Adventist Health

Produced by Spool Video

Director and Editor: Brian Schatz

This is a series of four videos that revolve around the newly renovated Emergency Department (ED) at Adventist Medical Center in Portland, OR. These videos were created to work in conjunction with a direct-mail campaign that guides people to a webpage for their emergency services. The hospital wanted a way to highlight the ED, and decided education was the best approach. As such, the videos are: Child Safety Tips, Heart Attacks & Prevention, Stroke Symptoms & Care, and Fall Prevention.

After learning that our ‘set’ for the day was a single hospital room, I new it would be hard work to disguise the fact as much as possible. To help make each one a bit different, colored light was projected onto the wall behind each doctor. At first I was a bit hesitant, having envisioned a more realistic look. So, the lighting started out subtle in the first ‘Fall Prevention’ video, but by the time we shot the final ‘Heart Attack’ segment, I had fully embraced the idea. The end result not only gave an interesting visual cue between interviews and voice-over footage, but added an appropriate touch of drama as well.

Fun Fact: Dr. Kelli Westcott’s patient in the child safety video is played by her very own daughter! Learn how to keep your loved ones safe and out of the emergency room by watching these prevention videos at: www.adventisthealthnw.com/ED-Videos.asp

Eastport Plaza

Filmed and Edited by Brian Schatz of Spool Video
Script and Narration by Dianne Gill
Event Photos courtesy of David Ashton at East PDX News

This video highlights Eastport Plaza, a well known but sometimes forgotten shopping center in SE Portland, Oregon. The mall was looking for a fun way to help visitors to its website rediscover Eastport, while simultaneously restoring some prestige to the mall’s brand. The video highlights the stores and services available, shows how the mall acts as a hub for the local community, and informs people on transportation options for getting to the plaza.

The mall has a 50-year history, but in recent times had been overshadowed by newer shopping centers with premier tenants like Nordstrom and Macy’s. Eastport then underwent a transformation from an indoor facility to an outdoor one, and had even been identified—incorrectly—as a “dead mall” (www.deadmalls.com) at one time. Under new management, Eastport is finding its niche as a home for the budget conscious shopper. It was for this same reason that public transit options are shown in the video; Eastport Plaza serves a lower-income area of town, and shoppers may rely on TriMet to get there.

In making the video, Eastport wanted to include more topics than their budget permitted. However, I was able to supplement the video footage with still images provided by the client, and use holiday footage from an old television commercial (they had purchased the rights). I tend to discourage ‘slide-show’ style videos, but in this case the combination of styles, paired with a fast-paced script, kept the video flowing. Decide for yourself by watching it on their website, in the 'As Seen on TV' section.

American Marketing Association

This is a promotional video for the Oregon chapter of the AMA, or American Marketing Association. One of their goals for 2009 is to promote volunteerism among members of the association, giving back to the local community by donating their marketing skills and knowledge to non-profit groups.

Managers at the Portland based AMA chapter learned that it was one of only a couple in the country with such a program. Their hope is to share this video with other AMA chapters across America, and help encourage them to enact similar outreach programs in their cities. Spokespeople from two non-profits are interviewed in the video: Corinna Bucholz of The ReBuilding Center, and Elizabeth Nye from the Columbia Northwest chapter of national group Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

When given the initial briefing for this project, I was told the video should evoke the spirit of Portland and "look kind of homemade". I like to call the style 'Grassroots Cinema', and went for a documentary type feel. In following this approach, I filmed the city footage handheld--no tripod for a slight bit of shakiness--and used only natural, existing light. If you work at a non-profit agency, or work to promote one through a marketing or PR firm, ask Spool about its discounted rates for qualified 501c3 organizations.

Filmed by Brian Schatz of Spool Video

Produced by Patrick Hughes, AMA Project Manager

Edited by Jay Cornelius of Green Street Pictures

Radon Detective

Based on an RFP by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this video is a 60-second public service announcement highlighting the dangers of radon gas. My goal was to make the piece informative yet entertaining. This posed a challenge in that the concept was somber in nature; there was a definite need to balance the very real (and serious) dangers of radon without scaring the audience too much. Hopefully the editing and tone of the piece near the end keep it from coming off as too dark. You can decide for yourself after watching it…

Built around the ever-popular TV detective genre (CSI, Law and Order, etc.), my thought was to create something with a touch of classic film-noir style. To this end, I wrote a detective story told from the 1st person viewpoint, via a voiceover. A choice that helped make up for the lack of a cast at my disposal. Other neo-noir touches include flashbacks, a couple of offbeat camera angles, and a generally fatalistic tone.

For this project, I also wanted to make use of colors to evoke emotion. Note that many scenes are generally of a blue hue, which communicates the cold world the detective inhabits, and perhaps a sense of his disconnectedness with it. The morgue shots have a purple cast, illustrating the coldness of death, while the flashback sequence features golden tones helping portray happier times for the woman. The use of colors in this way can be a subtle but effective tool for helping to bring the most out of a story.

Written, directed, and edited by Brian Schatz of Spool Video.


Radon PSA from Brian Schatz on Vimeo.

GCI: Client Video

This was a corporate video produced for GCI, Alaska's largest telecommunications provider. It was co-sponsored by Comverse, makers of the Kenan software used by GCI to operate their customer call center. It revolves around the testimonial of GCI's Vice President of IT, Jim Dunlap. I edited a variety of client-supplied footage to tell the story of why GCI chose the software and how they use it.

This is only an excerpt from the beginning of the video. This shortened version was used by Jim to introduce himself at the international Comverse User Forum (held June, 2008) in Porto, Portugal. Afterwards, he had this to say:

"The presentation was well received by the audience and was the subject of discussion several days afterward."

To see the video in its entirety, visit the Comverse website and click the "Video Testimonial" link at the bottom of the page.

Edited by Brian Schatz, of Spool Video

Written and Directed by Isaac Szymanczyk, of Laughing Giant Media

Soundtrack by Tracy Kim

This is Alaska from Brian Schatz on Vimeo.

Bike Racing

This demo was a collaborative project between composer Boone Johnson, of Aural Produce, and myself. Our intent was to convey a sense of emotion and story without the use of words; only through editing and music. The soundtrack was performed first, and the visuals were then edited to the tempo.

The video was later discovered by Dan Kaufman, creator of Crank My Chain! Cycle TV, an Internet Podcast (available on iTunes) about cyclists. With our approval, Dan added titles and used the video as a promo for the 2007 Eric Kautzky Memorial Track Race--held on the same track where this video was shot.

Filmed on two cameras, one was a consumer model that grossly overexposed the highlights in many of the shots. After careful consideration, I felt that the white 'hot spots' gave the footage an intensity that was actually a good match for the action onscreen. In post-production, I was able to digitally color-correct the 'normal' footage to match that from the overexposed camera, and thus establish a look for the video.

Racing Bikes from Brian Schatz on Vimeo.