<![CDATA[CORTRON Media, LLC - Director\'s Blog]]>Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:47:04 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[August 03rd, 2020]]>Mon, 03 Aug 2020 14:55:14 GMThttp://cortronmedia.com/directors-blog/covid-comeback-marketing-magic
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]]><![CDATA[Remembering Together Pittsburgh - Memorial Day 2020]]>Wed, 03 Jun 2020 15:47:18 GMThttp://cortronmedia.com/directors-blog/remembering-together-pittsburgh-memorial-day-2020Dustin Dowling Machine Crew Media Memorial Day Service at Soldiers & Sailors Hall
Memorial Day 2020 promised to be low key at best and perhaps, even, a disappointment. The rigors of COVID-19 social distancing ruled out parades and large group celebrations. Without those, it was difficult to imagine how to remember the fallen with real power and reverence.

Still there were those who refused to forget our brave military members who have made the ultimate sacrifice. And, in conjunction with the current technology wielded by Cortron Media to blend a hybrid program of live streaming video and pre-recorded events, the decision was made to step out into new territory for the principals involved and work hard and fast (with only a three week lead time), to produce a memorable and worthy tribute. After what seemed like dozens of live “zoom” online planning meetings, a “virtual” Memorial Day tribute titled “Remembering Together, Pittsburgh” began taking shape!

There would be two parts to the production, a live sequence shot at Pittsburgh’s venerable Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum; and a series of pre-recorded, short videos provided by veteran service organizations, elected officials and individuals paying tribute to family members who served the country and in some cases, died in the process. The event would be broadcast live as a webcast, streamed live to YouTube and Facebook, and, archived for later viewing.

The Veteran’s Breakfast Club is a remarkable organization that gathers veterans over a good meal and provides time to share their stories. Key to the great success of “VBC” is the talent and heart of it’s president, Todd DePastino. Todd is an historian by trade. And even though he’s never served in the Military, he intimately knows of their bravery and record in defending our freedoms. Todd is also expert in drawing our military out in describing their service experiences in short interview sessions.

Todd took the lead in organizing and funding much of the production of “Remember Together, Pittsburgh.” But he had a very significant partner which provided a memorable venue for the live events of the day, Pittsburgh’s Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. There, John McCabe, Executive Director, provided free and open access to this one of a kind military museum and auditorium. John also filled duties as the master of ceremonies for the live events of the day and played a key role in its planning.
As a result, the traditional elements of patriotic music, a stirring singing of the national anthem by Mr. McCabe’s wife Caroline, reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance with hands on hearts, and an inspiring, short talk by Mr. McCabe “restored” our sense of doing things right for the vets.

Then Pittsburgh’s Gold Star Mothers and Spouses took over. These women, who have given more than any other living American citizens, graced the stage while placing beautiful, floral wreaths near the podium, and stepping back for a moment as a color guard from the Vietnam Veterans, Inc. rendered them proper salutes!

The ladies then led a procession out to the Hall’s imposing plaza to view and listen to an exciting rifle salute. That was followed by a moving rendition by a single bugler of taps. None of the Gold Star representatives emerged completely dry-eyed from that experience.

After dismissing the audience from the live portion of the celebration, Mr. McCabe invited all to follow the pre-recorded programming accessible from links on the Soldiers and Sailors web site, or that of the Veteran’s Breakfast Club. A feed also went out over YouTube and Facebook live.

Cortron Media provided a seasoned production crew with heavy, live event experience to capture on-stage ceremonies and a brief outdoor display and tribute. We are gratified to have been asked to start planning a similar production for 2020’s Veteran’s Day Celebration!
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 Also check out the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's article covering this event!

Director Doug
​dmalcolm@cortronmedia.com
]]><![CDATA[Countering Corona]]>Fri, 01 May 2020 20:50:12 GMThttp://cortronmedia.com/directors-blog/countering-coronaCortron Media Countering Corona
At Cortron media, our coverage of the COVID-19 virus began Jan 20th 2020 when we produced an interview with Dr. Amesh Adalja and transmitted his appearance live via satellite to CGTN, a Chinese television network.

Since that first interview, Dr. Adalja has appeared in about ninety live television interviews in our studios! In those interviews, he has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and Network Affiliate stations. Additionally, he has participated as the featured guest on several Internet podcasts that originated from our studios as well.

Dr. Adalja is considered to be one of the premier and most sought-after technical
experts during the pandemic, for good reason. Shown below is the bio we present to the networks regarding his background and qualifications as an on-air presenter and his first live shot at the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak.


Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, MD, FIDSA.,  is  a  Senior  Scholar  at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Health Security, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, and, Adjunct Instructor in the Department  of Medicine’s  Division of  Infectious  Diseases  at  the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC. He also serves on the City of Pittsburgh’s HIV Commission. He is board certified in internal medicine, emergency medicine, infectious diseases, and critical care medicine.  Dr. Adalja is a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America's (IDSA) Public Health Committee, the American College of Emergency Physicians Pennsylvania  Chapter’s  EMS  & Terrorism Disaster Preparedness Committee and the US Department of Health and Human Services’ National Disaster Medical System Disaster Medical Assistance Team, with which, he was deployed to Haiti after the earthquake in 2010. He has also served on US government panels tasked with developing guidelines for the treatment of botulism and anthrax in mass casualty settings as well as a FEMA working group on nuclear disaster recovery.

Dr. Adalja is an Associate Editor of the journal Health Security and was a contributing author for the Handbook of Bioterrorism and Disaster Medicine.  He has published in such journals as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Adalja is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American College of Physicians, and the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Adalja completed 2 fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh—one in infectious diseases, for which he served as chief fellow, and, one in critical care medicine. He completed a combined residency in internal medicine and emergency medicine at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he served as chief resident and as a member of the infection control committee.

During the course of his coverage of the pandemic, Dr. Adalja has played an important role in alerting officials and healthcare managers to what he saw as key issues and pressure points for our national treatment and testing organizations going forward. Foremost in his assessment was the likelihood of overloading our hospital Intensive Care units if cases increased too rapidly.

Fortunately, at the time of this writing, various states are feeling empowered to begin to open select segments and regions within their territories to return to normal work and activity. Of course, we hope that easing restrictions will be achieved without a marked increase in hospitalizations and fatalities.

Regardless, Dr. Adalja is poised to continue to offer opinion and advice in whatever situations we find ourselves as a nation. And Cortron Media will do everything possible to put him on the air whenever and wherever he is needed.

Director Doug
​dmalcolm@cortronmedia.com
]]><![CDATA[Friends Are Certainly On Of Our Greatest Resources!]]>Mon, 06 Apr 2020 16:44:14 GMThttp://cortronmedia.com/directors-blog/friends-are-certainly-on-of-our-greatest-resourcesTerms and Conditions by P. Michael Henninger
One of mine is a wonderful voice actor named Tony Chiapetta. Tony narrates TV ads, video presentations and audio books with great range and skill.

One day, Tony asked me to look at what our company could do to promote an audio and hard copy book written by his friend, P. Michael Henninger. We arranged for “Mike” to visit our production
studio.

His thriller, titled, “Terms and Conditions,” captured the imagination of our crew right away (we liked Mike, too). In it, people are drawn into signing on for a digital game that takes over their lives by showing a spooky omniscience of details of their daily existence, and continually prompts players to take questionable moral actions and to harshly avenge anyone who has ever slighted them! It seemed very apparent that this exciting book would make an excellent candidate for a movie-style “trailer” video to promote it online to the world. Of course, the first step in our process was to read the book and map a strategy.

Undistracted, I’d say you could read the book, easily, in two or three days. It’s a page-turner and the chapters are short and episodic. But I was limited to late nights and a weekend for my reading, so I got to ponder the book for about ten days. That was fortunate, though, because when it finally came time to write the trailer script, it just rolled out onto the page.

That process was fun, too, because I got an opportunity, with the split page format for video script writing, to offer suggestions to our excellent editor for the types of imagery or video footage that could be used to “cover” the words of the running narration. And, with “Terms and Conditions,” we got to be a little bit campy and uncork some slightly tongue in cheek elements designed to scare and mystify!

The video is available to see below. You can judge how we succeeded. But the response, to date, has been overwhelmingly positive!!

Creating a neat, little video doesn’t mean that much to our client, though, if we don’t empower it to reach the audience he desires. That’s why (due to the virus) we held a virtual meeting with mike and gave him direct access to our in-house social media guru, Rob “Bobby Blaze” O’Brien. During that session, we reviewed each of the online platforms that Mike is currently using to promote his books (be sure to check out his excellent “Casablanca” series) and created the best strategy to incorporate the video trailer onto those platforms. As usual, we also looked to do other marketing, including running Facebook ads designed to reach potential contacts in Hollywood.

This was one of Cortron Media’s first forays into using video production to promote a published work and the response we’ve received from a well-established publisher, as well as, the general public, has been overwhelming.  So, we are particularly grateful to a good friend and great voice, Tony Chiapetta for introducing us to the wonderful author P. Michael Henninger!

