What is a “man on the street” interview?

You’ve seen them on your local news, late night talk shows, and every manner of web videos. It’s one way we capture the thoughts and ideas of every day people, instead of actors or paid spokespersons.

We see them all the time in our industry, but we don’t always see them done right.

Video production is never an easy task, full of obstacles and challenges that require quick-thinking and flexibility. This is especially true when you’re shooting in an uncontrolled environment, like you would be when doing man-on-the-street interviews.

CRAFT has compiled some of our best-practices that we like to follow during these kinds of shoots.

1. Preparation Makes Perfect – Bring a neutral density filter for your lens.
2. Shooting and Sunlight – Keep the sunlight behind you. Never, ever put the sun in the shot. Position your shot so that the sun lights your subject’s face from behind the camera.
3. Listening is Not Optional – Pay attention to your audio. Keep a close ear to the surrounding background noise. You may need to move to a more quiet space to capture good audio.
4. Take Two – Don’t be afraid to shoot another take.
5. Proper Direction – Determine beforehand whether you want the subjects to look off-camera or straight into the lens while answering the questions. Make sure you keep this consistent.
6. Vary Your Looks – MOS interviews give you the opportunity to be in different locations. Find cool visuals!
7. A Little Coaching – If someone says something good, but you want him or her to say it more succinctly or rephrase, it is OK to feed him or her the line. “I loved that! Can I have you say it again to me this way?”
8. Start Fresh – Make sure you ask them for their name and hometown as the first question. Otherwise you will never find out who that person is.
9. Keep It Simple – Keep the content of your questions to a basic level of understanding. Keep in mind that most people you will film don’t know much about the issues, even the big ones. Your questions should be simple, and easy to answer.
10. Remember Your Basics – Proper exposure (low iso, shutter speed at 1/50, use your ND filter to achieve a lower f-stop setting on the camera), white balance, rule of thirds, etc.
11. Frame Your Shot – Make sure your background contributes to the testimonial in a positive, non-distracting way. Is there an inappropriate sign or location specific landmark (unless desired) in the background? Simply flipping your shot or finding a new location 5 to 10 feet away can remove anything that draws your attention away from the interviewee.
12. Slow Down – With man-on-the-street interviews, the tendency is to get the person on-camera and on their way. Take an extra minute to double check your shot and your sound. Always have a second person to entertain your interviewee so they don’t get too antsy or frustrated while you set the shot.

Zachary Hanover is a Media Producer at CRAFT | Media / Digital. Zachary is an award-winning producer and editor, and several of his pieces were featured by major news outlets during the 2012 election cycle. Zachary has been a component of CRAFT’s media production team since August 2010. You can reach Zachary via email at zhanover@craftdc.com or on Twitter (@zhanover).

On one hand, sites like Twitter and Facebook give everyone a chance to contribute to the online conversation.

On the other hand, having so many competing voices can make social media seem like one big Darwinian experiment: a ferocious survival of the smartest, quickest and wittiest.

Even then, the average lifespan of the perfect post is no more than a few fleeting moments. In a few day’s time, especially poignant posts are forgotten along with the irrelevant and obscure posts.

Enter Storify. The site seeks to “make sense of what people post on social media.” On the platform, the most important voices can be brought together and turned into lasting stories.

Storify lets users pull the best tweets, posts, photos, videos and other social content from across the web into a simple, linear timeline that can be published and embedded anywhere.

These unique features have caught the attention of some of the most credible traditional news media outlets like ABC, CNN and The Washington Post (just to name a few) and even helped the Denver Post win a Pulitzer Prize this year.

Whether it’s reliving the final moments of a championship game, chronicling a historic evening, or holding public officials accountable, Storify is changing the way events are captured and news is approached.

Take Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People, for example. After reading the article, CRAFT did some research and found 65 of those mentioned have active Twitter handles. That prompted us to comb through their feeds, choose one great tweet from each and voila, a story was born (See below).

Check it out, make your own and enjoy!

In the political space, success is nearly always measured in wins and losses. At CRAFT | Media/Digital, however, we also know we’re succeeding when industry peers recognize our work.

Each year, the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) and the Telly Awards distribute awards for the best work in the business. And this year, CRAFT is a proud recipient of 14 Pollie Awards and 11 Telly Awards for our work in 2012.

At CRAFT, we believe in the uniqueness of our integrated approach, so it came as no surprise to find out that we received awards for both our media and digital services.

