videobred - Louisville Video Production » Press

Blue Ribbon Winners

Tori Thompson — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:15:07 +0000

Family & Children’s Place honored Videobred with the Volunteerism Award for continued dedication at the organization’s Blue Ribbon Awards in April–Child Abuse Prevention Month. Jamie Pence, Annie Ratterman and Steve Hurst were in attendance to accept the award.

Family & Children’s Place helps children and families in the Louisville and Southern Indiana area heal from abuse, violence and neglect. A beacon of hope in the community, F&CP promotes safe, healthy and stable families through research-based services and programs. Videobred first partnered with F&CP several years ago and continues to help the organization use video to communicate its message.

“We are very honored by our ongoing relationship with Family & Children’s Place,” said Pence. “There’s no more worthy cause than working to prevent the abuse of the most vulnerable in our society.”

For more information on this great organization go to familyandchildrensplace.org.

Army Brat, Eric Stemen, lands at Videobred!

Tori Thompson — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:15:44 +0000

They say that the only constant, is change. Sometimes it’s for the good, other times it’s for the great. And with our newest editor/shooter, I believe Videobred has once again upped the ante.

Eric Stemen comes to us from a land down under. Well, he was born there anyway. A son of an Army officer, Eric has spent time in Australia, Portugal, Ohio, Mississippi, and Alabama. After relocating for the last time to Kentucky, Eric began getting his feet wet shooting wedding videos with Jamie’s (Pence) father in Elizabethtown. “He was definitely a mentor to me. I watched him and learned a lot, and knew that’s what I wanted to do.” With a deep interest for cars however, he originally received a degree in Automotive Technology. After working as a mechanic for a year but still taking classes in television production, he realized that he could marry his love of cars and love of shooting and editing together.

Eric went on to Western Kentucky University where he received his degree in Television Production. After graduating in 2009, he interned on Ft Knox shooting video for their ROTC program. It was there that he was able to put Final Cut to good use and really start to get deep into editing. Eric joined Kertis Creative shortly after where he headed projects for Desert Sun Auto Group and Mavia. You can check out some of his animation work here: http://mavizon.com/ or his documentary for Desert Sun here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmgAtBUmbyA

After 2 years with Kertis, he was approached by Jamie to join our team. Eric had met Jamie and was eager to get behind Jamie’s belief and vision in the video industry. He was excited about the opportunity to stretch his creative legs.

In his spare time, Eric puts his love of shooting and editing together creating videos for Auto and BMX crosses. He is also mountain bike enthusiast so chances are good you can catch him in his favorite spot, Cherokee Park. What you won’t catch him doing however is rooting for UK or UL basketball. Because, and I’m not kidding, he doesn’t watch sports. Sigh.

That’s okay, Eric. We’re still thrilled to have you here. Welcome!!

-Rebecca

The Business Case: Video on the Web

Tori Thompson — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:03:46 +0000

There is an old Far Side cartoon that depicts hundreds of indistinguishable penguins packed together while a single bird wails above the fray “Oh, I gotta to be me, I just gotta be me.” This crooning nonconformist is video on the web.

Make no doubt about it, the web is the first, second and third stop for anyone trying to find a product or service, or gather further information about a particular business. An organization’s website is like a vacuum sucking in prospects. The difference between the best and worst sites are as disparate as comparing a space age infomercial vac to a 1970s-era machine clogged with cat hair.

Updating a site from text and images to include video allows a business to do more than just provide information. Video helps tell a story, breathes life into the staff, and visually demonstrates a competitive advantage. And hosting sites such as Youtube and Vimeo make it easy to link from a home page without taking up precious server space.

Research demonstrates that the strategic addition of video to an organization’s website leads to more visitors, longer interaction, greater conversion rates and an increased return on investment.

Web Video Numbers:

New search algorithms weigh video heavily. Web pages with video have a 50 times greater chance of garnering a first page rank on Google. –Forrester Research

When compared to websites with plain text and images, viewers are more active after watching a video with clicks for further information increasing by 30-40% and phone calls by 16-20%. –BIA Kelsey Group

The Average Internet user watches 186 videos a month including entertainment clips, personal videos, advertising videos, etc. –comSocre Inc, a global digital market measurement service.

