Tag-Archive for » Video Production «
Beauty is one of the important elements, which needs to be incorporated into a corporate video. People are naturally attracted to look at something which is beautiful, whether it be a beautiful object or a beautiful segment of a video. A video with beautiful content, like a video with unique content, is more appealing to viewers. Finding beautiful content to present to the public is a unique challenge for every industry, because each industry has beauty in a different form. Locating the beauty and presenting it, will greatly enhance the appeal of a corporate video to the public.
Finding that which is beautiful in a given industry is a unique challenge for every company making a corporate video. The source of the beauty is not always so obvious.In a company, which provides large above ground containers for volatile fuel, for example, a photo of the production plant with row after row of these large steely containers sitting in a lot waiting to be delivered has beauty in symmetry. A video made for an environmental group, has a much more obvious source of beauty, and it will serve to prove my point.
The environmental corporate video by Edward Wallace can be found at http://vimeo.com/3217927 . The Canadian environmental protection organization that produced this video has a very conspicuous source of beauty. It is important to point out, this corporate video has not merely thrown beautiful scenes into the video, to attract attention. The beauty of untrammeled nature relates directly to the purpose of their organization, which is to preserve these wild pristine places. This is essential. The video is not merely throwing in beautiful images to attract views so that it can then deliver the message. Rather, in a very real sense, the beauty is the message. In that sense, and in this usage the video illustrates the famous poetic adage that “Beauty is Truth and Truth is Beauty.”
The incorporation of beauty into a corporate video, may not always be done so appropriately. For example, if a mountain climber reaches the summit of a tall mountain, and a video captures exquisite footage of a snow capped mountain summit, a breath-taking panorama and the perilous drop below, there is certainly beauty within the segment. However, that beauty is not intrinsically related to the wrist watch which has continued to tick despite the rugged trek to the mountain peak. The sturdiness of the watch, in fact, is one of its minor feature compared to the beautiful intricacy of its dials, wheels and or digital circuitry, which never miss a beat and keep accurate time for years.
In the wrist watch video, we see that the primary beauty of the mountain summit has been transferred to the primary object of the video, the watch, even though it is not beauty that intrinsically belongs to the watch. Such a tactic can work at times, but it can also backfire as the viewer is secretly thinking, “You mean you have nothing intrinsically beautiful about your product to show me?”
When, as in the environmental video, on the other hand, the beauty directly relates to the message of the video, a resonance is created, because the increased attractively directly touches on the heart of the matter. The beautiful imagery, furthermore, imbues the video with a certain degree of sincerity and even passion. People watching the images of the environmental are moved to want to save the environment as they see the morning sunlight glistening through the trees, and here birds singing their morning songs and watch as a herd of elks standing shyly in a broad shallow creek, turn to look, with mild concern, at the humans filming them from a distance.
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The University of Kibangsaan Malaysia produced their latest corporate video, which is published on You Tube. Presumably, the video targets people such as Malaysians living in the West, whom the university would like to contribute money to their endowment, and or send their children back to Malaysia for their education.
Based on the video content, the University apparently decided to feature important discoveries and breakthroughs made at the University, which have lead to social, technological and economical advances for humanity. The approach is certainly meritorious, and as the corporate video describes the list of advances, one can appreciate that many of these contributions are exciting cutting edge scientific developments. The discoveries presented include computerized monitoring of the eye movements of a driver to look for evidence he is too tired to drive and a computerized robot with the capability of detecting even minute smells.
Having plotted out the content of the corporate video the university and videographers next had to decide how they wanted to organize their material. They chose a format not unlike the dialogue in the famous John Lennon song, Imagine. In Imagine, the late John Lennon presented his ideas as a series of parallel sentences each starting with the word imagine. The song was set to softe melodious music composed by Lennon.
This video presents its material about academic discoveries in form of a parallel series of captioned questions and responses. Each question is followed by a response and the whole interplay is set to soft background music. For example, the first caption starts with a question, “What if a computer could see what your eyes cannot?” Another caption responds: “Driver drowsiness detection system developed by the faculty of engineering.” Question: “What if we could invent a machine with a sense of smell? Response: “The optical e-nose detects smells up to a millionth of a micron.”
