As one of the leading information and communications technology (ICT) companies in Afghanistan, RANA Technologies has effectively built itself a distinguishable brand within the country’s technology industry. With its headquarters in Kabul and regional offices in Herat, Mazar, Kandahar and Jalalabad, RANA Technologies has developed and demonstrated strong project conceptualization, planning, and end-to-end project management in key ICT sectors in Afghanistan.

RANA Technologies not only operates the “First and Only” IT hospital in the country, but also provides reliable, high-quality internet and broadband solutions for private data networks, connecting business enterprises, as well as the U.S. Army, ISAF, UN Agencies and other security and donor agencies, government and financial institutions in Afghanistan. In addition, the RANA Tech Center, which is considered the country’s “first and only” world-class technology hub, specializes in high volume and speed printing, copying, scanning, finishing, lamination and video-conferencing.

As the creative and marketing powerhouse for the company, TriVision Studios is one of RANA Technologies’ global partners, alongside well-known giants like Siemens, Xerox and Polycom. Since the last five years, TriVision has played a key role in building the RANA Technologies brand, from the inception of its logo to the design and development of its comprehensive website (www.ranatech.com), billboard designs, business cards and stationary, banners, magazine ads and many other creative services that have gone on towards establishing and promoting the company. Many of the billboard signs which TriVision has designed are now displayed inside major city centers in Afghanistan. Magazine ads designed by TriVision have also circulated within different publications including in-flight magazines on major airline carriers. In addition, TriVision has helped design and launch RANA’s first online newsletter, Spectrum, which is distributed monthly to its vast list of clientele and partners.

The TriVision and RANA affiliation and partnership is strengthened by the growth and expansion of both companies. RANA Technologies is 100% Afghan owned and its nationwide network and operations are managed by a group of over 130 experienced, trained and qualified Afghans and international experts. Its main mission is to connect Afghanistan to the Global Information Super Highway and offer highly reliable and quality products and services to reduce the "Digital Divide" between Afghanistan and the rest of the world’s ICT community.

RANA Technologies also operates as RANA International, which is its international logistics and procurement company in UAE.

To read more about RANA Technologies and its services, please visit their website at www.ranatech.com.

Renowned Afghan artist, Haider Salim, is well-known for his distinctive voice and classical style of music. He is one of the only few surviving singers of Afghanistan’s 1970’s era musician collection who have maintained their popularity throughout the decades, among both young and older generations.

Throughout the years, TriVision Studios has had a close relationship with the artist by designing and promoting his work. Some of the CDs TriVision designed for Haider Salim include Sapidah, Sarood-e-Shab and Lab-e-Khaamosh. TriVision heavily promoted this last album, using television commercials, as well as online and print media. The promotion helped the album become one of his most successful albums to date. In addition, TriVision has designed and advertised for many of Haider Salim’s concerts, in the United States as well as Europe.

Other titles in Haider Salim's extensive CD catalog include Sorood-e-Kabul, Pay-Ashk, Taqdeer, Dukhtar-e-Afghan, Nawa-e-Dil, Majlisi Awal, Maykadah, Majlisi Dawoom, In Concert with Salma, Mastee, Kabul and Zeba. The singer currently resides in northern California and continues to work on his music.

To read more about Haider Salim, visit his official website at www.haidersalim.com, developed by TriVision Studios.

It is inevitable in the next few years that video marketing will become as fundamental to business promotion as the website. Recently, TriVision created a marketing video for an immigration law firm to expand its marketing message through a more visual and effective method.

The firm, which is called the Law Offices of J.W. Nesari, LLC, provides comprehensive legal representation and services in immigration and nationality law to individuals, employers, and commercial entities. Founder and lead attorney Joe Nesari states, “Our mission is to attend to the legal needs of their clients professionally and competently. In doing so, we seek to maintain a standard of integrity and kindness that will enrich and fulfill both our clients and ourselves.”

Mr. Nesari wanted to put a face to those words to help convey the more “human approach” that distinguishes his firm from others. He enlisted the help of TriVision’s creative and marketing team, who suggested that a short video describing their mission and philosophy would be the best way to achieve that goal.

Video marketing has become infinitely more popular since the advent of the internet, especially within the last five years as high speed connections, which better handle streaming video, have become commonplace.  As video marketing continues to catch on, it becomes not only a popular marketing tool, but a necessary one.

TriVision spent the day on location at Mr. Nesari’s law office, where they interviewed not only the staff and Mr. Nesari himself, but also several clients whose lives were changed for the better as a result of the firm’s services. These testimonials gave the video the “human touch” that was needed. The raw material was later edited together in a sensitive and cohesive manner so that the final video would tell a story…one of success. To view a clip from Joe Nesari’s marketing video, click here.

If you want to learn more about how video marketing can help your business, contact TriVision Studios at video@trivision.tv.

Going Green: The Art of Chroma Key

Chroma Key, also known as color key, blue screen, and green screen, is a technique widely used in the video and film production industries that isolates and removes or “keys out” a color or color range from an existing image.

Chroma Keying is most commonly used as a special effect that allows a person or object to be cut out of the existing image and placed onto a new background, giving the impression that the person or object is in that new environment. The most common use of Chroma Key is not in film however, but the nightly weather report. The weatherman stands in front of a blue or green matte, which is keyed out and replaced by a weather map or other information.

The history of Chroma Key traces back to the 1930s film industry where a traveling matte was used to create special transition effects between scenes. It gained wider acceptance in later years as a budget shortcut, allowing actors to be filmed in environments that would have been too costly for the studio to shoot with a full crew. Today, it’s used in the majority of feature films as a compositing tool to be interlaced with other visual effects such as CGI.

Most Chroma Key mattes used are blue or green in color because these colors work best with skin tones. Blue was the preferred color for years because it was more complimentary to skin tone when removed from the image. Since the advent of digital filmmaking and computer generated animation, green has become the dominant Chroma Key color because of its detail retention, and higher luminance, plus it requires less light to accomplish.

Filming Chroma Key is a challenge, especially when shooting the entire human frame, because it’s tricky to light correctly. Special care must be taken to light the background and subject differently and evenly, not only to eliminate shadows, but to create the illusion of separation. Without proper lighting, it’s more difficult to properly key out the color, often leading to leftover artifacts and an unpleasant final outcome.

TriVision Studios uses Chroma Key effect to shoot its productions on a regular basis at its Chantilly location. In addition to having access to a large green matte in the studio, Trivision also has the capability of shooting a similar effect on a white background known as “white limbo” made popular in the film, The Matrix.

To learn more about the Chroma Key process or if you are looking for a video production facility capable of creating this effect, please contact a TriVision video production representative at video@trivision.tv.