Subversionz Media

Subversionz Newest Articles

2009-09-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

We're shifting all of our content to our main site. Go to www.subversionz.com and check out all of our latest updates, news and articles.

The Human Face

2009-03-05T12:29:00.000-08:00

In an era where "economically uncertain times" has become one of the most common phrases we hear on a daily basis, people are looking for things that they feel like they can trust. And more and more often, companies are finding that they need to give their potential customers a human face to relate to as they carefully consider how to spend their increasingly limited budgets.

For most of us, when we look for a new product or service provider, we go to the internet. Websites are typically a company's opportunity to make a first and lasting impression on prospective clients. And yet, all too often these websites are fairly impersonal, focusing on products and services and pricing packages and a short bio of the business credentials of the team that makes up the company. But these don't really give the client a good idea of who they will be working with. This doesn't give them any idea of those people's personalities. It doesn't give them an opportunity to feel a personal connection with another living human being.

More and more, my clients are coming to me to give them a human face on their websites. Web video is affordable and internet speeds and video compression are capable of giving the vast majority of the wired public access to high quality videos. So, except for camera shyness, there is very little reason not to include video on your company's website. People, now more than ever, need to trust the people that they will be giving their money to. Open up to them, give them the opportunity to get to know you and your company and feel like they already have a personal connection with you before they even pick up the phone to call for the first time.

There are countless types of videos that you can do to create a human face for your website.

1) Let your team introduce themselves and what they love about working at your company.

2) Let your clients introduce themselves and what they love about what you have done for them.

3) Give your prospective clients a glimpse into what a day at your company is like.

4) Give your prospective clients a chance to see you just being you, talking about the things that you are passionate about, and how you bring that passion to your work.

5) Show them how you found your way into the industry you are in. Most of us start of down a path in our lives that branches many, many times along the way and frequently some pretty fascinating events lead us to where we are today. Share those stories with potential clients, sharing your journey is a very personal way to share your background and expertise without simply listing off your past employers.

6) Just play with it. Fun simple little animations about your service/process/product. This can be as low tech as using drawings on a white board or paper cutouts. Google, Microsoft, and UPS aren't afraid to utilize lowtech animation, why can't you use it?

7) Share a personal story, how your work has create a positive impact on other people in a powerful way? Does your company donate to charities or non-profits? Does your company volunteer in the community? Share these stories.

Reaching out to another human being on a personal level may just help you and your clients find a little more certainty in uncertain times.

What's Your Z? Episode 03

2009-01-13T22:22:00.000-08:00

What's Your Z? Episode 03 from Goldie Jones on Vimeo.

The latest addition to the What's Your Z? family. I really had fun with this one. Probably because I finished it at 3 in the morning, but I am a firm believer in sleep deprivation contributing to the best creative efforts. :) Enjoy!

Subversionz Media's Carbonfree Partner Page has Gone Live

2009-01-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

As promised, I am officially announcing that the Carbonfree Partner page on the Carbonfund.org site has gone live.

You can take a look here: http://budurl.com/j42w

The Video Rich Event

2009-01-08T16:32:00.000-08:00

How many ways can video add to your event? If I could create my dream video package for an event, I would do any or all of the following:

1) Pre-Event Teasers:

Create a series 10- 20 second fun, catchy teasers to build excitement about your event. Links to these videos would be email to potential attendees, possibly with a VIP pass code to download them to their iPhone or smart phone of choice. Maybe (for example) even encourage attendees to collect all five for a door prize!

If you have an exciting VIP attendee/celebrity/musician/speaker that will be at your event, try to schedule an hour of their time prior to the event to capture a couple shots and catch phrases from them to use in the teasers.

A couple of well written zingers (a la SNL promo spots) released over the weeks leading up to your event could help build the anticipation and excitement around your event.

2) Video Blog

Spend a little time each week sharing with the world what new preperations have been made for your event, reveal your exciting guest speaker, tour the event facilities and show the attendees where to find the best booths, speakers, networking lounges, any little insights and insider info you can share with your audience on how to get the most out of your event before they arrive.

3) VJ

Live visuals mixed onsite at your event. If you are having a DJ or musician at your event, most venues also have screens or monitors. Turn those monitors into an opportunity to get your brand/product/or message in front of your audience in a very visceral manner. A motion graphics designer can create custom graphics integrating your logo or any other image or graphic of your choice into visuals that can be mixed with other images to compliment the audio at your event. Fully integrate your brand into your attendees sensory experience.

