MotionPost recently produced a series of promotional videos for the American Marketing Association's BrandSmart 2012 Conference. But our challenges threatened to overcome the available budget. Here are some of the approaches we used to create a successful, motivating series of videos in spite of big obstacles - they can work for you too!

1. Consider Video Conferencing

Flying out or hiring local producers to interview keynote speakers for the promotions prior to the event was not in the budget, and deadlines were tight. So we turned to videoconferencing, without the expense of a fully-crewed video shoot.

2. Use Existing Footage

By using quick cuts of existing b-roll footage to supplement the videoconference results, we added visual interest, depth and excitement, all without costly on-location shooting.

3. Create Interesting Backdrops

We tracked the footage into a 3D-modeled desktop computer, strategically including the Brandsmart 2012 logo. Our approach leveraged the streaming quality of the raw footage to convey the immediacy and power of social media. So we turned the unique challenges of the interviews into an even stronger statement about the subject.