News and views from Video Artisan - video production services on Essex / London border

August 20, 2013July 25, 2024

Creating Customer Reference Videos

We all want to share great customer stories and there really is no better way than commissioning customer reference videos. Few understand the value of this marketing activity more than BT (British Telecom). They are constantly researching success cases across all the businesses within BT Global group and set about capturing and sharing these stories through customer reference videos.

We’ve produced a number of these customer reference videos for BT now and the most recently completed film tells the story of how South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT) has adopted BT’s Workstyle Managed Service at the core of their WorkSmart programme. This multi-faceted offering from BT enables flexible working practices within organisations and helps maximise efficiency within their workforce by allowing them to work any time, any place, anywhere and on any device.

SEPT HQ — Filming Customer Reference Videos for BT

BT have helped to deliver so many benefits to SEPT that the story just had to be added to their growing list of customer reference videos. As with all NHS Trusts, SEPT have growing pressures to deliver more and more healthcare services with ever greater cost efficiency. Flexible working is not just about letting employees work from home. It’s about developing and managing culture change within the business; it’s about managing processes and people – and ultimately making huge savings which, in the case of SEPT, can be channelled back into front-line healthcare services.

Long-form film

The initial brief was to produce a more detailed film for BT’s Workstyle Managed Service division for use on their website and at exhibitions and presentations. This original film runs for around 5-minutes and gives a fuller picture of SEPT’s WorkSmart programme and the role that BT played in delivering and rolling out the project.

Short-form film

After the initial launch of the long-form film BT Global commissioned a much shorter edit that concentrated on the key benefits to SEPT. This version was to be used within an online and social network marketing campaign – as well eye-candy for exhibitions and presentations.

Creating Customer Reference Videos
BT see these films as highly valuable marketing collateral and have an ongoing commitment to commissioning more films whenever and wherever possible. Video Artisan helps them to create customer reference videos that tell the story from the customers’ perspective which promotes BT in a credible and engaging way.

If you would like to start incorporating customer reference videos into your marketing mix please contact us today.

July 15, 2013July 25, 2024

Filming a Corporate Away Day

I had a really busy June this year including filming a corporate away day at Highgate House, Creaton, Northants for CAT Publications Ltd – the publishers of M&IT magazine (Meetings and Incentive Travel).

The event was sponsored by the Norway Convention Bureau and Visit Norway and attended by event organisers from various companies across the UK. The purpose of the event was to introduce delegates to the various regions and conference/event facilities in Norway so that they might point their clients towards holding events there.

The underlying theme to the day was the work of the famous Norwegian artist, Edvard Munch and his iconic painting, ‘The Scream’. Apart from formal classroom-type presentations on the various Norwegian venues and regions, delegates were divided into teams to take part in fun and challenging activities including painting their own version of The Scream, making a short film based on the painting and taking part in an extreme crossing activity.

Video Artisan was brought in for two reasons. Firstly, CAT Publications wanted to produce a short overview of the event to help them promote future events and give an insight into their unique approach to managing corporate away days. The second part of the brief was to supply camera kits for the teams to produce their Scream films and to provide them with technical support. In addition, each team’s film had to be edited by the end of the day for a screening and judging session.

Filming a Corporate Away Day

Having had previous experience in filming a corporate away day the short promo film wasn’t going to be too challenging on its own, but the addition of supporting the delegate teams in making their own films and then editing them together meant bringing in two additional crew members (Dilip Patel & Martin Baker). This left me to concentrate on managing the delegate teams and trying to get them to keep their ideas simple and easy to churn out on the edit suite within the given time. Earlier on in the day they had all watched a fantastic film that was commissioned by Visit Norway based on the same theme – so they were already building up some ambitious ideas for their own creations

In the quieter periods (there weren’t that many) I was also able to shoot interviews with the organisers, sponsors and delegates to help me tell the story for the promo film. I also used these moments to pick up on some establishing shots of the venue as well as more abstract coverage of the activities.

