By Shaan.

This time of the year is often associated with resolutions, so here we are with a few tips about video making and things to do in 2015:

1. Focus on quality

There are many options to make videos, from shooting your next company event with your smart phone, to hiring a full crew with tons of fancy equipment for a commercial. No matter what you choose, always prioritize quality over quantity, whether in terms of production value (the fancy commercial) or storyline/concept (the fun smartphone clip). It’s not about making as many videos as possible, but about making the right ones. Consumers will appreciate well-done or well-thought videos, and will keep in mind a positive image of your brand. Cheap video services will hurt your image, your business and your sales.

2. Think globally…

No matter what your business is, video is the best way to communicate with the world, and one that will get you noticed, drive traffic to your platform, and create brand recognition and increase sales.

The numbers are clear:

–       100 million: number of Internet user who watch online video each day.

–       80%: Internet users who recall a website where they saw a video.

–       90%: online shoppers who find video helpful in making buying decisions.

–       75%: executives that watch work-related videos on business websites at least once a week.

Etc etc, and the list goes on … If video isn’t already a part of your marketing strategy, you should at least do a test run in 2015, and measure how it tremendously affects you bottom line.

3. … But also internally

Video production can be a great tool to communicate among your company and employees . Either for sharing some specific information like new acquisition or change in business policy, but also to strengthen team bonding and the overall culture of your brand. Brand culture is very important to ensure consistency over the different levels of your business, and videos can be a great tool to maintain this internal consistency. Research have shown that emails with a video are being read twice as much than those without one. What about dropping a quick video in your next address to your teams? This will definitely ensure a greater attention to your message.

4. Define your goals

Get your marketing horses in line. For better efficiency in communicating a message, your videos must have a clear objective, and a specific storyline that comes with it. Considering that you’ll lose about 1/3 of your viewers by 30 seconds, 45% of them by 1 minute and almost 60% by 2 minutes, you will have better results by targeting your videos to one specific audience at a time rather than trying to make one that says it all.

A few questions can help determine which videos represent a better investment. What do you exactly need? What do you already have? Instructional videos? Brand promotion? Product videos? Where do you first need to invest your money?

5. Develop strong partnerships

Choose partners that provide added value for you and run with them. The more your video partners know you and your brand, the more they can create customized and efficient content that will WOW your audience. Creating video is a craft. It takes a deep understanding of your marketing goals, and needs to transform a brief into moving images and sound that resonate with your audience.

The more the craftsmen you hired know you, the better their creation will be.

IN BRIEF:

The post 5 Good Video Marketing Resolutions for 2015 appeared first on Helium Films.

Because we believe in the future of videos in the e-commerce market, we are now partnering with TV Page !

The TVPage Video Commerce Network is built on a proprietary page and monetization platform. They work with leading Content Creators, Brands, Retailers and Media Companies to drive both branding objectives and sales from video across multiple properties and devices. Also based in San Diego, California, their team is passionate about improving video marketing and monetization, on a grand scale. They look forward to working with you to increase interaction with your viewers, leading to higher retention rates and increased sales across all channels.

Want to know more? Just watch their video and visit their website !

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By Shaan.

For many of us – video professionals or clients – what makes filmmaking a fun and entertaining job is the shooting part. Cameras ready, actors prepared, light equipment in place, and action! Suddenly a whole new world is created, filled with amazing stories. Most of our clients understand the process of shooting but not necessarily what comes before or after.

Scriptwriting and the development of a relevant and intelligent story often does not happen in a day (even though we often have to charge it that way). With experience and practice we created writing recipes and methods depending on the type of videos, however, each story, each brand, and each client have their own specificities that need to be well thought from the beginning.

• Brand identity

There are a few things that can make the script writing process more efficient, and prevent bad surprises. First, does the client already have a brand identity? If yes, it will direct the look, style, and overall feeling of the video. We all recognize and remember brands like Apple, McDonald’s, Disney or Louis Vuitton because they established a strong and consistent identity. Colors, typography, and message, all of these components build the story of a brand that people can relate and identify to. But when PepsiCo’s Tropicana launched their new design for Pure Premium line, their sales dropped by 20% in only two months. They were forced to go back to their original branding design, which made their consumers happy (or at least less confused). We will see how the green bottle Coca Cola Life does… Establishing a clear identity with a specific visual branding and messaging is key for the company’s growth. And when it comes to videos, this identity must translate.

