Video @ EFX Media

"How To Pick The Right Video Production Company - Don’t Forget the Intangibles." by Victor Van Rees

2011-12-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

You need a marketing, convention, training, or recruiting video.

You’ve worked up a set of specifications – how long, how many shoot days, how much graphic design, etc.

After receiving three or more quotes, you have to pick one. How do you decide?

Is the lowest price the main driving force, or is it quality (of course, all the vendors profess top quality). Consider the intangibles.

Creativity – Is your intention a clear, direct presentation of facts and message? Or do you want to make it a memorable impression – have some personality to separate it from the herd?

To determine if your vendor can breath some spirit, excitement, or a unique perspective to your project, ask them to provide samples or a creative approach.

Don’t forget to allow some flexibility in your budget for those creative touches.

Personality – What services a company provide is only part of the relationship. How they provide a service can make a difference.

What about the personality of the producer, editor or the entire production company? Visit the facility and get a sense of their culture. Do you think you’ll like working with them?

Ask for references. More than anyone, those other groups can give you a great perspective of how a working relationship might evolve. This is an important facet, since you will likely be spending a good deal of time with them.

Finishing, Duplication, Web Posting - Is the vendor truly a full service facility?

A full service post-production facility can truly deliver from ‘script to screen’, and should have the resources to create and distribute your product for your specific need.

Are you playing this video from a computer during a meeting?

Will it live on a large-screen display at your annual event?

How about an HD broadcast commercial?

Or are you embedding this on your web site?

Do you need DVDs or CDs to send out by the year’s end?

Most in-house production setups, or smaller single-person outfits, do not possess the materials and technology to go seamlessly from the edit suite to your specific distribution needs.

Full-service production facilities can master to most any tape or digital format in standard or high definition, create web-ready video files, embed your presentation within a PowerPoint, develop interactive menu driven DVDs, or provide … well, you name it.

If you have more complex needs like translation, captioning, package fulfillment or interactive programming, make sure the vendor you choose can manage and direct the process. Think about all your needs and find the vendor who can meet them all.

Special Effects, Animation and Interactivity: Do you want to make an impression on your audience? Will your video have a greater impact through a distinct, creative presentation style that only motion graphic effects or animation can bring?

Blending your branding with animated scenes, aligning your message with the right pace and emotion will let your message resonate more with an audience.

Does the video company you select have additional capabilities to create 2D and 3D animation? Full service post-production facilities generally have on staff motion-graphic designers or animators who specialize in creating impressive or realistic effects, using their skill to blend them seamlessly into a story.

If your presentation will live on a DVD, Interactive programming can transform a ”chaptered” DVD into an interactive experience for a viewer.

Utilizing a combination of technology and skill can separate your presentation from others, reflecting a positive image of your company as a creative, energetic forward-thinking group.

Storytelling – You have a message to send. Make sure your audience both receives and clearly comprehends it. Storytelling is an art requiring talent enhanced by experience. A professional editor or producer understands how an audience receives a message and interprets the varied sights and sounds. Balancing all the elements from effortless pacing to eliciting a specific emotion, are some of the advantages of working with an industry pro. Viewing sample videos can tell you a lot about the story-telling ability of your video company.

Deep Bench – Modifications and deadlines are a fact of life, but will they overwhelm your vendor? Will your facility of choice handle and adapt to immediate turn-around needs or last-minute changes? Do they have ample edit suites, night shifts and additional personnel to meet a too-near deadline or last-minute changes? Or will your project just stand in line, awaiting the next available opportunity?

Cost in dollars is always a major consideration. However, when making your selection, think about the additional impact of time, quality, reputation and stress. Creating a quality video takes a lot of work, but with the right video production partner you should actually enjoy the process.

Victor Van Rees

Vice President Sales and Marketing

EFX MEDIA

2300 South Ninth Street

Arlington, VA 22204

vvanrees@efxmedia.com

phone: 703-486-2303

FAX:703-553-9813

"Well Begun is Half-Done"- Preproduction Planning Guide by Victor Van Rees & Tom Oates

2011-10-06T14:18:00.005-04:00

Aristotle, an early proponent of detailed preproduction planning, is credited with the phrase - “Well begun is half done”. Surprises and change orders mid-project tend to derail a production schedule and increase costs. Thinking through all the details of any project will not only keep your production on budget, it will enhance the quality and effectiveness of your video. The following is a check-list of items to consider when planning a video project...

PART ONE: Creative Approach/Messaging

What is the objective of the video? What do we want the audience to think, feel and do after viewing the video?
Who is the ideal viewing audience for your video.
How will the audience benefit from watching the video?
What key messages do you want to get across in the video?
Who is going to write the script?
How much specificity, facts, figures, talking points must be provided to the script writer?
What is the desired tone, manner and mood for the video?
Is there any existing video footage or graphics that can be re-purposed in the video?
Can stock footage/graphics be utilized in place of original location shooting?
Have you identified individuals to be speakers in the video? If so, how people will be included and are there bios and photos available for each person?

