The Making of Pamiris Client Spotlight Video Series: Pt II

One of our initial pair of client profile videos featured Second Stories, a self-described “faith based, nonprofit, community development corporation, focused on neighborhood transformation in Portland and beyond.” (The other client we interviewed was Coffeehouse NW/Sterling Coffee – click here for the video.)

Filming the video, our team (Alyssa, Jared, and I) was faced with different hurdles of filming a nonprofit whose work revolves around building community. We had to walk the line between exposing the amazing work Second Stories does without overexposing the people they seek to build personal connections with.

I was still an intern when I initiated the project, and was admittedly a little intimidated by the perceived monster I had created for myself. Luckily, the videographer Alyssa tracked down from her extensive network of creatives was Jared Birt. A man perfect parts laid back and professional, Jared was able to take my ideas and turn them into well-edited videos worthy of the Pamiris Youtube page.

In preparation for the project, Jared, Alyssa and I met to discuss our vision for Pamiris’ sophomore online video. For the Coffeehouse NW/Sterling Coffee Roasters video, I had drawn up a thorough set of story boards. But because I had never visited the locations where Jared would be shooting, the team had to be more flexible and creative while filming and editing the video. We prepared a video consent form and question list before contacting executive director Clark Blakeman about filming.

We decided to film parts of a conference where he was lecturing, and a Friday Night Stories session. During Friday Night Stories, the Second Stories crew and a group of 30 registered participants stand on SE Powell and 82nd to hand out hot dogs and listen to the different voices of the community. While we wanted to film Clark and his team in action, we had to honor the privacy of the individuals sharing their stories. Jared was careful to keep his distance while filming and allow Clark and his team to do their work in the community.

In the end, Jared did an excellent job piecing together the footage. Clark and assistant director Andreas Lunden eloquently articulate both the pleasure they find in their own work, and how helpful Pamiris has been in adapting to their nonprofit payroll needs.

We’re currently looking for more client volunteers to participate in the second round of our client spotlight video project. Please email me, Sarah Eadie, if interested.

Want to hear more about what Pamiris can do to minimize your payroll, HR, and timetracking headaches? Request a quote.

The Making of Pamiris Client Spotlight Video Series: Pt I

The members of the Pamiris team are a creative bunch. Administrative assistant Laura Slaby graduated from PSU with a degree in art practices, for goodness sake. While payroll can be pretty dry, we’re inspired as a company by innovation, problem-solving, and creativity in unlikely places.

Which is why we’re in love with the Creators Project, a collaboration between Intel and Vice Magazine. The Creators Project features brief 5 – 10 minute videos of devastatingly hip artists applying bleeding edge technology to their craft. And while neither Vice nor Intel is mentioned directly in the videos, both companies benefit from the subtle re-branding they grant one another: Intel’s presence legitimizes Vice’s somewhat controversial reputation, and Vice lends some of their hipster credibility to the project’s considerably geekier partner.

What I as the social media marketing director at Pamiris took from the Creators Project was the idea that it’s possible to advertise an unsexy product (ie. integrated time and attendance systems, &c.) by allowing the cool people who choose to use it have the spotlight. Thus, our client profile video project was born.

I wanted the videos themselves to be a win-win online marketing set-up for both Pamiris, and whichever clients we chose to work with. My goal was to spread awareness of Pamiris’ services through exposure of our valued clients and their businesses. Pamiris, smaller in size and influence than both Vice Magazine and Intel, can’t afford to have its corporate identity entirely removed from the video series. But I hope that by focusing less on our specific services and more on the companies these services empower, the client video spotlight project engages potential clients more personally than our brochures or company website.

   

In Part II of the Client Spotlight Video Series post set, I’ll be discussing the process through which videographer Jared Birt, Pamiris CEO Alyssa Agee, and I planned, shot, and produced one of our first short films with Portland-based nonprofit Second Stories.

While you wait anxiously for part II of this post (coming on Monday), I encourage you to head over to the Webby Awards website and vote for The Creator’s Project (under Branded Content). As I mention above, the project is inspiring both as a showcase of modern artists and as a model of engagement for businesses looking to promote themselves by highlighting their value in their clients’ day-to-day business lives.

Interested in finding out how you can be one of our valued customers? Go to Pamiris.com to find out more about our outsourced payroll/HR/timetracking services and get in touch for a quote.