Croft TV’s Autumn, 2020
Croft TV's Autumn, 2020
“LIVE FILMING WAS BACK”
All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey, yes autumn has come and gone and yes you now have California Dreamin’ stuck in your head – you’re welcome!
What an autumn it’s been at Croft Television; we’ve worked on many exciting projects, from podcasts to fire training and everything in between, so let’s jump straight in.
Live filming was back on the menu and saw us travelling up to Skelmersdale to film training videos. Thanks to the global pandemic, Trainers can no longer easily move between sites, especially if they are in another country and so our client commissioned us to create a training video that thoroughly demonstrated everything you needed to know about their products.
It was a great couple of days meeting loads of new people and filming some really interesting material. To round it all off the edit came together nicely (with a movie length running time) and the client was extremely happy with the resulting video – it doesn’t get much better than that!
Continuing the trend of 2020, the last few months have seen plenty of editing based projects including podcasts, re-branding a client’s video output as they go through a brand change and updating more Health & Safety and Induction videos so that companies and their employees are completely compliant with the latest pandemic related government advice.
We were also happy to be able to help out the NHS with more voice overs to be used in their online training courses, as well as quote for an extremely exciting new project which we will reveal more on in the coming months!
Self-shooting video content has once again proven to be a popular choice amongst clients who couldn’t get a film crew in. The past few months saw us cutting together a self-shot educational series of LinkedIn videos (including creating additional French and German versions), editing a series of 20 self-shot virtual interviews (which the client was so happy with they ended up commissioning another 20 videos for use in a different sector of their business) and a self-shot promotional video that didn’t quite go to plan – let us explain.
A client had attempted to self-shoot a promo video; their version looked a lot like this ⬇
They had asked if there was anything we could do to save their video as they needed it for an event on the afternoon of the next day.
Unfortunately, there was nothing that could’ve been done, the problems were baked into the footage – the focus was out, it was so over-exposed you couldn’t see the product they were advertising and to make matters worse, the audio was so noisy you could barely make out the presenter’s voice.
So, as fixing the video was impossible we went back to the client with an offer. We could professionally film their presenter in front of a green screen, in our studio the next morning for a competitive price and still have the edit to them that afternoon.
They agreed and the resulting video looked a lot more like this ⬇
The audio and visuals were clear and crisp, the delivery was confident and strong and the overall video was great.
We had even lit the presenter in such a way that, coupled with the ‘green-screened’ background image of a lounge room, the presenter looked as though they were in that room.
We’ve written an entire blog post on the pros and cons of self-shooting vs hiring a professional film crew which you can find HERE!
Also if you are looking to improve your self-shot video and get them looking their best, we’ve created a free, easy to follow guide that will walk you through everything you need to know in getting your videos looking and sounding as good as they can. You can find it by clicking HERE; or download a PDF version by clicking the link below!
One of Chris’ proudest moments over the autumn was helping a client with some Risk Assessment challenges.
The client came to us with a simple request, to make a video explaining the how/when and why of filling out a Risk Assessment. Previously, this was taught by a person who recently was getting far too busy to use their time going over this information.
Chris took the brief and began production.
When the first edit went over the client couldn’t believe what he had made of it. Taking the dry subject of Risk Assessments – Chris had created a lively, colourful and engaging animation that thoroughly, but succinctly explained the entire process.
Needless to say the client was delighted!
On top of everything else, we’ve sent out many quotes and proposals for new projects which we are very excited about.
All-in-all, autumn has kept us very busy indeed – we can’t wait to see what the winter brings!
– The Croft TV Team
Croft TV’s Summer, 2020
Croft TV's Summer, 2020
“OVERALL IT IS A SUMMER THAT WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN QUICKLY AND WE ARE VERY THANKFUL THAT WE HAVE BEEN KEPT BUSY”
What a summer this turned out to be!
Heatwaves, storms and ‘new’ normals, it has been memorable to say the least.
The current global pandemic has changed the way that business is being done, and we have seen this reflected in the work we are being commissioned to do.
From re-editing Health and Safety videos to comply with new government regulations, to building assets for virtual conferences…
…businesses are adapting in order to survive.
During the summer we saw a lot of companies hold their events online.
For one such client we created countdown clocks for a number of different virtual conferences. These work great for a few reasons, they allow time for speakers to changeover, they build tension and they are just great to look at.
For another client we were asked to create looping animated videos for an online event, made from their PowerPoint slide decks. Creating animated videos from PowerPoint presentations is a great way to increase viewer engagement and avoid the dreaded ‘death by PowerPoint’.
