5 Killer apps for awesome testimonial videos.

Testimonial-style videos have now become the bread and butter of corporate video messaging. DSLR cameras that shoot amazing HD video and easy to use edit systems have made filming and cutting your testimonial spots both inexpensive and efficient.

But, creating a compelling video that draws in your audience and keeps them watching takes more than a nifty camera and fancy editing suite- it takes a great story-telling, lots of prep and high production value. With this in mind, I've created my own list of the 5 Killer Apps for creating awesome testimonial videos.

I call them apps because they can be applied to any testimonial video you're creating- plus who doesn't love a killer app or five ?

1- Story is everything.
A good story told well is a pleasure to listen to or watch. If you're shooting executives at your company, corporate partners or valued customers, it's always a good idea to get to know who you're interviewing. Even a quick phone call can help gauge what he or she wants to talk about, and give you an idea of their personality. With that knowledge you can begin to craft the story you need to tell.

2-Scout it out. 
It's a no brainer, but too often crews turn up at locations without even a cursory scout as to where they'll be shooting. Try and scout out the location a week before hand with your camera guy. Figure out the prime locations to shoot and select a different location for each interviewee. This adds interest and much greater production value to the final spot.

3- Questions, questions.
Have your list of questions prepared before hand. This may seem obvious, but it's critical that you know the answers you need before hand. In the words of a trail lawyer- never ask a question you don't already know the answer to. And, on the subject of questions, don't just jump in with the big questions at the start, warm your subject up by getting them to talk about their company and their role first. Everyone loves talking about what they do- it gets them comfortable and relaxed.

4-Roll on the B-Roll.
You'll need plenty of B-roll to cover the flubs, hesitations and curse words before your final spot feels like it's the easy, flowing video you'd envisioned. Allow time for shooting the interviewees doing their jobs (holding a mock meeting, in their office on the phone, even walking down the hall). Your editor will lavish you with praise and you'll have a quality product that you'll be proud to showcase on the company website.

5- Story is everything- redux.
The story you had planned in your head now needs to come alive in the edit suite. This takes time. You might prefer to work with an editor to go through the footage, or spend a day or so going through it yourself before handing it over (rudimentary editing skills in Final Cut have helped me immensely in this process). Create a cut that best tells the story, then add in the polish and b-roll later.

And, how does all this look put together?
Check out the video Symantec recently produced for their Sealed App Program with strategic partner, Accellion. The spot was conceived and written in house. San Rafael based production company, GB Films, provided the production, directing and editing expertise.

Mobile Productivity vs Mobile Protection

Enabling a safe, secure and productive mobile experience for employees is a critical part of running a business these days.

As employees we love the freedom of carrying one device and being able to switch between our personal and corporate apps at the swipe of a finger. For our IT departments though, this is more of a challenge. They need to ensure critical business data is secured and still keep employes happy and productive.

What's the solution? The Symantec Mobile Management Suite.

That's the key theme of this video we recently created for the mobile group here at Symantec. Put simply, Symantec's mobile solution is designed to keep employes and IT/Security departments happy with one comprehensive solution.

The video was created for Symantec's booth at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2013. We created two videos: one which has a voice over and delved deeper into the product features, and this one, which was designed to work in a conference booth environment where there's always too much noise and clutter to hear the voice-over clearly.

We told the story in text only, using short, compelling copy to hook people into the narrative. We also worked with our major "app" partners to ensure that all the apps we showed were real and credible. A great deal of the competitive videos we looked at before starting work on this used "mock apps"and a cartoon animation style to showcase the message. We decided to create something that was real, credible and featured true app partners that were already signed up to the Symantec Sealed Program.

This video was a prime example of a mobile solution that's up and working today and available to all our prospective customers.

The true cost of free wi-fi.

With just a few, inexpensive pieces of technology available on the web, hackers are now targeting your favorite w-fi hot spots with one, clear goal: stealing your on-line identity. How do you stop them? Norton's Privacy Hot Spot is a great start.

Towards the end of last year the Symantec TV team produced this short video for Norton.

Our goal was to make the message as clear we possibly could, and showcase how Norton Privacy Hopspot product. Because the majority of people have no idea how vulnerable they are when they log onto an unsecured wi-fi network, it was important that we featured early on in the spot how hackers infiltrate and extract personal information.

The video was shot over a day in a local coffee house in Mountain view,with about twenty extras, a small crew and a very limited budget.