Watch The Trailer Here

Buy Now

​Director Doug
​dmalcolm@cortronmedia.com
]]><![CDATA[Are We Your Dance Partner?]]>Sun, 01 Mar 2020 15:28:04 GMThttp://cortronmedia.com/directors-blog/are-we-your-dance-partnerAre We Your Dance Partner?
Cortron Media is an excellent resource for producing promotional, training or orientation videos and television commercials for any established business, even those still in a successful start up phase of development.

We are not a good match for someone who is a serial entrepreneur, doing two or three things at once, none of them particularly well.  We are looking for business owners who've had time to test their products or services in the marketplace and delivered them well to several happy customers.  That creates an opportunity for testimonials, and it creates confidence in the client's ability to deliver quality products and/or service.  We refine and build on that message, highlighting anything unique about what the business offers.

Here's another take.  We look for people that have been pouring their resources and energy into delivering something of value to a marketplace 24/7.  They have put marketing on the back burner but now see a need to promote what they have in place by finding a way to tell their story.  That makes them a perfect prospect for us.  We enthusiastically share with them our following advantages:

1.  Pre-production marketing assessment to define a winning brand and themes to sell it.  We are accomplished story tellers.

2.  Excellent, professional work - great videography, sound and lighting. 

3.  Professional support for the client if they need or choose to appear on camera.  We perform hundreds of live studio interviews each year via satellite for FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, Bloomberg, etc.  As a result, we are experts in helping people to relax, and look and sound their best on camera.

4.  Our satellite TV activity also enables us to offer extremely competitive rates for video production.  We are one of the busiest Sat TV studios in the U.S.  That revenue stream enables us to serve non-profits and entrepreneurs at rates that are among the most competitive in our industry.

5.  We have also invested in considerable libraries of stock HD video and Hi Res photo stills that portray most business situations, a wide variety of industries and the full range of human emotions.  As a result, we can save our clients having to pay for new video to be shot for the entirety of their presentation.  These savings are significant!

6.  Finally, we include a session usually lasting a couple of hours, after a marketing video is completed, in which the client sits with me in the edit suite and with our social media in-house expert.  We format the video for digital marketing platforms and actually place it, fully-functioning, on those platforms.  This is a practical and extremely valuable service what could be costly to achieve from a separate, specialty consultant. I've focused primarily on marketing applications for video. 

However, Cortron Media also produces outstanding employee orientation, training and safety videos with longer run times.  We're also skilled in creating effective television advertising and non-profit public service announcements.
​

​Director Doug
​dmalcolm@cortronmedia.com
]]><![CDATA[Does Everyone You Know, Know About Your Business?]]>Sat, 01 Feb 2020 16:22:15 GMThttp://cortronmedia.com/directors-blog/does-everyone-you-know-know-about-your-businessPicture
I have a question for you? By taking a few minutes, would you be able to create a list of twenty or more people or businesses that you’d like to do business with? Include in this list, individuals who may have a general impression of what you do but have no idea of all that you’ve done to be successful and create satisfaction for your customers.

We’ll help you create an excellent marketing email that doesn’t just tell your story, it will show it, in a professional three minute video that you can use in multiple ways to prospect for new business. The email will include a hot link that takes readers immediately to the video on your YouTube channel. Or if you don’t have a YouTube presence, we’ll create a channel for you at no additional expense.

Your presentation will allow you to describe why you got into business, initially, and your passion for what you are doing now. It can show any images you have of what you do or products you offer. We can also enhance your content by accessing our considerable libraries of stock HD video and High-Res photos.

To personalize your project, we’ll record your voice reading the narrative script of the video, and produce an on-camera segment, if you like, so you can introduce yourself. By the way, don’t worry about doing the on-camera piece. We are highly experienced at helping people look and sound their best!

Finally, we’ll format your video for whatever uses you may require, from your web site home page to all your social media favorites. You are welcome to sit with us as we install the video on any desired platform or program.

Nearly everyone you know who owns a computer will soon be properly informed about what you do. And if they don’t have an immediate need for your products or services, they can easily forward your message to someone who does.
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This is one more way that at Cortron Media, we can tell your story!!
​

​Director Doug
​dmalcolm@cortronmedia.com
]]><![CDATA[Selling is Like Dating]]>Wed, 01 Jan 2020 20:24:21 GMThttp://cortronmedia.com/directors-blog/selling-is-like-dating-remember-whenSelling is like Dating, Remember When? Cortron Media
How would you describe your approach to dating? In other words, how did (or are you) presenting yourself to your dates or prospective dates?

 - Is your appearance important?
 - Do you find natural ways to promote your accomplishments?
 - Do you present yourself as a decent, worthwhile, reasonable person?

