Case Study: Sandmeyer Steel See the Light Corporate Capabilities Video

Challenge

Sandmeyer Steel was a steel supplier that was moving into more and more value-added services like cutting, milling, polishing, welding, and more. As Sandmeyer Steel moved into these new markets, it needed to inform its current and future clients of these new capabilies, especially its new plasma cutting capacities, a particular highlight for the steel supplier.

Objectives

Sandmeyer Steel is a longtime client of DDA, having worked with the company to produce numerous marketing videos and brochures as well as their search engine optimized responsive website, one of the first to feature extensive drone video trailers on the homepage. Sandmeyer's tone in their videos trends towards being more lighthearted and humorous, while maintaining the same high quality standards for video and sound quality. This video would build on that successful formula to convey the information necessary while adding a human touch.

Solution

DDA worked with Sandmeyer to establish a shot plan and script. The video would be based upon the title concept "See the Light," with an animated plasma laser appearing on screen to burn these words into the video screen in a manner evocative of the actual plasma cutters being highlighted in these marketing videos. The video begins with moving shots at multiple angles of Sandmeyer Steel's extensive campus. Then the video focuses on the billboard-like corporate title at the entrance of the main Sandmeyer offices, with "See the Light" being burned into a blank area above the doors in a superimposed animation of a plasma cutter.

The video then moves to the inventory yard, taking some time to show the extensive Sandmeyer inventory of steel plate. The video shows a customer getting up from a nap on a bed, who says that he was worn out walking the inventory yard. The sales rep then mentions that Sandmeyer has 100 pieces of steel processing equipment. The customer mentions that he wanted to get his steel cut, and the two are "beamed up" to just in front of the plasma cutter with special effects that evoke the look of transporters in Star Trek.

The sales rep then explains in detail the high capabilities of the new plasma cutter, which is capable of cutting through very thick plate in highly tight tolerances, including tightly clustered cuts thanks to virtually no heat-effected zones. The plasma cutter is also faster and more accurate than previous generation plasma cutters, ensuring shorter cycle times and faster delivery, saving time and money for orders. Impressed by everything Sandmeyer has to offer, the customer remarks, "Wow, I am sold. I have seen the light." The video ends with some on-screen bullets summarizing the advantages of the plasma cutter system, and then an outro featuring the animated plasma cutter with its sound effects cutting in the video title "See the Light" on an overhead shot of the Sandmeyer Steel facilities.