PART TWO: Production

What specific geographic and/or building location(s) will be required for shooting the video?
Will crew travel be a cost consideration – most labor is based upon portal-to-portal?
Are there additional locations available for b-roll shots or atmospheric shots that might be needed for cutaways - people working, building amenities, etc?
Has a shoot location(s) within the building been determined - Rooms/Location
Is the location ‘noise secured’? (clear of construction/traffic or outside noise, office conversations, elevators, foot traffic)
Are there windows at the location (will we have to contend with sunlight/exterior lights)?
Will outlets for lights be available and will there be a building electrician or maintenance person available?
On the day of the shoot, what hours will we have access to the location? (we may need to arrive early for set-up and stay late to finish the shoot). The crew normally arrives approximately 90 minutes prior to the scheduled “roll tape” time.
Will the building/location be accessible? (i.e. not locked if it is too early/late in the day)?
What is the parking & loading protocol? What information will building security need for all crew / vehicles involved?
Who should the crew contact upon arrival? (name, phone number, email address)?
Are location or filming permits needed for this location? Have they been filed with appropriate offices? Will copies of the permits be needed on-site during filming?
Is a separate insurance rider – Certificate of Insurance (COI) - needed for this shoot? Will a copy of the COI be needed on-site?

PART THREE: Post-Production

Prior to editing, all music, graphics and voiceover narration must be finalized. Plan for the following items prior to initiating post-production and editing, either before, or as soon as possible after the shoot is completed:

Do you have specific ideas on music or voice-over talent for your video or would you like suggestions?
Is there a corporate branding guideline to be followed?
What type styles for titles or other text in video?
What graphic design and colors should be considered for transitions?
Are their existing charts, graphics or photos to include, and do they need enhancement?

PART FOUR: Deliverables

What format – DVD or web based?
Are either custom design labels and packaging required?
Closed captioning required?
Foreign language versions required?

Now you have considered nearly every element for budgeting and planning your next video project. You can now expect a more accurate budget, a better production experience and less stress.

White Paper: Save Money with an Omnibus/Ad Hoc Video Support Contract verson II

2011-08-04T08:13:00.004-04:00

From Victor Van Rees, VP Federal Marketing, The EFX Company (dba EFX Media)

With an omnibus video services contract, similar to contracts awarded to EFX Media by the US Census Bureau, FEMA, OCC and others, Federal agencies can enhance quality, improve efficiency, and most importantly, save money. Oh, and you’ll only have to deal with contracting and price negotiations once every 3 to 5 years.

Consider bolstering your in-house video capabilities with video services such as: a network of qualified video crews in every state and in fourteen other countries; technical support, such as: editing, interactive programming and animation; and staffing on an as-needed basis, under an IDIQ or BPA contract. When any department requires services over and above your existing capabilities, a vendor, such as EFX, could supply them on an "as needed" basis.

FEMA has tasked EFX with providing script-to-screen video production services to communicate the importance of and the critical points in following and complying with the Privacy Act. EFX videotaped in multiple locations, Atlanta to San Diego, and created several videos in a short amount of time . You can view one of the videos at http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=585&m=3124

You will save money compared to adding staff on a semi-permanent basis for what might only be a temporary spike in activity. A vendor can supply media specialists, designers, producers, editors on a weekly, monthly or annual basis. Further, you would avoid the high cost of retooling your video equipment to keep pace with the latest in High Definition cameras, recorders, editing software, multimedia capabilities, etc. You would have at your fingertips, experienced artists and technicians who can instantly deliver a polished, professional, modern look to your videos.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently awarded EFX with its second BPA for start-to-finish video production.EFX produced this recruiting and orientation video for bank examiners, shot in various US locations.

Watch the Video at http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=729&m=3237

An extremely important issue is scheduling. How often have you had to postpone communication releases until your in-house shop can work them into their schedule? An on-call full-service production center can deliver rapid-response location shooting, animation, editing and finishing within days, if not hours.

For FEMA, EFX taped training seminars in San Diego, then created a graphic-oriented promotional video to show FEMA stakeholders the importance of attending orientation seminars. View the video by clicking http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=583&m=3975

The U.S. Census Bureau foresaw this advantage and awarded a contract to our company similar to what was proposed above – location shooting, editing, animation and staffing. The advantage of having a vendor with wide-reaching capabilities such as EFX under contract is you can minimize contracting efforts when sudden needs require immediate response.

Noorvik, Alaska, January 25, 2010 -- EFX provide US Census Bureau with a live satellite uplink from remote Alaskan village of Noorvik . In this photo, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves traveled by dog sled today and visited residents.

In addition to providing the U.S. Census Bureau with nationwide location, EFX provided animation, editing, and translation services. The animated video, “It’s Easy” was produced in 60 languages, including a version for the English & Spanish LGBT communities and a version in American Sign Language. View the video at http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=582&m=3160

Here’s another example of cost effective animation for a government agency. Touchstone and their OMB client, needed an animated video to simply explain the benefits of cloud computing. The video EFX created was presented on the app.gov website. You can view the animation at http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=582&m=2691

The funding minimum for such a contract can be extremely low, with each task order requiring simplified budget approval. A specially discounted rate card for services and labor categories would be established up front to allow instant cost calculation for task orders. The cost savings would be considerable.

