I received an email from a previous client whose organization was planing for a video they needed to produce. The question he asked was timeless in our line of work:

About how much does it cost to produce a 60 second animation?

I ended up writing him a response that addressed a lot of problems with that question. I decided that it might be useful to post an informal primer to help businesses communicate more effectively with a prospective video producer.

Have a specific goal in mind for your video
This is the cornerstone of all video production.  Having a clear goal guides every other decision you will make in the production process.

Instead of,

“My business wants something we can put on our YouTube channel.”

try,

“I want a YouTube video that has a humorous edge and can promote my top-selling product. A video that will be shared amongst 17-30 year old males, and will gain 10,000+ views within the first 3 months.”

Immediately the picture is clearer. A talented producer will be able to tell you immediately if her company is right for the job. She will also be able to start piecing together specific details about the scope of the project. A writer and talent will have to be brought on board. A distribution strategy will have to be developed.

Name Your Price
Many people feel that if they name how much they want to spend, they will get taken advantage of. However, when you name your price, you name the level of production that you wish to achieve. A commercial can be made for $30 or $3000, it really depends on the level of production. Knowing the goals for your video will be the key to figuring out how much money to invest.

WARNING: Measuring your  budget against a proposed hourly rate is not a good strategy. Just imagine you had to hire someone to type a long document for you. One applicant is the best in her field, has worked as a stenographer for 10+ years. Her rate is $100 an hour. The other applicant was just introduced to a computer three months ago. His rate is $30 an hour. Who would you hire? In one situation you pay a higher hourly price, but get your job completed quickly and with few mistakes. In the other situation, you have to wait longer for your project to be completed, it’s probably riddled with mistakes, and you actually end up paying about the same total amount because it takes up to 4 times as long for the typist to complete.

If naming a price is still over your head or you just have a clue where to begin, try this approach: View past work by the video company.  Find a video that you feel might be similar to what you want, then ask how much that particular video cost to produce.

Have A Deadline
Nothing gets more convoluted than a project in limbo. Goals expand, mindsets change, and suddenly the scope of your video can become much broader.  Have a deadline for when you want to launch and remember: video has the option of being re-purposed. Release your video, analyze effectiveness, and tweak to maximize. It is very rare for a message to be totally successful right out of the gate. But the only way to see what works, is to get your video out of the boardroom and into the hearts and minds of your viewers.

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Want to see more posts like this? Ask us for advice on proceeding with your project. Seriously, it gives ideas for some great posts!

Use Video To Empower Customers To Market For You

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Ever since there have been products and services worth talking about, word-of-mouth has always been the “Holy Grail” of marketing. Developing effective word-of-mouth is elusive in nature, but critical to the success of a business.  It is hard work to create and maintain word-of-mouth, but once you have a good core group of customer evangelists out there preaching the good word of your company’s product or service, there is nothing more powerful.

In order for your company to further empower its customer evangelists, you must make it easy for them to spread their positive word-of-mouth endorsement of your brand. Employing a short promotional web video to create a compelling and highly-portable message is a perfect tool to build word-of-mouth about your company.

Creating a short promotional video that highlights a word-of-mouth endorsement from your existing customers can be extremely effective.  These messages can be created and distributed to your word-of-mouth influencers in the form of web links, embedded Flash video or a posting on YouTube or other video sites.

It is important that the messages developed to support word-of-mouth campaigns include two key characteristics:

  1. Be sure to include a strong call-to-action
  2. Tie in your call to action with an incentive-based promotion

You need to capitalize on the momentum that your word-of-mouth influencer is providing, and you need to provide an added value within your message’s call-to-action in order for your word-of-mouth influencer to be perceived as not only providing good advice but also providing a value or savings.

This value-added component is key to the success of this style of marketing.  It can be a coupon code, percentage-based discount, or even a free giveaway. It is important to reward your word-of-mouth influencer for assisting you in your marketing effort.

So work hard on building your organization’s brand.  Target those individuals that can become powerful word-of-mouth marketing partners and support them every step of the way.