The challenge
EMJ, the European Medical Journal, is a medical publisher in London. Its videos explain complex clinical topics, and the team uses interactive video so a viewer can go straight to the part they need.
“We first spotted the technology on Vimeo. It was a great concept because our information and videos are very complex in the medical world, and it allows users to jump or branch to areas of interest quickly.”
Tim Uden, Creative Director
Over time, EMJ built 32 interactive videos on Vimeo, with hotspots, pop-out panels, quizzes, polls, chapter menus and timed screens. They ran on two different Vimeo systems: Create Interactive and the older WIREWAX studio.
The team wanted to leave. “We had a poor experience with Vimeo,” Tim says. But moving was a risk. EMJ’s clients had approved every video, and medical content leaves no room for small differences.
“Our content is extremely complex and compliance-heavy. It was key that this was matched perfectly.”
A rebuild in-house would have taken EMJ’s designers off client work. Asked what that would have cost, Tim kept it short: “Too much.”
Why EMJ chose Mindstamp
EMJ looked at other platforms and ruled out the ones that were hard to use. Mindstamp’s editor passed that test.
“The user experience was exactly as it should be: simple, drag and drop.”
Mindstamp also offered to rebuild the whole library as a service, so the design team could stay on client work.
The solution
Our team rebuilt each video from its Vimeo project data. Positions, timings, links and on-screen text all come from the source files.
Each rebuilt video went onto a private review page, next to its Vimeo original and captured at the same moments. EMJ clicked through both versions and flagged any difference.
“As soon as we saw the side-by-side versions, it was obvious Brett and his team had nailed it.”
Tim Uden
Some of what EMJ’s videos did on Vimeo was not yet possible in Mindstamp, so we built it: pop-out panels (117 of them across 16 videos), flat and outlined buttons, vertically centred text and per-item fonts. Every Mindstamp customer can use them now.
EMJ’s review found a few issues, such as missing chapters and a menu that did not pause. Tim on the turnaround: “They were sorted within a couple of hours, with no further issues.”
The outcome
All 32 videos are live on Mindstamp. Asked how close they are to the Vimeo originals, Tim says: “Perfect, no difference.”
The migration took no time from the design team. Tim reviewed the work himself.
“None, only my time, which was very limited. The service was excellent.”
After a one-hour training session, EMJ’s designers now edit the videos in Mindstamp themselves.
“The training session helped. With Mindstamp, we can work quicker and more efficiently than with Vimeo, and with better results, such as editing.”
Results
- 32 interactive videos moved from two Vimeo systems
- One week from the start of the rebuild to the last video ready for review
- No hours from EMJ’s design team
- No difference from the approved originals, in Tim’s words