2011!

Happy New Year! Hope you had a great 2010, and wishing you an even better 2011. Thanks to all those who helped make 2010 a successful year for Metro, and we look forward to the upcoming year. Cheers!

Happy Holidays!

Travel safely and enjoy the season!

Metro Supports FightSMA

Metro Productions has supported FightSMA, a non-profit organization dedicated to the search for a treatment and a cure for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), for many years. Metro contributes to FightSMA in the best way we know how: video production. Previously known as "Andrew's Buddies," FightSMA supports research on SMA, brings attention and awareness of the disease to the public, supports the families of those just diagnosed and battling the disease, and fundraises for continued research progress. Metro has formed a strong partnership with SMA over the years, and we wholeheartedly support their cause and the need for continued attempts to end this vicious disease, which mostly afflicts very young children. Martha Slay, President and Founder of FightSMA, had this to say about working with us to support her cause: "The dedicated team of professionals at Metro Productions has opened a door of communication and advocacy for SMA like never before. For the first time, SMA parents have the advantage of hearing in-depth and candid interviews with SMA scientists. Metro Productions shares the FightSMA commitment to bring life saving and enhancing information to the SMA community. We are indebted to our partners at Metro for all they are doing to fight SMA!" To see an example of the type of videos Metro produces for FightSMA each year, click here, and to learn more about FightSMA, read on.

Video has been an important piece of the fundraising and publicity for FightSMA for years, and it continues to be vital to their campaign. Metro has been there for FightSMA, from helping them see the Fighter Mom™ DVD dream come to life, to journeying with the FightSMA families and researchers to Washington to film important pieces to share with the SMA community on the web. The videos filmed in Washington, as well as the videos of Dr. Alex MacKenzie and Dr. Bob Leshner, which we filmed in our studio, have proven to be a outstanding resource for the SMA community. Parents are emboldened by the accessibility of “real time” information and by being able to really listen to pertinent, important information from prestigious leaders in the research field. As FightSMA and its partners continue important work in Washington with the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act, another vital campaign is underway in the lab of Dr. Brian Kaspar, a researcher who was also featured in the FightSMA web-based video series. Dr. Kaspar is leading valuable and notable work towards gene therapy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH.

For more information on FightSMA, visit http://www.fightsma.org/, call 804-515-0080, or follow them on Facebook, and Twitter @fightsma.

Honoring Our Veterans Today, 11/11/10

Today is Veterans Day, and all of us at Metro would like to take a moment to thank the men and women who have served our country over the years. The sacrifice made by these patriots can be seen each and every day in the freedoms we enjoy, but this day serves to truly remind us of the people who fought to provide them. We appreciate our veterans here at Metro: Ray Walsh (U.S. Army), Jim Hunt (U.S. Army), and Patrick Bedall (U.S. Air Force), and we also thank the countless others who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. A history of Veterans Day can be seen here, and you can watch a couple of the tribute videos Metro has produced for the U.S. Army here. If you are in Virginia and looking for events to honor our veterans, there are great options all across the state. Again, many thanks to the U.S. Armed Forces for all that you do and have done for us.

Metro Goes 3D!

As you may have heard, we just wrapped up our first 3D shoot! We sent a crew out to the Mojave Desert, where we shot for over a week for the Army. The footage is back here and the 2D cut was just finished..... and now we're on to the 3D version! The explosions, soldiers, hi-tech devices, military vehicles, graphics, and everything else are going to look amazing in 3D, and we can't wait to see the final version! If you want to see it too, you can check it out at AUSA this year. More details to come, but check out our Facebook page now to see some pics from the shoot! Great work by Producer/Director Tim Farrow and the rest of the crew!

Just Over A Month Away.....

Are you going to AUSA this year? It's right around the corner.... just over a month away, actually! Time flies, and it will be here before we know it. We had a great time at last year's AUSA, with Wii golf in our booth (can you believe everyone wanted to play as Tiger Woods then? Ah, how times have changed in one short year....). We'll be there again this year, and hope to see you! If you need anything new (or updated) for your booth, let us know ASAP!

Metro Producing NEMA Smart Grid Videos

Metro has begun creating a series of educational videos for NEMA (the National Electrical Manufacturers Association), focusing on Smart Grid technology and energy. The projects were a product of a grant received from the Department of Energy, funded by the Recovery Act. Metro is thrilled to be partnering with NEMA, and looks forward to producing excellent videos for them! Read NEMA's press release here.

Metro's First EMPixx Award

We submitted to the EMPixx Awards for the first time this year, and guess what? We won! Northrop Grumman's "Uncertain Times" won a gold EMPixx award, and we are so proud! "Uncertain Times" was shot on a set in Los Angeles, and starred Ronald Lee Ermey, better known as "Gunney" from the movie "Full Metal Jacket." It was produced by Richie Ellison, who did a fantastic job of pulling together all of the different elements and moving parts to create a motivating and interesting video. Northrop Grumman is using the video primarily for recruitment, and the videos they have completed with us in the past have consistently been award-winning.

To learn more about the EMPixx Awards, visit their site.

Vacation Channel Giveaway!

In case you didn't know, we have a few sister companies here at Metro. One of them, The Vacation Channel, just started an online newsletter, and is looking for some new subscribers! They're giving away four (4) tickets to Water Country USA in a random drawing of new subscribers, so email info@vacationchannels.com to get entered! Also, check them out at www.vacationchannels.com!

