A Boston Mash-up in Cheltenham
We took our little Boston Terrier 'Bertie' to meet up with his relatives and a few new friends on Sunday at Hatherley Park in Cheltenham.
It was a great occasion and we were very lucky that the weather held as the previous few days had been extremely wet.
Bertie met up with three of his siblings: Madge, Minnie and Buzz along with his half sister Peggy and half Brother Hugo. His mother Betty was also there looking very healthy after giving birth to 9 wonderful little puppies only four months ago. We also met up with some other Boston Terriers: Lacey, Butler and Buggy (I hope I got all the names right?!).
Below you will find a fair sized selection of images from the day - apologies if the balance is tipped in Bertie's favour...
Click on any of the thumbnails to view a full screen image. I'm hoping that Julie will share this post with the non dog attendees and if there are any images that you would like then drop me an email with the image number (4 digit number located on the bottom left on the full screen versions) and I'll send them on to you.
It was great to see how the dogs interacted with each other and to see how individual they all are while still retaining certain Boston traits. It was also good to see a couple of full sized males so we can gauge how big Bertie may get.
There was talk of another meet before christmas - good job Bertie already has a Christmas Jumper - which would be great fun.
Using Effective Video Communication
Video can be a great presentation tool for engaging your audience.
Not everybody can deliver a slick presentation like Steve Jobs but we can help ourselves by ensuring that the materials we present are effective and engaging.
That means our powerpoint or keynote presentations should be concise and meaningful and not overloaded with content. We want to inspire our audience and not leave them cold and uninterested. Leave behinds should be carefully planned and provide additional content as well as the key points in summary.
I have been working with a number of companies this year to help them present themselves more effectively and to provide their presenters with the confidence that their messages will be delivered in an engaging manner.
This post is all about using video within presentations. My next post will cover how to create engaging powerpoint/keynote presentations and leave behinds as well as top tips for presenters.
The video below was created for Sasse Transport Services and was designed to be an attention grabber at the start of new business meetings. It promotes the professionalism of the business and provides the viewer with some key information on Sasse's UK and European operations. As a relatively young company in the UK Sasse required a video that would show potential clients that they were more than competent to deliver successful bus cleaning services.
The video uses a mixture of time-lapse photography mixed with still photography and animation.
Following on from the success of the 'promotional video' Sasse were involved in a number of tender processes and I worked with them to develop a complete video presentation. This was to ensure that they could deliver a full and comprehensive presentation in under 30 minutes. It also meant that clients would sit back and take in all the key information and ask questions at the end, which removed the potential for clients to derail the presentation team with 'left field' questions.
The video was set so that we could easily and quickly change certain video and audio segments to tailor the video to specific clients.
I also compiled a summary video for Not Just Cleaning to play at the end of their presentation to Green Park. Through the use of uplifting music and lighthearted animation I created a warm and inspiring video to provide NJC's client with a positive feeling of what it would be like to work together. The video (as well as the content within the main presentation) was a success and enabled NJC and Green Park to forge a working relationship.
Video can also be a great marketing tool. The video below was created for WasteMatters to showcase the product launch of their Waste Monitor at the NEC in Birmingham. The video was played on a loop on their stand and helped in attracting visitors to the stand.
After the event I copied the video onto usb devices which were sent out as part of a direct marketing campaign. You can see the A2 poster/mailer by clicking this link.
I'm currently working on two videos to be used as part of an employee engagement programme. I'll post them once they're out of the editing suite.
Back in the UK...
I'm back in the UK after a year out in Connemara. It was a great time and it really helped me to develop my photography skills.
I've not been idle since returning, having already worked on two photographic commissions: one for City & Guilds and the other for Sasse UK.
City & Guilds
This was a great opportunity to provide City & Guilds with some key images for their new brochure which will showcase the great services they provide.
The shoot took place at Admiral's (the insurance group) training academy in Cardiff.
I spent the morning photographing a training session conducted by David Steer to students on a graduate training programme. Some of the key images are below.
Sasse UK
I picked up a commission from Jim King at Sasse whilst still in Ireland but had to wait until my return to commence the project. Jim and I had worked together previously while I was at Forge and he was at Advance. I worked on a rebrand for Advance and then rolled it out across their marketing, PR, sales and advertising materials.
Sasse are part of a large German based Facilities Management company and are looking to grow their UK business. Key to this is the development of effective marketing and sales materials. First step was to create a photo library to showcase the range of services they provide.
The shoots took place across the country from early morning shoots at Bristol Airport to night time shoots in various London Bus Depots. A small selection of those images can be seen below.
Sasse then asked me to produce a promotional video for them to showcase their bus cleaning operation. I used a mixture of still and time-lapse photography along with some key stats to bring the story to life. Have a look at the video below and let me know what you think.