Marketing Manager Charity Gig

Friday night saw the iceni Marketing Manager take to the stage in aid of an Oxfam music festival.

The ‘Oxjam’ music festival took place at The Venue, Derby, which played host to a series of amateur performers and local established bands all in the name of charity!

It’s fair to say the nerves were jangling for the hours, minutes and seconds that preceded the big moment (particularly after the first established band received a rapturous applause following what proved to be merely their sound-check).

However, the nerves soon settled once the first song began, and this was followed by an Oasis classic and finally the latest Coldplay rendition.

All in all, an enjoyable evening. Bring on Glastonbury…

Posted: February 23rd, 2009 in team news by Gareth | Comments (0) »

Filming in Hong Kong

Travel Agents compete for a chance to present a BBC Holiday style travel report in Hong Kong. The 5 star prize is provided by Travel 2, filmed by iceni and sponsored by Hong Kong Tourism Board and Cathay Pacific.

Click here to visit the competition microsite

Winning agents will have the chance to hone their presenting skills and become the star presenter of their own travel film. The would-be presenters will have a briefing before departure in preparation for the filming, and then be flown out to Hong Kong and followed by a film crew before creating a film report on their experiences in Hong Kong.

Posted: February 22nd, 2009 in video production by Andi | Comments (0) »

A Guide to Producing Accessible Video

 

 

This article was first published in the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf magazine (BATOD).

Andi Jepson and Cathy Bentley, Directors at iceni® a Video Production company, guide us through the process of producing an effective and accessible video project.

This article is an overview of the process of undertaking a professional video project, from briefing and selecting a production company, to delivering a successful video with BSL and subtitles.

A successful video communicates a message about an organisation, about an idea, about people. It educates and informs the audience, changing attitudes and provoking an emotional response. It is most effective when its message is clear, and delivered with an appreciation of the attitudes and needs of the audience. Producing a video project can be enormously rewarding, it is a lasting document of your work and your ideas, and the resulting programme can be seen by many and make a real difference.

From the outset, it is important to be clear why you want to make a film. Being clear about why you want to make a video will help you to… read more

Posted: February 18th, 2009 in educational media, video production by Andi | Comments (0) »
Tags: corporate video production, educational media

Ten Top Tips for Stretching Your Budget

As communication budgets are being squeezed, now is a good time to review your production workflow to ensure you’re getting the most from your investment.

Cathy Bentley, Director of iceni, identifies ways to get the most out of your video production budget.

‘A reduced budget doesn’t necessarily mean you have to reduce the quality of your video communications. By involving your production team in your communication strategy, you will enable them to work smarter and save you money.’

TEN TOP TIPS FOR STRETCHING YOUR VIDEO BUDGET

1. Keep the number of filming locations to a minimum.
The longer the shoot, the more expensive the video will be. To reduce costs, try and film in locations which are local to each other. Can your interviewees travel to one location?

2. Film at your own premises
This will avoid costly studio or location fees, but be aware that filming requires quiet, space and can cause some disruption to a normal day’s work.

3. Re-use existing footage.
Your production company may be able to re-purpose footage from your archive.

4. Make sure your script does not limit your video’s shelf life.
Avoid giving dates or calling something ‘new’, as the resulting production will quickly become obsolete.

5. Record additional links for future product launches or conference events.
Your video director will advise whether they have time in their schedule to do this, but if you plan ahead, your MD?s interview can cover a variety of subjects ? avoiding the need for additional filming.

6. If you need several versions of your video, get them done at the same time.
It is much more cost effective if the editor only needs to go back to the programme once, to create and encode all of the required versions at the same time.

7. If you are distributing on DVD, use the production company to design the packaging.
They already have all the assets to hand after producing your video graphics. Not only does this ensure consistency across the campaign, but it avoids you having to pay twice for creative design.

8. You don’t have to attend the edit.
You’ll find that most production companies have an online client approval area where you can log in and view the latest version of your programme, so you can save on fuel costs and your time.

9. Reduce replication costs
Consider putting more than one programme on to the same DVD or distributing your video via other channels such as streaming, 3G video for mobiles, iPods or USB sticks as well as the traditional DVD copies.

10. Distribute accompanying literature electronically.
Save on printing costs for accompanying reports or training notes by including them as printable pdf documents on your DVD/USB stick or as downloads on the internet.

Posted: February 15th, 2009 in video production by Andi | Comments (0) »
Tags: corporate video companies

Two Top Awards at the Midlands CiB

iceni’s corporate video and digital design teams are crowned class winners in the Video/Audio and Electronic Media categories at the CiB Midlands awards.

Judges commented that the standard was higher than ever this year, here’s the details:

Class 17 – Video/Audio

Winner: This is Balfour Beatty

Produced for: Balfour Beatty Plant and Fleet Services

Produced by: iceni

Class 18 – Electronic Media

Winner: www.vienna08.co.uk

Produced for: Kleeneze Ltd

Produced by: iceni

Well done to all the team!

The CiB, the UK’s top internal communications organisation, asked, ‘Do your communications get straight to the heart of the matter? Do they generate understanding and motivation? Are they the centre of attention?’

I think that’s a great big yes to all of the above.

Posted: February 10th, 2009 in video production, web design by Andi | Comments (0) »
Tags: awards, corporate video companies, website