Total Media Group San Francisco Video Production

Happy Holidays

/ December 20th, 2009

We’re in full throttle during this holiday season at Total Media Group, working with our clients to produce their video’s and events to launch the new year.

We’ve been fortunate to be part of some fantastic and interesting projects over the last year, from producing awesome Live Events, compelling Video for internal communications, marketing and SEO, developing new iPhone Applications and custom Video Games for trade shows.

We couldn’t do it without your continued friendship and support.

Have a wonderful and safe Holiday Season!

The Total Media Group Team

Happy Thanksgiving!

/ November 22nd, 2009

For those that can’t get enough of the YouTube playback on our homepage, please feel free to click on, and forward the link below!
Our creative director, Toshi Onuki designed the HTML layout - and if you look close, you can see glimpses of each character.

We had a fun time putting this together, and everyone in the facility had a hand in a part of the project. We hope you enjoy it!

http://totalmediagroup.com/happyholidays/

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing 2009

Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology / October 26th, 2009

- Megan McKenna

The Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing is by far the most jaw dropping experience I get to have at work, and this year was no exception. With record breaking attendance levels of 1600 women – and a few men – from all over the world, we could feel the excitement just by walking through the halls (which was slow going with that many people!).

The GHC is a conference for women in computing of all stages in their career and education, to meet and network, learn, revitalize, and share stories. I went out to interview as many women as possible throughout the event on a variety of topics for the folks at the Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology to use in their video marketing efforts. I was honored to interview college students about why they came to the event, tenured teachers on the importance of retaining and attracting women in technical fields, CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies that support women in technology, and the research director from ABI on what their research means in working towards change.

I attended last year and in addition to asking questions of the attendees, Jerri Barrett, VP of Marketing at ABI asked me to help get every person we speak to say the phrase “I am a Technical Woman!”. The goal was to create a video that would help the stereotype of women in technical fields.

We put the video together, and it was unveiled before the keynote on the 2^nd day of the GHC 2009. I was floored at the response. There were cheers in the audience, and my crew and I were approached by many people wanting to be part of the video in the future. Moreover, the video quickly went viral, thanks to Jerri’s introduction of the video. She asked the attendees to “link to the video, Twitter it, post it on Facebook, and help it go viral”. They complied. Every hour more and more views were logged on YouTube. The excitement and enthusiasm surrounding this two-and-a-half minute video was amazing.

You can view the video, linked to the ABI YouTube site here, or go to the Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology website at www.anitaborg.org.

Working with Analog and Digital Sources

/ August 17th, 2009

- Adam Sturgeon

One challenge that we always encounter is the crossover between the newer digital technology and the older but still popular analog technology.
We take pride in our abilities to work with most formats, whether it is for a simple tape duplication or for a large event production where we provide project management and design, produce, edit projects for our clients to use on a national stage. Because today’s media technology is rapidly evolving and our clients are interested in using this new technology, we are continually transforming our media capabilities to handle more High Definition media production and editorial within our facility.
As Total Media Group shifts gears to prepare our clients for the future of media technology, we still have requests that are from an analog source such as Beta SP, VHS, 3/4 “ and hi-8. As a technician here at TMG, it is my job to take these variable sources and complete the job with the highest quality possible. Usually the types of requests that go along with these sources are DVD dubs, conversions to WMV or QT files, or digitizing. There is a little more work involved to get these older analog sources prepped and ready to be used for our digital machines. Although it is a challenge to integrate much older media technology with the latest and greatest technology, Total Media Group has continued to own and operate equipment old and new in order to give our clients the best variety of work possible.

Documentary well received by Stony Brook Film Festival

Total Media Group / July 27th, 2009

- Aldo Panattoni

Life is a Banquet: The Rosalind Russell Story had it’s world premier on Sunday, July 26 at the Stony Brook Film Festival. The house was packed and anticipaton was high as the lights dimmed. The film looked and sounded amazing on the Staller Center’s huge screen. The audience laughed and cried at all the right times and erupted into thunderous applause as the credits rolled.

In attendance beside myself were writer and director Jonathan Gruber and Rosalee Russell Renfrow, Rosalind’s niece who was also interviewed in the film. Rosalee viewed the film for the very first time and she was quite moved by it.

After the film the 3 of us took questions from the audience. Jonathan was asked about his decision to have Russell herself narrate the film, as portrayed by Academy Award winner Kathleen Turner. Jonathan replied that he dislikes the traditional narration usually used in documentaries, so he decided he would have Russell tell her story in her own words.

After nearly 3 years in production, it was very gratifying to finally screen the film before a live audience. By their experience their response, I think we have a winner! Look for it on PBS in the fall!

http://www.rosalindrussell.com/

Candids for 20 X 40 foot video wall

Cisco Systems / July 2nd, 2009

- Patrick Roche

I just returned from Cisco Live 2009, Cisco’s premiere user conference at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

For the last four days, we had 2 camera crews shooting HD footage and covering all aspects of the event, including a concert by Devo and The B-52s.

