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Working with PulteGroup, along with their partners Operation FINALLY HOME, Postcreatives has recently completed work with the Built to Honor program—our proudest accomplishment yet. Over the course of a year, Postcreatives followed the story of Staff Sergeant Mario Murray, a retired United States Army Veteran, and his family as they were chosen to receive a mortgage free home courtesy of PulteGroup’s Built to Honor program.The Built to Honor program was started in 2013 with a simple goal: give disabled veterans and wounded warriors a place to live—mortgage free. After partnering with Operation FINALLY HOME, a nonprofit national organization dedicated to aiding wounded warriors when they return home from war, Built to Honor has become a huge success in more ways than one since it started. The program has helped over 30 veterans and their families to have a new start in brand new homes. PulteGroup decided that they wanted to capture the incredible story of one of their veterans. So Pulte asked Postcreatives, their exclusive video production company for the Northeast Corridor, to help tell this amazing story. Staff Sergeant Mario Murray joined the United States Army in 2005 after the death of his youngest brother, who was a Marine. During his service Staff Sergeant Murray served a tour in Afghanistan in 2011. During his tour, Murray lost 117 of his fellow veterans, whom Murray refers to as his ‘brothers and sisters.’ On one fateful day, Murray’s base was attacked; he received numerous physical injuries and suffers from PTSD. After a long recovery, Murray retired from the Army in March 2014. He received numerous awards for his service, including an Afghan Campaign medal, three Army Commendation medals, and a NATO medal. Staff Sergeant Murray and his family were chosen over other candidates to receive their mortgage free home through Built to Honor. On a day that they thought was supposed to be a round of interviews, the Murrays were surprised to learn that they had already been chosen for the program and were there to break ground on their brand new home. As the entire community came out to support them, the Murrays were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and the amazing opportunity they had just received. Through the course of the next few months, Built to Honor, with the help of the community, Operation FINALLY HOME, and Postcreatives, completed the construction on the home. Finally, the Murrays were able to move into their new home on April 21, 2015. Although they had seen the progress of the home over the months it was being built, nothing was more meaningful to the Murrays than the messages of support the community had written on the frame of the home. Although the messages were covered by sheetrock when the home was complete, they make up the core and soul of what the home was built on; love. Now the Murrays have a brand new mortgage free home built just for them. Their gratitude to Built to Honor can only be matched by the gratitude that PulteGroup and Postcreatives have to Staff Sergeant Murray and those like him who sacrifice so much in the name of our country. “Tom and his crew are fantastic. They have a strong attention to detail to ensure every shot is perfect. I truly valued their creative thinking and input during the film production process. I highly recommend Postcreatives for your video production needs.” Valerie Dolenga, The Pulte Group In honor of all the veterans and soldiers who fight for our country every day, Postcreatives would like to thank you for your service; we are honored to have been a part of such an amazing program and hope to be a part of many more to come. Congratulations to Staff Sergeant Mario Murray and his family and thank you to our partners at Pulte Group for helping us to shine brighter on this special occasion.