4) Case studies, high energy vignettes, spoofs . . .

There is an endless variety of visual content that can be created for keynote speeches, smaller sessions, kiosks, distribution to mobile devices. Any information you have for your audience can be packaged into a visually stimulating video presentation. Let your imagination run wild.

5) Roaming Camera Crew

Conduct onsite interviews, find out what people think, what they learned, what they loved, what they hated, how they plan on using the information they gained after the event is over. Capture the excitement and energy of the event. Included an editor in your camera crew and create fast turn around videos that can be shown at later sessions or dinners. You can even give footage to your VJ to mix in with your branded motion graphics.

Use all of this material after the event in a wrap up or thank you message or as a part of a multimedia press package and save it to build up excitement for your next big event.

These are really only a few suggestions. There are so many possibilities for using visuals to create a lasting impression and so many ideas that can be developed specifically for your company, your product, even shaped to the specifics of your venue and it's unique opportunities for creating a media rich environment for your attendees. What can video do for you?

Subversionz Media is now a Carbonfree Partner

2009-01-07T16:42:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to offset the carbon footprint of my business, I'm starting off 2009 as a Carbonfree Partner with Carbonfund.org.

Subversionz Media has long practiced a "reduce, reuse, recycle" approach to life, as well as purchasing green energy and being mindful of our energy consumption in our day to day work and personal lives, but I felt that we needed to do something more concrete to offset the impact of our industry which consumes so much electricity and requires a great deal of travel through out the year.

Carbonfund.org provided us with an opportunity to actively contribute to maintaining an equilibrium between business and our social and environmental responsibility. Subversionz Media chose to partner with Carbonfund.org because we felt their nonprofit status and the broad range of their carbon offset activities gave them the strongest foundation for making the most out of our donation to their work.

I will keep you posted about when our partner page on the Carbonfund.org site goes live.

Deconstructing a Project, Part 2

2009-01-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

Crossfader.com Marketing Video from Goldie Jones on Vimeo.

Production is always quite an adventure and a test of your quick response problem solving skills.

We broke this shoot down into 2 shoot days and 2 locations. Day one was spent at the beautiful Landreth Studios filming the scenes with the photographer and the videographer. Day two was spend at the Sea Sound Lounge filming the scenes with the DJ and the dance club scene.

We started off day one with the photographer and the breakdancer scene. While they were setting up the lights and camera equipment and once the breakdancer was finished with wardrobe and makeup I pulled her aside for some quick still shots which I then used to create the poster featured in the video and the images that we see the photographer manipulating on his tablet computer.

Once we finished working with the breakdancer and photographer we began to reset for the videographer/liquid dancer scenes and realized that we were missing two lights that had been on our lighting list which of course led to an emergency run back to the equipment rental house to pick them up and set our schedule back slightly, but crisis averted and the shoot moved on.

Working with dancers is fun and we got great shots, but they get hot and tired fast after dancing for shot after shot after shot under the hot production lights even with lots of water and fans. Each dancer had to perform for a couple of hours for what ended up being a matter of seconds worth of footage in the final video.

Day two was the really eventful day. We begin to set up for the DJ scenes in the club we had rented for the day when I see our laptop that had been provided for our DJ to use is this beautiful Alienware green laptop. Now, this might not seem like a problem, however, all of the computer screens in the video as well as the video screen in the club were green screened and keyed in later (the second unit shot the computer screens days later). Keying out green screens removes the color green from the shot, which means keying a green screen on this laptop would also remove the laptop. After recovering from the initial shock and consulting with the DP on the best plan of attack we resorted to a Luma Key (which means we covered the screen with white instead of green) and shot the laptop screen with as static of a shot as possible in order to ensure a clean key in post production.

Then the real fun begins: crowd scenes. Extras who had been promised free drinks and appetizers began to flood into the club and we finished resetting the lights and dressing the club for the final event scene. The DJ (fun fact: the lovely lady DJ is my sister who is in fact an actual DJ) was swept away into makeup and wardrobe to get dolled up with our four featured dancers. Finally the stage is set, the actors take their places, the extras have been shifted and adjusted to fill the space and not cast long shadows. The DJ starts playing music to give the dancers something to react to and for the next couple of hours we have our own little dance party with the camera rolling.