We delivered daily montages that were displayed on a 20 x 40 foot video wall as well as shoot and edit a candids module that opened today’s General Session.

For post, we had 2 complete Final Cut Pro HD systems.

This year we were shooting tapeless, which was great but did pose it’s own set of challenges. We had to come up with a system to track and log the large amounts of footage that the crews were bringing us.

We had some really long days and I got very little sleep last night but at the end of the day, we had a very happy client, which made it all worth wile.

Now, it’s time for me to take a nap!

Making Data Engaging

Genentech, Inc / June 6th, 2009

- Patrick Roche

How do you make forty-plus minutes of educational video content engaging? That was the challenge we were faced with recently while planning a project for Genentech.

The training video is designed to educate Genentech’s field representatives on the company’s reimbursement program, which assists patients in gaining access to medications.

While designing the piece, we wanted to find creative ways to get a lot of text information across to the audience, while keeping the piece visually interesting.

We designed a graphic template that we could easily modify for the required text. This would give the piece a unified look throughout the piece, while allowing us to streamline our post-production workflow to meet the tight deadline.

Since the majority of the piece was shot documentary style using a hand held camera, we also decided to shoot our host segments against pure white. This gave us flexibility in post to add additional graphics over the host’s shoulder.

After 9 days of post with both an editor and graphic designer, we finally had a piece that accomplished our goals and worked really well. More importantly, we had a very happy client!

d

Sdan Francisco Video Production

Total Media Group Creates Participatory Universe Within Neil Young Archives Vol. 1

Total Media Group completes work on the Neil Young Archives / June 4th, 2009

For Immediate Release

Contact: Megan McKenna

megan@totalmediagroup.com

650-583-8236

Neil Young’s Life “Outside the Box”

Total Media Group creates truly participatory user

universe within Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972

South San Francisco, CA - June 4, 2009 — Total Media Group (TMG) today announced and detailed their creative services and technical involvement in the recently released and groundbreaking Neil Young Archives. Previously untapped, TMG pushed the creative edges of the Blu-ray and BD Live technology revealing an unprecedented participatory user experience that “will change how bands present their history and how fans experience art.”

Unparalleled to date, TMG’s creative interface design and architectural structure is a completely fresh approach. This creative work brings new levels of interactivity and a one-on-one experience that was essential to capture the depth, breadth and vision of Neil Young and his life.

“People have spoken about the scope of this Archives as literally putting Neil Young’s life in a box” said Toshi Onuki, Creative Director, Total Media Group. “But, in truth, we bring Neil’s life out of the box, and allow the listener to explore and experience it. We pushed the creative boundaries in hardware and software in new ways to capture the essence and detail of the expansive universe of Neil’s life and work.”

Neil Young and Archives Producer, L.A. Johnson of Shakey Pictures engaged TMG for this project over 4 years ago. Handing them a wealth of music, manuscripts, never before seen sketches and clippings, they challenged Toshi Onuki and TMG to design, manage and organize an outside the box absorptive and interactive interface that would showcase the amazing content, and leverage Blu-ray technology.

Utilizing a myriad of tools TMG designed the entire look of the Archives to compliment the dynamic demands of the long-awaited project. By using an old style file cabinet as the main concept, TMG designed an interface that is artistic and functional, invites participation, encourages exploration, and even creates a sense of discovery.

In all, the Archives have over 13 hours of video content and more than 3000 menus – carefully crafted by Total Media Group using original elements from Young’s personal collection.

Through the design, TMG was able to fundamentally affect how users interact with the Archive. It is this functionality, created specifically for the Neil Young Archives, which has met with universal acclaim and broken new ground. With the deepest creative implementation to date on these platforms, TMG has created a new and unique archival organization, architecture and navigation for Neil Young that has set a “…precedent that may be impossible to top.”

About Total Media Group

Total Media Group is a creative management and media communications company utilizing state-of-the-art technology, proven best practices and cutting edge innovation. TMG produces mission critical marketing, entertainment, music, documentary, training, commercial, and multi-media and event experiences innovating with the latest technology while relying on over 30-years of expertise and excellence.

Total Media Group provides inception to delivery support with a full compliment of in-house production, design and post-production capabilities. The staff consists of creative development experts, writers, designers, production, post-production, and administrative teams.

www.totalmediagroup.com

About the Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972

The Neil Young Archives Vol.1 is the first in a series of archives produced by Neil Young himself. The Blu-ray and DVD editions are sold in a durable custom display box that houses a lavish 236-page full-color hardbound book that features additional archival materials, tapes database, and detailed descriptions of the music and artwork; a foldout Archives poster, a custom keeper for the 10 sleeved discs, and more.