77% of marketers reported plans to increase their use of YouTube and video marketing, making it the top area marketers will invest in for 2011. –Socialmediaexaminer.com

45 percent of respondents said they viewed an online video during a 24-hour period, with 57 percent noting that they are likely to watch a video when it is placed next to an article. –Yahoo!/Interpret

In May, 2011, 15 billion videos were viewed online, up 2% from April’s record. –Nielsen

Facebook experienced a 1,500 percent increase in video watching in one year. –Facebook

Estore.com reports up to a 10-30% increase in conversion rates since adding video tutorials to its site. –Smartcompany.com

82% of those surveyed reported that online video usage DOES NOT reduce television watching. –Advertising.com

Most online video viewers are between the ages of 25-44. –Reelseo.com

The business case for video on the web is strong, so come on penguins let’s march–and sing.

Saving Sunny Days

Tori Thompson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:45:57 +0000

Sixty degrees in January: that’s the best. Sun shining down on your face – providing warmth, a need for sunglasses, and Vitamin D. Yes please. We’ll take that with the health, wealth, and happiness we celebrated just a month ago. January is over! WooHoo! Here’s hoping everyone’s 2012 is abundant, and Kleenex free.

If you’ve walked through the doors of Videobred, chances are there’s been at least one four legged companion roaming the halls. Steve’s dog Archie literally just walked up to my desk. We’re dog people here at the ‘Bred. We love our dogs and we love bringing them to work. That’s why I was so excited when I met Sunny for the first time. She came in the lobby just as excited and happy to meet us as we were to meet her. Sunny, as some might recall, was the pit bull that was thrown off the Clark Memorial Bridge in July 2009. Kelsey Westbrook rescued and adopted sweet Sunny. Saving Sunny Inc, a non-profit organization founded by Westbrook, rescues, shelters, and finds new homes for abused and neglected dogs. Saving Sunny Inc. also dedicates their time to promoting “public education about responsible dog ownership, spay/neuter, and reporting animal abuse, neglect, and dog fighting.”

Our team could not be happier to help Westbrook, and her tireless crew, promote their message and mission to the community. In December, we followed them to Crestwood Elementary where Westbrook spoke to the students about the dangers of stereotyping, what you should do if you see animal abuse, and how these sweet and loving dogs need a good home just like any breed. As you can see in the above picture, the kids loved Sunny and she loved them right back.

We are excited to document this organization’s journey, through a video mission statement that will live on the Saving Sunny website. Stay tuned for the final project. My hope is that by seeing the story of Saving Sunny, you will be inspired by their strength, dedication, and most importantly their fight to save these voiceless victims. Please check out SavingSunnyInc.org to learn more about Sunny’s story, and Westbrook’s blog about the “Unsaveable Six.” Learn how you can help in their efforts to give love to dogs who some said did not deserve it.

http://www.savingsunnyinc.org/

USB Duplication Now Available!

Tori Thompson — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:03:55 +0000

Videobred is excited to announce we now offer USB Duplication services. USB Duplication is as simple as it sounds, the transfer of information/files from one USB master to multiple USBs. We are able to provide exact replicas of USB drives for your personal or business purposes; whether that be distribution, backups, or other uses. Call us for a quote today!

A Team Effort

Tori Thompson — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:27:22 +0000

2011 marks the 50^th anniversary of Humana’s existence. While it began as a local nursing home, Humana has grown into a healthcare organization of global proportions. Milestone anniversaries call for a celebration and Humana came to us to take a nostalgic look back.

For this project we were lucky enough to partner with producer/director Kay Milam of Donna Lawrence Productions, to create a short video documenting the history and growth of the company. With so much history to cover, this project required an all-hands-on-deck approach. The team combined elegant interviews shot on location, by Brian Cunningham, with archival images and motion graphic treatments.

Sorting through hours of photos, footage and news clippings, to bring the story to life is quite a task. Steve Hurst and Chris Johnson worked together to piece it all together. “I loved working on this project. It was a perfect team effort that allowed each person to truly focus on what they are best at,” Johnson reflects.

