Interactive Doors: SNCF’s Innovative Marketing

Interactive marketing reaches a new level with the SNCF’s “Europe, It’s Just Next Door” campaign to promote the railway system.

The innovative marketing tool developed by Paris advertising agency TBWA for the SNCF, France’s national state-owned railway, uses interactive doors as a means of promoting their railway system and enticing people to travel to other parts of Europe. The official campaign entitled “Europe, It’s Just Next Door” illustrates the slogan by placing interactive television screens in doors, and then placing those doors in public areas within Paris. Curious participants then open the doors and are subsequently “guided” through another European city.

The brightly coloured doors have names of cities on them, which the participant ultimately ends up “visiting” with the help of someone on the other side of the door. The virtual portals connect participants to those in other cities in real-time, essentially helping them virtually tour and explore other places and participate in local events. The doors are placed in prominent tourist locations and not only connect people to different cities and their attractions, but also the people that reside there. It’s an interesting way to not only interact with a new place, but also the locals. For example, when the door is opened, participants are “able to play with a mime artist in Milan, have their portraits drawn in Brussels, dance with a hip-hop crew in Barcelona, share a romantic boat ride on Geneva Lake, and join a group of young Germans on a bike ride across Stuttgart.” (Source)

“It’s a neat idea and does a good job of encapsulating the excitement of visiting new places in a fun way, as well as helping bring two countries together in an interactive way.” (Source)

Take a look below:

Tell Keywest what you thought of the interactive doors? Would you like to see them around your city?

Keywest Video – Corporate Video Blog – Interactive Marketing[/caption]

Interactive Doors: SNCF’s Innovative Marketing

Demo Reel: Showing Off the Best You

Tips for Creating a Demo Reel

Demo reels are a great way to show off your best work. Whether you are an actor, videographer, or motion graphics animator, a demo reel can aid in providing you with examples of your work that make you stand out from the crowd and ultimately help you get the job.

1. 
   Use professional footage as much as possible. Ideally your demo reel would contain footage from corporate work, commercials, television and film. This creates a sense of professionalism and shows that you have worked with organizations that have a certain standard. But don’t hesitate to include work that you have created in school or for yourself as long as it is high quality and displays a different skill then your other work.


2. 
   Keep your reel short. But how short you ask? Often the person watching your demo reel has several reels to watch and/or they are under a time crunch. Depending on your audience and where they access it the length may vary. If it is on your personal website then it’s likely that the viewer is specifically seeking out your services so the video can be longer, say up to 3-5 minutes. But most often, and especially if you are actively sending it out to land a job, then anything over 2 minutes is too long.


3. 
   Put your best work first. Remember you have only a few seconds to engage your viewer before they get bored are on to the next, so you will want to grab their attention fast. Casting directors, agents and managers usually say they know if you are right for the gig within the first 10 seconds.


4. 
   Make sure the content is relevant. This means make sure that your reel makes sense for the position you are applying for. If you are an actor applying for a comedic part, you should have comedic scenes throughout your reel. Some actors have several reels based on the different type of job so they can showcase only their most relevant work.


5. 
   Use clips that feature YOU and your talent. Don’t include work that focuses on someone else or work that someone else has produced. For actors, the casting director should always know whose demo reel they are watching. When it comes to editors or videographers, be very clear what work is your own and what, if any, was produced by or with the help of others.


6. 
   Include your contact info. People need to know how to find and contact you. Your name should be featured at the beginning and end of your demo reel.


7. 
   Get feedback. Show off your work to your friends and family and ask them to help spread the word. You never know who has a connection that could be useful, so your next big break could come from a source you least expect!

Here at Keywest Video we produce demo reels for a wide range of talented individuals. Contact us today for more information, or to book a meeting with the editor.

Demo Reel: Showing Off the Best You

Customer Service

Why We Value Customer Service

At Keywest we believe that customer service is the root of a successful company. That is why we are focused on providing our clients with exceptional service at every stage of production.

We make sure our clients feel like they are being taken care of right from the initial interaction. When we receive a phone call, email, or online request for quote we ensure that those individuals are contacted within 24 hours of their initial request. More often then not though, those individuals are contacted immediately following their initial contact, or in the case of a phone conversation, once we have spoken to that person we send them a quote shortly thereafter. In this way, we ensure that our potential clients know how much we value them and appreciate their business.

Another way we ensure excellent customer service is through our ability to listen, comprehend, and find solutions to a range of issues that clients face. Our role in every production we work on is to bring clients vision to life. But if they need assistance in figuring out what that creative direction is, we always provide our best efforts to ensure that the end goal of the video is being met, and that it provides an appropriate return on their investment.

The production industry is not static by any means. Working on a production there are various elements which can adapt and change at any time. For example, here at Keywest we have had various instances where we need to think on our feet and be receptive to the situation around us. If suddenly the client realizes on the day of the shoot that they need to film a completely new intro to the video and it needs to be scripted ASAP, we will, and have, done that for them. If suddenly their friend who was going to be in the video is unavailable, we will hold a last minute casting session and call every actor we know to fill in. We do this because we want our productions to succeed, but more importantly because we would do anything for our clients.

We believe that customer service is a key element in the production industry, and is what truly sets us apart from our competitors. When you hire Keywest Video for your production you can rest assured that all stages of the production will be handled with the utmost care and great service will be given every step of the way.

Customer Service

Small Business Video

Keywest Knows How to Tailor Videos to Small Business Needs

Keywest Video is a trusted source for video production for a wide variety of corporate clients. This video showcases the types of videos available to make your small business shine.

