Creative Services

We will help you initiate your project, which may be completed in-house by our creative team, content strategists, and digital print center—or it may be given (in part or whole) to a freelance team. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the development process for major project requests after the initial point of contact:

1. Once the project is agreed upon, a project manager will be assigned who will schedule a launch meeting that includes client-collaborators (you and your team), designer, content strategist, and others as needed. A determination of goals, timeline, audience, budget, outcomes measurement, and other concerns are discussed and decided upon.
2. The project manager develops a project brief that is signed by Strategic Communications and the client-collaborator.
3. Writers interview, research, and prepare draft copy for review by client-collaborator; photo shoots are arranged as needed; and designers develop creative concepts. Meetings are held to ensure all elements integrate seamlessly in the project.
4. Written content, photos, and illustrations are incorporated into the design concept.
5. We present the draft project to the client-collaborator in person or via email for review and changes. If the scope or approach changes significantly, the project timeline will be adjusted.
6. Once all edits and design changes are addressed, the client-collaborator signs off on the project.
7. Final execution of the project is delivered to the client in the predetermined time frame.
8. Follow-up meetings are held as needed to measure and discuss project success.

Digital/Print Request »

We work with designated content owners within each school/college and department in the development of content for their areas by providing access to our content management system (CMS), training them on the CMS, offering guidance on best practices, and troubleshooting problems they are experiencing.

• Major requests (new content) can be made via our Digital/Print Request form.
• Minor updates on existing web pages should be requested via the Website Updates Request form. Please include the page’s URL (example: nyit.edu/campus_life).

When developing or requesting changes to web content, we ask all content developers to follow the following guidelines:

• Editorial Style Guide
• Photography Best Practices
• Logos, letterhead, and more templates

In addition, please keep these best practices in mind when developing web content:

• Web pages are scanned, not read, so content should be prepared accordingly.
• Large blocks of information must be presented in a manageable format and consistent fashion.
• The use of "Under Construction" or "Come Back Soon" should never be used on an incomplete page.
• When developing content, it is important to know your audience in order to fulfill their needs; get feedback from users; review similar websites often for new functionalities and trends; avoid lengthy blocks of text; understand how web content differs from printed content; use design and layout elements to boost user experience.
• Links and email addresses should be identifiable via the consistent use of blue font color.
• The use of "click here" in body copy is discouraged.
• Only valid @nyit.edu email addresses are allowed to be listed on any official New York Tech website.
• Do not refer to items according to their colors or locations (for example, do not use "see information in the blue box" or "above").
• Ensure that New York Tech is authorized to use all images on the website. Current students have agreed to their use of likeness in all our publications including the website.
• Ensure that all image tags have at least the following attribute: alt (required for all images; please be as descriptive as possible).
• Rich Media (Flash, AJAX, Quicktime, AVIs, MPEGS, Java Applets, etc.):
  • Content should never be hidden.
  • Provide an alternative to Rich Media presentations whenever possible.
  • No visitor should be denied accessing content due to technical assumptions. A visitor should always be able to get the message of a page, regardless of browser/plugin/client operating system. Not necessarily the same experience, but the same content.

Need a Photographer?
If you are interested in having photography at an upcoming event, we can help. While we do not have a full-time staff photographer and hire freelancers for institutional events and communications, we can provide you with a list of freelancers whom you can hire for your specific needs. Staff members make every effort to brief photographers in advance of shoots, giving them desired creative direction and specification.

Need a Photograph of New York Tech?
We have a substantial archive of images in our database. If you need a specific image that you’ve seen on the web or in print, we can provide it to you.

Need Stock Imagery?
New York Tech seeks to create a unique visual identity and discourages the use of stock photography in general. However, we understand that from time to time, it provides the only solution to your needs. Let us know how we can help.

Depending on specific needs and the project’s complexity, a project brief and a timeline/budget will be established. As each project has specific and unique needs, production time can vary from a few days to a few months. Specialized elements, such as subtitling, translation, and animation, need to be considered since it will affect the timeline and process. The entire video production workflow is explained below.

Whether produced in or out of house, all videos must be reviewed by Strategic Communications for content, specifications, and quality before they are posted on the university website. Video specs/requirements must be followed to maintain high quality and professional videos are available online. Please review our policies regarding filming on campus.

Still have questions? Contact Media Relations.

Video Production Workflow

Pre-Production

• Conceptualization: Through a series of meetings, we will discuss your needs, wants, audience, and goals to establish what it is you are trying to communicate.
• Content Development/Storyboards: Your message is fleshed out and crafted to work toward your goal. Whatever it is, it will drive the animation and live-action and will need to be approved by all parties before moving on to later stages. For interview-based projects, this phase will be used to develop questions and desired responses. Some projects require storyboarding. Typically each frame of a storyboard relates to a line or two of the script. Each of these elements combined should give you an understanding of what the project will look and sound like.
• Shoot Preparation: If the project requires video to be shot, scheduling of the shoots, securing talent/locations, insurance, catering, equipment needs, and setup will all be determined at this stage.

Production/Post-Production

• Shoot/Gather Content: We obtain all principle video/photography required and review any relevant footage in our database.
• Music Selection & Voice-over: We want to ensure your video has the right tone and voice, and will carefully consider voice talent and musical accompaniment.
• Editing, Graphics & Animation: This is where all the magic happens. It is also the most time-consuming stage. All the elements are edited to together to create a dynamic product. Text and graphic elements are built and animated to work seamlessly to ensure your message is engaging and understandable. We may go through a couple of iterations at this point.
• You will have two opportunities to provide feedback/notes during this process:
  1. Rough cut: This is an opportunity to comment on story content as visuals are not focused on until content approval.
  2. Fine cut (incorporating all feedback after review of rough cut): The fine cut incorporates all b-roll, photos, graphics, music, and final voiceover. Changing story content at this point can delay the project. Upon feedback, we will lock content and proceed to the finishing phase.

Finishing

• Audio Mix: At this point, we go over the audio to ensure everything is mastered and equalized.
• Color Correction: The last thing we do is color grading. This ensures every shot and scene has the same feel and is consistent throughout the video.
• Final Approval: At this point, you will see the final low-resolution rendered video. This will be a final opportunity to re-check all elements, spelling, and audio. If necessary, minor tweaks will be done.
• Final Delivery: With everything approved, we then set up the final files for full resolution rendering. This can take anywhere from an hour or two to a few days to complete, and depends on the complexity of the project and number of outlets.

We actively seek content about events and other initiatives from a variety of sources and encourage the New York Tech community to send us compelling information to post on these high-visibility signs.

Have content? Let us know! Reach out to us to have your news posted. We will need the name of your event, date and time, place, and brief description. Still have questions? Call 646.273.6150.

Digital/Print Request »