1:30 this afternoon I was requested to pull together a national, public facing project that will debut in about 6 weeks.  Requires filming both in Atlanta and in Tennessee.  2 hours later, concept is completed, film crew is booked and research is underway.  This is on-top of the other 20ish projects I’m already managing.

The beauty of having a right and left brain that play very well together.  My left brain works quickly to come up with the creative and a narrative.  Then the right brain kicks in to plan out the technical, scheduling, crew and travel to execute that creative.  Doing all that in less than 2 hours, well that’s what makes me LOVE what I do.  Telling amazing stories.

Stay tuned for more blogs from the road once we get going.

The post Quick Thinking for a Quick Storytelling Turnaround appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

The only tricky part for this Live webcast for me was walking backwards without tripping or shaking the camera too much.  Shout out to colleague Karen Cole for operating the LitePanels Lykos light and keeping me from bumping into anything!

Watch the replay here.   By the way, that huge Christmas Tree you see in the opening scene is real, as are several other trees in the Georgia-Pacific Center lobby.  If you’re in the area, you should stop by and check out the trees.  You can grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate from the coffee shop too.

The post Holiday Facebook Live with GP CEO Christian Fischer appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Before the scripting even began, I followed my normal plan of attack, working backwards from the end.  How the film would be displayed influences how the project would be produced.  Video framing, camera movement, sound design, graphics design and more are all affected by how the viewer will experience the presentation.   Because the idea was to immerse the audience into the presentation, I proposed filming in a super wide format, akin to the original 1960’s CinemaScope 2,55:1 aspect ratio.  We would film in standard 4k 23.98 and then crop the image vertically to create the ultra-widescreen effect.  This was important to decide before production because the videographers had to frame correctly for the center 1/3 of the image.

I originally proposed an over-sized, wraparound screen for the ballroom.  Something that would fill the field of vision vertically and wrap out from the wall at least 25 degrees to create that ‘you are there’ feeling.  The viewers would have to turn their heads a little side to side in order to see everything.  That was going to require a screen over 75 feet wide and 8 feet tall and proved to be too expensive for the budget.  Then Director of Studio Operations, Brad Hinton discovered a ‘virtual theater’ concept whereby the viewer would be immersed in a 360 virtual theater with the CinemaScope widescreen at the front.   VR goggles using a Samsung smartphone, all triggered simultaneously so the audience experiences the film together.    Straight ahead would be the big screen, wide enough that they would have to turn their heads a bit to see everything.  If they looked all around, they would see the rest of the movie theater.  So we could create a ‘traditional flat’ presentation and our audience would be immersed into a VR theater.  It was a brilliant discovery and knowing that delivery mechanism up front was vital to the rest of production.

Since the viewers would be wearing the headsets, we had to be conscious of camera movement.  This presentation was not designed to be an entertainment attraction so we didn’t want to have fast camera moves that could be distracting or worse, make our viewers motion sick.   All camera movement was designed to be horizontal (left to right or right to left) and it would be done slowly and deliberately.  For the motion shots, we went with an OSMO rig with x5 camera to stabilize the camera moves and all other videography was done with the Sony FS7, both shooting in 4k, 23.98.

The scripting process involved many stakeholders including the Sustainability department in Atlanta, research and development in Wisconsin, Dixie brand in Atlanta, paper making facility in Alabama and the Dixie plant in Kentucky.  What I discovered was that there was no way for me to script the intricacies of the entire manufacturing process.  The better way to tell the story would be through the people who actually know the process at the facilities.  They can speak freely in their own words because they live it every day which creates a more natural piece.  So the scripting process was more of an outline and key bullet point process.  In order to keep the running time reasonable, I worked with the stakeholders to identify the key elements of each step of the process.  Then created an outline so each person would focus on only those key areas.   I designed the presentation to go from start to finish of the process with each segment handing off the process to the next step.  The two areas that were fully scripted was the opening segment on Sustainability and the close featuring the head of the Dixie brand.  I Directed the opening scene in the forest while the filming in the Naheola and Bowling Green facilities was Directed by Doug Congleton.

Once filming was completed, I pulled together the storyline from transcripts and worked with Editor Scott Franklin to assemble the story.  Ultimately we ended up with a frame size around 4096 x 1605.  It created that ultra-widescreen look and really forced your eye to look at what we wanted you to see.  Because the screen was so big in the viewers eyes, we chose a small, minimalist graphics package that would not detract from the visuals and break the ‘you are there’ feeling.   Because the audience would all be wearing individual headphones, we ensured that there was good stereo separation and sound placement to further reinforce the ‘you are there’ experience.

Ultimately the presentation far exceeded what was requested from the client and multiple divisions from GP have come back to request a public facing version be created.   Understanding the delivery mechanism of the message and working backwards from the end is how you achieve engagement results for your message.

The post Taking the Dixie brand to VR by Working Backwards appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Rockin the snake chaps.

