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October 31st - "Restaurant: Nearly Impossible"

By Mr. Tyler Burroughs

It's not every day that a large network television show comes to shoot in the

San Francisco Bay Area

, let alone in one of our favorite seaside towns (although, strangely enough, the

feature film Mavericks

started shooting on the same day just down the street). But the

Food Network

hit

Restaurant: Impossible

was filming an episode in Santa Cruz, California to bring it's own brand of renovation to Hoffman's, a local restaurant and patisserie located in the heart of downtown. Three staff members here at CLAi were asked to join the production team during the three-day production. From my perspective as a relative newbie to the professional ranks, the chaos of shooting a reality TV show combined with eighteen hour days proved to be exhausting yet eye opening.

It's always interesting to observe how other companies operate on location - and how different it all is to the perfectly balanced picture painted at film school. So I was surprised at how unorganized everything was for such a major television show. At times the shoot was very productive with an unbelievable amount of progress being made at a wicked pace; but at other times it seemed as if everything had been put on hold with nothing to do but standby for hours at a time. With not one but five different producers on location you would think that progress would be silky smooth, but in actuality everyone on the film and the design crews were constantly receiving conflicting direction and barely knew which way was up and which was down.

Yet another shock came when I discovered that the show wasn't being shot in

high definition

. The camera package consisted of three standard definition

Panasonic AJ-SDX900

's, each tethered to an EasyRig. The SDX900 is known to be one of the highest quality SD cameras ever produced for broadcast work, however it was surprising to me that a network that embraced the leap to HD several years ago is still shooting new content in standard definition (apparently the next series will be in HD of some flavor).

Robert Irvine

, the shows host, is a well-respected chef and personality starring on multiple Food Network shows including Iron Chef, Restaurant: Impossible and its sister program Dinner: Impossible. He is known for his "slightly" coarse and aggressive persona, and likes to be seen yelling at the restaurant staff or design team as he flexes his muscles and demolishes a wall or two with a sledgehammer.

What viewers don't realize is that he isn't acting - if anyone messes up within a hundred yards of him Robert will go off on them without hesitation. Of course, the cameras aren't always there or rolling at the time, so he is happy to oblige the producers with a perfect re-take to repeat any hissy fit! And anyone who has seen the show knows that he is not the type of guy you want yelling at you - real or re-take. On the final day, with the project nearly three hours behind schedule and a real risk that this one would be the wrong sort of Project: Impossible, nobody on set was safe from Robert’s in-your-face personality.

The restaurant was due to re-open at 6:30pm, but as customers gathered to enter the restaurant, paint was still wet, the building was still empty, the producers still had a lengthy shot list to get through, and, of course, the owners hadn't even seen their new restaurant. Those final three hours were the most productive, and totally disorganized, portion of the entire shoot. With five producers and one (much louder) Robert Irvine all barking opposing orders at everyone, the entire location erupted in chaos. Robert began directing the production crew, and with so many producers all trying to do the same thing at the same time, but in different ways, nobody knew who to listen to. Finally, at 9pm the doors swung open revealing the restaurant to the hungry crowd - many of whom had been waiting patiently for five hours or more (others impatiently)... a great captive crowd opportunity missed for the local Santa Cruz street entertainers.

As the restaurant was revealed it became obvious that the whole team had followed a very generic "formula", probably due to the sheer number of these restaurant remodels done by the design team - from a distance. As a result the new look and menu lacks character and fails to fit into what is a very unique Santa Cruz style - the traditional home of hippies and surfing is not what you might call "everyday." After all of the blood, sweat, and tears the restaurant has now turned in the potentially more profitable direction of a bar and tapas restaurant. But will the hard work of everyone involved in the physical transformation, and the emotionally torn family that owns the property, change the financial prospects of the restaurant - or was the goal just to get another episode of the show in the can before the production team moved on to a new location?

As a local, I want nothing more than to see the restaurant succeed, but it's too soon to tell. We will have to cross our fingers, hope for the best and then wait and see. As a part of the production team I feel I have a far better insight into what goes into making a reality show - and, as I should probably have guessed, it’s much more about manufacturing conflict, stress and just a little chaos, without an awful lot of reality involved at all... now I think that I’m finally ready to take on Jersey Shore - where did I put that hazmat suit and oxygen mask?

