Video Example: Golisano Children's Hospital

The power of moving image is its ability to tell a complete story. This video was produced by Dixon Schwabl during my time there to be used during a fundraising event for the Golisano Children's Hospital. The objective was to raise money to purchase specialized anesthesia equipment, but it does more than that -- it paints a picture of hope, caring, love, and mission.

To put this video together on a tight budget, planning was critical... we had to know what we were going to shoot, and how.  Since it was "unscripted" we then had to pull the story out of the material that we shot. Finally, pacing, music, graphics -- all the elements had to come together to create the perfect "event" video.

I point out that the first and most important showing of this video was at a fundraising event for a reason. When producing a video to be shown on a big screen in a darkened room, to a large crowd of people, you need to think in terms of the group dynamic and overall experience... for example, white flashes in the video will momentarily brighten the room, and viewers may catch a glimpse of their neighbor's face... music also affects an audience deeply, especially sudden changes in styles or tone.

Update: Sorry -- video embedding prohibited by Dixon Schwabl -- you can view the video on their YouTube channel, dixonschwabl.

Video Example: Murcadom Web Video

Jason Murphy, president of Murcadom, wanted a way to present his extended elevator speech via the web and on demand... just the facts, clean and simple. And since he, his expertise and his passion are at the heart of his business, that's where the team I led while at Dixon Schwabl put the focus.

Just because the budget is low doesn't mean there can't be a few bells and whistles.  The graphics are well designed, and used sparingly (we didn't want it to look like a taped PowerPoint presentation). And if you watch closely, you'll notice the subtle -- but very cool -- way the glow from the graphic sometimes interacts with the shoulder of Jason's jacket.

Video used by permission of Murcadom and Jason Murphy.

Creativity and ROI

Creativity isn't hampered by pesky parameters or rules established by the client. In fact, creativity is like a magic box -- exactly as big as it needs to be on the inside, regardless of how big it looks from the outside.

Here's a column I wrote several years ago for The Meeting Professional. Although the context was meeting production, it really applies to any creative project.

Creativity and ROI