1860 voice recording discovered

Great article in Tech Gadget Update about the recent discovery (and playback) of the first sound ever recorded, circia 1860. It was made in France by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville on his invention, “the phonautograph.” While it recorded properly, says the article, M. de Martinville didn’t have the playback quite figured out…and thus it languished for lo these 147 years until a group of audio historians learned about its existence earlier this month, nabbed it, and managed to capture and reproduce the audio -a 10 second clip of someone singing a French folk song. Quite cool. Here’s the audio…

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Shrinkage is great for your DVDs…

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.

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Free stock video footage and photos…

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.

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"And why should we hire YOU to do our video?"

On one of our Video Business Advisor members-only discussion boards, VBA member Case Marsh remarked how, when he was preparing to graduate from college and just beginning his search for work, he came across one of the handiest resources he had ever used.

“One of the books I bought,” says Case, “provided a list of 20 questions that a job seeker should be prepared to answer quickly, calmly, and convincingly. This book offered the reason behind the questions the interviewer asked, and how a job seeker could use these questions to their advantage, as well as sample answers.”

Well – being the resourceful folk they are, VBA members got together early this summer and developed a list of 16 questions they most often encounter when approaching new client-prospects. And then came the fun part: They chipped in their ideal answers for each of the questions; answers that you can take and use for yourself while you’re out there building your own successful video production business!

Thus was born “Great Answers to Tough Questions” –a book that tackles all the tough questions, from “Why are your prices higher than other producers?” to “Can we just tape the stuff and bring the footage into you to finish?” This book will have you nodding in recognition and taking notes for your next encounter!

Currently, “Great Answers to Tough Questions” is available to VBA members only. It’s an exclusive resource that is going to give them a huge head start on their competition. If you’d like to be in the select group that will benefit from this uncommon book, join the VBA now, and you’ll have your own copy in about half a minute.

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The Top 10 Lies Editors Tell Clients…

10. “It’s just a preview shift.”
9. “It’s out of the safe area, you’ll never see it on the air..”
8. “It won’t really look like that..”
7. “I’ll fill out the paperwork tomorrow..”
6.” Why no, I don’t mind working Saturday..”
5. “Oh, don’t go by THAT monitor..”
4. “It works better as a cut..”
3. “It’s on the source tape..”
2. “I think it looks just fine..”
1. “I’ll be home soon.”

Thanks to Yale Video.

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10 ways to promote your video business without advertising.

It’s a fact, Jack. (Or Jill.) You need customers; customers need your production and duplication and packaging services. It’s definitely a win-win situation. But -if your potential buyers aren’t aware that you exist, or they can’t find you…you’re certainly not going to have a roaring success on your hands. People won’t benefit from your services, and you’re not going to be collecting any money from them. No doubt about it that marketing is an absolutely necessity to keep your name on the tip of their tongues, and at the top of their minds. And don’t worry if you’re on a very limited budget -or even a very very very limited budget. There are still quite a few ways for you to promote yourself and your services. Here’s a dozen ideas you can use to get started.

click to continue >>>

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YouTube is actually good for your business.

Seth Godin recently commented that YouTube has, quietly, become a significant force in business learning. He stated that “people who would never read a 200 page book would happily watch a three minute video.”

Like it or not, people are turning to YouTube and other video aggregator sites in order to learn things…and they’re using the compelling power of video to get their instruction. Instead of gnashing your teeth about having to compete with rank amateurs (and I mean that in both senses of the word) and poor production values, embrace the new trend in learning! Focus your marketing on people and concerns that need to get their message on video and out to their audiences. Anyone who publishes books or printed instructional matter is a good candidate for your video production skills, both for repurposing their training materials into video, and for getting it onto the Internet.

And yes, we practice what we preach. For the past six months, we’ve been repurposing our earlier books, special reports and live seminars into video courses that are now available online on the Video Business Advisor website anytime of the day or night. We’ll tell you how we do it quickly and inexpensively in a future article.

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