Minds Matter Southern California assists students from marginalized backgrounds in navigating the complexities of college admissions. Many of these individuals come from families that do not prioritize higher education, facing challenges without equivalent financial or academic support. The organization offers mentorship, essential academic resources, and financial assistance to help these students fulfill their aspirations. Continuous fundraising is vital for maintaining these resources, necessitating effective outreach to potential donors.
Innovative Storytelling Through High-Quality Production
Effective video production is crucial for fundraising, but outsourcing such services can divert funds from student support. This dilemma was particularly evident during a significant gala event at NeueHouse Hollywood featuring John Legend. The team required a solution to create impactful visuals without incurring additional production costs.
Under the direction of Tina and Bill Admans, utilizing a Dell Precision 5690 laptop with NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada technology, the team produced the necessary content in-house. They aimed to present their students’ journeys authentically, showcasing moving images of students receiving acceptance letters and experiencing college life, thus transforming the venue into an immersive storytelling space.
Technical Challenges and Solutions
To achieve their vision, the team needed to create a 5760×1080 ultra-wide video and synchronize three cinema projectors within the historic venue. This required meticulous planning, as a single frame of the high-quality ultra-wide video could exceed standard memory card capacities. They set out to compile an entire hour of footage using the Dell Precision 5690 laptop, which facilitated seamless editing with software like Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.
Employing the NVIDIA Ada architecture significantly enhanced processing speeds, doubling the efficiency of single-precision operations and improving graphics and rendering quality.
This in-house production approach granted complete control over the finished product, allowing the team to reflect students’ genuine experiences through cost-effective methods, supported by AI-driven workflows.
Last-Minute Innovations for Fundraising Success
The gala effectively raised funds, but as a vital campaign loomed, Bill Admans realized a last-minute video was necessary. The night prior to its launch, he quickly responded to a suggestion from Tina for a promotional video, leveraging the capabilities of the Dell Precision 5690 laptop.
Without access to a voiceover artist, he utilized Artlist.io for narration that resonated with the students’ voices and adjusted background music using AI tools in Adobe Premiere Pro. The script was refined with assistance from ChatGPT, ensuring the message remained impactful. Remarkably, the entire video was completed by sunrise the next day.
“What would have taken weeks was finished in three hours,” Admans noted. “I had everything I needed on that laptop. No lag, no slowdowns, no delays. I could stay focused on telling the story instead of fighting the technology.”
Expanding Reach Through In-House Production
Minds Matter SoCal is broadening its mentorship framework, extending from a six-year to a seven-year program. This adjustment allows continued support for students from high school through college admissions and completion into their careers. By managing media production internally with the Dell Precision 5690 laptop and leveraging NVIDIA accelerated computing, the organization has successfully increased its outreach without raising costs. Savings from in-house content creation directly contribute to mentorship, scholarships, and additional opportunities for students pursuing their educational goals.
For those interested in exploring Dell laptops equipped with NVIDIA RTX GPUs, visit their official website to discover options suited for creative professionals. Additionally, further details regarding the advantages of NVIDIA RTX GPU technology can be found on the Dell website.