videops.com blog

It's All Right to Cast Pearls Before Swine

2011-11-16T16:59:00.027-05:00

Ok, so that's a pithy name for a post that's really about planning A.K.A. pre-production for video - no, wait, don't go - it gets interesting, really.For a recent project about agriculture practices, I took some time to head out to the farm before the upcoming shoot and it reminded me of the paramount importance of pre-production. Even though the farm project was on a limited budget, I took one

The 900 Thousand Dollar Video

2011-10-20T09:51:00.013-04:00

If you have any doubts that a video can help you in your fundraising efforts, this story should lay those doubts to rest. A few months ago we created a video for MaineGeneral Health to use in support of their internal employee fundraising campaign. We produced for them a 2 minute testimonial montage, not too big a budget, nothing too fancy. We gave them just what they wanted, something simple, a

Whistle While You Work...Ode to Autumn

2011-10-17T16:29:00.010-04:00

Over a couple of days, on the way to work and play, I couldn't resist capturing some of the Maine foliage before it fades. This time lapse captures the mundane and the sublime of what you see when you travel around Maine. I like to think of this as my version of whistling while I work. Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the colors and the feeling of a Maine Autumn.

...time crunching

2011-09-26T15:24:00.005-04:00

Once you getting started doing time lapse videos, it's hard to stop. Here is another look into the construction of Colby College's Biomass Plant in Waterville, Maine. Again, my thanks go out to the folks at Pizzagalli Construction and Cote Crane for being so accomodating while I ran around with a video camera and the still camera. I was there on two separate days to cover this move, total time

Everyone loves a parade and...

2011-09-22T12:52:00.011-04:00

...a time-lapse video! At least in my experience, people seem utterly drawn to watching time on fast forward. There is nothing cooler than seeing something big and time consuming happen really quickly!On that note, this video is one we made while covering Colby College's Biomass Project. Special thanks to the folks at Colby College, Pizzagalli Construction Company and Cote Crane Corporation for

Fundraising With Heart

2011-08-30T08:43:00.003-04:00

Here's a look at a recent video we produced for MaineGeneral Health in support of their Employee Combined Campaign. The interview subjects were so sincere and really great to work with; they made the project a success...and it's always nice to be working for a good cause.2011 Employee Combined Campaign from Linda Allen on Vimeo.

Celebrating Success

2011-04-11T12:41:00.008-04:00

I am happy to announce that we have just won our fourth Telly Award. The winning project is a campaign video we created for Winchester Hospital in Winchester, Mass. As an independent production company we measure our success by the satisfaction of our clients; a happy client always makes me feel great. Once in a while, though, it's nice to get a nod from the world at large, so thank you to the

Tools

2011-03-18T14:24:00.003-04:00

Last week Frank and I took a trip down to Boston to check out the Arri Alexa camera at Talamas. You know you are a camera geek when listening to a list of camera options makes you really excited. Well this is truly a beautiful camera, and one can't help but get the gimmies for it. I have to remind myself that it isn't always just the tools you use, but what you do with them that makes or breaks a

Tight Spaces

2011-01-18T09:03:00.007-05:00

Recently we filmed with our friends at Woods End Laboratory in Mount Vernon, Maine. It's always interesting to set up all our gear in tight spaces. The soil lab is a great place to work though, because they keep us on our toes. Once we set up the camera and lighting there are plenty of soil test steps to get through.In fact, every location shoot provides its own unique challenges and problems to

The Art of Listening

2010-09-23T09:04:00.018-04:00

It's all about communication, video, that is. Our clients hire us to communicate for them in a strong visual way, to tell their story for them. What I love about the work I do is telling that story, weaving it from start to finish, it is extremely satisfying. However, what I am most proud of throughout the whole process of making a video, is when I master the lost art of listening. If I didn't

Comments

2010-07-08T22:38:00.002-04:00

These are the kind of comments we love to get about our work. The following was said of a recent campaign video we produced:"We just showed the video to our Foundation Board and their jaws dropped!""They were starstruck"The only thing better than producing something you can be proud of, is having the praise of the client it was produced for. As soon as the campaign video is finalized, I'll post

Constant Interest

2010-03-03T20:27:00.002-05:00

True that the Academy Awards are right around the corner, and us video folks are nowhere in the vicinity, but the work we do is of constant interest. Last week, I videotaped readings from Toni Morrison's writings; the DVD I created from that was sent to Ms. Morrison as part of a celebration of her birthday. This week, Frank will be covering an event featuring author and civil rights activist

Cabin Fever? Nah...

2010-02-19T13:11:00.007-05:00

Here in Maine, it is the height of cabin fever season. However, in the world of video, one gets to go out and about, thus staving off the claustrophobia of Winter. Here are some of the interesting outings taking place at videops.com. Frank is hard at work with MPBN, covering camera for high school basketball. Tonight, I'm headed up to Colby college to film a celebration of author Toni Morrison's

Going Viral

2009-12-13T23:39:00.002-05:00

Here is the video we made recently for Woods End Laboratory's YouTube page. The topic is Biochar, a hot topic right now for anyone interested in environmental issues. As predicted by soil scientist Will Brinton, the video is getting plenty of hits since it went live. Take a look!

