Sarofsky Labs are back!

Chicago-based one-stop cross-media production company Sarofsky is opening its doors and inviting the world-at-large to take part in a series of educational opportunities. The ongoing workshop series is entitled Sarofsky Labs.

Company principal, creative director and director Erin Sarofsky, explains her reasons for lighting this fuse: “After speaking at global creative conferences including FITC, F5, DesignThinkers, the AIGA National Design Conference and OFFF, I realized that engaging in the community is just as important to the field as doing the work. What better way to do that than by opening up our studio and inviting talented people in for a workshop? It’s intimate, personal, and offers invaluable working experience inside our world.”

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Introducing Between the Keyframes

Courtesy of Motionographer: With Between the Keyframes, industry legends Austin Shaw and Erin Sarofsky take on hot topics in an effortless back and forth as they candidly discuss the crazy world of Motion Design, from their biggest mistakes to their ample frustrations to the unique insights that will tee up the next generation.

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Brilliant directors: Ben Strang

Filmmaker and photographer Ben Strang joined the directorial roster of one-stop cross-media production company Sarofsky in 2019. As a director of both scripted and documentary works, Ben’s stories are born from the unique locations and individuals he has encountered as an independent photojournalist for over a decade. His scripted pilot “Beast” won the SXSW Grand Jury Award for Best Independent Episodic, and his latest documentary series “A Mystery To Me” won a 2021 Cannes Lion, and was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick, as you can see here.

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Promo video primer: 30 first-class examples

Back in 2014, a story from Chris Trimble appeared in the Guardian proclaiming video as the future of content marketing, with this dire warning: “small businesses who ignore it do so at their peril.” Since then, video usage has continued to climb, and more and more people and businesses are trying to engage, entertain and educate us with their on-screen storytelling. Bearing this in mind, I’m very happy to share some of the videos I’ve collected working alongside some phenomenal storytellers.

For your reference and enlightenment, I have chosen 10 examples apiece for three well-established niches of corporate communications. While most of these videos were designed for business audiences, each is artistic enough to appeal to just about everyone.

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Interested in being a guest speaker? Start early!

If you have the goal of becoming a successful guest speaker in the business world, I have some tips to share about getting started. These are based on my experiences working with some very talented people who are currently on-the-rise as star presenters, including Erin Sarofsky – and Chad Hutson and Jason White, the principals of Leviathan. Here are the preliminary tips (two more follow below):

  • Start early
  • Focus on these efforts as a key business activity
  • Set your sights strategically to target the right opportunities
  • Have a very specific vision for your proposed presentation and communicate it with the correct person before the deadline while also providing a well-organized summary of your speaking history

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