So why was I wearing snake chaps in the first place?  Well it was just another day in the life of a Creative Director running around the woods of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.   Each year Georgia-Pacific is audited by an independent auditor to ensure we source our natural fiber in a sustainable manner that meets rigorous environmental standards.  I was tasked with bringing that story to life, but of course it could not be told wholly by GP.  A company saying “we’re good stewards of the land and forest” is not nearly as strong as independent third parties speaking freely about the company.   I developed a storyline and production plan that would create a natural sound piece with no scripting.  The people would tell the story in their own words.

Bill and Nick filming on Fred Hight Jr’s land

In pre-production meetings two of the key messages that came out are that there is more forest in the United States today than 100 years ago and one of the reasons for that is consumers using paper products incentivizes land owners to plant more trees.   That was an aspect of paper products and the timber industry I had never heard, but it makes sense.  In a sense, sustainable forestry is gardening on a grand scale.  Instead of hundreds of acres of crops like corn, beans and apples, you have thousands of acres of trees.  The more people use paper products, the more acres of forest are planted to meet the demand.  Thus, more trees today than 100 years ago.

Nick and Bill filming in the woods on Fred Hight’s land

Working with Bill and Nick from Mother Nature News, we spent three days roaming the woods of Hattiesburg, MS with our trusty Nissan Armada 4×4 to tell the story.  I really wanted a cinematic look to this story, so the crew filmed with the Canon C100 in 24p mode and long lenses to allow a lot of separation between our on camera talent and the background.   I Directed the shoot, conducted the interviews and then created the first outline for the post production edit.

Long lenses allow a more cinematic look by separating the talent from the background.

Telling the story was the team from the GP Leaf River Cellulose facility, PwC Auditor Cheryl Woode and the Atlanta based GP Sustainability team.  Local landowner, Fred Hight Jr. set up the story brilliantly by telling us about his land which led directly into the sustainability story.  Cheryl, the auditor, confirmed that not only does GP meet the required standards, but exceeds them.   GP’s Forest Certification Manager David Brabham delivered the message on incentives to using paper products.  And finally Fred closed out the story with a declaration that his land will be here for many years to come.

In Post I pulled together the transcripts into a loose story and then turned it over to Nick for the edit.  We worked together very well to create the final story.

Our trusty Nissan Armada 4×4 sitting proud under a gorgeous sky in Mississippi

The entire piece came together to tell a well rounded story on the commitment of GP to ensure forests are going to be here for many years to come.  Our very success depends on it.

You can see the story here on MNN’s site.

The post Sustainable Wood Forestry Messaging with Snake Chaps appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

The way the service works is you simply upload your audio files and get your transcripts back in near realtime and often faster than realtime. I just uploaded 4 hours of interviews yesterday and had all the transcripts ready in just over an hour.   What’s AWESOME is that the text is sync’d to the audio file.  Click anywhere in the transcript, click “Play” and you hear the audio play back as you read. No more searching through the video to hear what the SOT actually sounds like.  This sync to sound is just the icing on the cake for me.   Oh and if you highlight any portion of the transcript, Trint tells you how long that SOT is.

There’s also a Adjustable Timecode feature allowing you to set the start TC time for an interview.  Perfectly matching it up to the original TC from the video.

Just had to pass along this tip.  Hope it helps you too!

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WalterBiscardi.com is advice, inspiration & training from working creative professionals on all aspects of the creative industry from pre-production to post to growing your career and business. Learn from working editors, photographers, sound designers, colorists, producers, directors and more to not only learn the basic skills, but real-world, insider knowledge on getting the right job and then building your career in the Film, Television and Creative Media Industry.

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See it’s a video centric learning program but just showing videos and scenarios isn’t enough.  We really need to test the employees at each step along the way to ensure they’re getting the material.   Years ago I established a relationship with a really good e-Learning partner for these very situations.  For this project we’re going to work together with them taking point on the educational design and me on the video production.  We’ll work together on the overall project management and development.

Moral of the story?  Work on your network of connections for really good and really honest partners you can bring in so when you get a call that says, “Can you do that?” your answer can be “Absolutely!”

The post I Can Do That! (How am I going to do that?) appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

New client calls asking to meet and discuss a potential project using my services, which happens to be media creation and creative design.

Meeting goes great, runs well past the original scheduled time, good discussion all around. I promise a proposal for the project.

Proposal is sent, client responds with thanks and……………. radio silence. Instead of telling me “no we’re not going to use your proposal” the company simply goes radio silent.  

Not only is this behavior unprofessional, it’s just plain rude.  You called ME. YOU asked me to come in and give you a proposal. Now that you have the proposal, the very least you can do is respond with a simple yes or no.

Many of my colleagues say it’s a result of the younger generation now moving into positions of responsibility that’s degrading the professionalism from companies.  In my experience, I don’t see that. This unprofessional behavior stretches far and wide from young to old, small / startup to multi-national, billion-dollar companies.  It’s now the norm to simply ignore a proposal rather than give a proper response.

Maybe companies are scared to deliver bad news? I really don’t know what started this level of unprofessionalism throughout the business world for such a simple task as responding to a proposal. But I’ll offer some advice to those of you who choose to hide behind emails.

Business owners are Ok with “No” or “Sorry we’re going with someone else.”   It’s part of doing business. All of us own “big boy” and “big girl” pants, we can handle rejection.  Besides, the sooner you give a definitive answer, the sooner we’ll stop annoying you asking for an update.

