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Tag: corporate films

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

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 

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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Top 10 Tips to Make Better Corporate Videos

Concepts Every Producer and Client Should Understand  We call it Corporate Film School because, after a couple of decades of producing videos for top companies, and coming from a film school and broadcast background, we’ve realized that the basic (and fascinating) elements of film language not only help you make better videos but enhance the collaboration with your creative partners.  #1. Film Language   To figure out how a video or film is working (or, crucially, not working), it’s essential that you understand that film is a kind of language with its own particular grammar based on the placement and/or movement of the camera, editing and other production elements.  Being able to “read”…

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Corporate Film School #6: Voice Over: Who Does Your Company Sound Like?

https://vimeo.com/486119015 As corporate communications diversifies, what should the “Voice of God” sound like?   And do we really believe that someone (anyone) can tell us the way the world works?   In this episode of Corporate Film School, we address some of the issues confronting the use of voice-over - the (typically) unseen narration heard over images - that sets the tone and, to an unacknowledged degree, the authorial personality and background of a video.  Who do we hear when your company speaks? Filmed By: Christian Carmody Edited By: Amos Damroth

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Corporate Film School #4: Eyelines: You Lookin’ At Me?

Yes, I’m upset about how cavalierly many productions now treat this vital signifier - where is the person on camera looking - but, I’m not nearly as angry as Travis Bickle is about this issue so, count yourself lucky.  In this episode of Corporate Film School, we pin down the meaning and importance of eyelines. The thing is that eyelines are one of the MOST powerful aspects of a filmed presentation.  It’s the difference in impact between shooting a bullseye or just shooting in the air.  I get that directors and producers have become bored with the traditional straight-to-camera or just-off-camera eyelines and want to…

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Corporate Film School #3: Setting or How to Escape the Realm of the Un-dead

It turns out that where we can shoot video is the aspect of production perhaps most disrupted by the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic quarantine. And, with most communication - both business and personal - happening through video - almost exclusively shot at home - the focus on setting has been, well, kind of hilarious. The fact is that, while there may not be a Twitter account dedicated to it (but you should check) we consciously or unconsciously scrutinize every setting in every video we watch. Setting is a major element of film language and it delivers - like it or not - significant…

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Corporate Film School #2: The Seductive Trap of Production Values

IMHO we spend too much time and resources on making images look good and not enough on what we’re trying to communicate. In other words, on style versus content. That’s not to say that style and image quality aren’t important. In fact, image quality or, more broadly - to include lighting, sound and setting - production values, make the first impression on the audience and set expectations for the content they frame. And, often, the content of the communication demands the highest possible level of production values. But not always. And it’s important to understand how an automatic application of highly polished production values can…

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Corporate Film School #1: Film Language

When the pandemic suddenly stopped business as usual, we took a new look at our almost twenty years of making films and videos under the Pickerel Pie banner.  One thing we became aware of, over that time, working with dozens of clients on hundreds of projects, is that our clients would benefit from a better understanding of the language and grammar of film.  First, because the language of visual communication is fascinating and constantly evolving but also because, we think it would help the process of making great video if we all spoke the same language.   This series, somewhat cheekily titled, Corporate Film School (where else…

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The Art of Asking Questions

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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How To Make Your Videos Evergreen Or, How Did Neil Young Survive Punk Rock?

Our best clients spend substantially on video production and, with all but the most ephemeral projects, there is always the hope, if not the goal, of producing something that will deliver value for a long time. That kind of staying power is rare and worth examining. I was doing the dishes and, as is my wont, listening to the kind of mix that only Shuffle can DJ (Curated Randomness will be addressed in another post) and I was struck, both by Shuffle’s genius juxtaposition with the Buzzcock’s “Boredom” and by the repetitive eloquence of Neil Young’s guitar solos. They’re epic and irreducible and, thus, kind…

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