Monthly Archives: January 2010

I Have Never Made An Offer Like This Before

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Yes, I look at my competitors’ websites. Sometimes, I’m impressed. Sometimes, I’m ashamed.

Web video is new to a lot of folks. I know some who REALLY “get it” I know producers who have editing styles I think are brilliant. I know clients and small business owners who understand web video too. They are the people who keep me excited day after day.

Web video is not television.

When I talk about putting Videos On Your Website, I mean it as a whole new way to communicate with your client base. Here’s some conversations I’ve had with business owners recently: “Clients are always asking us how we make our product”, “We have a lot of Case Studies on our website, if only people would take time to read them.”, “I wish my clients would understand more about –..” Very quickly, each one of them grasped the concept of what I do.

If you’ve looked through my site, you’ll notice I have a video on almost every page. Right now, I’m changing them a few times a year. It could be more, and one day it will be. But that kind of schedule is a good place for a small business to be at this stage. Yours, too.

Unfortunately, I have seen some sample videos from other producers that don’t quite measure up. I had been directed to one site with a client testimonial. Those are easy, because they’re usually the “talking head” kinds of videos. While the lighting on the piece was great, it clearly was shot without a tripod, a serious no-no when filming a static subject. I’ve seen website videos where I can tell that the cameraman is more at home shooting weddings and dance recitals than videos for business. And I know that they’re charging way too much to get those kinds of results.

So here’s my offer:

If you’re considering having a video produced for your business, and you’d like an honest appraisal of anyone’s style and abilities, just email or call me. I mean that sincerely. You have the right to work with whomever you choose, and I won’t try to change your mind. But if there are some things that I can pick up on that may make your video better, I want to do that.

Because this kind of content is an important addition to the structure of your online presence. To get more businesses online with the right content will help video producers everywhere. When you see the kinds of results you’ll get; you’ll be back for more, and so will dozens of other small businesses.

–That’s a wrap.

Are You A Videographer?

Who Uses Video, , , ,

I never know how to answer that question. I don’t really like the word. To describe what I do takes a little more. So I looked it up.

vid?e?og?ra?pher [vid-ee-og-ruh-fer]
–noun someone who makes films with a video camera.

Empty. So, what is the best way to describe what I do? I can’t think of a really good one, although, I like Content Producer. It really is all about content. That’s why it at the top of my web pages.

If you want to capture a wedding day, you can call a videographer. If a reporter needs someone to get pictures of the story he is telling, he’ll take a videographer. And let me say, that I’m not knocking those tasks at all. The term just does not describe my business.

My first role is as a consultant. In the preliminary stages, clients ask about the process, subject matter, and we brainstorm ideas. I’ll take that information, do some additional research, and come up with a script. That’s one of the things I love. I’ve been writing professionally since I was 16.

On the day of the shoot, I’m with my client for less than two hours. If we’ve done our planning, that’s all the time we need to get the images.

I transfer the files into my digital editor and start piecing together the message. Many times, scenes are shot out of sequence, or maybe a scene needs to be moved to give it more emphasis. I have to create the graphics, find the right music bed, and maybe do a couple of voiceover pieces.

I’m not through yet, I’ll watch it a couple of times to see how the shots match up and do some more tweaking. I’ll do a rendering to see how the video is going to look online. Does it have a great opening? Will the colors go well with the website it will be shown on? More tweaking. Finally, it’s ready.

After client approval, I make a number of renderings in different formats: Windows Media, MP4 Quicktime, MPG, Flash, and start uploading to the most effective video sharing sites. Yes, there are a couple of dozen others besides YouTube that show up in search engine optimizations. Many times I’m also working with my client’s web master or designer.

So there you have a condensed version of what goes into every project.

There has never been a better time to start using Videos On Your Website to promote your product or service than right now! And as you can see, you get more than just a video. You get my decades of experience in knowing how to reach your target audience.

Give it whatever name you want. But know that it neither starts nor stops at the camera.

–That’s a wrap

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor

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Say you’re watching your favorite show, and it’s time for a commercial. But before the commercial is played, you see, “We Will Return To Our Show In 30 Seconds.” What would you do?
Would you sit thru the commercial? Would you fast forward if the show had been recorded? Would you see if you could find a snack in half a minute?

TV execs are hoping you’ll just sit and watch.

This season, there will be some new techniques for commercial breaks, all of them designed to get you to watch, or engage you. Some shows will only show one 30 second spot at a time. Some shows will be using the actors in character, so that maybe you won’t notice they’ve gone to a commercial.

Well, of course, none of this is new.

Forty years ago and more, actors from TV shows were making pitches in character for hundreds of products…everyone from Dick Van Dyke to the Flintstones.

Actually, network execs have been saying for sometime that they’re worried about folks flashing forward on their DVRs. Hmmm. Let’s think about that for a minute. Which TV spots would you NOT want to fast forward thru? Isn’t there one particular time of year when TV commercials actually make headlines?

That January Football Game.

Why?

Why are THOSE spots watched, and talked about, and remembered, and discussed, and replayed?
Could be that they’re just a tad bit more creative than the norm? Could it be that here are a group of advertisers who understand that the way to engage the audience is to also entertain them?
Why does that happen just in January?

Ok, there are actually some pretty good spots the rest of the year.. I like PC vs Mac, the E*Trade baby, and IKEA. But just like radio, TV spots don’t have to be funny. They just have to be memorable. They just have to show their benefit to the consumer.

Make it relevant, and they will watch.

Folks will watch “TV’s Funniest Commercials Part 8?, but they will remember Mean Joe Green and the kid with the Coke bottle because it touched them. And that’s going to sell a whole lot more product than Smiling Bob could ever dream of.

–That’s a wrap.