We can share with you sample discounted rate cards for ad hoc support contracts that have provided other agencies with the efficiency of instant support, enhanced quality, and extremely important budget savings

The EFX Company (dba EFXMEDIA)

GSA Contract GS23F0059P and GS23F0060P (small business set-aside)

EFX Media is one of the country’s leading full service video production and media communications firm with a complete production, post-production, graphic arts and creative department located in Arlington, VA. EFX Media has a team of exceptionally talented, experienced, and dedicated professionals trained in traditional media, the latest interactive and distribution technologies as well as business communication. Our core business revolves around Full Service Video Production, Interactive Solutions, Media Services and Online Video Distribution. We emphasize creating benefits and value for our clients. We have developed methodologies based on industry best practice and years of experience that allows us to deliver quality services.

We are a small business, on the GSA schedule. Our staff of managers, producers, directors, cameramen, engineers, editors, designers, writers, schedulers, and office staff have been carefully developed to find the most capable and loyal personnel available to manage projects and to best serve our clients. Additional information about EFX and samples can be viewed at www.efxmedia.com.

Just a few of our clients include: US Army, US Navy, Tricare, FEMA, USDA, OCC, US Marshals Service, Library of Congress, IRS, US Census Bureau, Department of Justice, National Geographic, UN Foundation, Booz Allen, Serco, SRA, General Dynamics, America Online, Exxon-Mobil,, and many others.

Victor Van Rees

Vice President Federal Sales and Marketing

The EFX Company ( dba EFXMEDIA)

vvanrees@efxmedia.com

2300 South Ninth Street

Arlington, VA 22204

Voice 703-486-2303 Cell: 703-447-8950

View our demos at: www.efxtv.com

View our blog at: http://efxmediavictor.blogspot.com/

How to Negotiate Best Values from a Video Production Company By Victor Van Rees

2011-04-11T08:39:00.000-04:00

Like everyone, you want the best price for the best service and best quality. How do you make certain the responses to your Request for Quotation serve you well? Here are a few inside secrets from an experienced vendor.

Be clear and explicit in your RFQ: If your bidders have to guess on certain requirements, they will have to include some “pad” in their pricing to cover unspecified elements. For any variables (shoot days or locations, number of projects involved or type/amount of deliverables), provide a set number. Although it may not be the exact details you will eventually have, giving a set number allows you to compare apples to apples. Another way to combat vagueness is to ask for additional options (a second shoot day, for example).

If you require music in the soundtrack, stipulate the number of cuts. Include specifications for graphics and/or animation for the opening and transition scenes. The more information you specify, the more accurate a vendor’s quote will be, and the less “pad” the bidder will include in their pricing.

Be flexible with your timeline: If you dictate a tight schedule and deadline, vendors may not be able to give you their best price. Every company has peaks and valleys in their schedule. From a pricing standpoint, allowing them to take advantage of ‘slow’ time with your production can avoid overtime and freelance costs. From a quality standpoint, a flexible schedule will let them utilize preferred editors or crews for your job, who might not be available on short notice.

Look deeper: Don’t just check references. You’ve asked for three references, and you plan to send them confirmation emails, maybe even a questionnaire. Call them. Ask the references if your prospective vendor produced projects similar in style and scope as yours. Ask the references how flexible the vendor was, how creative or eager to please. Don’t just check on the references, but ask for client contact information for each sample video submitted. You might find the samples look great, but the vendor only provided a portion of the work, or - heaven-forbid - went over budget. When you view samples, consider the body of work. You may not see a perfect match to your project goals, but you should analyze samples for creativity, polish, storytelling ability, graphics approach, pacing, style and professionalism.

Add a step or two: Take time to make your decision. Allow for time to receive and respond to questions. Consider your review of proposals to be the first step in the bidding process. From your initial selection process, ask for best and final offers from the best three vendors. Ensure you include more specifics about the requirements when requesting the best and final offers. You’ll learn quite a bit from the initial submission, guiding you in fine-tuning your requirements. Consider an oral presentation from the finalists. Meeting face to face with a vendor can tell you a lot about their business sense, professionalism, creativity, and how well you might get along with them. Eliciting answers about approach, or suggestions for value-added enhancements to the project will foster a better production. Plus, you can learn the vendors’ thought processes. Think about scheduling the oral presentation at the vendors’ facility. You’ll get a look at how they operate, meet their entire staff and view their production center. Remember, you are hiring a company, not just the individual you’ve been negotiating with. If there is only a single edit suite, or only one producer, or a small support staff, how likely is that vendor able to meet your schedule if illness strikes or another big job comes in.

Part of your negotiation is deciding the best product for the best price. It is a balance between both quality and cost. Don’t forsake one for the other. A bit of homework and planning can provide the best of both.

When to Outsource, Part Two by Victor Van Rees

2011-02-15T16:51:00.001-05:00

In our previous blog article, FULL SERVICE PRODUCTION CENTER - When to Outsource? http://efxmediavictor.blogspot.com/2010/09/when-to-outsource.html , we suggested reasons to consider outsourcing to a full-service video production company. In Part Two, we concentrate on some special skills many in-house facilities don’t possess - Interactive programming and animation.

Since these aren’t necessarily capabilities many companies use regularly, why expand your staff with an expert? It’s a perfect time to outsource.

Video asset management (i.e. organizing your video library so a viewer can find what they are looking for,) is becoming problematic as more organizations take advantage of the power of video communications. As one government public affairs executive stated, “We’re getting YouTube crazy”.

As videos proliferate, trees get lost in the forest. Viewers often miss the specific message intended for them as they search through a maze of videos.

Here are some examples where outsourcing was required to solve certain communication challenges.

