One of the bonuses of working as part of a camera crew is the opportunity to sample gourmet cuisine at the end of the shoot. Oh, it doesn't always happen. Many a time, our camera crews live on Powerbars and Gatorade.
But producing how-to cooking demonstration videos -- such as this assignment for New Hampshire Magazine -- is always a pleasure.
What can we say? Folksy restauranteur Jim Borbotsina's classic Saganaki dish melted in our mouths and got us hooked for life. The Greek delicacy is "Flaming Cheese," and the kitchen theatrics is half the fun.
Do you have a product or service you'd like to promote in a how-to or demonstration sales video? It need not involve either fire or cheese, but if it does, expect our camera crews to stick around a little longer off the clock!
(Jim Borbotsina serves up Saganaki and a variety of Greek/Italian specialties at The Way We Cook restaurant in Manchester, NH. Download a free copy of the Saganaki recipe here).
Do you ever do a web search for restaurants in your area and find that some don’t have an online menu? You immediately skip over them and deem them unworthy of your business, don’t you? This is the same reaction a potential customer has if a company has an unprofessional logo, or worse yet, none at all.
At Award Productions, we work closely with marketing departments and public relations companies to develop brand identity and promotional videos. We are frequently asked to incorporate 2-D logos into moving graphics for an opening video sequence.
With poor or unprofessional company branding, customers will feel uneasy about your reliability, expertise, and overall commitment to getting the job done. So just how do you make sure you have an effective logo that is both appealing and memorable?
Here are a few tips to guide you through creating and choosing a logo that is right for you and your business:
1. Know Your Company.
Write out a short description summarizing your company. Are you a family-run corner shop spanning multiple generations, a multi-national corporation, or somewhere in between? What are your company values and goals? What is your product or service? How do you differ from the competition?
Answering these questions will help you define your image and understand what “feel” you need to portray to potential customers through your logo.
2. Know Your Customers.
Identifying your target audience is possibly the most crucial piece of information needed when branding your company. Who are the people you need to impress? What do they value the most out of your products/services – quality, efficiency, cost, dependability? And how do you show this attribute through your logo?
Upon figuring out these circumstances, an appropriate logo will reflect the persona of your company, giving your customer confidence that you will succeed for them.
3. Know When NOT to Do-It-Yourself.
Before you do anything, it is important to realize that knowing how to throw together a simple Photoshop image does not mean you should create the company logo. Whether you hire a graphic designer or have one on your team, you need to have someone skilled at understanding both the concept of a logo and the design execution.
Professional designers understand color, line, and text in a way that visually connects your company overview with the needs of your target audience. And it aesthetically represents this combination in a way that is eye-catching, yet simple enough to be easily memorable and recognizable.
4. Know Your Instincts.
A professional graphic designer will give you 3-5 initial designs to select the path for your logo. These should have a wide range of variation, showing different directions in which you could take your logo while still maintaining the characteristics you had outlined earlier. Choose the one that stands out to you, because ultimately you must feel confident in the design that represents your company.
After the initial design is chosen, the graphic designer should take this as a building block from which to create a few logos in the same spectrum. Looking at these, pick your final logo that you are most comfortable with and proud of. Even though someone else may be doing the design work, stay involved with the process. It is your voice and your company that is being evaluated by customers looking at your logo, and it will help make your business successful in the end.
The process for designing and choosing a company logo may seem daunting and time-consuming, but it is also a great lesson in defining your business, understanding how your company is perceived by the public, and making sure this is the identity you wish to portray.
You should feel confident when displaying your company logo and know that it is a great fit to match your company profile. When customers see your logo, it should make them want to learn more about you and try your products/services. The anonymous restaurants in the Yellow Pages could be gems, but I know I wouldn’t risk the time to find out.
For those of you outside of the Greater Boston area, let's get you up to speed. The gentleman on the left, 48-year-old Michael Chapman, just spent $12,000 building an elaborate four-story treehouse in his suburban backyard.
Citing code violations, the city of Worcester has demanded that the leafy McMansion be torn down -- under the threat of a $300 per day fine.
Chapman was widely mocked in the print media and talk radio for allegations that his nefarious clubhouse was meant to spy on his neighbors. We have no reason to doubt his claim that he is a nature lover.
However, we're most intrigued by this analogy he shared with The Boston Globe:
Yesterday, Chapman took reporters on
a tour of his creation, which is sturdy enough to support several
adults at one time. As acorns rained down from the higher branches,
Chapman said he will not appeal (the city's demolition) order.
He
compared the time that he has left with his treehouse - he did this for
himself (he has no children) - to a story by the Argentine writer Jorge
Luis Borges, in which time suddenly slows as the protagonist faces a
firing squad. Like the character in the story, he gets to complete his
work of art.
“It’s the act of creation, not the ownership that matters,’’ he said. “I’m never truly happy unless I’m making something.’’
Chapman's philosophy raises the eternal question: If an elaborate four-story treehouse falls in the woods and no one gets to use it, was it ever really a treehouse?
No offense to the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, but we starkly disagree with this approach.
