We had a great day yesterday shooting the video for “Unforgettable” by Eva Snyder. The weather was fantastic. The locations were gorgeous. Eva did a terrific job in front of the camera singing the song over and over and over and over. The crew – Chris Hale-Smith, Ian Stock and Andrew Horgan – worked efficiently and effectively together with Marty and me. All in all, a great day. The edit should be done in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, check out the song on Eva’s Website.
So often, the creative process seems mysterious. If I had a nickel for every time someone said to me, “How did you come up with that?” or “Where did that come from?” or “How come you’re so brilliantly creative?” I would have $3.45.
To help shed some light and remove some of the mystery, I thought it would be helpful to look at the creative process behind the production of our latest video — the opening video at the BusinessWest “40 Under 40″ banquet, which was held recently at the Log Cabin. I decided the best device for getting the heart of the creativity would be a question and answer session conducted with me, by me. What follows is an unedited transcript of that session.
Q. In the opening scene, when you’re on the bridge looking at the water below, you really looked dismayed. It was a very real, raw moment. What was your motivation there? What were you thinking about.
A. Thank you. I’m glad it seemed so authentic. We were on the bridge about an hour-and-a-half. During that time, I watched twelve dead fish float by. Twelve lifeless bodies floating down the river. It was a powerful moment. Really got me thinking about the fragile and temporary nature of life.
Q. The video is essentially a series of brief man-on-the-street interviews bookended by a short, funny open and close. Where did that concept come from?
A. Well, we knew we had budget constraints, so our options were limited. We also knew the video had to be funny while serving a purpose. In this instance, the video had to serve two purposes: Recognize the winners and start the award ceremony. So we came up with a simple concept that required minimal cost. Oh, I should also include the fact that Marty’s editing skills, while useful, are limited. I would like to point out his use of numbers in the upper right-hand corner of the winner photos. He made those himself.
Q. I couldn’t help but notice that in the beginning of the video you’re running down the bridge wearing jeans. And yet when you interview Barry Wadsworth at the end of the video you’re wearing shorts that seem way out style. But after the interview with Barry a graphic on screen says “Later that day.” When, during your day of shooting, did you decide to change your pants?
A. Good question. And here’s a little movie-making secret I’ll share with our viewers: We didn’t shoot everything in the same day! I did keep the same shirt on, though, for five days while we got the shots we needed.
Q. Prior to taping, did you spend any time with any of the winners to get sense of who they are and why they won?
A. No. I wanted to keep the project organic without any preconceived perceptions.
Q. I noticed we only see Marty at the beginning and at the end. Why didn’t we see him during the interviews?
A. He was holding the camera.
Q. What do you want future generations to know about your work on this video?
A. I want them to know that’s it’s o.k. to show emotion. It’s o.k. to be human. And I want them to know that you can accomplish goals even if you’re older than 40.
If they had the Internet back in the 1960s, perhaps the Nehru jacket would never have gone out style. Well, we don’t live in the 1960s and we do have the Internet. So to make sure viz-bang! never goes out of style we’ve commissioned our friends at cdeVision to design us a new Website. It’s kind of hard to call our previous Website a Website, actually. It was more of a landing page with a video and a couple of links to some of our social media platforms. Our new site is much, much more than that.
Centralization and Information
We still have a video and links to our social media platforms on the homepage. But if you look around you’ll find examples of our work, client testimonials and some other good stuff created by us and more information about us. Our focus continues to be creating compelling content people want to watch, read and experience. Our Website will become the hub for showcasing our content.
So dive in, check out several of our videos in our “work” section, sign-up for the RSS feed and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. A good time will be had by all.
Online video continues to explode with comScore estimating that more than 180 million people watch video online on a regular basis. The eyeballs are there, but how do you get them to notice you? Start with great content.
“Video is more attractive to viewers and captures much more mind share than a static message. It’s engaging and effective,” said Alex Romanov, iSIGN Media.
Read the full blog post by Kristina Knight at BizReport. (Hat tip to GCAI for bringing the article to our attention.)
Marty and I work hard to provide creative, compelling content in a cost-effective way for our clients. Without good content, you’re just spitting into the wind or some other folksy saying that means you’re not making any progress and no one is noticing you.
Some things to consider when you’re attempting to create good content include:
For examples of our good content, check out the Work section of this site.
As I sit here at Town Fair Tires in West Springfield, for what I’m told will be “about an hour”, brashly accessing the wifi network of Staples, I’m drawn to the parallels that exist between between a well run company and a set of four new tires. First, of course, is the security insured by the strength of a stable foundation. Dave and I, together, represent the bold, strong, black vulcanized rubber of viz-bang!.
Bold, because we had the preparedness to succeed in a time of economic unrest — just like a set of winter tires put on in late October, or maybe early November.
Strong, because we can both bench about 150 pounds, which together is 300 pounds, which is a lot.
Black, because we want want our company to run in the black, not in the red, which would mean we’re losing money.
Vulcanized, because, like Spock, we hold our emotions in check and look like evil versions of ourselves when we grow goatees.
And rubber, because much like the children’s rhyme with which we all grew up, insults bounce off of us and reflect more on the teller of the insult than the victim. Like the guy who I cut off on the way to Town Fair Tire, and he was all like, “Hey, man. You’re a jerk.” when, in fact, HE was the jerk because, even though I didn’t have my blinker on, it was wicked obvious that I was going to turn.
After I get my tires, which should be in about 45 minutes or so, I’m gonna go grab some breakfast and explain to you how viz-bang! is also like bacon.
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