President of Concepts TV Collette Liantonio was quoted in the July 2007 issue of Response Magazine about the advantages and cost effectiveness of using Virtual Sets.

Tapping Technology
By Bridget McCrea

When Collette Liantonio wants to produce an infomercial on the shores of Waikiki, she no longer has to fly spokespeople and/or celebrities to Honolulu. Instead, the president of Boonton, N.J.-based Concepts TV Productions uses a "virtual set" to achieve the same effect, and for much less money. The TV personality is simply filmed in front of a green or blue screen anywhere in the world, and then "cut out" and placed on the set during the editing process.

"That technology is helping to bring down the price of an infomercial," says Liantonio. "We can actually shoot the beach at Waikiki and green-screen the person over that background." And while that new technology helps producers cut corners, the most costly aspect of an infomercial, the real-life testimonials and endorsements, have become more expensive and time consuming.

"To legitimately get testimonials you have to develop people properly over time," says Liantonio. To show an amazing alteration in someone's appearance due to face cream, for example, takes eight weeks of close tracking, according to Liantonio. "While digital technology enables us to bring the cost of photography down," she says, "the human element, the time and the labor intensity haven't decreased at all."

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