In the world of video production and filmmaking, results and outcomes obviously matter. We certainly enjoy the artistic process. But creativity is useless if it is not applied with a project's final goals in mind.
A treehouse without occupants is meaningless. So is a promotional video or viral video without an audience.
Over the years, we've had the rare misfortune of working with a photographer, graphic designer or other creative type who puts their artistic vision ahead of the project. These working relationships inevitably do not last very long.
If we are editing a promotional video for your business or gathering a critical element for your news program or documentary, we are delighted to share our creative vision. But ultimately, when there is a conflict between our art and your message, there is no doubt about the final outcome.
Simply put, we don't like building treehouses that will have be torn down.
A few years ago, it would have been unimaginable for a bunch of friends to make a goofy home movie and have it shape the script of a top-rated "must see" network TV show.
A few years ago, the best the wedding videographer of the infamous "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" could hope for was cracking the finals of "America's Funniest Home Videos."
But this YouTube video, showing bridesmaids and groomsmen stunning their guests with a choreographed dance number down the aisle, inspired the final scene of Jim and Pam's long-awaited wedding on NBC's "The Office." Not only did it influence it, but it was directly credited in the dialogue.
Imagine the novelty of being that wedding videographer! Check out the clip from "The Office."
Now take a look at the original YouTube dance, which currently has more than 28.5 million hits.
This kind of viral success cannot possibly be planned -- it just happens. However, there are no limits to how far a great idea that is well-executed can spread!
Do you have a viral video idea that tells your company's story in a clever or funny way?
Contact us and let's brainstorm.
The challenge of grabbing people's attention -- and keeping it -- is the same regardless of whether you do it on a giant television screen or a tiny iPod.
Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes...
While working on a promotional video for Boston's WROR 105.7 FM, we had the pleasure of observing comic genius Tom Doyle -- who might be the only human being capable of rolling his pupils back into his head.
The ongoing party trick, performed for visitors at Boston's "See New England" tourism expo, was framed in a retro circus sideshow tent he wore on his head.
Put your face close to the computer screen for the third slide. We dare you.
We try our best to stay away from industry jargon in conversations with our clients. But every now and then, we notice a quizzical facial expression when we use the term “B-Roll.”
Depending on the intonation, the term can sound like it’s related to either the military or competitive gymnastics.
Simply put, B-Roll is any footage that is being used to cover narration or soundbites. It gives viewers a variety of things to stare at so they don’t get bored watching the same talking head or scenery. A-Roll is the old-fashioned term for the soundtrack – anytime someone is speaking or we hear natural sound from the surrounding environment.
With that out of the way, when is it ideal for a company to produce a B-Roll package?
Anytime your company or organization has a new product, new research or a special event, you’ll want to make it as easy as possible for TV and Web media outlets to report on your story.
What follows is a breakdown of the components of a B-Roll package, and things to keep in mind while creating one.
1. TITLE PAGE – The first thing in a B-Roll package is the title page. This page gives the news station some brief information about the package, including the product/event’s name, the length of the package, and the date that it is being released.
2. SUGGESTED LEAD – The next page should have a paragraph or two that provides background information and gives context to the contents of the package. This information can be in the form of a “suggested lead,” which provides the station with a script that they may want to use when introducing their story.
3. INTERVIEW SOUNDBITES — Next comes the most important part of the package– the footage. These are the building blocks that stations use to create their story. There are two types of footage: sound bites and B-Roll. Soundbites let you tell the story in your own words. Generally, there will be one or two people interviewed, each giving a handful of quotes that best convey their message. This may include what their product is, how it works, and how it affects people’s lives. A page with the name of the interviewee, along with their job title, should precede their soundbites.
At the beginning and end of each bite, there is what is referred to as “padding,” usually two seconds of video, but without any accompanying audio. This is useful to stations because it allows them options when they are editing. For example, they might want to bring up the image of the interviewee before they start talking to create overlap and thus enhance the flow of the piece.
Something to keep in mind with sound bites: they must be succinct. Stations won’t want to use a 30-second bite because that might be a quarter of the airtime they’re devoting to your story!
4. B-ROLL FOOTAGE — The second part of the B-Roll package is the B-Roll footage. There are a couple of different types of footage that are good to include no matter what your story is. It is a good idea to have shots of the interviewees away from the interview setting, perhaps working at their desk or interacting with co-workers. There should also be some shots of exteriors of buildings from different angles, along with corporate signage. And of course, it’s also important to include shots of your product along with its packaging.
B-Roll shot selection depends on what type of product you have. For example, if you’re trying to promote a prescription drug, it would make sense to include footage of people doing research in a laboratory, or a doctor interacting with a patient.
5. CONTACT INFO PAGE — The last thing in a B-Roll package should be the contact information page, which provides stations with a name, phone number, and email address of a person they can contact if they would like more information.
B-Roll packages should be no longer than five minutes. While it’s obviously important to provide stations with adequate coverage, a release that’s too long can be unappealing because it means having too much footage to wade through.
Bottom line, make it as easy as possible for media outlets to tell your story and hopefully they will be coming back for more.