Category Archives: Management

Inherent Traits/Skills of a Good Production Person

28 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by in Communications, Leadership, Management, Media, Technology, Video

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Whether a staff person or a freelancer, what skills, competencies and personality traits do you consider being most important? When it’s performance review time, how do you assess performance? What factors determine which freelancer or supplier you hire? Whether it’s a Producer, P.A., P.C., or A.P., what competencies are most essential – leadership, creativity, technical skills? Certainly, there’s a lot at stake if it’s a staff person , but even making a decision about a freelancer/supplier who can become the face (and voice) of your department, can be mission critical. Under the heading of “you’re only as good as your last project,” I’m reminded it’s my department’s reputation that is on the line during every interaction with a client, whether face-to-face, on the phone, via e-mail or text. I’m guessing that like me, one of your responsibilities is to make sure the assigned staff person or freelance producer working on a project is the “right one” to put in front the client.

Related to performance assessment, I’m sure every company has a process. In order to clarify performance expectations my company has defined several “Leadership Competencies that represent the key skills and behaviors needed to drive business success.” Along with the “results achieved” in your specific job, these competencies are used to assess performance and identify development opportunities. The competencies range from “Communicates Effectively and Candidly” to “Leads Change and Innovation” and “Plans and Acts strategically.” Others touch on talent development, teamwork, and the ability to influence others. In addition, my officer has shared the following competencies she feels are important to be a leader in the areas of Communications and Corporate Relations. They include:

  • Intellectual horsepower and curiosity – intelligent and agile, deals with concepts and complexity comfortably, able to make sound, reasoned judgments
  • Ability to deal with paradox – can manage through seemingly irreconcilable differences
  • Composure – is calm and calming under pressure
  • Understands others – can see and relate to different perspectives, sensitive to differing feelings, emotions and cultures
  • Relationship management – understands the importance of building and nurturing both internal and external relationships
  • Creativity – develops new and unique ideas, is original and innovative, adds value
  • Courage – able to take and express a contrarian view in a constructive way
  • Influence – gains trust of others and builds relationships in order to influence effectively

Clearly, these are all good qualities/traits and they play an important role when I’m assessing performance or deciding who I want on my team. Having said that, my experience has led me to put more emphasis on what might be considered the “softer” skills. I look for excellent personality traits and interpersonal behaviors, rather than actual production expertise, technical skills or years of experience. Certainly, experience is very valuable and I usually assume that anyone who’s survived in this business for more than five or ten years, most likely has perfected the majority of the competencies and traits listed above.  So, as I’ve alluded to, I lean towards initially assessing a person’s heart rather than their head. Quite simply, first and foremost, I want to work with a nice person. Someone who;
…has a positive attitude.
…has a genuine passion for the crazy business we’re in.
…can look me in the eye and carry on a conversation.
…can tell a joke, and laugh at one.
…I wouldn’t mind spending a tough day/night in the trenches with.
…I can rely on.
…I can trust.
…is not afraid of hard work, but also knows that hard work needs to produce results.
…understands that actions most often speak louder than words, but also knows when and how to “speak up.”
…understands that you’re not entitled to anything – you need to “earn it” – especially respect.

You can teach someone what a good production schedule looks like or how to frame a good shot, direct an edit session or audition talent, but you probably can’t teach them the traits I mention above. They either have it (the heart, passion and personality for our business) or they don’t. In my opinion, if they have good interpersonal skills and make decisions based on ethics and integrity, they’re more than half way home to becoming a great Producer/Director.

Again, just my opinion – would appreciate yours.

Article contributed by Tom Bowman, CMMA Board of Directors

7 Things Seinfeld Taught Me About Business…

04 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by in Communications, Leadership, Management, Media, Technology, Video

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The 90’s were a great time for television. I particularly enjoyed watching the TV series Seinfeld, the show about nothing. IMDB describes it as “the continuing misadventures of neurotic New York stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York friends.” Many of the show’s timeless quotes and sayings are very memorable and quite relatable when it comes to business.

