In TV, a cold open is the first thing a viewer sees. It’s the part that happens before the opening credits — it hits the viewer cold. In Saturday Night Live, it’s the part that happens before they say “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night”.

Here’s a cold open that we edited for Showbiz Tonight:

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You can see that it has certain elements: Highly effected video clips over a scripted track of the announcer who is saying what is about to happen in the show, sound effects that highlight certain cuts and effects, motion graphical text, musical underscore, and sound bites that are apt.

In corporate video production, we call this the cold open treatment. It can be used to open a conference or to summarize what happened at a team building meeting. It’s a contemporary feeling that will get the viewers amped for what is coming next. This is how we do corporate video in New York.

We recently did aerial videography and photography over New York for a client who was laying cable in the Hudson River. After shooting video on the ship, we were picked up by the helicopter from the cable ship’s helipad. We then circled the ship a few times. Before we were done, we took a trip down to the Statue of Liberty and got some aerial video of Manhattan.

This 44 second video shows a sample of what we got — both before and after post production image stabilization.:

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The client didn’t want the significant expense of hiring a helicopter that came rigged with gyroscope. Since they wanted only wide shots of the ship with Manhattan background, we agreed that it was possible. We used a Canon xf305 with dynamic image stabilization in the lens. Still, the wind and motion of the helicopter caused some unwanted camera moves. This was fixed up a bit in post production.

We used FinalCut Motion software’s Stabilize filter to smooth out some of the unwanted helicopter bumps, tilts, and shake.

Tips for preparing to shoot aerial video from a helicopter
The helicopter removed the door. We used straps and carabiners to attach the camera to the operator since, in the sad case that the operator dropped the camera we needed to prevent it from being sucked up into the blades and causing damage up there. We used tape to make sure that the operator’s seat belt wouldn’t accidentally release.

• Film the signage
• Film parts of the event
• Film some interviews & testimonials

Then edit it all together something like this:

Tip 1 — Notice that the video is only 1 minute long. The sound bites are short, taken from much longer bites, they are all actually just part of longer sentences.

Tip 2 — because they wanted us unobtrusive during the event, this was shot in a very low light situation. Consequently, the footage is rather grainy. You can still work with this sort of video in a promotional video by color correcting, adding glow filters & textures, saturating or desaturating, etc., turning the weakness into a strength.

Tip 3 — Audio is ultra-important, especially when you have grainy video. We use Seinhauser G2 wireless lav mics and a softbox light for the interview. We use natural sounds to give the effected footage a feeling of authenticity. We also use distinctive natural sounds, the dinging glass and the champagne cork pop, to set the tone.

Tip 4 — Underscoring the event with some electronic club music can make almost every subject matter seem “cool” — even a rather dry round table about hedge funds.

Tip 5 — Pans, rack focus and reverse zooms while shooting and then edit in a path to give the video some motion. Pan over, wipe up, pan side, wipe back, pull out, cross zoom in, reverse zoom out, etc.

I keep telling her, let me film one of your presentations, this way you can simply archive it and distribute it to your global offices and keep you from having to waste your time in each city.  (And show to all the new hires as she continues to build her teams.) One of her major concerns is that the information is proprietary and sensitive.  

Well, this is completely understandable.  I know how much time and effort she has put into researching, developing and implementing this new coverage.  The last thing I want is for her to feel like she is mass distributing this for any competitor to gain from.

I tell her that access to the videos can be managed in an easy and inexpensive way.  Just as their is technology to broadcast it clear as TV, there is obviously technology to allow only those who you wish to invite viewing it.  It would be as simple as setting up a page on your intranet site which requires a unique user name and pass code.  

I am still working on swaying her.  Deep down, I think she actually likes traveling to all these places– she gets a break from me.  

Nonetheless, business video presentations are a great, efficient and cheap way to distribute your message to a wide internal audience.  We would be happy to discuss how you can use technology to professionally reach your counterparts around the globe.

You should look for a seasoned corporate video production company to produce your video.  Preferably, you would like a production company that employees veteran news producers who know how to in short, concise bites write efficient copy which highlights the exact points you want to deliver.  A full service production company would provide script writing, graphic design video shooting, editing and final delivery/broadcast of your video.  

For companies that are not located in a major city where most video production companies are based, this does limit your alternatives.  However, if you found a company that you wanted to work with, often times they will be able to work with you without actually traveling to your location.  There are plenty of freelance camera crews that can be dispatched in a local area with specific instructions to shoot exactly what your production company needs.

Have more questions?  Call us.  We would be happy to help you walk through your ideas and concerns.  From California to Massachusetts, we have worked with companies big and small.

Contact us at 646-519-2451 or sales@wprny.com

If you are interested in taking your meetings to a new level, let us help you.

The second change is a shift from Standard Definition broadcast to High Definition.   The difference?  To most people the biggest differences is that HD provides a much crisper picture along with real-life aspect ratios that really add a new dimension to viewing video on your home TV set.  There is a significant cost difference in producing the two though.  For HD, the technology is constantly evolving and some stations still only have a relatively small amount of material they broadcast in.  Take CNN for example, only seven out of their 24-hour broadcast actually are produced in HD.

So getting to the point of this post, should you fork over the extra money for your new corporate video to be shot and produced in HD?  That depends on a few things.  How long do you expect to market with this video?  If the answer to this is more than two years, then splurge for HD.  Another question to ask is no matter how many years you use it, how will it primarily be viewed?  If YouTube or another online site is the primary source, then stick with SD.  If you are distributing by DVD, I would say produce in HD, but when it comes time to distribute, choose both HD and SD.  There really isn’t much cost difference once you have the HD to ‘down convert’ to SD.   Finally, your budget could act make the decision for you.  Producing in HD vs. SD usually has a large cost difference.  Don’t be affraid to take a straw poll of friends and coworkers, there is still a large part of the U.S. that doesn’t even have HD at home (myself included), so they wouldn’t even notice the difference.

The ultimate costs can range enormously.  With expectations come price.  Some videos can be made very, very cheaply.  It can be as simple as shooting a speaker, making a clean fade in and out, maybe animate a logo and use some music to sting in and out — then BAM! You have yourself a corporate video. However, this may not be the best way to show off your company or get your message though.  

The old adage ‘you pay for what you get,’ can be true here. Maybe you can find someone on Craigslist to videotape what you need shot and then do a basic edit on their laptop for $500. However, you could be out $500 and time. Amatures everywhere soon discover that it’s easy to buy a camera and learn what to do to make a video. Learning the 10,000 things NOT to do, however, only comes with experience. So sometimes it’s better to work with a experienced professionals who can help you create the video that you will be proud of.

In short, in most major markets, plan on paying no less than $2,500 for a basic, fairly short video of a company event or keynote.  And just as anything else, prices go up from there.  Add in actors, special effects, 3-d spaces, script development, multi-day shooting etc,  and the prices can rise considerably to $10K and above.  

For Avid, or to see if they have released a newer version of the Finalcut plugin, try these latest plugins Avid Plugins for CanonXF.

Robin Good wrote a really good article and case study, How To Effectively Market With Video On The Web.  Good outlines guidelines and questions that will help convert your print campaign into video. 

In this article I am showcasing an example of a well crafted video marketing approach, while dissecting the unique characteristics and traits that make this video marketing approach so effective., and what you need to be doing to replicate it.