Like most successful entrepreneurs, Betty knew from the start the importance of astute marketing. She began by following her instincts.

Soon after developing the program, she produced an animation-based supplementary aid on DVD to give to her students. Check out a clip here.

Betty explains, “Many of my students are creative, visual learners. The DVD is a natural teaching tool for them, as it incorporates animation, sound, color, humor, and strong visuals. Research has shown that with this type of animated presentation, the level of learning is measurably enhanced. And, it supports my own highly interactive teaching style.”

The video is all computer-animation based. “I found that by using a series of animated characters, I could create something a lot more interesting than the usual PowerPoint presentation. I built in some visual humor, and just had fun with it. It works well with all ages, from 6th graders to medical students. ”

The DVD production presented some challenges. Betty continues, “Keeping in mind that I had never done anything like this before, I had a pretty steep learning curve with the animation software. The computer-generated voices in particular were a challenge, and offered less than advertised. I did bring in some help for the technical aspects. The biggest challenge was in the conversion to a video format that would work well as a DVD. The team at Video Labs was great to work with at this stage, and brought it all together to work flawlessly.”

Betty has been a long-time Howard County, MD resident, and she received her undergraduate and masters degrees from the University of Maryland. She has also pursued extensive education for over 30 years on topics that illuminate the importance of brain-determined learning styles, especially for the intuitive, or visual, learner.

Betty also spent time earlier in her career working in the non-profit and government sectors. These helped guide the development of her Stressless Tests™ curriculum. “I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of organizations with values that resonate with my own, whether it was working for the environment or to decrease childhood hunger in the US. I’ve discovered that a passion for my work is essential for me, giving me the impetus to plow some new ground in my Stressless Tests™ company.”

For this featured guest posting, we asked I.J. to touch on some of the points he stresses in his crisis management seminars and one-on-one training.

Why is crisis management so important?  “As a news reporter, I have interviewed a lot of people in crisis situations.  Many of them were just like you and me, private citizens.  Tragedy or controversy had pushed them into the limelight.  There were company officials from railroads, utilities, construction companies, airlines and others who should have been prepared to get out their message.  But some were like ‘deer-in-the-headlights.’ They simply tried to answer questions without managing the situation.  That’s very dangerous.”

“Reputations, credibility and brand are at stake, as are dealings with clients, vendors, stockholders, Boards of Trustees — and even employee trust.  A crisis is anything that could undermine those areas.”

Can you give us some specific examples of a potential crisis?  “A crisis is – your company just lost a laptop with the personal information of 25,000 customers on it, many of them high-rollers – and word is out.  A crisis is – you’re a government contractor, and one of your job sites was just raided by ICE – again.  A local congressman wants an investigation.  A crisis is – an employee is arrested for criminal activity of any kind.”
  
What should already be in place when a crisis occurs?  “The organization should have communications plan in place that allows them to quickly address some very important questions when a crisis occurs:

1. Who should be on the Crisis Communications Team and how can they be reached? 

Often the answer is the CEO, Public Affairs and General Counsel, and any employees who may have special knowledge of what happened.  The emphasis is on “reached.”  Leaving a voicemail is not “reached.”

2. What should we say? 

Lawyers may disagree, but the answer least favored is “no comment.”  The best response to the first reporter phone call may well be, “We’re still getting the facts together.  We’ll call you in an hour.”  Then do what you promise.

3. How proactive should we be? 

Thanks to the Internet, word of almost anything spreads quickly through employee emails and blogs.  The fact that a reporter hasn’t called generally means you’ve just got more time to get ready. 

Once that is decided, what do you advise your clients to do next when a crisis occurs?  “At the top of the list of things to do is to collect the facts from the people involved and any pertinent documents (contract, lease, etc.).  The Crisis Communications Team should go over the available information and decide at least three things:  what you will say, who will say it and when.”
 
Who should be the spokesperson?  “Often the CEO wants to be the spokesperson.  Sometimes the company has a marketing or PR person who handles media queries.  Sometimes they have no one – and there are instances when it’s actually best not to have someone from the company in that role.  An attractive option may be to engage a team from a law firm (like Garson Claxton) – an attorney and a communications specialist. Tell the attorney everything – it’s protected by privilege.  The attorney passes on the facts to the spokesperson who deals with the media.” 

