While we aren’t quite to a place where we need to swear fealty to our robot overlords, AI has come a long way. There is a lot of fear about what AI means for our future in terms of possible jobs lost in multiple industries. Some believe AI might be the key to saving humanity. Whatever you think of AI, it’s important to remember this: most current AI available is little more than useful tools to be used by living and breathing humans to turn formerly annoyingly tedious tasks into far less annoyingly tedious tasks.
Today we’re going to highlight some AI tech Mad Genius is currently using in the world of video editing, specifically, the audio part.
Sound Design: An Unsung Hero
Sound is one of those underrated and unappreciated aspects of production. Sound editing is one of the most complicated tasks in the post-production process, as well as wildly time-consuming. It’s about sweetening the audio you want via EQ enhancement and noise reduction to the audio you don’t. There’s a lot of testing, listening, tweaking, and listening, and trying again. Thanks to Adobe Enhance Speech, cleaning up audio has been streamlined and much, much easier.
Adobe Enhance Speech is a feature currently available within Adobe Premiere Pro. But much like Diana Ross when she was a part of The Supremes, or Beyoncé in Destiny’s Child for our younger viewers, it’s going solo and will be sold separately. It’s designed to improve the clarity of speech in audio recordings, using some pretty advanced algorithms (that’s where the AI magic happens) to analyze the audio for speech specifically.
Using Adobe Premiere Pro’s AI Algorithms
Sound Without Processing
Let’s take a look, or rather a listen, to the tool in action. If you’re able, it’d be best to pop on a pair of headphones for the full effect. This first clip is without any audio processing.
Sound With Some Processing
You’ll notice that there is what sounds like a lot of hissing or white noise in the background of the voiceover. It’s the worst you’ll ever listen to, but it’s still clearly not something you’d want to hear. Now let’s listen to the audio enhanced via Adobe Enhance Speech, with a mixture of 55 percent process and 45 percent original audio.
Sound With All the Processing
The difference is quite noticeable. There’s far less hiss in the background, making the voiceover sound much sharper and clear. Now let’s listen to one final clip set to 100 percent processing.
The background noise is now completely gone, which can be what you want in some cases. The previous sample is actually what we ended up using because of its balance of minimum background noise or tone in relation to the voice-over.
That’s just one example of how AI is working for Mad Genius. If you’re looking to learn more about what we do and how we can help you and your business, why not fill out the contact form below and let’s chat.
There are many levels of video production. These range between projects done by one individual playing every position, to massive blockbusters that employ thousands of specialists to get the job done. “Iron Man 3,” for example, is reported as having 3310 individuals on the crew. Considerable crews come at an equally considerable cost and aren’t necessary for most of us.
Let’s focus on the steps and crew that might be needed to produce a broadcast quality commercial, which is still an extremely broad category. The intent here is to familiarize you with some basic steps in the process, crew positions, and their duties, not to get hyper granular about what specific positions would be required for any particular project. It is also not intended to be an exhaustive list of every crew position in the industry (so if you are an industry professional and aren’t represented, please know this is done in broad strokes and I mean no offense).
Commercial Preproduction: Hiring
We will begin our adventure at the beginning: preproduction, the step after concepts and scripts have been finalized.
Enter the Producer. He is the hero of the story (I am a producer). The first step for a producer is figuring out the budget based on the script. Once the budget and scope of work are locked in, the process of hiring a crew, scouting for locations, and casting begins. The size of the cast and crew can vary wildly as mentioned above and are dictated by the budget a client has to spend, the scope of work, and the level of polish required of the finished product.
Below are just a few key positions that would likely be on a set and a very brief job description for each.
What Does a Commercial Director Do?
The director is responsible for the overall vision of the production. Most large creative decisions go through the director. It’s important to note that the director is responsible for communicating with the talent to get the performances required.
What Does a Commercial Camera Department Do?
The camera department is responsible for all things camera! This includes cameras, lenses, and media.
What Does a Commercial Director of Photography (DP) Do?
The DP is the head of the camera department. They oversee the lighting and grip department as well. In a nutshell, they’re responsible for lighting and recording the shots, and all that comes with that responsibility. On a small to medium size shoot, the DP will often operate the camera during the takes.
What Does a Commercial Assistant Camera (AC) Do?
