April 28. 2008 by Ed Tworek.

The last few posts here have dealt with using web video for your business, but how important is web video anyway?

Web video is so important and is so impactful, that major advertising agencies are tapping the skills of feature film directors such as Spike Lee and Martin Scorscese to direct web ads.  These power houses of film, are being hired for their expertise in story telling.  The Director’s Guild of America, is currently running a a competition to seek out new directors for all types of video including web video.

If there is a nationwide talent search underway and if such heavy hitters like Lee and Scorscese are signing up, the internet must be the future of communication.  These guys would not be in it if it were a fad. 

So what do you do if you can’t afford to hire Spike Lee?  Locate a competent video production company to produce your video.  Carefully plan your content and message-ensuring it is clear and concise. And post it on your website and on all the free video sharing sites you can and then let people know it is out there.

Ed

Posted in advertising, TV, media, internet video, marketing, business video, corporate, video, video production, web video, Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »

April 23. 2008 by Ed Tworek.

If you are considering repurposing your old television commercial for use on your website, consider it carefully.

Today’s surfing culture requires quick-consice-and to the point messages.  Your once usefull television commercial may do the opposite of what you had in mind, it may drive viewers away from the message.  There have been many studies done on how internet surfers use the web, one of the studies concentrated on how long the average web surfer stays engaged with a page.  That survey revealed that the target range for any web ad should be between 15 and 18 seconds.  Now that is short!

If you have every intention of using a commercial or video ad on your website, carefully choose your wording.  Keep it short and sweet.  If you have multiple services or products that you want to market, do seperate videos for each service or product.

As always, we have the expertise to assist you in the creation of your web video, give us a call for a no obligation consultation.

Ed

Posted in advertising, TV, media, internet video, marketing, business video, corporate, video, video production, web video, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

April 21. 2008 by Ed Tworek.

I read an article this weekend about the issues surrounding the delivery of HD broadcast signals to subscribers of cable and satellite.  It seems that in order to feed the HD appetite of owners of plasma and LCD screens, the providers of HD signal to your home are having to compress the signals to allow room for more HD channels.  That stinks!  If you have spent $1000 or more on your dream television, you want to see every game or episode of your favorite show in full HD.  But, many viewers are getting a compressed signal that shows up as pixelated, distorted or otherwise not pristine. 

Rest assured that the delivery system operators are working on the solution, hardware upgrades.  That is expensive and time consuming, and may result in higher monthly fees for you.

What does that mean for corporate video users?  Well, if you are using your project strictly for in-house or web use, nothing.  But, if you are talking about a television commercial, be aware that your spot may end up compressed on air.  Check with your placement firm or the traffic department at your local TV station to see if they are compressing the signal to accomodate the required band width.

Have a great week.

Ed

Posted in advertising, TV, media, internet video, marketing, business video, corporate, video, video production, web video, Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »

April 14. 2008 by Ed Tworek.

Wow!  We have been asked by our friend Chris Kettner, AKA, The “Specialist” to be a guest on his radio program, tomorrow afternoon at 5PM .  His show is carried on WPMH  670 AM here in Hampton Roads.  He is also carried in the Richmond Virginia market, but unfortunately, I do not know what station.    Tomorrow I hope to discuss how you can use web video to drive customers to your business, and how much of an impact web video is having upon advertising. 

I just completed a TV commercial for The Specialist, look for it to air soon on the cable system on ESPN, CNN and other stations.

AND…

Please don’t forget Chris’ food drive for children.  We can use all the food you can bring in.

Thanks.

Ed 

Posted in advertising, TV, media, internet video, marketing, business video, corporate, video, video production, web video, Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »

April 11. 2008 by Ed Tworek.

Video produced exclusively for the internet is quickly becomming the hottest trend in media.  Everyone is getting into the act.  Every television network has some or all of their current line up and archives available to viewers online.  Advertising campaigns almost always involve some sort of web video content.  So, why not you?  Does your business have a web video?  It can be just a short introduction to your web site, or a full blown production on You Tube.  Either way, you should have a video associated with your product or business. 