July 13,2011 - "Three LinkedIn Essentials"

Business has always mostly been about who you know. Back in the day, your Rolodex would be full of old college friends and past associates that you considered your connections. But now your Rolodex is virtual and it's called LinkedIn. Professionals from all industries utilize LinkedIn to further themselves and their business. We at CLAi find our LinkedIn profiles pretty handy as well, yet we recognize that there is a certain way to use your profile to optimize the best results. Through our own experience and the points made in Compukol Connection's business blog, we've come up with three basic steps to getting the most from your LinkedIn profile: information, keywords, and references/recommendations.

Information: Filling out every field on your profile is essential to connecting to colleagues, clients, or suppliers. Many people opt to leave their bio or specialties section blank, figuring others won't actually take the time to read it. But by leaving out information, you're limiting your linking potential because people tend to connect based on professional commonalities. Each section should have detailed and well thought out answers, highlighting your career strengths and accomplishments. If you think of it as an online resume and beyond, you'll see why each field needs to shine. After you've finished your profile, complete with current contact information and preferably a picture, you may begin networking with others and building business connections.

Keywords: Including business relevant keywords in your profile can help drive more traffic to your profile over others. You can include many descriptive keywords in your headline, past/current occupation, bio, and specialties sections. For example, some Chris' keywords, representing CLAi, include "director", "editor", "video production", and "film." By including keywords in Chris' profile, we increase the chances of appearing in search engines that are related to these things. LinkedIn also allows you to view how many times your profile has shown up in search results and how many people have viewed it in the last 90 days. These features can help you determine how effective your keywords are.

References/Recommendations: The recommendations section of your LinkedIn profile is very important to colleagues or clients that may be viewing your profile. It does the job of reference checking for them so it's a nice addition to include in your profile. After all you can only provide so much about yourself before sounding ingenuous. Outside references are essential for peers and clients who are considering you or your business. Of course, you should only choose those who you have worked closely with and would provide an excellent and accurate recommendation. Offering to return the favor is a nice gesture too.

LinkedIn is the new essential for savvy professionals and those looking to connect and expand their business repertoire. Those who are just starting out on LinkedIn or perhaps not seeing the results they'd hoped for should consider looking at the three aspects of their profiles listed above. Most people only see the benefits of LinkedIn if they actively update their virtual resume and continue linking to other professionals. LinkedIn is a great way to remind others of your business and to promote what you have to offer. But it's important to master the basics of a LinkedIn profile if you want to build connections.

June 27,2011 - "Three Aspects of Digital Campaigning"

As shown by our sheer volume of blog posts recently, we at CLAi are trying to harness the possibilities of digital campaigning to expand our clientele and increase name familiarity. (Is it working?) Digital campaigning is a relatively new media collective that has shown remarkable success over the last several years. While many other businesses were struggling in 2010, US online advertising grew by 13.9%, bringing in an exceptional $25.8 billion, according to Fox Business . Yet even though digital campaigning is a thriving industry, there's a certain way to go about it in order to get the desired results. The two aims of digital advertising are to increase brand awareness and generate revenues for your business. In order to obtain both aims, there are three aspects of digital advertising that must be addressed: social media outreach, display advertising, and e-mail marketing. We too are trying to generate information, generate buzz, and, of course, generate revenue.

According to Fox News, there are two broad steps in getting started with digital campaigning. The first is getting your business out there by harnessing successful digital advertising campaigns and the next is putting it all together.

1. Starting successful digital advertising campaigns: Putting your name out there is the first step to generating a customer base, and social media websites are here to help. There are many to choose from - Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and LinkedIn are just a few of the many options. Promoting your business through social media sites is a good starting point to get your business noticed, spread your message to a broad audience, and bring potential customers to your website.

Social networking sites, specifically, are not only great for promotion, but also for display advertising. It's the same idea with a bus stop poster - the sheer volume of users on these sites makes them an important advertising tool that many businesses cannot pass up. For example, Facebook experiences an estimated 35% growth in ads per year. Even a small blurb in the corner of the screen can generate thousands of clicks per day - which is why most of these sites charge advertisers per click on their ad. Here you are integrating your company into an Internet site that people are already drawn to daily.