Filming a Corporate Away Day – the Interviews

Apart from the usual mass of filming equipment I take on these assignments I also had to rig up my old Edius 4.5 edit suite in a separate room away from the main conference area. This had to be able to output to DVD for the screening session and possibly a number of other digital formats just to be sure that the delegate’s films could be seen and judged when they needed to be.

The camera kits (two Canon XF105s) were supplied by Hireacamera and were been delivered on the previous day. I chose these cameras as I’d used them on similar events last year and they’d been incredibly easy to use in their ‘Auto-everything’ mode. The MXF file format that they record to is also ideal as my Edius system (as old as it is) can use these files on the timeline in their native form. I used Hireacamera because they are both dependable and really understand my needs – and they didn’t disappoint on this occasion either.

Another satisfied customer

After a couple of minor tweaks the promo film was signed off last week and I’m sure it will not be long before CAT Publications are pumping it out there to promote their next event. Following the event I’d also encoded the delegate team films to MP4 so they could be screened on their YouTube channel (Green Team, Blue Team, Yellow Team and Red Team)

The client certainly seem to be very pleased with the end result and have said there’s more work in the pipeline that they want to get me involved in. That’s exactly the response I aim for on every project and I hope to be filming a corporate away day for them again very soon.

June 20, 2013July 25, 2024

Nipper Clipper gets a website video

It’s fantastic when you work for a company that really understands the value of commissioning a website video. We all appreciate the important role a website video can play in intelligent search engine optimisation, but it can also be a fun and creative way to communicate with customers and augment your brand.

My latest film for Tom Pellereau at Stylfile is a short website video introducing their revolutionary new Nipper Clipper nail clippers for babies and toddlers.

Making of the Nipper Clipper website video

What is it they say about working with children and animals? Thankfully the only animals involved were the animated kind included in the devilishly clever Timmy Tickle Baby Distraction Ap. Created by the amazingly talented and creative Harriet Pellereau, this provides parents with a colourful and engaging distraction whilst they trim and file their baby’s nails – the little wrigglers!

I’m happy to say all the “nippers” were perfectly behaved on the shoot and made it easy for me to capture the moments of distraction. The wonder and excitement of finding themselves on a small film set soon wore off – and Timmy Tickle did the rest.

Timmy Tickle Baby — Timmy Tickle helps out on the website video shoot

Filmed at the Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery in St Albans – parents were invited in to take part in the pre-launch demonstration and filming of the Nipper Clipper in action. There are two features of the Nipper Clipper that set it above normal baby nail clippers – namely the curved scissor-action blades and the extremely reassuring spy hole which shows parents exactly what they are clipping (the horror stories are true). The retail pack also contains a baby-soft mini Stylfile with it’s unique s-design. The ap makes the whole process that much easier – and I dare say it could contribute towards early learning too.

The filming at the nursery took a morning to complete (Canon 5D mkii with EF 24-105mm 1:4 USM lens). This was another day where myself and my client were extolling the virtues of my new cool-running, battery powered Lishuai LED lights. With little people on set (often little/bigger brother/sister was present too) we had to reduce the risk posed by trailing cables and potential accidents from hot tungsten lamps. Using the cable-less, heat-less LEDs meant we could relax and concentrate on the job at hand – not to mention the benefit of cooler working conditions for the older talent.

Tom Pellereau – a big advocate of website video

Whilst we did managed to capture the spy hole and blade design in action on the day we always knew there would be a couple of studio shots required to demonstrate these features fully – in a more controlled way. The “studio” was in fact my edit desk where we once again used a Lishuai LED to close-light the Nipper Clipper and carry out some macro filming using an adapter and vintage Fujinon 50mm f1.8 lens. That thumb is mine – and had to be polished up especially for its Hitchcock.

Macro filming — Do you need macro filming on your website video?

