Thursday, May 5, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Web Design Job Posting
Metro Productions has an immediate opening for a motivated, multi-talented, creative Web Designer/Programmer to join our team. Individual will be responsible for managing and updating Metro Communications websites and designing/programming websites and applications for clients. Position will be located in Metro’s Richmond, Virginia office. For more information email pbedall@metro-productions.com.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Series- Put video to work for you- The Fundraising Video
With more and more people hesitating to donate to worthy causes due to their own financial restraints, non-profits must find new ways to engage and motivate their potential donors. Using a video presentation to describe your cause and needs will touch not only the mind, but also the heart of your viewer, making it an extremely valuable tool in fundraising. Video can bring your cause to life if used well– it must be powerful, sincere, meaningful, and relatable to your audience.
Utilizing the visual and auditory experience of video, your organization can tell the stories that show the true emotion of the people involved, and those they have helped or need help. Depending on your cause, the video can focus on just about anything— rebuilding a monument, raising money for education, fighting a disease, and so on. Many groups are desperately in need of funding, and a video may be what you need to capture your audience (and their donations).
We find that our clients are using their videos to inspire donations at events (gala), meetings, the web, and even on public access channels. They have already brought the audience into the proper forum to address the situation, and now they have a tool in hand to tie the viewers’ emotions to the problem.
Metro has recently produced several campaigns, including a video for The American Theater called “The Century Campaign.” We partnered with The American Theater to produce a video to encourage the building of classrooms, renovations, and expansion of this historic landmark. The video was shown at each performance, and presented to their board of directors and local business owners. The capital campaign video was awarded a bronze Telly, and has so far raised $2.5 million in donations. We also just recently produced a video for the York Foundation for Public Education, which has a goal to reach $345,000 initially, then create a permanent endowment to support public teachers for years to come. The video is driven by testimonials from foundation employees, partnered business owners, and teachers that have received grants from The Foundation. The video will be played at presentations to businesses and at their annual fundraiser gala.
www.metro-productions.com
www.metro-productions.com
Monday, April 4, 2011
National Association of Broadcasters Show- Next Week!
Headed to NAB next week. Very excited. Maybe I should leave my credit cards at home.
www.nabshow.com
www.nabshow.com
NAB Show Fast Facts
- 90,000+ media and entertainment professionals from over 150 countries
- Over $35 billion in purchasing power represented on-site
- 1,500+ unique companies spread over 800,000 net square feet
- 9 conferences and 3 training programs, featuring more than 500 skill-building sessions
- 1,200+ members of the press
- 85+ years of industry leadership
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Music video shot in Metro studio
On Saturday we had StreetzDeep, a local Richmond rap artist, shooting his newest music video in our studio. There are a few behind the scenes shots on his website.
http://www.streetzdeep.com/
http://www.streetzdeep.com/
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
3D video for your business
At some point over the past few years, most of us have gone into a theater, put on the silly glasses and watched a 3D movie. Whether it was the world-famous Avatar or one of the many animated 3D videos, a great percentage of us were pretty impressed. I remember 3D from the 80’s-- with the blue and red glasses-- and it was pretty bad. Times have changed, and changed for the best when it comes to 3D, that is for certain. Unlike the 3D booms in the past, this time around 3D is not going away. It is here to stay; the major consumer equipment manufacturers are going to make sure of that. After all, once you have bought your 1080P High Definition television for your home, you are set right? Not if you want to stay current and up to date on the latest and greatest. I am not telling you to run out and buy a 3D television….. not yet anyway. Suffice it to say that technology is finally where it needs to be to make 3D viable for the home….and for your business.
I am not here to push 3D technology for consumer use-- I will leave that up to Panasonic and Sony. I’m talking about 3D video for business purposes. Are you one of the many people that have seen 3D and thought about how you could put it to work for your business? If you are, you were probably thinking that it is way too expensive and complex for anyone except a Hollywood film studio. Well, if that is your thought, then I have news for you. 3D technology is accessible and affordable, and can be very effective for your business or organization. In fact, recent industry testing has shown that using 3D video for training can increase retention by close to 30%. Those who work in the training field know that’s not a small increase. Plain and simple, a 3D video can attract attention to you and to your business.
When talking about 3D for business purposes, the key point to remember is that you must control the viewing experience. When I say “control the viewing experience,” I mean that you must provide your viewer with a 3D monitor and the 3D glasses. You can’t simply make a 3D video and send it out hoping that your audience will have a 3D television. This requirement will, of course, limit the usage for 3D in business applications for the short term, but those that can take advantage will see a huge benefit with 3D video.
Keeping in mind that we need to control the viewing experience, what sort of businesses can take advantage of 3D video? I would say that a big one is any that exhibits at tradeshows. If you are running a 3D video in your booth (and promoting it), you are guaranteed to see a huge increase in traffic. Timeshares sales or resorts could also benefit by using 3D tours of the properties they are representing. You head off to get some paperwork, and leave your prospect to watch the 3D video. Like all technology, 3D is moving pretty fast and delivery/viewing options are increasing almost every day.
Bottom line is that producing a 3D video for your company or organization is not out of reach. Sure, it is a bit more expensive than producing a standard video, but the benefits far outweigh the added costs. Since the technology is so new, the tricky part will be to find a company that is able and willing to produce a 3D video that will work for your budget. 3D video production skill is in fairly high demand right now and you can pay a premium because of that demand. My advice is to start locally and see what resources are around. Most importantly, find someone that has done 3D already, not someone who thinks they can learn. 3D requires a special set of skills, the kind that are not learned overnight.
Good luck if you decide to explore the 3D world, and don’t worry-- the glasses won’t be around forever.
www.metro-productions.com
www.metro-productions.com
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
2 weddings and a vacation- Metro Biggest Loser
Spring has sprung and wedding season is upon us. We at Metro are fortunate enough to have two of our own getting married in the next few months. This along with all of our added winter weight gain has provided the spark for our Metro Biggest Loser contest. It is voluntary of course and the winner will get a prize. We are all weighing in on Monday mornings to see how much we have lost. The contest will be over the end of June. With a little hard work, restraint, and a bit of luck the Metro office will be a little lighter and healthier in a few months. Let's go guys!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
First Post
Alright. I just got my blog up and running and I am writing my first post. The plan is to update my blog with videos, pictures and information about the video production, communications, and marketing industries. I think I am funny, so you will see some attempts at humor from time to time. Just ignore them if they aren't funny, but let me know if they are. :-) Talk soon.
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