{"id":70318,"date":"2019-10-01T17:15:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elements.blog-cms.envato.net\/?p=6438"},"modified":"2025-11-11T17:26:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T06:26:22","slug":"microsoft-video-case-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/microsoft-video-case-study","title":{"rendered":"How Microsoft is Using Video to Simplify New Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>This is a new series where we speak to Envato customers about their experiences of working in creative industries. First up, we talk to Lead Videographer Maria Stern, who explains how she employs her documentary filmmaking skills in her role at Microsoft.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Virtual and augmented reality\u2014or mixed reality\u2014is widely agreed to be the next frontier in user experience, and Microsoft\u2019s HoloLens technology is right at the forefront of bringing it to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The field is already expanding beyond what it\u2019s currently known for\u2014gaming\u2014and finding use in training factory workers with Microsoft\u2019s Dynamic 365 guides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGuides is an application that uses the HoloLens to place step by step instructions and holographic overlays in the real world so that people can learn while they\u2019re doing,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mariastern.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Maria Stern, Lead Videographer at Microsoft<\/a>, told Envato.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It lifts what would normally be a static diagram in the instruction manual into something that can show you what to do where.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"PACCAR is exploring Dynamics 365 Guides and HoloLens 2 to improve employee onboarding\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OQDhTtDgir0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To bring this idea to life, Stern created <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OQDhTtDgir0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a short documentary film<\/a> showing off the technology, released on YouTube. It\u2019s a great representation of the power <a href=\"https:\/\/envato.com\/learn\/video-marketing-guide\/introduction-to-video-marketing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video marketing<\/a> has to connect people to a technology that could seem difficult to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>My primary responsibilities are to tell human-centered stories about the people and companies who use our application. <\/p><cite>Maria Stern, Microsoft LEAD VIDEOGRAPHER <\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The two-minute video makes this complex technology easy to understand. As we watch footage of the HoloLens application at work, we hear from workers who use the technology to train on the job, and we can instantly see why the idea is so compelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The effectiveness of her content no doubt comes from Stern\u2019s experience as a documentary filmmaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI pursue documentary filmmaking because I find people really interesting, and love immersing myself in new worlds,\u201d she explains. \u201cFostering that sense of curiosity really helps me get the most out of a shoot, and out of an edit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The opportunity to capture such new technology at work is something many documentary makers would give anything to have. And with Microsoft being one of the companies at the forefront of developing that technology, Stern couldn\u2019t be in a more interesting place as a storyteller. \u201cWhen I was interviewed, my mind was blown away by the technology. I\u2019ve become accustomed to it, but still have those \u201cWoah!\u201d moments when I play with the HoloLens. It\u2019s a really neat place to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While what ends up in her videos looks like a futuristic spectacle, Stern\u2019s equipment and software setup will be quite familiar to most video creators. Her primary camera is a Canon C300, with a Sony a7S II as a B cam. And she edits her footage using Adobe\u2019s Creative Suite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>The VFX (visual effects) looking shots were actually filmed using a nifty camera that captures what the user is seeing in their HoloLens in real-time. It\u2019s very fun to film in physical and digital space simultaneously.<\/p><cite>MARIA STERN, MICROSOFT LEAD VIDEOGRAPHER <\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Stern\u2019s content inspiration comes mostly from working with those around her. \u201cI\u2019m lucky to work with a lot of really smart and talented individuals,\u201d she says. \u201cQuite often, the content I produce arises out of collaboration with the team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for what makes the content she produces connect with viewers, she believes it\u2019s the intersection of compelling technology with personal stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt its best, branded storytelling evokes emotion, shares information, and expresses a vision in mere minutes,\u201d she tells us. \u201cFor companies that understand time is money, this is very important. It\u2019s critical&#8230; to make sure their messaging stands strong among the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As her team, and Microsoft as a whole, continue to experiment with new ways to use their groundbreaking mixed reality technology, more opportunities will arise for her to create content that connects these innovations with their effect on people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To those who one day hope to be in a position like her, Stern&#8217;s advice is to \u201cfinish projects you\u2019re passionate about. It will help you open doors you want to walk through.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We speak to Microsoft&#8217;s Lead Videographer, Maria Stern, about how the brand tells human-centered technology stories through video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":80282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video-filmmaking"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}