Have a watch of the showreel below to see some of the ways we can make your presentations more impactful!
Finally, we were asked by multiple clients to create animated results videos for studies, so these could be viewed in the comfort of people’s homes as they couldn’t be presented live. The subject matter of these covered a range of industries such as technology, medical, and more!
Another adaptation technique that we are seeing more and more of is companies filming their own videos.
We then take the material and do our magic!
Our skilled editors colour grade and enhance audio, ensuring the video looks and sounds its best.
Then depending on the client’s needs, they can add captions, graphics, animations, a professional voice over, copyright free music and incorporate it into a larger edit.
If you’d like a little bit of help shooting your own video, we’ve created a free, easy to follow guide that will walk you through everything you need to know in getting your videos looking and sounding their best. You can find it by clicking HERE; or download a PDF version by clicking the link below!
One of Grant’s proudest moments over the summer was helping a client bring a vision to life.
Not too long ago we had created a set of images including a character, for a client that they had used in a social media ad campaign.
Now the client wanted these images animated, interweaving a nice little story along the way.
Character based animations are always interesting and Grant certainly had fun putting this short video together.
The end result was a video he was extremely proud of, the client was very happy with and it was all completed in only 2 days after having the storyboard signed off!
You can see a few scenes from the finished video below.
We have also had a nice variety of other work to keep us busy over the summer, including recording and editing voice overs for the NHS’ online training resources, furthering the reach of a series of whiteboard animations we had previously made for a client (by translating them into Japanese and Russian) and completely re-building a procedural video for a medical trial, to name a few.
Overall, it is a summer that will not be forgotten quickly and we are very thankful that we have been kept busy.
We are also now receiving more shoot inquiries and bookings, giving a much more positive feel to this part of the year and a feeling that things are slowly (but surely!) returning to the ‘old’ normal.
We hope you have been faring well too.
Now let’s all enjoy the heat while we still have it, because we all know what is on the way!
– The Croft TV Team
Croft TV’s Spring, 2020
Croft TV's Spring, 2020
“THE SHOW MUST GO ON!”
This has been a unique spring to say the least and the way the nation (and the world) has reacted to these new circumstances and come together has left us all speechless.
We’ve seen heart-warming acts of kindness and selflessness: neighbours looking out for each other, key-workers putting themselves on the frontline to ensure society continues to run smoothly and last but by no means least, Captain Tom raising over a staggering £32,000,000 for the NHS.
The imposition of new regulations by the government in early spring to curb the Covid-19 outbreak and flatten the curve, while necessary, has not left any business unaffected.
But the old adage still rings true: The show must go on!
So, for now, we must all adapt.
A common way companies are doing this is by going ‘virtual’ when it comes to their events and meetings. We have produced a number of projects recently for companies such as these, including making a countdown clock to not just allow enough time for speakers to swap before the new one is introduced but also add a bit of drama and anticipation for what is to come next. This did mean Grant had to work over the long Easter weekend but as he put it:
“I’ve got nowhere better to be right now anyway!”
Another way companies are adapting is by filming their own videos. We are seeing more and more of this and you only need to switch on the TV to see it’s not just the corporate world that has embraced this new way of working.
If you’d like a little bit of help in this area we’ve created a free, easy to follow guide that will walk you through everything you need to know in getting your videos looking and sounding their best. You can find it by clicking HERE; our guide also includes a downloadable PDF!
After filming the material the company then sends it through to us to let us do our magic, which usually includes colour grading, enhancing their audio, adding some captions/graphics and incorporating it into a larger edit.
One such project saw us editing together footage we filmed just before the social distancing laws were put in place, with piece to camera videos recorded by people in isolation. We used all of this content to create a promotional video for a new train technology; our client was very happy with the final result!
Other companies are using this time to keep their websites and social networks updated with material, as it is now more important than ever to keep communication channels open with existing and potential clients. Companies that do this well and keep their social presence up will be in a great position for when the situation begins to normalise.
This material does not always have to be new either; older content can be given a face lift and re-purposed for fresh functions. We have rebranded a number of older videos for clients, to be used as new promotional material for their upcoming virtual events and meetings.
Companies are also using this time to complete projects that have been on the backburner for some time, from updating and rebranding out of date induction videos to translating programmes so they can be seen by a wider audience – we have been kept very busy!
