Preserving your next conference, meeting or event on digital video (DV) can add unsurpassed return on investment. A two-minute DV “highlights reel” of an event is quick and inexpensive to produce. It can be e-mailed to attendees to reinforce their positive experience and posted on a website to impress future clients.
Why digital video?
With economic concerns still cramping the quantity and scale of meetings and events, what better to time to introduce a technology and get more mileage out of them. For around $1500, you can add huge marketing value to your event with a living, breathing, downloadable replica on digital video. A DV highlights reel can be:
Posted on a company’s website to show potential clients what makes their product and/or customer service so special.
E-mailed with personal remarks from the host to attendees within a week of the event. This unique follow-up adds positive reinforcement to their experience.
People love to see themselves or others they know on camera and pay rapt attention to such opportunities. Although digital video is “better, faster, cheaper” and more versatile than its analog counterpart, it’s still relatively novel and underutilized. Be the first on your virtual block to use this technology; cement a steadfast connection with your audience and preserve a priceless example of your work.
To see an example of digital highlights from a three-day client conference for Mindport, a broadband technology company, check out the example above. The Mindport User Conference attendees were truly international. Since English was a secondary language for many, this mostly non-verbal recap was especially appreciated.
Steps to creating a good Highlights Reel
Sketch out a storyboard of anticipated visual highlights. To explain the storyboarding process we use as an example an actual 3 day client conference for Mindport, a broadband technology company, for which a digital video was made. Since English was a secondary language for many conference attendees, this mostly non-verbal recap was especially appreciated. For this conference the storyboard included striking visuals such as:
Marina-side reception
Fleet of 26 red pedicabs, arriving in serpentine formation to pick up attendees
With attendees on board, enroute to boat
Footage from rider’s perspective in backseat
Dinner cruise
Welcome aboard
Craps tables in action
Marilyn Monroe impersonator boarding midcruise and interacting with attendees the rest of the evening
Presenters and attendees (a quick montage of stills works well)
Social conversations
Attendee participation and interactions
Listening & asking questions
Group table discussions
Presentations and materials
Wide angle of room set
Close-ups of each presenter
Set shooting schedule: Videographers generally charge a day rate, so choose the best time frame during which to capture the storyboard items. The Mindport User Conference ran 2.5 days, but shooting was confined to the reception on night one through the dinner cruise on night two (1.5 days).
Scripted on-camera remarks from company spokesperson should include: For website or public access:
Explanation of event
For special Attendee versions (to e-mail and post on Customer Only website page):
Welcome and explanation of event
Review of goals achieved
Thanks for participation
Choose a vendor:
Digital video for the web is very specialized
The “small screen” restricts frame composition and camera movement
Subtitling to indicate speaker names, etc. is illegible; however auxiliary information may be provided on a webpage
A one-person crew can direct, interview, shoot and edit the piece
Within one week of the shoot you should
Receive a rough cut (by e-mail)
Get through several rounds of edits with input from you (the producer) and colleagues you choose to include
Add a sound track
Because the technology hasn’t fully caught on, the field of experts is limited. This company created the Mindport segment:
Wine Table Media
1638 Stanford Avenue
Redondo Beach, CA 90278
310.372.0515
www.winetablemedia.com
philip@winetablemedia.com
To find other vendors in your area, contact the Association of Internet Professionals; www.association.org
Within one week of the shoot you should:
Receive a rough cut (by e-mail)
Get through several rounds of edits with input from you (the producer) and colleagues you choose to include.
Add a sound track
Playing back a digital video:
Audiences need a “player” such as RealNetworks or Windows Media to view web-delivered videos. Newer computers are generally equipped with these, but free versions are easily obtained and downloaded. For the convenience of viewers, include a link such as www.realnetworks.com with all references to the highlights reel.
Distributing a DV:
E-mail as attachment: A two-minute DV will have a file size of about 6 megabytes, no problem for recipients with broadband internet access. However, those using a dial-up modem (such as those traveling) may object to the download time for this size document. Sending the DV as a file ensures that recipients will always have access to it, whether they are online or not.
Send an e-mail with a link: The highlights reel may be posted on a special Customers Only page on the host company’s website. That unique URL can be e-mailed as a link within a follow up message. When a DV is viewed from a website, it does not download to the user’s computer. Instead, the media is “streamed” and merely passes through the player. Keep in mind: Viewers access the web at different speeds. To ensure the best clarity for each viewer, offer streaming media in:
56k for dial up connections
144k DSL and
350k cable modem
Include a brief explanation about playback software with a link to www.realnetworks.com Post a general website version under News, Events, or Customer Service. Include playback options as above.
Post a general website version under News, Events, or Customer Service. Include playback options as above
See you in the movies!
If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact:
