Archive for the 'Great Ideas' Category
posted by Steve23rd, 2008
My old partner Randy was one of those guys who never threw anything out. As a result, our production company had a lot of…well, interesting is a good word…interesting stuff cluttering up the place. Laser disc players, a couple of broken reel-to-reel 1/2″ VCR’s, some hopelessly antique cameras and camcorders…he had so much of this technojunk that we finally built him a large storage space -”Randy’s Room” -filled corner to corner with sturdy steel shelving. I was down at Great Lakes Video the other day and -guess what -even though he’s not with the operation any more, Randy’s Room remains, securely locked and apparently still loaded. Sort of like Al Capone’s vault. Who knows what treasures lurk inside?
Well, Randy isn’t alone. Old computers, camcorder, motherboards, broken audio boards and switchers, cell phones, CDs, jewel cases, old VHS tapes…we of the video production persuasion certainly can stack up the old equipment quickly.
As we move farther into the information age, the volume of obsolete computer equipment and supplies is becoming a serious problem that needs to be dealt with responsibly. Today, it’s estimated that over 90 percent of technojunk is not being recycled. Some is thrown away, but most remains unused sitting on desks or taking up storage space.
You know what I’m getting at; I’m asking you to recycle your old broken and outmoded gear. There may be a local drop-off that legitimately recycles your equipment. If so, why not make a stop there part of your spring cleaning ritual?
Alas, many communities don’t have a good recycling point. If this is your case, I recommend an operation such as GreenDisk. You can use them to recycle ‘puters, iPods, MP3 players, cell phones and chargers, digital cameras, PDAs, palm pilots, and more. Also, easily recycle all of your CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges with GreenDisk’s Technotrash program. For $30, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of any of the above. Your fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees.
Check ‘em out right here: www.GreenDisk.com
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posted by Steve9th, 2008
According to a recent article in Top Tech News, a video camera, computer and high-speed Internet connection are the tools you’ll need for the next “gold rush.”
More and more, businesses and corporations are looking to the Internet as a source of advertising revenue. And, smart producers just like you are working to create ad-friendly entertainment and news videos for the Web. Who can blame them? Research firm eMarketer says that ad spending for Internet videos will rise 455 percent by 2011 to $4.3 billion.
Internet users can already find a plethora of web video from reruns of network TV programming to user-generated bits for YouTube. The problem for advertisers is that a large amount of the video people watch on the Web is still user-generated.
There’s no way to tell what user-generated tip will be hot, “And it’s typically pornographic, stolen or stupid,” says Ron Bloom, CEO of PodShow. (Gotta love that.) Which is why companies are turning their focus to original Web production. And forward-thinking producers are ramping up to take advantage of the emerging trend…
Read the article here but you’ll have to bypass a splash page…
posted by Steve4th, 2008
Honest, this is my last post about YouTube for awhile!
Producer and popular video writer Stu Sweetow clues us in that YouTube has announced a helpful new analytics tool that will enable publishers and advertisers to track viewership on the popular video-sharing site. This is going to provide some very valuable information to those of you who use YouTube for viral marketing and video sharing. Read the whole article on the YouTube Blog.
posted by Steve2nd, 2008
My friend and Video Business Advisor Advisor (I’ve got to think of another name for this great group of people!) John Easton has produced a video of a panel discussion he recently participated in on business networking strategies.
Says John, “I thought the video serves as a good example of how end users can use program-based streaming video to turn their expertise into effective marketing tools. FYI, our Chamber of Commerce (Charlotte, NC) has signed on a distribution partner (4,000 + business audience) and we are working on others The programming is also an opportunity for video producers to sell yet one more service.
“In addition, I mention you and your rule of 8:16 in the discussion. I thought you might get a kick out of the mention.”
I watched the series, enjoyed it and yep, I did get a kick out of the mention, John. Thanks for that, and for giving us another great tip for marketing our businesses.
See the series on John’s Blog. And while you’re there, sign up for a free subscription to John’s stuff. He’s a terrific source of marketing ideas that really work.
posted by Steve31st, 2008
Broadcast Engineering recently featured an interesting article on Trade Show News Television, an enterprising production company that shoots tv-style interviews and news clips for its clients at their trade show booths.
Customers choose one of three streaming video packages based on marketing and distribution needs. The footage is captured, edited and then made available for video streaming.
According to the article, the concept has attracted the interest of trade show managers, online publishers and exhibitors. “More than ever, business customers and prospects access their information online through streaming video,” states Bob Lipp of Trade Show News Television. “Our concept gives trade show exhibitors a unique sales tool that continues to support sales long after the trade show has ended.”
It’s something to consider when expanding or diversifying your video offerings as well.
posted by Steve28th, 2008
Shrink wrapping, that is! Shrink wrapping your customers’ CDs or DVDs is a great value-added touch, and it’s easy to do. Pick up a shrink-wrapping system for about $150 from The Video Store Shoppe and charge your customers an extra 25 cents for shrink-wrapping their duplicates. Your product will look far more professional and it’s surprising how quickly those extra quarters can add up into meaningful dollars.
posted by Steve26th, 2008
If you’re looking for a way to dress up your presentations and videos, stock footage may be the answer. It’s amazing what a few choice royalty-free shots can do to give your little league production a major league look.
Here’s a few places to check out.
Free Stock Exchange: 100,000+ quality high-res images,a great resource. I use this one myself quite often.
Morguefile -I’ve seen this recommended on several sites and it looks good:
DHD Multimedia Gallery -Smaller collection of multimedia stuff.
BurningWell -another small and royalty-free collection.
DeviantArt -very big and eclectic collection of creative images, flash animations, creative stuff. Not sure what is considered royalty-free, though.
Internet Archive -wide variety of media here.
Footage Firm -some nice scenics and big city shots,uncompressed AVI format. They also buy and sell stock footage.
Feel free to suggest others if you have ‘em.
