Problem:
Veteran employee retention rates at the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center was lower than desired, so Jonathan Walker (Volpe Technical Center Leader) created the Military Pathways Mentorship program to retain more Veterans. But Volpe leadership needed to raise awareness among current and prospective Veteran employees of the program’s existence and track record for success.
Solution:
Create a video in which Volpe leadership and Pathways participants tell the story directly to viewers, and release it on Veterans Day.
Production Process
I shot two interviews at the Volpe Center, one with Aylward and one with Walker. As seen below, I captured two angles on each and reversed the screen direction so they cut well together. For the Pathways employee interviews who were unavailable in person, I provided consulting to shoot their own interviews. Once the story took shape, I shot original B-roll around the Volpe campus.
Post Production
Custom keyboard macros using AutoHotKey allow me to synchronize video and audio on shoots like these with a single key. With a hard deadline like a Federal Holiday, saving time with methods like these is crucial. Check out the demo below to see the Instant Sync shortcut (left) in motion!
Interview subjects shooting their own videos is risky, because it can sometimes lead to technical problems. Marcielo’s microphone was bassy and distorted. However, adjusting EQ, and quick tricks like Premiere’s AI 'Enhance Audio' allow these problems to go unnoticed.