  1. “I know why we have reservations” “I don’t think you do!” – Car rental clerk and Jerry Seinfeld
    Delivering what you promise on time and in full are expectations that our customers demand. Generally, people do not act like Jerry in this clip but it doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking it. In the show, Jerry intends to “pay back” the rental car company’s poor service by damaging the rental car. “Pay back” comes in many forms including damaging your reputation in social media, initiating legal action or simply taking their business elsewhere to name a few. No one wants to be called “a very very bad man” for example.
  1. “Imagine, her taking credit for your big salad” – Jerry Seinfeld
    In this clip, Julie takes credit for buying the “big salad” when George actually paid for it. This didn’t sit right with the characters. This happens in real life all too often. Substitute the “big salad” and replace it with taking credit for the “idea,” “presentation,” “results,” etc. and it will not sit well with your team either. Giving credit where credit is due is far better than taking credit that is not yours.
  1. “Yada yada yada” – Elaine Benes
    Glossing over details leads your stakeholders to speculating on your true intention or drawing the wrong conclusions. If you are the Project Manager it’s ok not to know all the nitty gritty details, but make sure they are identified and acted upon by a team member(s). The importance of clear communication is one of the keys to successful interactions or projects.
  1. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that” – Jerry Seinfeld
    While the quote had a different meaning in the TV show; it can be applied in many different ways including brainstorming and the creative process. Being open to new ideas and others opinions are critical to keeping ideas fresh and engaging. Kramer’s “Coffee Table Book About Coffee Tables” is a great example of out of the box thinking that could turn into a great success.
  2. “I’ll ask the questions” – Kramer
    Kramer provides a humorous take on meeting management in this clip. Sticking to your agenda and utilizing time management techniques help to control your meeting and reach your desired meeting goals. The Harvard Business Review recommends making sure that the meeting is necessary, being clear about the meetings objective and to focus keeping the discussion centered avoiding unnecessary side conversations. Perhaps Kramer attended Harvard?
  1. “You have to motivate yourself with challenges. That’s how you know you’re still alive.” – Jerry Seinfeld
    Being finished should seldom be accepted. Continuous product development and professional development are just two strategies to assist in staying relevant and keeping what you do or sell enticing. How can we do this better, more efficient, take out the choke points?
  1. “You’re an Anti-Dentite!” – Kramer
    Don’t generalize your audience, your customers, or your stakeholders. Knowing who your target audience is an essential part of communication. Speaking their language, using terms and acronyms commonly used in their environment, putting yourself in their shoes, answering their “how does this relate to me” question, and providing actionable information are examples that hopefully will not leave your audience laughing.

Here’s to all of you who, as Kramer says, are “TCB, taking care of business”!

Article contributed by James Fox with Merck & Co. and CMMA Board Member

The Case for the 20 Year Old Mentor

13 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by in Communications, Leadership, Management, Media, Technology, Video

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It’s funny how ideas that seem unrelated, have a way of connecting themselves and lead you to something new and different. This happened to me in 2011 when I heard a presentation by Don Tapscott (Author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, and Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World and others). Don pointed out how much he was learning about the digital landscape from what he referred to as his “young mentors”.

Coincidentally, I was involved in mentoring a young college student at the time. Of course, I viewed that mentoring relationship as one where I would share my sage wisdom and stunning insights based on my vast experience in business and the communications world with my mentee, Nick. But, Don’s presentation made me approach my own mentoring experience in a new way.

As members of CMMA, chances are you are leading a team of people much younger than you. And the communications you and your team are producing are likely being consumed by many people your children’s age or younger. Are you prepared to know what they’re thinking? Do you know the best ways to get them to pay attention? To motivate them? To inspire them? If not, you likely need a 20 year old mentor yourself.

How It Works
Step one of course is to find a mentor. It could be someone on your staff, or another younger employee in your company. Or, take a look at all of those resumes of young people looking for jobs and internships you undoubtedly have sitting somewhere. There’s no shortage of young people today eager to tap into your knowledge and your network of connections.

Once you meet with your potential mentor, lay out the groundwork. The idea is a mutual mentoring experience where you’ll trade your knowledge for his or hers. But, the idea is you are mentoring each other.

The Benefits
What I have learned from Nick – Nick provided me with a clearer understanding of the channels he and his peers rely on for information. It’s clear that he uses email to communicate with old people like me, but, communication with peers is always via digital domains (Text, Twitter, Facebook, Google Hangouts, etc.). Nick doesn’t have an iPhone – he’s all Google and Android. So are his peers. Nick does not have cable television – he and his peers only watch television online. Nick is hungry for learning the tools of the trade for producing video. But, his preference is to use them to produce video in a more youthful, free-form style. Nick’s work ethic is extremely strong. He is willing to put forth huge efforts and time commitments for a task, especially when he can see the value of the task. This runs contrary to the common myth that young people are unmotivated, lazy, disenfranchised and plugged into video games 24X7.