What advice do you give regarding how much to say?  “Well, that is always a challenge.    My opinion is that the best approach is to go with as many of the facts as quickly as possible.  Yes, I know, Ouch!  You may have relevant information that does not cast the company in the best light, but if you withhold it – - – it will leak out. And each revelation casts additional doubt on the company’s reputation and bolsters anyone’s charge that you’re covering up — ‘What else aren’t they telling us?’  Better to get it all out there.  Obviously, there will be tough calls.”

I.J adds, “How you say something also makes a big difference.  Craft positive responses that convey the facts clearly and concisely.  Vet the responses with the appropriate people in your organization, and then use them consistently, regardless of media.  Be sure everyone in the organization is on the same page – literally.  It’s a matter of accuracy and consistency.” 

“Sometimes a statement read by a spokesperson is all that’s needed initially.  And it’s better to have it read by someone so there’s a human face associated with the company.  When the viewer only sees a graphic of the company statement on TV, it’s often interpreted as, ‘they’re hiding something.’”  

Concluding advice?  “The time to think about crisis communications is before you have a crisis.  And that means having a communications plan already in place – not starting from scratch – when a reporter is on line 1.”

Here’s a summary of the services I.J. Hudson & Garson Claxton LLC can provide:

They can help you set up an overall communications plan, including crisis communications.  Specifically, they can:
 
      1) Help you develop message points for your business.  This can be a great benefit, whether or not you ever have a crisis.
      2) Conduct media training with key executives so that they better understand how the media works — and learn how to best handle press interviews – live and taped. 
      3) Interface with the media for you.  Having them as your spokesperson and communications team during a crisis will free management and staff to concentrate on resolving the situation at hand.

I.J. Hudson can be reached at:  ihudson@garsonlaw.com  301-280-2700   www.garsonlaw.com

Animator Eric Dyer

“Whenever people ask me what kind of films I make, I answer ‘audience-friendly experimental films,’ because if you just say ‘experimental films’ people tend to run away. The term ‘experimental’ is often misused by filmmakers who have made films that either are not fully fleshed-out or simply do not make any sense.”

Eric continues, “For me, experimental film is about exploring the expressive possibilities of burgeoning technologies and systems of my own design.”

Eric’s latest work, “Copenhagen Cycles,” is a 6-minute film that utilizes a wide range of filmmaking and graphic techniques resulting in a most engaging work. Take a look at a clip:

[See post to watch Flash video]

For this movie, Eric used Final Cut, AfterEffects, Photoshop, a Canon GL-1 camera, an electric motor with a variable output power supply, an Epson 2200 printer, “and a couple different Macs.”

It is interesting to note, however, that the completed movie is composed entirely of unprocessed footage of spinning paper sculptures. Eric’s unique process is inspired by an early motion illusion device, popular in the late 19^th Century, the Zoetrope. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetrope

Many of us give of our time and money to do what we can. Usually our laudable actions are part of targeted campaigns, since most of us feel that the term ”world poverty” is just too amorphous. 

But indeed, there are those among us who think “big-picture.” One such person is Ramesh Kulkarni, and he has taken his thoughts on how to eradicate world poverty one step further.

Ramesh has produced a one-hour documentary titled, “The American Way: Connecting the Dots.” In it, he lays out his macro-economic solution for world poverty.

Ramesh’s religious and moral background follows a rather universalistic theme. Born a Brahmin Hindu, he has received communion in the United Methodist church, and he makes a point to visit houses of worship of all faiths including Hindu temples, mosques, gurudwaras and Buddhist temples.

Ramesh came to the US in 1999 to work in the information technology field. Success for him brought to the fore a moral responsibility instilled by his father, a professor in India who had himself spent time in the United States as a graduate student.

“My father believed that those who are educated and successful have a duty to help the less fortunate,” Ramesh explained. “As I gained an expertise in economics and management and became familiar myself with the American way of life, my father encouraged me to use my skills in that endeavor.”

According to Ramesh, the magnitude of one’s compassion directly reflects the level to which one has evolved as a human being.

Growing up in India, Ramesh saw extensive poverty – intense and brutal poverty — firsthand. “It’s a contradiction that India has been able to build complex nuclear bombs and yet cannot provide basic amenities to its citizens.”

