Master Your Media Interview
Project Overview
When we first got wind of the “how to, nail your media interview” training video, it was at the very beginning of 2020. We were still tossing out ideas for talent, script, and maybe a studio shoot. Assessing the budget, and inspired by other eclectic short films, we landed on focusing our efforts heavily in the editing room and using stock and pre-existing visual content to draw interest. What seemed like a good idea in February, became a brilliant idea in the Spring when the pandemic hit, and all in-studio shoots were placed on hold.
And . . . we had fun with it! With lots of room to play in the edit, the CTA Media Training Video was truly a highlight of our work-from-home order.
The Concept
We termed this style a "mixed media video" after the parallel feeling we got to create a mixed media art form. Like collages and assemblages, we planned to link together a variety of assets, layering the pieces in such a way that each unique texture would come together to inform an overall message. To do this, we had to embrace the look of stock footage — not try to hide it amongst b-roll or pretend the stock footage was shot all for one shoot. If you are going to wear stilettos to a ball game, you better walk like you know where you’re headed. For us, that meant choosing BOLD and playful imagery and finding consistency through the brand colors and graphics that anchor it.
Storyboarding
The real joy in creating this video was brainstorming ways to communicate an idea conceptually, rather than just playing show and tell. With a voice over and select b-roll, show and tell has its place, and we did use that method in this video to drive home ideas; but, coming up with unique ways to relate concepts to the viewing audience was one way we sought to engage viewers’ minds throughout this training piece. For example, we chose to show a melting popsicle instead of a sweaty person to warn interviewees about dressing for hot studio lights.
With our storyboarding, we were able to share those unique ideas with each other, and get approval on our bearings with CTA before diving into the editing suite. And their approval was just what we needed — their full trust and permission to pick the best content, knowing full well that we at ArlandCom had the same goals in mind.
Post-Production
The layers to our mixed media video were literally layers. Layers of photos, videos, PNGs, Illustrator files, Photoshop files, After Effects graphics, music, sound effects etc. Working as a team on this edit, we were challenged to learn news ways of efficiently sharing assets and files as we each made edits from the safety of our individual homes. Often this meant the kitchen table in the onset of the work-from-home plight.
