Mt. Mercy University Basketball Commercial
Here is the latest commercial for Mt. Mercy University that we just completed. This spot has a lot of history behind it. David, the subject of the spot is the third person of his family to play basketball for Mt. Mercy University. His father and brother both played basketball for Mt. Mercy. And, his father met his wife (David’s mother) at Mt. Mercy while going to school. So you could say it’s truly a family affair, and that Mustang pride runs deep in his family.
Mt. Mercy University Commercial
We recently wrapped production on a brand new commercial for Mount Mercy University featuring NAIA National Champion in the Javelin throw, Jenna. You may have seen her picture before if you have been driving around Cedar Rapids as she is on a number of billboards.
We filmed the spot a few weeks ago, when it wasn’t all that cold yet, and Jenna was a great sport. We were assured of her accuracy so we naturally had her throw the Javelin at the camera for a couple of shots. 20 to 30 feet, was no problem. So, we upped the challenge for Jenna, and Kirk moved down the field a good 100 feet or so. then we had her throw it again, and again and again. Great accuracy! A fun afternoon working with a National Champ. And as usual, Mount Mercy were great hosts.
Hit the link below to see how the spot turned out.
Intern Isaac has been busy at Stanford
Well…..it’s pretty quite around the studio without our two interns that we had over the summer. However, we know that they are actively involved at their respective schools (Stanford University and the University of Iowa), so we forgive them for not checking in with us and keeping us updated on what they are doing.
But, we did get an email today from Isaac, our Intern from the past three years, who is now at Stanford. Seems the young lad has landed himself on the student Senate, as well as is writing for the Stanford Daily. To see his first article that got published in the Stanford Daily, click the link.
And, it has come to our attention that he is attending the Jay-Z / Kanye West concert as press for the Stanford Daily. Way to go Isaac! We are sure he will have a blast!
Kent Stock in Studio
We had the pleasure of having Kent Stock in Studio this week while we were working on a video for him promoting his speaking.
Kirk and Kent take a break for a picture - yeah, that's Sean Astin on the monitor
Kent Stock, for those of you who don’t know was the subject of the the film “The Final Season” staring Sean Astin and Powers Boothe. The movie is about the last season of baseball at storied Norway High School. Kent was the last baseball coach and took the team to being the the State Champions for the 20th and final time. The movie is based on Kent’s final season and his book that he wrote “Heading For Home”.
We had the luxury of working with several of the clips directly from the movie as well as some footage from some of his speaking engagements.
It was great having Kent in studio, and of course being the Cardinals fan that he is, it’s all about baseball right now. Go Cards!
The Timeless Art of Ethnography
Intern Isaac is all moved in at Stanford. After a lengthy cross-country road trip, Isaac has settled in to his dorm, made friends, and acclimated to the college experience. He’s just finished his third week of classes, which he has found to be difficult, but ultimately enjoyable.
He shot us an email the other day about one of his classes in particular – it’s a humanities course that focuses on the journeys and ideologies of four ancient and classical historians and philosophers. A major theme of the course is the ethnographic accounts of these historians. The focus on these ethnographies caught his eye, as we at MVP also have experience in the ethnographic field.
Ethnography is the detailed research and study of a particular culture or group of people. Isaac read Herodotus’ the Histories, which studies the interactions of the Ancient Greek and Persian empires, their geographical layouts, military conquests, and cultural interactions. Herodotus describes their cultures and customs in great depth, true to the ethnographic style.
2500 years later, these same ethnographic accounts are still in use. Here at MVP, we utilize ethnography to capture the behaviors, preferences, and buying habits of consumers. We capture, on film, the behind-the-scences actions of consumers for large advertising firms like BBDO in New York. Working with anthropologists, we use this video to supply useful information to these advertising agencies.
The medium has changed, as video has fulfilled the demands of a faster moving world, but the overall essences of the art is still the same. Centuries after Herodotus, the same ethnographic studies are in full gear at MVP.
Video, video everywhere…
At MVP, we have thousands of hours of recorded video. Not surprisingly, the question of the best way of storing this copious amount of video often comes up. It’s a tricky situation, one that can take a costly amount of hardware to store so much video if you don’t develop a smart process. Even more pressing is the possibility of a drive or other device crashing, erasing all of the data inside of it. This is why it is imperative to have a backup system, which stores everything a second time. After doing our research, we considered the best plan for efficiently and effectively storing the media that makes our business what it is. Much of what we learned could be valuable to the average consumer as well. So, let’s start with the basics, by reviewing a brief history of the evolution of file storage. We won’t go all the way back, how about just far enough for our eighteen-year-old intern, Isaac, to remember.
Remember: 1000 bytes = 1 kilobyte. 1000 kilobytes = 1 megabyte. 1000 megabytes = 1 gigabyte. 1000 gigabytes = 1 terabyte
1. The Floppy Disc: 1.44 MB. They’re extinct. If you’ve even seen a floppy in the last 8 years, you’re probably doing something wrong.
2. Zip Disc: 100 MB. A step up, but no giant leap by any means.
3. CD: 700 MB. In no way extinct, but very quickly being replaced by MP3′s . The world is online.
4. DVD: 4.7 GB. We use DVD’s frequently for sharing video, primarily with clients. For storage, however, it is largely impractical.
