The IPBCC (for short) is the first piece in Assiniboine Park Zoo’s huge Journey to Churchill project. The IPBCC has three components: a research facility for scientists working on Arctic issues, including polar bears; a transition facility for orphaned and abandoned cubs from the Churchill Wildlife Management Area, and a public exhibit and education space – and that’s where we come in.

We started developing the project in early April, and over the next 10 months worked closely with the exhibit designers, The Portico Group in Seattle, and the Assiniboine Park Zoo interpretive exhibit team, to develop and produce a total of 30 different interactive videos across 13 different stations (in both English and French). The videos feature a variety of stories and information about climate change, polar bears, and polar bear research and conservation.

You Asked It Interactive Monitor

There are six touch-screen interactive stations featuring profiles of various organizations and individuals involved in polar bear conservation, called “People for Polar Bears.” Each station features one or two documentary style videos about the individual or organization and what they do.

There are also four touch-screen interactive stations, called “You Asked It,” each featuring four different questions about polar bears and climate change asked by students aged 6-18. In all we gather over 150 questions, which was paired down to 16 in the end, each one chosen for their uniqueness and relevance to the other material in the exhibit. We then tasked the staff at the IPBCC and Assiniboine Park Zoo to respond to the student’s questions.

Since the IPBCC is quite new, we also wanted to make sure people understood what it’s all about and why it’s needed. So, we produced two videos about the IPBCC, its partners, the polar bear transition program, and why polar bear conservation is so important.

Dr. Carl Carbon Talking about Climate Change

One of the biggest challenges was producing an animated video called “What’s the Big Deal with Climate Change?” Using classic cell-style animation, mixed with live footage, it’s a frenetic look at climate change, global warming and its impact on us and polar bear populations in the Hudson Bay. Working with award-winning animator Anita Lebeau, we created a ‘Bill Nye’ style character, called Dr. Carl Carbon, who takes us through the history of the earth, carbon, climate change, and what it means for us in only 4 minutes. It was a huge challenge to write, but to date it’s one of our favourite pieces we’ve ever produced.

But we didn’t stop at just producing the video content – we also worked closely with the exhibit designers and hardware supplier to spec the appropriate hardware. We also designed and programmed the interfaces on the units to integrate seamlessly with the information graphics and other elements in the space.

Threats to polar bears wall at the IPBCC

We’re really proud of this project, since it stands as one of the most diverse and challenging projects we’ve ever undertaken, but I think it really shows off what the Centric team is capable of creating.

We had a lot of help from a lot of great people along the way, so big thanks to everyone who was involved in this project – the interview subjects, students, teachers, production crew, The Portico Group, 3DS in Vancouver, Advance Electronics, and of course, all the great folks at the Assiniboine Park Zoo!

Here’s a little video we put together to showcase the work we did.  It’s only a small slice of everything, so if you haven’t been already, get out there and check out the IPBCC.

What people are really looking for is a video that feels real, and not like marketing spin. The straight goods right from the horse’s mouth. It makes sense – in the age of social media viewer connection is extremely important. So, that’s why there’s such a big push in marketing to let real people tell the story of a product or company – basically testimonials. Sometimes it’s done really well – and sometimes? Well, not so much…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not attacking the dentists featured in these ads by any means – they’re dentists, not actors. It’s all in the production. At the core, it’s a good idea – let real professional’s talk about the benefits of a product in a way that makes the viewer feel like subject really believes in the product. But these ads are a perfect example of trying to make something look authentic… When you read the comments on this spot you see things like ‘what’s with the camera angles,’ and ‘why is there a close up of his forehead?’ The result is something that’s really distracting from the message instead.

The bottom line is this – you can’t force authenticity. Your subject and message has to be authentic. No amount of ‘forced-amateur’ style shooting is going to make the audience believe a scripted message is reality. It has to be authentic from the start… which means finding the right message and the right people to tell your story. Take out the over-scripting and bad camera angles, and those dentists might actually sell some toothpaste (and I don’t doubt they did).

So am I suggesting you forget about a video production company, dump the script, go buy a Handicam and shoot your own video? Sure, if that makes sense for your message… like if you’re a rock star… or a celebrity. Otherwise it’s probably. There’s a time and place where that can work, but when it comes to using video in marketing you have to take in to account all of the factors that lead a viewer to a conclusion; what’s being said, how it looks, how does it make you feel, what does it make you want to do?

There’s a fine balance between the budget, the right look and the proper message… the bottom line is your brand and your company image is going to be represented by the pictures and words you put in front of a viewer. No single piece of a video works without all the other pieces – the message, the lighting, the camera work, the audio, the music and so on. It all has to work together – one piece doesn’t compensate for the lack of another. But most of all remember that a scripted message will look exactly like that, no matter how hard you try and make it look ‘real.’

