Documentary Filmmaking

Documentary Filmmaking is different than the usual project for Savvy. Documentary filmmaking is capturing real life, it’s not scripted or pre-determined. The best thing a filmmaker can do while making a documentary is have a clear vision, stay organized and communicate.

Since June 2017 Savvy has been producing, shooting and editing a short documentary for the Chester County Food Bank. As a result, Savvy has loaded and logged hundreds of hours of footage from several shoots. To manage the workflow and data, it’s important to keep the drive and files organized. Savvy remained concise and consistent through each data dump by naming the main folders with their date and location. The footage was further organized into ‘Broll’ and ‘Interview’ footage. This helped the editor stay organized and browse footage quickly. Also, with this amount of assets, it is imperative to back up the project on a separate external drive; Savvy backed up all files after every shoot and major edit sessions.

Along with the hundreds of hours of footage, there is hundreds of hours of planning and scheduling. Savvy and the Food Bank collaborated closely from the inception of the project. The Food Bank asked Savvy to capture their everyday interactions with volunteers, farmers, and partners.The Food Bank and Savvy worked together to create a shooting schedule in correspondence with activities around the Food Bank. A shooting schedule like that means planning a shoot, getting clearance at a location, and securing interview subjects a month in advance; or sometimes in three days. When shooting a documentary it’s about being in the right place at the right time and most of the time those moments are unplanned. Either way, it is important to stay flexible with scheduling, when possible, and keep communication between client and production open and constant. Due to careful planning in pre production, Savvy was always prepared with Broll ideas and questions for every interview subject.

Some of the many other hurdles with documentary filmmaking are weather, capturing good interviews and audio, and working without a shot list. Everyone knows sunlight is the best light, but when shooting outside there should always be a plan B in case of inclement weather. Documentaries capture real life, and people get sick or double-book themselves in real life too. As a filmmaker, it is good to have several interviews lined up at one location instead of relying on one person for a story. Most of the time, locations are not pre-scouted by production; meaning filmmakers have to be prepared for any lighting and sound situation. It is good practice to always have ambient sound with Broll footage using an on-camera mic, and to mic interview subjects with both a lav and boom to ensure good quality audio. There are no pre-built sets for documentaries, and not every location is well lit, this hurdle requires the skill of filmmakers to design and capture a shot on-the-spot.

Savvy is currently in post production for the Chester County Food Bank’s short documentary. Overall, this project is successful because of client-filmmaker collaboration and the skill of the production team to make a organized but flexible schedule. Savvy is expert in non-profit and corporate video production. Check out Savvy’s website for examples of work and get in contact for your companies next marketing video!

Video Integration in Digital Marketing Part 2

Second half of Savvy’s two-part blog series about how video integration in marketing enhances companies marketing effectiveness and why video is needed now more than ever to promote a brand or product. Here are the second five reasons why a company should invest in video content. These are the last five reasons why Savvy believes it is imperative to integrate video content into digital marketing such as social media and blog posts. When looking to higher a production company/ video experts, consider Savvy Production; Savvy has expertise in every aspect in production from script writing to editing.

6. Stronger Customer Attention

With customers limited attention spans, creative marketing strategies are tricky than ever. The goal is to capture and keep the audience's attention. Some people may say there is a “content overload” these days, which may be true, so it's up to the marketer to take the audience's attention from another piece of content onto your own and video can do just that. Video is currently the most effective technology and strategy to convey a message is this fast-paced and technology driven era.

7. More Video- Favored Technology

With the increase consumption of video and the resulting rise in production, it’s no wonder social media sites like Facebook or Instagram have begun integrating auto-play in their video based content. Meaning, as you scroll through your newsfeed and come across a post with video, it will start to play without any prompt from the user. A moving image is proven to catch the attention of a viewer more so than a still image. It’s hard to argue that a status update or a link to a website will catch the viewers attention like a video will. When posting video content on your website, social media page or in an email campaign, consider enabling “auto-play”.

8. Higher Retention Rates

These days people's attention spans are shorter and shorter; unlike text-based content, 65% of viewers watch three fourths of videos. If you can manage to get the point of your message across in the first half of your video, the viewer is more likely to retain your marketing message.

9. Rise in Accessibility

When video production first started it was expensive, time consuming and people knew little about the production process. More recently, video can be produced quicker and with less technical hurdles, thanks to evolving technology and accessible knowledge in the subject. Savvy Production LLC can help you make a quick and relatively inexpensive video for your upcoming marketing campaign or launch of a new website!

10. Increased Customer Conversions

Last, but maybe most importantly, video content in marketing converts more customers than any other type of marketing. 71% of marketers say video conversion rates outperform other marketing content. Its as simple as that. 

Pre-Production Steps to Help Your Video Project Run Smoothly

Pre-production plays a huge role in any motion project.  It is the necessary step (and step with most work to do) that compiles the necessary information for both parties involved-- crew and client.  Since most of the work is done pre-production, it can help keep a tidy outline that keeps your project organized and running smoothly.  Here is a list from a blog post we stumbled upon that nicely highlights the vital steps in video making:

• Brainstorming
• Research-Primary-Secondary
• Proposal-Pitch(Synopsis)
• Production Schedule
• Budget
• Storyboard
• Location Recce -Risk Assessment
• Contingency Plan -Back Up Plan
• Shooting Schedule
• Call Sheets
• Production-Film Shoot -Shot Blog
• Offline Edit -Rough Cut
• Watch-Review=Online Edit

source | https://lukejames7.wordpress.com/unit-1/unit1-why-is-pre-production-so-important/

Showcasing Your Company | Using Web Marketing Video Production to Explain Your Brand

Who is your company? What are your company's values? What makes your brand "THE BRAND" for people to choose?