Having a background in advertising and strategic planning, we always enjoy creating new branding and visual identity for some of our clients who do not already have a clear one (often start ups, but also small to medium size companies). Although this process requires time and the strong involvement of both parties, it always pays off at the end and sets the company off to a good start where brand recognition can grow.

 “For a truly effective social campaign, a brand needs to embrace the first principles of marketing, which involves brand definition and consistent storytelling.”, by award-winning branding consultant Simon Mainwaring.

• Setting a goal

The second important component for writing a good script is its intended goal. A video needs to aim at a specific objective to be successful. Is it for your current customers or new targets? Is it educational or promotional? Is it for the web or TV? Is it for a Kickstarter campaign or for social media platforms? Is it supposed to be funny, scary, emotional… All of these questions will lead the direction of the scriptwriting as well as the style of the production: casting, lighting, type of shots, music, etc… Having clear goals for your videos will ensure you get the most bang for your buck: something that is on point, powerful, and produce great return on investment. (if you need more on the subject, here is a bunch of powerful TED talks on “setting goals”).

• A good example

Recently, we had an international client that wanted to make a corporate video. They were on a verge of an IPO, and needed to share their philosophy and services with prospective investors, and the general public. The challenge was to make a 6-min documentary style video introducing all the top management as well as clients and retailers. We had to shoot a mix of interviews and b-roll in 6 different countries, with 6 different languages. All this in less than 1 month! When back in San Diego for the post-production, even though we had hours and hours of footage to sort, we were able to send the first edit in only 4 days, and the final product just a few days later. How were we able to pull that off? Because we had a very detailed script that was approved by both parties before starting to shoot. With this script, we were able to streamline the shooting and editing process. We knew all along where we were going and everything ran smoothly. At the end of the day, the client was very happy and our job made easier. All this thanks to a well thought script.

Check the behind the scenes photos of our shooting.

Sometimes for the sake of fitting into the budget, preproduction takes a hit. Because most clients undervalue this part of the process, most production companies tend to minimize it and pass the costs of it in other lines of the budget. But remember that even if you have small or big production means, the story and concept is what people will remember.

The post Scriptwriting: A Project’s Backbone appeared first on Helium Films.

 
Every time we go to a networking event or simply meet new people, one question always comes back: why aren’t you in L.A.? Why, as producers and filmmakers, would you be in San Diego rather than Los Angeles?

From a client’s perspective, the doubt and questioning of our location (a.k.a. San Diego) is understandable and legitimate. It’s nothing new that Hollywood is the capital of the film industry, alongside with New York City. Not like in San Diego, one can find thousands of actors, producers, directors, technicians, studios, and everything else one needs to “make a film”. So, again, why San Diego?

From a video production point of view, we have two answers, or maybe we should call them “reasons”. First, Los Angeles is a crowded place, especially if you aren’t deeply connected (yet) or fortuned. The competition is fierce, and the number of clients proportionally reduced. From a one-man show guy that can do it all, to the biggest production companies with all the means, clients face an incredible number of options. Adepts of any levels from skilled students to well-known professionals, from low-cost to million-dollar budget, from creative to conservative companies, everybody is fighting for clients as well as crew members. In L.A., like American psychologist Barry Schwartz would explain in his book “Why More Is Less”, when you have too many choices, too many decisions, and too little time, well you will often feel unsatisfied (I really recommend his TED Talk). Let’s not forget that in a city of abundance like LA, it also comes down to the budget, if you’re not Coca-Cola or Walmart, you might just get the lower end of the bargain. And as a production company, it’s pretty clear that the more we are, the hardest it is to standout.

In San Diego, there’s a lot to create, but not that many creators.

