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Pre: 15 minutes to get your questions together. Even less if you’re just running down the hall to get the breaking news from your CEO.
Production: 5 – 30 minutes depending on how structured you want to be.
Post Production: 5 – 30 minutes. If you’re just going straight from iMovie to YouTube without any extra goodies then you can be in and out on the blog in minutes.
Distribution: Up to 60 minutes. Again this can be 4 – 5 minutes if you’re not doing any editing. Assume that while you’re uploading your video, you’re tagging, doing descriptions, SEO, creating pdfs and blogging.
Camera: Use anything from your iphone, Kodak Zi8, Canon HV40 or on up the spectrum. Ultimately, don’t be afraid to just shoot with what you have. Your customers care about YOU not the quality of the video (yet).
Audio: If you’re using the Zi8 or a more expensive camera, please shoot with a microphone. All on camera microphones are terrible. Again, the caveat here is – Produce First. Ask Questions Later.
Editing Tools: We’re Mac fans and recommend iMovie for straight captures and Final Cut Express for more detailed editing work. Final Cut Pro after that.
If you’re on a PC, there are loads of inexpensive tools out there:
- Sony Vegas
- Pinnacle
- Adobe Premiere Elements
- Roxio Creator
There are free online ones too:
- www.jaycut.com
There are a variety of interviews that you can shoot quickly and easily.
Breaking news, right now: Did you just get the latest results in on a poll? Did a competitor do something your CEO should comment on? Run down the hall, now!
People Around The Office: Your co-workers may be annoying, but they are interesting. Sure they’re good at their jobs, but they’ve got hobbies, families, commutes and things to talk about other than the latest TPS report. Your customers and friends will think that’s great stuff.
The folks over at Pet Relocation.com have some great anecdotes about customers who have seen their videos of their crew.
Sit Downs With People You Like: Grab a few minutes with a person that you just find interesting in your field. Chris Brogan has latched on to this with this kitchen table talks. You can also use your new camera skills to grab people in your industry.
We talked with Kyle Flaherty over at Breaking Point about the things he’s trying using this technique.
Hey, I’m with…!: At the bar after a great seminar? Pick up your camera and ask your partners for their feedback on what they just learned.
Interviewing can be a difficult skill to master. Keep your subjects in the loop with the questions you’re going to ask and make sure that they know what you’re going to talk about.
Keep it down to a few key points to make things easier on them, you in post production, and your viewing audience later on.
Produce First. Video is about people sharing their stories. Get out there and shoot.
Our friends at Phurnace Software asked us to help them create a show that highlights their ability to automate java application deployments. Phurnace builds software to help companies automate the deployment of J2EE applications and configuration of WebSphere, WebLogic, JBoss or WebSphere Portal.
Shot on a Canon HV30 and performed by Larry Warnock and Jessica Gass [...]
Our friends at Phurnace Software, who make Java application deployment software, are gearing up to announce a new “rollback” feature in their Portal Deliver product at the next Websphere Portal Excellence Conference.
They asked us to put together a quick promo piece to invite people to their booth.
We are gearing up for a great [...]
We put together a book trailer for the book “Smoke Screen” by Sandra Brown.
Ms. Brown isn’t a customer of ours, but we felt like playing around a little with graphic animation, and intrigue. You can find out more about the book and the author over at Barnes and Noble.
The Pink Slip Festival in Austin, Texas provided free live music, family fun, cheap beer and hotdogs for Austin’s unemployed families. Dan Dillard of Amplify Financial created the Pink Slip Festival as an Austin styled response at to the down economy. The Pink Slip Festival was held at the Spider House coffee shop and featured [...]
It’s no big secret that @bigmanweston and I like to eat.
My wife is a killer cook and Weston’s culinary paramour, @girlblake, can make a mean Sunny Side Up-Cake.
So when she decided to take her cupcakes on the road to the Cupcake Smackdown 1.0, we thought we’d tag along with a camera.
There were many entries. [...]
This is a promo piece that we shot for our friends at Amplify Federal Credit Union.
The 30 second commercial aired in Austin captures Rob Harbison’s testimonial about Amplify’s new “Free All ATMs” campaign. That’s right. All your ATM transactions are free with Amplify.
Go Amplify!