BizGreet Video Production Guide
The BizGreet production process is very similar to traditional video production. In this white paper we’ll go over the few differences and idiosyncrasies that you’ll need to know in order to complete a successful BizGreet production.
This document assumes that you have a grasp on basic video production and are proficient with Non-linear editing systems.
Editor Setup
Recording the Names
The most foreign part of the BizGreet production process is shooting a customized greeting that changes based on the recipient. In general, a list of roughly 300 names covers a significant percentage of the population (we've found it to be about 80%-85% across our programs in the past). During the shoot make sure that the camera person or director has the printout of your list and have the talent say a simple line such as "Hi <name>, this is David Johnson, owner of Johnson Air Conditioning". Work your way through the list, calling out a name and having the talent repeat it. This should allow you to rapidly run through the list. Most people can successfully record about 10 names/minute, averaging 30-45 minutes for the entire set.
An example script of the name process
Crew: “Brian”
Talent: “Hi Brian, this is David Johnson, owner of Johnson Air Conditioning.”
PAUSE FOR A BEAT
Crew: “Brianna”
Talent: “Hi Brianna, this is David Johnson, owner of Johnson Air Conditioning”
PAUSE FOR A BEAT
Crew: “Britney”
Talent: “Hi Britney, this is David Johnson, owner of Johnson Air Conditioning”
Continue on through your list of 300-500 names.
Framing and Branching Videos
Method One:
Use B-roll to cover either the end of one clip or the beginning of the other. This eliminates the possibility of showing a jump-cut as the video transitions from one segment to another. B-roll is completely natural, viewers rarely notice it, and it is a common segue in everyday programs, from television shows to the nightly news.
Method Two:
The easiest way to set this up is to shoot your names with one framing and shoot your core (and close) with tighter or looser, but fear not, if you've shot in HD we have another solution for you. Most modern editors will allow you to drag a 1080 video into a 720 timeline. Since the video will eventually output will be much lower resolution than 1280x720 we can use the extra pixels that 1080video provides to create different camera angles.
If we look at the first image again we can see what was almost the original framing in frame one. We punched in and centered the talent up but not in a major way. In the second shot, the video is scaled back up to almost 100% of what it was originally, allowing us to 'zoom in' to a close-up of the talent.
Method Three:
In between video segments use some sort of a flash fade/graphic transition. We've faded up to white and had a company logo scale up and then fade down.
The benefit to this method is that if your core and your close have similar framing, you can cut without having a jump cut. The last frame of your open and the first frame of your core video will look similar to frame 3 above. The easiest way to set this up is to create your transition graphic in one of your timelines and then chop it in half. In the next illustration you'll see a mockup of what this transition graphic might look like and then what it will look like after you cut it in half. once you've created your transition, you'll take the front half and paste it on to the ends of all of your core sequences
Managing the Script
BizGreet scripts are not typical production scripts. They read more like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, with segments corresponding to different individual characteristics that you want to speak to (names, job titles, geographic location, for example). This doesn't affect the shooting so much. A simple checklist (names, default intro, cores, default core, closes, default close) will at least make sure you don't miss anything. Preparing for the post production on a BizGreet script is going to take some additional thought and preparation beforehand, as well.Branching Map
Before editing, it's important to have a grasp as to what cores and closes you'll be creating on top of your list of names. We've found that having a simple branching diagram that you can check off makes it much easier to keep track of what you've finished and what you have left to edit. Below we've created a simple version for you to visualize what your diagram will look like. We haven't listed the names since there are generally 300 or more of them and we wanted to keep the diagram simple. Instead of listing them out, simply referencing and cross referencing your bin of edited names with your master list of names should suffice.
Naming the Files
It's important to name your videos identically to the corresponding fields of your variable data points.
First name intro videos should just be first_name.flv, like this: sharon.flv, brenda.flv, jack.flv, which translates to Sharon, Brenda, or Jack in your database's First Name data field.
The default intro file should be named defaultintro.flv.
If you have a specific intro video for one unique individual, for example, Robert Plant, you need to distinguish that specific name from the other Robert video in the library. By default, Robert Plant will get the robert.flv file unless you specify a different name for him, like this: robertplant.flv. Then, when adding the Robert Plant lead, the channel program manager will need to identify the correct intro video file for that specific lead by specifying a rule.
Core and closing video files just need to be named the same as the corresponding data point in the field (custom field 2, for instance). If the custom field 2 is Job Title, then according to the example above, you would save the cores as follows: nurses.flv, physicians.flv, pharmacists.flv, defaultcore.flv. Same goes for the closing videos: southernus.flv would correspond to the Southern US closing video.
Encoding FLV (Flash Video) Files
We work with Final Cut Pro for editing, and Adobe Media Encoder for batch encoding all of the sequences (names, cores, closes) to FLV (Flash Video) files. Any batch media encoder will work, we happen to have access to Adobe Media Encoder as part of the Adobe Creative Suite. For specific workflows and help using these products, refer to the help guides provided with each respective software package.
The embeddable BizGreet streaming video player is extremely flexible. If you are posting your video on your own website, you have the ability to output video of any size or dimension, from ultra short and wide (like a horizontal web banner, for example) to ultra tall and thin (like a skyscraper web banner) to a postage stamp-sized thumbnail player, and anything in bewteen.
Because the player size is customizable, you can make the video any size you want. Most BizGreet channels are setup for either 16x9 or 4x3 aspect ratios, and a video height of about 300 pixels (16x9 = 534 x 300). For a neat aspect ratio calculator, you can go here: http://www.silisoftware.com/tools/screen.php
There are no hard and fast rules for video bit rate or audio bitrate, either. We tend to encode at the 500-750 video bitrate range and 128 kbps audio.
Designing the Video Hosting Page
For a sample VHP, visit: http://surgientdemo.bizgreet1.com. This VHP is composed with a large background cloudscape as the background tile in addition to a background image. You'll also see that the dimensions of the specific elements are different from the ones listed above, but all are still 980px wide.
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