Business: CW87I

Creating a product launch video is as simple – the John Galt Solutions ForecastX Product Launch Video took a fun approach to inventory forecasting technology by using playful music, motion graphics, and an easygoing voiceover. This video was designed to be built in with a landing page / order form for customers to request more information. Video is an extremely versatile tool for any business, this is just one example. Motion Graphics are a great way to explain or display a complex subject – using drawings made up of simple shapes and colors, audiences are able to understand more about the topic of the video. This is an effective way to describe technology without having to use examples or screenshots that might not mean anything to potential customers, especially if the program applies to a variety of industries. The John Galt Solutions explainer video for their new product, ForecastX Wizard uses motion graphics to describe the features and benefits of the application. In less than three minutes, a voice actor clearly explains the software’s capabilities. The video directly speaks to the target market – “the forecaster” by considering the problems these professionals face on a regular basis, such as turning an inventory forecast in less than ten minutes. This video is just one part of a project to create a series of videos to launch their ForecastX Wizard. This teaser video allows John Galt Solution’s to capture the attention of their target market, by describing how this product solves their everyday problems. At the end of the video, viewers are prompted to “click the link below” to view a full demo of the product. Animated explainer videos allow the customer to learn more without having to invest a full thirty minutes into watching an entire product demo. Once they understand more about a product and they are convinced that the product could solve their problems, they will continue to learn more about the product or make the final purchase. Offering a free demo after playing an explainer video is also a way to earn a potential customer’s contact info, by requiring them to fill out a form. John Galt Solutions is a technology company that builds programs for improving business forecasting processes. Since 1996, they have been creating software for businesses and overtime, their programs have become increasingly effective and even easier to use.

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Business: VR7PJ

Effective product videos show your potential customers that your product will make their lives easier. In this product video, Simtastec demonstrates the various uses of their sanding sleeves. The sleeves make sanding easier on flat surfaces like wood and drywall, but their list of many uses goes on beyond the simple stuff. The video continues to show how easy the sleeves can be shaped to use in smaller, hard to reach areas. The demonstrator in the video shows very specific uses for the sanding sleeves. Showing customers all the uses of a product provides further value – the video shows Simtastec sanding sleeves can be used for sanding just about anything. What’s cool about this video is that the ways the sleeves can be used seems never-ending – the demonstrator even shows that they can be used to sand wet surfaces. Simtastec’s product demo video takes place in a studio and makes use of an actor to show their products. The creative director assigned to this project made decisions to ensure the sanding sleeves stayed at the forefront of the video. This is why the actor’s face is never seen and the background of the video is black. Not only does it allow for seamlessness in the edited cuts, it keeps the shots clean and simple, letting the product speak for itself. This video features heavy editing at the beginning and end. The title card includes animated logo, slogan, product name, as well as 3D images of the product packaging. Though these elements are not necessary in creating an effective product demo video – having these details in a video increase the strength of a brand’s messaging. When it comes to video – the sky is the limit. This video is just one example of our past work in product demo videos. Every brand tells a different story – Simtastec’s products are meant for hard, rugged work and every piece of their branding communicates that.

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Business: S7POK

Recipe videos are all over social media today as they make for easily watchable and shareable content. This video features a well-known entrée at the Wheaton attraction, Cantigny Park where visitors can get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made entirely from scratch. This video includes raw footage of chef Eric Chaplin at Cantigny Park’s El Jardin Restaurant making peanut butter and jelly, which was later edited with motion graphics and sound. Fun motion graphics throughout to the video add a touch of flair all while keeping a homey, country feel. The scenes change along with beats in the music adding a hidden layer of delight for anyone paying close attention. The motion graphics eliminate the need for additional voice over or caption editing, keeping things nice and simple for every audience member. Even a young child could understand this video. The video ends with a pan of a delicious lunch elegantly plated and ready to enjoy. On social media, a video like this one can capture audiences that might not typically consider Cantigny Park in their weekend plans. It discloses a well-kept secret that locals and visitors alike find interesting. Another thing this video accomplishes is teaching others how to make their very own Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches from scratch. This piece of content marketing inspires others try it for themselves or share the video with their favorite chef or peanut butter and jelly loving friend. We love filming recipe videos at Vanilla Video, and this is one of our favorites. The motion graphics add that “something extra,” that keep audiences interested throughout the whole video. Homemade peanut butter and jelly is also something many people do not consider making from scratch, while this video shows how easy this classic meal is to make. With the correct approach, creating content marketing pieces enhance the effectiveness of any social media page by creating content that a variety of audiences enjoy to watch and share with their friends.