Most importantly, I learned that the youthful enthusiasm and excitement for what we do is essential to being successful. Meeting with Nick put me back in touch with what attracted me to video and communications to begin with. It reminded me how important it is to treat the technology we work with and the communications we deliver as evolutionary rather than a static art where we keep re-using the same channels, methods and processes that served us well in the past. Creating by definition is something that builds toward the future. When you only tap into what worked in the past – you are re-creating. Nick and his peers are all about creating new things and we should follow their example.

What Nick learned – By way of disclosure, Nick sent me his list of what he has gained from our mentoring collaboration. I’ll paraphrase it here.

Nick says he learned a few lessons about leadership and about trends in the industry. Working with our team, I think Nick saw firsthand, that leadership is an essential element since everything we do is collaborative and heavily reliant on teamwork. I think he realized that everyone on the team has leadership responsibility at some point during every project. So leadership is every bit as important as other skills: like writing, producing, editing, etc. In Nick’s words: “Having been an intern in the department, I’ve had the privilege to learn the importance of a forward-thinking leadership style.”

Nick says he also learned to adopt a forward-thinking mindset, to evaluate how a production style or technical element might be used in the future. He learned that it’s important to not only keep up-to-date on technology changes in the industry, but also to keep current on processes to make sure they have longevity. “In essence, I learned to put more work on the front-end to ensure higher-quality productions that meet timeline requirements.

I think Nick also picked up on my personal bias toward avoiding the temptation to adopt new technology too quickly. Again, in Nick’s words: “Through our discussions, I learned to think about the relationship of technology adaptation and client value – keeping away from being on the ‘bleeding edge’, and understanding what that element can realistically bring to a production.”

Nick also realized the important role he played in mentoring me. “Bill is always interested in television content and technology that I keep up with, and I let him know of any trends that I notice. These observations can be as simple as the move to ‘cleaner’ graphics in productions, or as complex as technology interests that may have video applications, but aren’t currently being used as such.”

Lastly, since Nick just recently started his first job at a Community College in the Washington DC area, I think he realized the benefit of having a solid reference that could enthusiastically endorse him when he applied for jobs. We all know what it’s like to be asked to provide a reference for someone we are only vaguely familiar with. But, as a result of the collaborative mentoring experience with Nick, I was chomping at the bit to recommend him when potential employers inquired. In fact, my only hesitancy was the feeling of wishing we could hire Nick to work here if we only had a position open. Again Nick: “I understand the intrinsic value of having a mentor for a career, and deeply appreciate the collaboration that brings it to a much higher level for me.”

Conclusion
So what are you waiting for? I hope this testimonial will motivate you to start working with a 20 year old mentor today. In spite of encouraging signs in the employment market today, there are still a lot of really talented and innovative young people out there looking for a path to the future. By offering a collaborative mentoring opportunity, you can not only help them, but, you just might wind up finding like it did, that you gain the ultimate benefits. You’ll gain new insights into the staff you manage and the people who consume the communications your team produces. You will also re-discover the zest of enthusiasm for what we all do. And you might just hear about the next “House of Cards” or Arcade Fire long before they become mainstream, household names.

Article contributed by Bill Marriott with SAS and CMMA Member

Joy of the Job: Turning Work into Play

16 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Communications, Conferences, Leadership, Management, Media, Technology, Video

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As communication professionals, work is often less about where we go than the things we do. Often our work is done at home, while seated in 23A, on location, or somewhere in the cloud. Yet how fortunate we are to work in a profession that provides an outlet for creativity and imagination. If that’s not how you see your work it’s time for a mindset reset.

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” This quote from George Bernard Shaw offers the philosophical view. Business entrepreneur and investor, Sir Richard Branson, puts it into actionable terms, “Create the kind of workplace and company culture that will attract great talent. If you hire brilliant people, they will make work feel more like play.”

Not part of a company? Doesn’t matter. Branson’s analogy still holds. Communication work is normally done as a team. Some projects can be done solo, but more often than not our work is done in teams. What about turning work into play? It doesn’t mean you don’t work hard or never face boring tasks. But would you rather be doing something else?

