Overview of Services Provided by Chuck Scott

Below is an outline of the various services that I provide as: Audio Engineer, Business Innovation Developer, Creative Consultant, Photographer, Speaker, Trainer, Videographer, Websmith and Writer.

Even though the tools might change, the common denominator behind all my service offerings remains constant - I help clients refine their vision and successfully implement their multimedia and web projects.

As an architect of multimedia and web solutions, I help clients succeed in achieving their goals while performing within their budgets and time frames.

I've been succeeding at client marketing projects offline since 1985 and have done so for some of the most demanding clients in the world - e.g., NFL Super Bowls, NHL Merchandising, Bank Leumi Promotions, Juran Institute Training Materials, IBM Point-of-Purchase.

And, I have been managing online projects since 1994 for equally demanding and diverse clients, such as Duty Free International, Shemin, and The Westchester County Bankers Association.

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Audio Engineer for Hire

Getting your sound down on record at the highest resolution that is true to your voice, this is what I am committed to when it comes to capturing and presenting your audio message.

Along the way, I've produced a spectrum of recordings and productions - some of which have been for audio books, interviews, meditations, music demos, songs, voice-overs, plus analog conversions and restoration (e.g., 78s, 1/4 inch tape) to digital and more.

I've recorded guitars, vocals, keyboards, plus interviews over the phone and in-person. Below are some links to audio examples:

Audio Restortation: Here is an example of a before-n-after of Don Ho's Tiny Bubbles ... The client had a family produced mix-tape of two hours of music from five or six different albums from different era's (1950s - 1970s) and the cassette tape was getting worn ... I converted the tape to digital, edited out pops'n-crackles, noise reduced tape and record hiss, plus adjusted EQ and volumes for a punchier sound but one that was also true to the original harmonics in each of the songs ...
Music Production: Most of the voice-overs and songs found on KissPrint.com have been recorded and/or produced by me ... Song for VanDyke is not only our favorite song thus far, but also is perhaps the best example of my current skills with regards to recording and production.
Recording and Scoring a Meditation: Here is a link to a meditation that I produced for a client's blog ... Initially we were only going to do a recording of the meditation without any music, but then after I finished editing and polishing the voice I was wondering how to push the envelope and score a meditation without the classic approaches of using strings, soft piano, light acoustic guitars, etc., thus got permission from client to give it a whirl, and voila - three pieces of separate music came together for this final version you hear here ...
Voice-Overs: Katie, Kasha (our dog), and I had some fun creating the voice-overs for this event promo - a Men's Retreat - I also scored the music which you hear supporting the narration ...
Other Audio Projects: Include producing scores for film, like the Director's View Film Festival Featured Short, various podcasts, interviews, CoolTea promo CDs, plus more ...

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Business Innovation Services

Are you looking to grow your business by creating new revenue streams and/or by innovating new cost-saving methodologies?

Today's digital landscape provides opportunities that allow us to think differently and do things not previously practical.

In the Websmith section below, I've outlined five integrated web applications that helped clients grow their businesses in ways previously not practical - e.g., the nurse who created a national movement would never have been able to do what she did in the 1980s as it would have been cost prohibited; ditto for the horticultural client who was able to increase response time with their customers and rotate inventories at greater speeds.

Some of the business innovation services I provide include:

Creative Audits: Just because something can be done, doesn't necessarily mean it is your opportunity as was the case for an international auction house in NYC when their marketing and tech teams wanted to roll out an online appraisal service. I was brought in to help evaluate the people-process-technology options involved and helped the client save money by re-aligning core capabilities with their current programs and prevented a major financial loss and potentially public embarrassment.
Idea Bouncing & Team Facilitation: Yet the reverse is also true - just because there are naysayers onboard doesn't mean that they are totally correct, which was the case when I was engaged by the horticultural firm when their marketing team was at a standstill with the information technologists. In this case, the techies thought the marketing team was unreasonable and the project undoable. The management wanted to portray strength in the marketplace, but was leery given a failed multi-million dollar integration project several years before. I rendezvoused with key stakeholders from tech, marketing and management, helped facilitate possible options, then lead a team to model a web application that ultimately validated both market acceptance and technology.
Vision Shaping: This is the next evolution in project management that picks up on where communication manuals leave off - in essence we provide living knowledge management documents (and web forums) that capture the key messages, and technical wisdom that provides continuity and insures successful alignment between marketing, management and technology.