Too busy to blog?

2009-12-04T15:04:00.006-05:00

I must ask for forgiveness, as I have committed the ultimate sin of blogging: being to busy to post. The economy as it is though, I'm not complaining about being busy. Nope. Right now we're doing some exciting work with Woods End Laboratories. You can check out some of our work on their YouTube page. Currently, we're working on another web video with soil scientist Will Brinton; the topic is

New TV Spots

2009-10-15T13:10:00.008-04:00

As promised in my previous post, here are a couple of the TV spots we produced recently for the law firm of Jabar, Batten & Ringer, our new client in Waterville, Maine. Mission accomplished! Now on to an editing project for the Maine State Museum, and a producing a training and orientation tape.

Dog Days

2009-08-16T18:37:00.008-04:00

We're only getting a few dog days of Summer here in Maine, so I aim to enjoy them completely. According to the weatherman, we had only nine days without rain in July. August has been much more summer-like, phew. Rain or shine though, I love my work! In between dips in the lake and ocean, I am editing some TV ads we shot recently for a law firm in Waterville, Maine. Life is good. So far the

New clients and other thoughts...

2009-06-16T14:00:00.012-04:00

We are happy to welcome a new client into the fold. We just completed a short piece for a mental health services company in Augusta, Maine. The video was a joy to create and we got two thumbs up for the end product. We've done a great deal of work in the field of mental health. As a matter of fact, the Telly Award we just garnered was for just such a project. Here's a short clip from that video;

Icing on the Cake

2009-05-12T10:21:00.005-04:00

I am proud to announce that Video Production Services has just been awarded a Silver Telly (the top honor,) and our third Telly Award to date. This one is for our production a few years back of a program called Recovery Stories, which followed the struggles of five Maine people living with a dual diagnosis (mental illness and substance abuse.)The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring

Goodbye American Dreams

2009-04-27T12:50:00.016-04:00

This may be my last chance to share my involvement in a wonderful course at Colby College. For the past four years I have had the absolute pleasure of assisting Professor Phyllis Mannocchi with a course called American Dreams. It is the only course of it's kind on the Colby campus; the students study documentary films throughout the semester and then, after a crash course in production and

Video Springs Eternal

2009-04-05T23:25:00.009-04:00

Well, I can stop holding my breath. Spring is officially here. What's cooking lately? Recently we got a call from a freelance producer in Germany who needed to hire a cameraman for a shoot right nearby us, in Waterville, Maine. Surprise, surprise, they got a camera woman, namely, me. The shoot went great. I didn't understand a word, but I know it looked good! The footage will appear on the

Time Marches on

2009-03-07T08:46:00.004-05:00

It's March already! February flew by. Apart from breathlessly awaiting Spring, which is what we do here in Maine, I will be working on a set of TV spots for our new client, a local law firm. The challenge? Create something that breaks the boring lawyer ad mold. This should be fun!

Six Degrees...

2009-01-08T15:19:00.011-05:00

What do I have in common with Martin Scorsese? Not that much, except this: I created a video featuring someone who worked with Mr. Scorsese on the film Kundun which I saw recently. So, is that one or two degrees of separation?...anyway, that person is Tibetan Scholar and former Buddhist Monk, the Venerable Losang Samten. He creates incredible sand mandalas, such as the one featured in this short

Getting the word out

2008-12-26T23:18:00.012-05:00

Some projects are just plain fun. This video we produced for Colby College highlights their efforts to go green, re-use and recycle. The object was to keep it upbeat while getting the message out about this great event. It's called RESCUE...

Giving Thanks

2008-11-24T17:35:00.013-05:00

It is the time of year to pause for a moment to give thanks. We would like to thank our clients for their kindness and loyalty; here is what some have said about working with Video Production Services. This kind of feedback really makes all the hard work worth while.Carol Lane was a pleasure to work with on all aspects of the project she undertook for us. She quickly grasped what we were trying

Current Events

2008-11-06T12:09:00.008-05:00

Event coverage can be enlightening. Video Production Services recently produced this web video for Colby College; a discussion around the current financial crisis. Carol Lane running camera...

Yes, we do event coverage...

2008-10-15T12:16:00.015-04:00

Video Production Services offers event videography services, as well as work on more highly pre-produced projects. This month, cameraman Frank Kaluzynski headed to Augusta, Maine to cover the Governor's Conference on Youth and the Natural World. Frank is also keeping busy over at MPBN, shooting for Maine Watch and a slew of upcoming political debates.