A Very Busy Summer and Fall at Metro

So much for a casual, relaxed summer! We're feeling very fortunate to be as busy as we have been this summer, and to have a full plate for the next couple of months as well (of course, we can always fit in more projects, so call us if you need something)! The guys have been on the road non-stop, and it looks like they'll be staying that way pretty much through October, when AUSA wraps up. Producers have been racking up the frequent flier miles too, and post-production, though they are staying in Richmond, are hard at work as well. We're also busily working on our first 3D project, which is very exciting and will open up a whole new arena of productions for us. We'll have some fantastic new productions coming out, including some from our new additions in the Alexandria office, so keep an eye out!

Partnership with NEMA

Metro is thrilled to be partnering with NEMA (the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, check them out here: www.nema.org) on a series of educational and informative videos. Stay tuned for more info and sneak peeks to come!

Metro is 3D!

We've officially made the leap into 3D production! We aim to always stay on the cutting edge of technology, so it is very exciting to be moving into this new arena. The new 3D project is getting started now, and should wrap up around mid-October. We're thrilled to see how it turns out..... Give us a call if you're interested in trying 3D too!

...They Keep Rolling In!

We're excited to add two more awards to our growing list, this time from the Videographer Awards! "Uncertain Times" (Northrop Grumman) won their highest honor, the Award of Excellence, and "Answer the Call" (also Northrop Grumman) won the second highest, the Award of Distinction. The Videographer Awards acknowledge projects that are written, shot, and produced to exceed industry standards, and we pride ourselves on doing just that. Great work to everyone who was involved in these fantastic videos!

Metro's 2010 Awards

The results are in, and we are thrilled! Congratulations to everyone at Metro who contributed to these fantastic videos. We're especially excited about our wins in the Communicator and Telly Awards... we earned more top prizes (Award of Excellence and Silver Telly) in both than in any year past!

The Accolade Competition:
Northrop Grumman- "Uncertain Future": Award of Excellence

The Communicator Awards:
Northrop Grumman- "Uncertain Future": Award of Excellence
TRADOC- "Capstone Concept": Award of Excellence
Frederick County Tourism- "Visitor Center Video": Award of Excellence
Farm Bureau- "Agriculture Classroom": Award of Excellence
Norfolk Southern- "Past, Present, Crescent": Award of Excellence
Northrop Grumman- "2009 Music Video": Award of Distinction

The Telly Awards:
Revision Eyewear- "Trade Show Video": Silver Telly
Lockheed Martin- "LCS Movie Trailer": Silver Telly
DRS Technologies- "Employee 2009": Silver Telly
Northrop Grumman- "2009 Music Video": Bronze Telly
Northrop Grumman- "Uncertain Future": Bronze Telly
Coliseum Central- "The Center of it All": Bronze Telly

Metro's Alexandria Office Open House- April 29!

Press Release: First2Fast Video Produced by Metro

A new YouTube video, produced and contributed by Metro Productions for the City of Hampton, is the latest way that Hampton is bringing attention to its bid to get Google fiber to the area. The new video, entitled “The Best Minds Are on It,” can be viewed on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APk5GmIjQhs, or at http://www.first2fast.com/.

Metro Productions scripted and created the video for the City of Hampton, utilizing its studio, facilities, producers, and crew to help illustrate Hampton’s message to Google. Metro strives to be a valuable part of our communities in Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Northern Virginia, and was honored to be asked to be a part of the City of Hampton’s campaign.

Hampton plans to have over 2,000 Facebook fans of the effort, and believes the video is important for promoting support in the community. Citizens are encouraged to show their support by visiting http://www.first2fast.com/ to become a Facebook fan, view the new video on YouTube, and answer the question, “What would you do with unlimited bandwith?”
Hampton submitted its application for Google Fiber last week, and is anticipating that support from the area will help them to win the bid.

New Equipment!

Metro added a new SteadiCam system to our collection of equipment this week, and we're really excited about it! Mike, Ryan, and the crew have been testing it in the office all week, and the results have been impressive. The shots are smooth, professional, and they can move around in ways and places they couldn't even attempt before. Looking forward to using it in a shoot next week!

Survey Results: How are companies communicating?

We conducted a survey back in November, asking all of you about your communications efforts and mediums. We've seen the results, and just as we'd expected, web-based applications are king right now. About 75% of our respondents use them to communicate with their clients, and 68% communicate with their employees this way as well. So, what kind of web-based applications are they using, you might ask? Well, almost everyone has an e-newsletter now- 87% are using them as a tool to communicate with clients, investors, and anyone else interested in their business. Also popular are social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) with 60%, and streaming video at 57% of respondents. Everyone is looking to interact in new ways with clients, employees, and investors, and these new online applications offer plenty of options.

We also asked about partnerships; when you're building your communications- web-based or otherwise- what is important to you and your company? Happily, most of you find the quality of your partner's work to be their most important attribute. Experience was second, which isn't surprising, since experience and quality often go hand-in-hand. Pricing took third place, followed closely by timeline and variety of services. Everyone wants a great product, especially if it's going on the web for the world to see!

We also were glad to find that video plays a prominent role for many of your companies-- 44% of respondents use it occasionally, 12% use it very frequently, and 15% of you can't live without it. Of the remainder, only 11% have no plans to use it yet, and 15% plan to join the ranks of video users.

Again, thanks to all who took our survey, and if you'd like to see more detailed charts and graphs of our results, click here!

Question 1: How does your company currently communicate with its clients?


Question 2: How does your company currently communicate with its employees?


Question 3: What web-based applications do you believe to be valuable communications tools?


Question 4: Please rank the following attributes of a communications partner, from most important (5) to least important (1).


Question 5: How important is video to your communications efforts?