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Creative Consulting Services

Do you have an ad, press release, script, multimedia, or video project that you are working on but would like a second opinion or help generating additional options?

As a virtual Creative Director on-call, I bring a seasoned pair of "extra eyes" that provide a fresh perspective and generate break-through creativity to help bring your project to the next level.

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Photographer for Hire

Your pictures or mine, I can help you edit and visually optimize your photos and/or snap pics on demand for your next event or shoot.

I am an expert with Photoshop, shoot mostly with a digital camera and my favorite lens is a 350mm zoom.

My specialty is at the intersection of landscapes, nature, animals, and Americana, and my portfolio includes event photos, band photos, celebrity photos, product photos, travel photos, plus - and here is a link to my multimedia section that has links to examples of my photography in online galleries.

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Speaking Services Available

I welcome the opportunity to speak and participate with your next forum!

Since 1990, I have been a guest lecturer at several leading business and graduate schools in New England - e.g., Babson College, New York University, University of Connecticut.

I have also spoken at numerous industry and trade conferences as panelist and presenter - e.g., Governor's Conference on Tourism, Screen Printing Association International, Global Entertainment Media Summit - as well as given presentations to various civic and professional organizations - e.g., Jaycees, Entrepreneurial Woman's Network, Rotary.

Most of my speaking has been at the intersection of creativity, entrepreneurship and management.

I've covered the spectrum from starting a family business, to computing technology, online trends, business strategy and innovation.

Some of the topics I cover include:

Business Innovation & Creativity
Digital Fluency
Digital Organization for Individuals and Teams
Growing Your Consulting Business
Intellectual Property Rights
Music and Video Production
Online Tools for Offline Event Planning and Implementation
Open Source Technology
Running Your Business on the Web
Taking Your Art Seriously - How to Profit from Your Talents

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Training for Digital Fluency

If you have been searching to bring your digital skills and understanding to the next level, I can help.

In addition to my creative development and facilitation services with corporate teams, I have also been training multimedia web editors, especially those within communities of worship who are responsible for the care-and-feeding of their congregation's web site.

Digital fluency training is another service I provide to both individuals and teams. Plus my expertise in digital organization (on PCs and on servers) also brings continuing engagements - especially with respect to creating photo libraries and multimedia taxonomies for growth.

And in the spirit of training, I also provide a variety of customized multimedia and web coaching services for artists, entrepreneurs and managers looking to bring their digital skills and business strategies to the next level(s).

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Videographer for DV Filming and Editing

Your footage or mine, I can help you produce winning DVDs and multimedia video content from either your existing footage or I can arrange filming.

Most of my filming is with a triple-chip DV camera and my specialty is documentary-style filming of interviews.

I have filmed events, business panel presentations, interviews, documentaries, cooking demonstrations, plus have converted video formats from one format to another (e.g., edited cable TV shows on VHS tape to DVDs; converted BETA and Hi-8 to DVDs).

Recent videography projects include an on-location filming of a Church Congregation for an upcoming Rosary DVD and an in-studio filming with green screens for an upcoming Orchestral Rock video.

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Websmith for Hire

I am digitally fluent on the client-side and on the server-side meaning I can create-edit-integrate all forms of human communication - e.g., audio, graphics, text, video - and have solid skills when it comes to database development, interface design, and web application programming.

This fluency helps me understand and appreciate all those on a development team and the nuances unique to their craft (e.g., scrubbing data, compression) let alone being aligned to the needs of marketing and management stakeholders (e.g., branding, customer useability, fulfillment, profits).

I tend to focus on open source technologies like Apache, PHP, MySQL, H20, and have created unique applications from scratch as well as customized open source apps to work per client directions.