“Finding the Right Career Path” – International Training Institute (ITI)

ITI possesses a wealth of online training videos for a variety of industrial career paths. The problem was finding job-specific training materials.

Example: Contractors wanted to view videos about becoming a better contractor, yet they would wade through a mass of videos dealing with how to be a better foreman, welder, roofer, etc.

An Interactive asset management microsite was developed, organized based on a user’s specific interest.

http://www.sheetmetal-iti.org/resources/index.html

Every subject area was available to view, but users were first directed down a path of their choosing. Sounds basic, I know, but the Interactive programming and design for media management required special capabilities. Today, the right training is more readily available to the employee it was intended to serve. Every subject area was available to view, but users were first directed down a path of their choosing.

“Weaving the Web Into View” – Arlington Economic Development.

OK, your mere PowerPoint presentation now must be a multi-faceted, speaker-controlled video and animation-based show, merged with Bing 3D maps.

http://arlingtonvirginiausa.com/aedpres_web_version1/index.html

No problem, right? Not so fast. After the meeting, the entire presentation has to reside on your website with viewer controlled navigation.Now is the time to think about outsourced horsepower.

Arlington (VA) County Economic Development needed a commercial real estate ‘virtual tour’ to showcase developing and available properties. They outsourced with a pro who could blend video with After Effects animation, with interactive design and programming, creating an attention-getting live presentation with navigation controls.

“Getting Real Face Time” – American Bar Association (ABA)

Sometimes, simply posting another video to your website isn’t enough to ensure your message gets heard. You need to position your cause or event as a prime importance to your audience.

American Bar Association wasn’t getting the desired registration for their seminars and meetings. “Selling” the seminars’ advantages through promotional videos was the key.

ABA saw the need to outsource to a production company with experience in producing and showcasing promotional materials. Further, a seminar-specific microsite was needed to host these special interest videos. The site was then wrapped into ABA’s main website, so viewers never actually left the association’s website. The outsourcing paid off with a marked increase in registrations.http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=587&m=2926

So, long story short, think about outsourcing when you have a particular communication challenge that might best be solved with an outside vendor – a vendor with sophisticated design, programming or production expertise.

Victor Van Rees

Vice President Federal Sales and Marketing

EFXMEDIA

vvanrees@efxmedia.com

2300 South Ninth Street

Arlington, VA 22204

Voice 703-486-2303

Cell: 703-447-8950

FAX 703-553-9813

View our demos at: www.efxmedia.com

Video concepts and white paper blog at: http://efxmediavictor.blogspot.com/

When to Outsource?

2010-09-28T16:35:00.000-04:00

FULL SERVICE PRODUCTION CENTER - When to Outsource?
By Bruce Dixon, Lindsey O’Neill and Victor Van Rees

You’ve set up a basic camera package and you’ve installed edit software on a laptop to handle interviews and training scenarios for your intranet. Now you’re tasked with creating a polished, complex corporate marketing, tradeshow or advocacy video. You can certainly handle taping the talking heads and cutting them with scenes around the office. Now’s the time to think about going outside for that polish, extra touch, sophisticated look and the rapid-response that a full service post-production center can offer.

Here are just a few services you might want to outsource...

SPECIAL EFFECTS AND ANIMATION: When your presentation has to stand out from the crowd and leave an impression, you want that extra sizzle that only motion graphic effects or animation can bring. A blend of multi-layered scenes with special transitions can create a pace and emotion to carry your message.

McAfee Promo for AOL
http://efxtv.com/media.cfm?m=1028

OPM Cloud Computing Animation

http://efxtv.com/media.cfm?m=2691

If you need to convey an intangible concept or bring a computer program to life, an animation might be the best, or only, way to illustrate it. Full service post-production facilities generally have motion graphic designers or animators on-staff that specialize in creating impressive or realistic effects, and have the knowhow to blend them seamlessly into an edited piece.

COMPLEX AUDIO TRACKS: A full service post-production facility has access to the latest in library music tracks pre-screened by pros, as well an impressive collection of professional voice-over narrators available at the drop of a hat.

Access to those resources is coupled with an impressive talent for blending all the soundbites, background narration, music and sound effects by mixing the tracks for transparency and impact with just the right timing.

EXPERIENCED WORLD-CLASS EDITORS AND/OR PRODUCERS: You know your company and its message, but are you having trouble crafting a bunch of interview sound bites into a real story appropriate for your audience? A professional who has spent a career in developing insight and presentation skills for every occasion will add that extra something. Storytelling is an art requiring talent enhanced by experience. Balancing all the elements from effortless pacing to eliciting a specific emotion, are some of the advantages of working with an industry pro.

DISTANT LOCATION PRODUCTION: You need scenes shot in Juno, Wichita, Duluth or Hong Kong. How do you find a local crew you can trust to shoot with the right equipment, in the best quality, with the right attitude, who will show up on time? A full service production center like EFX Media can book a production package selected from their long list of trusted crews in nearly every state and twelve other countries.

FINISHING, DUPLICATION AND INTERACTIVE: Your production is complete… now what? A full service post-production facility has all the equipment needed to distribute a product for broadcast, web distribution, DVD or CD physical distribution, or for event playback. Most in-house production setups are unable to handle the complex routing, cabling and expensive equipment needed to go seamlessly from the edit suite to distribution.

