Client Story: Colt Technology Services
Over the past few years we’ve produced a variety of videos for this fantastic tech company from interview videos, promotional content and animations. You can see that over the period of time that we’ve been working together Colt have come to rely on us as their trusted advisors for video content creation. Briefs have evolved from stock footage explainer films to highly creative scripted narrative commercials. This is exemplary of how we like to work with clients and where we’re able to add most value.
Promotional Video
Our first project together was in 2017 on a video that highlighted Colt’s SD WAN technology. We created this video completely in post-production, using sophisticated modern stock footage to demonstrate the professionalism and reliability of Colt.
In this video, animation is overlaid and colour grading is used to make the generic stock footage feel more in line with Colt’s brand. It also demonstrates the intangible and complex ideas that Colt needed to communicate – such as the animation between the skyscrapers to show that they offer a solution that helps with inter-company network infrastructure.
Corporate Video
Afterwards, Colt instructed us to create an engaging corporate video that demonstrated the benefits of moving to intelligent communications, which we adapted into three foreign language versions.
For this corporate video, we decided to use an ambitious combination of animation, stock footage and motion graphics to bring a complex topic to life. We used the motif of circles, which we have implemented previously in other videos we have made for Colt. The repetition of using circles both symbolises their logo, which is circular in shape, and also serves to drive home brand recognition.
Interview Video
Over the next two years or so, we continued to produce video for Colt such as product launch videos and promotional content. Then, Colt approached us with a brief for a case study testimonial interview about the work they do to support Google Cloud.
For this project, Colt asked whether we could add some creative ideas to what otherwise would be a very simple testimonial video. The results were a talking head interview mixed with animation to visually represent the core concepts of their product.
As 65% of people are visual learners, we want to give their audience something more interesting than a standard talking head interview, that allows them to take onboard the information in a method that suits them best. The images used in the video act as key visuals, enabling the audience to associate the illustrations with the dialogue, aiding retention and recall long after the video has finished.
What’s more, adding animation ended up being a cost-effective way to add visual flair to an interview, without having to capture B-roll or use expensive stock footage.
Thanks to Colt, this technique of mixing a well-shot live action interview, with animated text and icons overlaid onto the image, has since become one of our signature styles.
Animated Video
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Colt commissioned us to create an animation to promote their Cloud service offering. There was a lot of information to pack into one video so one of our main tasks was to simplify their complex offering to create a clear script with a targeted message.
We created this animation explainer for Colt using 2D flat design principals to conceptualise a character who finds herself in a tricky situation. We aligned her predicament with those of the typical Colt buyer persona: a procurement or IT manager who is overwhelmed with the plethora of choices available. We wrote the script to include the problem, but then moved swiftly onto the solution: Colt’s Cloud Services.
We made sure the brand is evident from the word go and throughout the production. From the colours used, to the iconography – everything was created using Colt’s brand guidelines as a reference point. This ensures that viewers who don’t make it as far as the Colt logo, will still become familiar with the brand and associate it with high-quality, clear communication.
Colt actually launched a brand refresh as we were finalising the animation but we were able to move quickly and adopted the new colour scheme, logo and end frame into the video.
The video is informative but fun to watch and aligned with the needs of the buyer persona, making it an effective piece of marketing collateral.
Commercial
Most recently, Colt came to us with a brief to visually communicate the strength of their partnerships. We pitched three concepts for this video: an animation, a documentary case study and a conceptual commercial about a team sport.
Colt liked the last option, and felt that the concept of using a cyclist and the team around them would serve as a good allegory for how Colt is stronger, together with their partners.
We then worked on the script together with Colt and assembled a creative team to bring this film to life.
We filmed over a weekend with the first day in North Wales to get the epic cycling shots, then in a studio in Hackney, East London for the training footage.
Editing and colour grading were completed within a week and the whole ad was turned around in less than two and a half weeks on a budget which would be far less than a commercial of the same calibre. We were able to achieve this because of our shorthand with Colt and their team.
