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:

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.:

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.

More meetings are happening this way.

That’s because video is an effective way to communicate to employees and the rest of the world and it’s within the reach of all levels of your company. Video is information snacking. People like to watch. And these days video is easy to make. So how can you use video in your business?

First, take a look at real time video like video conferencing. Soon, a majority of meetings are going to be taking place this way and there will be less incentive to travel for a face-to-face. It’s already happening. So set up that Skype account and start using it.

Now look at video in a non-real time environment. For instance, the way a company like Cisco was doing things in the past, a product manager would spend hours writing documents and then send those documents out hoping others in the company would read through them. These days, the product managers tend to sit down in front of a camera and talk about the product, demonstrate the features, and make the manuals available on-line.

When we do the analysis, looking at the impact of video vs test, we find that the time people remain on the site is exponentially longer with video. We discover that video content is retweeted more than text. So if you’re having trouble getting somebody to blog, that might be a blessing. Ask them to video blog instead. And help them have fun doing it.

Because that’s what makes great video content! Of course you have to be knowledgeable about the topic, and you have to be able to be creative in how you present the topic. But it really helps if you can be entertaining as well. Video is the medium where you capture the authenticity of the people. Try to be something you’re not and your caught instantly. So don’t be phony — be funny instead. Be yourself.

1. Single Camera Stream – Sometimes you just want to broadcast something live. You can do it from a cell phone these days. Even a simple web camera or flip camera to do that and broadcast on a free streaming service. This approach is perfect for a small non-profit, public service, school, or church. We can broadcast with a simple camera, a computer, and an internet connection.

• Benefit – Inexpensive & relatively uncomplicated.
• Problem – Un-produced, single camera could be boring
• Cost Estimate for 1/2 day event – Free to $1450 range

Some content is important enough that it doesn’t really need extra production elements. Sometimes the viewer is more than willing to watch a raw single camera feed. In 2009, WPRNY broadcasts short live events like this for as little as $1450. Of course, you can do it for free if you have a camera and a (preferably wired) internet connection (with at least 500kb/s upload speeds), and the gumption to get it done.

Web broadcasting big-little with logo bug example

2. Wirecast Stream – The next step up would be to use a switching and compressing software like Wirecast, which allows for a more broadcast look — things that you might expect from a real TV show. Things like: More than one camera, graphic overlay, incoming skype feeds, switching between cameras, big/little picture in picture, cross fades, and integration with pre-produced live clips. For business needs, a setup like this can allow a camera on the podium to be switched with incoming presentation slides, animated logo intros with music, and graphical overlays to give the broadcast a compelling professional presentation.

• Benefits – Allows a produced look to the broadcast video.
• Problem – The system starts to degrade when adding more than two or three cameras and other elements at the same time.
• Cost Estimate for 1/2 day – $5K to $8K

Use a beefy mac tower and wired internet connections to maximize this technology. That’s part of what you pay for at WPRNY, a new york video production firm that broadcast short events in this way starting at around $5K in 2009. “As a Wirecast system is overburdened it will drop frames,” says Eric Wolfram, director of production at WPRNY, “This might make it impossible to save a full resolution copy of the switched master while simultaneously compressing and broadcasting the live event over the web — especially as you add different cameras and effects.” So going this way forces the choice: Do I want a better quality (higher frame rate) broadcasting, or do I want a full resolution copy of the switched live event? If you want it all, read on.

Live HD Broadcasting for Business Events

3. Tricaster Stream – The Cadillac of live streaming, a Tricaster is a hardware appliance that enables full studio production at events. You can bring in various mix source resolutions and aspect ratio cameras, skype feeds, raw footage and easily print an HD version of the switched event to the internal hard drives while simultaneously compressing and broadcasting various live feeds. This allows for Extensive audio input/output flexibility and even the use of green screens to place people or products in virtual sets.

• Benefits – Full production studio quality.
• Problem – Cost, staffing, complication — it’s better to outsource this with a company that can provide a trained and experienced Tricaster crew.
• Cost Estimate for 1/2 day event like a concert or church service – $16K to $19K

If you’re going this route, you probably want to budget for things like equipment rental, pre-production design, scripting, event rundown, graphics and motion graphics as well at the experienced staff to implement the plans. A half day event with these sorts of services would generally start at $16K.

But no matter what your event or budget is, there is a live webcast broadcasting approach that is perfect for you and your organization. Good luck.