I asked a number of friends and professional peers about their experiences in the business and how they find joy in the work they do. Here is a quick mindset reset about the Joy of the Job.

Freedom to Create: There are many ways to structure a communication that meets client objectives. Once you understand what the client needs to communicate, look for ways to construct the project that will interest you and keep you excited. “Too often, we operate under the premise that Corporate Video needs to be dull and uninteresting,” suggests Bill Marriott, Sr. Marketing Director – Video Communications & New Media at SAS and CMMA Southeast Region Director. “Dull and uninteresting are not great differentiators for a business. As a producer it’s important to find something about a project that pushes you to deliver work that excites.”

Make it a Team Effort: Last year the Boston Red Sox won baseball’s World Series title. Some argue they didn’t have the best individual players among teams that made the playoffs. What they had was an intangible, they played as a team and looked like they were having more fun than every team they played. While other teams stressed under pressure, the team of “Beards” became more than the sum of its parts. Gary Shifflet, a former MCA-I President, recently started a new position at Creative Solutions Group as Sr. Project Mgr./Technical Director helping create large-scale trade show exhibits. “I joined the team with the specific goal of helping enhance the interactive experience of visiting an exhibit space.” Gary hit the ground running because of his experience and skill working with production teams towards a shared goal. “Every division is responsible for their own tasks, but also empowered to help each other to reach their goals. It’s an awesome feeling working in a collaborative environment!” Working with a team of empowered professionals is one of the great joys of working as a MediaPro.

A World to Explore: How many professions offer the opportunity to learn something about almost everything? We participate in developing programs on subjects as diverse as our client base. “As a voice talent, one of the aspects of my job I love the best is the variety of industries I get to voice for,” says Liz de Nesnera, Owner, Reservoir Road Productions and MCA-I Secretary. “In fact, it was through a narration job that I discovered the wonders of hydraulic cement! Thanks to what I learned in voicing that job, I was able to fix quite a few leaks in my old basement floor! Who knew? Voice a job, fix your basement. Bonus!” Whether working as an independent or as an in-house MediaPro, the range of topics we’re exposed to can be fascinating if you really pour yourself into a project.

Tools of the Trade: We have great, fun tools to work with. That’s why so many groups across an enterprise want to create their own video productions. As exciting as it must be to fuse a framersham, it’s much more fun to make a video about it. Chris Barry, AMM, Sr. Director, Yellow Tag Productions at Best Buy and CMMA President reminds us it’s not cameras, edit systems, and encoders that make great programs – its people. “Technology has revolutionized our business. The tools we use today to light, shoot and edit are more accessible and less expensive than ever before. But, the skill, experience and ability to use these tools to tell great stories can’t be commoditized.”

Opportunity to Show Off: The projects we deliver are often viewed publically. To clients, the release of every project is like a Hollywood premiere. While most corporate projects don’t have credits… we know. If a program is posted to YouTube, tell me you haven’t sent a link to someone and told them of your role in the project. “I love making other people look good! That’s half the battle,” admits Gerry Harriss, Media Services Manager at Asurion, LLC and CMMA Eastern Region Director. “To be able to craft a message from your work environment and elicit an emotional response is what pushes me toward the next best production. There is no better feeling than people throughout your company saying, I laughed, I cried, I thought, or I felt proud because of the video you produced. You made us look great.”

Ours is a fun profession, or it should be. Golf writer and CBS Sports Analyst Peter Kostis likes to use the phrase, “work like a major leaguer but play like a little leaguer.” If you’ve played any sport you know that practice is hard, but that’s usually not a problem because practice itself can be fun. The same should hold true when managing the work of communication project. It’s work. Yet if in the process you surround yourself with teammates who make the work fun, amazing things can happen.

Article contributed by Tom Morse with SAS and CMMA Member

What Communications Professionals Don’t Know About Video Analytics CAN Hurt Them

18 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by in Communications, Management, Media, Technology, Video

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Communicators that practice marketing know that video is becoming pervasive in today’s modern organization. We use it to market and sell our products, to build communities on social media, to train our employees, and to message across our geographically dispersed organizations. No matter how your company currently is using video, it probably measures video performance across three industry-standard metrics: impressions, views, and engagement.

