Archive for the ‘video production’ Category

4 tips to Rock the Interview

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

As a producer, I’m quite often in the position of interviewing an on-camera subject.  Sometimes I’m working with a professional who can knock it out of the park no matter how good a job I do at interviewing.  But more often the on-camera talent takes their cues from me.

I have found over the years that the quality of an interview depends as much on the interviewer behind the camera as it does the person in front.  I have seen interviews go from bad to worse as the interviewer drives the poor soul sitting in front of the camera crazy with redirects and nonsensical questions, often talking over the subject or cutting them off mid-sentence when they don’t get what they want.

Believe it or not, there is a wrong way and a right way to conduct an interview, and sometimes following a few simple rules can turn a tough interview into a Barbara Walters ‘best of’.  Here are four keys to mastering the interview:

1.  Be personable and conversational.

Nobody feels comfortable on-camera. The trick is to convince the subject that they are really just having a conversation with you.  How do you convince them? – by really just having a conversation.  This doesn’t mean you have to do half the talking. People love talking about themselves. Your job as the interviewer is to subtly direct their conversation, and you can do this in a friendly, conversational way that will open them up. Be the interested friend.

2.  Stay away from yes/no questions.

This may sound obvious, but it takes some quick thinking on your part to get  the response you want from your interviewee.  Most interviews don’t use the audio fro the interviewer, so your viewers have no reference point for answers.  Part of conducting a great interview is learning how to prompt complete thoughts from your subjects.

3. Follow the story.

Hopefully the whole reason you’re conducting an interview is because you believe the subject has something interesting to share! Remember that a great interviewer is after a great story, not just pre-packaged answers to your list of questions. If you want honest, heartfelt answers, then show some interest. Don’t cut great conversation short just to move on to the next question on your list!  Follow the story – that is often where the amazing content is found!

4.Gently direct.

We often forget that most of our subjects are not on-camera professionals and that they usually are volunteering their time to us.  Don’t brow beat them with ongoing corrections about needing more energy or how to answer questions. If you do, they will shut down on you and the entire interview will turn into stale bits of dialogue.  Gentle direction up front is ok, but if you’re not getting a particular answer, it’s more effective to come at the topic later on or from a different angle.  Too much direction can be overwhelming.

The real art of quality storytelling lies just as much in your ability to draw out great content as it does in your ability to cut that content together.  Always do your best to connect on a personal level with your subject and you’ll be amazed at how they open up.

What tips have you learned for capturing a great interview?

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The Amazing Power of Video

Friday, July 13th, 2012

There are lots of reasons that I think the use of video is a good idea for just about any kind of communication. Whether you’re promoting a cause, raising awareness, selling a product, or just telling a great story, video brings a lot of great benefits to the table.

Most people can be categorized as visual learners, so adding the visual element is a great way to pass on information. With the advancements in technology, video is also extremely accessible to a generation that wants to be entertained. They’re a ready audience. But more than any other reason, I think the biggest selling point of video is that it brings the emotional element to the table.

I was checking in on some of my favorite production houses during the lunch break and came across this just-released mini-doc from an awesome production company- Steelehouse Productions; http://youtu.be/0wmcCbnEGPY (check it out!!)
With a darling little boy in desperate need of medical care, the parents of Gavin needed a way to raise awareness and funding. I’m so happy they decided to do so by telling his story through Steelehouse! What this family needed was a way to communicate their heart, the urgency of their need, and the personality of this beautiful little boy.
There are times when box-loads of medical records and facts on any situation will fail to capture the heart of a story. How do you cut through all of that and communicate with total strangers in a way that truly penetrates their hearts? I believe that is the true power of video. It has the ability to engage so many of the human senses, tapping into the emotions through powerful visuals and the spoken word. By using the right music at the right time, a video can bring you down into the unbearable desperation these parents feel, and then raise you up with a song of hope as we see their determination and love for their little boy.

There are some who will argue that using all these elements within video evokes a false emotion, but I would disagree. We are emotional beings. Certainly the parents of Gavin are at times overwhelmed emotionally with the intensity of this situation, and my feeling is that the closer you can bring viewers to that emotional level, the more closely they can relate and truly understand.
A newspaper article, radio interview, or email blast could never convey the truth of this family’s story. But video can when done correctly. It’s why I love this medium so much. It is so very, very powerful at engaging us on every level.

What do you think about using the power of video to educate and persuade people?

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Template VS. Niche

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

When I first began in production, I was shooting wedding videos.  At the time, that was all I did – weddings.  That was a niche.  After about a year and a half of doing wedding videos, I began to figure out how to mass-produce these baby’s with minimal effort.  The result was a template.  Otherwise known as the kiss of death.

Too many in my profession, and I would guess in many professions make the mistake of confusing the template with the niche.  It’s an easy mistake to make, especially when we’re all so focused on the bottom line, and how to maximize profits.  The temptation comes just as we begin to master our particular niche. We know more than anyone out there about our client and the product we’re creating, what works and what does not.  It’s what sets us apart from the other guy out there who’s trying to be everything to everyone.  We’re smarter than that. We know our clients like attention to detail, and thats where we shine.

And the work begins to pile up. Word is getting out that someone has mastered the perfect baby-shower cake, or designs the best real-estate websites, or makes the best wedding videos.  Life is good, and very, very busy.  This is where I entered the danger zone.  Instead of approaching each wedding individually and creatively as a master of that niche, I began to combine elements I liked from different productions, arriving at the perfectly designed wedding video.