NEW YORK, NY–( May 9, 2011) – WPRNY, a leading video production company in New York City, just announced a new scholarship for students of accredited colleges, universities or high schools in the continental US or Canada. Students are asked to create a news package video, up to three minutes long, that highlights a local small business that is doing good in their community. The scholarship of $500 will be awarded to winners of this journalism challenge.

All videos will be judged by a panel of professionals selected by WPRNY based on 5 criteria: Concept, Subject Matter, Execution, Artistic Merit, and Number of Views. The winning video will be announced on November 15, 2011.

“We are looking for news of small businesses that demonstrate exceptional social responsibility,” says Eric Wolfram Director of production at WPRNY, “and we hope the focus will help encourage other businesses to adopt a policy of community citizenship.”

To apply for the scholarship, students should upload their videos to the video sharing website YouTube and apply by September 15, 2011 at the WPRNY Scholarship for Video Journalism application page:

http://wprny.com/nyc-video-production/wprny-scholarship-for-journalism/

This scholarship is part of an ongoing commitment to encouraging corporate responsibility. WPRNY is also offering $5000 in free video service to businesses in Westchester New York that best exemplifies community citizenship.

About the company: WPRNY is a leading video production companies in New York City. WPRNY has specialized in video production for business & corporate video production.

For more information: Contact Eric Wolfram, WPRNY Director of Production 646-519-2451

The Product or Service

Product demos show how your product works and highlight the features that differentiate it from that of your competitors.Product presentations are when you let your customers tell the visual story of your product or service. Third party product reviews are trusted by your customers. Could you be using all three? In Store Video and company lobby or waiting room video?

Corporate Communications Videos

Corporate overviews, executive presentations & staff presentations — video is a great way to get these messages out there. Recruitment Videos

Training and Support Videos

Training — the no brainer of business video. If your team is all over the country, state, or world — expert videos for sales support can fire them up at once. Or save thousands of dollars with post sale support and maintenance videos.

Internal Communications Videos

Video is effective for internal communications, change management, employee orientation, compliance, health, legal & safety. Highlight business plans, new business activities, and direction

Advertising , Marketing and Promotion

Even if you don’t use broadcast commercials, there are ways to advertise using online video pre-roll, online sponsorships, in-game advertising, event sponsorships and in-theatre advertising. You can use viral ideo, or video in landing pages and micro sites.

PR Support and Community Relations

Beyond the video press release, there are news packages & other PR support materials. If your company is helping the environment or contributing to important causes you should be capturing those efforts on video for your community relations reel and corporate responsibility video

Event Video

Why limit the event to the size of the venue? These days, event presentation video get thousands of extra views, round table sessions go viral, live internet broadcasting open up your expert Q&A sessions to the world.

We recently had a client ask us if we were able to distribute their corporate video as a file that could be viewed on Blackberry Phone. Yes it is possible to view videos on a blackberry phone but it’s not as simple as putting something on Youtube. We wanted to share what we discovered.

The important thing about watching video on your blackberry is the file type and codec. For those non-video nerds, a file type is the way the file is saved or exported- i.e. .mov. mp4, avi, etc. A codec is a subset, often regardless of file type. Here are the Supported Media Types for BlackBerry Smartphones.

As you can see from that PDF document, Research in Motion, the maker of Blackberry’s hasn’t made the task easy, because almost every model has different requirements. Good thing there is at least one file type that can work on almost all models. We chose an MP4 file and also had success with the AVI format.

This Promo Video Optimized for Blackberry Curve 8300 was compressed as an MP4 file at about 600kb/second, 320×160 resolution at 24 f/s.

One last important detail to note, watching video on a blackberry is also subject to file size. You can’t email large files to Blackberry users, even if they try to download via wifi, this often is subject to the blackberry file size limits. The work around is to download the larger files from a web page on the Internet using the Opera browser.

For best results, blackberry users would visit this page on the Opera Browser and download the file to their blackberry as opposed to attempting to stream the video from a web server. This is done by selecting the link below within the Opera Browser and “Save” the video to the video folder or somewhere else on the blackberry phone. Then open the file with the Media application. The media application has an icon of a film reel.

We have decided to output the final file in at least two formats. One in a small version as an .avi, mpeg4 format for the people with older less expensive Blackberry phones and another higher resolution in quicktime for the users with the latest and greatest smartphones. We also recommend that the 10 minute video be chopped into three minute chunks. This way more users would take the time to download view the videos.

Eric Wolfram, a principal at WPRNY, has experience editing news with CNN and streaming live video events for WPRNY

Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation - A cure is only a breath away

WPRNY recently steamed three live internet events for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. The reason the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation decided to host live events, as opposed to taping the events and posting them for viewing after the fact, was so that viewers would be able to call in with real questions, which could be answered by the panel of experts.

