The Bonati Institute found that potential patients wanted information about the advanced spinal treatments they offer, but there were not enough opportunities for the live seminars they conduct around the country. Plus it demanded a lot of the doctor’s time. Online seminars offered them time and cost savings. In addition they could reach more people.
We shot the HD video on our green screen stage and edited the project to insert graphic and video elements. The final production contains the same information that is presented in live seminars. We then created a mini-site that is contained within the Bonati site. It provides playback of this video with advanced chapter capability so the viewer can advance to specific points of interest. The rest of the mini-site contains text information and other patient videos.
The end result is more potential patients are reached, while the doctors spend more time in the operating room and less time in a hotel room.
The Woodbridge II
We took the usual home virtual tour video to the next level using camera cranes, dolly shots and dramatic lighting to enhance the high-end look of these homes. This is one of a series of videos shot in several Tampa Bay communities for this corporate website and MLS listings.
A video production promoting participation in the foster care program for Hillsborough Kids Inc. of Tampa, Florida, presented a challenge for us. The stories were heart-wrenching and personal, but because of privacy issues they couldn’t show any of the families involved.
Unique Approach
Studio president and creative director Mike Weber presented HKI with the concept of writing a script that was the blending of several true cases into the story of one child. The treatment would be done in a form parents can relate to: a storybook. More specifically, a pop-up storybook that would become a virtual set for the six-minute video. The live action actors would be inserted into the pages using greenscreen compositing. “It seemed like a simple idea at the time” says Weber. But original artwork takes time. Ultimately CMR artists Adam Weber, Melissa Cozart, and Marina Weber devoted nearly a thousand man-hours over sixth months to producing the one of a kind book.
Local Landscape
Every page turn reveals one of eleven scenes depicting: the Tampa skyline, the University of Tampa, a house, various interior settings, Busch Gardens and Lowry Park Zoo. They each open into dimensional art that was then shot close-up in HD. All the actors that appear on camera also appear on the pages of the book, so artist Marina Weber had the job of creating their likenesses, along with a whole cast of paper extras. Dimensional background plates and animation elements add even more detail that wouldn’t be possible to physically fold in the book.
High Def Video and Special Effects
Renu Parker, General Counsel at HKI, edited the script and selected talent through Alexa Talent and Modeling to match their typical client profile. Rich Roddman directed the greenscreen shoot on the in-house CMR stage. Adam Weber handled shooting the HD footage of the pop-up book virtual set and designing unique pinpoint lighting for each scene. Page manipulation was done by Marina and Melissa.
Like puppeteers, they hid behind the book and wore green gloves so their hands could be removed from the shots later.
Post-Production
Once all the HD footage was shot, the multi-talented CMR production team changed roles again. Melissa edited the footage in Final Cut, while both she and Adam composited together all the pieces using Shake. They put the actors “in” the book, added background plates, animated elements, did color correction and color grading. Mike Weber then added a customized music track and sound effects for each scene before the final audio mix and project completion.
Award Winning Work
The HKI project was recognized for excellence with a national TELLY Award.
This six minute special effects video for Hillsborough Kids Inc. of Tampa, Florida was the result of over a thousand man-hours of hand-crafted creativity. The concept and original art for the unique pop-up book was designed, drawn, painted and assembled by the CMR Staff prior to green screen high definition filming on our in house shooting stage and compositing to create the video.
Reducing traffic on Florida highways may be as simple as getting workers to just stay home. That’s the message Bay Area Commuter Services wants to send in a video being written and produced by CMR Studios. The High Definition project will feature on-camera talent Art Edmonds. Bay Area Commuter Services, Inc. (BACS) is one of the Florida Department of Transportation’s nine commuter assistance programs within the state. It is a private, non-profit organization founded and funded by the State of Florida Department of Transportation to promote transportation alternatives to the single-occupant vehicle in the Tampa Bay area and surrounding counties. The agency operates in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. CMR has already produced two corporate videos and a series of award winning television commercials for the transportation agency.
Shot over the course of several months, this time-lapse video shows the many benefits of building precast homes. It was designed to be a marketing tool to persuade other homebuilders a faster and safer solution to traditional wood-frame homes.
This company needed an online sales tool to highlite the benefits of their technical training system. We worked with them to edit and refine their original script. We then shot the talent in HD on our green screen stage. In post production we added supporting graphics, stock footage and actual product demonstrations to create an informative and effective presentation compressed and optimized for online playback. (Just like you are watching.)
Remember The Florida Suncoast Dome?
The Tampa Bay Rays are now asking for a new stadium on the St. Petersburg downtown waterfront. It really wasn’t that long ago that Tropicana Field, then known as The Florida Suncoast Dome, was spoken of in glowing terms. In fact, it was the centerpiece of the pitch to get a major league team.
CMR was around back then and involved in the production of this video that was used in the pitch to get a franchise. Studio owner Mike Weber used to work with the Cincinnati Reds when he was at WLW in Cincinnati, and understood the potential economic impact of being a major league city. Eager to participate, he was even the first person to place a season ticket reservation for the team to be.
We thought it would be interesting to share this insight into the facts and figures that contributed to getting Tampa Bay a team. The population numbers have changed drastically, but the facts remain essentially the same.
This is from an old VHS tape out of our archives so the quality isn’t the greatest. But you’ll still enjoy it.
Building Hope
After much praise from a video we produced the previous year, Habitat for Humanity turned to us again to create a moving video to help create awareness and recruit volunteers for its cause. Told from the perspectives of both Habitat homeowners and volunteers, this video was a huge success for the organization.