Annie Ratterman’s guidance as producer and Hurst’s “unshakeable calmness” Johnson said, allowed for a successful completion of the video. The final product was shown to the entire Humana staff in the Yum! Center, to which David Jones, Jr. said was a difficult act to follow.

I’d say that’s a job well done. Click over to our portfolio to see for yourself!

Overtime Dominates Fright Night, the World

Tori Thompson — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:08:52 +0000

Anyone who comes in contact with Videobred’s Brian Cunningham or Matt Niehoff
is now required to buy them some sort of delicious alcoholic beverage for the rest of eternity. Brian and Matt’s movie, Overtime, took home eight awards at this year’s Fright Night Film Festival, including the prestigious Best of Fest Award.

Brian and Matt have spent the last year and a half pouring their existence into this movie, so all the accolades it’s receiving are well-deserved. Six hundred film fans came to the premiere, and two hundred were turned away at the door. Brian and Matt are trying to get Overtime even more exposure in new festivals with new audiences. To help the Cunningham/Niehoff Revolution skyrocket, everyone should “like” Overtime on Facebook, and visit their IMDB page… those of you who have seen the movie should write a quick review.

Once again, congratulations Brian and Matt!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

Tori Thompson — Tue, 03 May 2011 21:08:44 +0000

Derby week is upon us! As any good Louisvillian knows, it is a week of excitement, horses, bourbon and the oh-so precious celebrity encounter. As much as we’d like to think we don’t get star struck in this industry, we all secretly want to know who is where in our town.Videobred’s Brian Cunnigham, Raph Cecil and Matt Neihoff have the good fortune this year of rubbing elbows with celebs on the red carpet, or should we say The Green Room. Our client, Mott’s Applesauce, is setting up a Green Room on Derby day complete with a new product launch. Kate Walsh, star of Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy, will be this year’s hostess of the Mott’s Green Room. She will be there nabbing stars off the red carpet and chatting them up. Our guys get to cover the whole event! Matt has promised to dish any good gossip he just happens to over hear. Brian has promised to hit on the lovely Ms. Walsh. Let’s see who has better luck!

Getting to Know Your New Office Manager

Brian Cunningham — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:21:18 +0000

Her favorite bourbon is Elijah Craig. When it comes to beer, she’s a Coors Lite girl. She’s a Twin Peaks fan, but doesn’t really enjoy David Lynch in general.

And she didn’t like The Social Network.

These are just a few facts and figures…a smattering of information about our newest team member, Tori Thompson. Feel free to use your newfound knowledge to strike up a conversation.

Tori will be taking on the role of office manager at Videobred. What’s she most excited about?

“I’m excited about the energy, creativity, and fun that kind of defines Videobred.”

Tori has big shoes to fill as Annie Ratterman, our previous office manager, moves into a full-time producing role. She’s taking Kara’s window-lined office, and all the sun-starved editors are jealous.

Tori will be taking the office adjacent to the lobby (VB veterans know it as “the place Shulhafer used to pass out”) where she’ll be hard at work on office-managerial duties.

“I’m really excited about the chance to focus on doing one job and doing it well. Instead of just being good at lots of things, I can make sure I’m great at one thing.”

In addition to her primary task (which is, as Jamie puts it, “keeping us sane”), Tori will be integral to Videobred’s future business development and client services. “I’m eager to help Videobred grow and become a bigger part of this community that we all love,” she says. “I’m excited about what Jamie’s communicated to me about where he sees the company going.”

So peek your head in, say hi, and ask the burning question on everyone’s mind…

“What did you have against David Fincher’s masterful Facebook movie?!?”

Business First calls Jamie Pence a tech geek!

Videobred — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:49:04 +0000

Tell us something we don’t know! Business First says that Jamie Pence “was born to be a tech geek.” Read the full text of the profile of Jamie, written by Cary Stemle, below.

Business First subscribers can also read the full text of the article here. Photo by Ron Bath.

Videobred’s Jamie Pence was born to be a tech geek

Jamie Pence pored through his e-mail, looking for a Web link he’d sent to a friend. He found it, clicked, then laughed as he interacted with the video — a YouTube ad for Tipp-Ex Pocket Mouse correction tape that is built around a hunter and a bear.

