How To Utilize A VNR Approach to Promote Aircraft Companies.

A Case Study

When Wingspan Air & Space Channel entered the Wichita Television Marketplace in 1998, it was vitally important to create a national introductory presence for Boeing-Wichita, Raytheon Aircraft, Cessna Aircraft and Bombardier Aerospace/Learjet. It was determined that a soft-promotional video series of the "big-four" be created.

The Television Network

Wingspan Air & Space Channel launched 24-hour national/international programming April 2, 1998. The Channel featured aviation and aerospace news, current events as well as documentary, historical, educational and entertainment features. Wingspan's parent company, The Network Group was best known as the producer of the popular "Wings" series, seen on the Discovery Channel.

The Air Capital Video Producer

Carl Chance of Air Capital Video Producers was chosen by Wingspan Chairman Walter Boyne to be the Midwest-based Wingspan News Consultant/Correspondent. It was Chance's job to uncover, develop, write, produce & direct the video production and narrate Kansas Aviation and Aerospace industry news stories and features.

The Production Development Process

The pre-production and postproduction elements were accomplished as detailed in the following sequence. The key here was to get a "feel" for the feature story designed with effective story-telling communication. Punctuating the continuity was the shooting and usage of exciting, dynamic video footage that supported and propelled the story forward.

1. Research story potential through press releases, interviews, company archival information and website resources.
2. Contact companies/individuals regarding the feature story to determine approval and staff members to be interviewed.
3. Design/write, story elements in script form to support interview questions, lead-in's, sound-bites and tags.
4. Scout/select shoot locations and schedule production crew and interviewee's.
5. Conduct location video shoot with interviews, cut-away's, stand-up's and voice-over narration as needed.
6. Complete package with post production/edit of feature story scene segments and graphics/titling, etc.

Example Video Storyboard Scripts

Each of the big-four, Boeing-Wichita, Raytheon Aircraft, Cessna Aircraft and Bombardier Aerospace/Learjet were asked the same leading question for the interview...

"How do you see yourself in the global aviation and aerospace marketplace?" The following Video Storyboard Scripts were produced from that question for Boeing and Bombardier.

BOEING & LEARJET, WINGSPAN-WICHITA NEWS STORY
Total Time: 2:07

Bldg. ext./signage, and/or air-footage of all "big-four" product.. Show Boeing Bldg. signage :15 total	(CHANCE-V/O) TODAY, THE WICHITA AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY "BIG-FOUR" EMPLOY APPROXIMATELY THIRTY-SEVEN THOUSAND PEOPLE IN THE WICHITA METRO AREA ALONE. BOEING-WICHITA REPRESENTS THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE OF THOSE EMPLOYEES.
Jeff Turner/Boeing-Wichita w/B-roll :28 total time	(BOEING INTERVIEWEE STATEMENT..) "WELL CARL, I THINK THAT PROBABLY THE BIGGEST ISSUE WITH BOEING IN THE GLOBAL AVIATION MARKETPLACE IS THE LEADERSHIP POSITION THAT WE HAVE.. PRIMARILY IN COMMERCIAL AIRPLANES. THIS WICHITA FACTORY, SIXTY TO SEVENTY PERCENT OF OUR PRODUCT IN ANY GIVEN YEAR IS DESTINED FOR NON U.S. AIR CARRIERS. WE SEE OURSELVES AS THE LEADING, AEROSPACE MANUFACTURING COMPANY IN THE WORLD."
Learjet ext. signage :12	(CHANCE-V/O) LEARJET, A MAJOR COMPANY OF BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE IS LOOKING TOWARD SIGNIFICANT GROWTH WITH THE SUPPORT OF BOMBARDIER, AND CURRENTLY LEARJET AIRCRAFT SALES HAVE DOUBLED OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
Chance, on-cam. :07 Mac Beatson/Learjet w/B-roll :45	WELL MAC, HOW DOES BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE LEARJET SEE ITSELF IN THE GLOBAL AVIATION MARKETPLACE? (LEARJET INTERVIEWEE STATEMENT..) "WER'E AS SOLID AS ANYBODY ELSE, WER'E IN A GROWTH PERIOD HERE THAT'S TWO-FOLD.. WER'E COMING INTO GOOD ECONOMIC TIMES, BUT LEARJET'S COMING INTO BETTER TIMES INASMUCH AS THEY'VE FINALLY BEEN PURCHASED BY A CORPORATION THAT INTENDS TO GROW THE COMPANY. AND SO OUR GROWTH PATTERN'S SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN OUR COMPETITION, IT'S BASED ON THE ECONOMY BUT IT'S ALL BASED ON THE SUPPORT THAT WE GET FROM BOMBARDIER.. AND I THINK WE'LL BE A MAJOR PLAYER IN THIS MID-SIZED MARKET, AND IN THE IN-BETWEEN ENTRY JET MARKET WITH OUR NEW LEAR 45, UH, WHICH WE HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL BACKLOG FOR NOW.. OUR PRODUCTION RATES ARE NICE.. WE, WER'E UP ABOUT THIRTY-FIVE PERCENT, LAST YEAR OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR, AND WER'E GONNA BE UP ALMOST DOUBLE, THIS YEAR OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR."
Chance, control-tower on-cam. for bottom-end tag-out.. :19	(CHANCE/ON-CAM.) WITH ADVANCED AIRCRAFT DESIGN AND THE EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MATERIALS, PROCESSES AND MANUFACTURING, THE FUTURE OFFERS INFINITE POTENTIAL FOR THE CONTINUED GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WICHITA AIR CAPITAL AIRCRAFT AND AEROSPACE INDUSTRY. CARL CHANCE,WINGSPAN NEWS .. WICHITA.

Technical Notes

Many of the scenes for these Wingspan news features were shot with a Sony DV Mini 1000 3CCD camera. The video camera stores the picture in digital form which can later be transferred and received by the Media 100, the non-linear edit system which was used.

Some of the file footage came from BetaCam SP format, which was loaded, on the Media 100's high-speed hard drive through component connectors. The videographer/editor was Alan Van Petten of AV Video Productions, Wichita, Kansas.

Summary

Not only did the video productions introduce the Wichita Aviation and Aerospace Industry to the nation; the videos served to become promotional ambassadors for each aircraft company. They were viewed by a captive and targeted audience and were showcased in one of the most powerful and credible forms known to communication...

the Television Broadcast Medium.

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Wings Over Kansas® is a product of Chance Communications, Inc. and Air Capital Video Producers®, a division of C.C.I.