The entire 9 minute video consists of additional segments organized just like these, up until the very end. In the background we watch imagery related to the discovery begin touted, and or the people who developed it. In the final segment, the video poses a series of questions without answers. Who is driving the nation forward with a strong sense of national identity?” “Who has the will to advance humanity? Finally, “What if it is a National University? Then the video flashes the name University of Kibangsaan Malaysia.
While the video is long and repetitive, I think it would be a mistake to call it boring. The question response format calls attention to the amazing breakthrough each discovery has brought to ongoing human progress. However, with respect to the visual presentation I do believe the video missed presenting enough clips of the discoveries in action and therefore may not have reached to the level of excitement it could have.
To illustrate my point, the video starts by posing the question “What if a computer created by man could see things your human eye can’t see?” The question makes you think and then the next caption introduces the driver drowsiness detection system. The question and response arouses interest. However, the video fails to show a depiction of the produc being used in real life. A visual presentation of a driver driving down the road at night and almost falling asleep and being aroused by the computer and then pulling over, would have, in my opinion, added more excitement. This type of vidual segment would have been comparable to contemporary videos of androids, which feature the androids performing a variety of feats on screen and talking to people. The question and answer format wins for consistency, yet by the end everyone knows what to expect, and so it loses some effectiveness. Furthermore, after a while viewers probably would like to know the name of the university presenting this research. While this might make some of the watchers stay to the end, it could also cause some of them to lose focus on each individual discovery. Finally, the one short appearance of the name of the University, which is the subject of the video is probably not enough to create powerful image branding. I would recommend that the name should have come out at the beginning, so viewers can associate all the advancements with the University.
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What do people want to see when they look at an airline carrier corporate video . They want to know that the airline is modern and up to date. They want to see images of sleek attractive airports and planes gliding effortlessly through the air. They want to know about awards the airlines has won, their record of safety. And they want to hear about the cities and countries serviced by the airlines. The Malaysia Airlines Corporate Video does this, and more.
The video begins by emphasizing the experience and importance of Malyasian Royal airlines. Not only has it been in operation for more than 50 years, it was also the official airlines of the Malaysian Royal family. It changed to become the official carrier of the newly proclaimed state of Malaysia. We are assured to hear this is the finest airlines in Malaysia.
Having emphasized the experience and importance of the air carrier, the video now presents important corporate images it wishes to convey to the public. The airlines is an international carrier, has one of the largest Asian air fleets, and can be considered a premier world airlines.Lest we worry that conditions in Malaysia might be a bit primitive, we are informed that the home airport base, KL International airport is one of the largest and most complex international airports in the world. This statement is backed up by clips of the airport, and the sophisticated subway system, which takes passengers to the nearby modern city Kuala Lumpur.
Additional assurance that we are dealing with a first rate airlines comes in the form of awards, which the airlines has won for excellent food, lounges and aircraft staff. Having convinced us that the airline is up to date reliable and reputable, we now are presented with images of the plush comfortable interior, current and future airplane upgrades, and the redesigned cabin, along with seats that recline into a bed.
Next the safety and security of the airline is stressed and we learn of a recent Boeing pride of excellence award, the airlines won. The video also presents the Maskargo, division of the air carrier, which provides award winning air shipping service.
The video chooses to close with on screen presentation of testimonials of some of the passengers. What we read from the passengers is consistent with what we have seen on the screen.
The task of a corporate video about an airline from a third world country is to convince viewers that their airline is reliable, up to date and even more has all the features of any of the world’s great airlines. This the video does admirably. From the start which emphasizes the political stability of the country as well as the continuance of the airline despite a recent change form Monarchy to democracy, to the middle, which presents the airline corcorporation as a modern up to date air carrier, to the awards and testimonials, the video presents all the material necessary to convince viewers that it is a totally first class world airlines. The carefully crafted video narration is backed up with illustrative clips of the sleek airline in action, the modern cabin interior, the modern international airport and modern city surrounding the Malaysian airport.