The full-service production facility can master to just about any tape format in standard or high definition, create digital files for web distribution or embedding within a PowerPoint presentation, develop interactive menu driven DVDs or provide … you name it. Also included is an expertise when it comes to more complex needs like translation, captioning, package fulfillment or interactive programming to organize and host your digital assets.

MEDIA ARCHIVE SYSTEM: Say you’ve completed a complicated marketing presentation and a year later you have a new management team. Now you have to replace all the scenes with the old CEO, and many are multi-layered with special effects. Imagine having to re-digitize your master, find the old source tapes or files, and re-create complex edits. A media archiving system allows you to reinstate a project’s media files so you can pick right up where you left off. Everything is back in place, like nothing happened, and you’re back in business! When your project is archived, changes are easy, even months or years after the fact.

INTERCONNECTION TECHNOLOGY: At a full service post-production center you might likely take advantage of robust technology to boost efficiency, particularly during the busy season when ambitious projects require a rapid response. At EFX, for example, we have our Avid Unity - a SAN (Storage Area Network) connecting all our production computers via Fibre Channel (fiber optic cables). This high-speed data connection allows all the edit suites and other workstations at EFX to access the same drives and project files. Using Unity means our editors can all work on the same project at the same time when necessary.

For example, on a quick turnaround job, we could be logging and ingesting footage on one system, while editing on a second system. On projects with lots of complex effects, we can break-up the rendering and spread it out among several machines for a faster turn time. While producing a large, multi-faceted project with little time to spare, you could have two or more edit suites working on various elements of the project simultaneously to finish within a very tight timeframe.

Online Video Asset Management, A Whitepaper

2010-05-29T10:34:00.024-04:00

"Don't Let Video Assets Become a Liability"

Your web audience prefers video as an information resource. Your public affairs and training departments want to post more and more videos, while making sure that viewers can easily navigate to their subject matter preference. You need to manage a seemingly unmanageable library of video assets that is expanding exponentially, while delivering content in a timely manner. As more than one communications officer has stated, “My agency has become Youtube-crazy.” The proliferation of videos often means that important communications get lost in an online video maze. How many sites have seemingly dumped videos into the multimedia section of their website in chronological order? Consider how effective a public library would be without a Dewey Decimal System.

A successful online video communication strategy should consider the ease and efficiency of managing an expanding library of assets. Most importantly, the successful video asset management system will foster an enhanced viewer experience. Video engages viewers more than online text, and you want them engaged and channeled to targeted communications. The following aspects are key criteria for establishing an effective Video Asset Management System.

The Platform - You want your staff to have a simple and speedy method for uploading and cataloging video assets, without requiring programming skills. A turn-key approach utilizing a content management system should allow for ease in uploading videos and updating the site, with the same level of technical knowledge requirement as for a word processing program.

Navigation – More about navigation in the Viewer Experience section below, but the initial flowcharting of a navigation system for logical organization of subject matter is a significant first step. Considerations should include: how many levels, how many categories, how are the categories linked to other website sections, what are the hierarchies? A search function on the site should be considered, and a system for entering meta data should be established.

A menu page from EFX Media’s video demo site www.efxmedia.com

Hosting and Bandwidth – The video hosting platform must be robust enough to allow minimal wait time for viewers. Scalability is a key consideration. You don’t want to over-pay for a too-large system able to service hundreds of thousands of simultaneous viewers, when you might only be servicing a thousand viewers at one time.

Deployment – How long are video assets maintained on the site, and is there a plan for determining when to delete a video? Managing the number of relevant videos online will minimize server costs. Plus, viewer experience is maximized when search time is minimized. You don’t want viewers wasting their time in viewing something that is out of date or redundant.

Not all video assets have to be in the same platform. You might find it effective to create a separate non-permanent video hosting platform for special events.

American Bar Association utilized an individual platform to boost registrationfor a special event, such as this “I-frame” portal at http://www.abatv.org/

Service - How much service should a service provider offer? Something to think about - who is going to make certain the system stay current with technology trends and advances? Also, one needs to consider how much design, asset handling and updating do you want handled inhouse, versus the benefits of utilizing a service provider.

Reporting – Proof of performance is more critical every year, particularly in the public affairs and training arenas. ROI is as important with public agencies as it is with the private. Your video asset management system should include a reporting function that tracks, at a minimum, the number of viewers for each video asset. You can then demonstrate Return on Investment with facts and figures, rather than anecdotes. Adding suitable meta data to focus searching can aid immensely the number of viewers, and most importantly, the number of viewers from your targeted demographics.

User Experience

Navigation – The quality of the actual video playback should be a given. User experience is often determined by the ease viewers experience in finding a relevant video. At the onset of setting up a video asset management system navigation should be given top priority. Is the navigational hierarchy one of subject matter, with some categories weighted higher than others? Is chronological order a key factor – are new videos given more weight than older ones? Ordering assets into “channels” is one way to organization videos by subject matter and/or target audience.

Channels used in Special Libraries Associations

web video site –http://www.slatv.org/

Presentation - Fast loading video is a key ingredient for viewer satisfaction. The framing is also important. A branded, attractive player skin with easy-to-use control buttons will enhance an image and the video it presents. A short description, which lets viewers quickly determine if a particular video matches their interest, is another key consideration.

