SVG “The Office” Parody

The Skillman Video Group interns, Jason and Chloe, were in total control for their original video projects. This means that they had to come up with all parts, including the scripts, the shot lists, and the call sheets. This also means that they led the charge when it came to running the production schedule. In order to maximize efficiency, the schedule was designed to shoot scenes back to back that were convenient to shoot next to each other, rather than because they were in chronological order. Thanks to the meticulous planning and teamwork of the interns, they were able to wrap up all of filming, except one scene, for both videos in one day. Here’s an overview of the whole process:

The Objective

The intern videos were ultimately meant to serve as culmination projects for the summer internship. The videos required creativity and strong collaboration between the interns. Christina Skillman wanted the videos to be original ideas that would soft-sell the video production company, or at least sell it in a unique way. Due to Jason’s background and involvement with Boston comedy, the immediate strategies leaned toward humor.

Writing

Humor is a great tool for YouTube marketing and probing into the Boston YouTube scene in general, because it increases the likelihood of a video being shared. You may not want to publicly share a video about the immorality of commercial fishing, but you’d probably be tempted to share a video that made you smile. This strategy integrates well with multiple social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter (likes/retweets) so it only adds to the potential for social media marketing.

The Office parody video pulls inspiration from the actual TV show, and this all started during the writing stage. One of our favorite characters is Dwight, so we decided to make the arc of the video revolve around a character with a similar mantra and personality (Jason). The general plot of the video follows an overzealous corporate employee, Jason, who is determined to prove his Boston video production potential to his boss, Nicolette. Unfortunately, Jason’s efforts are futile, because Nicolette has already hired a professional Boston video company (surprise- it’s SVG). While Jason doesn’t end up pursuing his passion of the cinematic arts, Nicolette does manage to secure some reliable video marketing consultancy from Christina.

Shooting

It can be easy to get swept up in the workflow of a Boston video production company shoot, so Jason and Chloe had to meticulously plan the production schedule down to the wire. Every nut and bolt was accounted for, from equipment transition time to lunch, so that the most amount of scenes could be shot. Storyboarding also played an important role because it dictated the amount of camera angles and setups for each scene, which would significantly affect whether or not the team was on schedule. This happened during the shoot when Jason and Chloe were debating whether or not to set up for one extra angle in a scene, but Christina reminded them that they were about to fall behind schedule, so the interns decided to move onto the next scene.

Skillman Videography Group LLC specializes in video production Boston. Call us anytime at 1-800-784-0140.