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Elocal has invented the genre of short, (10-20 second), generic website videos which can be used by any business in the profession for which they are made. Because this is a new marketing approach, it is important to examine videos in the eLocal collection to try and determine what types of content are most likely to successfully attract customers to companies using this type of web video on their website or landing page.
The eLocal health insurance landing page video, consists of three short family vignettes. The vignettes are backed up by a wistful electronic synthesizer generated melody. The vignettes tell a story, but it takes a while to put the pieces together.
In the first segment, a young mother is holding her baby, in a well lighted domestic environment. Instead of the joy a mother usually feels when holding her young child, this mother is anxious, distant a bit distracted, and even bites her lip. There is a sad look in her eye. What could be the reason?
The second segment takes place as the sun is setting. A father plays with his two daughters on a hill top. One sister tries to touch the other sister, being held by the father. The father twists this way and that to prevent the one daughter from touching her sister. The whole scene is viewed from a distance, and the three players are silhouetted against the setting sun. In the third scene, the father, perhaps the same father is pushing his young daughter on a swing. If this is the same child as we saw in the first scene than she has grown up a bit.
The 20 second video displays three captions, which fit together to make two sentences.Putting them together they read: ” Can you measure the value of your family?” “Find out about your health options today.”
I had to watch the video four or five times before the captions and sequences all came together and began to suggest a story. The mother may have been anxious in the first scene because she had a medical condition and knew she wouldn’t live to see her child grow up. In the second and third scenes the mother is conspicuously absent and the father is playing with the children. The setting sun against which the father and children are silhouetted in the second scene might symbolize the waning life of the mother. In the third scene, the mother the father, is playing with his daughter, the absence of the mother suggests that the scenario actually occurred.
This interpretation of the video is supported by the somber, almost dirge like synthesizer music, which plays in the background. The suggestive plot line seen together with the captions suggests that the family did not have enough health insurance to pay for the mother’s catastrophic health needs. Perhaps if they had, the mother would still be living.
Other people might interpret the video differently. Like rorschach diagrams, the three scenes together suggest various interpretations to individual viewers. However, most of the interpretations are likely to be somber.
Because elocal’s 20 second generic videos are made to be placed on the website of anyone in a chosen profession, they often avoid using real shots of one particular company, perhaps so the videos won’t be considered to be misleading, when used by two different companies in the same profession. In this web video, however, the film depicts a scenario portraying people who need health insurance, and not portraying the insurance company itself. eLocal apparently felt comfortable using real people to portray members of a family with inadequate health insurance to cover their needs.
The question one puzzles about is how people will interpret the story, and if this will motivate them to buy health insurance. I don’t believe too many people will interpret the storyline in the way I did. The video emphasizes family relationships. People viewing the short video might be inspired to contact the insurance company because they believe they must have insurance for their children’s sake. Or else they must have health insurance for themselves so they will be healthy to take care of their children. These lines of thought might be aroused by seeing the video, and subsequently inspire the viewers to contact an insurance company.
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I want to talk about an ineffable quality found in successful trade show videos. This quality characterizes videos which acheive effective communicate with the listener. It is inculcated into the video when the videographer recognizes that he is communicating with people like himself; reasonable human beings with human needs, human desires, human thoughts and human feelings. This quality is introduced into the video when the videographer dares to bare his own heart and acknowledge via the screen presentation that he or he as proxy for his client is a person like the people in his audience.
How is this ineffable quality expressed? To answer that question, I wish to compare the Dr. 2 shoes video found on the portfolio page of emotionpicturestudios.com http://www.emotionpicturestudios.com/portfolio with a sampling of trade show video clips presented by a video production company in California, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1839990747070661993#docid=-7483874065862199317 .
In the first video a full view narrator describes a diabetic shoe. The video addresses people who need diabetic shoes or people who sell them. It presents important facts about the shoe. Yet it also presents the facts in a way that is not pure documentary, but also imagistic and branding. Information about the shoe is alternated with motion graphics of the shoe or shoe parts, rotating on and off the screen. One important impression comes through, which is that the video knows exactly who it is targeting and it communicates directly to them.
