Personal Contributions- Week 2

This week I aided in the production of a marketing video in order to increase awareness of Solari Creative. Never before have I helped in the production of any type of video, of this was incredibly eye opening. Our motion graphics director  Chris was in charge of the video, and I certainly was not expecting to aid him due to my limited knowledge, however as soon as I walked in the door Chris immediately put me to work. Together we set up the lighting in the office (which is actually much more difficult than it looks), discerned where Solari’s team members would stand, and tested the sound for the video.

We were shooting this video because it has been 20 years since the creation of Solari Creative and there were a whole host of questions regarding 1998 to keep the video lighthearted. I helped Chris come up with some of the questions in order to keep the jovial aspect of the film. We both decided that this team was filled with very funny people and rather than simply putting up a video thanking customers for an awesome 20 years, that we would help them to see and experience the fun of Solari’s team.

The video production took up an entire two days, which was much longer than I had expected, since we had to film just about everyone in the office, then take best videos and piece them together with some graphics. Chris mainly worked on putting the film together, as I have very limited experience with that, however he allowed me to film much of the process and helped me with the lighting and sound cues. He also allowed me to give input regarding what graphics/animation worked best with the video. At the end of those 2 days, we ended up creating a great video that really encompassed the amazing personalities of the Solari team.

This experience really allowed me to put my Leadership Studies education to use, as we are often looking to bring creativity and employ interpersonal communications in all of our work. In order for me to aid in this video production, I first needed to take a step back and think about both what the customer would love to see and how best to showcase the fun of the members of Solari. Chris was a great partner in this because he is incredibly witty, quirky, and beyond talented in his profession. Therefore, he was able to help me whenever I needed him and did not make me feel stupid for asking any questions. Although I was afraid my contributions would not amount to much and that the video would not be what the team members were looking for, instead I found out that they truly loved the video.