Production Value from StoryBox on Vimeo.

When it comes to visual messaging and marketing, it’s hard to know exactly what you’re going to get for your dollar. In this video, we make it easier to see where your money should go, and what it looks like when it’s there! Let us know what you think!

Welcome to the second part of our ongoing Visual Communications video series! Here Malcolm and Jonathan discuss the key elements of successful messaging.

Click here for Part 1: Originality

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Part 2: MESSAGING

Messaging from StoryBox on Vimeo.

Music from DanoSongs.
Free Royalty Free Music by DanoSongs.com

In this post, we wanted to focus a little on what we do. It took us a while to figure it out. The revelation came when we realized that our product…is YOU.

Our product is our customer.

We believe in our client’s need to use digital media to communicate with their customers. Our visual communication creativity coupled with our practical business experience approach motivates people to respond to our customers message. Not only can this help grow your business, but it get’s your name out there and brings awareness to your brand.
Enough talk. We put together a short presentation that better explains our services and how we can build a platform for you to engage your audience.

Have a look at our story.

See you next month!

Over the next couple of months we are going to create a series of videos aimed at illuminating aspects of our trade. Our hope with this campaign is that you'll learn a bit about how we work, and the reasons behind our madness actions.

This series of videos will deal with the many faces of visual communication. We're going to talk about what you should be saying, as well as how you should be saying it.

Hope you find it as interesting as we do!

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Creative Communications Workshop – Part 1: ORIGINALITY

Originality from StoryBox on Vimeo.

An important aspect of promoting your company or product is developing an “elevator speech”. It should be a concise, carefully planned, and well-practiced description about your company that your mother should be able to understand. Marketing professionals indicate that it should be about a minute long. We’ve developed one and can tell you that it was a very intense and painful exercise.
We’re now ready for the next multimedia challenge. Develop a digital ELEVATOR AD that accomplishes 3 things.
1. Explains what your company does.
2. Positions it in the best light versus your competitors
3. Creates an impression of market leadership and confidence.

All of this in 15 seconds of play time with no audio…visual only.

If we can do that then we will better differentiate ourselves in the market place.
We felt that we might be ready to overcome this self imposed challenge and it would be a great  way to kick off 2011.
The link below will start to air in Calgary elevators on January 10, 2011.
Have a look and send us your thoughts.

StoryBox – 15 second elevator ad spot from StoryBox on Vimeo.

That’s it for our 2010 blog. The team at StoryBox and ACA Productions wish you all a very Happy Holiday and look forward to reconnecting in the New Year.

Ho Ho Ho

Well, it didn’t exactly feel like summer. Dull and gray could have summed up July. Even August gave our furnace a surprise workout. So we put away the sun tan lotion, rolled up our sleeves and went back to work on a figuring out ways to improve our services.

July and August being the slow months that they are, we needed to find work for our idle hands. Being the creative creators we are, our minds raced immediately towards…studio renovations!

We went and built ourselves a full-blown post production edit suite. Believe me, we spared no expense! We’re talking pro lighting and neutral tone wall colors, just what we need to make sure projects look as perfect as can be. Our beast of an edit machine not only eats HD video for lunch, it cooks and cleans it to.

Clients can now watch in awe from the comfy viewing area, while checking emails from their very own guest computer. That is until the amazing sound from our digital speaker system rumbles the room and the crystal clear HD plasma dazzles their eyes. Are we a bit excited and proud? You bet.

In fact, to try it out we went up to northern Alberta (at least we saw some kind of sand) and shot a video to showcase a major oil field construction project. We brought home the footage and used our new toys to produce a communication piece that would be shown to stakeholders and project employees all across the country.

Speaking of travel, what summer wouldn’t be complete without a trip to far off lands? Well, at least virtually anyway. We found some friends in Europe that were quite thrilled about our motion graphics and 3D animation capabilities. So we developed some marketing materials and just might pack our bags to establish a presence across the pond. There will be more details on this exciting news in later posts.

All in all, we had a blast this summer. It truly feels like we’ve survived all the doom and gloom recession clouds. With the work we’ve accomplished this year, we are well positioned for the coming recovery. We might even have given ourselves a head start on our competition.

Stay tuned.     www.storyboxstudio.com

YAHOO.. made it through another Stampede.!! It’s been a tumultuous year to say the least. I thought I’d take a moment and summarize where we have been and what we’ve accomplished before we take a well earned break. Don’t worry we’ll be back in time for the Labour Day start up!

Our organization (like many) was affected by the recession. This was our first confrontation with a tanking economy. What do you do? Will our customers survive and come back? What will the leaner customer need? How will we be able to differentiate ourselves from our competitors?