Now look at the sampling of trade show videos clips by a California video production company. The visual quality of each video appears high. The splicing job is superb. But the film has not focus, no message, no narrator, no captions, no words in the background music, which only consists of repetitive synthesizer music. In this video, it is not clear who the target audience is and more importantly who is the communicator and what is being communicated.
The videographer who made the first video has perspective when it comes to balancing video effects and video essence. In his video, the video effects are an accoutrement to the essential human to human communication. In the second video, the video effects become the all, and the communication becomes the type of communication that takes place on a night club dance floor. There is communication on a night club dance floor, don’t get me wrong. When the room fills with music and the strobe lights and lasers and fibre optics are creating a wild light show, there are feelings communicated. But if two people in love spend lots of time at discotheques, they still have to spend other dates at the dinner table or on a quiet patio, communicating in order to make romance evolve to a decision to create a partnership.
The same principle is true with trade show videos. Before a viewer will make a decision about making a financial agreement, he needs to experience real human to human communication, which addresses his full thought, and not merely his temporary entrancement with visual or sound effects. We see that information being presented in the first video, but not in the second video.
If I had to name that special ineffable quality I would call it focus. A video needs a focal point which represents the point of human contact between videographer and viewer, which makes the viewer believe there is a real person communicating with him through the video; and therefore, the video i9s worthy of his time and attention.
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The Respower trade show video had a hard challenge to meet. According to information contained in the captions of their video, Respower is the largest 3D film laboratory, serving Hollywood and the film and video industry.. Their list of clients, including such television and film greats as Star Trek, is impressive. At the same time, the company, which services predominantly professional videographers and filmmakers, is almost unknown to the public.
In an industry, such as 3D production, it is not enough to produce a trade show video which describes what the company does, it has to show what the company does. As is apparent from the video, this company also felt the need to describe its accomplishments in words, so parts of the video were full of captions.
How does a trade show video accomplish all these goals? Respower opted for a collage style video. The two minute video presents segments of the company’s most successful 3D imagery coming on and off the screen in a temporal and artistic collage. In the second half of the video, captions present names of famous clients the company has worked for, as well as other pertinent facts about the company, such as their computer set-up, which is the largest in the industry.
If I was asked to judge this video, I would have to opt out, as I have different opinions about different segments. Certain scenes are very effective, others are, in my opinion, a bit busy, especially when you have a list of famous clients competing with as many as four simultaneous segments of famous 3D effects the company has produced for television, video and the theatre.
Impressive scenes, include the start, a traditional 10, 9, 8, second countdown, scene frequently seen in the theatre. This style tells us immediately that the company is active in big Hollywood style movie productions. Other impressive scenes include a rocket taking off from a boat, a dinosaur peddling a bicycle, a plane stuck in a storm. In the middle of the video the company presents a rapid sequence of multi-video collage, which in my opinion was too short and too busy to follow. Subsequently, the video presented a captivating 3D scene of a fantasy stairway entrance to a magical wizard’s palace. However, the powerful scene was now competing with a wealth of captions as the company attempted to present names of its famous clients.
There is another effective scene at the end. The caption tells us that the company employs 100 computers simultaneously the largest technical setup in the industry. And we see a motion graphic depicting a 100 computers linking together in a formation that appears to be floating on water. The scene gives a sense of the power of the company’s technological capabilities.
I can feel for the frustration of this company, which while one of the greats in the 3D industry, is virtually unknown to the public. It wants, therefore, to present a comprehensive albeit abbreviated display of its great accomplishments and famous clients. The result, in my opinion does injustice to the individual 3D segments within the video.
I do not in any way mean to be critical of this video, it is certainly not a bad video. The overall effect, amplified by action style background music is impressive. But I believe, that other viewers, like myself are a bit frustrated by some of the interesting scenes that came and went too quickly, or else we were distracted a bit by competing scenes.
On a spectrum between documentary and branding, this is certainly a branding video. It’s goal, which it accomplishes, is to leave the viewer with images of the impressive powerful ability of this company to create 3D imagery. However, branding videos have no need to present all the information or all the imagery about the company. In fact, by leaving out some images and lingering longer on others a branding video is bound to make an even greater impression.