So stop hiding behind your email and phone barrier. Be a professional and provide an answer. I’d love to hear from others on their experiences.

The post The Business of Hiding (behind emails and phone screening) appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Whether you own a production company or you’re a freelancer, we’re all independent contractors and it’s important to understand and document the full scope of work and fees to be charged for a project.   In other words, creating an accurate budget.   

In this course, learn how to plan and create professional budgets and proposals for video projects.  I provide detailed information and advice that’s applicable to the various types of projects video professionals handle in their business operations. Learn how to tackle client assessments, develop a working concept, put your budget together using Showbiz Budgeting, and present your budget and proposal.

The ability to properly budget time, people and materials will help to make sure you don’t get stuck paying for all those “little things” that can turn profit into loss. 

Topics Include:

Completing a client assessment

Discerning between client needs versus wants

Developing a working concept

Creating time and crew assessments

Coming up with the budget

Presenting the proposal

Revising the budget

Knowing when to walk away

Duration:  2h 15m

This course is built upon my over 25 years of experience in the video production industry and I really hope it helps you to grow your business.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.

The post “Video Budgeting” – My first training course from Lynda.com appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

A while back I visited an animation exhibit in Vancouver which included actual props and characters from Lotte Reiniger’s 1926 animated feature film, The Adventures of Prince Achmed.  This was the first true feature animated film that came out 11 years before Disney’s Snow White in 1937.  As with Snow White, this film used a multi-plane camera and just simply spectacular backgrounds that appear to be ever moving watercolors.  Now the big difference is that The Adventures of Prince Achmed has no dialogue.  It was also never recognized as the first feature-length animated film.

Ever since viewing the characters and film clips, I have wanted to make a short film homage in her style.   I even purchased the film on DVD to study it and I’m enthralled by her watercolor backgrounds each time I watch it. You can see some of Act II here and I encourage you to purchase the entire movie.

Well now I want to move forward and actually create this short film.  Probably 7-12 minutes, it’ll be a silent film, music only, just like the original.  We’ll create the main characters in shadow puppet form just like the original and animate them either for real in stop action or in a stop action look.  The only reason to make this film is just because we want to.  The plan is to utilize Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects for the bulk of the art and animation.  Either Premiere Pro or possibly DaVinci Resolve for the editing so we can edit and color grade in the timeline.   There’s no budget, no pay, just something to have some fun on the side and create a good film to submit to short film festivals.

You notice I keep saying “we” and not “me.”  See I’m looking for help from those who want to join me and make something for fun.  Scriptwriters, artists, animators, photographers, editors, composers, professionals, students, hobbyists, you name it, if you want to join the team, let me know.   Doesn’t matter where you live, we can all work remotely.

I’m going to start kicking around ideas with the hope to start into pre-production after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.  So what do you say?  Wanna make an animation?

Ping me walter (at) biscardicreative (d0t) com and put animated short in the subject line.

The post Let’s Make An Animated Short Film appeared first on WalterBiscardi.com.

Now this is my PERSONAL MacBook Air so I didn’t mind being a guinea pig for this new OS.  It would not affect my paying work.     I would NOT install Mac OS X Sierra on a professional workstation or any machine you use to make a living at this time.  

Observations so far:

Overall operation of the entire MB Air is slower and hotter.   One fix Apple Support suggested was to restart in Safe Mode to force the machine to clear out a lot of cache and it sounded like it did a bit of cleaning up on the startup overall.  After doing that and then restarting the machine it does seem to work marginally better.  The machine continues to run hot for no apparently reason.   That area of the keyboard just below the “MacBook Air” name is almost continuously hot.  Prior to installing Sierra, the machine would only really heat up if I was doing a render in Premiere Pro or After Effects which would be expected.  But generally I’m only using this machine for writing and organizing photos.

Battery life is definitely degraded, seems I’ve lost at least an hour to 90 minutes of battery working time on the Air.  Now this is probably connected to the hot machine since that’s due to the CPU working hard so something is making the Air work harder than it should.

Mail app is much slower to retrieve incoming mail and slower to open each piece of mail.  It also has a weird refreshing behavior each time I open a new piece of mail.   The entire screen refreshes when I look at a new piece of mail.

Safari and Opera continually shut down a page due to a non-working extension or other similar error.

Printing to an HP wireless printer is not working, but printing to an Epson is.   It’s an HP OfficeJet all in one model that’s about 5 years old.  I can’t print to it.  But I can print to an Epson all-in-one wireless model we got earlier this year.

I have NOT launched any Adobe software on here yet.  Am

On the upside, Wi-Fi connectivity seems to be better.   I have several networks at my office and for whatever reason the Air would NEVER connect to one particular network.  Now it does.

So if you want to dive into the OS X Sierra pool early, proceed with caution.  ALWAYS CHECK WITH SOFTWARE MANUFACTURERS BEFORE UPDATING AN OS.   The folks at ToolFarm have created a great Sierra Compatibility Chart that’ll get you started.  But just because you don’t see your software on your list, doesn’t mean it will work.

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