our thoughts
Why Every Brand Needs a Hero Video
In today’s digital age, developing trust in the marketplace is a must. People are smart, they are acquiring more resources and tools to compare just what brands and products they are buying from. Now, more than ever, a consumer can find out everything they need to know about a brand in one google search. Whether it’s a google review or the types of organizations the brand donates to, it’s easier for a consumer to filter through the good and the bad. What does all of this mean for you and your brand? It means that it’s imperative to create trust with your core customers and in order to do that, you need to start on a personal and emotional level.
Winning clients on a personal and emotional level
Before building trust, it’s important to get your message straight — establish your core value, purpose and beliefs. What is your mission? What is your why? People want a brand they can relate to on an emotional level, they feed off of story and want something they can get behind. No one has put this to truth better than Simon Sinek in his book, start with Why, he has coined the term, “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.”
In order to develop a proper Brand Identity, first, aim to leave a strong positive influence to the world. If your business offers products and services that contribute to make this world better or promote a better way of living, then you’re in a good place.
What is a Brand Film and why is it important?
A Brand Film is essentially the face of the brand and business. It takes your mission, your why, and turns it into something relatable. A good brand film will communicate your why and serve as a way to connect and letting your customers and clients know that you understand them. It lets them know that you care. It also engages people on an emotional level, builds loyalty to the brand, and inspires brand advocates. It helps people understand how your company is fundamentally different from your competitors, why it’s relevant, and what it stands for.
Brand Films inspire action; it gives people a reason to be involved with your brand and people want to be involved with great purposes and story.
Telling your story in a way that it comes from a place of genuine passion, will help connect you to the world around you. Brand Films are meant to align with the target audience, and when a company’s passion is communicated effectively, they’ll receive an immense emotional response.
Let’s Talk About Budget
“Won’t this be expensive? What will this do for my brand? How do I measure the success of this video? Will it actually work?” all are credible questions and questions we receive daily. It’s important to be aware of the investment up front and what the return will be. Take Dollar Shave Club, they started as a subscription based razor company but after doing an iconic “Anchor” video and placing marketing behind it, it generated 12,000 new signups in the first 48 hours according to Gary Vaynerchuck’s, Why Every Small Business Should Have a “Super Bowl Commercial”. Safe to say, I think they made their money back plus some on their investment.
top reasons why it is so important to invest in a Brand Film:
Showcases company’s messaging and branding
Letting this video be an extension of the brand’s personality and what the brand’s set of beliefs are, will encourage the end viewer to align with the brand and start the decision making process at an early stage.
Center of a marketing campaign
Brand films land perfectly on landing pages, about us sections, along with different social platforms. Another rule of thumb for these is to edit them into different or smaller videos to land specifically for different platforms like Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Humanizes a brand
Information and emotion are two key components to an engaging piece that speaks volume and creates impact. The video should cover the “why” of you and your brand first backed by factual representation. With this formula, you create the emotional hook that resonates and also allows the viewer to know who you are and what your represent.
Viewable and shareable across multiple social platforms
Think share-ability with this. With these tips make a statement and show just what it is you and your brand are made of. Dream it, think it, document and share it.
key elements to keep in mind:
Keep it short
The shorter the video the more impact it will have. We recommend anywhere from 60-90 Sec.
These videos need to be short and to the point, people want to be in, out and on to the next. The trick to this will be to create pillar content beyond the brand film to suck them into all of the neat features of your brand.
Reinforce key messages with graphics, typography or engaging visuals
Aligned messaging and on brand typography and visuals pull the full brand together much like a house flipped by Joanna Gaines. With hard work and the right pieces, a masterpiece can be created.
some examples of brand films we think do this well:
arcpoint studios is a commercial film production company
based in dallas-fort worth offering branded storytelling and content creation
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3 Keys to Finding the Perfect Song
Music is an important component of every video production; conveying a subconscious message from client to audience on a level that can’t be said with all the other parts of a video. Music tells the audience what to feel, if anything at all. Some of my favorite moments in film are based on the music cues, from the use of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in Tarsem’s ‘The Fall’, to the church fight scene in ‘Kingsman’ set to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Free Bird’. There are 3 keys to finding the perfect song, and it all depends on the purpose, audience, and client.
Purpose
Knowing the purpose of the video you are working on will make countless selections and decisions much easier than working in the dark. Picking music for a wedding film is a completely different beast than a corporate identity film. If the purpose of your film is to convey the strong emotions of family, love, and fun, you already have a starting point to your search. Is it supposed to be informative or emotional, are you supposed to be absorbing all of the words, or feeling the weight of the final one? The purpose of your video starts the process of finding the perfect song by starting with a broad selection of factors to consider.
Audience
The audience of your video is also indicative of what music to layer in your timeline. The CEO of a event planning service is going to be looking for something completely different than a mother watching a birthday video. Staying close to your audience’s tone and emotional level will make the video personable and unique to the audience. It sometimes helps to visualize your project as the audience, asking whether this particular song is supposed to evoke certain emotions. Are you supposed to be pushing back tears or learning how to use wordpress? The music will inform these feelings with the most direct method.
Client
And finally, the most important thing to keep in mind while picking music is the client. The purpose of the video might evolve, and the audience may fluctuate in size, but the client will always be the core of your music selections. The best thing an editor can do to pick the best music is to know the client inside and out. Personality, preferences, past work, particularities (I’ll stop now), are all ingredients to the perfect song.
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What Audio Equipment is Best for Your Project
Audio is an essential key to video production and serves as the heartbeat of a well crafted piece. While there are many options that lie in the realm of audio, it’s important to know what tool is best to use during your project.
