Marketing video tips – part 6

By David StrelitzNo Comments
In this 6th and final part of marketing video tips, here are some general points to tidy up. Allow plenty of time for any video shoot you are involved in. Generally, it will take a lot longer to get things right and that’s before you start working with the things that move, AKA the talent. Horror stories abound where the super efficient PA to the CEO has graciously allocated 10 minutes to film a 5 minute piece, of which CEO has barely had sight of or it is being rewritten and not even ready for the tele-prompter or the talent insists they will do it on the fly... and then like a recent keynote political speech, their most important point gets forgotten. Agree any costs and specs to carry out all work to completion. Make sure you know what likely extras have not been agreed,  i.e. music licensing, stock footage and specialised animated graphics. This will upset many pros but if you...
Read More

Marketing video tips part 5 – audio and graphics

By David StrelitzNo Comments
In this 5th part of marketing Video Tips, we will “listen” to our audio and “look” at our graphics. Audio. Good audio is so important. If you are making your own video don’t rely on just a camera microphone. For the simplest Pieces to Camera, even an inexpensive tie clip mic from Maplin etc will give better sound by being closer in proximity and will eliminate “boomy” sound. HOWEVER, there is always a however… pros will often use mics costing several hundred pounds to get the characteristics and extra audio quality required as well as having a selection of different types for different situations, so there will always be limitations as to what quality can be achieved for "thirty quid". For narrations / voiceovers a microphone (even a camera mic, placed 12-18 inches from the “voice” will sound so much better than being four feet away. Whatever audio you record, LISTEN to it with headphones and make sure it is not distorting....
Read More

Marketing video tips 4 – appearance and locations

By David StrelitzNo Comments
We are now ready to shoot our video, so in this 4th part of the marketing Video Tips let’s look at appearance and locations. Appearance. If you are appearing in front of the camera, even if you are just doing a testimonial for another business, do think about your dress attire. From a technical viewpoint, do not wear check or polka dot shirts / blouses etc as the camera will produce moiré patterns. Appropriate clothing will vary depending on the content, trade, profession and just like going to meetings you can never get it totally right. Clean and smart, is mandatory, even if you are a car mechanic! From an aesthetic viewpoint, dare I say ...and I will anyway – hairy chests, ample cleavages and tattoos should not appear within a business orientated video, so keep them covered up...unless of course you are a hairy cleavage tattooist then I suppose it may be the way ahead! I have to just mention make-up. The...
Read More

Marketing video tips – 3

By David Strelitz3 Comments
In this third part of a series of marketing video tips, let’s 'focus' on content and staying legal. Content can be your footage or still images, (professionally shot footage or images), library footage or images, (purchased, usually online from a stock library) or simply graphics and text. This maybe supplemented with some music and a voiceover. First off: stay legal. There are plenty of stock libraries to buy still images and video that you may need, i.e Shutterstock. You try before you buy with a watermarked version and then replace with a purchased high quality version when you are ready. 'Borrow' them from Google Images at your peril! Music licensing is a minefield of confusion best described as a total mess! You cannot simply use copyrighted music (except specific library music) legally without hideous expense not to mention dealing with MCPS and PRS. So NO, you cannot use anything you just fancy without at best risking your video being taken down from YouTube, Vimeo etc...
Read More

Marketing video tips – script and presentation – Part 2

By David StrelitzNo Comments
Here is the second part of a series of marketing video tips, which deals with script and presentation. Whether this is a simple presentation to camera, or a full blown corporate video – don’t rely on what was on a brochure or flyer. It may be too wordy and may well be boring when spoken on camera or as a voiceover. Make it more conversational without being too informal, in order to engage with your viewer. Expand the ideas from the bullet points (mentioned in business video tips part 1) until you have something resembling a script and then refine it. Less is often more. On very rare occasions, I have made promos with no voiceover at all but only where the pictures are so powerful that they tell the story, reinforced by short informative captions. However that is not the norm. When you write the script, don’t forget to include a “call to action” at the end. As a minimum,...
Read More

Marketing video tips – Part 1

By David StrelitzNo Comments
I was asked to put some marketing video tips together for The Marketing Compass. Requirements could range from a first web presence to updating or creating a corporate video, so with that in mind, here are the first two areas for consideration. Just because you shoot a mean holiday video doesn’t mean it is right for your business. It is your company’s image you are promoting. Get it wrong and it may damage, not enhance, your business. Check out what a professional will do with a wealth of experience and kit. I’m not a fan of testimonials shot on a phone in glorious “wobblevision”. If you must do them, be mindful of eye lines. Eyes should be in the top third of the screen. (If in doubt, look at any TV news presenter). There are some amazing “Phone video’s” on the web, but usually they are shot by experienced pros, sometimes with ancillary equipment and lots of experience. Self made...
Read More

YouTube meta data and SEO

By David StrelitzNo Comments
It wasn’t so long ago that what was known as 'web video' tended to be simple graphics messages, or single person presentations to camera with or without some extra enhancements. The image size you saw was quite small, by today's standards. However, the advent of higher speed broadband and sophisticated servers, that allow more data to be delivered to our devices, means that today nothing is off limits, with even Hollywood movies being delivered on the web. At one time, YouTube was only for Skateboarding Cats - but now household name companies not only use YouTube for announcements, promotions and product demonstrations, but they also reinforce their brand by producing short instructional 'How To' programmes. Ironically, just as I was writing this, an email came in from Machine Mart promoting their web videos on a range of products. With YouTube offering the same opportunities for inserting meta data (i.e. Tags) as can be used within a website and being part of Google,...
Read More

Video production tips

By David StrelitzNo Comments
Video communication is great for websites and SEO and here are some practical video production tips. I will formulate a top 10. However, in the meantime if anyone has any questions regarding video production, feel free to post here or contact me. Many people like to film themselves for their websites. Invariably what lets these videos down is the audio. On board mics on cameras and phones won’t cut it, so invest in a proper mic. A wired tie clip mic will give you clearer sound and reduce the 'boomy' effect that comes from the mic being non directional and too far away. If you intend to work with a professional company, get some ideas together about your business before you meet them. You know more than they ever will about your business. If it is a simple presentation to camera, don’t expect it will take five minutes. Allow plenty of time. Don’t just take the back of a flyer/brochure and think that it will...
Read More