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Business: L5HBU

Edit Engine, our subsidiary company provides editing services from anyone. This means we can create an animated video like this one from a concept sent via email or discussed over the phone. Using animated motion graphics and simple pictures in bright colors is a great way to educate viewers on a complex topic or program. In this case, animation is used to talk about the possibilities of media buying using MediaRadar. Highly visual videos like this one are easy to watch and using clear text as well as a voiceover allows users to learn more about the topic in the video. Edit Engine operates on a daily or weekly basis depending on the size of the project. When customers contact us with an idea for a motion graphics video or simply footage that needs some editing – we create an estimate based on how many days it should take us to complete. If the edits are extremely minor, we start at just $39 an hour. What makes this an effective brand film is the clarity of the message being presented throughout. The video begins with telling viewers that media buying has outgrown simply thinking about television commercials and radio spots – there are a lot more methods of paid advertising to customers in this digital age. The voiceover goes on to talk about the benefits of the application, such as all of the data and information available to media planners and buyers. This is highly sought after information, especially to those buying and selling advertising spots. Motion graphics are used to illustrate the message. The voice is a lighthearted and relaxed voice – while the video looks simple, it is not childish. Using motion graphics is a great way to create a brand film when you have limited time or resources to film a live video.

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Business: 362LF

This app demo video shows every step of using the app Gather, an app that allows for mobile payments inside of restaurants. Each step is accompanied by motion graphics and a close-up of a phone screen, showing what is happening on the app. Additional shots of the user paying for meals at restaurants appear alongside a variety of dishes. After the user pays for each meal, their gather cash increases – this is shown right on the app as well as with added motion graphics. The last meal shows the user using funds collected through the app to pay for a fancy dinner, all because they used the app to pay for their meals before. Creating a straightforward app how-to video ensures that the viewer will find your application easy to use. We added some fun music and synced up the shot changes with the beat to keep things interesting. We used motion graphics text that slightly resembles handwriting – just about anyone can understand how to use this application after watching this video. Title and outro cards match each other, featuring the same background and logo placement. The outro card includes additional information and features the Gather slogan, which mirrors the steps of using the application. “Search.Discover.Dine.Gather.” Using form to follow function is always a good rule of thumb when creating branding videos. Keeping things easy to understand and using language consistent with branding ensures your message will be clear to any viewer. Though this video serves to explain how to use the application, the additional branding elements give it versatility. It can be used as a web intro as well. Videos like this one work great right on a web page or social media profile or post. They can easily be sent in an e-mail blast and can be included in referral links, so users do not have to explain everything to their friends. Creating an application how-to video is as easy as having an idea. Keeping things simple is typically the best way to go. Videos can make anything easy to understand, we often tell businesses “explain it for a five year-old to understand.” This video achieves that goal, while showing potential users the benefits of using Gather.

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Business: C1N8K

This brand film employs a voiceover to tell a brand story while footage of a manufacturing plant plays on the screen. The footage on screen allows the viewer to take a tour of the facility, while the voiceover describes various aspects of the business. The voiceover acts as a tour guide throughout the video, explaining specific aspects of the building in detail and educating the viewer about the capabilities of the manufacturing firm. Vanilla Video procured a professional voiceover actor in order to create the voiceover for this brand film. While many brand films we produce incorporate things like employee interviews as well as customer testimonials, sometimes professionals are too busy or not interested in getting in front of a camera. When this is the case, we can always take a script and work with a voiceover actor to create a brand film that mostly includes candid / b-roll footage rather than filming people speaking face-to-camera. While companies know that they absolutely need video to market their business online, but they do not know where to begin when it comes to creating videos for their website and social media pages. With Vanilla Video, we recommend simply getting the footage first. Once you have a series of clips, they can be strung together in a clean and seamless edit. We can use voiceovers from your personnel or hire an outside professional to help tell your brand’s story. Customers care about where you work and the people you employ. When it comes to customers searching for a manufacturing or engineering firm, they need to know that your shop will be capable of handling their needs and specifications. Tella Tool takes potential customers on a virtual tool of their shop – the video shows engineers as well as machinists working on a variety of different projects throughout the building. The voiceover tells the customer what they can expect when working with Tella Tools manufacturing company.

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Business: D008H

This promotional video for the Match Corps Program uses tutor testimonials as well as spoken information from directors in the program to educate the viewers on how the Match Program works. Filming interviews of your organization’s team members is an easy way to collect enough footage to create a short brand film like this one. Match Corps’ promotional video begins with interview answers from current Match Corps tutors about why they wanted to join the Match Corps program. To someone who is unfamiliar with the program, the tutors paint a picture of what the program is and what it does for Chicago youth. As the video goes on, we see more information from leaders within the Match Corps program, as well as outside education experts. Viewers continue learning more and more about the match corps program while seeing footage of students and tutors interacting. Of course we can’t forget the most important players in the Match Corps Program – the students. A few students were interviewed and talk about their experience Match Corps tutors on camera. The video ends with a student giving a little plug for why someone should join the Match Corps program to work with students like him. Promotional Videos are a great way to educate any audience about your business or organization. Using real people from your organization to talk about their experience allows viewers to see the genuine story about what you do and why you do it. While they speak, they enforce your brand whether they know it or not. In Match Corps’ promotional video, it is clear that every speaker in the video cares about improving education for the kids in their schools. What makes this video effective for promotional purposes is the message that it shares – a good promo video doesn’t need anything flashy to be an effective carrier for your brand message.