Although he did not have a background in filmmaking, Ramesh set about to write and produce his documentary. Why a video over a book or other media? “The goal of the film is to bring all the citizens of a nation on to the same page to envision a common dream of a developed society/nation. Envisioning that dream is easier through a documentary film,” he answered.

Here’s a short clip compiled from two parts of the program:

Ramesh believes that the American Way provides a concrete roadmap and a holistic solution to eradicate poverty. “I believe that aid and donations are not the panacea — nor are acts like holding hands and singing songs, although I sincerely appreciate those noble intentions and the expressions of deep compassion. But what we really need are macro-economic answers.” Ramesh continues, “I am taking the message to the think tank of India, to the government, business leaders and the key institutions.”

The program at times can seem like an American civics lesson. Ramesh agrees with that assessment. “Yes, absolutely. It is a civics lesson combined with its configuration and the rationale of its sound economics to act as a guide for developing nations to address the problem of poverty.”

Ramesh produced the program with production assistance from a number of friends and family members like Rohan Kulkarni, videographer; and Trine Douchand, graphic designer. The team shot with a Sony miniDV camcorder and edited using Final Cut Pro. Working with David Ryan at Video Labs, an initial run of DVDs were replicated and packaged.

Viewers may not end up agreeing with all of Ramesh’s economic conclusions or suggestions. But viewers will be affected. Throughout the history of the US, people from other countries have made astute observations about American society. One notable example is Alexis de Tocqueville with his essays, “Democracy in America,” published in 1835 and 1840.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville

Is Ramesh Kulkarni a modern-day de Tocqueville? Many say yes. You can make your own assessment by acquiring the program through www.tinyurl.com/2239ru

Regardless of your conclusions, you will respect the moral force, the dedication, the deep thought and the effort that went into this project.

Ramesh can be reached directly at rohan.inational@gmail.com
www.rohanintl.com

Horizon Entertainment crew in Alaska shooting Weatherventures

Todd Easton is the owner and CEO of Horizon Entertainment in Rockville, Maryland. The company produces programming for a variety of cable networks. Their longest running series, House Detective, ran for over 100 episodes on HGTV. They have also produced documentary programming for Discovery Health and The History Channel.

Currently the team is producing Weatherventures http://tinyurl.com/2gafjx for The Weather Channel.

“We go to iconic American locations to look at how the weather influences the people who live in those locations,” explains Todd. “We have shot in Alaska, Hawaii, San Juan Islands, Catalina Island, the Badlands, Great Lakes, the Colorado Rockies, the Everglades, the Grand Canyon and Maine.”

“As we’ve been shooting, the show has morphed from a more travel-centric show to a more weather-centric show. We shot two and a half episodes heavy on the travel when testing revealed that The Weather Channel audience wanted more weather information. So the first two shows had to be recut and rewritten, and we had to shift our thinking to a more weather-centric concept.”

The series was the first foray into HD field production for the company. “We had never done an HD program, so we scrambled to install HD facilities and purchase the equipment we needed. We brought in a technical consultant and talked with anyone who would listen about the HD workflow,” Todd says. “We got to speed very quickly.”

Horizon Entertainment CEO Todd Easton

“For budgetary reasons the Weather Channel decided that we should use their DP and their camera equipment. They were in the process of making a large investment in P2 gear http://www.p2info.net/p2faq.php so it made sense to use it for this new series.”

P2 follows the same concept as storage cards that we all use in our digital still cameras. Each P2 card captures about 8 minutes of HD video. Larger cards are on the way.

But the decision to use the P2 format has presented a few challenges for Todd and his team.

“It is amazing technology . . . if you are shooting short pieces,” Todd says. “We typically shoot about 10 hours or more for each show. That requires an enormous investment in P2 cards as well as backup, and redundant backup in the field and storage space once the P2 data gets into post.”

“We also found it challenging to download the P2 material in the field,” Todd continues, “and the additional equipment required made it very cumbersome. Also, most of the hard drives large enough to store all the P2 data we shot are not really built for the extreme weather conditions we were covering. And then there were the additional labor costs. We had to add a production assistant to the crew just to manage the stored video and P2 cards.”