E-mail advertising is still an important tool, even though it is not as new as social networking and has left many people thinking of it as spam. But now e-mail technologies can provide a more a personal approach where you are able to contact your customer directly and invite them to your website, offer a promotion deal, coupon, explain new products, or simply remind them you exist. Rather than the customer seeking out your business, e-mail advertising offers the opposite approach to those who have already shown interest in your market.

2. Putting it all Together: The goals behind digital advertising are to spread the word about your business and, obviously, get more business. Actively using all three methods of digital campaigning - social media, display advertising, and e-mail marketing - is the most effective way to obtain both of your goals.

Digital campaigning can generate a great response for your business but it must be done in an intelligent and creative way. Putting all your eggs in the "social media basket," "display advertising basket" or "e-mail marketing basket" most likely won't give you the traffic you could get by using all three tactics. This new wave of digital media convergence is focused on generating a real response by getting your business noticed by as many people as possible and generating revenues. So if you have been inundated by CLAi updates, then you have noticed our efforts - if you haven't, we aren't as successful as we'd hoped. Check us out on Linkedin and Facebook.

June 13, 2011 - "The Benefits of Audio Podcasts"

Many businesses are now utilizing the tool of audio podcasts to spread the message about their ideas and products. For those of you who are unfamiliar with podcasts, they are a series of digital media files that usually have a theme and are often released episodically then downloaded through the Internet. Businesses can use podcasts to show customers newly formulated ideas and innovations or interviews with clients and the like. But in the age of television, what good is audio without video? Most people tire of listening to something well before they tire of watching it. By adding video assets to your company's podcast you can create a video blog or a web show starring your company. When done correctly, this clever form of advertising and marketing helps boost views and add a new dimension to your company's message.

Inc. Magazine explains that there are 4 "basic ingredients" that go into creating a video podcast: equipment, a theme, hosting, and marketing.

While it is possible to use a basic webcam to produce video podcasts, it's not recommended. If your video podcast doesn't have a professional feel then your company won't either. After all, filming yourself sitting in front of a computer is hardly more interesting then audio alone, in fact it can actually have negative results. At least with an audio podcast the viewer can imagine a professional scene. Hiring a professional video production company makes video podcasting worth while. Video podcasts are usually between 20-40 minutes so the help of professionals can draw potential customers into your business, teaching them what you do and why, and advertising your product or service.

The theme of your video podcasts should be consistent in order to maintain viewership. INC also recommends sticking to a constant broadcast schedule, whether it is daily, weekly, or monthly does not matter so long as it's consistent. Also it's wise to make your video podcast personal - immersing your viewers in all aspects of your company shares information and details that a 30 second advertisement could not. This allows your client to learn to trust your business and the services you offer.

You can upload your video podcast on a variety of websites, many of which are newly created in response to the wave of video advertising and marketing that is currently taking place. Some websites are free to upload on and others require payment. YouTube, iTunes, and blip.tv are three popular websites where video podcasts are uploaded, viewed, and shared every day. And if your podcast has real commercial value, you can also charge for access, live and/or recorded. In addition to uploading on one of these sites, you can promote your video podcast through your company's website, related forums, or even something as simple as including a tagline in your email signature.

Video podcasts are on the rise and many companies, big and small, are employing this advertising mechanism and seeing good results. Video podcasts offer your potential customers the information that 30 second advertisements cannot. A consistent theme, frequented host website, effective promotion, and professional production and high quality (such as that offered here at CLAi are the 4 basic ingredients to creating the perfect video podcast.

May 24, 2011 - "Deadly Sins of Sales Pitching"

A sales pitch is a delicate and artful process. This is the moment you've been working towards, the moment when your product or idea finally gets its big break. That's why it's so important to be ready. In order to be successful, Inc. Magazine suggests avoiding the 7 deadly sins of sales pitching (learnt by us at CLAi the hard way...).

1. You Didn't Build Suspense - If you give away your idea in the first 30 seconds, what's left to listen to? Keep it interesting by slowly letting out your concept. Build suspense throughout your pitch and have a strong ending that clarifies your main points.