5. Flash Drive: 128 GB. Varying sizes, but 128 GB is fairly large. Terrific way for transferring media, not stellar for storing it.
6. External Hard drive: 2TB . Ahh, the external HD. Every computer has a hard drive inside of it for file storage. The external hard drive does exactly what it sounds like- it is another drive outside of the computer utilized for file storage. They come in varying sizes, but at MVP we primarily use 1 TB, 2 TB, and even 4 TB drives. To put the size of these drives in perspective, a 2 TB drive holds the equivalent of 1,422,222 floppy discs. By combining multiple drives, we have developed a system to edit, store, and backup the video very efficiently.
Our advice to consumers is to stay with this constantly changing evolution. We’re in the age of the terabyte, but fairly soon, we’ll undoubtedly be working with petabytes (1000 terabytes = 1 petabyte). If you’re a consumer, looking for easy file storage of documents, music, photos, and some video, our advice would be to purchase a 500 GB (half TB) external hard drive. They’re small, efficient, and can store a ton. Technology moves quickly, and is constantly becoming more efficient. Right now, however, a 500 GB drive puts you on pace with the technological evolution.
Nearing A Close
Intern: Serena
El final…o quizas, el principio. This probably doesn’t make a lot of sense if you don’t speak Spanish. It means,”The end, or perhaps, the beginning.”
Today I went on my last on-location shoot with Kirk to Coralville, Iowa for yet another project. Innovative Software Engineering. I was a PA on set, gaffing and transporting equipment when needed. Our main interviewee from Innovative Software Engineering was from the Canal Islands!
After filming testimonials everyone stepped outside dressed in their business attire. All the employees stood behind him as he cut a red ribbon with a golden pair of scissors to dedicate the site. Everyone cheered. The mayor gave a speech and others wished the new business well.
My time at MVP Video Production feels more like a beginning in a way. I have gained so much, in experience, knowledge, and confidence (and especially more confident as a cinema major! Talk about some major confidence) 
I have been gathering photos from different folders on computers of the stills I’ve taken for my final project, and placed my favorites into one folder. I also gathered all my vlogs and the MVP Video Production “Thank You” video we created after the Corridor Business Journal voted the company the best video production company in the corridor.
Tomorrow is my final day. The end is near, but so is a new beginning.
I can’t think of a better place to have interned this summer!
8/11/11
Governor Perry at D.C. Taylor Co.
Kirk filming Gov. Perry
Interview of Phil Suess, C.O.O. of D.C. Taylor Co.
Kirk and Craig wait for Gov. Perry to exit his campaign bus
Eric filming Gov. Perry touring the D.C. Taylor Co. building
In Your Dreams!
Intern: Serena
“In your dreams!” It’s usually the dramatic phrase often rehearsed on TV when a character tells another that their hopes are improbable or impossible. But, I would ask, what are your dreams made of?
From one intern to another, I encourage you to challenge yourself to step outside any box you might create for yourself. My internship at MVP Video Production was all I dreamed it would be. But, I had to dream it first, and share that dream with my sponsor, Jeff. Your internship doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s, because you are not like anyone else. Yes, you want to make sure you are getting professional experience that will help you in your field, but what does that look like? Synergize with your sponsor because they may be able to take your dream even farther than you thought possible.
All this to say, I’m totally psyched about a new film opportunity I have with MVP Video Production. And it all came about because I finally asked to be a part of it–thus staying with my internship for a couple more days! It’s the season of elections and straw poles, and I will have a part to play in documenting this season with Jeff, Kirk, Eric and Isaac.
It’s more than I dreamed of. So, I just got to thinking, maybe I was dreaming too small?
Kirk and Eric set up the teleprompter in the studio and I got to practice reading off one. It’s an interesting contraption that lets you read on a reflective surface that is placed in front of the camera, so you are looking straight into the camera, but the camera cannot see the words you’re reading!
I’m also excited that I have an opportunity to think outside the box with my final internship project. I’m compiling an interactive DVD with these blog posts, a slideshow, and the intern vlogs.
Sayonara!
On Location at DC Taylor for Governor Rick Perry
It’s election season! As straw polls are made, debates are contested, and candidates vying for votes in the first caucus state campaign across Iowa, MVP is on the front lines of the excitement. Today, MVP will be on location at D.C. Taylor Co. in Cedar Rapids.
The commercial and industrial roofing company is hosting Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, who only yesterday announced his candidacy in the 2012 presidential election. Perry will be delivering a speech to the employees and visitors of D.C. Taylor, and MVP will be filming every second of it.
The tight itinerary of campaigning politicians will provide an opportunity for MVP to utilize our versatility in the field. With limited time and high demand to post quickly, we will be taking still images of the event and posting them on location to allow advertising agency, Henry Russell Bruce, to upload images of the event to the Internet in real time. MVP will also be providing a quick turnaround in video production, by shooting in the morning, and having the footage edited and posted later that same day.
Today is guaranteed to be an interesting day with a first-hand glimpse into the early political events of the election. It will be busy and exciting, but that’s nothing new for MVP!
