Posts Tagged corporate
Careful Identification Of The Gaol Of Your Video Will Guide The Production
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on September 15th, 2010
Fenster Academy is a college prep academy located on a beautiful 150 acre campus in the hills of Arizona. Each year the school recruits students from as many as 40 states, as well as other countries. To enhance their recruitment efforts, the private academy has a website and two videos.
In the first video, the Fenster Corporate video the headmaster functions as an on and off screen narrator, and the story line consists of a thorough presentation of the principles and methods of Fenster, along with a presentation of their track record of getting over 90% of their students into colleges. In the second video, which contains many of the same video clips as the first one, the focus is on students and teachers describing their experience at Fenster. While the first video is described as a “corporate video,” the second isn’t.
If we were to place the two videos on a continuum from documentary i.e. a thorough presentation of the topic at hand to impressionistic, i.e. a video which seeks to present the atmosphere or spirit of a place rather than its factual description, then the first video would be considered documentary and the second impressionistic.
Interestingly, the first video, that of the headmaster talking about the school, has received 733 views, while the second video, which might be considered more entertaining, has only received 46. Presumably parents considering sending their children to Fenster are directed to watch the first video, whereas the second video is a backup video for children who are on the fence about attending and want to hear what students say their experiences there.
We find several significant differences between the two videos, one of which is the selection of background music. The first video, the documentary uses background music that is slightly more domineering than typical easy listening music. It has a progressive beat, along with a flute or wind instrument, which caries a solo melody that rises above the beat, carried by the strings. The music suggests the impression the headmaster is conveying of a dynamic educational process that turns prep students into successful college applicants.
The background music for the second video is more rollicking and fun. It has a pleasant of pleasant rhythmic melody, of the type found in many popular guitar music.
The selection and content of the second video suggests it is targeted to potential students of the academy. Student statements, included in the video are designed to allay fears about their being away from home, and not doing well at the school.
Another striking contrast between the two presentations is the compilation of the scenes. The content of the first video is presented in an orderly fashion, with the headmaster presenting a hthroough presentation of the schools modus Vivendi, its methods its goals and accomplishments. The narration is illustrated by scenes of classes, students and teachers. In the second video, scenes are put together like the composition of an abstract or impressionistic painting. Careful attention has been given to nhow viewers will respond to this video on an emotional level. For example, in the opening scene a student says “It’s a little hard being away from your family, but mostly you make friends and it?s a really good social atmosphere.” Another student notes, “I like how you meet people from all over the world, I like the small class sizes,” “It’s pretty much impossible to fail here.” “But the thing I like most is actually the ability to study and accomplish my goals in school.” And yet another student adds, “I’ve never had straight “A’s but I’ve had straight A’s here.” At the end we see a happy scene of the graduation. The second video clearly targets specific concerns and fears of potential students, and attempts to address and alleviate them.
Why does the school use an imagistic video for the students and a documentary type for the parents? Probably, because the school felt that students, who have not yet reached full intellectual maturity, will be responding to the decision to attend on more of an emotional level, whereas parents who must take into account, all of the intellectual decisions before deciding whether or not to send their kids, will be most likely to respond to the first video, which addresses the audience intellectually. When the parents subsequently turn to their kids and say, “We’ll do you want to attend the Fenster academy?” The child is likely to have the types of fears, questions and concerns that can be better addressed by the second video.
What do these two videos teach us about the production of a corporate video? Companies planning a corporate video need to plan out the goals of their video, and decide if they will be better achieved through a more corporate video or more imagistic and impressionistic corporate video.
Power Corporate Video Intros
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on September 14th, 2010
The Nakheel 2006 Corporate Video attracts viewers with a power and unique intro. After a short motion graphic in which vertical panels colored in multiple shades of blue, break apart horizontally, some iof the more unique company projects appear on the screen.The video offers aerial views of iconic skyscrapers the company has built in Dubai. Next, Palm Jumeirah, the company’s unique seaside island creation appears before the viewers.
As we watch some of the company’s large creative projects unfold on the screen we are reminded that Dubai, as one of the richest nations in the world, has the assets to realize creative projects on a grand scale. Unique projects translate into unique visual material. And neunique content appearing on the screen of a corporate or tradeshow video translates into attraction.
A business wishign to create a corporate video that attracts viewers needs to successfully identify their company’s unique content. Nakheel succeeding in doing just that. Between 2001 and 2006, the large middle east development company created a city in the Persian gulf shaped like the fronds of a palm tree connected to the coastlinie by a trunk like main highway. The community is surrounded by a crescent shaped breakfront. The island contains luxury hotels and quality beach front homes. Many consisting of various shaped sea front homes, from homes sitting on solid sea walls to wooden structures on stilts that jut into the gulf waters.