2. You're Too Available - By giving the impression that you're widely available, you give the impression that you're unimportant. If you set up a time constraint in the beginning of your concept pitch (i.e. state that you'd really like to explain your concept and then have a brief chat because you must be out by 2 pm), you will make more of an impression that someone who sticks around until the end of the day. You don't want to be perceived as someone who is too available and wastes time.

3. You Scare People - Stick to the emotional value of a concept pitch, don't bog down your listeners with dry facts. Also stay away from abstract statements, these tend to lower your credibility; INC Magazine says "if your pitch is abstract and lacks visual cues, it could be interpreted as a threat." Remain positive and warm; if people are receptive to you they are more likely to be receptive to your idea.

4. You BS the Expert - Don't tell little white lies during a concept pitch, especially ones that you could get caught in right then and there. For example, if a potential investor asks how much your projected costs are, don't omit expenses that you think he might not find out about. This behavior is likely to get you called out in front of everyone and greatly lowers your credibility.

5. You're Too Nice - Oftentimes when performing a sales pitch, it's tempting to be too nice. While remaining friendly is a must, you want to maintain the upper hand. Maintain control of the pitch by refusing to offer up too much information. People want the information you hold without having to pay for it. Don't offer up your expertise without making sure that they uphold their end of the bargain and embrace your concept.

6. You Quote Dead People - It's tempting to rely on the wise words of past leaders, artists, or personal heroes. However resist this temptation, as it makes you appear juvenile and desperate for time filler. Search within for the inspirational quotes, don't turn to others.

7. You're Boring - Your concept is interesting and innovative, don't make it seem boring by representing it in a boring way. Be the idea and story that everyone wants to hear about. If you come in with charts, graphs, and boring or unrelated details, you're idea gets diminished to the background. Don't get distracted from your product.

We would like to add #8 to INC.'s list….

8. Always Be Prepared - You never know when the guy falling off his bar stool might just be THE investor. Have your 30 second, 3 minute, and complete pitch ready, and include business cards and a website. But please, please, please don't sit next to any of us while you try them all out!

May 24, 2011 - "SalesSpider: The Business Network"

Browsing through Inc. Magazine's website, we stumbled upon an article about the new sector of online business networking. We found it interesting and plan on researching this further. But for now we thought we'd pass on the basic idea of websites like SalesSpider with our readers.

The new and trendy way to communicate nowadays is through social networking mediums, such as Facebook or LinkedIn. Forget face to face interaction, while tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language cannot be portrayed through the simple typing of keys, social networking websites make connecting immediate.

Now there's a website to help start-ups and small businesses spread their message through social media. It's called SalesSpider and it gives businesses the opportunity to share their goals and needs and find customers or connect with other businesses. You can sign up as an individual or a business to promote your business yourself or make sales leads for free.

SalesSpider recognizes that it's important for small businesses to have a steady cash flow, especially in the first couple years, because that's what so often makes or breaks their success. Small businesses often find it difficult to reach buyers in the beginning stages and websites like SalesSpider are now addressing this issue.

There are over 800,000 people (and 200,000 more joining each month) networking on SalesSpider, each taking advantage of its services in different ways. One can browse through other individual business members, view sales leads by industry, look through classifieds, utilize business tools, tips, and resources, post a resume, advertise, or create a forum for their business. Individual and company needs are categorized and contain keywords in order to make connections swift and efficient. CEO of SalesSpider, Russell Rothstein says of SalesSpider, "people will always be doing self promotion - but you're getting information for local opportunities and specifically for you. This isn't just about business networking - it's about sales."

Furthermore, SalesSpider is a great tool for a business to maintain an online presence. The realm of the Internet is very important for all businesses to move into, and online promotion can be the key to generating new customers and buyers. It's no longer enough to advertise through print or even television. Businesses and individuals are turning to the convenience and organization of the Internet to find innovative new businesses. It can be a daunting task to move promote your business online - many don't know where or how to begin approaching the abyss of online advertising. But websites like SalesSpider make spreading your business to the Internet easy.

Of course, CLAi aren't marketing or Internet sales gurus, we just make amazing film and video productions, along with advertising spots, to help your company stand out from the crowd - whatever the media!

