White House – Podcasts done right

I am stunned at the quality of this product. A few things that stand out for me:

1) The depth of field

I love that the background is present but not in focus. This makes you feel like you are in the White House with him – not in a staged studio. Backdrops should imply where you are without being loud and distracting. Your eye is led to focus on what is important, President Obama, while still presenting enough visual data to keep you interested. Backdrops are meant to entice you deeper into the video and this out-of-focus background accomplishes the task nicely.

2) The staging

The background is formal yet comfortable. You see an empty chair next to a small round table all of which is in front of a fireplace and obscured by a corner. The chair is facing towards the corner hinting that another chair is hidden by the flag. Two people (you and the President) could be sitting together working out the details of government. The room is big enough to hold many while still allowing for an intimate chat. And of course there are the ever-present symbols of patriotism – our flags.

3) The lighting

The lighting contributes to the focus on President Obama’s face. The lighting is darker with an almost fireplace orange glow on the chair. The wall behind the President is lighter but still quite soft. The Presidents face is brighter on the left yet there is no shadow on the right. All of this contrast helps to bring the focus forward on the words he is delivering. It is almost like a cartoon where the only thing moving are the lips. There are no distractions.

4) The sound

I really like how President Obama has been recorded. His voice is extremely present yet it has depth. I feel like his is speaking in a room that matches the size of the video (instead of in a flat post-processed studio). There is the hint of an echo. His highs are just below clipping and the lows do not sound muddy. While the audio is not completely natural, the processing does not seem overdone or jarring.

5) Captions

YEAH!!! I simply love this feature!!! It is great to see them use it.

6) HD option

Everything shot should be high definition. It is great that YouTube has enabled videos to use it (along with captions).

7) Downloadable MP4 podcast

YES!!! All media should have the ability to be used on any compatible device. In addition to downloading video, they should also allow (straight from YouTube) audio-only downloading. But hey, I am happy they are finally allowing straight video downloads instead of forcing folks to steal the Flash file and convert it. YouTube should enable this by default for all videos.

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Given who made this and the fact that government is traditionally clueless when it comes to marketing and branding issues, I find this to be just about the best podcast I have ever seen. I will work hard to emulate this result in the assets I produce. I find it amazing that the Obama Team has been able to produce something of this quality so quickly after taking office. These guys really do get the power of the internet.

The next 4 years are going to be full of surprises. My task is to help others take advantage of the good changes. This is an example of a good one.