I also concluded that it might have been more effective to vary the pace of the video. Both the music and the pace run from start to finish. But life isn’t like that. Having a slower segment in the middle might have added temporal texture to the video, and made it more believable.
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eLocal, always a step ahead of the competition in the Local Search market, has pioneered the use of the generic mini web videos for business promotion. I call them generic, because each of the 10-15 second online videos can be used by any business in the profession for which the video is made. eLocal markets them as “custom” web videos because each one is made for one particular profession.
The mini videos are appropriate for mounting on a web page or landing page, and have adapted well to eLocal’s local search marketing strategies for the small businessman. It is interesting to examine the videos, and see what content eLocal is using to attract customers.
At http://www.youtube.com/elocalvideoexamples#p/u/1/HCbsWFgCPE0 you can see eLocals #1 auto body repair video. This 13 second video clip shows us cars riding down a country road on a bright sunny day. We see what looks like green pastures, and a country farmhouse in the background. Along comes a convertible sports car, with a driver in a driving cap, only one little detail is out of kilter. While sports cars are always small, this one is so small the driver can’t fit into the driver’s seat. He is forced to sit on the back of the car, with his feet in the driving area, as he leans over to grasp the steering wheel.
The background music for the video is a modern jazz guitar piece. The chords obviously contain discordant 6s and 7s, jazz chords, which add notes that are not in the normal 1,3,5 progression. The chords serve to amplify the theme of things not fitting into place. On a grander scale, the old open air sportscar riding down a country lane is reminiscent of earlier days in the automobile revolution, when cars still did not quite fit into roads meant for the horse and buggy. The video caption reads, “Having car troubles?” As the clip ends, the music fades out.
The caption and part of the scene are out of focus. This may have been deliberate. It might have been the intention of the videographer to liken the out of focus caption and out of focus video with the out of kilter car. [/spin Nevertheless, the lack of focus detracts from the professionalism of the video.
[spin]This video , which takes place in the bright of day, contrasts with eLocal’s other autobody repair video that shows a car breaking down on a dark deserted freeway, at night. While that video focuses on a common emotion of fear, which motorists can identify with, this video attempts to downplay the fear and panic element often associated with a car breakdown. The soothing music invites viewers to calm down and take a stoic look at their car troubles. It seeks to minister to the victim of a malfunctioning vehicle, and in this way to attract them to make contact and use the services of the advertising company.
What do the two videos have in common? They address the emotions related to car problems. In this way the online video attracts the customer, who can feel that this company understands how he feels.
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A successful company is challenged when it is confronted with a new project, which requires them to meet a new challenge and new level of excellence. And when they meet that challenge, then their company grows and expands.
Diginovations, home of creative video solutions, was challenged to create a trade show video for Microwave Radio Communications for the 2007 NAB trade show. Microwave had rented prime space booth, and so their trade show video would be the first video seen by visitors to the 2007 NAB convention convention floor. By 2006, HD video was the accepted standard at NAD, so this added yet one more requirement to the exacting challenge.
Diginovations accepted the challenge, and created an exciting video, which drew myriads of spectators to the Microwave Booth.Their video was imagistic, it was a branding video, and it succeeded in capturing and conveying the excitement, which wireless radio communication has brought to broadcasting.
What is most spectacular about the Diginovations video is that is succeeds in the space of 4 compact minutes in presenting most of the exciting types of imagery that one would expect to be associated with the radio communications industry.We watch as television crews travel by helicopter to cover on the minute spots news events, accidents, sporting events, rescues, fires. We watch broadcasting crews setting up their equipment and dismantling it. We see several fast motion segments which transform the routine actions of the broadcast crew into rapid action scenes that serve to convey the sense of urgency and haste which we associate with on the spot broadcasting.
Spliced in with scenes depicting the news events being covered and the means of transmission, are shots of the front line cameraman capturing the raw news footage. Shots of skiing, and other winter sports are emphasized, in the video by the Boston video company.These scenes reflect strong editing inclusion choices because these are sports which connote speed, accuracy, action, all elements that enhance the image the video is creating about Microwave Radio Communications.