May 17, 2011 - "From Broadband to Narrowband"

There's a revolution going on in marketing and advertising and it's called the Internet. The difference between advertising on television versus the Internet is that TV advertising is geared towards a wide audience because you never know whether those who would buy your product or service will happen to be watching. The audience could be the perfect person to buy your product or someone who cares nothing of your company. Television advertising is like a shot in the dark. However, now that internet advertising is gaining ground, the rules have changed. Websites track their customer base and have a very specific profile of who is on their site and what they're looking for. For example, a cat food company advertising on TV will not know for certain if their audience has a cat or not. But online this company will know if people who search for and buy cat food are viewing the website they advertise on. For every dollar you spend advertising online, the chances of hitting your desired customers are much greater.

Inc. Magazine shares 4 tips for addressing your narrow-cast audience:

1. Stay Focused - One of the advantages of online advertising is that you have the ability to know precisely who you are speaking to. So it's wise to take advantage of that knowledge and tell your target audience what they want to hear. Focus on standing out to your narrow audience because if you're not differentiating yourself in the marketplace, what happens is the consumer looks at price as being the motivator.

2. Show Your Expertise - Show your credibility through your advertising techniques. Try not to make broad statements, be specific about your product and show that you're an expert. If you convince your audience that you're an expert, they won't turn to price as the main motivator. People want the best in the business - your job is to show them what they want to see. Sharing "tips, industry information, or niche data" will enhance the public's opinion of your business and product.

3. Do Your Research - Now that your ideal target audience has been narrowed down, you can insert marketing and advertising strategies where it really makes sense. Advertising on websites that have similar interests to yours or already know about your business is a good start. This brings potential customers to your company's website that might not have been able to find it otherwise. This is crucial, because once you find your target you'll want to alter your advertising efforts to go after the right places and media to generate new business.

4. Clarify your Mission - Even seemingly simple tweaks to your business strategy can have big pay offs. Inc. Magazine recommends including the purpose of your business in the name. This offers customers with a little information about your product from the beginning. Small things like this can help you stand out in the market. Make your business mission as clear as possible; people don't like mystery when they're picking a product. Use advertising and marketing techniques to share what's special about your business and stick to your niche. As Inc. shares, "it's not just an advertisement that you do. It actually has to become part of everything you do."

Going from broadband (television) to narrowband (internet) has great advantages but businesses still need to remain focused on their target market. It's truly a different way of communicating because businesses must pick a specific audience and sell, sell, sell to their potential customers. The fact that the internet has increased the transparency of who will see your advertising means that businesses must be more innovative than ever before.

Marketing and advertising have moved from broad overviews of information that target the general public to narrow and detailed segments. Now is the time for your company to utilize this change and implement tools that speak to YOUR audience. And CLAi is here to help you do that.

May 11, 2011 - "Reaching New Audiences Through YouTube"

Advertising and marketing

is a dynamic and ever-changing industry that strives to include new interesting and creative approaches to reaching wider audiences. Although video marketing has been around for some time, sites like

YouTube

and Sclipo are helping video marketing reach new customers. Inc. Magazine explains that "uploading video to websites such as YouTube can be a surprisingly powerful tool for gaining visibility in search engines."

No one expected that when YouTube surfaced in 2005 it would take off the way it has. YouTube is a forum for people to visually share ideas, creativity, and new products through video. It has revolutionized the video marketing industry, as it's provided a free outlet to reach people from all ages, backgrounds, and interests. Inc. Magazine notes "businesses who've tried it report this strategy [of posting online videos] offers huge advantages over simply hosting video within their own website."

Inc. shares 4 helpful tips for businesses that hope to reach wider audiences through video media such as YouTube.

1. Provide quality. Nowadays it seems everyone exists in a realm of information overload and advertisements are so common that we hardly notice them. Make your video original and creative. Spark people's attention; don't simply chant "buy my product." Take advantage of the imagination that can explored through video, capture ideas that a still picture or written advertisement could not.

2. Do not write off the text. Most companies figure the video will speak for itself and don't put much thought or effort into the accompanying text. However this is vital for getting views and "likes" because detailed text descriptions help your video pop up in appropriate search engines - in fact, without any text, a video is not seen at all by any search engine.

3. Promote your video. This seems obvious but it's very important in gaining traffic to your video and therefore your product or company's website. Link your YouTube video to any blogs, social media, or other website because gaining views helps optimize your chances of showing up in search engines. Also embedding a link to the matching video on your product's website can be helpful in driving people to your website.

