Merry Christmas! Many of us are spending December 25 with family and friends. We hope that’s the case for you, too! At this time of year, we like to remember not just our immediate family, but also our work family. To that end, we’d like to take a moment to say thank you to our employees for all their hard work in 2017. Great job, you guys!
Office Staff
Key West Video has a busy office. The phones ring throughout the day and our inbox is always bursting. Someone has to be on the front lines and we have the best in the business directing calls, giving quotes and generally keeping us all in line. Thanks, Caron.
Camera
We have some pretty cool camera tricks at our disposal. We shoot 4k UHD, which looks darn sharp. Using the drone gives us a bird’s-eye perspective. Whether the camera is locked off or we’re tracking a moving shot, our shooters follow the action to make the viewer feel included.
Sometimes it’s the simple things that make the biggest impact. Our cameraman said his favourite shoot of the year wasn’t in an exotic location and it didn’t use a lot of fancy techniques. Instead, it was a visually interesting subject with tight interviews. There were also some pretty drone shots, but his overwhelming sense of satisfaction came from the technical crispness of the images. Simple or complicated, he can do it all. Thanks, Chris.
Editors
Corralling raw footage in an effort to create a comprehensive and entertaining story is the job of our editors. They enjoy the challenge of working on projects that demand a new skill or allow them to stretch their imaginations. One editor says a stop-motion project was her favourite of the year. The promo was for a video board and it demanded the difficult marriage of footage, Photoshop and concept.
Another top job pick this year was a comedy reel. Many of the videos we produce are for internal use. Occasionally, we’re asked to create a skit or other custom piece for a meeting or party. One such project gave our editor a chance to flex his comedy muscles and play with the timing of jokes and reactions.
Sometimes our editors need to come up with a creative solution when issues arise. One of our crew was tested by the necessity to include a voluminous amount of footage in a video. Her fix was creating a moving collage wall, enabling her to learn some new tricks in After Effects.
Thanks to Nicole, Miles, Dave and Eion.
Animators
We’re a shop full of creatives and our employees have all sorts of interests and talents outside of work. Sometimes there’s an obvious crossover between leisure activities and the job. Our animator is a prime example. Not only does she enjoy drawing in her free time, but she also comes to work and creates worlds that both imitate life and exist in their own colourful space. One of the projects she enjoyed most this year gave her an opportunity to deliver important information on elder care in the form of a cute and heartfelt story.
Many times we’re asked to work in ways that require innovation and finesse. One such video combined live action with 2D animation, an ambitious task. However, the client was really happy with the synthesis and the animator’s hard work paid off. Thanks, Sarah.
Producers
Our producers are the project managers and main contacts once a project is established. They’re typically the ones making the calls on shoot day and orchestrating a video from inception to final delivery. It’s their job to make sure everybody involved knows what’s going on and what comes next.
Over the years, we’ve fostered some excellent relationships with return clients. This fall, our most seasoned producer went to California to shoot with a client that had worked with us in Toronto. This project was both challenging and rewarding because the client was familiar, but the location was new. Just getting a bunch of camera equipment across the border is no easy task. In the end, we got some great footage, the client was happy and the producer enjoyed some California sunshine.
Thanks, Shivani and Cela.
The Boss
At the helm of every ship is its captain. Steering Key West Video through waters both turbulent and calm, as well as keeping everything at the office shipshape, is a big job. This person is also the face of the business at trade shows and meetings. He’s always wearing the company logo and proudly representing all of us here. You will definitely catch him saying “Merry Christmas” in his Key West Shirt. Thanks, Stuart.
Freelancers
There are a number of familiar faces around the office, all working together to produce outstanding client projects. We also call on a vast network of freelancers. This army of professionals allows us to stay on budget and on schedule while delivering quality work. Thanks to all of you who helped lift us up in 2017. This includes our scripting and content writer, Molly—you didn’t think I’d leave out the blogger, did you?
A Final Merry Christmas Thank You
One thing is for sure: without clients, there would be no Key West Video. Thank you for your trust, your confidence and your business. We hope you’ll return to us in 2018 for another great project. Merry Christmas and happy new year.