Follow-up website video

It’s not all over for Video Artisan and the Nipper Clipper as I was asked to film the launch and press day in Central London earlier this week. A mass of press photographers, baby bloggers and media-types turned up to see Tom and his business partner (Lord Sugar) cut the ribbon on a pop-up shop in Neals Yard, Covent Garden so there’s at least one more website video to come.

So yes – I can now honestly say I’ve worked with kids and babies and survived.

June 7, 2013July 25, 2024

New website promo film for HRS

I’ve just completed a website promo film for another BBC Apprentice winner, Ricky Martin, for his specialist recruitment company HRS (Hyper Recruitment Solutions) based in Loughton, Essex.

Ricky Martin runs HRS in partnership with Lord Alan Sugar. The company has a wealth of recruitment expertise in placing jobs within the science and technology sectors. The website promo film was produced for the HRS website front page and also the HRS YouTube channel in order to give visitors an introduction to the range of expertise and unique recruitment services they offer.

Not only do HRS recognise the huge importance of commissioning a website promo film as part of their general marketing activities but also the major role that video plays in efficient SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). In a nutshell, if all else is equal a website that includes video it will rank higher in Google searches than one that doesn’t. Google’s ownership of YouTube has an influence on this but any properly site-mapped video content will help your website climb the rankings.

Not only that but a well produced and properly indexed website promo film will drive more relevant visitors to your website – and keep them there longer.

Short lead-time website promo film

This video is a good example of what can be achieved in a very short space of time. From the initial approach by Ricky this website promo film was screening on the HRS YouTube channel within a week. And within a week of going live it had already attracted over 2,500 views – and the audience figures are still growing.

The video was shot in the Video Artisan edit suite against a chroma key background and superimposed Ricky over a stock office shot from iStock. We then added the HRS logo to one of the office walls in order to personalise the scene. XY zoom was applied to this background image to match the cuts from the medium to close shots.

Background image for the HRS website promo film

The instant success of this website promo film has inspired HRS to commission more video content for their website going forward. More details will follow soon but we hope to be creating some content that will help those looking for jobs within the science and technology sectors to be more successful in gaining employment.

Also keep an eye on my blog for news on more work we’ve produced for BBC Apprentice winner, Tom Pellereau and his amazing Stylfile collection.

May 23, 2013July 25, 2024

Eiger Safety promotional video wins video of the month

I was really pleased to hear that one of my promotional videos for Eiger Safety has won the IOV’s ‘Video of the Month’ (VOTM) competition in May 2013.

The full story behind this film, and other promotional videos, was the subject of a previous blog. Since then I’ve also been shooting a longer form documentary about the company which will be launched later this year alongside a new website which Eiger Safety are producing.

The quality and range of entries for the IOV’s VOTM has been quite extensive since it was first launched back in January this year. As there are no rules as to content my Eiger Safety film would have been up against all manner of entries from within the IOV’s membership. And this would not have been restricted to just promotional videos – but also wedding films, documentaries, event coverage and just about every other avenue of work that the IOV membership is involved in.

I think VOTM is a great idea (well done John De Rienzo for getting it off the ground). It gives producers of promotional videos like myself (and other types of producers) a regular means to promote and measure their work. There’s also a nice little cash prize in it which helps cover those small kit impulse purchases that I seem to be making quite frequently these days.

Not just promotional videos

There’s more to come from Eiger Safety as MD, Paul Jaffe, is planning a charity fund raising attempt at climbing the north face of the Eiger in 2014 and has asked me to make a film about it. I must quickly add that this will not involve me making the climb myself but rather Paul’s preparations and training. We are also talking about me filming the start of the climb and his final approach to the summit – so it will involve some altitude work and no doubt some spectacular scenery.

Eiger Safety on the chains at Clifton Suspension Bridge — You have to be comfortable at height to do this – believe me!

When you produce a promotional videos for companies you never know where things might lead to. However, I never expected to be strapped in harnesses, abseiling or thinking about filming someone climbing the north face of the Eiger.

Category: Video Artisan

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