The AC usually builds and manages the cameras and pulls focus as well. Another duty of the AC is to set up and maintain the video village, which is an area with monitors dedicated for clients and agency members to view the shots the camera is recording.
What Does a Commercial Media manager/DIT Do?
Media manager/DIT makes sure all the files are copied, backed up, properly labeled, and potentially a host of other things, including making sure the images being captured are what the DP is expecting.
What Does a Commercial Lighting Department Do?
If it has a plug or a battery, the lighting department folks are your people.
What Does a Commercial Gaffer Do?
The gaffer is the head of the lighting department. He works directly with the DP to figure out a lighting plan, and then gets to work to turn that plan into a reality.
What Do Commercial Electrics Do?
Electrics are responsible for the lighting and power for those lights—batteries and generator(s).
What Does a Commercial Grip Department Do?
Any gear associated with the lights or shaping light falls to the grip department, along with any dollies. All light stands, reflectors, flags to block or slow light, etc. In addition, the grips are responsible for any rigging needed by any department.
What Does a Commercial Key Grip Do?
The key grip is the head of the grip department. They manage the grips and make sure the set is safe. That last part is pretty important, as sets can be very busy, precarious places.
What Do Commercial Grips Do?
Grips are soldiers. They set stands, wrap cable, rig anything overhead, set dolly track, push the dolly, rig cameras and lights to various objects like cars or cranes, and more. Much more.
What Does a Commercial Art Department Do?
The art department is responsible for what you physically see on the set. This includes designing and constructing sets, choosing paint colors, furniture, etc.
What Does a Commercial Production Designer/Art Director Do?
A production designer/art director heads the art department. They design the project with their team and work with other department heads to coordinate the overall style of a given scene. This includes everything from coordinating to make sure an actor’s wardrobe looks good with the wall color, to working with the DP to place a lamp in the scene to motivate lighting.
What Does a Commercial Props Person Do?
The props person is generally in charge of anything the actors physically handle or interact with within a scene.
What Does a Commercial Sound Department Do?
The sound department ensures it’s not a silent film.
What Does a Commercial Sound Mixer/Boom Op Do?
A sound mixer/boom op works to record clear quality sound for talent and environments. They monitor sound levels to ensure they aren’t too low or loud and to make sure unwanted sounds are at a minimum—isolated if possible. Not every commercial requires on-set sound. Occasionally, the sound in a spot is a music track, sound effects, voice over, or a combination of all of these.
What Does a Commercial Wardrobe Department Do?
The wardrobe department wrangles clothes, shoes, and the like.
What Does a Commercial Costume Designer/Wardrobe Stylist Do?
The costume designer/wardrobe stylist is generally a one-person department, unless there is a lot of talent or if we’re shooting a period piece. The wardrobe department coordinates with the talent about sizes and clothing needs. Shopping for clothes, shoes, hats, and sometimes handbags. There is often a little overlap with the props person for items like handbags and purses, and they work very closely with the art director.
What Does a Commercial Hair & Makeup Department Do?
The hair and makeup department makes the talent look good, bad, or unrecognizable.
What Does a Commercial Hair Stylist Do?
Hair stylists are responsible for various hair types and styles, including wigs.
What Does a Commercial Makeup Artist Do?
Whether you are looking for a natural look or something very stylized to put you in a different time, makeup artists know how to get you there. Special effects makeup is a wholly different beast, and requires a special skill set.
Commercial Preproduction: Time & Place
After the crew is secured, or frequently alongside the effort, the producer or a location scout will begin looking for just the right spots to shoot to capture the director’s and/or client’s vision of the script. They’ll also work with the director to come up with a shot list and shooting schedule.
Locations can be anything… a friend’s front porch that you are using for free, a highly controlled military facility that requires a tremendous amount of paperwork and clearances, or a large opulent department store that could cost tens of thousands of dollars per day. Whoever is scouting locations is tasked with getting as many suitable options for the required locations as possible within the allotted time. These are then looked at by the director, DP, agency, client, and whoever else wants to see them. From that meeting of the minds, the final locations are chosen. The producer then secures location agreements and certificates of insurance for the locations. Payment is usually delivered on the first day of the shoot.
Commercial Preproduction: Casting
Casting can happen several ways…
You can use a casting agent. This is my preferred method of casting, but not every project has the budget to justify hiring an agent. A casting agent has a network of talent agencies and talent lists built that they can use to put out the call for a role with all the details.