In between all of this we have been helping the NHS maintain proper PPE standards by giving them access to our videos on safe donning and doffing of PPE – which they were extremely grateful for 🙂
Using our remote working capabilities we also recorded a whole series of voice over scripts to be used in an NHS online training campaign as well as other smaller voice over recordings used in updating programmes.
Finally, to complement our existing animated explainer video style, we have been working hard on creating new bespoke, high-end animation styles which you will see more of in the future. These will be used for clients who are looking for a sleeker, more elegant style of animation, perfect for e-learning and promotional videos among many other types. If you’d like to have a chat with us about these, get in touch now by clicking HERE!
You can watch our current explainer animation showreel below.
Spring has been an extremely eventful season, seeing us completely restructure how Croft TV operates, but like everyone else, we’ve adapted!
We hope you have been faring well too.
Stay happy, stay safe and bring on summer!
– The Croft TV Team
Croft TV’s Winter, 2019 – 2020
Croft TV's Winter, 2019 - 2020
“THE WEATHER IN THE DEPTHS OF WINTER MAY HAVE BEEN CHILLY BUT WE WERE KEPT WARM BY THE FLAMES OF A SIMULATED HOUSE FIRE.”
As the days become brighter and the weather begins to warm, let’s recap on what was an extremely productive and exciting winter for us at Croft Television and we hope for you too.
The winter months saw us filming a wide range of subject matter, from live house fires to information on a global pandemic. We worked with a lot of new faces as well as many of our lovely returning clients and produced many high quality programmes.
The weather in the depths of winter may have been chilly but we were kept very warm by the flames of a simulated house fire at the Fire Service College. We were commissioned to make promotional videos at the college for fire fighting equipment; these videos included filming a simulated house fire and inside confined space rigs which, while having its challenges, was very exciting. We were exceptionally happy with the videos produced as was our client!
A screen grab from our fire fighting equipment promo
We created a lot of medical content during the winter months, which saw us flying to Paris to shoot a piece to camera with a doctor reporting results on a brand new study on Crohn’s Disease, driving to Birmingham to capture a medical conference (which included filming presentations, interviews with attendees and additional b-roll sequences of the festivities), recording voice overs to be used in medical e-learning programmes and filming the end of the financial year meeting for a Patient Advisory Council.
Shooting in Paris can be tough but someone has to do it 😉
While all that was going on, we were translating other instructional and promo videos for multiple clients into over 10 languages, Nick won mini golf at our office Christmas party 👎 and we began pre-production for a manufacturing site promotional video along the lines of the video below (which we also produced!).
Early in the New Year we were hired to create interviews with medical experts informing people on the Coronavirus: COVID-19, which we completely filmed and edited in the same day. The client was very happy with the quality and the turnaround time of the videos and since then has commissioned a number of different language versions.
All in all we’ve had a fantastic winter and cannot wait for what 2020 has to bring.
Thanks for reading!
If you would like to get in touch, send us an email at info@croft-tv.com, use our contact form here or give us a call on 01628668735. We offer no-obligation, free quotes and are always happy to discuss concepts.
– The Croft TV Team
Croft TV’s Winter, 2017 – 2018
Croft TV's Winter, 2017 - 2018
“WE HAD A FANTASTIC YEAR AT CROFT TELEVISION AND WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT 2018 BRINGS!”
The holiday period has come and gone, we’ve said goodbye to 2017 and are jumping head first into 2018!
The last few months of the year involved international shoots, animations galore, multi-language voice overs, a television commercial and even a vampire’s lair.
Yes you heard right! We were locked in a vampire’s lair but don’t worry, we did all get out (and we’ve got a photo to prove it).
One of our assignments saw us flying to Basel to film a large scale, multi-day medical conference. The two camera shoot involved a bit of everything from presentations, interviews with attendees and presenters to dinners and even drone flights. Events on such a scale can be very stressful so it felt great when the client told us that we took all of the video stress away – after all that is something we pride ourselves on!
We also flew to Madrid for another medical shoot involving a green screen setup for an interview with a specialist which was very interesting, and a seminar, shot for people who couldn’t make it on the day.
The end of the year also saw us filming a TV commercial for a popular chain of auto centres. The shoot involved working between two sites and filming in a live environment which is always exciting. Our client was able to follow the entire shoot on our monitor as we filmed it, so we could ensure that they were happy every step of the way. The final result can be seen below.
While all that was going on we were filming and editing a push animation and translating it into 5 different languages, capturing more seminars, creating a ‘year in review’ video out of a 130 slide PowerPoint presentation (a study on why you too should be converting your PowerPoint slides to video can be found here) and creating loads of animated web banners.