Up next: Part 3, Post Production

The Future of Web Video

2009-01-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

Came across this article on the future of web video in 2009 from Mashable through a LinkedIn Group:

http://budurl.com/c85a

I'm particularly interested to see how the semantic web becomes a reality. I've been fascinated by the idea since I first came across the concept a little over a year ago. I'm very excited to see the ways in which it alters how we access and share information.

Looking forward to a very exciting 2009.

Happy New Year!

Deconstructing a Project, Part 1

2008-12-30T17:24:00.000-08:00

I will be breaking down, step by step, the process we took to create the following video:

Crossfader.com Marketing Video from Goldie Jones on Vimeo.

This video is one of my personal favorites, and one of the projects that involves the most common steps of a creative, scripted piece. In part one, I'll just cover the steps involved in preproduction.

Here was the initial challenge: we needed to create an exciting, edgy video to promote a website targeting artists that used a wide variety of creative software. The software that we were featuring in the video included video editing software, photo editing software, and audio mixing software. The final video would be used at a major tradeshow as well as featured on the website to draw in users.

Step One: The Idea

The creative team sat down and brainstormed the most effective way to highlight artists using software in an edgy, action packed way. Admittedly, people sitting in front of computers is just not action packed in anyway. But together we developed the concept of a DJ, a photographer, and a videographer all contributing to an event at a dance club.

We tell the story of the photographer in a photo session with a break dancer and then using software to create a poster to promote the event which we later see at the club. And we tell the story of a videographer filming a liquid dancer and then editing the video that is then played on the screen at the event. And finally, the DJ preparing her set and then performing in front of the crowd.

Step Two: Creative Development

Once we had nailed down the story and the client had signed off on the idea, I sat down with an artist and created a series of storyboards showing the entire video from start to finish and including detailed information on the shots that would involve a lot of graphics. As we moved through the storyboarding process, I also created a shot list of the shots that we would need to make sure we got while we were on the shoot.

These boards were shown to the DP (director of photography) to help give him a sense of the look and approach to the video and give him a starting place to design his lighting schemes. And we discussed the use of speed ramps (the changes in the speed at which the footage plays) and the general flow and feel of the shots.

I also used this time to work with the 3D graphics artists to nail down the 3D elements we would be using in the video (the opening logo animation, and the 3D crossfader slider used as a transitional element between stories).

And during this creative development phase, I created the styleframe mock-ups of what the graphics would look like, what the color scheme for the video would be, and the way we would use the graphics to transition from location to location within the story.

Step 3: Logistics

While the creative team was developing how everything would look, the producers and coordinators were hard at work pulling together all of the pieces. Booking the crew, booking the locations, arranging catering, conducting auditions, acquiring the necessary props, and communicating with the client.

Up Next: Deconstructing a Project, Part 2 . . . Production

The Quote Truth: How to know you are getting an honest bid.

2008-12-30T16:03:00.000-08:00

It can certainly be a grueling process to go shopping for the best bid on a project if you don't already have an established relationship with a video production company. It can also be intimidating if you have never dealt with any video production companies before at all. But when it comes down to trying to find the right production company for you I can tell you the single most important pitfall to avoid and one that seems to be remarkably common.

If the production company doesn't ask you a lot of questions about the details of your project before they give you a price, then the price that they give you is meaningless. I can promise you this.

Each and every project is different. If you haven't told me anything about your project yet, I can not even begin to fathom what the price tag attached to it will be. If you need one camera set up on a tripod at the back of the room to film a seminar, that is completely different from a broadcast commercial shoot involving actors, multiple locations, and a full crew.

As a production company, if all that you, the customer, has told me is "I would like to make a video", I am obligated to ask you a series of questions in order to give you an honest, accurate price. Anyone that jumps to give you a number without fully understanding what your project is and what you would like it to accomplish is just throwing out a number that they think you will like in order to secure the project. Ultimately I would be very, very surprised if that number ends up being anywhere near the final cost once the project is done.

If you get a lot of questions when someone is building a budget for your project, you know they are actually taking your specific needs into consideration. If they don't ask any questions, how can they possibly know what you and your project need?

Why I'm in love with the HVX (and why it matters to you)

2008-12-28T02:58:00.000-08:00

The Panasonic AG-HVX200 is far and away my camera of choice. Regardless of all of it's amazing features and flexibility, two things set it apart from all other professional cameras that I am aware of.

1) It's remarkably affordable.

The HVX is the most affordable DVCPro HD camera on the market. Granted the image isn't quite as clean as it's big brother, the Vericam, but honestly the only people who will really notice the difference are video professionals who have edited footage from both cameras.