If a casting agent isn’t in the cards, you can reach out to talent agents directly to get them to send you people they have that are interested in the role. You can put out your casting call via social media. There are social media groups pertaining to acting in most areas. Every so often, you have to get creative. You might search for people in local theater programs, for example. Sometimes you need to use real people supplied by the client. After talent selects are made, they are reviewed by largely the same brain trust that looked at the locations, and decisions are made.
At this point, most of the big pieces of the puzzle are in place for the shoot. The director, DP, and producer will finalize the shot list and shooting schedule if this hasn’t been done already. This is the stage of the job when hotel rooms for cast and crew are booked if needed, gear for the shoot is organized, meals for the shoot days are planned, parking for all the locations is figured out, craft services are purchased, call sheets are made telling everyone on the cast and crew where to be when, cameras are built, and a thousand other things are put together for the big day—or days.
Commercial Production
We are finally ready to shoot. So, that’s what we do. If preproduction was done well, production days are just executing the plan. However, these are often long, grueling, physical 12 plus hours long days out in the elements.
The “fun” on production days starts if something happens beyond your control that you have to adapt to. This might be an unexpected wind gust that blows a hero prop out into a river, or one of your talent not being comfortable in heels and twisting an ankle. One small delay can potentially throw off the schedule for the entire day and can get tricky if you have narrow windows of time that you have certain talent or locations. None of that ever happens to me, though. Not ever. So, after that lovely crew that I described above all does their job flawlessly, we all go home.
Commercial Post-Production: Editing
This is where we start act three of the production performance. After the footage is all shot and the sound is all recorded, it is then passed to a remarkably patient and methodical group called “editors.” Their job is to take the footage that was shot and find the best shot, the best lines, the most amazing deliveries and put those together into the most breathtaking version of the spot possible.
Editing is an extremely creative job. Editors and animators perform a wide array of functions, including mixing audio so that all the levels are correct, adjusting color within the spot, applying any effects or layers to the finished product, creating transitions between shots, and so much more. By the time you see a finished product, an editor somewhere has likely looked at that footage 100 times, if not more.
And there you have it. This is a little of what it takes to make a commercial. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy.
Need to get something produced? Drop us a line, and let’s get started.
There are several great reasons to film in Mississippi. We’ve got one of the best film incentive programs in the country, offering an opportunity for productions to recoup 25-35 percent of their investment. There are also hundreds of landscapes, historical neighborhoods, and one-of-a-kind sights that can enrich any film. We’ve even got a growing list of resources to locally staff and produce any level of production—from a one-off film, to an ongoing series.
The Mississippi Film Incentive
Yes, films are a form of artistic expression and should be cultivated as such. Know what else films are? A business. And businesses only thrive as long as they’re making money.
If you’re one of the thousands of producers in the world hoping to turn a profit on your cinematic venture, Mississippi has you covered. Our Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program can provide a cash rebate on expenditures and payroll.
According to the Mississippi Film Office, to qualify for this program, productions must be nationally distributed motion pictures, television programs, documentaries, short films, commercials, music videos, and/or video games. Unsure if that’s you? Well, national distribution includes theatrical, broadcast, direct to DVD/video, festival screening, streaming video, and internet delivery.
Mississippi Film Incentive Regulations
When considering whether the Mississippi Film Incentive is right for you, understand the following regulations:
$50,000 minimum Mississippi investment (local spend) per project.
$10 million per project rebate cap.
$20 million annual rebate cap. (Mississippi’s fiscal year is July 1–June 30.)
No minimum requirement for production days or percentage of production spend.
At least 20% of the production crew on payroll must be Mississippi residents.
Participation in the Mississippi Motion Picture Incentive Program must be acknowledged in the end credits. The Mississippi Film Office logo must also be displayed.
Mississippi Filming Location Opportunities
Mississippi has wide and varied topographical options, each coupled with a deep, rich history. These regional locations include The Delta, The Red Clay Hills, The Appalachian Foothills, The Black Prairie, The Piney Woods, and the Gulf Coast. Throughout them all, filmmakers will find large cities, small towns, colleges of all sizes, woods, farms, rivers, and more.