We’ve had a fantastic year at Croft Television and we can’t wait to see what 2018 brings!
– The Croft TV Team
Croft TV’s Summer, 2017
Croft TV's Summer, 2017
“IT WAS A FUN SHOOT TO WORK ON; WE ENDED UP WITH SOME GREAT FOOTAGE AND ONE HAPPY CLIENT”
Summer is over, but we have enjoyed every minute of the 5 warm days that the season gave us. Our work load certainly heated up with a wide variety of projects including shoots that had us showered in sparks, 100+ web banners to create, 12 language translations for an instructional programme and much more!
Let’s begin with the sparks…
We were off to the Midlands to shoot industrial-style product demonstrations for a client which included a one camera set-up, a grinder and some tight close-ups, which as you can imagine, showered us in sparks – luckily we are always well prepared for any eventuality! It was a fun shoot to work on; we ended up with some great footage and one happy client.
The summer also saw us inundated with foreign language voice overs, which had us dipping into our international voice over database, from a Brazilian-Portuguese translation for an international defence company to a 12 language programme for an instructional product demonstration. However, it didn’t end there, as the dozen translations were nearing completion, our client gave us another 18! It’s a really nice feeling to have a video you’ve created displayed in so many countries.
Now, when you think of us, I bet you don’t think of web banners, but YES we do make them! In fact we were recently commissioned to make 126, using assets we had created earlier this year for a health and safety explainer video. This is where we really shine, we can take a project (like this one) from its birth – writing the script, storyboarding, animating and delivering the final video right through to creating web banners to advertise the project itself.
Another service that people don’t often realise we can provide is illustrations. We work alongside our clients to create illustrations for posters, leaflets and other promotional and instructional materials. Currently we are in the process of creating illustrations using our in-house artist for an informational medical leaflet to be handed out to patients.
We have had lots of posters to print which has kept us very busy. Once again we provide the full service from proofing, laminating, through to delivery – some of which were required on a same day turnaround!
Now imagine while all that work is going on, drifting around the office are the nostalgic tunes of Christmas – that’s right, it’s that time of year again! Time to create in-store Christmas music. I’m not complaining though, I will happily listen to Christmas music, any time of the year. This service entails compiling the music, organising the licensing, creating the duplications of the CD’s and posting them out to stores across the UK.
We have a lot in the pipeline too, including a health and safety video that is taking us to Loughborough, an event video in Madrid, a medical conference in Basel and much more.
Overall we have had a wonderful summer here at Croft Television – bring on the holiday season!
– The Croft TV Team
Croft TV’s June, 2017
Croft TV's June, 2017
“SUMMER IS FINALLY HERE; DON’T WORRY EVERYONE THE WAIT IS OVER”
Summer is finally here; don’t worry everyone the wait is over, but what a busy spring it was!
The last couple of months have seen Croft TV film crews working all over the UK and even across the Atlantic, but before I get to that I thought I should mention a lesser known, but very important side to our business – our duplication service.
May saw us creating 1000’s of completely customised USB duplications – including artwork and data preloading – for a major electronics brand. These USB sticks will then be distributed in stores all around the United Kingdom.
Another lesser known side to our daily operations here at Croft Television is our poster printing. This service includes checking, reworking (if necessary) and rechecking the information that makes up your poster and printing it in a number of different sizes, paper stocks and finishes. We have had a huge quantity of medical posters come through this month that has kept us on our toes.
Our video work has seen us off to Fleetwood Film Studios to shoot product demonstrations, central London to shoot VP’s for a large multinational company and Bracknell to film a science based competition aimed at increasing scientific interest and engagement among school kids.
It has also seen us sending crews to shoot medical facilities in both Glendale, California (right next to Hollywood) and Baltimore, Maryland. The footage shot at these facilities included life there, interviews of doctors/patients and drone footage. Our client has been very happy with the videos and has requested several more edits, not to mention putting more international shoots in the works.
June saw us take on a new client, which involved a 6am shoot in central London, one satisfied client and the promise of more work. The month continued the theme with an event/conference video that was made on a very tight deadline, which involved many sleepless nights and a final 4am finish. We pride ourselves on hitting deadlines and this was no different, needless to say the client was very happy.
Finally, the end of our financial year has come and gone with a record turnover, so all in all it has been a great few months for Croft Television and we intend on keeping it up in the upcoming warmer months!