This data alone can be helpful in determining general audience tastes and preferences and for measuring soft targets such as affinity. Where this data proves insufficient is in providing the evidence a marketer needs to measure hard targets such as sales or loyalty. To date, the link between videos watched and products sold has been hazy at best. Perhaps the viewer shared a video link or tweeted their enthusiasm for what they watched. But did they eventually purchase a product or service, and what role did the video play in accelerating that purchase? That data is harder to tease out.

As communicators, we regularly piece together 360° portraits of our customers. However, we are less accustomed to putting together 360° views of our videos. Historically, we haven’t demanded more from our videos than the traditional views and impressions KPIs. Transformations in the technical landscape are changing that. Video management tools are rapidly evolving, and as a result, video analytics are becoming more sophisticated. With the advent of enterprise video platforms (EVPs), a content owner’s ability to stay tethered to each and every video throughout its lifecycle, including the purchase process, is becoming possible. Gone are the days of publishing your video out to the online ether and wondering how many of those “Likes” and “Shares” will actually translate to sales. Now you can not only track where your videos live and who is watching them, but also what your audience buys as a result of having viewed the video.

Here are just a couple of examples of the new ways in which those that lead marketing are requiring more from their video beyond ‘views and engagement.’

Track the revenue generated by video by integrating video with your sales or CRM software
Your organization is probably already running a sales or CRM platform such as Salesforce. While the native analytics in these systems are strong, most are not video-enabled, thus missing an opportunity to associate content viewing with buying behavior. To have the best of both worlds, leading edge organizations have begun integrating the video management power of their EVPs directly into their existing sales and CRM platforms. This creates a “1+1=3” scenario where the best of each system is married up into a sum that is greater than the individual parts. By capturing the video analytics available in your EVP and tying them to the customer data available in your sales or CRM system, you can complete the missing piece of the 360° view of your videos, i.e. their impact on sales.

Create Measurable Commerce Experiences that Travel Anywhere Your Video Does
Communicators that use video are accustomed to thinking of online video as a tool to capture audience attention, build interest and then drive the audience to a specific destination – a website that you own, or a point of sale — where you can convert interest to action. This presupposes that the actual buying has to take place on a website or app designed for e-commerce.

Technical advances have turned this process on its head. Purchasing capabilities can now be embedded directly into a video player, traveling with it wherever it goes because video players are becoming transactional environments that can live anywhere. Rather than focus on creating videos that get a certain number of ‘views’ or ‘shares,’ it will soon be incumbent on the marketer to also package up entire brand or commerce experiences that can travel on a single embed code, easily “popping up” for the viewer, wherever they come across your content.

Again, the video KPIs in this new world order will begin to task videos with generating measurable revenue. What’s more, by aggregating your video analytics in a single place via an EVP, you can also measure which destinations drive higher purchases relative to the number of video views.

Advances in video distribution and publishing are revolutionizing video analytics and our ability to link content viewing to purchase behavior for a clearer 360° view of our videos. To stay on the leading edge, marketing organizations must explore these and other opportunities to push video KPIs beyond the current ‘views and impressions’ paradigm to truly capture more bang for their video buck.

Article contributed by Lisa Stuardi is SVP of Marketing and Business Development for uStudio and CMMA Partner

Mobile Telepresence Technology Brings New Level of Virtual Interaction to Live Events

07 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by in Communications, Conferences, Leadership, Management, Media, Technology, Upcoming Events, Video

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With a surge in new mobile telepresence technology in the market, companies have more options than ever to integrate remote presentations into live, staged events. One start-up company making headway in this space is Double Robotics. They’ve invented the “Double” – a robot-like mobile teleconferencing system that is controlled remotely. Put simply, the device is an iPad on wheels. The iPad becomes the “face” of the remote person who controls the robot from another iPad or a web browser.