Most people would say yes to all the above. But think about how you present your company or organization to the marketplace? This is crucial to your business, because success in a dating relationship is very similar to converting a new prospect to a happy, repeat customer. So, let’s look at how you are doing:

 - Do your marketing tools (branding, promotional videos, online presence), reflect the same professionalism that you maintain in delivering your products or services?
 - Have you polished several success stories supported by client testimonials?
 - Do you commit to high standards in how you do business?

If not, you have lots of company. People start and close businesses all the time without ever dealing with those issues. Since you’re still in business, though, let’s look quickly at some reasons that people don’t work efficiently at their marketing programs.

 - EXPENSE – I’ll take a look at our marketing when we’re doing better financially.
 - TIME – I can’t take time to review everything with a list of vendors I don’t even know. I’m
too busy just trying to make payroll!
 - LACK OF CONFIDENCE – I’m not sure what I want to do with our marketing, but I can’t
afford to make a mistake with someone we bring in.

At CORTRON MEDIA, we’re committed to taking away all those concerns in order to help you be more successful.

 - Our rates are among the best in our business. We also own the rights to considerable HD footage and Hi Rez photo stills to be able to portray many sequences in video that you
otherwise would have to pay significant money to shoot from scratch.

 - We’ve developed ways to allow our clients to have as much or as little hands on participation in producing quality video and television promotions as they desire.

​ - We provide more than adequate opportunities for clients to review and approve key elements of their projects, as they are developed, without ever having to leave their office or business. This eliminates a client’s fear that they are going to face a big disappointment when we deliver their project.

We wish you and your organization a Happy New Year, and great success in the year ahead!

​Director Doug
​dmalcolm@cortronmedia.com
]]><![CDATA[2019: The Year In Review]]>Mon, 02 Dec 2019 14:09:46 GMThttp://cortronmedia.com/directors-blog/2019-the-year-in-reviewCortron Media 2019 A Year In Review
Don’t you hate those annual holiday missives written by friends who think that the minuscule events in their lives are of interest to us? After all, we have our own victories and defeats that are waged on the battlefield of life upon which we must ruminate – right? ​
Whoa-a-a-a! That’s really cynical! As a matter of fact and as the year nears completion, I want to “toot” the horn of Cortron Media for accomplishments during 2019:


​Entrepreneurial success stories

- Kim Forrest successfully launches  Bokeh Capital Partners  after her career at Fort Pitt Capital Group
- Wexford Acting Studio launches exciting new promotional campaign


​Our Platform Improvements

- New History Exhumed Blog launched on the anniversary of the JFK assassination
- Tremendous advancement with Veterans Television Network including the show Let's Talk with Diane Richard & The Veterans Breakfast Club


​Top 8 News Stories we covered (no particular order)


​Opioid Crisis
- Bradley Stein, senior physician policy researcher at the Rand Corporation, appeared on CGTN America to discuss the impact on this crisis

Mass Shooting in Dayton & El Paso
- Edward Stack, CEO of Dicks Sporting Goods, appeared on CNN with Chris Cuomo to
discuss commitment to control firearms sales

Democratic Debates and reaction
- Tom Perez, DNC chairman, appeared on MSNBC & CNN 
- Beto O'Rourke made a stop at our studio while on his campaign train for an interview with CNN on his birthday (Sept 26)

Immigration Crisis at Southern Boarder
- Mark Morgan, CBP Commissioner, appeared on Fox News
- Salena Zito, author and columnist, consistently covered this story on CNN
- Dan Kovalik, Human Rights & Labor Lawyer, appeared on RT America with his take

Presidential Impeachment
- Brit Hume appeared with Tucker Carlson to discuss the formal announcement of the impeachment inquiry
- Ken Gormley, president of Duquesne University, appeared on CNN
- Harry Litman, Washington Post columnist, appeared on CNN over the Thanksgiving holiday
​
Jeffrey Epstein
- Cameron Lindsay, former federal penitentiary warden, appeared various times on Fox News along with Dr. Cyril H. Wecht

Venezuelan Presidential Crisis (Guaido vs Maduro)
- Dan Kovalik, Human Rights & Labor Lawyer, appeared on RT America Various times

The Mueller Report
- Paul McNulty, President of Grove City College, appeared on PBS News Hour
- Salena Zito appeared on CNN numerous times with breaking details with this story and many others

​We are thankful for our friends, associates, experts and clients. We extend our best wishes to all during this holiday season and look forward to a happy, healthy and successful 2020!
​

​​Director Doug
​dmalcolm@cortronmedia.com
]]><![CDATA[CAMERA SHY? YOU JUST NEED A LITTLE HELP!]]>Fri, 01 Nov 2019 10:53:32 GMThttp://cortronmedia.com/directors-blog/camera-shy-you-just-need-a-little-helpDennis Unkovic at Pittsburgh Video Tech Center
In the Pittsburgh studios of Cortron Media, we help everyday people look and sound their best while appearing in their business marketing and PR videos. We’ve learned to do that in the course of producing thousands of satellite and network TV interviews for CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, etc.