Ending the Season

2008-09-09T08:01:00.004-04:00

Summer in Maine is coming to an end, but that's alright because Autumn here is beautiful too. Here is a sample of the kind of thing we did with our Maine Summer. Colby College wanted to promote their efforts at "greening" their commencement ceremonies, so we produced a low-budget student-driven piece for them which does just that.Now that it is back-to-school time, Colby has asked us to produce a

..and we would like to thank...

2008-05-16T21:23:00.005-04:00

...our valued clients who keep providing us with opportunities to do good work, for which we continue to be recognized. We are proud to announce that Video Production Services has been chosen out of thousands of entrants to receive our second Telly Award.The Telly Awards honor the very best local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film

May is a busy month

2008-05-15T12:53:00.006-04:00

Here is what is in the works at Video Production Services. We're gearing up to cover Colby College Commencement activities and also working with them on a video about Green Graduation. This video will highlight the steps they are taking to further reduce the College's carbon footprint.On that note, we are taking our own steps to reduce, re-use and recycle here at Video Production Services,

At Home in Maine

2008-04-30T15:30:00.003-04:00

Here's what we've been working on for the Friends of The Maine State Museum. The video promotes At Home in Maine, a new and exciting exhibit coming in November to the Museum.

The Friends of The Maine State Museum; New Client

2008-03-04T14:17:00.006-05:00

We're proud to announce that we'll be working with The Friends of The Maine State Museum to produce a video promoting the upcoming At Home in Maine exhibit. This is a really exciting exhibit about home life in Maine, the largest of its kind, currently under construction at the Maine State Museum. The video will be a sneak peak at the exhibit and some of its exciting interactive features.

February In Maine

2008-02-13T17:07:00.005-05:00

February has been a busy month here at videops. In fact, so busy, I haven't had time for postings. But being creative with video is what it's all about and I spend my time doing that. In fact, here is something I put together just for a bit of fun (in between all that work) as a tribute to February in Maine; snow and ice rule. Does it seem repetitive? Then you are getting the point...Enjoy!

Happy 2008

2008-01-01T10:23:00.000-05:00

Busy December

2007-12-12T18:49:00.000-05:00

Check out the fruits of our recent editing labors. A short video we edited about the late philanthropist Harold Alfond, has now been picked up by the Bangor Daily News.The video was created for a press conference announcing Alfond's gift of a $500 NexGen scholorship to every child born in Maine, starting in 2009.

November Already?

2007-11-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

How did November get here so fast? Here's what's new:Yes,another writers series up at Colby College, this time featuring Maine author Monica Wood and poet Patrick Donnelly reading from their works.Saturday Nov. 10th is the 60th Anniversary Concert of the Colby Eight an a cappella singing group. We'll be producing a DVD of the event, it should be fun! On the same day, we'll be videotaping the

Busy October

2007-10-17T10:32:00.000-04:00

Things are moving along at a clip here at videops. Projects we are working on and Events of interest; Carol is editing a project for MaineGeneral Health for their upcoming Fall retreat.We recently had the pleasure of covering the continuing visiting writers series at Colby, this month featuring South African author Zakes Mda.More at Colby College; we'll be videotaping The Senator George J.

Sharing Content - Climate Change

2007-10-04T22:27:00.000-04:00

We're excited to share with our blog readers some really timely content. Thanks to Tom Tietenberg professor of economics at Colby college, we are able to bring you his fascinating presentation "Climate Change in Maine and the U.S. Northeast." This report represents a collaboration between the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and more than 50 independent experts. He shares some startling facts

New and Noteworthy

2007-09-25T16:21:00.000-04:00

Some noteworthy events we're covering lately at Video Production Services:Thursday, Sept. 20th- Colby College; Noted historian and author Adam Hochschild talks about his book Bury the Chains.Tuesday, Sept. 25th - Interview taping for Sodexho CorporationSunday Sept. 30th - Colby College; Presentation of the Lovejoy Award to NY Times correspondent John Burnsvideo production services

In Progress

2007-09-02T11:42:00.000-04:00

Things have been pretty busy here at videops.com. We are continuing our work for Colby College (www.colby.edu) and you can find our videos all over their website...here's one we created for the art museum; the making of a sand mandala.We are just wrapping up a project for MaineGeneral Health documenting the opening of the new cancer care center in Augusta.One fun and exciting project ongoing, is

Recent work

2007-09-02T11:25:00.006-04:00

Here's some of what we've been up to at Video Production Services...Creating a video promoting a new exhibit at the Maine State Museum; paid for by the Friends of the Maine State Museum. A short low-budget piece for Colby College about their "Green Graduation."Producing a highlights video of the dedication ofMaineGeneral Health's Alfond Center for Cancer Care in Augusta, Maine. It is a beautiful

What's new at Video Production Services

2007-04-10T15:12:00.000-04:00

We are happy to announce the recent purchase the Sony HVR-Z1U camera. We are thrilled to have joined the world of High Definition (HD), and because the format is 16:9 instead of 4:3, we have more screen real estate to work with creatively. Can't wait to start shooting and see what we can do...