These are questions you should ask yourself when deciding how you want to showcase your company's message.  This type of video will give audiences insight on your company/brand's personality and what makes it stand out to its competition.  Whether it's corporate or non-profit, a company video can show what your company's values are what drives you to do what you do.

Here is a video Savvy shot for Philabundance:

 

Showcase your responsible endeavours

Corporate Social Responsibility is a big part of many companies’ culture and ethos. Showing what initiatives your brand spearheads or takes part in is a great way to show potential clients and customers a little bit more about who you are and what you stand for. Many people take a companies’ ethics into account when choosing who to do business with, so showing what you do to make a difference in the world is a good way to build trust.

source | http://happyhourproductions.co.uk/news/2016/11/types-of-corporate-video/

Product Demo Video | "How do you use this?"

There is no better way than to show how your product works than to have visual proof of someone using it.  Whether it's more helpful to see someone's interaction with the product, which buttons to press and when, or even simply how to properly pick it up, having a visual moving image can help audiences understand better than plain words can.  And because most people are visual learners, it will give them quicker insight on how your product can be used most efficiently. 

Here is a product demonstration video for Soniclear:

Product demonstration videos

After watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online* so instead of crafting compelling but long-winded product descriptions why not use video to showcase the product or service and how it works? This is especially effective if you have a lot of different features that can be hard to explain. Videos of this type can feature an actor or employee showing the product, an animation or even a whiteboard animation style video.

Google Chrome created a heart-warming video to showcase how the extensive features of Chrome can be used to document the life of a loved one. Whilst this video doesn’t go into all the finer details of Chrome, it gives enough of an insight for anyone wondering what the interface looks like and how it can be used. It’s also exactly the type of video content that is likely to get shared, spreading knowledge of the product even further.

source | http://happyhourproductions.co.uk/news/2016/11/types-of-corporate-video/

Brand Video | Your Message in Motion

A branding video is a condensed collection of information and visuals that give your audience a quicker, more efficient idea of what your company is all about.  This can be a video about your company's personality, how your products/services work, customer/patient satisfaction, or a combination of all three.  Your targeted audience will understand your brand in a simplified and short video rather than paragraphs of information.  

Check out life's little uncertainties in this branding film for the insurance industry:

This is the video that should sit on your homepage or About Us page. It needs to encapsulate your brand in one short, catchy video. You could use it to tell your brand story, highlight your values and what you stand for, or simply state what you do, why and how you are different from your competition. This should be the flagship piece of video content that communicates clearly to your customer who you are and why they should be looking at your site.

source | http://happyhourproductions.co.uk/news/2016/11/types-of-corporate-video/

Testimonial Videos

Video testimonials are key to successful marketing for your brand. The majority of audiences are visual learners and nothing is more reassuring than real facts, real experiences, and real interaction from your patients/clients/customers.  For the healthcare market, this is an example of a patient testimonial Savvy produced for The Spine Institute of North America:

"You must have lots of great feedback from your clients and customers, raving about your products and services. Maybe they’ve provided you with case studies and quotes which you already share with other prospective customers. A great way to make this testimonial even more compelling is to film it. You can do a simple piece to camera where your clients answer questions about how your product or service helped them. You can also use text or animation to give important information and data about exactly what benefits your brand bought them. These testimonials can then sit on your website, ideally above the fold on a key landing page to help persuade viewers of your credentials. You can also use them in sales pitches and marketing emails."

source | http://happyhourproductions.co.uk/news/2016/11/types-of-corporate-video/

Shore Medical | Healthcare Video Broadcast Spot

Combine a hurricane, a 23 piece orchestra, a shooting crew of 25, brand new surgical suites and you have the raw ingredients for a great TV spot for Shore Medical.  As a co-creative and DP, this shoot was demanding, challenging, and entirely satisfying creatively.

Jump for Joy: Joie Baby Spin 360

We used our handy drive-in white cyc studio to shoot the production; Allowing perfect white background and soft lighting for interior car shots.  The script was written with very legal specifics which had to be followed very carefully during the action, always fun with children and babies.  Post production was handled in-house using Premiere and After Effects.

Still Waters Run Deep: A Branding film by Savvy Video Production

A few days this fall the Savvy team had the pleasure of traveling to Pottstown, PA to visit and film at the Manatawny Still Works Distillery and Bar.  The Manatawny team showed us how the distilling process worked and some tricks to making the perfect whiskey cocktail (hint: a giant ice ball).  You can visit them for a tour, meet friends at the bar or buy their products at the Pottstown location.  They distill rum, whiskey, vodka and gin which are available at a number of fine drinking establishments throughout the Philadelphia area and are also being sold in state stores across Pennsylvania.  

"Manatawny" is a Lenape word which means 'The place we meet to drink' and this has driven the philosophy of the Manatawny Still Works brand:

“Our distillery is modern, but our practices are based on old world production with a reverent nod to the history of the region. From the Lenape Indians, whose name for the nearby creek we borrowed for our distillery to historical figures of importance, for whom we named some of our very first spirits. The spirit of Manatawny is focused on quality, but rooted in the past.”

We hope our film for them captures that brand essence and showcases what an amazing space the Manatawny Still Works distillery is, learn more about MSW here and watch our film above!