4. Track your results. This can be done by close monitoring of views and "likes." An easy approach is to add a query string to the URL link from the video to your product's website. This shows the traffic to your video.

Today more and more people are utilizing the internet for marketing and business purposes. While television used to be the most effective means of reaching vast audiences, the internet is now taking its place. As television-based marketing and advertising drops, the public's expectation of internet video is increasing dramatically, especially over the last couple of years. Now customers expect to see the same creativity and high quality in an internet video as they would a television commercial. Gone are the days when the kid in the mailroom could shoot a video on his home camera! You really NEED that quality to remain unique and competitive (okay, yes, like the quality offered here at CLAi. along with our understanding of producing for multiple media).

March 3rd, 2011 - "Balancing a Ballet"

Well, friends and readers (and friends who read), we had a rather busy week last week. At 5pm on the Friday before President's Day we received a call requesting us to organize a four day shoot requiring five RED M-X's scheduled for the coming Wednesday. The job: filming Ballet San Jose's production of Swan Lake. Knowing we would lose the following Monday to the celebration of those venerable Commanders in Chief both past and present, our time frame looked quite narrow. With but a weekend and one weekday to amass an able crew and a sufficient slew of equipment, we'd be shaming Ol' Honest Abe if we said we weren't a bit panicked.

Fortunately for us, past years saw the arrangement of a Red Alliance, a veritable coalition of Bay Area Red Camera owners (check out The-RED-Alliance.com for more information!). It has served us well in the past and this occasion was no exception. Already enlisted by default was our own Red camera system and DIT, David Ives, as well as Chris Layhe as the master camera operator. Stephen Lovett of Uroboros Films and an Alliance co-founder blew in from Sunnyvale fully equipped. Arthur Rosato, another co-founder, joined up to provide his experience and familiarity with the venue, ensuring an accommodating work-space. We enlisted as shooters Art Adams and Caroline Harrison, the latter of which brought along her personal RED. To complete the five, we picked up RED M-X's provided by Purebred Productions and Pedersen Media Group, our thanks to them for accommodating us on such short notice.

As much as this may seem like a giant pat on our own backs, it isn't. Instead it is a written appreciation meant to reflect on how quickly and efficiently a complicated, data and time intensive production was pieced together. Over the course of four nights we shot twenty different angles of a performance and logged over 60 hours of footage. Our workflow was indeed augmented to support the huge amount of data to be copied and backed-up each night. We had four units running all four nights and into each next day in order to do so.

The shoot's timeline, variety and amount of equipment, and able camera people allowed us to capture both normal and overcranked footage from numerous vantage points, lensed from 18mm to 300mm. We were able to achieve the highest in quality of content and came away with enough coverage to create what we are sure will be an all-encompassing viewing experience and a truly professional program.

The whole experience has left us confident in the systems we have created and of what is achievable with just one call, or several in this case. A truly great crew came together in a matter of three days and enough equipment came with them to allow for the successful video documentation of an event. In the end, we at CLAi feel very invigorated and thankful to know who we know, to have gotten the chance to work with them, and to have gained an even more detailed vision of what is possible with the RED Alliance.

January 26, 2011 - "Back To Your Future"

You commission an amazing illustration of your logo with the new HQ building artfully framed in the background, as a four and a half foot by two and a half foot graphics board. You display it in your lobby, take it to presentations, feature it at tradeshows and conventions and even reveal it in the foyer of the art exhibit you are sponsoring. It captures people's attention and draws admiring comments everywhere it is seen.

Now imagine the same image on an ultra-high definition video monitor at all of these places at once, but the amazing graphic dissolves into fabulous HD footage of your new building; clients using your products; the manufacturing plant at super high speed to show a full day's progress on a project in just 15 seconds; shots of your green technologies being installed supporting an interview with the new VP of Environmental Impact... shown on that 60 inch display in the gallery foyer, or a huge video screen built from a group of sixteen smaller monitors as the centerpiece of your tradeshow booth.

At it's most basic this is "digital signage" technology matched to totally appropriate program production. The limitation of this technology has always been the quality of the video image - because even the best quality 1080p footage quickly becomes unviewable when the television screen image is scaled up.