The Delta
There are few areas as beautiful as the Mississippi Delta. It’s a flat plain bounded by the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. Floods from these rivers have created an extremely fertile soil over time, causing the area to be coveted for large-scale cotton plantations. In contrast, the Delta is the place where blues music was born. As home to these varied origin stories, the area has many unique locales begging for cinematic documentation.
Red Clay Hills
Most of central and northern Mississippi is the Red Clay Hills. Numerous clay deposits made the soil less than ideal, making it more ideal for small farms than large plantations. Livestock, timber cutting, and smaller factories makeup most of the agricultural development. Jackson, Mississippi, “Crossroads of the South,” sits at the southernmost tip of this region, and is expanding northward, offering large scale urban filming opportunities, as well as forests and farms.
The Appalachian Foothills
While the Appalachian Foothills is, admittedly, the smallest topographical region in Mississippi, it shares many geographic similarities with our neighbor, Tennessee. Musicians, small industrial operations, and several small towns comprise most of this region.
The Black Prairie
Like the Appalachian Foothills out of Tennessee, the Black Prairie region is part of a much larger prairie region that makes up Alabama’s Black Belt. Rich soil made it an ideal place for cotton farming and large plantations before the Civil War, though soybeans and cattle now comprise most of the farming operations. However, this region is perhaps most historically notable as the birthplace of Elvis Presley, in Tupelo. Cities in this region have become some of the fastest-growing in Mississippi.
Piney Woods
From Natchez to through Hattiesburg, the Piney Woods cut a large swath through the southern section of Mississippi, connecting Georgia to Texas. Since the 1800s, this area has played host to the timber industry, which continues to thrive until now.
The Gulf Coast
Perhaps Mississippi’s most tourist-friendly region, the Gulf Coast was the first to be settled by Europeans, and remains one of the premiere hosts for leisure, seafood, and shipbuilding. The coast is a mix of fine dining, down home cooking, Casinos, and beach bums, made even more lively due to its proximity to New Orleans.
Production Crew Resources
Mississippi is full of hungry creatives ready to get to work on any given production. As a matter of fact, this is the largest area of opportunity for our state. One of the struggles for these talented filmmakers is the lack of consistent, recurring work. Numerous projects come through Mississippi (hopefully, you see why by now), but most of it is film, or temporary gig work. Unfortunately, that kind of work doesn’t lend itself well to families looking to put down roots and enjoy a stable lifestyle.
The good news for anyone looking to produce their film in Mississippi is that we do have a solid group of hardworking, experienced filmmakers of every position ready and willing to get started. The Mississippi Film Office has a production directory full of just those kinds of people. It’s not a short list—over 1,438 pages—so if you don’t feel like going through that list, give Mad Genius a call, and we’ll give you a hand. While that list seems long, take it from us, we need even more people on it. To achieve that, we need more long-term projects. Chicken. Egg.
Mississippi truly does have it all for filmmakers: wild rebate incentives, more location diversity than any script needs, and a ready, experienced team of talented filmmakers seeking employment. There’s always something going on down here (I think I saw Christopher Lloyd shooting something downtown the other day), but Mississippi wants more.
We’re ready. Are you?
To speak with one of our production professionals who assists film production in Mississippi, reach out. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have, or point you in the right direction.
How to Plan a Successful College Video That Addresses Your Recruitment Needs Without Sacrificing Creativity
If you’re part of the marketing department of an institute of higher learning, whether it be a private school, community college, or four-year university, you may be tasked with creating commercial advertisements for your school. In most cases, an in-house college marketing team can’t produce what they require and hires an outside agency to do so.
Planning these commercials may feel overwhelming for the uninitiated, but by hiring an experienced production company, your department will be able to deliver beautiful and effective videos that fit your budget. After finding an agency partner, you’ll enter into a planning phase for your video called pre-production.
If you’re a newcomer to making commercials, we wrote a guide with our recommendations on how to approach the pre-production process.
1
Address Your Recruiting Needs
2
Push for Creativity
3
Take Advantage of the Scout
Address Your Recruitment Needs
Who do you need to target with your video? As a college marketer, you’re likely aware of the impending “enrollment cliff”—a predicted 15 percent reduction of college students between 2025 and 2029. Part of your department’s job will be to help clear this cliff, and the mitigation strategies you use will affect the messaging included in your commercial videos.
