Digital performance management

PTC’s newest software solution, Digital Performance Management (DPM), helps manufacturers find, prioritize, and fix the biggest slowdowns in their production processes. This video explains the value of DPM from the perspective of a PTC customer.

CONTEXT

My first project at PTC was to help write, produce, and film a 15-minute video about DPM. After finishing the longer film, I was asked to make a shorter version, focused on a specific DPM use case based on a real PTC customer.

PROCESS

Starting with a rough script from PTC’s marketing team, I rewrote the story around a single character to better anchor the audience. In general, I prefer to focus videos on showing what technology does rather than reiterating its overall value. I think that good technology speaks for itself, and that if people understand it, they will get excited and understand its value. At the same time, I align with Marketing and Product Management to include essential value statements.

Click here to read the script before and after I rewrote it.

After finishing the script, my manager and I worked with PTC’s Marketing Director to create a shot list. He and his team then filmed the scenes at a manufacturing facility in Germany.

DPM involves many complex software screens, so I simplified visuals and reduced cognitive load wherever I could. Based on Richard Mayer’s 12 Principles of Multimedia Design, the animations focus viewers on specific parts of the software rather than entire screens (see Mayer’s “Signaling Principle"). I added consistent title graphics to divide the video into absorbable chunks (see Mayer’s “Segmenting Principle”).

To reinforce specific parts of the story, I designed and animated custom After Effects graphics. The first graphic relates to the plant manager’s goal to meet a spike in demand for battery production, the second shows that his manufacturing plant’s machines are connected, and the third suggests an “overload” of data.

CREDITS

Matt Rossi: Story development, writing, producing, editing

Christine Bahmer: Story and script feedback

PTC’s Video Production Agency: Filming