Our creative team was recently tasked with integrating this new technology into a high-level live event showcasing Accenture’s Chairman & CEO Pierre Nanterme, addressing from Paris, France, a large audience at Q Center, our conference facility in St. Charles, IL. The road to success involved several detailed planning stages and coordination among several teams including Accenture’s Technology Labs that provided the robot and used it as part of a larger research and development effort around digital workforces. Here is a breakdown of what we did to make it all work:

  1. Figure out Why. Our first task was to understand why the client wanted to integrate the technology. Knowing “why” informed nearly every other aspect of the planning. Our client was interested in the “cool factor” of the robot, but it was also about creating an “intimate” environment that would allow Mr. Nanterme to be up close and personal with the participants.
  1. Communicate and Delegate. Once we had a clear end in mind, we started laying down a stable path forward by establishing who needed to be involved in the planning and how decisions would be made along the way. We established a clear production schedule that outlined deliverables and responsibilities, including specific touch points with the client and extended production team. How would the robot get on stage? Who would help Mr. Nanterme control the robot from Paris? What was our backup plan if the Double failed?
  1. Test the technology. Then, test it again. And again. Testing was a key factor to our success. We setup two formal testing times before the event where we could have the remote operator in Paris control the robot in a similar environment to the live show. These testing sessions proved critical for success because they allowed issues to surface well before the show date.
  1. Make it Interactive. Remember, our client wanted to feature interaction between Mr. Nanterme and the audience. In the end, we decided to change our game plan for Q&A and invite participants onstage to ask their questions to Mr. Nanterme “face to face.” This aspect of the event made the Double even more fun for them, and allowed us to maintain visibility of the action with our cameras. Each Q&A participant was rewarded for their bravery with the opportunity to take a “selfie” with Mr. Nanterme’s double.
  1. Debrief and Celebrate! Whenever you have a new production element to a show, it’s always a good idea to reflect on what worked and what didn’t – especially with a popular piece of technology that is likely to be used again in the future. We put our heads together for a debrief conference call within two weeks of the show to make sure we documented best practices for next time. We were also thrilled to hear that the use of the Double garnered recognition in Paris’ local press and was a popular feature internally for Accenture.

The Double robotic technology was a huge hit for Accenture as the company continues to experiment with emerging telepresence technology, and it was a unique way for the participants to get in touch with their Chairman & CEO at an important event. As our team looks to integrate other high tech gadgets into our production repertoire, we’ll be sure to follow a similar path in managing the technical and functional considerations to deliver a memorable show.

Article contributed by Thomas M. Densmore, AMM, CMMA Board Member

You Want to Produce What in My Studio?

30 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Communications, Leadership, Management, Media, Technology, Video

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Creating a Multi-Purpose Studio with Modular Sets
Product support, compliance, training, human resources, do-it-yourself, executive suite outreach, internal customer communications, talking head/ interview/ moderator themed shows …. How does a studio media manager/creative producer satisfy the set needs of its diverse internal customers while maintaining the production quality that best represents the corporation? Just consider the challenges of producing a Human Resources training video on the same set the CEO uses to deliver the company’s quarterly results.

One way studios are adapting to meet requests for diverse show identities are through easily reconfigurable sets.  The Boeing Company recently found themselves in just this situation in their Seattle Studios. “The Boeing Seattle studio was originally designed as an instructor operated classroom. It slowly morphed into a production studio for live events. We needed to update the look and add versatility”, stated Richard Gay, Producer Creative and Information Services at The Boeing Company. “A dedicated set was considered as an option but the decision was made to keep the space customizable. We have many internal customers with varied design needs.”   In creating a multipurpose studio space The Boeing Company is producing live and taped training, compliance and corporate communications from their studio reinforcing “in-house” to be the appropriate approach to these projects.

At EMC’s Education Services organization where their 3 video classrooms deliver streaming and recorded training a transformation is taking place. “Over the past year requests have skyrocketed to produce more talking head and interview style recordings” said Steve Howland VILT Production Team Leader at the EMC Corporation.   The first step taken has been to incorporate a versatile desk system that can be set into 7 different configurations and is easily transported into any one of their classroom studios.   Classrooms can now be used for traditional programming in the morning and set for an executive briefing in the afternoon. “The next step is to add a more versatile back wall system that’s more “executive” looking, transportable and will allow for the expansion of chroma-key” added Howland.

Video is becoming the new power point. As noted by Andrea Keating, Owner/Founder & CEO of Crews Control, Inc. in her CMMA Vision Blog posted in June, “Corporate Departments are using more video, more often for more reasons”. But at the same time demand for internal video production rapidly increases most of the infrastructure to support these efforts is being reduced. Never before have studios needed to be more versatile and nimble with their lighting, cameras, editing suites, set elements, program/show identities and staff within an ever more competitive environment to secure funding.