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Business: JQNV6

Chicago’s huge collection of diverse restaurants and eateries makes it a foodie favorite, whether they are local are traveling from across the country. Standing out as a foodie flocking ground is a must for any restaurant, whether that means serving instagrammable deserts or just using the best ingredients around. Cantigny Park is a famous summer afternoon day spot in the Chicago suburbs, while visitors come to enjoy the park grounds, many are surprised by the delicious gourmet food options served at Le Jardin restaurant. Vanilla Video worked with Sous Chef Eric Chaplin to create fun, shareable recipe videos for their website and social media channels. This video shows ingredients joining forces together to create beautiful and delicious Crème Brule dessert. While there are many ways to create a recipe video, using a top-down view and stop motion filming is the most popular on social media today. Chef Eric puts a Cantiny Park spin on the video by using a wooden countertop as a backdrop, and incorporating farm-house style kitchen accessories such as a glass milk bottle and ceramic egg holder. Though these are minor details, they help strengthen Cantigny’s brand presence throughout the video. Le Jardin serves homey favorites, so a down-home country feel compliments the delicious food served at the park’s restaurant. Filming detailed shots always looks better with a cinematic camera. This style of videography requires switching between multiple lenses. Our videographers are trained to use their best judgement in order to get beautiful shots, regardless of the subject matter. Cinematic videography enhances details and always results in a beautiful picture. High-end video production projects, regardless of length – require guidance from our Creative Directors. Whenever we shoot production-level shoots the project is backed by a team that is excited to get creative and design a beautiful video. While these projects take a little longer due to a highly involved editing process, the results are always great.

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Weddings: VJFFY

Video montages are a beautiful video rendition of moments captured throughout a special event. Our professional editors string together a collection of shots in a way that conveys the emotions of the day – from fun and upbeat, to intimate and romantic. Our team finds just the right way to present a day by finding the perfect song in our vast music library. Adding music is the easiest way to create a dazzling video that is fun to watch and share with family and friends. Vanilla Video montages can be created out of raw footage from any event two hours or longer. A montage can be ordered as an add-on, or customers can always contact us later on to create a montage from one or more events. We find that the best looking montages are those created from footage filmed by cinematic cameras, which create the out-of-focus background effect, or Depth of Field. Cinematic montages create beautiful keepsakes or promotional videos for any purpose. Montages are artistic videos created from raw footage and edited to the beat of dynamic music. These videos are comprised of unique angles and special moments which occurred throughout the course of a shoot or event. They typically include the most memorable moments of a special event allowing customers to relive the day from an artistic side. Montages vary in length, however montages created from full-day event footage typically end up being between two and three minutes. While montage makes for a great watching experience in the future, we understand customers may need help deciding if it is the right option for their event. Our on-staff cinematographers are montage experts speak with customers directly and guide them through the order process. We always explain foreign terminology and describe the difference between cinematic and traditional cameras. While a montage can be created out of any raw footage – creating a truly artist cut looks best with cinematic video footage.

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Music: 3W0PO

Music Video Production is a highly involved process, whether you are an established artist or just starting out – Vanilla Video can produce your music video, regardless of genre. The city of Chicago is full of places to go to film a music video, we can help you find those locations through location scouting or you can give us direction of where you would like us to film various scenes. In this music video, Vanilla Video and subsidiary Edit Engine strung together b-roll footage with shots of the artist rapping. Using the artist’s professionally recorded track we matched up footage of him rapping live to the sound of his recording. Our team of Creative Directors and Senior Videographers work together when creating music videos in order to bring an artist’s vision to life. In this music video, we juxtaposed imagery of urban motifs such as graffiti, murals, and statuary with the chorus which repeats “Everywhere I walk there’s ruins.” While we are known for show up and filming just about anything, we have the creative chops to work with any artist and design a music video that is meaningful and entertaining way. A music video like this one requires several hours of filming and days of editing before completing. While it is only three minutes long, we gathered hours of footage at various locations across the downtown Chicago area. We welcome creative projects that really require a team of us to dig in and get to work, but they do take time to plan and execute before we can deliver. What is awesome about having all that footage is that it can be mixed into other music videos or promotional videos for artists to use on their websites, social media profiles, or submitting demo tracks to venues for live gig consideration. A general rule of thumb we like to give musicians is to aim to shoot once a year, whether it is a production or just getting a live performance on video. With easy to understand pricing, there truly are options for every budget. A music video can be made out of a variety of footage and a professional recording. While filming a live performance is the easiest way to get your music on video, we can also film you or your band setting up for a gig, practicing in your garage, or just hanging out in your town. Whether we are using a pre-recorded track or plugging into your audio feed at an event, we always capture high quality sound to ensure your music video sounds as great as it looks.

