Result shows power of video on the web

WYNNEWOOD, Pa. – It’s hard enough to get teenage girls to talk to their mothers about… well… anything. Now try to convince them to talk to their moms about getting a mammogram.

That was the challenge presented to the Cadient Group and Out of the Blue Productions by AWARE, a non-profit foundation focused on teen health. AWARE received a grant from the Susan B. Komen foundation to create “Turn the Talk Pink,” a program that uses a website (www.mammogramtalk.com) to educate teenage girls about breast cancer, the importance of mammograms and to spread the word.

The program’s goal is to get girls to broach these subjects with their moms. The ultimate result: more women from underserved communities getting mammograms. Out of the Blue partnered with Cadient to do the video for the website.

“I’m the mother of a 15-year-old girl, and webcams play a big role in girls’ lives,” and how they communicate, says Vikki Smith, executive producer for Out of the Blue, a full-service video production company that specializes in producing TV commercials, medical videos and interactive experiences. “To capitalize on those trends, we recommended creating realistic-looking webcam conversations where girls made their pleas, looking right into the camera and talking directly to either their friends or their moms, about the importance of mammograms.”

Out of the Blue put out the casting net to find a diverse group of girls, some of whom were “real” and some actresses. All brought their own life experiences to the table, and Out of the Blue capitalized on that.

Having the teen girls deliver this message was a very strategic way to engage their mothers in this conversation. By educating them about the importance of mammograms and early detection, we gave them the tools. They realized themselves the importance of sharing this information with their moms. For them, webcam was the means to deliver this important information they now owned.

On the day of the shoot, a single house was used to create multiple looks of different girls’ homes. Bedrooms were darkened and wide angle lenses used to mimic a webcam conversation.

The casting sessions doubled as mini focus groups. Group discussions were held, during which breast cancer statistics were explained and the girls talked about their relationships with their moms and friends. Finally, in the casting sessions, the girls were asked to tell a real story or craft their own based on what they had learned. Often, these real-life stories were incorporated into scripts for the final taping. The girls were encouraged to improvise on the set and make their own comments. Some of the pieces were fun, video-diary pieces while others were more emotional and intimate.

“We let stream of consciousness rule the day to get thoughtful, believable reads from the girls.” says Ron Cohen, owner and director of Out of the Blue. “These pieces show just how many ways that video can be used on the web. This was a very cost-effective way to get an important message across.”

In the end, 10 girls were videotaped and a series of webcam episodes will help provide content for the mammogramtalk website in coming months. Initial tracking shows a strong uptick on the site and a lot of cross-promotional viewing through social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube and MySpace.

 

Wynnewood, PA - According to Nielson's A2/M2 Three Screen report, viewing of video on TV, internet and mobile devices-the three screens-continues to increase and has hit record levels. Their report states Americans who watch video on the Internet consume three hours of online video per month.

Embracing that trend, Out of the Blue Productions (www.outoftheblueproductions.com) continues to craft new patient testimonials as interactive online videos for leading Top Ten pharmaceutical websites. The company has just won a Telly award for their series of 'mini-documentaries' shot all around the US featuring Real People as brand ambassadors. And the website that the videos were featured on was listed in the L2 Digital IQ Index as “genius” percentile.

Out of the Blue was contracted by Cadient Group (www.cadient.com), a leading independent digital and technology-based solutions provider for the healthcare industry.

Helmed by Out of the Blue's Director Ron Cohen and managed by Executive Producer Vikki Smith, six new, 90 second patient video stories were produced for a top DTC website (http://www.purplepill.com/acid-reflux-patient-stories/index.aspx). These video stories appear on a new Web Site designed by Cadient Group. The patient videos provide remarkable, firsthand insights into symptoms, lifestyles and outcomes for a major brand.

Shot HI-DEF and displayed as 16x9 widescreen videos, Director Cohen and company recreated unique everyday lives in an unscripted way featuring engaging characters, enabling viewers to make a connection with the patients and the product.

Cadient Group helped develop the core creative strategy behind the patient testimonials, including hand-picking each patient story to fit national consumer behaviors.

National recruitment provided by Out of the Blue and pre-interviews of candidates raised the bar on the selection process and helped insure getting the best patients on camera.

On-Line video is the natural progression of engaging Consumers' Web experience -- coupled with an increase in broadband video streaming in the US. It makes sense ... people stay on websites longer when there is engaging On-Line video programming. (Tracking results showed a significant increase in consumers staying on the site to view the videos)

About Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue Productions is a creative video production company specializing in healthcare storytelling. The group produces award winning long-form documentaries, medical education, training, broadcast advertising and theatrical trade show/awards films.