Whether you are in a position to install an entire multipurpose studio today or are looking at incorporating some level of versatility in your existing studio(s) there are 10 questions to consider:

  1. Does the set I’m considering require any on-site assembly or construction?
  2. How easy is it to set and strike the set elements?
    1. Can they be reconfigured without having to be disassembled
    2. How quickly can set changes be made: minutes, hours, days
  3. How are set elements stored and moved?
  4. Can the set be relocated easily to another location?
    1. Will set elements and storage carts fit through standard doors and hallways
  5. How will the set allow me to integrate chroma key and virtual set elements?
  6. How can the modular set be customized to incorporate unique branding or visual requirements?
  7. Can the modular set approach be rolled out into other studio and videoconferencing locations throughout the enterprise?
  8. Is the set design able to be configured by the customer freeing up studio production staff?
  9. Can the set be expanded at a later date (phased-in)?
  10. What’s the cost and what’s the payback?

We hope this information assists you in satisfying the set needs of your diverse internal customers while maintaining the production quality that best represents the corporation.

Contributed by Brian McKinnon, UNISET and CMMA Partner

Quality Music is the Key to Captivating an Audience

26 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by in Communications, Leadership, Management, Media, Technology, Uncategorized, Video

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Whether you’re conscious of it or not, we all listen to music most of the day. From the TV shows, films and online videos we watch to where we dine, shop and even work out – music is everywhere.

It is called sensory branding. It appeals to consumer’s senses to connect to them emotionally, or on a more personal level, so they associate certain thoughts/feeling to the brand or product. Marketers use sensory branding because it works. As a matter of fact, research also found that almost all brand communication focuses on sight and sound.

Although we hear music everywhere we go it takes the right tune to really grasp someone’s attention and not just become a part of the noise.

After all we see and hear day-to-day, businesses must put more thought into what will be an “attention-grabber.” Quality sound not only creates the mood, but also makes the production more memorable. It’s all in the details. We must think about what sound will stand out in the world of today to help our production become successful.

It’s important when working on a production to ask yourself: Do the visuals and copy flow with the music? Does it all create the emotion you desire in your production? And finally, is it memorable?

It takes more than a well-written script to captivate an audience. For years, music has been used to enhance an advertisements success. The music in productions can make it easier to be recollected, as well as cause people to feel a certain way about the product or service – which can drive sales.

Music is a powerful tool – especially when it comes to a business’ production. Overlooking the details can greatly impact the success of your production.

Article contributed by Nancy Aguirre at FirstCom Music, CMMA Partner

Web Distribution- Do We Need Measurement Tools Any Longer?

07 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by in Communications, Management, Media, Technology, Video

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I began my career in TV and special effects. Everything we did was measured both visually and aurally. I prided myself on surviving the transition from analog to digital, knowing color space, black levels, and the transition from 0VU to -20db in audio levels as reference points for any content sent out for air.  My first foray into Internet delivery started with building one of the first Microsoft encoding platforms for MSN. I noticed very quickly that all of my history and pride went out the door when I looked at the results of this content on the web. If you could get past the variable frame rate and low sample rate of the audio, I noticed that the content looked washed out when set up to color bars. It took an intern to show me that his video looked a little richer by adding contrast and increased color values outside of legal limits to make video look good on the web. The interesting thing is the intern had no training in color space, broadcast levels, or any understanding of the use of color bars and reference tone, he just knew it looked better. After a few heated discussions and feedback from our Internet customers, we adopted profiles that were not compliant for broadcast. Recently we have experienced the same transition in audio.

The web, in many ways, is the Wild West. I’ve personally measured hours of various audio content played from the web and the levels are all over the place. With much self-generated content making its way to the web in such places as YouTube, people can output at whatever level and quality they like. This can become a problem for professionals as broadcast levels are typically much lower and delivering a separate, louder mix may not be a possibility.

Recent developments in the audio industry have brought us tools for measuring loudness in a much more accurate way. These tools demonstrate audio loudness in LKFS or LUFS. By and large these terms are interchangeable with LUFS being a more current rendition. Starting in Europe and now being adopted in America, LUFS metering has become what could almost be described as the first universal standard for audio loudness metering with it becoming the law in many regions across the world. In America, we have the CALM Act to keep commercial loudness at bay.