The archives have been long awaited by fans. Neil Young has delayed the release for decades while waiting for the technology to catch up with his vision. “Previously, there was no way to browse archival material on a Disc and listen to a song in high resolution at the same time,” said Young. “It is important for me that the user experience the high resolution music along with the archival visual material. Previous technology required unacceptable compromises in quality and access. I am glad we waited and got it right.”

Audio in the Blu-ray edition is presented in 24-bit/192 kHz stereo PCM, the highest available resolution today, while audio in the DVD edition is presented in 24-bit / 96 kHz stereo PCM audiophile quality sound. Each of the 10 Blu-ray discs feature 1920×1080 high definition picture quality while the 10 DVD discs have 720×480 standard definition picture quality. The CD edition is sold in a custom disc keeper for the 8 sleeved discs and descriptive booklet. Blu-ray offers BD-Live and the highest quality audio. It is the preferred format for the Neil Young Archive.

http://www.neilyoung.com/archives/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgSpVU50-m4

Production Credits:

Directed by Bernard Shakey

Executive Producer: Elliot Roberts

Producer: L.A. Johnson

Associate Producer: Will Mitchell

DVD & Blu-ray Art Direction: Toshi Onuki

Graphic Design and Post Production by Total Media Group

Edited by Toshi Onuki

Poster design: Toshi Onuki

Archivist: Joel Bernstein

DVD Author: Rich Winter

Blu-ray author: MX Entertainment

http://www.mx-production.com/

Designing Video to Accompany Hi-Resolution Audio

Creating Visual Furniture / June 4th, 2009

-Toshi Onuki

Neil Young takes great care and is very involved in all the work Total Media Group does for him. One of the big points for Neil is the audio quality. This is number 1 for him, and takes precedent over everything else.

One advantage of Blu-ray is the ability to play high-resolution audio and also have high quality video at the same time while also navigating through different menu spaces, and accessing notes etc…(This is not possible with DVD specifications). All of these features are available only on Blu-ray and thanks to BD-J and BD Live.

So Neil wanted the pristine audio, and we also wanted to really leverage this wonderful new technology.

For the Neil Young Archives Vol. 1, we included a “Main Program” which allows the user to play the high-resolution audio with visuals.

The idea for the main program was developed with Neil when we worked on Greatest Hits album CD/DVD in 2004. We came up with the idea of video as “furniture” because visual footage for the recording did not exist. I thought of each scene as a diorama like you would see in a science museum.

We set up the original player for when the song was recorded - reel-to-reel, vinyl, cassette, and set up surrounding memorabilia and photos that were carefully picked by Neil. We taped the diorama in HD here at Total Media Group. I believe each visual scene has significance to Neil Young specific to each song.

I think the video of moving turntable is really seductive and it feels like looking at fireplace to me. The quality of the Blue-ray disc is phenomenal. I can see Neil’s fingerprints and dust flying around in the space. Neil Young’s studio also made a replica of the original tape, re-spliced and put on the original reel. That’s why you can see VU meter moving in sync with Music.

A lot of care and attention was put forward by everyone for this project.

You can check out the interface on this online tutorial:

http://www.neilyoungarchives.com/tutorial/tutorial.html

Designing the Neil Young Archives

Finding the perfect design to create an experience for the users / June 4th, 2009

-Toshi Onuki

I think part of my inspiration came when I was first introduced to the project. There was a sense of obsession.

In 2004, I had a meeting with producer L.A. Johnson and archivist / photographer, Joel Bernstein (who has managed Neil Young’s archives for decades). Joel handed me a binder as thick as a yellow phone book labeled “NYA Vol. 1 Disc 1” and explained about the project and his existing database. The conversation and descriptions went on and on for few hours I remember. It was just exhausting and overwhelming.

If the Blu-ray viewer can get the similar sensation like I had on that day, I think the Neil Young Archives are working the way they should be. Interactivity was the most important aspect in the design because we want the viewers to explore, learn and investigate without getting lost. I also wanted this to be as organic and realistic as possible. From the beginning, I was opposed to graphic treatments because I wanted to create a photo realistic environment with a sense of space so that you will feel the archives as they exist in front of you.

I really like the idea of the file cabinet with the exaggerated cabinet drawer (it opens about 5 feet out) because we can throw anything inside and maintain the integrity of the purpose of the file cabinet: organization.

To me, the Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 exists in a black box and we are opening only a potion of an endless expanding drawer. I like the humor and the idea of turning an ordinary object to an extreme object. I did not want to create anything new, I wanted to preserve the way things are.

That was my basic design concept.

I visited many museums to learn how documents and artifact are shown there. For the assets gallery pages, I used similar black fabric and placed the items on top because that’s what the museums use to display precious objects.

The song selection menu is an opened drawer with bunch of folders. On the tabs, you can find the collections of song titles, with Neil’s handwriting, taken from original manuscripts. This is my tribute to Joel’s collections.

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