Palm Jumeirah exhibits a creative answer to one of Dubais’s challenges for sea side development. As part of the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s richest countries, the country’s economic assets greatly outstrip their relatively small coastline; how can they provide sufficient avenues for coastal real estate investment? Dubai has connected a series of small coastal islands and created a complex artificial coastline, which vastly extends their natural seacoast.
The unique concept and grand execution shaped a coastal city unlike any ever seen before and thereby created unique viewing. Nakheel took advantage of this fact and featured the palm shaped city throughout much of the presentation.
The videographers have not created a documentary of the citiy’s topography. Rather they have presented the material in a manor that teases viewers. As the video progresses and moves from scene to scene, viewers can’t see enough of the unusual architecture to satisfy them so they keep looking. On the other hand, the video doesn’t jump too rapidly so as to dazzle viewers or make them dizzy, rather it attempts to allure them.
Once it has successfully grabbed web surfers’ attention, the video displays other significant visual features of the community. Footage displays interiors of the modern gulf front houses, interspersed with views of the gulf at sunset, oil refining companies, and rising “iconic” buildings, modern gulf side hotels and shopping areas that grace the island.
The videographers have carefully planned how to enhance the manmade island’s unique shape by frequently presenting it as an on screen graphic designs, which displays the island shape in alternating plain or dazzling colors.Often the graphic changes back into a realistic view of the city. The videographers thereby seek to transform the design of the city into an architectural icon, “a city rising out of the sea.”
The intro of the video and follow-up succeed in one important job of a corporate video to attract and entertain viewers with interesting visual material that will inspire them to watch the entire video. This permits the company to present the information and or visual material it wants to impart to customers.
How Do Films Use Promotional Gifts?
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Marketing and Advertising on September 3rd, 2010
The film industries around the World is absolutely huge these days from what it used to be many years ago. Especially Bollywood the Indian cinema has grown very rapidly in recent years and now many people know Bollywood just as well as they know Hollywood. This post briefly reviews one of the major promotional techniques used in the entertainment industry. They heavily invest in promotional gifts or products as they normally call it, helps in increasing the brand awareness of the film because the release.
Promotional products are used to promote the release of the new film and has always been one many marketing tools used in the entertainment industry. Normally film production companies, during the time of the release distribute promotional products through corporate clothing like clothing, hats, CD’s, vouchers to the market.
For example; motion pictures as an entertainment commodity offer unique challenges in terms of promotions. They are always on the look out for new marketing tools to promote the new film. One of the most used promotional merchandise in the film industries as an promotional tool are promotional pens. Pens are used widely by companies or individuals in a regular basis. As almost everyone uses it quite often it has a better chance of increase awareness of your brand than other merchandise. If you ever visit a new movie premier you will see different types of promotional products used to promote the movie and mostly distributed out of them would be the pens for critics to make notes about the movie. Sometimes they give the fans waiting outside the premier to see the actors and actresses they admire, this will basically grow the name of the film and even after few years people will be talking about it, if they do see the name of film in a pen or mousemats or even a mug.
The power of promotional items will never decrease no matter how strong the Internet market grows. Yes many businesses are throwing their money in Internet marketing these days but they also have to carry on promotional products. Entertainment industry is a business too so if they invest heavily and still profit from promotional items I don’t see why local businesses can’t do the same.
The Kodak Winds Of Change Video
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on August 28th, 2010
Corporate videos don’t just happen. Corporate videos arise when there is a need that must be fulfilled. The more clearly the need is identified the more clearly it can be addressed by the video. A not uncommon challenge for established corporations, one that is frequently met with a corporate video, is the need to inform shareholders and the public that the corporation is responding properly to a drastic change in the market the company sells in. When the market change is extreme, the video has to be extreme in reassuring the public that the company is readjusting. The Kodak Winds of Change Video is an example of a video that addresses this very situation.
It is hard to imagine a company being forced to grapple with a more drastic market change than when Kodak, the leader in traditional photography, had to face the digital camera revolution. Kodak made a video responding to this revolution in photography, and it was as extreme in format, as the market change was great. After seeing it, no can say that Kodak sat back and did nothing to address fears among their shareholders that Kodak would be severely affected by this great technological change in their field.
The video, perhaps in a unique way, informs the public that Kodak is making a complete response to the digital camera revolution and is already making unique contributions, characteristic of Kodak, to the changes in photography. The video underscores this point by presenting the old and new Kodak in the video.
The video begins with a scene one might expect from an established company with a history of excellence. A dignified spokesman addresses the audience in an ornate classical theater setting. He describes the illustrious 100 year history of Kodak. Classic examples of Kodak pictures of children and family gatherings flash in the background, while pleasant elevator music, conducive to the scene, plays in the video sound track.
