Making Of
Build HER Dreams
Bed Build, in collaboration with the New River Valley Homebuilders Association and Sleep in Heavenly Peace
These are the kind of stories we want to tell.
We’ve worked with the New River Valley Homebuilders Association on a number of projects over the years. Since many of our clients are in the trades and construction industries, it’s a natural fit for us. The NRVHBA does important, impactful work and is exactly the type of organization we want to support. At Aspire, we want to help those who help already. Kelsey, Emily, and the whole association exemplify that duty.
This event, dedicated to helping girls learn about the trades and see for themselves the women who work in construction every day, was incredible to see. Collaborating with Sleep in Heavenly Peace to build beds for those who need them in our community, it was an event we truly wanted to promote and share.
Location
Choosing a single location is efficient with time and therefore budget. We’ve worked with executive director Kelsey Grow on other projects, and she’s well aware of how to best manage a video project.
Filming at ABC Supply in Christiansburg, Virginia, was an excellent choice, both for filming and for the event itself. We kept each interview’s backdrop standard to pay homage to the location and maintain cohesiveness throughout.
Special considerations: audio, audio, audio
Good sound is crucial to any video and an absolute necessity when on-camera interviews are the focus. We were filming only a few dozen feet from power tools, generators, and dozens of voices, so we were very concerned with maintaining good audio and monitored levels as we went. We even took a momentary pause to pull the audio files off our recorders and listen in a quiet environment to make sure things would work well.
The strategy paid off. Some noise reduction and sound design was necessary, but we were very impressed with the audio quality here.
- Client
- NRV Homebuilders Association
- Project type
- Video Production
- What we did
Team members
Devon Arnold
Lead Videography, Drone Operator
Devon operated camera equipment at this location and took on the bulk of the b-roll and drone duties. Devon also did all the video editing for this project, including custom graphics.
Jonathan Roberts
Lead Photographer, Behind-the-Scenes
Jonathan produced the still photography for this project. Capturing content at the event as well as filming behind-the-scenes content, he produced media throughout this project.
Speakers and collaborators
Thank you to everyone who spoke with us for the event. It's tough to be on camera and we're always grateful for those who are willing.
- Emily Cochran, Builders FirstSource
- Gretchen Merix, Balzer & Associates
- Cassidy Jones, Slate Creek Builders
- Nancy Phillips, Legacy Builders
- Tori Zimbardi, Baseline Solar Solutions
Delivery and support
In addition to the video deliverables, our team captured stills during the event as well as drone photography. Unless our clients insist, we always want to provide a basic level of photography for any video project. Although video is powerful, photography adds depth and many options for marketing: think social media posts, email newsletters, and more. Quality photos also ensure great thumbnail images for each video.
Delivering quality assets throughout the whole process is crucial to success.
Lessons learned
Any filming day will require us to pivot in some way. We came in with a plan to set up lighting, set design, and a rather controlled interview environment. Once things got rolling and everyone was moving fast, it was clear we needed to pull people for interviews in very rapid succession.
Knowing we would be recording so close to so much construction noise, we were timid at first. After the first interview, we reviewed the audio tracks and decided they were more than adequate. That gave us the confidence we needed to finish out the rest.
