Every company and organization has a story to tell. At Recording Raccoon Studio we help you tell that story, either through a commercial, documentary style promotional piece or through training videos. We also offer training for those organizations that would like to assume in-house content creation to some degree.
Production Advisor, Mark Hartsuyker
Nonprofits need to generate passionate and committed interest, attaching both volunteers and funding, either through private donations or grants. A documentary style promotional video is a great vehicle for telling the unique mission, history and goals of an organization. It also is a chance to highlight current goals and recent milestones. Below you will find a number of examples of this type of production.
When The History Center in Tompkins County wanted to show the diversity of their offerings and reach a new and broader audience, they turned to Recording Raccoon Studio for video production. Working with both their executive director and director of outreach, we collaborated using their vision and our expertise. Using the narratives of over thirty individuals involved with the organization in one way or another, these were captured and edited to create the narrative you can view below. This unscripted approach is the hallmark of the documentary style promotional. We can obtain authentic stories, told in the voices of people who care, and their passion conveys the organization's message.
The pro bono production from our studio for the "Friendship Donations Network" (FDN) spanned over a year of planning, shooting and editing. This long time line arose from the fact that when dealing with food production, video capture had to be attuned to the seasons of growing. Using a volunteer crew, the principle videography was obtained of all the diverse activities of this organization: volunteers, donors (both food and funding) and the ultimate recipients of the food.
One of the interesting outcomes of this video was that many of the people working within the organization had no idea of the larger picture. Although the intent of creating the video was to broaden the knowledge of the public concerning FDN, this "internal" educational component is another benefit of organizations creating targeted content.
This was created for the Boyce-Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University. The greatest challenge in making this piece was taking about an hour of discussion about the work between the four principal scientists and from this and other footage "finding the story".
This was created for a non-profit in the Ithaca, NY. The group is restoring to flying condition a WWI biplane that was built in the area, one of 600 constructed at that time. The making this short required the collecting of footage from a variety of settings and functions held by the restoration group over at least a year. In addition, many historic photos also had to be brought together, insuring the historical accuracy to the narrative of the voice-over script.
Created for an NGO based in St. Louis, the Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children. This video is meant to serve as an introduction to the organization and the services it provides in Nepal to children of limited means or desperate family situations. The footage has been gathered over over a number of years, with two shoots in Nepal in the last two years providing the primary source material.
My work in video production started as part of an ergonomic consulting practice while living in Boston. Ergoboston.com helped companies reduce industrial injuries through the study of motion in the workplace.
The captured footage for the motion studies lead to using that footage to create training videos. This work demanded high production values, better equipment, hiring of talent, special effects and the like.
Now my work ranges through a variety of different types of projects; wherever creative and compelling storytelling is required to convey content. In addition, we can tailor the crew on a given shoot to your needs. This can included equipment or specialists that may be required for your project to achieve the production values you desire.
Call or write for a consultation about how we can meet your needs to communicate to your target audience.
email: mark@rrstudios.tv
phone: +1 607.339.1900
Each organization or company has its own brand identity. Whether it is products or services, you need a partner in getting your story told to a target audience. We can help you find the unique manner in which what you have to offer can be presented in the best light.
We offer pre-shoot conferences to refine your message within the budget you have in mind. If your project needs location shooting, studio work, sound, lighting, graphics, music, voice-overs, Recording Raccoon Studio can provide the services you need. Our operation is scalable, with a variety of creative and technical specialist available, depending upon the nature of your needs.
This promotional piece was created for a DVD for the Tommy Come Home project. The idea was to produce a “making of” short to look behind the scenes. In addition to providing a good introduction to the production process, it also showcases the variety of types of projects done at Recording Raccoon Studio.
The visual content of video has become universal so getting your story out in this form has never been more important. In addition, you want the content on your web presence to change on a regular basis. For some organizations, company's or corporation's budget, it might make more sense to bring some of the production in-house. In other words, train a small team to create custom videos.
With a small investment in equipment and training your employees could insure that fast breaking news, recent and upcoming events and training videos are made in a timely manner.
With projects varying so markedly between different clients, the same approach to each situation would be inappropriate. At Recording Raccoon we spend time in the pre-production process to insure the expertise, crew and necessary equipment is present throughout the entire process. In practical terms this means if a shoot requires a large team or the highest production values, we tap into our network of video professionals to insure your project is given the resources necessary to match the initial vision.
There is a wealth of equipment and systems available to for all steps in the production process. These are a few of the suppliers and software systems at our disposal to aid you in your project.
