Using effects, sfx, track, & graphics to spice up a Corporate Video

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.