Behind the Scenes: Producing Videos for the Wireless History Foundation Hall of Fame
One of the highlights of every year for me is producing the videos for the Wireless History Foundation Hall of Fame Awards Dinner. The project takes us to far-flung places to interview fascinating people, uncover their stories, and distill a lifetime of accomplishments into a compelling 4- to 5-minute video shown before a live audience.
It's a challenging project, but one that brings together many of the things we love about video production: storytelling, travel, interesting people, and the opportunity to create something that will have a life well beyond the day it is produced.
Telling the Stories Behind the Wireless Industry
The Wireless History Foundation was formed by wireless pioneers to preserve the lessons of the wireless industry for the benefit of future entrepreneurs and innovators. Each year, the Foundation hosts its Wireless Hall of Fame Awards Dinner, bringing together leaders, innovators, and supporters from across the industry to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to its development.
That's where we come in.
We work with the Foundation to produce videos that showcase the lives and accomplishments of each year's inductees. But these videos serve another purpose, too. They become part of the historical record, preserving firsthand accounts and perspectives for future generations researching the history of wireless.
From Interviews to Stories
Once the Foundation identifies the individuals to be honored, we begin scheduling interviews with each inductee. We also reach out to people who can add another dimension to their stories: co-founders, colleagues, mentors, business partners, and even competitors.
This year's production took us to Seattle, Washington, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as well as Washington, DC, and Cape Cod.
Every inductee had a fascinating background and a unique story to tell. And while our finished videos would only be four or five minutes long, we had a larger mission during the interviews.
We wanted to capture much more than a brief biography. We wanted to hear each person's perspective on their contributions, their recollections of the industry as it evolved, and their experiences with the significant events and innovations they helped shape.
Those longer interviews provide a valuable resource in their own right, beyond the shorter videos we ultimately produce.
Five Stories, Sixteen Interviews, and Six Weeks of Editing
Once the interviews were complete, the real editing work began.
This year, we produced five main videos, one for each Hall of Fame inductee, along with five shorter introductory videos designed to create transitions throughout the awards dinner.
In total, we incorporated interviews with 16 additional people into the five main videos. And each finished story had to fit into approximately four and a half minutes!
All of this editing took place over about six weeks. My colleague Rui Pinho and I were editing almost nonstop, cutting down interviews, searching for and incorporating archival footage and other B-roll, selecting music, and creating graphics to help bring the stories to life.
It's a good example of what goes into professional video production that audiences may never see. The finished product might be just a few minutes long, but getting those minutes right requires considerable planning, interviewing, editing, and attention to detail.
Bringing It All Together
The project culminated in the Wireless History Foundation Hall of Fame Awards Dinner in early October.
In addition to the five inductee videos, we were there to capture the event itself. We recorded a panel discussion on the future of wireless, conducted several additional interviews with important figures in the industry, and filmed the dinner and awards presentation.
And then, finally, we could relax. Until next year!
What This Means for Your Business
While this project is a particularly large undertaking, it's really an extension of the work we do all the time.
We record video, whether that's interviews, B-roll, or live events, and then turn that material into something compelling that accomplishes our clients' goals.
Maybe you've been thinking about creating a video to promote your business or organization. Perhaps you need professional interviews with key people in your industry, a recording or livestream of an important meeting or event, or a video that explains a complex idea or process in a way that's easy for your audience to understand.
Whatever the project, we can help you take it from an idea to a finished production.
Have a story to tell? Let's talk about how video can help you tell it.
Whether you need a single promotional video, a series of interview-based videos, or complete video production for an important event, we'd love to hear what you're working on.
Contact us today and let's start planning your next video project!
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