News

VCSvideo Goes Bananas for Branding

VCSvideo has wrapped up production on a series of video shorts created to promote Brand ManageCamp 2008, a world-class branding conference being held October 6th and 7th at the Wynn in Las Vegas, NV. The first in the series of four video shorts will make its debut via email and the internet in early May.

The production process had the VCSvideo team literally going bananas. That’s because a bunch of bananas were among the fresh cast-of-characters featured in the videos, along with eggs, milk, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, and more. The goal? To reach marketers with a clear message: Brand ManageCamp is not your typical marketing conference.

David Fox, creative director, director and writer at VCSvideo, conceived, designed and wrote the videos to convey Brand ManageCamp’s “Fresh Thinking” brand promise. The conference and the videos are targeted to professionals in marketing, communications, advertising and branding; those whose job it is to effectively promote products.

“When you design a message, it has to be one that truly connects with the target audience. I wanted the videos to be fresh, entertaining and effective, not a typical corporate-video promo,” said Fox. “So I thought, ‘Why not have these marketers hear some of their own challenges voiced by the products themselves?’ in this case, talking-food striving to be fresh.”

VCSvideo is a co-sponsor of Brand ManageCamp and will again be attending the conference to stay current with the latest branding and marketing trends.

Video Studio becomes Artist’s Studio

Winsor & Newton, England’s renowned provider of “The World’s Finest Artist’s Materials” with Royal Appointments dating as far back as Queen Victoria in 1841 recently appointed VCSvideo to produce a series of web videos demonstrating their products and proper art material techniques.

Top artists from across the U.S. and Canada converged at VCSvideo’s Mount Laurel, NJ facility where the VCSvideo team transformed their production studio into a customized artist’s studio. Here, all the color, texture, and hints on proper technique were captured in a series of live-to-tape artist presentations.

“Our challenge was to present both a broad-stroke and a more detailed view of each live presentation, and at the same time support each artist’s unique personality and presentation style,” said VCSvideo’s Producer/Director/Writer David Fox. “The combination of vibrant colors and colorful personalities created a great energy in the studio. Part of my job was to make the artists feel at home in the production-studio environment, so they could deliver natural, relaxed demonstrations. They were all great people to work with.”

Once shot, the three programs, “Artists’ Water Colour Large Pans”, “Using Liquin Mediums with Oil Colour”, and “How to Varnish an Oil Painting”, were edited and compressed for the web at VCSvideo’s facility. They are now posted on the Winsor & Newton website at www.winsornewton.com where registered visitors can view them. Winsor & Newton are the brand leaders in both the UK and USA and the largest imported brand in many of their 110 markets around the world.

Summer FUN-damentals - NJ Seasonal Employees Start Out Right!

This summer, thousands will work as Seasonal Employees in the state of New Jersey filling positions as Park & Recreational Center Workers, Lifeguards, Beach Tag Checkers, Public Works employees and more. Their job is to help ensure that New Jersey’s residents and visiting vacationers all have a safe, enjoyable summer in New Jersey.

The process of hiring and training so many seasonal employees can be a daunting task. That’s why VCSvideo was tapped to produce an orientation program that will be seen by these workers throughout much of the state. The video will help make the formidable task more manageable by disseminating a consistent message to each and every new and returning employee.

VCSvideo Director and President Frank Siegel said that the Summer FUN-damentals video program is designed to be a fast-paced, fun-to-watch program that emphasizes the important role each seasonal employee will play while working for municipalities throughout the State of New Jersey. “We want the employees to get started with the right attitude, and with a focus on safety, accountability and job pride. This video will help make that happen,” said Siegel. “In many cases, Seasonal Employees will be making that very important first impression with vacationers. A job well-done will create a lifetime of positive memories for the workers, for visiting vacationers and for New Jersey residents overall, so it’s important that the employees start off on the right foot.”

The program, which features actors as well as appearances by government officials, was shot throughout Ocean City, NJ; on the beach, on the boardwalk, at an aquatic center, and at a public works facility.

Subaru Takes the Road to VCSvideo

When your company turns 40 there’s a lot to celebrate, and it’s worth taking time out to recognize the past, enjoy the present and look to the future. So to kick off their celebration, Subaru of America called on VCSvideo to put together a retrospective video journey through four decades of Subaru TV commercials.

The challenge involved a review of over 350 thirty-second spots, choosing the best from each campaign, and bringing it all together in an inspiring and entertaining way. VCSvideo’s Producer/AVID editor Marla Russell was given the task of selecting and effectively assembling sections from the most notable spots, and for an extra touch of fun the VCSvideo creative team suggested superimposing a dancing pop-up character at the bottom of the screen to introduce each decade by dancing to a musical style popular at the time.

Dancers were auditioned and the scenes were recorded on green screen in VCSvideo’s studio. For each segment, the character was dressed in the clothing and hair styles representative of that particular decade: the sixties hippie, the seventies disco dancer, the eighties Miami Vice guy, the nineties hip-hopper, and the two-thousand’s Gen Y look.

To meet Subaru’s challenge, the program had to be inspiring, the turnaround had to be fast, and in the end it all had to capture what makes a Subaru, a Subaru. The program was a big hit. But that’s what makes VCSvideo, VCSvideo!

VCSvideo Keeps Pace with Danica VCSvideo was called on to cover a public relations event for Argent Mortgage that featured Indy 500 favorite and recent Indy Japan 300 winner Danica Patrick. Patrick met with fans, signed autographs and raced against some lucky fans in a simulated Indy race car while a VCSvideo crew caught the action.	VCSvideo a hit on Broadway When KPMG, one of the world’s top auditing firms, needed to conduct man-on-the-street interviews in New York’s Times Square, they called on VCSvideo to provide the director, the crew, and the editing.

Green Screen Magic

Utilizing green screen in a project can be a tricky, but rewarding proposition. If you decide to take the plunge, make sure you hire someone who has experience. Of course, the easiest thing to do is to simply call VCSvideo. We have years of blue and green screen experience and are always upgrading our techniques and knowledge base on the best ways to shoot and composite green and blue screen. When used well it can turn a potentially ho-hum video piece into a "how'd they do that?" production that gets and holds your audiences attention. Contact us for more information.

Video Re-purposing