Thursday, May 19, 2011

Department of Child Services

Continuing our longstanding relationship with Indianapolis-based Calamari Productions, Immediate Info has again had a very cool opportunity to work on video content that can truly make a difference.  This month it is shooting and editing a new job orientation video for the Indiana Department of Child Services.  The goal of this DVD is to give newly hired caseworkers and idea of what to expect before they start the job, and to hopefully retain more caseworkers for longer careers with the department.


So, we started by interviewing caseworkers, supervisors, office directors, and judges from a variety of counties in Indiana.  The goal was to capture thoughts from a variety of demographics for the video - rural, urban, and metro.  The video covers a variety of topics, including the Child Abuse Hotline call center, how to handle all of the paperwork, dealing with families during assessment, how to handle an emergency child removal, how to prepare for court, and how to handle the difficulty of such an emotionally draining job. 






The benefit of working with Calamari Productions on such a video production is the ability to utilize their vast video content library for real-world examples of all of the topics above.  The most disturbing of the footage included in this DVD were real pictures that social workers in Marion County took of a "dirty home."  Words cannot describe the filth and disgust which is shown in these pictures, however it is a necessary part of showing new caseworkers the very real homes they could walk into.


Unfortunately, due to the private nature of the content, we cannot show this video online, but for more information about Calamari Productions and The Indiana Department of Child Services, please visit their websites shown below:


www.calamariproductions.com
www.in.gov/dcs/

Monday, April 4, 2011

Minimally Invasive Renal Surgery

Adding a fourth video to the catalog of videos that Immediate Info has created for Urology of Indiana, in April we focused on kidneys.  We created another informative video to provide their website with some patient education.  In this video are the three surgeons who perform renal surgery at Urology of Indiana, Dr. Jason Sprunger, Dr. Robert Batler, and Dr. Scott Farnham.  Everyone was great to work with, as always, and we love helping Urology of Indiana with their online video needs!




Also, be sure to check out ALL of Urology of Indiana's videos, which they just recently put on YouTube at www.youtube.com/urologyin

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Jazz Hands!

The month of February brings thoughts of love and sentiment for most, but for Immediate Info it means sequins and sparkle!  This month we are working on a high-end fashion runway video for a company called Rivar's.  Rivar's specializes in custom garment and apparel creation for all types of show choirs, glee clubs, theatre performances, etc.  They operate out of Muncie and Indianapolis, and have recruited Immediate Info for their web video needs.


The goal of this video is to be an integral part of their 2011 catalog release, as the "viral video" that can boost interest in the catalog before it is even available.  So, to go about creating this specific corporate video, we first met with Rivar's promotion team and owner Beth Slusher to discuss their needs.  After a few brainstorming and planning meetings to ensure that we could accurately create a runway/fashion show video to supplement their catalog, we then needed to pick a location.  We settled upon the Indianapolis Arts Garden downtown, where their even staff helped create a magnificent catwalk setup for the shoot.




With three cameramen and over 200 garments to shoot, it was a full-day operation to capture as many pretty shots from as many unique angles as possible.  Upon finishing the shoot, there was over 8 hours of footage that needed to be sorted through to complete a 3 minute video!  Needless to say, we went exclusively for the best of the best shots, and included as much variety as possible in the final product.


The resulting video is one that we at Immediate Info are immensely proud of, and hope Rivar's can make the most of with their 2011 catalog campaign! Visit www.rivars.com for more information about their products.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Back to my Roots

Something that some people may not know about Immediate Info, is that owners Joe Backe and Brian Carriger are products of Ball State University.  In fact, when we first began the business, we learned valuable skills through incubating Immediate Info at Ball State's Center for Media Design.  We met with some entrepreneur class professors, participated in workshops, and eventually rolled out to do business with clients like Eli Lilly, National Nonprofit Town Hall, and the National Association of Women Business Owners in our first year.  And now, for the first couple months of 2011, Joe Backe is going back to school.



Ball State's Institute for Digital Entertainment and Education (IDEE)has contracted Immediate Info as an outside consultant on a video project to be utilized in psychology curriculum.  This project allows us to work with BSU student crew and actors, to create specific educational video content for use in broader multimedia curriculum.  So, while this should be a good chance for students to learn under the guidance and tutelage of distinguished alumni (ahem), we are equally looking forward to learning from fresh, young minds who are developing their skills in video production.

What is even more exciting, is getting the chance to create narrative-structured videos.  This means, having a script/story and working with actors.  No interviews and b-roll on this project - just good old-fashioned movie-making.  The project is scheduled to take from mid-January to mid-March, and should be a great deal of fun to be a part of.