Proposal
School District of Fort Atkinson
Fall 2021
INTRODUCTION
After speaking on the phone, it sounds like SDFA is interested in our Annual Content Package. You can see our Rates Webpage for more information, but in short it would include:
- One Production Day: Â up to 14 hours
- 20 Still Pictures:Â we’ll pull hundreds of options from your footage
- One 90-second Premium Video:Â more powerful and emotional
- Two Minutes of Basic Video Content:Â more informational and scripted
- Discounted Virtual Tour:Â ~20% off
- Exclusivity:Â we won’t work with your top 5 competing schools/districts
Long Term Strategy – All of your footage could be saved and reused on all future projects and we could update your best videos (replace interviews and shots) every few years so they’d last for 4-8 years total. So if we made one premium video each year, you’d eventually have 4-8 of the best school videos in your area on all the different aspects of your community.
VIDEO STYLES
90-Second Premium Video
For the main 90-second video, we discussed more of an “Intro-Style” format where possibly your Superintendent would deliver a welcome message to the community. It would look something like this example we made for the Diocese of Kalamazoo Catholic Schools.
2-Minutes of Basic Videos
Our annual package includes two minutes of basic video content that can be split up however you want (one 2-minute video, four 30-second videos, etc.) and it can serve any purpose (announcements, welcome messages, fundraising appeals, FAQ videos, social media ads, etc.)Â It would be scripted by your school, spoken off a teleprompter by one of your members, have more relaxed music and editing, and look something like this Virtual Tour Welcome Video.
We decided 30-seconds could be put towards a shorter version of the premium Intro Video, and then we’ll determine how to use the remaining 90-seconds at a later time.
WHY ELEVATION POINT
School videos are what we do! If we’re not the best education content creator in the country, then we’re not going to stop until we are! :) And our Exclusivity clause means we’ll be committed to making sure you have the best school videos in your area.
Here is our Portfolio as well as all of our Client Testimonials to see the difference we’ve made so far.
Years Serving Education
Schools & Districts Served
School Videos Made
PRE-PRODUCTION
“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” ~ Ben Franklin
Luckily, we’re OCD here and have an odd passion for building beautiful spreadsheets! :) We SYSTEMize everything to Save Yourself Stress Time Energy & Money.
 1) Quote Sheet – We filled out yours already and started organizing & quantifying all the interviews, footage & production days that we’ll need.
2) Interview Coverage – More than just “who” & “how many”… what story topics should each person speak to? How long will each interview take? And do we have at least two people speaking to each topic to ensure a great response? Those are the types of questions this sheet answers, which most overlook.
3) Production Schedule – Scheduling is highly collaborative and clients often need to book most of it themselves so we share a Shot List and Scheduling Sheet to help organize all of our plans!
YOUR STORY
When it comes to our Premium Interview-Based Videos, we’re often asked how we’ll accurately capture and tell our prospect’s story. We take each project through the same simple process that produces great results every time.
The Outline
We’ll flesh out the story outline on our next phone call where you’ll elaborate on each topic and we’ll type out everything you want us to say.
The Interviews
We’ll also fill out the Interview Coverage chart where you’ll identify the best people to speak to each topic.
The Questions
I’ll go back through the story outline and reverse-engineer each paragraph into 3-5 questions that will get each person to establish, differentiate, justify, and personalize each point.
The Editing
We’ll cut up, organize and rank every sound-bite, and then stitch one great word/phrase after the next. There’s usually a seamless audio cut about once every 2-seconds in our videos to make everyone sound perfect & concise.
PRODUCTION
We show up and record like everyone else, but there are a few things that might set us apart.
Highly Physical
There’s a time and a place for stiff, static tripod shots, but we love adding life and energy to the camera a lot more. :) Watch any of our videos and you’ll see how much we move!
Small Crews
We often work alone as a one-man band, which will save you a lot of money in extra travel and crew costs.
Long Days
When you hire us for a full production day, you’ll get us for up to 14 hours (and you’re welcome to hand us off to other colleagues over that time). The point is, the more we pack in, the less we’ll have to travel out, and the more money you’ll save.
Wireless Monitor
Our cameras can connect to a smartphone app via WiFi so you can sit around the corner and watch everything we record.
Radios
Additionally, we can both have earpieces so you can speak up in real time if you have any thoughts or suggestions.
POST PRODUCTION
Them
Most editors cut the whole video together, offer 2-3 rounds of revisions, and then charge for more. But…
1) Why should you pay extra if the editor is way off?
2) Reworking the whole video can easily blow past deadlines.
3) No editor will ever know your community as well as you do. And the more decisions they make on their own and the more bold and artistic they get, the greater the chance you’ll have more notes for them in the end. So it’s as if this whole workflow encourages safe, bland & generic editing.
vs. Us
Every editor goes through a process, so we just include the client along the way. We edit “Cut 1.0” and then send it over for feedback. If there are any notes, then we edit “Cut 1.1″… “1.2”… done – and we move on. Each round takes about a week and we’re usually done in a month. No surprises and no additional costs.
And that way you’re involved and can help us make far more unique & specific decisions that reflect your community. That’s what our clients always tell us – “Oh my gosh, this feels so much like our school!” – and it’s because we collaborated the whole way through.
Cut 1.0 - Story
To start off, we just cut the interview sound-bites together and make everyone say what we want them to say. :)
Cut 2.0 - Music
We think music is one of the most important parts and that’s why we’ve already searched through over 15,000 songs. We then whittle the very best down to the top 3-7 for you to pick.
To hear our broad range of musical styles, check out our Music Types webpage.
Cut 3.0 - Footage
Here we insert all the visuals. Up until this point, we’ve just been listening to audio so this is where you’ll really start to see it all come together.
Cut 4.0 - Graphics & Sound
We’ll add sound effects, do a custom opening and closing animation of your name & logo, and then add other lower-third (nameplate) graphics for all the interview subjects.
Cut 5.0 - Color Correction
This is where we white-balance all the footage, remove any color casts, and boost the overall contrast and saturation. We rarely receive any notes at this point so after the first cut here, we’re usually done!
INVESTMENT
Let me know if you’d like to adjust the line-items any further.
OUR FOCUS
More than a video, let’s make a difference.
We know professional videos can be expensive and we know what it’s like when budgets are tight, but more than the cheapest option here, we’re trying to be the best.
Because with all the content online today, it takes something pretty powerful to actually make a difference. We can speak from our own experience on this. We scroll past average-to-bad videos all the time. It’s the ones that really resonate or blow us away that make us want to share it or reach out to learn more.
Those are the kinds of videos that truly move people. They’re the ones that inspire real change. And while they take more time, effort and money to make, our clients always seem to think they’re worth it in the end.
– Kevin Domer
Partner & Producer
Elevation Point
OUR FOCUS
More than a video, let’s make a difference.
We know professional videos can be expensive and we know what it’s like when budgets are tight, but more than the cheapest option here, we’re trying to be the best.
Because with all the content online today, it takes something pretty powerful to actually make a difference. We can speak from our own experience on this. We scroll past average-to-bad videos all the time. It’s the ones that really resonate or blow us away that make us want to share it or reach out to learn more.
Those are the kinds of videos that truly move people. They’re the ones that inspire real change. And while they take more time, effort and money to make, our clients always seem to think they’re worth it in the end.
– Kevin Domer
Partner & Producer
Elevation Point