Web video is cheap to distribute, in most cases it is free.  Consider this, companies that have been users of traditional media such as print, are shifting their marketing dollars to web based video.  Shopped for a home lately?  Have you run across the real estate marketing sites?  These companies would traditionally advertise homes for sale in real estate magazines, now see the impact that video can have on their sales rates. 

Web video is the future of media.  Its time to get into the game, whether you produce a video on your own or hire an experienced pro to produce it for you.  Don’t get left behind and miss this surging wave of opportunity.  You can bet that your competitor is using video.

As always, if we can assit you with your video needs, give us a call.

Ed

Posted in advertising, TV, media, internet video, marketing, business video, corporate, video, video production, web video, Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »

April 7. 2008 by Ed Tworek.

Pre-Production?  What’s that?  Pre-Production is where you save money!  Pre-Production is the process of planning every step of a video project, from the concept to distribution.  Why is this important?  Consider this, you want to shoot a TV commercial, you hire a production company, hire talent, and set a shoot date at your location.  Everyone arrives at the designated call time.  When all the greeting is completed, everyone has had a cup of coffee, and the camera and lighting is set up, you then tell everyone that you need to take some time to come up with a script.  What!, the crew exclaims!  The crew is ready, but you are not.  Well, they say, it’s your money.  And it is.  If you do not take the time to plan your video shoot, you will spend money needlessly.  It is much quicker to shoot a project if there is a script.  You do not want an expensive video crew sitting around while you decide what to do.  If there is a plan, an experienced crew can come in and shoot every scene quickly and efficiently.  The talent will also be able to perform better if they are familiar with the script content, and if it is a commercial, they probably will have the script memorized on shoot day. 

Here is a real world example of what I am talking about, I did this shoot 2 weeks ago…

The project is a video home tour.  Call time is 12 noon.  This client allocates 2 hours to shoot the home, talent stand ups and voice over as well as b-roll of surrounding ammenities, such as shopping and a golf course.  Not a lot of time, but it is possible to do.  At noon, all the parties have arrived and we begin our walk around of the home to familiarize ourselves with the property.  It is at this time, that the talent first sees the bullet points he is to discuss about the home.  There is no script, we will be crafting one on the fly.  Lighting is set, camera is ready and the talent is mic’d. 

12:30, we begin our first attempt at the opening.  Wrong wording, too many words, not the correct adjectives…  By 1:15, we have completed the stand ups and VO, we now have 45 minutes left to shoot 6 rooms, an agent intro and close and the b-roll.  The agent stumbles, but we get her done in 15 minutes.  30 minutes left.  Shoot, re-light, shoot, re-light…6 times.  The house is done, we are now 20 minutes over.  We race to pack up.  We still have to shoot 4 seperate locations for the b-roll, each require driving no less than 10 minutes. One of the locations requires permission to enter the property, this takes 20 mintues.  All told, this 2 hour shoot takes 4 1/2 hours. 

Since you are paying by the hour for this shoot, you just wasted 2 1/2 hours because of no planning.  Granted, this shoot would have gone overtime because of the b-roll locations, but we could have saved no less than 1 hour if there was a script.

Pre-production is really the key to making your video project a huge success.  If you take a few hours to meet with the production company( which usually costs nothing),  and plan the shoot, you will be much more satisfied with the outcome of your project. 

Ed

www.corpvid.com

Posted in marketing, advertising, TV, media, business video, web video, corporate, video, video production, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

April 5. 2008 by Ed Tworek.

So, you are considering producing a video for your business and want only the best-so you decide that you want to go “Hollywood”.  Full HD, 16:9 1080p-a really big deal.  Wrong!  Most business applications only require the use of standard definition video 4:3 525i.  And if you are going to use your project on the internet, you better keep your end product in 4:3 aspect ratio.  You see, HD (high definition) requires massive amounts of band width when you stream it.  So in order to allow your video to upload quickly for your client, you must be in the SD format.  But fear not!  If you have had your heart on shooting your project in high definition, you still can.  HDV is an intermediate step between standard definition and full high definition.  With this format we can still shoot in HD wide screen 1080, then down convert it to 4:3 for editing and distribution.  And best of all, we still have the original footage in HD ready for use when the time is right and the internet is capable of handling the bandwidth.  Cool Huh?