Without further ado, this year’s winners are…

Pollie Awards

• Gold – Best Use of Website Fundraising: Mia Love for Congress
• Gold – Best Web Animation/Web Video for U.S. House Candidate: Mia Love for Congress
• Gold – Best Use of Negative Contrast: Raising Red
• Gold – Best in Show (Public Affairs/Issue Advocacy): Emergency Committee for Israel
• Gold – Best Billboard (Collateral): Emergency Committee for Israel
• Silver – Best Candidate Logo: Mia Love for Congress
• Silver – Best Use of Search Engine Marketing: Mia Love for Congress
• Silver – Best Internet Campaign: Mia Love for Congress
• Silver – Best Use of Negative Contrast: Center for American Freedom
• Silver – Super PAC: America’s Road Ahead Fund
• Silver – Non-Broadcast Video, Republican: Mia Love for Congress
• Bronze – Best Website (National Organization): House Budget Committee
• Bronze – Best Website (National Organization): US Chamber GIPC
• Bronze – Super PAC, Republican: Winning Our Future PAC

Telly Awards

• Silver – Best Internet/Online Commercial – Political Issues/Campaign Advertising: Mia Love for Congress
• Bronze – Best Internet/Online Commercial – Political Issues/Campaign Advertising: Mia Love for Congress
• Bronze – Best Internet/Online Commercial – Political Issues/Campaign Advertising: Mia Love for Congress
• Bronze – Best Local TV/Local Cable Ad – Political Issues/Campaign Advertising: Adam for Illinois
• Bronze – Best Internet/Online Video – Political Commentary: Emergency Committee for Israel
• Bronze – Best Internet/Online Video – Political Commentary: Let Freedom Ring
• Bronze – Best Internet/Online Commercial – Political Issues/Campaign Advertising: Crossroads Generation
• Bronze – Best Internet/Online Commercial – Use of Humor: Crossroads Generation
• Bronze – Best Regional TV and Multi-Market Cable Ad – Political Issues/Campaign Advertising: US Chamber of Commerce
• Bronze – Best Regional TV and Multi-Market Cable Ad – Political Issues/Campaign Advertising: US Chamber of Commerce
• Bronze – Best Regional TV and Multi-Market Cable Ad – Political Issues/Campaign Advertising: Winning Our Future PAC

Here are some key takeaways from the awards:

• CRAFT tied with the Republican National Committee for Best Internet Campaign
• CRAFT tied with Romney for President for Best Use of Website Fundraising – Republican
• CRAFT led the “Internet Issue Advocacy – Best Use of Negative Contrast” and “Television/Candidate – Republican SuperPAC” categories with two awards in each category. No other firms won any awards in either category.

CRAFT thanks our clients for giving us the opportunity to partner with them and showcase the variety of services in which we excel.

Vine is a new social media app that allows users to share 6-second loopable videos. Think of it as Twitter with video. It’s a new way for people to communicate and share experiences with each other.

It’s also quickly becoming a new tool that communications and PR professionals are using for clients.

We’ve compiled this short and easy walkthrough of the app. It will show you how to operate it, how to post a video, and all the great things (and shortfalls) of Vine.

Zachary Hanover is a Media Producer at CRAFT | Media / Digital. Zachary is an award-winning producer and editor, and several of his pieces were featured by major news outlets during the 2012 election cycle. Zachary has been a component of CRAFT’s media production team since August 2010. You can reach Zachary via email at zhanover@craftdc.com or on Twitter (@zhanover).

So the next time you’re ready to create an infographic, follow these simple rules. You’ll be on the way to creating the next great visual for your client or brand.

Christian Bennin is the Associate Art Director at CRAFT | Media/Digital.

Christian’s passion and dedication to creating impactful design informs every project she works on. Her love of film, nature and information drives her to create design that is informative and beautiful. Christian comes from the corporate universe, previously doing work for Corporate Executive Board, Bally Total Fitness, HzO and EcoNova.

Every detail in an ad builds upon the next to create a moving image that sings, inspires and drives action. CRAFT’s team of copywriters, producers, editors and creative technologists exists to push the limits of media production by mastering these details. We speak the language of Adobe Premiere and After Effects, alpha layers and key frames. We translate technology to shift the conversation forward, lift our clients’ brand and move issues. With every creative decision, we build something meaningful to make our clients break through the clutter.

Inspired by that devil in the details, CRAFT is excited to announce that twice a week, we’ll feature one video from our YouTube portfolio and explain a technique that makes that ad unique. Each video highlight will focus on an element, skill, strategy or tactic, giving you a glimpse into our creative minds – It’s dangerous in here, Don’t say we didn’t warn you. We’ll discuss the integrated strategies that make them successful and keep our clients coming back for more.

Why? For starters, in 2012 alone we produced over 100 TV ads and 300 web videos for clients ranging from candidate campaigns to the automotive industry. Rather than treat all 400 pieces alike, we thought we would give each ad its moment in the spotlight. We also believe in sharing knowledge. We want to show our creative process to spark discussion and continue to challenge the conventional norms of advertising and production. We hope you enjoy our Election Collection rollout!

Who? The CRAFT Production Team.

When? Every Tuesday and Thursday.

Where? Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Our content will find you.

At CRAFT, we know the old strategies are no longer the best way to move issues or win elections. It’s time for creative that sells. The bar has been raised. Faithfully, we step up to the plate.