Suddenly as viewers begin to shift nervously in their chair, thinking that Kodak is living on their laurels, the mood changes. “Yep,” says the narrator, “they shoveled on the smaltz pretty thick.” “But,” he adds. “that kind of crap doesn’t work any more.” Then in a very worldly wise fashion the spokesman begins to talk about the digital photography revolution. He informs us that “Kodak is back and is “taking this digital thing to a level unheard of.”
The video continues, and as it does the narrator addresses each and every question or concern the public might have about Kodak’s response to digital photography. The spokesman admits that there was an initial hesitation on Kodak’s part. However, once it became clear that digital was the wave of the future Kodak jumped in feet first. The narrator then lists some of the new digital features that Kodak is developing in their laboratories; photography that meets “meta-knowledge.”
The narrator paints a picture of the home photography show of the future. With technology being developed right now in Kodak labs, it will be possible to arrange photos and present them in a show along with digitally arranged background music, and even video clips which enhance the show. Then he describes how the old well loved look of Kodak, the shots of babies families and grandmas will come back in a new form within the digital media.
When the video is over, we are convinced, albeit in an unconventional way, that Kodak is not just a bunch of stuffed shirt faddy daddies, but that they have managed to mobilize their corporate resources to become part of the world of computerized photography.
The take home lesson from this video is to name and identify the challenge and task of the corporate video and meet it fully .
Using A Famous Song As Background Music For A Corporate Video
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Video Production on July 16th, 2010
4Ward is a Canadian company specializing in branding, web video production and photography. Their 2008 corporate video is posted on the web. Their corporate video is striking in that they have chosen as background music, the popular song “Here it Goes Again,” by OK.
The song is an exciting song, which won real prominence because of the incredible viral video made to the tune of that song. The video features the band members performing an incredible walk dance on a series of treadmills in a gymnasium. The treadmills are lined up in two rows and set to run in alternating directions. As the band members walk/dance from treadmill to treadmill, to the tune of the music, they create some incredible visual effects. The visual effects illustrate the theme of the song as well. In the song, the protagonist is always getting in the groove and in the mood, with a girl, apparently, when something outside of his control occurs. Treadmills, like life, never stop moving and make it impossible to merely stand still. In that regard they illustrate the theme of the song that something always seems to happens when life is going along great.
The choice of Here it Goes Again, as background music for their corporate video apparently reflects the company’s esprit de corp. Videography manufacturing is a fast paced business. Just when one project is under control, the phone rings and another project comes along. The pace never stops and people working in videography on online marketing are constantly busy, but constantly loving it.
Both of these themes are expressed by the video song selection. While the song laments the fact that
something always goes out of control, just when things are going great, the song response is an dutiful and upbeat accpetance, “Oh well, here we go again.”
If asked to place the visual display of the video on a scale ranging from storyline, to illustrative of the musical beat, I would put it close to the second end of the scale. The images appear in a collage style and are more suggestive of activities the company is involved in then specific temporal portrayals of actual activities.The work held together stylistically and is loosely held together by occasional captions. The captions tell us the company has 40 branches throughout Canada.
The video addresses the fast paced world of computer video and visual advertising. As a corporate video the work shows off the ability of the company to create motion graphics. The captions note that the company makes flash, 3D animation, print design, package design and web design.
People who are familiar with the images used in the musical collage will probably relate to this video the best. Much of the material presents products of desktop publishing, including photographs, text designs and online arragnements. Other segments present clips of videos made for important clients such as Yamaha.
As a viewer, if asked how the company could better the production of their corporate video for future years, I would suggest using a song that is slightly less domineering. It is a tune that is so popular on You Tube, that anyone hearing it immediately wants to see the viral video that goes with it. The meaning of the song appears to express the pace of life of the industry, and that is captivating and amusing. I personally would relate a little better to a visual storyline which presents a more unified visual theme. I would want to see a bit more coherence and correspondence between the images and the script. However, it is worthy of note that the video has been popular, as corporate videos on You Tube go, with over 25,000 views. And that’s a lot more views than many very coherent looking corporate branding videos get.
The company touts itself as specialists in branding, and there is successful branding with this video. While overpowering, the song definitely appears to convey the corporate image 4WARD is trying to portray. These are people who know how to live and breathe in the fast paced Internet video and web marketing environment. And in the computer world, we tend to trust faced paced people. People who can make it have fun from 4 until 10, as the song describes, and then shrug off a sudden unexpected event, which ends the good time, and then go with the flow, are the kind of people we know we can trust with a marketing project.