Why this matters to you as a customer is that it brings HD into the price range of lower budget projects. An HVX can create a video that will look amazing on the web and blown up on a 40 foot screen on a stage. The flexibility of uses for HD without losing image quality is vastly superior to standard definition footage. Plus, as viewers, we are becoming so accustomed to seeing HD footage we've become trained to expect cleaner, crisper images in our media than standard definition is really capable of providing.

2) You can shoot tapeless.

That's right, no tapes. The video is recorded to solid state P2 cards, or external hard drives, or fed directly into a laptop. This means several things for video production as an industry.

First of all, speed. The time that it takes to get the footage from the camera and into an editing system is significantly faster than it has ever been with tapes. The turn around time for onsite editing becomes obscenely faster.

What this mean for you as a customer is that at an event (for example) you can film sessions or interviews or attendee feedback in the morning and play those videos during the networking dinner that evening, or have it posted to the event website in a couple of hours. A simple edit could feasibly only take moments (although allow time for exporting out to whatever file format you need to play it back on your AV system). I've turned around videos in under half an hour (not including the time it took to shoot the footage).

Secondly, it changes the way footage is stored. Since there are no tapes, there are no tape backups once the project is over. Companies frequently have archival fees if you want them to keep the files on their systems for a given period of time, and you should probably discuss archival options with them during the contract negotiations so that you aren't surprised by an extra fee and the end of project. Another option is to archive the footage yourself, purchase a drive or have your production company purchase a drive to be delivered with the rest of the final deliverables for your project with all of the raw footage on it.

Again, this should be addressed during the contract negotiations so that a company doesn't suddenly try to tell you that you don't actually own the raw footage, just the final project. This is rare but better safe than sorry because sometimes it does happen that people get a little strange about who owns the rights to what at the end of the day. If you want to keep the original footage just in case, or if you know that you will want to reedit later or repurpose the footage into another video, be sure you own the rights to all of the footage.

Overall, the HVX provides speed, flexibility, and higher image quality. As a side note, it's also great of shoots requiring special effects. I've always had great results with green screens and this camera. The one caveat would be; be sure you know what is happening to your footage once the project is done (but honestly, you should know this regardless of which camera your production company uses).

What kind of video would you create if you could have a finished project in only an hour or two?

What's Your Z? Episode 02

2008-12-26T11:42:00.000-08:00

What is "motion graphics" anyway?

2008-12-25T14:11:00.001-08:00

Most of the time when I'm asked what I do I get a lot of blank looks or the kind of "oh" that deep down you know really means "huh?".

What does it mean when I say that I create motion graphics? It means that I take static images (photos, text, illustrations, logos, etc.) and make them move.

For a example, in almost no time at all, I can take this:

And turn it into this:

Dubai Map Animation from Goldie Jones on Vimeo.

This is a very simple example. Motion graphics can be infinitely more complicated and integrate in live footage like this:

We see them all of the time these days. On sports shows, in the opening titles of every movie and TV show we ever watch, in most commercials, we see them on screens in stores, we see them at tradeshows, we see them every where.

Motion graphics has brought new visual vitality to a brand's image. We can make logos do anything, we can make text move us through new worlds, we can create images to tell any story we want. Have you brought your brand identity to life recently?

What's Your Z? Episode 01

2008-12-23T22:44:00.000-08:00

What do you think of when you think of Z? Let me know what comes to mind and you might see it pop up in one of these episodes down the line. This is the first in a series of creative spots for Subversionz Media just for fun. I guess we'll see where this goes.

The Critical Steps are The First Steps

2008-12-16T11:42:00.001-08:00

I'm sure that we've all heard the phrase "putting the cart before the horse". I know the shoot is the exciting part, the moment when you really see things happening and everything is moving so fast. But don't be in too much of a rush to get to the shoot date and don't tie the hands of your production company by not giving them time to coordinate your project well, because it takes a lot of preparation to get to that point.

Never underestimate the importance of pre-production. This stage of the production process sets the tone for the entire project. This is your opportunity to communicate as much as you possibly can about what you want to get out of your video, what your message is, how long it should be, what kind of music you would like, and the list goes on.

However, don't forget you hired this company because they are good at what they do. Let the pre-production conversation be an open dialogue to get the most ideas out onto the table to find the very best fit for your project. The brainstorming process can really be a lot of fun. Take a long lunch with your creative team and just let everyone throw out ideas and see what you end up with. Send each other links to web videos you've seen that you really like the look of. Send each other color swatches/key words/fonts that you like. If you have brand guidelines and collateral, send them out so that your production company can create a look that is consistent with the rest of your company's content.

