Microsoft Office 2010 Developer Video Shoot

I just felt like doing a different kind of post today.

I spent some time on camera yesterday as part of video you'll see when Microsoft Office 2010 launches. I didn't get as much make-up applied on this video, so I'm worried I'll look as tired as I felt. There's a lot that goes into preparing marketing videos that make the right impact. Because I address a more technical audience, there's always a challenge of striking the right balance between going way technical or just providing what developers routinely call "marketing fluff". Developers typically don't relish being marketed to, but they crave information and data. I'm a very technical guy, so I usually appreciate more the in-depth content rather than mere sound-bites at a very high messaging altitude.

However, there is a need to communicate the overall picture, the context, what all of the technical stuff really adds up to. And, that often means not talking about APIs or checksums. I was thinking about this as I walked through the store yesterday. There were shelves and shelves of books, most of them with a glossy image on the front. It's pretty amazing when you think about it, but for those images to be effective they have less than a second to do their job. That job is: distinguish Book X from every other book on the shelf. All of the words inside (the technical detail if you will) mean little if no one gets around to reading them.

The idea behind dust-jacket design (the highest altitude message I can think of at a bookstore) is to get shoppers to take a closer look at a given book. Once they pick up the book, the reviewer's quotes and other things on the cover are designed to get shoppers to open the book and look at a few pages or, better yet, make the leap to the purchase decision. I respect what the book jacket designers do even if I find some of the jacket images often trite and sometimes ridiculous (How about those romance novels covers?). Fortunately, none of the marketing we do is on that level!

The video I just completed for Office 2010 launch has some of the mid-altitude messaging, but it also contains some excellent examples from the real world that lend credence to the value of Office 2010 extensibility. And, they're fun to do. I think we struck the right balance.

I've included here two quick audio clips from after the shoot. The first is with Barbara Terzieff, who directed the whole affair. She's truly charming and very skilled at keeping us all on task.

Speaking with Barbara about video shoot

The second playful clip is with Chris. He handle the main camera, and he was very easy going.

Speaking with Chris about video shoot

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Office 2010,Office,Productivity

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