– The Croft TV Team
Croft TV’s March, 2017
Croft TV's March, 2017
“THE WEATHER IS LOOKING BRIGHT AND SO IS LIFE AT CROFT TV”
Being a video production company based in the UK and servicing all over Europe the notion of Brexit has led to some nervous times. However, we haven’t yet (touch wood) found ourselves feeling any negative impacts, as our clients have been keeping us very busy.
The work has really been quite diverse this month – it has had us creating Concept Videos for new products, recording Voice Overs for Articulate training programmes, adapting and translating an American video to be used in the UK, France, Germany and Spain, 4K editing for a high end Promotional Video to be used in-store, creating a Highlights Video of a facilities management event in Central London and translating a video into Polish for a Health Care company to name a few.
The month kicked off with our video production services being requested in London, Crawley and Weybridge where we filmed mostly Head and Shoulder style videos to be used at a national conference. The same conference also saw us converting a 40 slide presentation into a highly engaging video.
The Health and Safety Explainer Video we created (the very same mentioned in the last update) has been so well received that we have now created it in practically every European language! Not to mention a cut down version of the same video in each of their respective languages.
British Science Week was held this month, for which we created a range of Piece to Camera Videos with the aim of encouraging the next generation of female scientists. The videos were then used to promote an event following the same theme, which we were asked to film and edit into a Flavour of the Day style video. To keep up the momentum of British Science Week the client required the final video of the event the very next day, which we had no problem in delivering.
We were commissioned to create a music CD for in-store use. Yes, we create CD’s as well! We source music (of any genre requested), we sort out all of the licensing, we print the artwork then send the CD’s to as many stores as necessary all over the UK and beyond. In this case we sent this particular CD to a grand total of 130 stores and the entire job was completed in under 48 hours!
We have also been doing a lot of planning for upcoming shoots, including a Promotional Video in Warwickshire and a Push Animation that we will be filming for a worldwide travel company. Not to mention we’ve printed huge quantities of posters.
Best of all we have just been commissioned for a very exciting project, the first phase of which involves shooting in two American cities.
Overall we have had a fantastic month – the weather is looking bright and so is life at Croft TV.
– The Croft TV Team
Croft TV’s January, 2017
Croft TV's January, 2017
“IT’S VERY EXCITING STUFF!”
Happy New Year and welcome to 2017!
We had such a good year we hated to see it go, but the starting signs of 2017 look to be even better. We have been very pleased by the amount of enquiries we have received in the first half of January, showing that people have got straight back into the swing of things. It’s very exciting stuff!
The start of 2017 certainly saw us quick off the mark, sending quotes and proposals out. Our second day even saw us recording a voiceover for a Health and Safety themed Explainer Video. Our client was very happy with the outcome and we have now been commissioned to produce translated versions in German, French, Italian and Spanish. Similarly a product demonstration video we filmed (which saw our studio turned into a lab!) is now in its finishing stages and the client would like versions in German, Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin.
One of our pitches that we are hoping is successful is the construction of an e-learning course using a program called Articulate. For those that don’t know what that is, it is a platform used to create online (and offline) courses, in which the results can be tracked. They are great for Health and Safety training, quizzes and student evaluations, among many other uses. We love this style of work because it is always interesting to see how mixed media projects can come together.
Including the ones previously mentioned, we’ve truly had an array of different projects in during the first few days of 2017, including a blast-from-the-past which saw us dusting off some old machines in order to convert U-matic, Beta SP, Digibeta, DVCAM and VHS tapes to DVD.
Other projects in the pipeline include a series of maternity videos for the NHS, our most complex Illustrated Push Video yet, a couple of teaser videos for a medical event and much more.
Finally we are waiting on dates for a shoot in a very hot, overseas location. This cannot come soon enough, as we need a good thawing out!
It’s only January and 2017 has all the makings of a great year.
– The Croft TV Team
Croft TV’s October, 2016
Croft TV’S October, 2016
“NOW THIS IS WHERE AN EXPERIENCED CREW SHINES”
We hope you’ve had a month full of excitement, growth, adventure and not too many frights. We sure have!
The beginning of the month saw us off to Essex to film students at a college in Basildon. Now this is where an experienced crew shines – as the students had never been part of a Piece to Camera before so were obviously quite nervous to begin with. Our talented crew were able to make them feel relaxed, comfortable and secure and in turn achieved the best possible performance. After the shoot we returned to the office, got cracking on the edit and were able to get the completed video to the client on the same day. That’s not unusual either, it’s actually quite common here at Croft TV – we really pride ourselves on our quick turnaround.