The slump that happened in the late part of the last and the early part of this year forced us to really evaluate all that. We spent the quiet months reviewing our current operation and developing strategies to emerge stronger and more focused. The best analogy that I can use is that our organization became like a community restaurant; a 30-page menu of traditional offerings but nothing that was outstanding. The comments we have received told us that we do good work but we were sure our competition had just as many “good work” testimonials. Don’t misunderstand me, we earned and are proud of those letters and comments, but we knew that in order to rise above the norm we would have to do something different.

Our hands on approach with our customers, as well as some gut wrenching research, told us that we needed to put together a project that was solid; in idea, innovation and execution. Given the state of the economy the challenge was that we would have to work within a very low budget!

So what did we do?

a) We reviewed our existing infrastructure… threw out what wasn’t working or providing a return

b) Documented our successful best practices in excruciating detail. This would help develop our younger talent and contract people.

c) Began utilizing social media.

d) Redesigned our website to be visually and conceptually arresting so that it would become something that people would look at and want to pass around. If you haven’t already done so please click on the link www.acaavproductions.com

e) Broke out and branded the production side of the business. This resulted in the creation of a new company that specializes in visual communication. We’re very excited about StoryBox Studio, our new venture. Have a look www.storyboxstudio.com

Have we been successful? In a single word.. Yes

How did we define/measure success? We developed a plan and implemented it on time and on budget. Our customer base by industry has increased in size and revenue contribution.
Are we finished? Nope..but we’ve started a journey down a better road. The work is just beginning and the fun has returned! We will begin our Blog in September. Please stay tuned!

So you’ve got your wardrobe and you’re prepared for all the makeup and lighting you could fathom…time to get interviewed! Of course it would help to know what to expect for camera and sound. And how about some performance tips?

Camera and Sound

Don’t Look Here:

If there’s one rule in film and video it’s: Don’t Look at the Camera! Of course sometimes you’ll be directed to look into the lens, but more often than not, you’ll be looking at the interviewer beside the camera.

Another spot you shouldn’t look is at the boom mic hovering above your face. The audience will wonder what you are looking at, and about a third of them will figure it out.

Microphones:

If the sound guy is using a boom mic, you pretty much have nothing to worry about. A lapel mic, however, will pick up rustling noise from any adjustments you make to the clothes that it’s clipped to. This rustling noise is recorded as loud PHWAPs, and is considered unusable, so please try to leave your clothes adjustments for later.

The Art of Performing

Everyone wants to get the interview bang-on in one take, but unless you have significant on-camera experience, this won’t happen. What you can do though, is prepare yourself with some of these tips:

1. Don’t over-prepare your answers.  Bring a cue card with a few key points, and trust yourself with the subject matter.

2. Don’t start an answer with “Um,” or “Uh.” These words stick out like a sore thumb.

3. Wandering eyes are a dead giveaway of nervousness. Keep your eyes on your interviewer.

4. Pause before you respond. This brief silence gives a clean cut point for sound, and gives you a moment to collect your thoughts.

5. Paraphrase the question. Most of the time the interviewer’s voice will be removed from the video, leaving only your responses. A paraphrase provides the necessary context for your answers.

6. Smile! Let your enthusiasm shine through! Obviously certain topics require gravitas, but few people need advice on being more serious in front of the camera.

7. Relax.

8. When you’ve answered your last question, smile and look at the interviewer until they say, “Cut.” This gives a nice ending without making you look anxious to leave.

Well I hope this has helped you prepare for your interview – feel free to share your own tips and experiences!

So, you’re going to be interviewed on video and have no idea about video protocol or how to prepare yourself. Well have no fear, for what I am about to tell you will transform you into an interviewer’s dream! Or at the very least, you’ll be more comfortable in front of a camera.

Make-Up
Depending on the scale of the production, the make-up can range from none (in-the-field Reporter Interview) to 30 minutes (HD high-profile documentary interview). If there are any production lights, you can expect to be powdered in order to reduce sheen from your skin. And please tell the make-up person if you have any make-up allergies, or skin sensitivities! After all, they’re trying to make you look your best, which includes how comfortable you appear on camera.

Lighting
The reality is, if you’re shooting inside: there will be lights, they will be hot, and they will be bright. The lighting crew is going to light you as best they can without blinding you. Just like the make-up department, their goal is to make you look good, not squinty-eyed. Any legitimate concerns you have regarding lighting should be brought up with the director or videographer, not the lighting crew. If the director deems your plight worthy of moving the lights, he will ensure said lights get moved.