Todd says the crews found it difficult being able to playback the footage once it was stored in the field. “Unless you have Final Cut or another editing program on a portable computer with lots of storage space, the only thing you can do is download the data from the card on to a hard drive and wait to turn it into Quicktime clips back at the office. And that download in the field is done in real time. So an eight-minute card takes at least eight minutes to download. That adds up. Do the math — downloading five cards takes 40 minutes or more, and that’s time away from shooting.”

While some would counter that working with the P2 workflow is no different than shooting in 16mm film with its 11-minute 400 ft. magazine loads, Todd and his team see it differently.

“We feel the format should be compared to other high-end video formats. And in doing that comparison, it was MORE expensive, not less expensive to shoot long form with the P2. Also, the lack of playback and the cumbersome transfer workflow resulted in our not having some shots we thought we had.”

Todd concludes, “For short form programming, it seems ideal. But in my opinion, for long form, there are just too many places along the way where there can be problems.”

Despite the frustrations, Todd and his team succeeded in delivering the programs on time and within budget. You can catch the series on The Weather Channel starting Monday, Oct. 1 at 7:30p and 11:30p EST.

When asked what HD format might be considered for future projects, Todd replies, “Well, we are looking at the Sony Z1U http://tinyurl.com/6g7tp as a possible purchase, but we’re still researching.”

And they may have to make a decision soon given that the company has several projects in the pipeline.

“Despite our frustration with the P2 format, we have proven to ourselves that it is possible to turn out high quality HD programming in a cost-effective manner. We’re getting that message to the rest of our clients and to other cable buyers,” Todd says. “We are pitching a wide range of projects – yes, we’re planning to continue producing lifestyle type shows, but we are looking to do more reality and documentary work now as well. The Weather Channel series ‘lit a fire’ for us, and we plan to capitalize on that.”

Todd is fully aware that television production is a collaborative process, and he knows that he doesn’t have a monopoly on good ideas for television. He says, “I’d like to invite anyone reading this post to contact us about programming ideas they may have. We are always in the market for good ideas and good people with whom we could partner.”

Todd Easton can be reached at tvtodd@aol.com or 301-881-1702.

Muy frecuentemente encuentro el reto donde una frase en español toma mas tiempo que su versión en inglés y ésto no se habia tenido en cuenta. Lo que sucede en éstos casos es que debemos “apurar” el doblaje de la voz en español o de lo contrario debemos ir y “abrir” la edición del video para hacer espacio para la voz en español y darle un poco de respiro a la voz. El resulto es que el processo de hacer la versión en español es más caro de lo que debiera ser.

Aquí comparto algunos secretos si usted está produciendo un programa en las dos versiones; inglés y español

• Evite que la edición de la versión en inglés sea muy ajustada. Si usted se da cuenta que está editando la versión en inglés muy ajustada para cumplir con una duración prescrita de su show, debe analizar y reconsiderarlo. Usted puede estar creando una situación imposible para la versión del programa en español.
• Cuando está montando sus imágenes, hágalo de manera que aun haya material utilizable en ambos lados de la edición para que el editor de la versión en español pueda abrir esas ediciones facilmente y cortar apropiadamente

Para más información sobre cómo producir para los medios contacte a:

Sam Rocha srtvproductions@aol.com o al teléfono 301.828.6193

All too frequently I face a production hurdle. Too often, the fact that a Spanish phrase usually takes longer to say than its corresponding English phrase has not been taken into account. What results is that we have to either try to have the Spanish voice-over talent speak faster when recording, or else, if permissible, we have to go in and open up the video edits to make room for the Spanish – give it some breathing room. The end result is that the Spanish versioning process becomes more expensive than it needs to be.

So, here are two tips if you are producing a program that will have both an English and Spanish version:

• Refrain from editing the English version too tightly. If you are finding yourself squeezing the English version to meet a pre-determined show length, you should step back and reconsider. You may be creating an impossible situation for the Spanish version of the program.
• When laying in b-roll, do so such that there still remains some usable footage on both sides of the edit so that the Spanish-version editor can easily open up edits and trim accordingly.

Watch for more about producing media in Spanish with Sam here on DavidRyanMediaSolutions.com

Sam Rocha can be contacted at srtvproductions@aol.com or 301.828.6193