Watch the playlist of all 4 videos in this series, here.
Behind the Scenes
Project Basics
BPM’s Role: Director, Camera, Sound, Video Editing, Color Grading, Audio Mix, Motion Graphics
Additional Crew: HMUA; Executive Producer; Interviewer; PA
Client: ICW Group Insurance Companies
Date: 2024
Category:
Interview, Marketing, Recruiting, Video & Audio
Description
I produced this recruiting video series for ICW Group, the largest B2B insurance provider in California who also does business in 20+ other states. The goal was to help their recruiting efforts for a specific and unique role in the industry. The first video is the campaign leader, while the other three support it and allow for more frequent posting on the client’s social channels. I also delivered 1:1 ratio (square) versions since they perform better in social feeds than the traditional 16:9 video ratio.
Four experts from around the country flew in to join us in a cyclorama video studio. I adjusted microphone levels, cameras settings, and most importantly the lighting – opting for a natural white-to-grey gradient instead of the dated-looking, blown-out, full-on white cyclorama.
A HMUA (hair & makeup artist) gave them the full treatment before we started their extended interviews. This shoot was meant to cover the main topic but also gather footage for future videos on a variety of topics; making the best use of their time and production costs – an idea I pitched early on in the preproduction process.
This was a 3-camera shoot using Canon C70 cinema cameras, a range of lenses, and a Sennheiser shotgun boom mic routed into a Zoom Fn8 Pro then to each camera as well. I monitored the 3 cameras via SUMO 19 monitors with multi-view; checking each camera with a single glance. We also ran timecode to sync the cameras and audio recorder.
While I often conduct interviews myself, while shooting, this time I had a dedicated interviewer which allowed me to really focus on the captured audio and video. Since these were insurance professionals, untrained in the ways of on-camera performance, I also helped them get their thoughts together and confidently deliver clips we could use – rather than simply hit record and hope for the best.
Sound is incredibly important in having an effective, professional video. I leveraged an incredible audio tool called iZotope to clean up noise from the building’s air conditioning, remove a little reverb from the large room, and optimize their voices. The final sound mix includes music from Artlist.io.
Finally, given their brand guide and logo file, I designed and animated the motion graphics which include brief clips from their previous videos to showcase a people-centered company, furthering the recruiting efforts.
And just when we thought it was all complete, I designed YouTube thumbnails to help get more clicks on these videos.