The enrollment cliff is what higher education professionals refer to when addressing the predicted 15 percent reduction in college-bound students between 2025 and 2029.
One strategy your school’s marketing department may be taking to increase enrollment is by targeting underserved populations. What messages do they want or need to hear from a prospective college in their commercials? Consider these themes for your video:
Affordability
Debt and the rising cost of college is on the forefront of any prospective student’s mind. Gen Zers are “more likely to hold student debt and have higher balances” than millennials. For students on the fence about whether to attend or for students unable to secure loans, college may be completely off the table.
This is where many institutions, particularly community colleges, can make a dent. In your video, highlight what makes your school more affordable for students than competing schools. Share impressive statistics such as low student debt among recent graduates. If affordability is one of your strongest recruitment points, find a way to work with your agency to highlight these options, such as:
Low tuition rates
Scholarships and grants
Financial aid packages
Work-study programs
Representation
We know why media representation matters: people thrive within spaces in which they feel a sense of belonging. So, when a prospective student sees someone who looks like them in a college commercial, they imagine themselves attending that institution. Representation can go a long way in making a student excited about their future.
Mad Genius produces college commercials for a number of HBCUs. The 2019 Image Spot we created for Jackson State University is a perfect snapshot of student life at JSU. We worked with JSU to represent campus culture and types of students: Greek life, visual artists, techies, musicians, athletes, and more. After seeing this commercial, the right students will know that this is the school for them.
International Students
The pandemic wreaked havoc on international students, causing new enrollments to drop 46 percent in 2020-2021, but “new international student totals [are] back to pre-pandemic levels.” The US State Department is prioritizing issuing student visas and reducing wait times for interviews. Now that students can travel here, how is your school marketing to them?
Students in India, China, and elsewhere cannot travel to the United States just to visit your campus. Create tour videos especially for these students that show where they would be living, studying, and working. Film versions in several languages and use the video in targeted, paid advertising. Testimonial videos from international students can go a long way in getting a prospective student excited about applying to your school.
Technical and Vocational Training
Years ago, a student who wanted to attend a technical school may have been encouraged to enter a four-year college. However, current labor shortages and availability of great paying trades has ended the stigma against trade school. Students are clamoring for two-year programs that will prepare them to be out in the field, earning great money as soon as they graduate.
Show these students at work. If they can do it, the person watching can, too.
Your agency can work with you to develop creative ideas for higher education commercials that address your recruitment goals while continuing to acknowledge your school’s bread and butter: the traditional student.
This recruitment commercial for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is an example of a video campaign that included the traditional student but also featured popular workforce training programs like welding, automotive repair, HVAC, nursing, elementary education, culinary arts, and more.
Free Help from Mad Genius
Do you need some advice about producing commercials for your college? We’re all ears! Schedule a free, 30-minute Q&A with a person who helps make them.
Picture it: Bleachers full of cheering fans. A professor at a lectern. Students smiling in a quad. College commercials often contain montages of the school’s best features, and it’s not a bad strategy! The montage is a tried-and-true method of showing off your campus, promoting academic programs, and conveying student culture.
Want to take it further, though? Push for it! If you want to stand out in a sea of sameness, ask your agency for memorable ideas that go beyond the montage. During the video’s ideation process, these creatives will keep your recruitment goals in mind while working to elevate the storytelling above and beyond the montage.
Consider these clever deviations from the montage: Delta State University’s “Fear the Okra” series incorporates classic horror movie tricks to create memorable, funny commercials that make you proud (and a little afraid) to be a Fighting Okra.
The original videos, created by Mad Genius in 2012, are unexpected gems whose popularity resulted in the creation of another set, also starring higher education’s toughest vegetable, in 2021.
Don’t Get Sacked, 2012
Don’t Get Comfy, 2021
Take Advantage of the Location Scout
Investing in a commercial video production for your school can be a large expense. As part of your school’s marketing team, you are responsible for making sure that every dollar you spend matters. Therefore, it is no surprise that you’d look at a proposed budget and see where adjustments can be made.
If you have not been a part of a commercial shoot with an outside agency, you may be wondering about a specific line item under pre-production: the location scout.
A location scout is part of the pre-production process of making a commercial. During a location scout, members of the agency you hired to produce your commercial meet with you in person. Together, you investigate the location or locations that you’ll be shooting at, which may include on- and off-campus interiors and exteriors.