My strongest skill is innovating integrated applications and techniques that drive business goals - e.g., consider the following:

A Priest and a Prayer Line: A church client looks out at his congregation and realizes his customers are not the ones in the pews but those who are not attending - thus, how do you bring the message to them? This is where I came in - helping the client develop web and multimedia solutions that would be attractive to his target audience and thus start to "pull them in." Part of the strategy included leveraging one of their church's key deliverables - a prayer line via phone trees. There was no online prayer-line, so we created one. This prayer-line was different from other e-commerce applications in that language played a key role - e.g., can't say things like "click here to checkout" when dealing with a prayer line.
A Nurse and Federal Legislation: What do you do when you've been stabbed with an HIV infected needle, then find out that over 800,000 such occupational hazards (secondary needle-stick infections) occur annually throughout acute care facilities across the USA? This was the first dynamic database application I developed as part of a strategy in tandem with several healthcare industry leaders, like BioPlexus. After two years with a robust website and integrated PR campaign, we successfully inspired federal legislation that forever changed the healthcare industry - a good thing - and it was the first site I closed at the bequest of the client, Lynda Arnold, because we accomplished our goals. As a side note, the key part of the database strategy was to create a free pledge, ask facilities to take the pledge, then record their response (yes or no to the pledge) on the site, listed by state. This simple Ben Franklin Balance Sheet online gained the attention of leading medical unions, manufacturers, educators, media and ultimately Congress.
Photo Merchandising of Trees, Plants and Shrubs: As a horticultural wholesaler, you buy plants and living product from growers around the country who ship the living product to your yards, also located around the country. The product arrives, you take a picture of it, go to your printer and create fliers, then mail them to your customers saying, "Hey - look at the fresh product that just arrived"; but by the time the mailer arrives, two weeks have passed and you've spent time and money watering and fertilizing that product that isn't so fresh anymore. Thus, how can you use digital photos and e-commerce to speed things up? I helped the client architect a solution, modeled it so we could validate technology and market response, then arranged for "application service provider" services that allowed each of their yards to upload pictures for their market in real-time, then scrubbed/optimized the pictures, and created an "e-wheelbarrow" application that allowed their customers to shop online for the freshest product.
Virtual Will-Call and a Film Festival: You run a state-wide film festival and want to sell tickets online, but because the festival is happening in several cities, you want to allow your customers to pick-up their tickets at facilities closest to them. I helped this client develop the e-commerce application that allowed their customer to securely buy tickets online, but the cool part was the virtual will-call under then hood - in this case, the customer elected the location to pick up their tickets, and I had the application trigger fulfillment orders to the correpsonding location, plus updated the accounting/billing team - all of which was done in real-time.
Event Registration and Mini-Classified Ads: People registering for a business networking event are usually looking for something, and have something to offer, so how do you construct the online registration process in a way that feeds their networking needs in advance of the event - e.g., know who is coming and what they have to offer or what they are looking for? Thus I innovated "Ihave Iwant" mini-classified ads that registering customers could opt-in or opt-out of thus respecting privacy yet also creating a forum that built added buzz in advance of the networking event plus served as a reminder post-event for further connections.
Other Projects: I have lead projects that included AS400 integration with web, plus have been the lead on a steering committee overseeing a multi-million dollar mainframe conversion project for a global association. I have also installed numerous blogs, produced event sites for clients like The Westchester County Bankers Association, plus built and managed various ecommerce sites for a spectrum of clients, even promotional sites for global leaders like Duty Free International.

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Writer for Hire

As a man of letters and a storyteller at heart, this writer is available to help you get ink and has provided a spectrum of writing services for clients that include the following areas:

Blog Writing: Plus I can provide corresponding graphics, audio and/or video clips ...
Copy Writing - Tag Lines: This is my specialty after twenty-plus years on the marketing front lines - from brochures to press releases plus ...
Ghost Writing: I can work remotely via phone interviews or travel and be on-location ...
Multimedia Scripts: From conceptual outlines to detailed storyboards ...
Newsletter Writing: Interviews are a favorite ...
Technical Writing: From manuals and training documents to RFP's (request for proposals) - even delivered as formatted chm files and wiki's ...
Travel Writing: New England, Hawaii, and South America are my specialty, plus I can also provide corresponding photos and videos ...

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