Pence, president of Videobred Inc., loves how it pushes the bounds of traditional advertising. “Convergence” is the vogue term for how various media combine to create content these days. And Pence said the ad, which plays various videos depending on what the user types, is a great example.

“I’d say the amount of time they spent shooting and editing is minimal,” he said. “And it is totally cool and very effective.”

Pence knows of what he speaks. Born in 1969, he belongs to that generation for whom computers went from curiosity to indispensability.

Videobred co-founder Dave Shulhafer tells of how Pence, barely in high school, borrowed money to buy video equipment to rent for meetings.

That sort of initiative took Pence from fledgling film editor to owner of the audiovisual company in a decade’s time.

‘Always inquisitive’

While growing up in Hardin County, Jamie Pence was a good kid, said his father, Jim Pence. He was involved in theater and music and was voted “most talented” by his senior class.

His inquisitive nature got him in trouble, though, and his dad realized, “I’ve got to find something for this kid to do.”

The answer: a Commodore VIC-20, an early personal computer. Jamie was hooked.

He got involved in the high school’s TV program, then studied broadcasting at Western Kentucky University. Still looking for work, he returned to the truck stop where he’d worked previously.

Pence got hired at a small recording studio in Elizabethtown, then heard of an opening at Videobred. He asked his father how to negotiate salary.

Jim Pence told his son to aim low, then prove your mettle.

Shulhafer said Jamie Pence distinguished himself early in his career with effort and talent.

“I never had another employee who just consumed the material the way he did,” Shulhafer said. “He had a vision … It was, ‘Let me know everything there is to know about this. Let me make the tool do more than anyone else can make it do.’ ”

Pence was following advice. “Dad would tell me the marketplace is pretty competitive from 9 to 5, but after 5, it’s not so competitive.”

Romance at the truck stop

While a 19-year-old student at Elizabethtown Community College, Pence’s wife of 18 years, Wendy Pence, took a waitress job at the Glendale truck stop. Soon, Jamie Pence, who “found an excuse” to barge into her job interview, had her phone number.

It was August 1992. They were engaged by October and married on New Year’s Eve.

Along with daughters Jasmine, 17, and Alexis, 7, and son Cameron, 10, they still live in Hardin County.

Wendy Pence, a former social worker looking to re-enter the work force after taking time off for family, said they are “home bodies” who like spending time with their children and pets (two beagles and three cats).

Father and son share a love of videogames, and the whole family enjoys the History Channel.

Jamie Pence calls his parents, Jim and Carolyn Pence, his “best friends.”

After high school, when Jamie Pence’s friends were earning $40,000 a year in factories and buying boats, he was unsure of his next step.

Jim Pence, who grew up in foster homes and retired from an American Synthetic Rubber factory, told Jamie not to settle.

“He’d see his friends retire at 65 and die,” Jamie Pence recalled, “so he decided to work hard to retire at 55, which he did. He worked a lot, and he worked swing shift. But he was always there when I needed him or something big was happening at school.”

Buying the company

Videobred is the sort of homegrown company that inspires reverence from employees and clients. Pence said it has been a training ground for numerous people who have moved to larger stages and that the company has “good DNA.”

As Shulhafer and business partner Bob Manning looked to sell, they were in talks with a Houston company that wanted key personnel to sign employment contracts.

About that time, in June 2002, Wendy Pence was in a serious car accident, which Jamie Pence said was eye-opening. He realized he wasn’t invincible — and also that the Texas suitors could not do anything for him he couldn’t do for himself.

He and another employee, Kirk Hilbrecht, bought the company in 2003, under terms Pence declined to disclose. When Hilbrecht got called to active duty with the Air National Guard in December 2009, Pence bought him out, financing the deal himself.

Today, Videobred has 19 employees, making it the city’s third-largest audiovisual company, according to Business First’s list of the area’s largest audiovisual production companies, published in July.

The company serves a wide range of clients, including Papa John’s International Inc., General Electric Co., the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau and Donna Lawrence Productions.

