As with any communication project, it's important to conceptualize a potential video before any actual production begins. What story should the video tell? What should the scale of its production be?
Concept Meeting
We want to match the production scale of your video to its potential shelf life, complexity, and the required turnaround time. Let's meet to start considering some or all of these questions.
The Big Questions
- See the "typical program formats" described below. Does your video fit one of those categories?
- Many programs consist of interviews complemented with "B-roll." (Supplemental video footage cut in while the interviewee is speaking is called "B-roll.") Are interviewees and, if needed, easy-to-shoot B-roll visuals available for your story to be told?
- What components (both visual and aural) make this story a video rather than a web page or print project?
- Who is (are) the intended audience(s)?
- How does this video fit into your department's overall marketing and communication plan?
Production Scale
- What is the needed turnaround time?
- How many locations and times for filming are required?
- Will our "in house" team be able to do this project, or will you need to budget for Purdue Marketing and Media and/or an outside video production firm to realize your vision?
Production Planning
- Who will need to appear on camera to achieve the intended tone of the video?
- Are those people readily available?
- What will these interviewees need to say to successfully deliver your story?
- Will interviewees be answering questions posed by an (off-camera) interviewer or reading prepared remarks? Who will write those questions and/or remarks?
- Has the overall message been crafted in cooperation with key stakeholders (appropriate deans / directors / department heads and Technology's Marketing Communication team)?
- Interviews and voiceovers need context-appropriate visuals to tell the story. At what specific locations and times will we need to shoot B-roll footage necessary to successfully tell the story?
- What locations and equipment (such as lighting) do we need so that the video will be aesthetically pleasing?
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Who needs to be contacted to secure logistics (locations, crew, equipment, etc.)?
If necessary, have release/consent forms been signed? (See these guidelines.) - Is existing video footage available which may be used as supplemental B-roll or interview material?
Typical Program Formats
Categorizing a video into one of these formats simply helps us estimate the scale of a project. These are some program formats:
- Interview of a faculty or staff member, student or alumnus, or industry representative
- Facility Showcase: We can imagine videos in this category ranging the scale from simple to elaborate. A simple video might show off one room, laboratory, or piece of equipment, filmed during an hour or two. A more complex video might present a construction or remodeling project from beginning to end of a room, a wing, or even an entire building.
- Department Overview
- Promotional
Please see our YouTube channel to view videos we've completed.
Production / Post-Production / Delivery
During the production phase, we will work together to film interviews, acquire B-roll footage, etc. Once all required footage has been filmed / acquired, post-production begins; the footage is assembled and edited into a coherent story. The greater the scale of the project, the more time will be needed for post-production. At the concept meeting, we will discuss whether and how often you will see prerelease versions of the video. When ready, the video will be published to Purdue Polytechnic's YouTube channel and/or made available in an appropriate format (e.g. uncompressed Apple ProRes 4444; compressed full-resolution 1920 x 1080 H.264; or, if necessary, compressed to a lower resolution) for use on your own YouTube channel (or elsewhere).