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Multimedia Production
Let us create your web videos! We have Emmy award winning talent and the know how to create high quality videos & podcasts on a budget. For bigger projects, our access and established relationships with full service facilities means the sky is the limit!
Web Design & New Media Development
Put the web to work for you! From tweaks to complete redesigns, we’ll transform your website into an engaging resource your ideal customers will frequent! Ask how we can deliver highly target-able audiences to your door through new media product development! We can extend your brand, drive traffic and multiply your reach!
General Creative Services
Copy-writing, design services, online and traditional marketing campaign development, contest creation & management. Ad creation including banner ads, print, radio, television, newspaper and direct mail.
Creating videos for your website does not have to be a big expensive production in order to make a big impact on your visitors. From “How to” to “Viral Videos” here are examples that can be created “on the cheap” with little gear, no professional help and still manage to effectively get the point across.
HOW TO (Demonstration):
This video is a great example of what to do and what not to do! While the quality of this video is underwhelming, to say the least, the content is solid. The big take away for you: make sure there’s enough light! Before you watch this, keep in mind that this video has been seen almost 400,000 times in about 2 years. That’s right, four hundred thousand times. Just imagine if you were a piano reseller or teacher and your name was prominent throughout!
Have you ever watched someone make a paper airplane? You don’t get much more basic than this! What’s great about this video is that you can clearly see everything that’s happening and, anyone who wanted to, could easily follow along using the pause/play buttons to create create their own paper airplane. Is there something you do that can be showcased like this? This video has been seen over 1.5 million times!
A Unique Glimpse at What You Do:
Here is a fun way you may be able to highlight services you provide on your website, it may take some minor editing but the results are well worth it!
THE PERSONAL APPROACH:
This video is from Girl Arsonist, an “independent novelist,” who is trying to connect with her fans, build her audience and sell some books.
VIRAL VIDEOS:
These are videos intended to create buzz and drive views to your site. They are often very subtle and sometimes don’t even mention the products / services / company that created them, which I generally do not recommend. Here is a viral video example I created, using basic editing software, as an Olympic tie-in.
This is pretty amazing and kind of mesmerizing.
The final video is an amazingly successful viral video project by Blendtec. It is clever, hugely popular and “on brand.” The Will it Blend video is obviously of high quality and production but could certainly be done “on the cheap.”
For tips and advice on purchasing & using consumer video equipment I highly recommend Scott Bourne’s http://www.ConsumerVideoTips.com. Scott provides straight forward advice on a wide range of products.
Whether you are going to pick up a camera yourself or put the camera in someone else’s hands, professional or amateur, here are some tips to help you keep your message front and center.
Narrow your focus. Don’t talk about all of your services in one video; create many videos that each demonstrates one service. More choices = more inviting.
Have a plan! Try your best to script and map out everything. To get a more natural performance in a longer video, I suggest using discussion points instead of cue cards that have the whole script written out word for word. Shorter projects should be memorized whenever possible because it’s both obvious and distracting when someone is reading directly off cue cards.
Schedule extra time! You’ll be surprised at how quickly time flies, if you have plenty you won’t have to worry about how many takes… it takes. You may even be able to accommodate new ideas that strike you in the moment. The less rushed, the more natural the performance and the more you have to repeat lines, the more comfortable they’ll be read.
Do a trial run! Television shows often shoot pilot episodes, you should too. This will reveal obstacles and give you a good idea of how much time and resources your project will actually take. You may find yourself scaling back or gearing up to ensure success!
Keep it simple! Keep the area that will be on camera clutter free, well lit and reasonably quiet if possible. Be sure that everything shown on camera actually needs to be there. Conditions will vary greatly from project to project but think about this… Lighting can take a project from good to great, clutter can kill your message and background sounds can be added later, where adding dialog later may be much more difficult.
Shoot tight. Make sure everything you’re showing and demonstrating is clearly visible. If you’re showing me how to roll sushi, tighten in on the working area… in this scenario, if your face is on camera the shot is probably too wide for me to really see the demonstration. Web videos are often small when viewed and because the quality is fairly low you need to make sure viewers can see what you’re showing.
Virtually every video camera has an input for headphones. Get an inexpensive pair of “over the ear” headphones. Make sure the videographer is wearing the headphones during the shoot. This is the best way to identify audio problems allowing you to reshoot if need be.
Keep segments short! Break up videos into multiple parts making sure individual segments can “stand alone” then also upload the entire video as a single clip (if possible), this will give the user the choice that works best for them. Clearly mark each video with details such as “Large file” or “Part 1, length 3 minutes” so viewers know exactly what to expect.
If there is editing involved, keep transitions and other effects to a minimum. A good transition is one you don’t notice.
If someone else shoots the video for you, professional or amateur, make sure you will receive all of the footage. Be sure to include this requirement in your upfront negotiations. There may come a time when you need that footage, you could be in a bind if videographer is unavailable.
Remember, video projects can be as complicated as you make them. If you focus on keeping your message clear and concise, you should have a winner every time. This is in no way meant to be a comprehensive list, just general tips on producing better “how to” videos for the web for folks who have little or no experience putting together projects like these. Please share this article by clicking the + button below my name.
A question posted on http://www.Linkedin.com inspired this article: “How much does it cost to shoot a video for our own website?”
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question due to the many variables in any given video project. Without more specifics, we may speculate about other costs costs beyond the videographer such as equipment rental, lighting, locations (if permits are involved), and extra help such as gaffers or grips if it’s a particularly high-end project.
Here are some guidelines, assuming this is a relatively low budget production involving one camera in a location which you have full access at no cost to you:
The key here is your plan, the better and more specific your plan the more cost effective your project will be – guaranteed!A well thought out plan can yield great advice from a seasoned videographer or set expectations from an inexperienced one.
The best way to shop videographers is via referral, there is no better way! The second best option is to use a combination of demo reel search and phone interview. It is important to view demo reels and look for your projects potential in the reel as there is a good chance you’ll run across someone who specializes in a technique that could take your project into “the next level.”
There is no “set price” for a shooter and even hiring the best doesn’t guarantee results. You may, in fact, be better off with an inexperienced “rising star” who will put every ounce of energy into getting you an amazing product because they need the work for their demo reel.
Negotiate! Occasionally you can find a shooter who will cut you a deal if they need the work and more often than not you can negotiate a half day rate.
If you’re shooting video, you’re going to need it edited… my suggestion is to get the best videographer possible. While you’ll probably have to pay the videographer by the day, you should be able to find an editor you can pay by the project. This will insure you have their attention until your project is completed to your standards.
I always recommend using an experienced videographer, but that doesn’t mean they have to use their equipment (which they will charge you for by the day). You could save big money on equipment, especially over a couple of days, for example, web projects do not require high end video cameras and an experienced videographer could get you great looking video, which could literally save you a couple of hundred bucks per day!
My final advice: overshoot, overshoot, overshoot! Consider future projects you where you may use the video you’re shooting and shoot extra elements now. You’ll be surprised at how much better future project will look and how difficult it will be to recreate elements found in your original video, no matter how good your team, lighting is unbelievably difficult to match.
This article was not meant to be an all inclusive answer, but advice and tips on getting you started. It is a part of series intended to help small business owners improve their marketing efforts utilizing the web, social marketing and other online tools. My portfolio is available at www.RABpromo.com, and I will gladly recommend videographers or producers in your area if I know of any. I am available for consulting, producing and multimedia project management.
Richard Bouchez is a certified Inbound Marketing professional specializing in Social Media Marketing & New Media content development. Richard’s web, audio & video work has been honored with Emmy, Promax & CBA awards.
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