By now, most businesses know the importance of using video to market their products or services. An engaging video is more likely to capture the attention of a busy person than the same content written as a blog post. However, the differences in the way videos are made can make a big difference in whether they go viral or simply sit on a website, not getting many plays. Knowing the differences between cinematography vs. videography can help companies decide which option is right for them. Videography Videography is a term used for the process of making videos. Nearly anyone with a camera can be an amateur videographer. In fact, lots of people today shoot DIY videos for the Internet that likely won’t be viewed outside of YouTube. Some of them are decent quality because they use good cameras. However, with basic videography, the end result can seem amateur even if the person shooting the video charges premium rates. That’s because they don’t take all the elements of a great product into account, including the lighting and lenses used. Cinematography Cinematography is much more than shooting a video—it’s shooting a full-on production. Some people describe their completed projects as mini-movies rather than as marketing videos. When you work with a cinematographer as a business owner, you are actually working with a team of people who all specialize in some aspect of the production. For example, one person will be holding the camera, another will be giving direction to the actors in the video and another will manage the lighting so everything looks perfect. The process starts well before shooting begins. A great script can make a huge difference when it comes to how well a video is received by its audience. A production company that truly understands the business is in an optimal position to help write a script that will compel viewers to take the call to action. With cinematography, as opposed to videography, the script is more about telling a story than selling a product. People today are accustomed to fast-forwarding over commercials on television and skipping ads in online videos. A production that is merely an advertisement for a product or service won’t be well-received by very many people. However, a message that tells the story of the company or even how the product solved a problem for another customer is much more likely to be viewed in its entirety.  Cinematography is much more than shooting a video—it’s shooting a full-on production. Business owners who want a video merely for the sake of having a video on their website may be satisfied with the results offered by a videographer. These professionals use high-quality cameras and often produce nice products for their customers. When a potential client sees one of these videos online, they’ll know it was done by a professional rather than someone using a smartphone camera. The editing software videographers use help to make the final product look great when it’s posted online. When cost is the determining factor, this can be an affordable solution. On the other hand, when a company has been in business for a while and needs a video that will show customers exactly why they are the obvious choice over the competition, cinematography is the ideal choice. Business owners who choose this option can expect to work with a trained crew who will ensure the lighting is perfect, the perfect lenses are used for each portion of the video, and that the subject looks flawless throughout the production. Rather than simply capturing the person speaking on camera, a cinematographer creates a feeling for the viewer. These videos are more likely to be shared because the video itself is interesting – not because of the product or service being sold. Cinematography as Art Anyone can shoot a video. However, it takes an experienced team of professionals to put together a true production. Business owners can expect a set as well as people around to adjust the scene or the lighting to capture the feeling of the production. Small business owners who want to compete on a higher level need this kind of video representing their company. Any average business can create a video and post it on their site or even on their YouTube channel, but only the best videos are shared on social media to the point where they get millions of views from potential paying customers. You can expect your video to go through an extensive editing process that ensures only the best shots are shown to the world. When you choose the experienced production team at Postcreatives, we can be certain you’ll get a result you’ll be proud to show to everyone. You and your team will work together from the beginning to get an accurate representation of the feeling and goals of the production so you can be happy with the video when it’s finished. This type of service is not for every company. In fact, only those that are really serious about getting their message out in front of the maximum amount of potential customers should even go through the process of cinematography. Brand new businesses and those on a strict budget may get a satisfactory result from the less-intensive process of videography.

The DIY trend is becoming increasingly popular in the US. In the quest of saving a few dollars, many businesses end up paying a huge price, compromising their brand image and sales all due to poor-quality DIY videos. A brand’s image can take years—and lots of dollars—to build, but skimping on video production (let alone photography) could negatively impact the prestige of the brand, making it vulnerable to collapse like a house of cards. A study by Conviva shows that content producers lost $2.16 billion in revenues due to poor-quality video streaming. It impacted significantly on their viewer engagement and made a bad impression. The idea of DIY video making may sound attractive due to the low-cost factor. With a camcorder or a smartphone, you can easily create a video and post it online, but does it have the same quality as a professionally produced video? Absolutely Not! Though you can create a video using DIY video tools and techniques, you can never achieve the same quality that only a professional can deliver. A professional has the experience, equipment, expertise, and a team. Using these factors to their strength, a professional video production company is able to produce a superior quality video in terms of concept, execution, and post-production. This conveys your brand message with a greater impact and more persuasion. A DIY poor-quality video can hurt your brand image in more ways than you can imagine: A study by Conviva shows that content producers lost $2.16 billion in revenues due to poor quality video streaming. So, is low cost more important for you than your brand image? If not, then get in touch with the pros! Here at Postcreatives, we can produce a customer-driven engaging video in a short amount of time and help you establish an impactful brand image.