Media Contacts:

Ron Cohen
Out of the Blue Productions
rcohen@outoftheblueproductions.com
610-645-5665

Out of the Blue crafts award-winning Trade Show spectacular

ATLANTA, GA -- In the world of pharmaceutical marketing, getting attention is difficult. Trade Shows are even harder, with doctors milling around various booths and seeing scores of videos. Getting your product seen, and remembered, is close to impossible.

However, Out of the Blue is never one to shy away from a challenge.

Principals Ron Cohen and Vikki Smith were approached by The Cadient Group to create a film to be shown to psychiatrists and doctors around the US; showcasing the positive effects of a drug which helps manage the manic episodes of Bipolar depression.

Cadient wanted a powerful film for their client to create buzz on the trade show floor.

No small order.

Teaming up with the Cadient Group, Ron and Vikki researched Bipolar mania; seeing its dramatic effects on the patient, their family and doctors.

They developed a plan of attack: Go big or go home.

The duo planned on delivering a “shock and awe” presentation, designed to leave Trade Show attendees breathless as they witnessed someone going through a manic episode; characterized by rapid speech, abundant energy, and reckless behavior.

Without holding back, they created a concept that would address everything realistically.
Opening on a man going through a full blown manic episode during a work presentation, to a tearful confrontation with his wife and son…the film is an immersive look at what living with Bipolar mania really means.

In an effort to make it an honest film about a man’s life with the disease, and how the character gets through it all, the product details were inserted during commercial breaks and not during the film itself.

Written by Edwin Endlich and shot on HI-Def 24p by cinematographer Kyle Rudolph,
“Ethan” is a painstakingly crafted program to deliver a most visually powerful and
engaging psychological patient presentation.

To physically create the manic effect, the Trade Show audience was surrounded by five huge 84” gas plasmas TV screens with an audio track that shook the private theatre with dedicated
5.1 Surround Sound.

Ron and Vikki’s work and ingenuity paid off.

The presentation was met with wide praise. Doctors left the screening room visibly moved, and when the reps approached them, the viewers were full of questions and comments about the film…which in the trade show business is “gold.”

The film has gone on to win several video festival awards.

Out of the Blue gets honorary Nursing degree

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- When you think of Nursing Instructional Videos, the words “Creative”, “Innovative” and “Entertaining” rarely come to mind.

However, Out of the Blue Productions and Shooters Post and Transfer did deliver
creativity innovation and entertainment for leading medical publisher Lippincott Wilkins
and Wilcott.

While most of the industry subscribes to the format of an intimidating Voice-Over, robotic nurse, and silent patients -- the Lippincott, Shooters, and Out of the Blue team knew there was a better way to get information across while also engaging an audience of nursing students.

The result was a groundbreaking 17-part series, managing to marry the standard educational video with the energy and realism of a Reality Show. The 30-minute programs, shot and edited by Shooters Post and Transfer, follow an ensemble of likable and believable nursing students as they deal with a variety of patients (a retired dancer, a grizzled mechanic, and even a woman afraid of long pauses) while they learn complicated and technical nursing skills, i.e, injections, hygiene, catheters.

“Although there has been many nursing instructional series produced, I don’t think anyone has ever attempted what we just did,” says Danielle Di Palma of Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Nursing.

“Nursing instructional videos are notoriously boring and unrealistic,” she said, “we wanted to create a series that nursing students could relate with - that mimic their lives while also maintaining the instructional integrity of the skills. And that is exactly what Ron and Shooters did for us.”

Choreographing the dance between quality instruction and engaging characters was
Director Ron Cohen. Aside from wrangling the cast made up of real nurses, actors and nurse/actors (yes, they do exist), he also worked closely with screenwriter Edwin Endlich to make sure that the conversations between nurses and patients felt real and natural.

“Keeping it interesting with realistic conversation but making sure the nursing skills were perfect was a challenge – and Ron pulled it off,” says account executive Carrie Spott from Shooters Post and Transfer, who provided all the crew, editing and graphics.

Vikki Smith, Executive Producer at Out of the Blue, and the coordinating team from Shooters brilliantly handled the ambitious logistics of five programs being produced at the same time.

Shot on location in area hospitals for more than 34 days, the Shooters / Out Of The Blue team pushed through blizzards, hospital closings, and temperamental prosthetics to create something new and exciting for the nursing student community.