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Category: How To

Corporate Video & AI…5 Amazing Things AI Can Do For You Right Now

Date: July 10, 2023 Category: Corporate, How To Tags: , , Comments: 0

At Pickerel Pie we help our clients make better corporate videos and one of the ways we do that is by keeping them aware of evolving technology that is constantly changing the way videos are produced and delivered. I'm sure, no matter what business you're in, you've been hearing about the (potential) impact of AI on what you do and how you do it.   In terms of corporate video production, the impact of AI is really interesting, in part because of the inherent mix of creativity/originality and technology in creating video content. Even knowing that AI's impact and application to video production is in the very early…

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Bees, Rockstars and Pollination 

Date: July 10, 2023 Category: Corporate, How To Tags: , Comments: 0

AI-generated image of a “Summer Office Party with Watermelon” (disturbing or impressively expressionistic?) This is the season of the Summer Office Party – woo hoo! – one of the few times a year that some companies gather to hang out and get to know one another; a social cocktail of liquor, chlorine, watermelon-crazed bees and dissolved office hierarchies.   Companies may also have a Holiday Party (liquor, egg nog and dissolved office hierarchies) and/or an annual meeting (coffee, liquor and reinforced office hierarchies) but that might be it for the human side of so-called corporate “culture”.        Almost every company (except, perhaps, Twitter?) says, “our strength…

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Talking Heads: King Charles Edition

Date: September 13, 2022 Category: Corporate, How To, Uncategorized Comments: 0

We were just working on a new episode of #corproate film school about Talking Head shots when this very momentous talking head shot was broadcast.  Some notes on the King’s inaugural address:  https://vimeo.com/749251403 Want more tips on making corporate videos? Sign up for the Corporate Film School newsletter!

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Get Back to Setting: The Beatles on Location

Date: December 13, 2021 Category: Corporate, How To, Uncategorized Comments: 0

George Martin: “Location isn’t really a main problem at the moment” Paul McCartney: “Breathing is, actually.” Sure, Get Back is amazing on many levels but, setting-wise, you’re stuck in one big and then one small plain room for most of the 8 hours of the hit new doc series - (Peter Jackson’s [Lord of the Rings] re-cutting of the Beatles footage that was shot for Let It Be [1970, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg]. So, it’s ironic that discussion of setting turns out to be one of the major narrative threads (perhaps eclipsing even whether and how to keep George in the band) of the documentary. It’s a great opportunity for us, interested in…

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Considerations for Virtual Town Hall Meetings

Date: March 13, 2020 Category: How To Tags: Comments: 0

Paradigm shift:  Recent advances in streaming technology, software and the capabilities of personal digital devices have set the stage for a paradigmatic shift in our perception of, and approach to, virtual, streaming large multi-location meetings  - what we call Virtual Town Halls (VTH). Also, there are some other powerful drivers - including concern about the cost, logistics, time (away from family & clients) and environmental impact of in-person meetings – that are accelerating the push for more effective virtual gatherings. This deck outlines the key creative and technical considerations with some recommendations for implementation. With an updated approach, companies should be able to focus more…

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The Art of Asking Questions

Date: September 28, 2016 Category: Corporate, How To Tags: , , , , Comments: 0

The Interview is one of the fundamental modes of storytelling (what can you tell me about…?) and, yet, one of the most under-rated and, thus, under-examined skills to be mastered by creative producers and directors. Charming/cajoling/extracting information or stories from someone on camera is an art - with as many possible approaches as practitioners - but there a few basic guidelines to keep in mind – particularly, if you decide (perhaps, for effect) to ignore them or do the opposite – to enhance your chances of getting good material from your interview: 1. Prepare.  You should have both a good grasp of what your subject…

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Urgency vs. Whimsy

Date: June 24, 2015 Category: How To, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , Comments: 0

One of many favorite moments from Cucaracha Theater Company shows a long time ago in a Tribeca that no longer exists was a monologue by Todd Alcott in which he tells a story about falling asleep while driving cross-country. He talks about the struggle to keep awake and how, when his eyes close, going 70 miles an hour down a two-lane highway, he begins to have “the most marvelous dream”. The whimsical details of the dream, languidly drawn out in Todd’s retelling, become increasingly excruciating to hear, of course, because of the urgency (to put it mildly) of the context of the dream. I’ve never…

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