Wardrobe
Squinting isn’t the only thing to consider when under those hot, bright lights. If you’re going to be sitting there for a lengthy period of time, you don’t want to wear something that’ll showcase the pools of sweat forming under your arms. Wear something that breathes…or at least conceals perspiration.
Another thing to remember when determining your wardrobe is what colors, patterns, and styles to select. Here are some tips:

DON’Ts:
- When being interviewed against a green screen, don’t wear green; you will become invisible.
- If you can avoid large amounts of white, you should. White is very plain and easily overexposes on video. Smaller amounts of white are fine.
- If the video is being shot in standard definition, try to avoid large amounts of bright red and stripes, as they don’t capture very well on standard def video.
- Please, no logos!

DOs:
- If you know your body type, try to wear something that flatters your specific physique. If you don’t know it, you can head over here to check out some great tips on assessing and dressing to your body shape.
- Wear something you feel comfortable in. This doesn’t mean sweatpants, but if you have a nice, business-casual outfit that you like to wear, do it!
- If you have a colour that everyone says, “Looks good on you,” wear that, so long as it’s not too bright or distracting.
- Generally, business casual with deeper colours is a good choice. However, a light coloured top is still fine, if it’s not too close to white.
- Bring options. If you’re uncertain whether your dress is too bright, or your tie pattern too distracting, bring another option along with you!

Obviously these tips vary depending on what the video is for and in what environment you’re being interviewed. The wardrobe tips I’ve described here pertain primarily to a business/corporate style setting.

Well there you go. You’re on your way to becoming a great interview subject! Check back in two weeks when I’ll be posting more tips on being interviewed, including what to expect with regards to camera and sound, as well as on-camera speaking techniques!

A lot of companies purchase creative work the same way they would purchase socks (not stocks). They figure that if they need a video or multimedia project, that’s as much info as they need to have to figure out the costs. There is usually more concern about how much and less about why and how.

Any communications or design studio worth their weight will tell you that there is no magical create button. There’s a lot of planning, research and foundation work that needs to happen long before the the proverbial brush touches a digital canvas. With a tried and true method, you can avoid a lot of the issues and pitfalls that can sink a communications project.

Here’s a brief overview of a typical creative project workflow. Hopefully, it will give you a clearer understanding of where budgets are allocated.

Phase 1: Figuring out what you want to achieve and why.

We first need to figure out what you are trying to accomplish. It’s easy to say we need a multimedia video/animation to promote our service or product. The difficult part is defining who your target audience is. Is it technology savvy teens or high level executives with limited time to get to know you?

After you’ve defined who’s attention you want, logically you’ll need something to say. Your message might be buy our stuff we are better, or look how easy we can make your life. Whatever it is, it must be clearly defined and simple enough to understand.

Another key point is to illustrate what a good outcome will look like. Increased sales, larger customer base, and  levels of product knowledge will affect the look and tone of the project in different ways.

Rather than asking how much it will cost, a better question is how much are you willing to spend.

Budgets translate into more resources and more time to spend crafting the perfect visual to convey your message. The same idea could be communicated on a post-it note or on a 12 foot projection screen. It’s a matter of which will be more effective. Knowing what’s available will help with the next step:

Phase 2: Planning the execution

Once you know were you are going, it’s easy to pick the best route to get there. A radio ad may not be the best way to give people a sense of how beautiful your hotel is. A photo can’t give a sense of the energy you’d feel at a live event that a video would.

Sometimes the medium you think you need isn’t always the right match to convey your message. That’s where we come in. We know all the pros and cons that come with most communications platforms.

Whatever suits your project , be it video, website, or 3D product demo, they are all just vehicles to carry us along. By defining our initial plan in the first phase, we’re able to bend that medium to work for our goal — not the other way around.

Phase 3: Actual production

This should be the most streamlined part of the project: the grunt work. Luckily, by defining and laying out everything before hand, we can avoid any unforeseen bumps in the road. No project is going to be perfect, but by planning and building a solid foundation, it’s a heck of a lot easier to deal with the unexpected.

Phase 4 : Review

After it’s all said and done, and everyone is patting each other on the back, the work isn’t over. We need to take a look back and make sure that we achieved what we sought out to do in the first place.

In sports you’re not a true champion until you defend your title. A successful project is only as good as the next one. Good marketing and communications should build off the last, and continue to get better.

The end of a project is a great time to think about  how to build on this and get our messages across better.

Conclusion

As you can see, most of the hard work comes at the beginning of the project. This allows the later stages to go as smooth as possible. It’s important to note that in between each phase there should be enough information for both sides to have a clear sense of where the project is heading. This allows for any changes to be made at the appropriate junctions so the whole thing doesn’t get derailed and turn in a mess.

It’s not all pushing pixels around the screen until it looks pretty. It’s the behind the scenes planning and research that builds the core of any design or multimedia project.