Ask the Designer Q&A: A cool video on the cutting edge
Monday, February 28th, 2011Things are pretty busy around here at JK Design (to put it mildly). Every day, our team of 40+ staffers is creating new proposals for clients; designing and creating print, Web and video projects; and putting the finishing touches on brochures, websites, videos, iPhone apps and just about every other kind of marketing tool you can think of.
Needless to say, I’m not involved in all of these projects – after all, I am only one person. That means that when I see something great that we’ve created for a client, I often have no idea exactly how we did it beginning to end.
And so I wonder… where did the original concept come from? What was the process? How long did it take? And – most importantly – how did we make it so gosh-darn cool?
These questions all came to mind when I saw one of our coolest recent projects, a video we created for Avaya to promote their innovative new communications software product. Out of all the imaginative videos we create on a regular basis, this one really stood out for me. To satisfy my curiosity about the creative process behind it, I cornered the lead designer for the project, Joe Jordan, for a “behind the scenes” look at the making of this video.
Omar Joseph (OJ): I recently saw this video you put together for Avaya, and I’m really loving it. I generally think your work is excellent, but there was something different about this video that made it stand out. Can you talk about how it came about and how you were inspired to create it?
Joe Jordan (JJ): Well, Andrea Wolkofsky (the account manager) came to me and said we had three weeks to put together something cool for Avaya’s new software, Avaya ACE. Their vision was to create a video that was easy for their customers to understand and would really grab their attention in a unique way. Because they were rolling out this new software package for the first time, it was very important that their audience immediately grasp why and how it would work for them. After thinking about it for a while, we came up with a concept where the background design of the video would mimic a traditional blackboard. This is a tool used in seminars and other learning environments, so it would be familiar to viewers and give the video an educational tone. It also would require us to keep the animations simple.
OJ: After you picked that concept, what happened next?
JJ: In my mind this video just wouldn’t work unless we brought together our resources quickly. First, we pulled in Chris Milan, our in-house copywriter. We knew that we had to create a strong script that was descriptive, yet succinct – and this was right up her alley. Once she pulled together a script and it was approved by the client, we started to produce the video. As the process continued, the client had the great idea of using two voice actors instead of a single narrator. The addition of an extra voice gave us the feel of a conversation as opposed to a lecture, and this really gave the video a better flow.
OJ: How did you come up with the look and feel of the video?
JJ: During the process of making the video I had a change of heart about the direction of the color scheme. In the end, I decided on a predominately black and white look. I think that helped to support the blackboard concept, achieve our goal of keeping the message simple and easy to understand, and make sure the content was “king.” However, I ended up adding a few touches of color to give the video a unique style.
OJ: Tell me a little about the finer details of the video. I noticed some cool things that I haven’t seen from you before. Can you give us some insight on that?
JJ: I generally spend my free time tracking new trends in animation and video and working on new concepts. The “handwriting” look that you see in the video is something new for us. I used it here because it helped add a bit of human element to the video and that was important to me. I wanted the viewers to feel a connection with the video and I think this helped achieve that.
But the piece that really pulled this video together for me was the music. I love that track! It has the perfect feel for the video. The flow is amazing. And even though that music track sounds great, it also blends with and supports the graphics and voiceover instead of dominating them. People often don’t realize how important the music is to a video, but it often makes or breaks the piece. I’m glad we were able to find this amazing instrumental track.
OJ: Thanks for the insight, Joe. The information you provided is great. Is there anything else you want to share before I let you get back to creating more incredible animations?
JJ: Yes! I want to thank the entire team that worked on the project: Andrea W., Chris M. and Lance M.