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Music: W30HC

This black and white Rock Band music video took place in a downtown Chicago Warehouse. Vanilla Video handled location scouting and set/prop set up for the shoot. Multiple cameras including one cinematic camera, were used to capture dynamic angles of the singer and drummer, including overhead shots and shots from below eye-level. The video begins with closeups of the musicians’ instruments – shots begin to shift to different areas and angles of the stage. Shots shift to the beats of the music, giving the video a synchronized effect that is easy to watch. A pet daschund makes a cameo across the stage adding a humorous element to the video. Vanilla Video captures several shots typical to music videos featuring live performances – beyond closeups and overhead shots, we captured a shot while turning around the musicians – giving the video more movement and energy. The video is filtered with a black and white filter to eliminate the business of the warehouse where none of the scenery really in color. The black and white filter dims down the eclectic feel of the warehouse while adding an extra element of interest to the video. Music videos can be made out of any type of footage. Choosing to do a music video in a warehouse keeps things simple, yet still interesting to watch. Without much action or special effects, people watching this video can focus on the music as well as the technique of the artists. The chemistry between the artists is apparent and this video makes them look fun to watch, on screen or live at a venue. When it comes to audio for a music video from Vanilla Video, we can use a pre-recorded track or take sound live as it is performed. Depending on the location and situation, either can work. The way a music video sounds is important, Vanilla Video has the tools to make sure it sounds great.

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Music: B7F4O

Little Boy Jr. created this video to use as a social media ad to release their debut album. Using footage and sound from a live performance of the title track “Time to Behave” – Vanilla Video cut together a thirty second clip to use as an online ad. Our professional video editor incorporated motion graphics to include the band’s name as well as the name of the song/album. The video ends with an image of the record hovering over the words “Pressed to Vinyl” before the band plays the last beats of the song. Social media ads require brevity and creativity alike. The attention span of your audience on social media is incredibly short – using creative visuals and graphics in addition to a catchy song attracts fans as well as new listeners. Little Boy Jr. chose to incorporate a variety of shots and footage for their social media ad, an advantage of using Vanilla Video to film a variety of their performances throughout the years. Once Vanilla Video captures something on film, it can always be edited and incorporated into something new down the road. In this case – when Little Boy Jr. decided to release an album, they used existing footage and audio gathered from previous projects to create an advertisement. Music video production enhances business endeavors of garage bands to classical musicians alike. While every musician benefits from watching and analyzing past performances, possessing an entire library of video and audio footage makes it easy to create a variety of videos for promotional purposes as well. A music video can be made out of a single recording of a song at a live performance which can be easily shared to fans, their friends, as well as venues for potential gigs. Using professional video production makes self-promotion and advertising endeavors much easier for any type of musician, especially in this digital age where most music is consumed online.

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Weddings: 1NVNK

This montage begins right outside of the Century Memorial Chapel in Naperville, Illinois. Audio from the officiant are mixed over video footage throughout the special day. Prior to exchanging vows, the officiant speaks to the soon to-be newlyweds. He talks about what they love about each other, special things that only they know within their relationship. Very fitting lyrics play over footage of the special day. They exchange self-written and memorized vows, before being pronounced husband and wife. After the couple walks down the aisle, the montage beings to show footage of the bride and groom taking photos together after their ceremony. A new song begins to play, this time with an upbeat celebratory feel. The couple is announced by the DJ at their reception, and the groom twirls his newlywed wife in the center of the dance floor. The couples cut the cake and they exchange a kiss. The maid of honor gives her speech and talks about how sure the couple are about their love for each other. We see footage of table shots and the guests enjoying the dance floor. The montage shows as many guests as possible in just a short time frame. During the best man’s speech music cuts in and out with the footage. He describes how Brandon has changed over the course of his relationship with Kerri. We continue to watch the bride and groom enjoying their once in a lifetime, special night. Video montages can be used to remember a wedding or any special event. Raw footage captured throughout the course of an event can be edited with music and various audio from the event to make a highlight reel that focuses on highlights of the special day. Wedding montages typically include footage from the ceremony, photo sessions, and the reception with audio supplied by the officiant, exchanging of vows, as well as speeches from the reception.

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