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honour” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), is the leading international awards organisation honouring excellence on the Internet.
Hybrid Working with Ash
This video came about after Colt briefed us with an early stage idea for a hybrid working video. The brief included the concepts that they wanted to get across. If it had been read verbatim it would have made a six minute long video, which sounded like it come straight from an academic textbook. They trusted us to turn their complex, jargon laden report text into a video which would be audience friendly, entertaining and visually interesting.
One of the advantages of working with Bold Content is that we go to great lengths to get to know a brand in-depth. We then channel our client’s core values into creative videos that make them stand out from the crowd. Because we had been working with Colt for several years we know they have a vibrant and dynamic culture and we wanted to bring that out in every frame of the video.
We proposed the motif of connectivity and networking via balls that would represent data. Those balls would be fired into the sky from offices and also from homes in order to represent hybrid working. Eyebrows were raised at this approach because it was a creative leap away from anything that had been done before but Colt decided to trust us because we have a history of delivering extraordinary videos when we have creative license.
We had music made to fit the beats of the animation so when the balls of data appear we hear a horn sound in the music track. We worked closely with the brand team to ensure the light-hearted and playful tone reflected Colt’s distinctive brand tone of voice without ever becoming comical or risible.
We mixed live action footage with different styles of animation to keep the video fun and engaging. We designed the opening image to be thumb-stopping for audiences when scrolling through social media such as LinkedIn. The use of 3D animation with bold block colours is unusual and the horizontal motion of the buildings contrasts with the vertical scrolling motion of a social feed. All of this contributes towards making an attention grabbing opening shot.
Further to the concept of data being visualised in animation, we carried that through to the visuals we filmed with Ash and the final shot is of him throwing a teal coloured ball into the air. Teal is the colt brand colour so our production designer found themselves spray painting a lacrosse ball in the exact shade of teal to match their brand guidelines. These are the lengths we go to in order to bring the brand through in every frame.
Planning time to shoot creative cutaway shots both at the Colt head office and offsite to show hybrid working allowed us to include colt employees. The video was received really well internally because viewers loved seeing their colleagues on-screen. It makes for a really special team effort and contributed to camaraderie.
In this video we used 3D animation, 2D animated transitions, creative cutaway shots, cinematic interview filming, walking and talking shots. All these techniques elevate the content from what could have been a dull talking head interview with some generic stock footage cutaways.
If you’re interested in how we can help you to elevate your video production to encompass your unique brand then please get in touch via the contact page.
2D animations
After a re-brand Colt asked us to take their new brand elements and bring them to life in animation. We visualised data in creative ways to keep audiences engaged and make the information memorable.
Brand video
One of the high points of our relationship was being asked to create their flagship brand video. After a repositioning exercise, we spent a lot of time with their brand team getting to grips with the details of the new positioning. We drafted multiple concepts for them to choose from and iterated our main concept as the project progressed. The video needed to be ready to launch at a company-wide event, but because the positioning was still being moulded, we had to be very agile and adapt our concept at short notice. To differentiate the video we used the concept of photography along with a fast-paced edit. We wrote the script, adjusting it right up to the last minute. We shot the video in London, Paris, New York and Tokyo in a two week period. Post production was completed within three weeks, which included us managing a multi-stakeholder sign-off process, and the video was a triumph at the launch event.
We’re proud of the work we have produced with Colt over the years, and are always delighted to team up with them to deliver high quality video content. The more we work with them, the more we get to know their brand voice and company values. This has enabled us to produce video content that is creative, unique and still distinctly Colt.
Over the period of time that we’ve been working together Colt have come to rely on us as their trusted advisors for video content. Briefs have evolved from simple stock footage explainer films to highly creative, scripted narrative commercials & flagship brand videos. This is exemplary of how we like to work with clients and where we’re able to add most value.
Our clients
Bold Content Video have experience creating event videos for a wide range of clients and across a diverse range of industries. We have had the privilege of working with leading organisations such as Eventim Apollo and innovative businesses such as Warner Brothers and British Land.