The visual story line is backed up by exciting synthesizer music, which presents an enlarged theme not unlike the short music spots we are used to hearing before live televised broadcasts. While the video presents occasional captions, which enhance the branding, they present some of the written material in a very creative way. The company name is blazoned on the inside of their large concave disc microwave broadcasting antennae, which appear in the video from time to time.
The Microwave Radio Communications %KLINK3% presents exciting ways in which branding can be conveyed through good choices of video footage, which convey the imagery that people expect and want to see, in the companies field of endeavor.
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The Argent Mortgage trade show video is found on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF_awDWrtSk&feature=PlayList&p=067863233E55A8CD&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=10 The video is an example of a trade show video that uses a full view narrator as a center piece of the video.
After a short motion graphic and musical intro, this video introduces a full view narrator. Our initial impression of her is likely to be positive, and is very supportive of the belief that a full view narrator can be an appropriate integrating device for a trade show, sales or marketing video.
The narrator in this video is an attractive, well dressed young woman, who speaks well. As a character, she is easy to relate to, and a viewer will immediately decide that he will enjoy watching the video and listening to the her for the next 1-3 minutes.
Subsequently, the video is a bit problematical, and illustrates the challenges and potential pit falls of using a full view narrator. As the centerpiece of the video, the narrator becomes the symbol of the corporation. People’s impression of her will be there take home impression of the company. From this perspective the video should be designed so that it is easy for viewers to focus on her, her voice, and her words about the company.
On the other hand, there is a desire to present extra material about the company via captions, diagrams, images and motion graphics. This additional information can be conducive to listening to the narrator’s words or not.
In the first sequence, the narrator tells us that “There are many brokers out there.” As she states these words, a geometrical arrangement of multiple brokers appears in the background. The display is secondary and is conducive to listening to what she is saying.
As the video continues, the background, which started out as a secondarily supportive to the focus on her suddenly becomes an equal competitor. The video shifts its focus back and forth with greater and greater rapidity. It becomes more and more difficult to focus on what she is saying because of the rapid shifts.
So I would say this is a video with a strong narrator, but multiple examples of how not to integrate the background visuals with the narrator’s dialogue.
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Does your company need to send an important communication to corporate employees? Do they want to insure that the message remains in the minds of employees for a long time to come? Then you should contemplate conveying your essage via a corporate video. A video is ideal for those times when you want to motivate members of your corporation, when you are having special events, such as a meeting, or when you are celebrating important company milestones. Corporate videos also make good presentations to corporate shareholders.
When you need to produce a video for your company communication needs, than you can’t do better than to put the project into the hands of a professional video production company. A reputible company, such as Winmax of California, will work with you, and help you translate your conception into a living reality.. Say you are about to have a product launch. You approach the video company, with your idea. You want to create a video presentation that will introduce that product to prospective buyers. You also will use that video to help train your sales force
A company, such as Winmax will assign a project manager who will work with you to create a story line for your video. The manager will call on his video production experience to help you make such crucial decisions as narration style. Do you want continual narration, or only intermittent. Do you want more verbal narration or more captions. The manager will help you decide what type of background music you want for the video. Selection of background music sets the whole tone for the video. Do you want something upbeat, something serious, something sentimental. The project manager will help you crystallize your own thought about the background music. Most importantly, the manager will learn from you exactly what you want to accomplish with the video and he will help you create a storyline that completes that task.
During the shooting and editing process, the video company will allow you to remain in charge of the production of your video. You can choose the level of control you wish to have, at all stages of the project. . As the video production process proceeds, you will be able to participate in editing decisions to insure that the corporate video is meeting your expectations. When compilation is completed, the video productrion company will allow you to see the finished product. They will continue to work with you until you indicate that the completed business video meets your expectations. The turnaround time for large companies is only a few days. Winmax Video, for example can, upon request, turnout a special project in less than a week.
All businesses or any size should think about using a company video for facilitating intra-[spin]corporate communication|intra-company communication[/spin], for sales and product introduction, for corporate events including large holidays and celebrations of corporate milestones, for honoring corporate leaders, for facilitating business partnership exchange of ideas, for briefing corporate personnel about significant corporation tasks and for making presentations at meetings of the businesses shareholders, or for presentations via email.