But the whole basis of that equation changed radically with the emergence of two technologies - the RED camera system and 4k video monitors that now go up to 152 inch screens and even add 3D to the mix.

Just to be 100% clear, CLAi do not sell monitors or digital signage... but we most certainly do shoot and edit our productions using the RED 4.5k camera and editing technology - creating programs packed with stunning ultra-sharp images that are physically five times larger than the best 1080p footage, and can be shot in 2D or in 3D with a few more bells and whistles. These incredibly high quality images look amazing even on an HD video screen, but on a 4k video monitor they can be five times bigger than 1080p and still look to be the same quality from the same viewing distance.

Of course, just buying or renting a bunch of 4k ultra high definition screens is pretty pointless if all you are going to show on it is stock footage. That's why bringing in a content production company like CLAi from day one is a really good idea. We work out how to best turn the ideas you want to communicate into a cohesive and dynamic program specifically designed for this medium. Then bring in a signage or staging company to pull the technical pieces together, guaranteeing that you are investing in a spectacular experience that actually does tell your story while stopping an audience in their tracks. The possibilities are almost endless if you are maximizing the raw quality of 4k program production that make all this possible!

Today, a new breed of "interactive video productions" is coming from the use of multiple large video screens, programs with very high creative values, and the experience that only a few companies like CLAi have… of course, add the impact RED 4k video to that mix, along with our expertise with this new technology - well, perhaps that adds yet another dimension?

January 11, 2011 - "New Year, New Tips"

With the new year here, I'm sure everyone has made (and possibly already broken) their new year's resolutions... and at CLAi we are no exception! We figured we'd share our little list with you in the hopes that you may get something out of it (okay, so maybe there are a few tips to a smooth production mixed in along the way!).

4. "Keep better control of the finances."
Nobody likes to settle up on the bill- it's just a fact of life. Whether it's paying the check at a restaurant, paying your credit card bill, or paying your kid's allowance, everyone thinks twice when reaching for the wallet, especially these days. Well, paying your production company is pretty much the same thing. The best plan is to decide on a budget and stick to it. If you say how much you are comfortable spending, any (reasonable) production company should be able to give you a few great options that they can do for you in that ballpark. It's a lot easier than guessing games!

3. "Appreciate the simple things in life."
Wouldn't it be easy to describe a project to one person and just have it happen? If a company is capable of handling multiple steps in the production process, it can save time and resources to let them... less explaining, less hassle, less headaches. Its like a game of telephone - the message can start out simple at one end and end up jibberish by the fourth person who hears it.

2. "Plan for the future."
Always, always, ALWAYS, think about how and where the production will be seen, then work backwards. From determining what format the project needs to end up in you can make so many other decisions, like what system you should use as an editing platform, what to shoot it on, who to use as your crew… the list goes on and on.

1. "Try and lose weight."
Okay, I may be kidding about this one, because feeding your crew is very important to a smooth production, otherwise they tend to be a bit mutinous. Remember, a happy crew means a happy you. Enough said.

January 1, 2011 - "Welcome To Our Blogging World"

Hi, my name is Chris Layhe, and I'm the CL part of CLAi - an idea that started back in London, England when I set up the company to make film and video programs way back in 1981... after finally escaping three universities and two employers to get a chance to go it alone. The 30 years of CLAi have been a thrilling adventure ride and education that never ceases for myself and those I have been lucky enough to have around me. The last five years here in San Francisco have been some of the most rewarding, with the challenges of new projects, new skills and new technologies to meet, combined with ways of working which would have seemed unimaginable back then.

We hope you are enjoying your visit to this reinvention of CLAi's web site, and finding all the information that you require (and please do drop me a note at chris [at] CLAi [dot] tv if there is anything that we should add!). I decided (along with m y two associates Corey Sullivan and David Ives) to add a blog page to the design as a way of bringing a few opinions, an idea or two, and a snippet of information that we think might just be useful to our visitors… and decided to call it "Leftovers" because we thought it would be a good opportunity to post all of those little nuggets that we always say we should tell people but never quite have the space or the forum to get out there.

I'd like to hit with you with the first Leftover piece to get the ball rolling, and hopefully we'll keep it rolling with another couple every weeks or so…one little idea at a time.

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