In San Diego, if you do it well, there’s a real opportunity. As a very entrepreneurial city, new clients appear everyday. As a matter of fact, in March 2014, Forbes named San Diego “the best place in the country to launch a startup.” Coming from San Diego State University, we’ve witnessed how they lead one of the best entrepreneurial programs of the country (Forbes again), from where originated big brands such as Rubio’s Grill , Jack in the Box, and Volcom, but also promising ones like Solo Eyewear and ShakeSmart. Considered the Silicon Valley of BioTech, San Diego is also home to many successful technology companies. Who wouldn’t start a business in “the finest city”? It’s sunny all year long, the landscape is beautiful, and we don’t suffer the infernal traffic that Los Angeles endures everyday…

From a client’s perspective, San Diego tends to offer lower prices for the same quality of work thanks to an overall lower cost of living. Startups that want to invest in their marketing strategy can do it with a more reasonable budget, and usually build a better, more long-lasting relationship with their video production partners. In the various industries we’ve been involved in: new technologies, retail, health, arts, or education, to name a few, we’ve managed to create win-win situations. Navigating through all these different industries expended our knowledge and technique, and allowed us to grow at a much faster pace.

Unlike L.A., where everybody constantly bath in a cinematographic environment, San Diego’s entrepreneurs are not always used to video production. Explaining the processes and benefits is sometimes necessary, but once they embark the boat, they quickly become “aficionados”.

So, in a way, comparing Los Angeles and San Diego is like comparing the choice between a fountain drink or a bottle, crossing the border from Tijuana to San Diego or from San Diego to Tijuana, choosing between “the shortest way” or the “fastest way” on your GPS… Sometimes the obvious option turns out to be the hardest.

The post Why aren’t you in L.A.? appeared first on Helium Films.

Director: Thierry Denis
2nd camera: Graham Sheldon

Chicago’s famous pizza

Graham shooting Chicago’s skyline

The post Kaplan International Chicago appeared first on Helium Films.

The post Go Bigger with Fiat Kearny Mesa appeared first on Helium Films.

In October, among various projects, we produced two videos for Robot America who asked us to create innovative marketing material to promote their incredible new product: the air cleaner and vacuum Robot Platinum. This company, known for over 60 years for their innovative products, has come up with the latest version of their Robot.

Built with Nano silver technology, the Robot Platinum serves a wide range of utility. It cleans and aromatizes the air, it vacuums dust and liquid, it can be used on all surfaces, and is very user friendly. Robot America believes in maintaining a very personal customer-service relationship because humans are at the center of their business.

The shooting took place in two locations, one in a beautiful house in La Jolla, and the other one in our studio. The two videos were shot in a very friendly environment, where everybody was having fun. The atmosphere was great to inspire the production of high quality videos.

The post Robot America, naturally wise appeared first on Helium Films.

One thing that we hadn’t tinkered with that much was 3D modeling and 3D animation. Well that’s an old story! We’re now proud to add this new service to our catalogue!

So, whether you’d like to have your company logo beautified or want to give life to your product in a way that would not be possible with the real thing, let us know! We will be glad to share with you our process and deliver something that will blow you your mind!

I hope to hear from you soon!

The post 3D Animation appeared first on Helium Films.

As you might have seen, we’ve been doing some videos for the San Diego Fiat dealership

Here is our video with some behind-the-scene shots. This new commercial will be airing beginning of July and features San Diego models Brigitte Patton, Michelle Walser, and David Namminga having fun with the hot new 2013 Fiat 500!

The beach, the sun, some pretty ladies and an awesome car, what could you ask more!

The post Summer TV Commercial – Fiat Kearny Mesa appeared first on Helium Films.

Check it out you Art lovers, this segment features James Watts, a wonderful artist who gives life to unexpected sculptures.

We will continue to produce some more segments for Art Pulse that you’ll be able to watch in future episodes of the show. Amongst these futures segments you’ll see the Comic book artists at Little Fish, and the painter Lindy Ivey, so stay tuned!

If you want to see the whole show (30min), click here!

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