Ed

Posted in marketing, advertising, TV, media, business video, web video, corporate, video, video production, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

April 4. 2008 by Ed Tworek.

OK! So you live under a rock and have never heard of Blackberry, Palm, IPhone or Ipod.  Have you heard about You Tube or Google Video?  Sure!  I don’t think that there is anyone in the country that has not heard of, know someone who has or is using any of these tools for their benefit.  What does that have to do with Corporate Video? ALOT!!

“Companies want more business with more cost effective advertising methods and video ads on a website cost far less than Yellow Page advertising.  Advertising dollars are flooding to the internet and the future of video is on the internet”, say Bob Perl in this month’s Event DV magazine.  Bob is a successful videographer who has transitioned his entire business to web based video productions. 

Bob is correct, you see it all the time when you are logged on.  But what about all those devices mentioned above?  Each of those devices is a potential recipient of your video ad.  Think about it, there are hundreds of thousands of mobile devices in America, would you like to reach that many new clients?

Here are some of the possibilities…Selling real estate?  How about a 3 minute video tour of your next listing?

Selling automobiles?  What about a 2 minute video showcasing the new arrivals on your lot?

Are you a restaurant owner?  Show off your hot dish!

You get the idea.  Almost every business has something that someone, wants to see in greater detail.  If you have a website, you owe it to yourself to consider using web video on it.  You’ll be amazed at the business it brings to you.

Ed

Posted in web video, business video, video production, video, corporate, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

April 4. 2008 by Ed Tworek.

Happy Friday! 

I hope that everyone had a productive week.  We completed a couple of projects that were very satisfying, I thank God for his Blessings upon our company.  As we wind down the work week and prepare for our weekly battles with the lawn, garden and paint brush, we undoubtedly have to make time to run to the grocery store.  When you do your shopping this week, please consider the plight of millions of children in this country.  In Virginia, over 14% of the school age children in the state, do not have enough food to eat on a daily basis.    Our good friend Chris Kettner, host of the radio program “The Specialist” has launched a food drive to help stock a local food pantry.  When I appeard as a guest on his show in March, I promised him that I would assist him in his goal. 

So, my valued friends and business associates, I am asking that while you travel the aisles of your favorite grocery store, would you consider making a purchase of a bag of rice, a case of ramen noodles, pasta, or any other non-perishable food item and donate it to Chris’ cause?   If you are in Hampton Roads, call me and I’ll come by and pick it up.  If you live outside this region, take it to your local food pantry, church or synagogue or homeless shelter.  If we each spend a little, we can accomplish a lot.

Thanks.

Ed

Posted in web video, business video, video production, video, corporate, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

April 3. 2008 by Ed Tworek.

What is digital signage?  If you have been to any retail store, airport, sports stadium or church, you probably have seen digital signage.  It can be in the form of simple Powerpoint slides displayed on a video monitor, to elaborate marketing campaigns displayed on high end plasma monitors.  So what you say?  I have good signage in my business, why should I go “digital”?

Probably, the most basic answer is durability. 

 A well installed digital display can last years.  Compare that to paper or vinyl signs, that last only months. 

2. You can easilly change your message. 

Your display can be changed daily if you wish.  Have a special today?  Added features to your product? Want to run a commercial? Show the interior of your model home while away?  Its all possible.

3. Cost

Printing is expensive.  Powerpoint pages cost nothing-except your time to produce them.  Video production is more affordable than you think.  Typical local 30 second commercials can cost you as little as $500.

So think about what messages you want your customers to see everytime they enter your building.  New-Fresh-Exciting!  Make them want to learn more.

As Always, give us a call if there is anyting we can assist you with.

Ed

866-303-9466

Posted in web video, business video, video production, video, corporate, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »