All of the Rich Partnership videos contained within this website have been created using the process described below. If you are going to be involved in the production of a video or are considering the possibility, then it would be well worth your time having a quick read of the following information.

Primary Objective Our primary objective is to create a video that will support and accelerate early sales cycle activity. To do this we expose the key business benefits as explained by Customers, using business language rather than technical detail. The majority of our videos are split into 7-8 sections, each of which describes how performance around a key business driver has been improved. Every section is titled so that viewers are clear about the topic and no time is wasted setting the scene.

The result is that we can get more performance benefits into a five minute video than is typical of most case studies. We also annotate 3-4 of the best phrases, stimulating the viewer visually as well as aurally, so that these phrases are more memorable. You can judge the results for yourself by watching some of the videos on this site, however, we would suggest that you choose a video in a similar sector to your own, as each of these videos is designed to appeal to a specific sector.

Pre-Shoot
The Rich Partnership and Microsoft Partner work together to scope out the key messages we would like to develop when making the video. During this period the Partner may speak directly with their Customer, however, we try to avoid direct contact at this stage. This is explained in 'The Shoot' section below.

Once the key messages have been defined, the potential interviewees will be discussed and selected. Ideally these people should have different perspectives (i.e. commercial, technical, finance, department head etc).

All three parties will then agree a date for a one day shoot.

There will be the opportunity for the interviewee’s to partake in a phone conversation with the producer before the shoot. During this call we will let them know how long it will take, what they should wear (whatever they're comfortable in), the fact that they won't need to rehearse (as we'll only be taking their best bits, which will be things they know already) and also answer any other questions they may have.

We will also liaise with the Client/Partner and identify suitable shoot locations, to include:

• Best place(s) to conduct the interviews
• Where and what to film to show the Client and Partner working together
• Footage of the business
  • Offices
  • Meetings
  • Signage
  • Areas of the business such as Manufacturing, Distribution or whatever the business does
  • IT areas such as server racks etc
  • The software solution in action (we avoid filming any sensitive data)

We also need to establish if the Customer has existing video footage that we could incorporate (e.g. a TV advert or footage from a previous corporate video).

Prior to the shoot we will circulate a 'Call Sheet' to the Customer and Partner, the purpose of which is to confirm the day’s shooting arrangements including date confirmation, location(s), contact details and schedule.

The Shoot
If the shoot location requires it, we travel the night before and stay in a hotel - then we typically aim for an 8am start. If the shoot is more local we will agree a start time on a case by case basis.

Wherever possible we will record the interviews first, starting at about 8.45am, which allows for 45 minutes of set-up. On average each interview will take between 20-25 minutes to complete, however we leave 45 minutes in between interviews. The shoot duration is a single, but long, day.

It's not a good idea to rehearse questions and answers with the interviewees. They're not TV professionals, so anything less than a spontaneous answer will often come across as wooden and will reduce credibility. If an interviewee is unhappy with anything that they have said they can tell the camera to scratch it, so it will not be used. We will also re-assure the interviewee that any part of interview can be repeated if they forget what to say or say something wrong.

Once the content edit is signed off, we create the full video with business footage, titles, music and logos, this is called the cutaway edit. We then send it to the Partner and Customer as a draft version for sign-off or amendment.
Once the cutaway edit  is signed-off we can create the final video in the previously agreed formats. Typically, a high quality .wmv file for playback from hard drive or CD-ROM.

Timescales
Typically, a video takes 6-8 weeks from start to completion. The following times are intended as a guide and may vary:

• Planning – often it takes 2-4 weeks for a Customer to agree to a shoot date, which is more than enough time to complete the planning. On the rare occasion that all the required Customer personnel are available at short notice, we would suggest one calendar week.
• Shoot – as explained previously, most videos are shot in a single day.
• Content Edit – this stage involves creating transcripts of the interviews and then creating an audio version of the video for approval. Typically this takes 7–10 days from the day of the shoot.
• Draft Video – once the content edit has been signed off by the Customer it usually takes a further 7-10 days to create the complete video.
• Creation of Electronic Files – once the draft has been signed off, the final files can be delivered within 2-3 days.