Here is the scary part, especially for us creative types out there. At first, the template works great!  All the great design work you’ve done is paying off.  Your customers rarely overlap, so they have no idea that the product going out the door is a widget you’re cranking out on an assembly line out back.

Ok, that may be exaggerating, but here’s the point.

What suffers first is not your product or service, but your creative intuition.  It breeds laziness in the one area we cannot afford to be lazy.  As a small business owner and/or creative talent, there has to be a steady whirlwind of creative thought going on.  The template simply kills that process because no more creative input is needed.

And inevitably, that creative laziness will show up. Maybe not at first, but eventually the greatest baby-shower cake becomes cliche; or the technology changes, rendering your amazing real-estate websites obsolete without the newest app integration.  And where oh where are the creative juices that used to flow so freely?

I no longer do weddings, but the danger is still prevalent in the work I do today. From TV show Pilots to Documentaries, all the way down to the basic corporate client I work for, I’ve learned to employ one basic rule of thumb to each project.

Before I begin developing any new content for a client, I devote some time to these questions:

what can I do on this project that I haven’t done before?

What is at least one thing I can do that would really make this project shine?

And finally, What have I done before that I need to let go of for this project?

Taking the time to ask these questions can keep a fresh approach to each project, each cake, each website, even if your work is within a specific niche.  And most importantly, it will keep you growing and improving creatively.

What niche market do you provide to that has the potential of becoming template?

Are there any tricks you have learned to avoid this trap?

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Projects Well Done

Monday, July 19th, 2010

It’s been a long spring and summer.  We’ve had several projects that have been delayed, postponed, or just seem to be taking forever for one reason or another.  This week should prove to be a satisfiying one as it will mark the completion of several projects that have been in the works for a long time.  And they are a reminder to me of why we love our work so much here at The Reid Effect.

The three outstanding projects are: 1. A very large and complex yoga project, 2. A promotional video for a company that patrols powerlines, &   3.  A short documentary on an artist out of Palm Springs California named James Jensen.      Oh how I love variety.  It’s easy to get bored, lazy, uncreative, apathetic, or sloppy when you’re churning out the same widgets day in and day out.  We’ve been blessed here to have projects as diverse as we could possibly hope for.

The yoga video has been a nice venture into a world none of us here know much about.  With a client that knows exactly what he wants, it’s also been a good opportunity to practice design and delivery to very exacting standards.  No room for error here, which is challenging and at the same time very nice because there is no guess work involved.  The promo video for the the powerline patrol company is a rare example of the perfect situation – a client who loves your work and has invited you to get as creative as possible – and made available the budget to make it happen.  We were hanging out of helicopters and playing in the desert while shooting this one!  The final product will be rolled out by the end of the week and we’ll be sure to post it in our sample bin.  We know it’s going to be a powerful marketing tool for our client.    And the documentary!  Ahhh, the holy grail of production in every sense of the word!   Only in this world are we given the opportunity to stretch and flex our muscles in every arena – from writing and story design, to shooting and post production.  There’s nothing quite so rewarding as seeing all the pieces come together to form a sharp, compelling story!

It’s this kind of variety that keeps us fresh, keeps us vigilant in our efforts to deliver inovative, compelling content to our clients.  It’s challenging, but it’s great fun.  We’ve tried to approach nearly every project this year with this attitude:   ‘What’s one new, creative, sharp, trendy – element that we have never used before that we can employ on this project to make it shine?  If we come up with an idea and we don’t know how to do it – what will it take for us to learn?’

We trust it’s this kind of pursuit of excellence that will make this round of clients as happy and successful as they could possibly be, and the impetus that will carry us forward into the next exciting round of projects.  Bring ‘em on!

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Sounds of St. Louis

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Just returned from a weekend in St. Louis filming the Christmas program for the Ambassadors of Harmony, the 2009 Barbershop Chorus International Champions.  What a show.  It was the perfect blend of beautiful A Capella harmony with impressive set design and entertaining story.  The Ambassadors of Harmony also have the privilege of claiming the 2009 Barbershop Quartet Champions; Crossroads, who had a fantastic set of music during the performance.  There were five sell-out shows of 1600 people per show.  The Reid Effect was working alongside our East Coast office 5:01 Studios based out of Cleveland TN.  This connection came through Chad Guyton, director of 5:01 Studios – who is also a gold metal barbershop champion from 2002 with the quartet Four Voices. Chad’s brother Brandon, who was also in Four Voices, is now a member of Crossroads.   Check out our facebook page for a behind-the-scenes video at our shoot in St. Louis.

The Reid Effect will be laying low for the next couple of weeks during the holidays, working on post production in the studio and gearing up for a shoot in January.  Check back with us to get updates on upcoming projects!

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Chugging Along

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

After two long days of working on a local movie shoot, my crew and I packed up and headed out to Palm Springs California for a two day documentary shoot on artist James Jensen.  It was tiring yet thrilling. James is an amazing artist and has a personality that every documentary hopes for but rarely gets!   We spent the second day in his studio watching him work on an amazing range of art – from pastels where he first became widely recognized to his latest contemporary, brilliantly original abstract work.  What a joy it is to film someone passionately engaged in the work they love!  Keep checking back to see the finished piece, and follow us on facebook and twitter to see behind-the-scenes content from this production.   Tomorrow morning it’s back to work on the movie!

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