Habitat for Humanity video site created by EFX www.habitatnovatv.org

Video Destination Sites

Typically, a web video portal would be an important section of your main web site. But, there are many circumstances wherein a separate stand-alone web video site makes sense. For example, a an outreach campaign, or stakeholders’ training initiative may benefit from it’s own web video site. This stand-alone, perhaps temporary, site can include a multitude of community information and social interactive elements built around a core web video portal. Here are two prominent examples...

This is a destination website created by EFX that is built around a web video portal with a variety of social networking and information resources – www.NavyTV.org

For NTSA,EFX Media built a destination site for the Modeling and Simulation industry, prominently featuring the IITSEC trade show – www.SimTV.org

Downloads - Typical web video postings are designed for viewers who visit your site. Particularly in the government sector, having videos easily available to stakeholders’ sites can further marketing penetration and make partners grateful. Offering a downloadable video file for your stakeholders and the media is an attractive option. Stakeholders, news web sites, or general information destination all look for interesting video material. Making it easy for them to simply download a video file will increase your ROI dramatically and potentially allow you to create your own ad hoc network. You control the look, feel, quality and branding of the video message.

Broadcast – Increasingly, television news outlets prefer receiving video material, or bits/bites packages, via the internet. Compared to satellite up/downlinking the cost savings and efficiencies of instant video availability might be a deciding factor in whether of not your media appears on the nightly news. Your video can be made available in broadcast quality, uncompressed MPEG 4 format that is available for download 24/7 and can be edited and broadcast by media. A big advantage to news producers, is that they can viewed a web version of the video on your site to instantly determine its viability.

Streaming vs. Progressive Download – Typically, there are two choices when it comes to delivery of web video to browsers. Progressive video, used by sites such as YouTube, downloads the entire clip as it plays over regular Web protocols. Streaming, a method used on sites like Hulu, relies on the presence of a media server and uses alternate protocols to deliver only the requested portion of a video clip on demand, keeping only a few seconds in a buffer. Each choice has benefits and drawbacks. Progressive, for example, requires no server-side technology, but has the potential to use more bandwidth. Streaming video, on the other hand, can protect content from download, and ordinarily uses less bandwidth than an identical progressive clip. However, streaming can nonetheless present playback problems on some networks, even when using techniques such as HTTP tunneling to route around potential trouble spots.

Formats and Codecs – The choice of video format is a crucial one, as your content should be made as accessible as possible for as long a time as possible, even considering how rapidly standards can and do evolve. Gone are the days when it was necessary to provide video in three formats at a variety of bit rates; today, a single MPEG-4 clip properly encoded to H.264 will be compatible with and viewable in a variety of online and offline media players. Many mobile devices natively support H.264 as well. However, vigilance is key, as competing technologies such as Google’s VP8, Ogg Theora, and even legacy stalwarts such as WMV and RealMedia can present a dizzying array of choices.

Embed Code – When distributing your video, it’s good to share, and the more places your video appears, the more widespread your message. Whether you use a video site such as YouTube or Vimeo or have created a site from scratch, your users will appreciate a way to copy embed code for use on their own pages.

Video hosted by EFX on NAS website - http://americasclimatechoices.org/study-video.shtml

THE EFX TV SOLUTION

We have developed a complete web video asset management package we call EFX TV. Our package is as close to turn-key as clients want. We include a custom design to match the look and feel of your site, a one, two or three level navigation system, high-bandwidth hosting servers, tracking and a content management system. With our CMS, clients can easily handle their own updates and modifications without learning any programming. Or, we provide complete programming and video uploading if preferred. Our application is scalable to match the quantity of videos hosted and the size of the viewing audience.

A perfect example of our application is EFX Media’s own EFX TV at www.efxmediatv.com. Other examples of both smaller and larger client offerings include:

For the Special Libraries Association www.slatv.org/

For the American Veterinary Medical Association www.avmatv.org/

For INOVAHealthcare www.inovatv.org/

For The Navy Memorial www.navytv.org

The EFX Company (dba EFXMEDIA)

We are a small business, on the GSA schedule. Our staff of 20 managers, producers, directors, cameramen, engineers, editors, designers, writers, schedulers, and office staff has been carefully developed to find the most capable and loyal personnel available to manage projects and to best serve our clients. Additional information about EFX and samples can be viewed at www.efxmedia.com.

Victor Van Rees

The EFX Company ( dba EFXMEDIA)

vvanrees@efxmedia.com

2300 South Ninth Street

Arlington, VA 22204

Office: 703-486-2303

Cell: 703-447-8950

FAX 703-553-9813

View our demos at: www.efxtv.com

Omnibus/Ad Hoc Video Support Contract, A Whitepaper

2010-05-29T09:44:00.006-04:00

We suggest that several Federal agencies could greatly benefit from an omnibus video services contract, similar to contracts awarded to EFX Media by the US Census Bureau, FEMA, OCC and others. We have developed the following White Paper that outlines the advantages of such a contract for augmenting internal facilities at Federal agencies, corporations and associations. Consider an approach for augmenting your in-house video capabilities with video services (primarily location shooting) and technical support (editing, interactive programming, duplication, etc.), on an as-needed basis, under an omnibus type of IDIQ contract. When any department requires services over and above your existing capabilities, a vendor, such as EFX, could supply them on an "as needed" basis. This would minimize the need to add full-time staff or equipment for what might only be a temporary spike in need. The funding minimum for such a contract can be extremely low, with each task order requiring specific budget approval. A specially discounted rate card for services and labor categories would be established that would allow for instant calculation of cost.