Our first concern in producing videos is establishing a strong message for our clients. Sometimes they take the lead in creating their own first script draft. Sometimes, we do that for them. Most scenarios fall somewhere in between.

As the video shoot date approaches, we coach our clients regarding what to wear (modest styles, soothing shades) and what to avoid (busy, intricate patterns and noisy jewelry).
If our presenter happens to be at our studio any time prior to the day of shooting, we take them into the studio to help orient them and build their comfort level with what will happen the day of the shoot.

Then, on the shoot day, we begin to relax presenters in the process of their visit to the makeup suite, and later, in the studio as we adjust lighting and sound equipment. We instruct clients to always pitch their remarks to and “through” the lens of the camera. Finally, we encourage them to maintain a relaxed, but upright posture, and a friendly, confident demeanor.

Cortron Media provides whatever scripting support is necessary. We’ll supply a teleprompter for lengthier presentations, create and arrange cue cards, or post an easy-to-read presentation outline on a white board.

Whether or not the client has elected to use our makeup services, all studio presenters receive “valet service” for straightening ties, brushing off or even steaming wrinkled garments, and always providing a hand mirror and clean hair brush. We continue to monitor appearance issues during the shoot and makeup is available to touch up foreheads, noses and chins.

We also let people know that we are in the business of “retakes.” This minimizes performance pressure to know that we expect and welcome “do overs.” If need be, we will record just a line or phrase at a time until the presenter can hit their stride.
​
Finally, a good editor can often work wonders in creating a presentation that flows smoothly without distracting “ums,” “uhs,” and other bobbles.

​It’s a joy when we can help a client become a confident presenter in front of the camera. That makes the second and third projects we do go much more smoothly. And it creates a very valuable skill set that can enhance our clients’ careers!

​
Director Doug
​dmalcolm@cortronmedia.com
]]><![CDATA[VALUE ADDED SERVICE THAT PAYS OFF!]]>Mon, 02 Sep 2019 01:09:18 GMThttp://cortronmedia.com/directors-blog/value-added-service-that-pays-offSocial Media: VALUE ADDED SERVICE THAT PAYS OFF!
Cortron Media often looks for ways to add value for our clients. Because our business - producing marketing, training and fund raising videos and television commercials involves technologies that our clients usually haven't mastered, we normally don't have to look far to give our customers an accommodating extra hand.

One of the most gratifying extra services we provide comes after the media project is complete. Then we sit down with our clients in the editing suite along with our in-house social media maven, Rob O'Brien. That's when the fun starts!

First, we upload the new video files to the client YouTube channel, if they have one, freeing storage on our clients' web sites. If they do not, we assist them in creating a channel. Then we create an instant link from the client’s website to their YouTube channel, or, provide their webmaster with a code to embed the new video directly on their website. The longer visitors stay on a website, the more popular it appears in the eyes of search engines like Google. This is why embedding video to a website is usually a better option than sending valuable web traffic to watch the video on YouTube. Retaining visitors helps with over all website ranking, and search engine optimization (SEO).

Next, we ask what other social media platforms the client is using, if any, and work through the process of formatting and posting their video to each platform. Each social media platform has its own unique specifications and algorithms, and, by anticipating how each social media platform operates, we are able to tailor our client's video post to maximize it's impact. If there is not a social media presence, we work with the client to choose the most beneficial platforms and develop access to each. Sometimes it is beneficial to be more efficient with fewer social media outlets than to wear yourself thin by trying to keep multiple accounts constantly updated.

The process usually takes about two hours, and that time goes by very quickly at the pace we work. However, contingent upon the client’s requirements, there may be exceptions. The best part is that the client leaves our studios with their project already plugged into powerful, online services that can benefit them immediately.

There is also a secondary benefit that comes from showing our customers how to access their social media postings and modify them when needed. They can start to take ownership of their online presence, keep their content current, and manage it without incurring an expense with an outside vendor each time. There's one more benefit of these post-production services. They are almost always fun sessions that let us get to know our clients better!

                                        CORTRON MEDIA We can tell your story!


​Director Doug
​dmalcolm@cortronmedia.com
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