Motion-Control Creates a Visual Hook to Raise Awareness of Brand's Enterprise Software Offerings

Dell faced a challenge when it looked to improve the visibility of its enterprise software business. While 95 percent of companies in the Fortune 500 use Dell's software, users didn't associate the software with its brand. Dell wanted to make IT professionals aware that some of the most widely used software was actually provided by Dell. That meant it had to develop a visual and thematic hook to deliver that message in an engaging and meaningful way.

"We were surprised to find out that, although our products are known in the industry, many of our potential customers didn't know that the company that sold the software was part of Dell," Robert Francke, senior multimedia producer and team lead in Dell's Software Group, told StudioDaily.

To address the issue, Dell's software marketing team, working with Irvine, CA, production company TBG, created the "Expect More" campaign. The idea? Dell Software would use a split-screen effect to contrast the professional and personal lives of users—and to make the point that using more efficient software in the workplace gives overtaxed workers more time for their non-work-related activities.

The campaign was run by Dell Software's senior manager of marketing, Aly Hewitt, who worked with Francke, graphic designer Eric Wilkinson, and copywriter Ken Wetzel as a core team in Dell Software's Aliso Viejo offices.

"The campaign concept illustrates that you can expect more from your business IT management software by turning to Dell, and you can expect to have more time to do the things you love when you use our software," Francke explained. "We show our personas in their IT work life and then split-screen that with their after-work life–the thing they love doing when they are done with work."

The idea was good. The next question was how best to realize the concept for video. The team knew that motion-control would let them shoot their performers with a moving camera in two completely different situations and then switch freely between matched shots. Using motion-control technology, a split screen could show how people's work lives and their personal interests co-exist. 

Santa Monica motion-control specialist Camera Control provided the Milo system, developed by Mark Roberts Motion Control, and the production shot with the Red Epic. 

"The garage set was built first, and then after the first day of shooting, all the positions on Milo were stored in memory," Francke recalled. "The office set was built with a green-screen background so we could add the city later, leaving open the possibility of changing the city if we made the campaign international. The actress and actors, dressed differently and placed in a new environment, had to repeat the same action and movement as best they could. The result is a moving split-screen video showing two aspects of one person's life."

You can see the campaign in place at the Dell Enterprise Software website.