Budgeting For a Location Scout
Logically, you already know about the best-looking buildings, scenic areas of campus, and iconic features that may look great in a commercial. So, when a budget is tight, it may seem sensible to remove location scouting and, instead, have the production team arrive at the shoot, sight unseen.
Unfortunately, while this logic may seem sound, the reality of shooting a commercial without a proper Location Scout is different. Commercials average only 30 seconds in length, so it will not be possible to fit in all the wonderful programs, locations, and other features your school has to offer. And creating a series of spots to fit everything in can get expensive. It’s important to prioritize what’s most important to highlight.
By walking through and evaluating locations together, your agency can help you make decisions about the most critical locations to include. Location scouting is a key piece of the pre-production puzzle, without which the location list may be too long, causing delays that hurt the quality of the finished product.
Why Location Scouts are Crucial for Your Commercial
Having made our fair share of excellent, high production value commercials for various institutes of higher education, Mad Genius can confidently advise that pre-production is essential for the success of your video. Therefore, the location scout is actually the last item that should be reduced or removed from a production budget. Below, we dive into what a location scout accomplishes:
1. Establishes Communication Between Agency and Client
By convening in person, the agency will be able to consider locations for your video as well as build a professional rapport with the in-house marketing team. They will shepherd you through the process of shooting a commercial video, the scope of which is often underestimated.
During the location scout, your agency should provide clear communication about their working process, including:
Answering any questions you may have
Listening to and addressing your concerns
Making shoot schedule recommendations
2. Results in High Production Values
The visual storytellers working on your video production will use the location scout to find what interior and exterior shots will look best on camera. During the scout, they’ll take reference photos and discuss composition and any lighting needs.
And while most competent production companies can stick a camera in a room, light it well, and compose a decent shot, you should ask your agency to push your project a step further. They should be working to create the most dynamic visuals possible.
Take, for example, a science lab. Labs tend to be visually uninteresting deliberately—the work completed in them requires a sterile environment. But what if you want to feature your lab in your next commercial?
Footage of a Biomedical Lab at MGCCC
When Mad Genius scouted the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Campus and walked into one of these labs, they discovered the most arresting visuals in the room by using their macro lenses. The real action was happening on a microscopic level! The energy of the footage of petri dishes and slides held its own alongside the commercial‘s welders, athletes, and musicians.
MGCCC Image Spot, 2021
3. Helps Save You Money
The location scout is used to help plan efficient shoot days, and this keeps productions on budget. A failure to properly plan logistics with your agency’s team may result in the need for additional shoot days or a video that doesn’t contain necessary footage. By being physically in the space where the shoot will happen, the teams can discuss and plan the shoot day logistics with you, which may include:
Filming order
Time needed to shoot at each location
Whether sets need to be redressed
Casting needs
Props and wardrobe
Transportation for people and equipment
Contingency plans for weather conditions
Filming permissions
Parking permits
Talk to a Higher Education Marketing Strategist
If you have looming questions about making commercials for your college, join us for a different kind of mixer: a free, 30-minute Q&A with a college marketing strategist.
Film is one of the most fast-paced industries, period. The more reliant it is on technology, the more complicated that need for speed becomes. Technology evolves at a breakneck speed, creating an even more havoc-inducing state for production sets. This is why it is critical for producers to stay in-the-know with the latest and greatest crossovers between technology and film.
Let’s take a look at a few pieces of technology that are gaining, or have already gained, significant relevance in advertising production. Keep in mind that, given the speed of both industries, this blog could be irrelevant not long after posting. But don’t worry, it’ll always be worth your time.
Virtual Reality (VR)
In advertising, VR is designed to boost user engagement, allowing users to experience stories with greater sensory stimulation than ever before. Currently, VR technology is still in the early stages (though it seems to be moving by leaps and bounds), but it has already begun to move into mainstream gaming and many believe it is heading to mainstream media. “The Mandalorian” used VR to scout locations they could recreate for the show. Whether it’s used for pre-production, or production itself, VR is something every filmmaker is keeping a close eye on.
Glasses-Free 3D
Another one of those emerging technologies is the development of 3D tech but without the need to wear glasses. Glasses-free 3D allows you to see a full 3D image up to three feet from the screen (and that distance is growing). It’s already being used successfully in the marketing world with large conference and trade-show applications. Many are predicting that this tech will be coming to a television near you soon.