Most projects can be coordinated in 2-3 weeks. Small projects may only need one week. Complicated projects that call for a script/multiple locations/casting actors/etc. may take upwards of a month. If you know that you will be wanting to do a video in the near future, start early. The more time you give yourself and your production company, the less stressful the process will be and the better your results will be.

I'm well aware that often a short turn around is unavoidable, and maybe the early bird gets the worm, but whatever your timeline ends up being, the best way to get the best results out of any project is to have fun with it.

Video Speak

2008-12-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

You decide you want to make a video for your company . . . to recruit new hires, promote a product, to jazz up an event or trade show, to train your employees, to communicate with your customers, or any number of other reasons. You find the right company to create your content and dive into the process with them, and then they start throwing around words you may not have heard before if you haven't been closely involved in a production before. So, here's a simple starter glossary to help you understand what your production company is trying to tell you.

Preproduction: This is everything that happens before the day of the shoot. Building the budget, fleshing out the creative concepts, refining the message, building storyboards if necessary, booking equipment/locations/talent/crew, making travel arrangements (again, if necessary). The thoroughness of the work done here will set the tone for how smoothly the production and post production process will go later on down the road. Don't skimp here. Give your production company the time and communication they need so they can save you time and money in the long haul.

Production: The day of the shoot. All of the gear and crew and talent arrive on set, lights go on, and the camera rolls. This is the exciting part. And, honestly, the shortest part of creating a video.

Post Production: Putting the video together. This involves several steps: capturing (getting the footage onto the computer), logging (sorting through and tagging your shots so the editor can easily find what they need), editing (piecing it all together), color correction (polishing the look of the footage, can also create a custom feel by shifting colors to create a mood), audio sweetening (removing background hum, making sure your volume stays consistent), graphics (adding your logo to the video, adding the names and titles of interviewees, adding flourishes for visual interest), exporting, compression, and usually uploading or printing to tape.

Producer: This is the person that will work with you on the budget and timeline. They are your one stop shop to answer all of your questions. And they will have a lot of questions for you. They will also be coordinating the crew, equipment, logistics of the shoot and post production. A good relationship with your producer is vital to a good experience with creating your video.

Director: Most of us know this one already. The person in charge on set the day of the shoot. They may also be involved during preproduction to work on storyboards/script.

DP: The Director of Photography, either operates the camera or directs a group of camera operators and directs how the shots are lit.

Gaffer: Sets up the lights.

Grip: Assists the Gaffer.

PA: General assistant to anyone that needs anything.

Audio Op: Handles the audio equipment and makes sure you get the best possible sound.

Editor: Pieces together the final video.

Of course, there's a lot more too it. You may have a team of people working on postproduction doing specific tasks. Your crew the day of the shoot may include makeup artists, costume/props people, special effects crews, dolly operators, and on and on.

But this is the starter glossary, so we won't get too complicated.

The Road to Video Production

2008-12-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

When I went back to college I wanted to design book covers like my heroes Michael Whelan and Dave McKean. Thankfully I found myself in a degree program that covered video production and interactive design as well as graphic design.

From my first video production class, I was hooked. I loved the immediacy and the malleability. I loved creating the stories through words, visuals, live action footage, and animation. I loved holding the camera and finding just the right angle. I loved the post production process of putting together all of the pieces like a puzzle with infinite possibilities. I loved creating images that could only exist in video with animation and compositing. And oddly, I even enjoyed the scheduling and pre-production coordination.

When I entered into corporate and commercial video production I found myself thriving in a world of tight deadlines, high expectations, and endlessly pushing the boundaries of my abilities. And through it all, I'm still hooked. And still excited to be a part of the constant changes in this industry as technology continues to provide more and more venues for video to reach out to the world. It's no longer trapped on the TV. It's on the growing myriad of screens that we turn to for almost all of our daily activities. We even carry it in our pockets now on our mobile devices.

And it's not going to stop there. Wait until the day when street teams are handing out fliers on the street made not from paper, but a microfilm capable of displaying your latest advertisement and guerrilla marketers drive around the city turning skyscrapers into screens with vans equipped with mounted projectors. Who knows, maybe we'll turn sidewalks into display panels. I guess we'll see.

Welcome to an ever expanding world of possibilities.