Lawrence, a big fan, said: “The combination of Jamie’s talent, the company he’s built in Louisville, and the way he operates personally and professionally is a great treasure in this community.”

Pence’s office is amazingly streamlined but loaded with computer equipment.

“It’s so funny,” said James Miller, assistant creative director at Red7e, a frequent partner with Videobred. “He’s president of the company, and he refuses to quit editing.”

‘Emotional investment’

Miller met Pence after joining the agency in 2002, and they quickly realized they shared an affinity for — yes — truck stops.

Miller is from LaRue County, next to Hardin County, and they’re familiar with a lot of the same ones. “I’m always threatening to go down there and take him to Paula’s Hot Biscuit, or going to find the remains of the old (Glendale) truck stop.”

Miller said Pence is a master at delivering high-quality work with guerilla sensibilities.

“In a business that centers around expensive technology, it’s easy for that to take over and for the idea to get lost. Videobred is very good at harnessing it in service of the idea and getting it done. … I make fun of him when he goes on about Videobred’s DNA — he’s very parental in how he looks at (the company).

“It’s what you want your boss to be, but as a friend, you see him go through it — he takes it very personally because of his emotional investment in the company.”

Pence said he’s acting on his values. For example, Videobred pays 100 percent of employees’ health insurance for single coverage.

Although he thinks the government should let small businesses join insurance pools, he added: “People shouldn’t come to work worrying about their health. I don’t know how you can ask someone to work for you … and you can’t take care of their health? As business owners, I think we’re obligated to do that.”

The future of media inspires constant hang-wringing, but Pence is upbeat and said the new landscape brings new opportunities. Fueled by social media, for example, the YouTube ad with the hunter and the bear went viral and has logged more than 11 million views. There are countless similar examples.

“Everybody has to use visual means to communicate now — that’s obvious,” he said. “Ten years ago, it was a luxury you could do now and again. … It used to take a half-million dollars to have an editing suite. Now you can do it on a Macbook Pro. I find it liberating.”

| Jamie Pence

President, Videobred Inc.

Birth date: Sept. 14, 1969

Hometown: Elizabethtown, Ky.

Residence: Same

Wife: Wendy Pence

Children: Daughters Jasmine, 17, and Alexis, 7, son Cameron, 10

Work history: WKYU-TV; Alpha Recording; Videobred Inc.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in communications, Western Kentucky University, 1992

Community service: Blue Apple Players (Videobred does a lot of pro bono work for the group); WKU Broadcast Advisory Board

A memorable project: With Louisville-based Donna Lawrence Productions, Videobred worked on the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C., which opened in late 2008. “I hated history in high school and college,” Pence said. “That was (enlightening).”

From a competitor: “He was designed and built for the job,” says Rick Boone, senior audio engineer at Interactive Media Lab and a former Videobred employee. “To grow up and carry it forward to a career is impressive. He’s one of the best.”

On dealing with stress: “He’s relentlessly positive. It’s not so much his calm in the storm but his happiness to be in the storm,” said James Miller, assistant creative director of Red7e advertising firm.

Longest he’s gone unplugged: After the 2009 ice storm, the Pences were powerless for a week. “One night we listened to a UK game on radio by the fireplace. It reminded me of listening to those games with my dad. I finally got tired of being without power when I blew up a can of baked beans on the grill.”

Technology: Frying our brains or enlarging them? “Both … I think the knowledge is powerful. I think our brains will adapt to that.”

| Everyone’s a critic

Jamie Pence is a tech geek. Unabashed and unashamed.

So what’s a tech geek do for fun? Why, more tech, of course.

About four years ago, Pence and some buddies started www.tapcritic.com to review iPhone apps.

“I’ve never had a hobby, per se,” he says. “All of our skills — shooting video and the things we do every day — have helped us with this hobby.

“One of our first reviews was for a program called iGirl. … We wanted to make fun of it. We promoted it correctly and made the front page of Digg. … We had 130,000 page views.”

Of course, page views + Google Ad Sense = $$$. “It’s a stress reliever on a Sunday afternoon,” Pence said, laughing. “And it feeds our app addiction.” |