Augmented Reality (AR)
AR is a booming technology that fuses virtual and real worlds, creating accurate 3D representations. It allows a viewer to witness superimposed images of real objects in real spaces. There are few industries that have not been impacted by AR in the past few years. We have been doing this in 2D space for decades, but the 3D evolution is becoming more personalized and interactive—everything from trying on clothes to taking an office tour across the globe is leveraging AR technology.
Internet of Things
Internet of Things are devices that contain sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks. It is estimated that the number of Internet of Things devices will exceed 75 billion by 2025. A big trend in the movie industry is gathering huge quantities of data from such devices, which feed into movie production. Some movies will shift from creator-driven to audience-driven, contributing to a highly immersive and personalized movie experience. You can be sure advertising will follow.
Audio Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Using AI, audio computer systems are learning associations between actions, sounds, and contextual features, synthesizing voices and sounds in films. This technology is highly beneficial for productions, allowing for well-tailored and realistic sound effects easily, cheaply, and without much expertise. Voice cloning technology can also be used to widen the immense scope of sounds to train these AI systems. For better or worse, even voice actors who have passed away could be resurrected for new performances.
3D Printing
3D printing has arrived in film production, and it’s here to stay. This technology allows for fascinating props, designs and sets. The growing arena of 3D printing often allows for much cheaper prop acquisition, not to mention the ability to create props that are impossible to actually obtain. This emerging technology is set to become ever-increasingly accessible.
What new tech has you excited about the future of production? Reach out, and let’s talk about how Mad Genius can leverage all the technology at our fingertips to make you the greatest video in the history of the world, or at least something that’s neat.
by Monte Kraus, Senior Producer/Video Account Executive at Mad Genius
Welcome to 2020 everyone! The COVID-19 pandemic has created some strange days, and the end is absolutely nowhere in sight. Like every other sector of business, the commercial production industry is not immune to the impact of the virus.
How COVID-19 is Affecting Production at Mad Genius
So far, COVID-19 has meant the loss of some old business, but also an increase in some new business. While there is still a great deal of volatility in commercial production, there is also a big opportunity for new emerging productions. There is, now more than ever, an urgent need to make sure we are dealing with the risks just as well as we are dealing with the new opportunities materializing from the current situation. It’s worth looking at the situation with some optimism while trying to understand how we can all make the most out of the current position.
The Good News for Commercial Production
The increased spread of COVID-19 is likely to boost video consumption across the board as people spend more time at home and communicate in person less. In the U.S., we are already seeing both broadcast and digital media viewings are on the rise as a direct result from the pandemic. Social networks are a major beneficiary, as people look to connect with family and friends they no longer see in person or to just be entertained. This is all good news for the commercial industry, an increase in viewings should translate into an increase in commercials.
Education & Healthcare Production Increases
Two areas that Mad Genius has seen an increase in production during these times are education & healthcare. Colleges and universities need to get the word out on a multitude of issues. These issues include the institution of new distance learning programs, new emerging degrees, and the ever-changing status of “on-campus” classes. Meanwhile, the healthcare industry needs to let everyone know that medical help is here for everyone and can be done in a “COVID-safe” manner. Other advertisers just want their customers to feel comfortable, as if they can do “normal” things, if not in a “normal” way.
Production Teams Like Mad Genius Are Prepared for Filming Restrictions
While large production companies have taken a real hit, both due to economic pressures and social distancing restrictions, smaller companies have been able to carry on business as “somewhat” usual (from a production POV). Small budgets, keeping crews under ten, and limiting the number of talent on set are not new parameters to the smaller production teams. Only now, face masks and keeping distance while on set are the new normal.
Protecting Our Clients Through Innovation
The Coronavirus pandemic will undoubtedly spark innovation in terms of both client needs and on-set production processes. The struggle, at the moment, is to provide for clients and their needs today in these strange times, while maintaining a safe environment for staff and crew and still look to the future when we finally come out of all of this. This will require some outside-the-box thinking to ensure that the business will remain sufficiently protected today, while getting ready for tomorrow.
Mad Genius is the only full-service advertising agency in Mississippi with an in-house video production team. When not filming on location, we work in our 4,000 square foot studio. Check out some of our award-winning work.
