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What do Pepsi, the Milwaukee Bucks, and Solstice Productions Video have in common?  We were all just named Telly Award Winners this morning!

We’re proud to celebrate our Silver Telly Award for Non-Broadcast honoring KWAME Building Group’s 30th Anniversary Video.  Congrats as well to KWAME for 30 amazing years!

And what does Standing Partnership have in common with KWAME?  They also chose Solstice to help tell their 30th Anniversary Story.

Check out the video, and raise a glass in celebration.

To Script or Not to Script?

That is the question asked by just about every business when they embark on a new video project.  There are some situations where a script is absolutely imperative to a good project, such as:

• Animation of any kind:  An animation is most effective (and cost effective) when carefully planned, tightly scripted, and laid out in a storyboard before a single frame is created.
• Training videos:  A well-planned script will ensure that your training content is clear, concise, and, most importantly, memorable.
• Video ads under 60 seconds in length: whether you plan to use the ad on TV, in social, digital placement, or anyplace else, scripting will help deliver a big impact in a short amount of time.

If you’re planning any of the above videos, or any video where a script will be used, it is worth the investment to work with a professional scriptwriter (we have them on staff, if you’re looking).  Scriptwriting differs from writing newsletters, blogs, email drips, white papers, or any other content that is meant to be consumed by reading because of a very important distinction – scripts are meant to be watched (seems obvious, but if this isn’t what you do every day, it can really trip you up).

A great time to not script?  Any time you’re asking non-actors to appear on screen.  Writing a script is hard.  Performing a script in a believable way?  Hey, that’s why George Clooney makes the big bucks.

The approach that we recommend is:

• Plan your video well.  Know what your outcome goal is, the key highlights of your story, and who can best help deliver those key points
• Hire a professional interviewer to design and conduct on screen interviews (hint, hint.  We have those, too!)
• Hire a professional story editor (yes, you know it, we have those on staff) to organize your interview soundbites into a strong story.

There are many “happy not-so accidents” that will come out of this approach, including:

• Authentic soundbites that engage audiences
• Interview subjects look and sound confident
• Extra material that can lead to additional videos, such as this “Thank You” video we created as a value add when Conley Financial Group hired us to create a new merger announcement video.

Not sure how to approach your next video, or looking for some help?  You know where to find us.

The end of a year comes with a lot of activities, demands, last minute and not-so last minute things to attend to, and hopefully, the opportunity to reflect, to celebrate, and to prepare for the next one.

Here’s hoping you have a beautiful and joyful holiday season, and an amazing 2022!

This job continually reminds me that a focus on the little things can have a major impact.  It might be the placement of a tool, an award, or another object in the deep background of an interview frame.  An extra half second on a transition in an animation.  A properly placed word or graphic.  And suddenly a scene becomes more than the sum of its parts.

The same is true when we look at the many assets of our diverse community.  We recently had the pleasure of being invited to create a Hero Video for Eye Thrive, a St. Louis based non-profit that provides free eye exams and glasses to lower income kids throughout the region.  (You can learn more about Eye Thrive, and how to support them, here.)

A pair of glasses can seem like a little thing – until you meet someone like Dontrell, a 4th grader who opens the featured video by saying “I always wanted to see, ever since I was just a little kid.  But my mom said we couldn’t afford glasses.  Then the eye doctor showed up in a RV!”

That new pair of glasses is going to help Dontrell and thousands of kids like him focus better in school, perform better academically and athletically, and truly see and experience the world around them.  It’s a small thing with a huge impact for the kids, the schools, and the community.

Sometimes, like these kids who get their first pair of glasses from Eye Thrive, we realize that something is not quite right, not quite in focus, but we couldn’t say what it is until someone with experience puts the right lens up to our eyes and it all becomes clear.

Looking for some help putting your brand story into focus?  We’ve got the lens for that – give us a call.