2018 was, undoubtedly, the most memorable year on record for Postcreatives. Our 2017 brought significant changes that set 2018 up to be a potentially great year—new location, new creative talent, renewed focus—and wow, did it deliver! Our growth over these past few years has given us the ability to say, with extreme gratitude, that 2018 has blessed us with the ability to work with some of the biggest clients we’ve had to date. With all the unique challenges our team has been tasked with, we’ve not only held our own but we’ve delivered videos that have exceeded our wildest expectations. It sure wasn’t easy, and it’s made for one whirlwind of a year, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! One such client Postcreatives has had the pleasure of working with this year was Spirit Halloween, a division of Spencer Gifts, on an amazing video showcasing their new animatronic products. Spirit was looking for Postcreatives’ signature blend of cinematic and engaging video, giving us the opportunity to produce one of our coolest videos to date. We conceptualized and shot a series of 24 videos that was able capture the SPIRIT of Spirit Halloween and the amazing products they have like no other. Over this Halloween season, Spirit played our videos in every single one of their 1325 stores nationwide and in Canada! The video series has garnered national attention, with over 2.6 million views online including almost a million views and counting on the headliner video alone. Getting the opportunity to work with a fast growing SaaS company this year was a dream-come-true for Postcreatives when we produced a video with WorkWave. Based out of the beautiful and innovative “Metroburb,” aka the Bell Works complex in Holmdel, NJ, WorkWave provides solutions for clients from all over the world who reach out to them to solve issues with their technical systems and logistical problems; clients like Waste Management, ServPro, and more. Having been impressed with our original and authentic approach to storytelling, WorkWave looked to us to put a spotlight on the positive impact they have on their clients’ lives and businesses. The first video in a series of testimonials we shot for them also marked a first for Postcreatives in its nearly 8-year history: we were tasked with shooting internationally; a true milestone. We flew out to Vancouver, Canada to capture how WorkWave helps businesses all over the world solve their problems. We can’t wait to work with WorkWave again; who knows where it will take us next! Having the great fortune to work with Ann Green Communications, one of the premier public relations firms in the world, was one of Postcreatives biggest and most exciting productions to date. We were entrusted with, and given the freedom to, produce an artistically cinematic culture video for Ann Green’s client, Air Liquide Advanced Materials—a multi-billion dollar player in the global semiconductor industry. We showcased the brilliance, innovation, and dedication to safety that ALAM’s employees have every day when they are engineering the chemicals that give us amazing new technologies and help propel innovation in AI, automated driving, virtual reality, and computing. These three highlights are just a small sample of the bevy of awesome projects that we’ve worked on in 2018. We are excited to continue these relationships as we march forward into the new year. As excited as we are to take on great clients such as these, Postcreatives prides ourselves on working with businesses of all sizes, in all industries, and building long-term relationships just as we have with some of our favorite long-time clients like Pulte Group and Advanced Wellness. With the small- and medium-sized business packages we introduced this year, it is now more affordable than ever to create and produce a video that is perfectly tailored to your needs! From the bottom of our hearts, the Postcreatives crew thanks all of you for supporting our journey. Whether you’ve hired us for your video projects, enjoyed what we’ve put out, or even checked out the blogs, you’ve helped make 2018 the amazing year it was. We wish all of you success in 2019, and we are enthusiastic for what this year already has lined up that we can’t wait to see how the year shapes up!

Considering online video marketing? Want to get professional, high quality video for your business? In this post, we unravel the real cost of professional video production. The good news is that not all video production services cost an arm and a leg. The cost varies depending on several factors. But what’s important to understand is that the investment in professional video production services is worth the money spent. It should be considered more of an investment than an expense, typically because a professional has the experience, the expertise and the equipment to create top quality videos that deliver your brand message with a greater impact. Professional videos make a long-lasting impression on viewers. However, a poor quality video shows a lack of seriousness about your business and a lack of professionalism. And when potential customers watch such videos, they instantly feel that if you aren’t serious about your business, you will not take their business seriously. Professional services might seem costly initially, but the value a well-executed video delivers is much higher than the cost incurred. High-budget corporate video packages typically range from $5,000 to $25,000, but may go as high as $100,000 depending on the length of the video, special effects and number of filming locations. Video Production Cost Drivers Simply put, the cost will vary on video concept, location, crew, and talent needed as well as planning and post-production time. Only a professional whom you choose to work with can give you a proper estimate of the cost you are likely to incur. To learn more about cost of video production in NJ we have created a detailed pricing page that you can find here or to find out how can you get a professional video produced within your budget, get in touch with us today!