The cost savings would likely be considerable. The efficiency of instant support without lengthy contracting effort would be enormous. The US Census Bureau foresaw this advantage and awarded a contract to our company that is similar to what I propose (see blurb below). The US Army has also consolidated many of their video service needs to an IDIQ contract recently, as has the Office of Comptroller of the Currency. The advantage of having a vendor with so wide-reaching capabilities such as EFX under contract would be to minimize contracting efforts when sudden needs require rapid response. Further, we have created a national network of video production specialists with the latest in camera equipment, all available to us at below-market rates on a 24-hour notice basis.

Noorvik, Alaska, January 25, 2010 -- EFX provided US Census Bureau with a live satellite uplink from remote Alaskan village of Noorvik. Here, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves traveled by dog sled to visit residents.

Scene from animated "It's Easy" a how-to video on filling out the
Census form, created in 60 languages. Video can be viewed at http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=582&m=3160

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU AV CONTRACT:
The EFX Company (dba EFX Media), a twenty six year old video production company in Arlington, has been awarded a contract from the US Census Bureau to provide video production and other audio/video services. The Census PIO (Public Information Office) sought to find a general supplier of outside AV services to augment its own extensive in house capabilities. EFX Media will provide, among other services, location video production crews, editors, editing services, interactive design, and technical staffing services. Should all options be exercised, the contract will be worth $3.5 million dollars over the base year and four option years. In addition to providing location shooting all over the country, EFX was tasked with producing a 10-minute animated educational video to show citizens how to fill out and mail back their census form. The video was produced in 60 different languages, including a version for the English & Spanish LGBT community and a version in American Sign Language.

2D vs. 3D Animation: A Few Considerations

2010-05-29T08:07:00.010-04:00

Choices for techniques in motion graphics and animation for video are many. The primary decision is not which software, but whether 2D or 3D. If you are featuring a talking lizard for an insurance company, then best you find a genius 3D animator (although you will likely use After Effects to marry it to live action video). But for affordable animation, compositing, motion control and graphic effects, our money is on After Effects.
With the latest plug-ins and a knowledgeable designer, After Effects allows for creation of 3D-like animation in an edit suite, without the extensive modeling and wire framing required in 3D animation programs. This allows for efficiency in altering individual elements in the presentation. With most presentations for commercial and government clients, modification through various levels of approval is a way of life. Making changes in a 3D animation program can be much more cumbersome and time-consuming.

In a whimsical video promotion for AOL/McAfee, EFX editors and designers composited a wide range of animated elements and special effects. You can view the video at
http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=576&m=1028

After Effects is a compositing/motion graphics program from Adobe with some limited 3D abilities. Although not technically 3 dimension, it doesn’t mean you cannot achieve the look of depth, thus the illusion of 3D. After Effects works with 2 dimensional objects and offers the ability to manipulate these objects within "Z" space (depth).

Frame from an Orbital meeting presentation that can be viewed at
http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=574&m=2432&

Creating 3D-looking objects has been likened to building a cardboard box from postcards. If you take the box apart and look at the individual pieces, you see that the front picture on the postcards easily. But look at them form a side view, and its much more difficult. Below is a sequence from an investment video using the concept of assembling 2d layers together to form a box, we achieve the appearance of 3 dimensional objects, as shown in this step by step process.

Understanding this and other After Effects capabilities, our editor/animator, John Nelson decided to build a 3 dimensional world with 2 dimension elements for an animated video primer about cloud computing for President Obama’s CIO (working for our client Touchstone).

We implemented this technique in various ways to create many of the 3 dimension looks in the Cloud Computing video, which quickly became a motion graphics designer’s playground. View at http://efxtv.com/media.cfm?m=2691

After Effects is a very powerful compositor as well. With ease it has the ability to build a virtual set, composite objects, or key people into that environment.

A scene from the animated “It’s Easy” for US Census Bureau.
You can see the entire animation at http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=582&m=3160

Layering multiple video elements for this AOL Network Strategy video at http://www.efxmediatv.com/media.cfm?c=574&m=1034

Skilled artists are given control over the color, contrast, edge details, and noise/grain manipulation. These four categories have to be controlled in order too composite objects in a realistic and believable way. You will see a lot of these controls in action when keying green screen footage or adding elements to enhance a video. After Effects is capable of many things and is being used in more applications as Adobe continues to improve capabilities and work flow relationships between programs. After Effects is no longer limited to the video world, as it has become an important tool for interactive and Web designers to create animation and effects for Web-only videos and Flash-based content. AE integrates with the most popular graphics application in the world (Photoshop) as well as the other Adobe products that are ubiquitous in the video industry (Flash, Illustrator, Encore). Further, 3rd Party companies are constantly working on plug-ins for AE that simplify and expand the designer’s animated palette.