It's a great example of how to explain, in just a couple of minutes, a problem most people aren't even aware of and also work in a the product that helps solve the issue. By using a real location, with real people and real "hacking equipment" we added the extra element of realism consumers could relate to.

Do you have a formula when writing video scripts?

For me, the scripting and concept stages are the most important elements of creating an effective video asset. Information gathering and distilling down the multiple copy points and "must-have" features of a product is time consuming but a vital component of any internet commercial whether it's a short 30 second brand message or a three minute technical deep-dive.

When it comes to drafting the script there are three things I keep in mind:
1- What are the pain points? i.e what are the issues that this product is helping to solve.
2- What's the current perception of the product in the market-place and how do we want to change that?  Or, if it's a new product, what's the most compelling reason for people to buy or want to find our more information about the product?
3-Who's the audience?

Armed with the answers to these questions gives a solid foundation to begin to build the creative execution and script flow.

Do you have any "formulas" or best practices when kicking-off a project?

Who's rifling through your corporate data?

Here's a radical idea: let's leave fifty cell phones in random locations in five North American cities and see what happens. And, just to make sure we know exactly what's going on, let's monitor every finger-track, app access and data breach that the finders attempt to make on the phones. Oh, and by the way, let's make sure that those phones are populated with not just private data, but also "fake" corporate data that's irresistible to curious minds.

That was the game-plan behind Symantec's Project Honeystick, an innovative experiment to uncover what happens when you lose your cell phone and it's picked up by a stranger. Watch the video for the startling results that will make you think twice about how you protect your company's confidential data on mobile devices.

The initiative took place in late 2011, with the results published a few months later.  Rather than just relying on a series of predictable power point slides to talk about the project, Symantec TV was commissioned to produce the video for a keynote speech at Mobilecon 2012.

The video was written and conceived by Symantec TV, working closely with our client to ensure the correct messaging.  We shot over two days in New York, San Francisco and LA, using local crews shooting on DSLR's.

This video is a great example of how creating a multi-media asset can help communicate your message,  as well as position your company as producer of commercial-quality vide.  Of course, the video then has legs across multiple media platforms to maximize the investment.

I'm a big fan of using video for these kind of projects. It elevates the perception of your company and provides your viewers with a compelling reason to watch and take in your message. And, with a title as tantalizing as Honeystick, we're hoping to attract a few more viewers to the pot.

Symantec Data Center Down.  
Drama, action and data centers. 

Just a week before the intrepid Felix Baumgartner set the world skydiving record, falling 24 miles from space, we at Symantec set our own free-fall record when we launched a fully functioning data center off the top of a downtown San Jose office building in the heart California's Silicon Valley. The goal? To show, in the most dramatic way possible, the effectiveness of Symantec's Disaster Recovery products.

Cutting through the clutter is key when we develop our marketing videos, and this all begins in the conceptual stages when we develop out the message and the most effective way to communicate that to our audience. We worked for a several months on this idea, planning the shoot, scouting the perfect location and making sure once it was completed we had an powerful promotional campaign behind  it. This included an exclusive behind the scenes video on the making of "data center down" to keep the momentum going.

For me, this is a prime example of how high-tech companies can leverage dramatic video content to gain awareness for their products. What could have been just another dry communication about disaster recovery became a compelling narrative that captures the attention and keeps you watching.

Welcome to b2bvideobuzz

Welcome.

My name is Dylan H. Jones. I'm the Creative Director for the Digital Marketing Department at Symantec Corp.

Here at Symantec TV we produce, create and broadcast over 100 separate and unique video elements every quarter, from live broadcasts to event videos, product launches to product demos. Today, many other high-tech companies are finding that video content is now the most effective and efficient medium to communicate their message across the web.

I started this blog because I'm passionate about marketing, especially the creation and promotion of digital video assets to connect with consumers, whether it's a small to medium business or a large global enterprise. At the end of the day we create videos to either build awareness for a brand or product or to increase sales; if it doesn't achieve at least one of these goals, then you have a wasted asset which probably cost a lot of time and money to produce.

The goal of this blog is to share some of my experiences and expertise from the 15 years of experience I've had across multiple verticals, including Broadcast TV, retail, place-based media, print radio and digital advertising. I'll share some of the work we do at Symantec for our internal customers as well as link to any interesting 2b2 video content I find as I scan the web for content that inspires me.

Enjoy the blog and please check back often for updates. I will also be adding new blogs to Twitter and Linkedin.