Kate Galliers is the Director of Media Production at CRAFT | Media / Digital. Kate is a Pollie and Telly Award-winning producer and editor with five years’ experience in media production, marketing and communications. Since joining CRAFT in 2010, Kate has overseen the production of over 750 unique pieces of traditional and new media, as well as dozens of TV/video shoots.

(Click below to enlarge)

Christian Bennin is the Associate Art Director at CRAFT | Media/Digital.

Christian’s passion and dedication to creating impactful design informs every project she works on. Her love of film, nature and information drives her to create design that is informative and beautiful. Christian comes from the corporate universe, previously doing work for Corporate Executive Board, Bally Total Fitness, HzO and EcoNova.

For the uninitiated, the live Google+ hangout feature is a free live videoconference that can automatically be streamed, recorded and uploaded to a YouTube channel. All that is needed is a Gmail account synced to a YouTube channel and a Google+ account, making barriers to entry pretty low.

What makes Google+ hangouts so beneficial for public figures is the incredible control over the videoconference. For example, the host has the ability to invite select guests for the conference, mute or have normal dialogue with participants, and the audience can be as broad or narrow as desired.

Last week, I participated in a Google+ hangout with President Obama, hosted by YouTube and Google. While President Obama had a large team of people making sure nothing went wrong technically, it is overkill for most individuals’ needs.

In my hangout with President Obama, he took questions from five participants with one Google staffer moderating. The look of the event was very similar to a “talking head” show on cable news, only with more participants. President Obama did most of the talking, and the five participants asked the questions. Overall, the hangout went very smoothly and generated major news headlines.

What we should expect in the future is many politicians using Google+ hangouts on air with their constituents, artists having hangouts with their fans, candidates for public office holding hangouts with their supporters, and CEOs having hangouts with shareholders or board members. It even has a feature to play video as the conference is taking place. The video playing and screen sharing features make it ideal for presentations.

The possibilities for this relatively new platform are endless, but because Google+ hangouts can facilitate controlled access to individuals at a low cost, every public figure should know and understand its benefits.

Here is a post explaining how to begin a live Google+ hangout. I recommend testing a private hangout before going live, but the feel of the event is pretty natural and the camera will automatically switch to the person talking, reducing the amount of interruptions.

If you are interested, you can watch my hangout with President Obama below.

Lee Doren is the Research and Outreach Manager at CRAFT | Media/Digital.Lee specializes in public policy research and analysis. He also focuses on online issue advocacy, which includes reaching out to reporters and bloggers on behalf of clients. You can reach Lee via email at ldoren@craftdc.com or on Twitter @ldoren.

In the feature, Dybwad cites the success CRAFT brought to the Mia Love campaign this past cycle:

“The big takeaway from that race was that it was a great way for us to prove the effectiveness of the integrated model and bringing together different parts of our shop. We proved we could take events that normally would’ve gotten little coverage and make them huge events that got tons of traffic, inches in stories, tons of interest and tons of donations.”

Read more of the Business Insider spotlight here.

Then it was about going Gangnam Style.

Next it was Marco Rubio’s Poland Springs/Watergate fail.

Now it’s the Harlem Shake.

On a weekly basis, millions of video clips hit the online web with the pure attempt of going viral. To ‘go viral’ is the process in which content passes through electronic mail and social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), and become extremely popular in a very short period of time.

Yet what makes online content go viral? According to Kate Murphy of the New York Times, it boils down to narcissism: “Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about who is watching you. Be conscious and considerate of your audience and its needs, rather than getting mired in your own egotism or insecurity.”

Viral videos come and go as the next trending topic finds it way to the top of Twitter’s hit list. Yet the following elements tend to always resonate in the meat and bones of what makes a video go viral:

Authentic and Genuine

Viral videos always have an unpretentious appeal to them. They either grapple at our heartstrings, or cause us to laugh out loud upon viewing them. This feeling cannot be faked.

Trend Worthiness… but not Forced Upon You

Advertisements have no say in this realm of content. Going viral isn’t something that can be planned, predicated, or in anyway controlled. They can only be reproduced, and in the scope of trends, they usually facilitate at such a high rate pace only sharing them will suffice.  One greatly diminishes their chances of going viral by forcing the content on consumers. Videos trying to go viral must go through a gradual sharing progress to reach the status of buzz-worthiness.

The Game of Telephone X’s 10

Word of mouth is the foundation of what makes a video go viral. One friend shares it with two, while another two share it with twenty. Then a thousand. Then it reaches the point of millions. ReTweets. Favorites. Likes. And downloads. Welcome to the world of viral.

At CRAFT | Media / Digital, there is a core understanding here that paying attention to cultural shifts directly dictates whether or not you will be relevant in the online media space. So while it is important to understand the inner workings of exit polls and designated market areas, it is just as equally important to understand where the pulse of today’s generation beats.

CRAFT | Media / Digital [Harlem Shake Edition]:

Also a big thanks goes out to Famous DC for conducting a recent poll featuring CRAFT’s Harlem Shake video. Asking the ever-important question, who shakes it better?