Audio visual is your friend

PR people just don’t do techy. And it’s wrong. Like most of my counterparts in agencies and in house teams across this part of Northern Europe, we were taught to write press releases. And release them we did. In my case 15 years passed and I was still giving birth to those beauties of modern prose. I spoke in the language of journalism and shared in the pride when article appeared. But ask me to shoot a film and I was on the phone to my good friend and colleague, Phil Hirst (left in pic)

But it’s become all the more essential why PR professionals at all levels  grasp the notion that news doesn’t just have to be generated, the message can be controlled from start to finish. The concept is nothing new of course. Since World War One company newsletters  have almost become a staple for employers. Times they are a changin’.

Since Web 2.0 , a new opportunity has opened along with mega bandwidths and broadband to shout out the message aurally and visually. My own introduction to the world of cameras was via ITV when I was fortunate to be involved, during my freelance years, with Lost Treasures, an archaeology programme where ordinary people make extraordinary discoveries.

At first Phil Hirst who produced the programme employed me in a familiar role as PR and publicity. The campaign we produced help us to secure an average of 14% above the norm for viewing at Sunday tea time. But by series three I had become more involved in the process of planning shoots as Assistant Producer. Vince Martin (above middle) showed me his broadcast standard camera with the £6k lens. And yes seeing your name on the programme credits is a huge buzz. Plus I had the opportunity to return to castles and stately homes again.

This coincided with a request on New Year 2008 from the then Director of Wirral TV, Mike Power to provide media training to unemployed people.  My learning curve was steep. Another of the Lost Treasures team, cameraman Tom Holden was quickly drafted in response to be SOS signals. It was then that the penny finally dropped: about which plug goes into where and does what.

For all these years, I had the creative verve to think about photographic angles but not the confidence to do it myself. I will be blogging on my discoveries in future posts but suffice to say I was elated and also sad that this wonderful world had not been discovered earlier.

Rock star Glenn Hughes had been a long standing client of mine. We interviewed him in Budapest as a preview to his forthcoming tour of the UK and placed the result on You Tube and also on his own website. The Digital Editor at Liverpool.com also took a one minute version as a “freebie.” Priceless  in terms of publicity. I was on a roll.

When the LJMU job came up, I thought it would a great idea to introduce this kind of thing as part of the curriculum. And so Media Relations 2 was born. But it’s not just me bleating on about why PR pros should carry their own gear around. Gary Jenkins of Merseytravel, who is on our Employer Forum, carries a Flip around with him to capture footage from launch events .

This is worth its weight in gold for a number of reasons. Journalists sometimes don’t turn up. When they do, they won’t release the footage unless you buy them a pint and ask nicely. Whilst the footage might not be as professionally shot as the TV stuff, it does provide a viable record which, if it’s good enough, can be placed on the website. With the direct USB connection, you can have your video on Youtube within minutes of filming.

Sounds ideal. But the disadvantage is that the production values aren’t going to be as high without a decent soundtrack. That rich warm ambience you hear on the Glenn Hughes interview on this site can only be achieved using a superior camera with a plug in for an external mike. This is where it gets a bit techy, as it introduces the vastly underrated aspect of sound becomes a science in itself. Stay with me though. Don’t switch off like I did all those years ago.

Basically a grand would be enough for a basic portable kit which consists of an HD camera like Canon’s excellent HV30 or 40 retailing at around £600. A shotgun mike with fluff would set you back at least another £250 and a “beach box” which is basically a mini mixer which screws into the bottom of your camera is about £150. This is what Tom and I took on Ryanair on our mini tour following Glenn around Eastern Europe. No we didn’t have to pay the excess baggage costs. The interview was lit with natural light through the curtains.

The beauty of separated sound is that you can extract the audio track and use it for the website and convert it to a radio news release. Because you are using broadcast level sound values, most radio producers would accept a recording which was free from any glitches. It works the other way round too. I help produce a rock radio programme on 7 Waves on Sunday evenings. As well as the audio, we can produce a film of the interview which means we can extend the life of the piece and distribute to a range of media.

Lighting is important. We got away with it in Budapest basically because the sun was kind to us and illuminating the hotel room, but ideally if you are thinking of investing in such matters, a set of four read heads and a green screen would mean that you have yourself a mini studio which could be set up within minutes. More of that on future posts.

So, to quote Shakespeare “be not afeard, the isle is full of noises that give delight and hurt not.” Audio visual is your friend in these days when newspapers are training their staff to use cameras and sound equipment while laying off those who don’t want to move with the digital age. PR tends to mirror much of the journalism profession. Forewarned is forearmed.