Here at MPS, our audio team has been investigating this situation for the better part of five years. As a result, we have arrived at what we believe is a great solution for delivering content to broadcast legal audio levels while having a louder, more competitive spec for online. Compliance with the CALM Act requires a program loudness of -24LUFS and a peak level of -2dbtp. That’s an additional 8db of headroom or dynamic range compared to previous program levels which peaked at -10dbfs. Some material may benefit from this additional dynamic range such as movies or dramatic TV shows, but by and large, news, reality TV, and music may still choose to peak limit lower than -2 for a less dynamic audio experience. At MPS our audio team has chosen to work at a level spec that is louder to the CALM Acts requirements since the bulk of our deliveries are for web. Our online spec is -2dbtp and -16LUFS. What’s great about this is that content does not require re-mixing if used for broadcast. Simply normalizing the program audio -8db or to -10dbtp and -24LUFS would make the content broadcast legal. You could say that the same mix creates two deliveries. Pretty cool.

From a management perspective I have good and bad news. Bad news is I rarely see the use of scopes or measurement tools. The good news is how much money we saved by not having a suite of measurement tools in every production room.

Article Contributed by Brian Honey, CMMA Board of Directors

A Unique In-House Resource

06 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by in Communications, Conferences, Leadership, Management, Media, Technology, Uncategorized, Video

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Have you ever had to justify your department’s existence?  If you’re like me, maybe more times than you’d like – it’s not a fun exercise.  It can be precipitated for several reasons…your company’s soft or declining business results, a restructuring or reorganization, a new senior executive looking in the wrong place to save money, or worse yet, an outside consulting firm brought in to identify cost efficiencies.  For some, it might be part of your regular year-end process.

Whatever the reason, you need to be prepared and ready to demonstrate the value of your department.  To make it even more challenging, you might be preparing a report for someone who doesn’t know you or have a clue what you do and how well you do it.  I’ve been involved in several of these justifications and fortunately all have resulted in positive outcomes – hence, I’m still around to write this!  Our approach to these reports is simple and straightforward – we’re confident that we have a good story to tell, careful to not be defensive and report as many “facts” as possible.  Here’s what we include:

  • Our department’s mission/vision statement that articulates what we do for the company and how we deliver business results.
  • Testimonials, especially from senior management and other influential clients.
  • Regarding costs, we are a partial charge-back department.  We charge for our all our production services (graphics, video production and editing, staging and technical direction) and pass-through all outside costs (freelancers and equipment rental).  We provide creative and producing consultation at no cost.  For the report, we benchmark outside production companies and include a cost comparison against our internal rates for similar services.  We try and maintain our chargeback rates at 10 – 50% below “street prices.”  Using the outside rates as a reference we calculate what the company would need to spend to if our department didn’t exist – and to be fully transparent, we subtract our salaries and expenses.  We also include actual cost-savings examples from client projects; e.g. what a five-day edit would have cost on the outside versus in-house.
  • While cost is obviously a very significant component of the report, I feel the following has become almost as important.  It’s a separate document that describes what we call “Inherent strengths UNIQUE to our department that benefit our clients.”  We’ve developed and fine-tuned the list over the years – here it is:

Company Knowledge – We know the company exceedingly well – our history, people, culture, values, priorities and our business strategies – we’re in a unique position to see across the broad organization day-in and day-out.

Shared Goals and Vision – With our clients, we are equally vested in the success of the company; we’re system first; clients can trust us to do the right thing…we’re on the same team.

Value – Financial profit is not our motive; reasonable prices for our services allow us to deliver a unique in-house value to clients, while positively impacting G&A.

Program/Event Expertise – We are experts at producing our company’s programs and events; often, we are the consistent link.

Visual Assets – We possess and manage the largest, most complete collection of our company’s visual assets anywhere in the world – photo and video.

Confidentiality/Security – We operate behind the corporate firewall; our visual assets are secure; we provide company staff for confidential programs.

Responsiveness – Being in-house, and working with our staff communications partners, we are well positioned to respond to urgent and even crisis communication needs.

Seven simple but very impactful statements that make this section of the report what I enjoy sharing most.  No outside production company or agency can lay claim to any of these strengths.  And of course it goes without saying, (and my internal clients need to agree) that my internal Creative Services and Meetings & Events team is as good or better than any outside production company or agency.

My wish would be that you’re never in a situation that necessitates the preparation of a department justification report, but if the need ever arises, I hope you find the above information useful.

Article contributed by Tom Bowman, CMMA Board of Directors