The East Tennessee Eye Bank : a videotape project

Corporate video is steadily growing as a useful communications tool for corporations and other organizations. Large companies have found video to be effective as a medium for training and informational purposes. Smaller organizations can also benefit from the use of video; however, these groups may not have a sufficient budget for in-house productions or for the services of a commercial production house.

This project offers an example of a nonprofessional approach to corporate video in smaller, modest-budget organizations. This approach provides a reasonably priced production service to the organization and a learning experience for those individuals involved in the production. The project research questions are designed to provide answers which contain useful information on the needs for corporate video in a smaller organization, based on the experiences of an actual production. The literature review considers current uses of corporate video and provides practical information on video production. The details of a video production for the East Tennessee Eye Bank are reported and analyzed in a production diary. The script of the eye bank production and recommendations for its improvement are included in the appendices.

The conclusions and recommendations drawn from the project emphasize some specific problems and needs for those who might under-take future projects of a similar nature. The most important of these can be summarized as follows. Quality equipment, production assistance, and talent must be secured before production shooting sessions begin. A shooting-session checklist is suggested as a means for the project producer to keep up with necessary production elements. Finally, a student production group is also recommended and described as a useful means of production service for smaller, modest-budget organizations.