Gray Matters

Solving the client’s marketing and sales problem, of showing value in an intangible service

We created a video to help school owners see value in a very intangible service like student assessment, whose results are not immediately visible and measurable. We needed to show how assessment improves the quality of a school’s education over a period of months, and hence improves its reputation, and leads to growth.

School owners were not able to see value in spending money on assessing students and teachers, despite explanations from the Sales team during the meeting. Gray Matters wanted a video that acts as a standardized script to be shown to the audience, after which the Sales team would answer questions. Thus the video would function as a key marketing and sales tool for selling the assessment service.

Our Approach involved the idea of how the assessment report brings about an overall transformation of the school. We built on the understanding that only when a school tests the performance of its students and teachers, can it know what improvements are needed, and then work on them with help from Gray Matters India.

We carried over this theme of transformation into our visuals and animation, to bring across this point even more strongly. We built the school and props using 3d software and gave it the look of the paper. Through visual effects, we showed the paper peeling off and a new and improved version of the school emerging from within. This created a feeling of a 360 degree, inside out transformation, whose tangibility we brought out through the report handed over in the end.

We wanted to show the thoughts in the principal’s mind being played out on the table before her. Since paper is something that’s usually found on a person’s desk, it was our first choice for depicting the imaginary world. We created the paper digitally, giving a realistic look so that it blends with the live-action footage.

Here are some pictures of the live video shoot On Location

Paper Peel Effect

Here is a render of the paper peeling effect we were aiming for, in order to give a realistic Look and Feel to the props. They were built using 3d software and realistic lighting.

School Made in 3D Software

This is short animation of the transformation of the school, which we created using 3d software, to make it more believable.

GMI Live Production Stages

This was the money shot of the video. We tested this shot thoroughly before we called the actor to see if we were getting 3d tracking and the point of contact right. It was important to make sure that the report that the 3d character was handing over to the real actor, was in-sync with the live shoot.

Conclusion

This animated explainer video using 3d animation and live-action shots was able to depict the overall transformation that happens to a school that uses Gray Matters assessment. It aided the marketing and sales process by helping users see assessment as a more tangible service.