The first web broadcast was from Columbia University on Lung Transplantation for Pulmonary Fibrosis. The second webinar was broadcast live from Yale University on the various forms of Pulmonary Fibrosis called IPF. The third live internet broadcast was from the Hershey Medical Center, part of Penn State, and the subject matter was developing advocacy and support groups for IPF.

People with Pulmonary Fibrosis may find it difficult to travel. So the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation did a great service to bring the leading physicians onto the screens of those effected.

• SOT – Sound on Tape. This refers to what people often call a “sound bite”. It’s generally a short (8 second -30 second) moment of a person (generally a medium shot) saying something apt.
• Butted SOT – This is two or more SOTS butted together, often with a white flash or blur transition or some other conspicuous edit…ie, there is no attempt to hide the edit and, on the contrary, we want to show that time has elapsed between the moments.
• Tease or TZ – This is a short edited and often effected summary of some upcoming moment, used extensively by news programs and reality TV program, generally played prior to a commerical.
• Bump – This is a tease that is played at the start of a program block, generally after the commercial, to bump the viewer back into the action.
• Beeper – Sound under the verbatim graphics, ie graphics which show the words that are being said on tape. This is generally used during phone interviews, 911 calls or any time you have bad, but relevant, audio.
• Interview or INTV – This is an edited interview between at least two people using over the shoulder or picture in picture.
• Big Little – Anytime you have two video feeds on one screen where one of the screens is smaller than the other
• Cluster Buster – This is a short bump or tease that is played between two commercials, designed to stop people who have Tivos or to otherwise keep people viewing between commercials.
• VO – VO is video that is edited for the purpose of being shown while somebody is talking. So if two people are talking about the hurricane, the VO would be images of the hurricane. VOS is silent. VON is video with natural sounds played soft enough so that you hear the people talking but the natural sounds are still there.
• Package or PKG – This is a completed news segment that generally contains a corrispondant’s track or narative, sots from interviews, still strings, graphics and VO which are all edited together in a compelling fashion. It ends with the corrispondent’s sig-out, ie, “This is Eric Wolfram from WPRNY reporting from the Auto Show in New York City”
• Dounut or DNT – A donut is the package without a sig out.
• Program – A fully edited program block
• Look Live – A segment of a live program that is taped and edited prior to an event or program, but which is broadcast as if it were happening live.
• Still String – A series of still photographs edited together with slow cross disolve transitions and moves on the photos — generally slow push in or slow pull out.
• Promo – a short promotional video of an upcoming show or event.

• Aircheck — This is recording of exactly how a program aired, including bumps, fonts and commercials.

• Animation — This is any graphic that is animated.

• Audio Track — This is the narration of a documentary or news package.

• ISO — An iso is a medium shot of a single person, typically a pundit,  in isolation. As opposed to split or big little.

• Master — This is the main wide shot which contains all the action.

• Presser — Typically a statement given by politicians or police. You’ll see this where there is ample press waiting in front of an empty podium with many microphones on it. The subject walks up and makes a statement.

• Raw — This is raw unedited footage, which might contain broll, interviews or anything.

In January 2010, I approached five or six CDNs that specialized in streaming services and who have networks & datacenters in place. I requested a quote for only bandwidth for a 2 hour program where we were giving 1.5 Mb/sec up and streaming down about 500 kb/second to 500 viewers.

Quotes for bandwidth varied greatly — one quote from LimeLight was for $4500. A couple other quotes were in the $1500 range. A couple of hosts had prices in the hundreds of dollars. I think the $4500 quote was a qualifier number…it was from a big corporate provider and who didn’t want to be bothered with customers who balk at that sort of number. In other words, the quote had nothing to do with the cost of the bandwidth. The $1500 range providers seemed to have other services that they wanted to sell us, like their flash player or their media management systems, etc.

The places in the hundreds of dollars range seemed to require more technical knowledge, ie, they were selling pure bandwidth while the more expensive options seemed to be selling “solutions” or something that spoke more to the need of communicating rather than the need for bandwidth and data centers.

We went with a streaming video CDN who seemed to have the most open and simple pricing system and which had the most information and support documents published. I also met with their CEO and Founder and got to hear all about their backend. Many of these providers have bandwidth calculators on their site to help people estimate their cost. Their costs were good.

Interesting though, the free solutions (with adverts) ustream and livestream, actually cost about $1 per viewer per hour if you go with their non-adverts “pro” service — which is way more than some of the other CDN were charging for bandwidth.