Shotgun Mic
A shotgun mic is a microphone that sits on top of your camera usually fastened in a hot shoe and attached via a mic cable. In professional cameras it is usually attached via a holder on the camera and attached via XLR. both are effective and used for the same things. A shotgun mic is great for close interaction to the camera usually within 3-4 feet to have optimal recording. This however is somewhat subjective as it depends on your positioning and what is around you. For the most part however it is an effective mic for on the go audio capture and is super popular amongst vloggers and filmmakers shooting in a run and gun situation.
Lapel/lav Mic
A lapel mic is a seamless way to capture quality audio by allowing the subject to move about freely and has the ability to be concealed for extra production value. This type of mic is generally used as a primary source of audio in production from testimonials, interviews all the way to reality tv. You can run these wirelessly, or as a wired stand alone set. We have experience with both and depends solely on what works best for the production situation that you are in.
Boom Mic
Ever see a BTS (behind the scenes) photo or a video of a person with headphones holding a long pole over their head? That’s mostly likely a boom mic. A boom mic is used in addition or in replacement of a lav mic. Typically, a boom mic is used to capture or pick up sound a lav mic cannot. Because it’s so large, it’s typically hard to conceal so the boom operator has to be conscious so it doesn’t fall into frame of the camera. Talk about a arm workout!
Handheld Mic
Ahhh yes! The handheld microphone the most nostalgic of them all we reference these back to the glory days of news television where the journalist is on the scene interviewing the subject at hand. These microphones are best used in practice at live events and on productions that have a host. These also can be used wired or wirelessly.
Testing.. 1.. 2.. 3..
While there are many forms of microphones, these are the most commonly used. Utilizing audio to its fullest potential will take your production to the next level. It’s no easy feat but with practice, patience, the right tools and some good ears, you’ll be an audio expert in no time!
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based in dallas-fort worth offering branded storytelling and content creation
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What we've been up to: City of Aledo
“Rich Heritage, Dynamic Future”
The City of Aledo came to us with a unique problem. They needed to create a video that spoke to their expansive growth and town slogan of “Rich Heritage, Dynamic Future”. In collaboration with the Aledo Economic Development Corp. and the City of Aledo, our mission was to create a business development video that aligned with the city’s values to promote the city to appeal to business owners from surrounding areas. From doing yoga poses with Trinity Yoga, to eating breakfast at Aledo Diner , we got to experience firsthand what it is like to live in a city so involved in their community.
Over the span of several events and production days, we worked closely with several business in Aledo to capture the wonderful things the town has to offer. The productions days usually began with delicious coffee from East Parker Coffee Co. who proudly serves beans from Avoca Coffee Roasters and Sandwiches for lunch from Yesterdays Sandwich Shop. Talk about a happy tummy! This combo gave us enough fuel to complete our interviews which took place at several business across the city.
Our first interview began at The Chiropractic Place for Mommy and Me with Dr. Michelle Parker who is Certified in Chiropractic Pediatrics. She is the only person with this certification in Parker County, making her practice truly unique to the city. She shares with us why she chose Aledo to start a business over other cities across North Texas. She also talks about the immense support and value the city brings to her business and personal life.
After enjoying the cozy vibes at The Chiropractic Place for Mommy and Me, we got to sit down with Bobby from Bobby J Rigues - State Farm Insurance to talk about what it’s like to be a business owner in Aledo. We found out that not only does he own a business, but he is also very involved in education and has been on the Aledo ISD School Board for several years!
Another business who works closely with Aledo ISD is Myser Orthodontics. Each year, they produce a fun and creative promo video that is played at all of the Aledo High School football games at the Aledo Bearcat Stadium. They are huge supporters of the community and try to be involved whenever they can.
We absolutely loved being so immersed in the city and can vouch that it is the perfect place to live, work and play!
Watch the City of Aledo Business Development Video Below
Check out our BTS photos!
for more information on the city, visit www.aledo-texas.com
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What really happens in Post-Production
Post-Production, an all encompassing word. Every project is different and depending on the needs or editor, will require a different process or workflow. We’re checking in with our Post-Production Manager, Abby, to find out what really happens in Post.
What are some of the “Main” Categories in Post?
“Post encompasses A LOT. It is essentially the final step in the creative production process. There’s Pre-Pro (pre-production), Production, then Post (post-production). The most common categories, without diving too deep, are Storage, Editing, Conforming, Color Grading, Finishing, Mastering, Creating Deliverables, Sound Editing, Music, and Archiving.”
What are the steps or processes you take when ingesting new footage or working on a new project?
“The very first step of any project is always organization. Its a very simple process that saves so much time and energy in the later stages of post. Ingestion and reviewing all footage can sometimes be overwhelming, but making sure you have everything you need before cutting is the best way to avoid any problems in the later stages of your edit. You always want to check in with the producer or lead shooter of a project to make sure you as the editor are on the same page.”
What is your favorite aspect of Post?
“Post covers so many processes that my favorite part is something new or that I don’t work on in the regular day. I’m mildly obsessed with being versed in all things post production, so I’m always down to learn something new. Whether its a new program, filter, or workflow, I’m always looking for new ways to make Post a fun and precise process.”
What advice do you have for people interested in learning more about Post? What kind of resources have helped you?
“I would say not to underestimate yourself, or your capabilities. A lot of people my age are so interested in what I do, but they think it's completely out of their reach. There are so many resources and teachers out there, and not all of them can be found on a college campus. I tried college and quickly realized it didn't aide in my desire to learn post-production, so I went the route of YouTube and on the job training. I almost have to treat my brain like a sponge and take whatever lesson I can from everything I see and hear. I watch movies differently than I did in high school, and I listen to music differently. I may be an extreme case, but my main point is don't think it's outside of your skill set to get involved in post-production.”