The EFX Company (dba EFXMEDIA) EFX Media is one of the country’s leading full service video production and media communications firm with a complete production, post-production, graphic arts and creative department located in Arlington, VA. EFX Media has a team of exceptionally talented, experienced, and dedicated professionals trained in traditional media, the latest interactive and distribution technologies as well as business communication. Our core business revolves around Full Service Video Production, Interactive Solutions, Media Services and Online Video Distribution. We emphasize creating benefits and value for our clients. We have developed methodologies based on industry best practice and years of experience that allows us to deliver quality services. We are a small business, on the GSA schedule. Our staff of 20 managers, producers, directors, cameramen, engineers, editors, designers, writers, schedulers, and office staff has been carefully developed to find the most capable and loyal personnel available to manage projects and to best serve our clients. Additional information about EFX and samples can be viewed at www.efxmedia.com. Just a few of our clients include: US Army, US Navy, Tricare, FEMA, USDA, OCC, US Marshals Service, Library of Congress, IRS, US Census Bureau, Department of Justice, National Geographic, UN Foundation, Booz Allen, Serco, SRA, General Dynamics, America Online, Exxon-Mobil,, and many others.

Victor Van Rees The EFX Company ( dba EFXMEDIA)
vvanrees@efxmedia.com
2300 South Ninth Street Arlington, VA 22204 Voice 703-486-2303 Cell: 703-447-8950
View our demos at: www.efxtv.com
View our blog at: http://efxmediavictor.blogspot.com/

The Long and Short of Web Videos

2010-02-12T04:40:00.020-05:00

Our advice to clients is to keep their web videos short if they want viewers to watch the entire presentation. Two to three minutes seems to be the upper limit of web viewer attention spans. But, what about those viewers who want more detail and information?
Our friend Joshua Dinman, Director of Marketing Communications at Orbital Sciences Corporation,a satellite and space launch vehicle manufacturer, offered a solution that should have been obvious – present more than one video.

On the Orbital Sciences Corporation career site, you can view a short overview video about careers http://www.orbital.com/Careers/(see bottom of left hand navigation panel).

But, Josh wanted to share real-life experiences of employees in different job categories. A ten or fifteen-minute video was out of the question. So, longer in-depth video testimonials from a cross-section of employees were presented.

Prospective employees could hear from as many potential co-workers as they wished.

That’s the long and short of it. Thanks Josh!

You can view other sample videos at: www.efxmedia.com as well as the Orbital Corporate video at http://www.efxtv.com/media.cfm?c=574&m=1025

The Dreaded “Talking Head” Doesn't Have To Be Dreadful

2010-02-12T04:35:00.025-05:00

by Julie Otto and Victor Van Rees

Videos with “talking heads” - on-camera interviews/testimonials - often get a bad rap. Many think talking heads are used because a producer lacks imagination and has nothing else to film. The term “talking head” conjures up the image of a stereotypical professor-type - monologue-ing ad nauseam devoid of emotion or purpose. We disagree. In fact, talking heads can be your best asset for a video, if produced in a compelling and thoughtful manner.

For example, the producer/director must be prepared before the shoot and know what the client requires from the interview/testimonial. We often write a script or treatment with all the key points we need the subject to present. If the subject elaborates a bit too much, no problem, we can fix it with an edit. Better to have too much rather than too little. Sometimes, when our on-camera subject will ramble on due to nerves, we have found that helping them parse out the soundbite, and giving them a second chance to say what they want to say, makes them more comfortable and able hit the nail on head the second time. Our producers emphasize that their job is to make the subject look and sound their best, creating a level of trust between the subject and the crew.

It is important to learn as much about the subject as possible before the shoot. Having a point of reference can offer subtle tips about how to couch questions for the best response. Plus, knowing some personal things about the subject will allow for a bit of friendly chit-chat warm-up before the shooting starts and create a relaxed atmosphere. A good example was taping an interview with a recent Commerce Secretary. His delivery was flat, and the presentation lacked force. We had him stand up from his comfortable chair and asked him to speak as if he were speaking to a group of fundraisers. His smile became infectious, and his delivery had the tone of sincerity.

From a technical standpoint, we always want our best camera crew - videographer, lighting director and, of course audio engineer with best of breed of professional cameras (high definition equipment if the budget allows.). What subjects say is certainly important, but how they look can add immeasurably to viewer attention. We like to, when possible, frame the interview in somewhat unique settings. We like to use a hallway or a well-decorated conference room with a deep depth of field, or a setting singular to our subject.
Lighting the background, particularly with colored gels, can warm up a scene and might even make the speaker more interesting, if not more attractive. If this is not possible we are able to create a polished look by using a lighted backdrop. Oftentimes we’ll light this the backdrop to match the graphics package of the project, group or website in which this video will play.

Many think of talking-heads as stuffy. But in reality, hearing directly from the video’s subject can be the most compelling experience. EFX is often asked to create video profiles of award recipients. We find that rather than list the awardeé’s resume or string of accomplishments, first-person interviews give the best portrait of the subject. It shows what makes that person unique, and why they are the recipient of an honor. Their personal qualities and achievements come through best when they, or those close to them, can speak directly to the camera.

A favorite annual project for EFX is the annual Teacher of the Year Award for Friendship Public Charter Schools.

To show why each nominee is chosen as the “Best of the Best,” we go right to the source. The video production consists of interviews with each nominee, their colleagues and students.

With the interviews you experience the candor, passion and commitment each nominee has for their profession and their students, as well as the respect and admiration others have for them. You can’t replicate that with pictures and Voice-of-God narration. In this case, EFX shows the heart that is behind the talking head.

You can view other sample videos at: www.efxmedia.com as well as the 2009 Teacher of the Year Awards at http://efxtv.com/media.cfm?c=596&m=2519