CASE STUDY

River City Rhythm [Art Direction: Video]

Project type: video art direction, recruiting,branding
2017 – 2018

Context:

One of the many things that fell under my purview while with RCR, was to oversee and contribute to the yearly corps recruiting video. While I was not responsible for providing video footage or the initial edit, I was tasked with crafting the video’s messaging and providing feedback to our videographer regarding the pacing, flow, corresponding visuals (specifically in reference to the video’s messaging), and soundtrack.

Challenges:

The only directive I had from the organization’s Executive Director and COO was to use the previous season’s video as a base guide for the next video. There were also loose recruiting goals tied to all of the recruiting efforts that were employed (from in-person event-based to print collateral), but those goals generally weren’t set until after the video had been produced. There was also a very tight timeline in which to complete the project as the video needed to be ready for the first recruiting event of the next season (about a month from the end of the previous season). It was with these base goals that I was then left to define the creative direction.

Consultation:

Pitching for this project was very loose, as creative input was left to me and the videographer. The videographer had a really great eye when it came to knowing when to capture video and plan shots for the recruiting video during the competitive season, so my focus would be to capture member feedback for use in the narrative. Once the previous season was complete,  the videographer would immediately begin compiling footage and cutting an initial piece, while I would craft and provide the on-screen narrative that would appear as part of the final product. Soundtracks were reviewed by both the videographer and I, along with a leader-member of the corps to provide an additional perspective of the soundtrack. We would then select a final track to be set into the video, then edit, check and adjust until we were all in agreement that we’d hit the tone we were trying to convey.

Project Scope:

• Wrote the video’s narrative, which would appear on-screen as part of the final product 
• Provided details of font types and any other technical specs needed for production
• Selected soundtracks with input from both the videographer and an active corps member
• Secured any needed permissions for soundtracks
• Reviewed video versions and suggested edits and provided the final approval for production
• Selected which platforms where the video would be aired and saved down versions to other formats, as needed

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