Video is a visual medium and if it looks awkward, sounds bad, or is hard to watch – that’s exactly what viewers will walk away with. And I’d guess that’s probably not the message you want to send.

Neurofibromatosis is something everyone should be more aware of – so please spread the word on MBNF!

The design theme this year reflects the imagery of the good ol’ days of K-Tel Records… So naturally, we had to create a TV spot to pay homage! The commercial is airing on CTV, Global, and CityTV across Manitoba. Tickets to the 2011 Signature Awards are available at www.signatureawards.ca

Credits to “Raccoon” Carney and Brian Aitken at Bell Media for the great voice work, and the folks at daCapo for the mix and audio mastering.

Visiting the IBPCC construction site, March 28th 2011

In conjunction with The Portico Group in Seattle, and 15 Letters in Chicago, we’ve been tasked to create a wide variety of videos and animations as part of the IBPCC Interpretive Centre.  While there’s lots of details yet to work out, the overall goal of the exhibit is to tell the story of climate change, and what its effect has been, and will be, on Polar Bears (and other animals) in the Arctic.  It’s a really exciting project, and we’re thrilled to be involved.   As part of the kick-off meeting, were able to get out to survey the site construction and get a good sense of the space where the exhibit will be located. 

If you’ve been to the Zoo lately, you will see construction happening behind the old bear enclosures to your right as you enter the Zoo. 

The International Polar Bear Conservation Centre is scheduled to open in late September 2011, and is part of the Zoo’s over $31 million Journey to Churchill/Arctic exhibit, which is slated to be fully completed by 2013.

Search Google and you will find hundreds of sites that talk about the merrits of having video on your website, but not a lot that focus on the content of the video.

You have probably heard and read a lot these days about how much video has become an integral part of any marketing strategy. And that’s for good reason – video can deliver a message to your market with a level of engagement that really no other medium can.

It’s also easier and cheaper to deliver video to an audience than ever before, which is why it has become very common on just about every website (and might be why you are reading this blog).

But there is a problem with the demand – in the scramble to keep up with what people expect to see on a website, all too often the people creating the website only look at a video as a piece of content on their website.  The actual content and message of the video becomes secondary to the goal of having a video for the sake of being website content.

In other words – the video does nothing useful, and just takes up space on a web page.

Engagement is really the key, as I mentioned earlier. The video needs to connect with the viewer and provide them with an experience the website isn’t able to on its own – but it has to be deeper than just pictures and sound. The video has to add to the existing content, and allow the viewer to see, hear and experience something words and still images won’t be able to.   The video needs to integrate with the website, and elevate the users experience so they see something new, experience something different, and connect with your product, service, or brand.

The bottom line?  A good message and well crafted content is what makes for a good video. We have all watched movies with bad stories, or lack luster acting and walked away thinking it was a waste of time and money (but hey, the special effects were great)!

Now apply that to a commercial, corporate or product video – what are your potential customers thinking after they watch your video? Did the message get through? Did the visuals mean anything? Did they even watch the whole thing? Or did they walk away wondering ‘what was the point’?

When I started out in this business nearly 15 years ago a good friend said to me “if you are creating a video to sell shoes, and at the end of the day you go home and feel like you just created the best project of your life – but it doesn’t sell a shoe, you failed.”

I have never forgotten that, and today we put a lot of time into figuring out how to help sell shoes for our clients.

Pretty pictures are easy to create these days – but message, story and execution is what makes a video work for you and your goals – not against you.

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What I like about this spot is its simplicity, and complexity at the same time. The concept overall is a simple one, but the complex CG car crash is obviously what makes it all work. Combined with a simple, but compelling score it really works well to deliver the message (watch it without audio and you can still understand what the spot is about).

It is a great example of how a simple message and simple concept can really shine with good production value, creative and post production.

For years Liberty Mutual has done an outstanding job of using traditional media to drive their social and online media campaigns – certianly in a way that I don’t think any other insurance agency has (and quite likely not many companies period).  Using short film style commercials that were more about making the viewer think about what decision they would make in a variety of situations, mainly what is the ‘responsible’ decision for you. Rather than talking about how many customers they have, or how low their rates are it helped drive people to the www.responsibilityproject.com website.  Since it started a few years ago, there have been dozens of films and branded documentaries produced all related to the simple idea of “doing the right thing.”  It’s another great example of a simple idea (doing the right thing and being responsible) executed extremely well over a variety of mediums to shape how a potential client sees a brand/organization.

More to come soon…