To lift everybody’s spirit in the team a few months in to the COVID lock down, the VP for GP Strategies, India encouraged the team to create a fun video that would not only highlight the positive aspects of our lives but also pay tribute to everyone who helped us during these testing times.
Contribution: I directed the video: I scripted it, gave shooting directions, reviewed videos from team members, provided feedback, helped some members re-shoot their videos, edited them, and created short animations for the beginning and end. For my efforts, I was awarded an AR trophy.
TOOLS USED TO CREATE THE VIDEO:
• MS Word – Storyboarding
• MS PowerPoint – Creating animation and export it as a MP4 file
• Adobe Premiere / Articulate Storyline – Video editing
• https://www.tribute.co/ – Collate videos from team member
Click the below thumbnail to view the video hosted on GP STRATEGIES VIMEO account:
The below AR award was presented to me in the Town-hall meeting after the video has been viewed and admired by several leaders.
How did it start?
Every time you hear the term “Covid-19” it feels like much has already been said. However, this global pandemic has managed to provoke a variety of emotions and insights from everyone.
One Friday evening, I gave a presentation about ‘Life in the Time of Corona’ (a reference to “Love in the Time of Cholera”) which the VP appreciated. He advised me to work on a video highlighting the positive aspects of our life that helped us battle the aftermath of the virus outbreak. We had two weeks to finish and publish the video.
I scripted , gave shooting directions, reviewed the videos and provided feedback, helped a few members re-shoot their videos, and created the animations (in the start and end of the video) using simple tools.
The entire process was incredibly fun and one of the most memorable aspects of my tenure in the organization.
Finalising the Topic and Choosing the Strategy:
There were 15 members in the team and we conducted a poll to finalize the topic. Many chose “Being Grateful During the Covid-19 Lockdown,” so we decided to go with that.
We then discussed the “pass the baton” idea for building the video. We considered various ways to shoot the video, such as performing an action or speaking our statements aloud. To reduce effort in rehearsing, shooting, and post-production, we opted for the simplest version: writing our statements and showing them on screen for a few seconds before passing it to the next person.
Scripting and Sample:
Initially, we thought of letting members choose their own way of ‘passing the baton.’ However, considering the difficulty in coordinating that task, I decided to script the individual actions. Individually performed, the actions might not make sense, but when viewed in sequence, the overall theme and intention would be evident.
The members wrote their statements starting with “During the pandemic, I am grateful for….” I decided this phrase should be present in all the statements to familiarize viewers with the standard phrase that will help them read the text easily. I also wrote down the requirements, prerequisites, and recommendations for shooting good videos. My teammates found the instructions very helpful, saving them a lot of time.
I also shot a sample video demonstrating how a transition would look on screen when performed correctly.
Review and Re-shoot:
I knew we were not shooting “Justice League” but I expected some re-shoots to happen. A few things went wrong; for example, I didn’t mention that the writing needed to be using a thick sketch pen or marker. Some members faced the light source directly, with a white wall behind them, causing their videos to look “bleached” (bleaching is a nightmare in film production because the camera will not capture finer details in over-lit frames). We had to re-shoot a few videos due to bleaching, mistakes, and lack of clarity.
We had to re-shoot a few videos some due to bleaching and some due to mistakes and lack of clarity.
Collating and Editing:
Our VP wanted to try out an online editing tool called “Tribute.” After the individual members uploaded their videos to our Tribute account, I started editing them. I have always loved editing, and it was the most fun part of the video—cutting out additional/irrelevant frames and seeing the final video come to life.
When scripting, I also thought about how to start and end the video. I wanted to mimic the eLearning process itself: setting the context, collecting individual videos, structuring them, and turning all the inputs into a digital output.
I used PowerPoint to create simple animations and published them as videos. I had a lot of time to do this while awaiting the final videos from my team members. I also planned a simple “performance” to show the transition from the hard copy to the digital version.
When timed and edited properly, this would look like a magic trick.
Release and Response:
I added a soundtrack that reminded me of American country songs. I published the video and shared it with the VP and my colleagues. The response was unanimous, and everyone loved the final output, as it brought everyone on screen after nearly two and a half months of separation.
The VP described it as “Fantastic,” “Overwhelming,” and said he “couldn’t find one thing wrong with the video. It is perfect.” Because I drove the entire process, the VP appreciated my efforts and asked me to create a template from the script with all the instructions and directions I had given.
The script is currently used by others in the organization to create new videos. The emotional response from people was the most valuable takeaway from my efforts. It was satisfying to see people respond positively and feel connected.