Keywest Video – Corporate Video Blog – Small Business[/caption]

 

Small Business Video

Terres de Hommes: Stopping the Exploitation

Terres de Hommes is Helping Put an End to Webcam Sex Tourism

On this blog, and on a daily basis, we discuss all of the benefits our world has been afforded due to the instant access to the World Wide Web that we have at our fingertips. But less often, do we investigate the negative impact that this instant form of connection can have on our societies.

Terres de Hommes is a network of ten different national children’s organizations, which have banned together to help aid children around the globe and put an end to their exploitation. Without any discrimination based upon race, age, gender, religion or political affiliations, they focus on a variety of issues that children face.

One of their current campaigns involves helping bring awareness to the abuse of innocent children through online ‘webcam sex tourism’. What this entails are men, most often from wealthy countries, who pay children in the developing world to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam. It is an epidemic with thousands of interactions happening on a daily basis, and the general public being virtually blind to these predatory situations.

Terres de Hommes has taken an interesting and preemptive approach to help this horrible global problem. They have created a computer-generated ten year old girl named Sweetie to help them track down online child predators. Their view is, “if nothing is being done on the demand side, then this phenomenon will only increase even further”. So they are actively pursuing criminals in the online sphere where crimes are being committed, to catch these individuals.

In order to trap predators they must be in the act of committing a crime. That is why this organization is not only posing as a young Filipino girl online; they are actually bringing her to life through an avatar. Once the men feel comfortable with Sweetie, the individuals behind the operation find little traces of information that they release through the online chat, in order to track the men down through Google and Facebook. In two months alone, Terres de Hommes has tracked down 1000 online predators.

With the United States estimating that 750,000 pedophiles are online at any given moment, Terres de Hommes estimates that tens of thousands of children, as young as six years old, are being abused behind webcams in the Philippines alone. Yet, the number of men with convictions related to this type of crime is only six, and that is the number for all countries around the globe combined. This is due to the difficulty in proving these types of crimes. But with this innovative approach to catching online predators, there is now hope that justice will be served to at least some individuals.

Terres de Hommes is now looking to the public to increase awareness. If you are interested you can sign this petition to help bring this issue to national governments attention.

You can also watch this video which discusses the campaign in detail.

Terres de Hommes: Stopping the Exploitation

Video Production in Toronto for Non-locals

Video production in Toronto can be a tricky task if you aren’t from the city, but there are resources available to help you.

If you’re looking to shoot some (or all) of your video production in Toronto, it’s important to have a local crew. This is especially helpful if you’re on a tight budget or restricted by time constraints. A professional local crew will not only possess the technical know-how that you can’t afford to sacrifice, but they will also be equipped with knowledge about the city that your non-local team may not. Such knowledge can come in handy in the event of any last minute changes or mishaps, such as a new location, studio space, equipment rental, etc. Not only will a local crew know where to go, they’ll also know who to contact. Their knowledge of Toronto and its resources will make things easier in the long run… but most of all, you’ll save a great deal of time and potentially avoid some costly flights.

Perhaps you’ve got a world-renowned production crew that you absolutely cannot part with… no problem! We understand that you may not want to (or be able to) substitute your entire team for a local crew, but some assistance on the ground may prove helpful at times, especially if this is your first time shooting a video production in Toronto. In such instances, it is helpful to get in touch with a local production team and, at the very least, hire some local producers. Although the rest of the crew may be unfamiliar with the location, local producers will be more than knowledgeable about video production in Toronto and what exactly the city has to offer your team.

Not from Toronto? No problem. Keywest is here to help you with whatever you need for your video production in Toronto. Contact us today!

Keywest Video – Corporate Video Blog – Video Production in Toronto

Video Production in Toronto for Non-locals

YouTube Awards: the Future?

YouTube Awards were “a hot mess,” but are they a stepping stone to the future of award shows?

Yesterday’s YouTube Awards were a bust by most reviewers’ standards. With a measly 220,000 viewers (at its peak) streaming the awards live, it’s difficult to imagine online viewing as the future of award shows.

Forbes elaborates: “YouTube, which is the most powerful platform for discovering new music online, and which is owned by Google, the most powerful of all Internet companies, could only generate 220,000 viewers! Even 10 times that amount would have fallen below expectations. Just for comparison, the MTV VMA’s had a viewership of 10.1 million this year.” Source

YouTube seemed to have a good concept in theory; however, it was one that was difficult to transform into an awards show. We all see the platform as a hub for spontaneous viral videos, therefore why not make a spontaneous awards show, right? Wrong. Spontaneity was basically seen as disorganization and unpreparedness by the audience, with some even calling it “a hot mess.” Source

It seemed that the YouTube Awards were definitely under-promoted, possibly contributing to its disappointing viewership. Many did not know about the awards until viewers took to Twitter… to voice their negative opinions. According to Billboard, “The bizarre, unscripted anti-awards show, where hosts Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts were handed live infants, garnered 336,161 Tweets during a three-hour period around the 90-minute event.” Source When it comes down to it, many viewers simply do not view YouTube as a platform for watching a 90-minute show.

The numbers were disappointing and the show seemed “slapped together” and “disorganized,” yet online award shows are most likely the future. We are watching more and more of our television online; why should award shows be an exception? Perhaps YouTube’s spontaneous approach wasn’t exactly a well-executed idea, but other awards shows will soon follow in the video platform’s footsteps in order to appeal to their online-viewing audience. While the YouTube Awards probably should have enjoyed a larger viewership, it’s clear that online award shows haven’t quite taken off yet.

Tell Keywest what you thought of the YouTube Awards! Were you one of the 220,000 viewers?

Keywest Video – Corporate Video Blog – YouTube Awards

 

YouTube Awards: the Future?