1. The picture
2. The sound
3. The content

Let’s talk about the picture.  When shooting your video, there are several key things to consider in order to get the best picture

• Lighting
• White Balance
• Framing
• Focus

Lighting on the professional level is an artform.  However, advances in camera technology have made today’s video cameras able to create great images in less than perfect environments.  As you plan your video, a couple of good lighting tips include:

• Don’t aim your camera into a bright light source.  This can be the sun, an open window, or a light.  If you do this, most cameras will react by closing the iris and your subject will seem very dark.  Instead, look around and put the brightest light source to your back.  This usually means that the light will be brightening up your subject which is ideal.
• Be aware of shadows.  If you are shooting in a room with overhead lights, don’t sit directly underneath them.  The shadows from the down light will make a face appear strange.  If you have a light kit you are using, move the subject away from a wall, and position the lights above their heads aiming down (in a 45 degree angle if you can manage).  The distance from the wall should be enough so that their shadow does not hit the wall behind your subject.
• Ultimately, the best advice is to just be aware of how lighting is affecting your picture.  If you notice shadows, try moving around until the picture gets better.  In some cases, moving out of bright light to a place that is darker but more evenly lit will actually improve the picture.  Be aware, then experiment liberally.

White Balance is a term for setting the colors in the camera.  Most cameras have an automatic white balance.  Some, however, do have manual settings or presents for flouresent, tungsen, sunlight, etc.  If you are in a room with lots of different lights, performing a manual white balance – or using a preset position that accounts for the primary light source – will often make your picture look much better.

Framing is getting your subject positioned in the picture properly.

• The most important element of framing is ‘head room’.  This is a term used to describe the positioning of a subject so their head is framed correctly.  An easy tip is to draw an imaginary line 1/3 of the way down from the top of the screen.  Make sure to position the subject’s eyes on this line.  You’ll have to adjust as you zoom, but this will create ideal framing.
• It is also important to think about framing from the left to the right.  If the subject is talking to the directly to the camera, they should be centered in the image.  If they are talking to one side or the other, they should be framed to talk across the widest area of the image.  For example, if the subject was talking to a subject that they were looking at to their left, they would be positioned to the left of the frame (as you are looking at the frame).  Vis-versa when talking to the right.
• One final note about framing involves a piece of equipment that should be in any shooter’s arsenal.  That is a good tripod.  Make sure you use a tripod whenever possible.  It will help with framing, shoot stability, and making sure your image is level.  All signs of a well made video.

Finally, focus.  One of the neat features of today’s camcorders is their auto-focus ability.  If you are used to pro equipment, however, auto-focus often seems to mean nothing is in focus.  Auto-focus works by bouncing a beam off the camera and measuring its reflection.  If there is nothing between you and your subject, it works well.  If you subject is moving around and framed well, it can be a lifesaver.  However, if there is anything in between the camera and your subject, or if your subject moves a lot, your camera may struggle to find the focus.  The result is often an image that comes in and out of focus which is very frustrating to watch.  If your subject is far away, or not moving much, try using the auto-focus to get an initial focus setting and then turn it to manual.  You may find this improves the quality.

Hopefully these tips will help you get your video looking perfect.  Contact us if you have any questions, and don’t forget about our Video 101 classes and boot-camps.  We teach these tricks and more.

Every kid has shared the experience of bringing home a brand new Goldfish at one time or another. Remember, Goldfish were fun. It came in a cool bag of water and then into a nice shiny bowl. This was YOUR pet! You gave it a name like Goldy, or Slimy, of Phish. For the first few days, you jumped out of bed in the morning to rush down and drop the pellets of food into the bowl. What a time.

But, soon enough, other things came along, and Goldy was just another decoration. The initial passion of feeding him gave way to apathy, and soon it was mom feeding the fish (when she remembered). The bowl got cloudy and green with algae. Then, one day you came in and Goldy was a floater. You said a few words and… flush… he was gone.

It hit me that ideas are like Goldfish. I have lots of ideas and get genuinely excited when a cool one hits. It fires me up, and inspires me – for awhile. Then, like my old pet, the excitement fades. Too often, my ideas end up as floaters, just like ol’ Goldy.

Don’t let your ideas go ‘belly up’. When you have a good idea, commit to making it a reality. Write it down, tell it to friends and colleagues along with your commitment to carry it through to fruition.

For most folks – except us political junkies – this news item may not register in your world at all. On Tuesday, Senator Jim Bunning brought the workings of the nation to a brief halt as he held up approval of an extension to unemployment benefits. The press played this off as another typical Republican dirty trick and an especially ruthless one since it threatened to delay or cancel benefits to ordinary people out of work.

Digging a bit deeper, however, Senator Bunning’s demand was not to shut off benefits, but instead to force Congress to dedicate the money to pay for them. Without this measure, the cost would be applied toward the burgeoning budget deficit.

Now only the most heartless among us would suggest that an extension to unemployment benefits is unnecessary. This is the deepest recession/depression of my life and one that promises new economic realities as we emerge (assuming we do). Many legitimately need help, and that help should benefit us all by mitigating what otherwise could become catastrophe.

On the other hand, as a small business owner, and one struggling to keep my doors open, make payroll, pay the bills, and take home enough to pay my mortgage each month, I cringe at what I’m seeing in Washington. Sure, this little stunt was a PR play, but it highlighted the fact that the folks we’ve elected are not being good stewards with our resources.

In the current economic climate, it is nearly impossible to get small business funding without paying a draconian price. While we are spending billions here and billions there in the name of stimulus, where is the help for small businesses? As the larger companies lay workers off in record numbers, it is the small businesses that are left to pick up the pieces. The number of qualified professionals with years of experience who are out looking for work today is staggering. The reality is many are going to find their next job with a small business trying to serve a market created by their former employer’s belt tightening.

So what is being done to assist this transition? Not much that I see. I don’t want to take someone’s unemployment check, but if that same money were made available to me in the form of loans and tax credits, I could hire the person who is otherwise stuck at home and frustrated. Isn’t that a win-win? Are you listening Congress? President Obama? Tea Partiers? NBC, CBS, ABC?

While this post is a general rant, what I am looking for in the next round of political leaders is a commitment to building an economy that will allow business to grow and thrive at a sustainable pace; spending policies that understand we cannot continue to borrow to support our bloated ways, and leadership that will stand up and be accountable for their actions. Let’s hope some help is on the way.

The one thing that professionals offer is experience.  The pros know how to make your video look and sound good.  But, today the message is more important than the medium, and sustance generally trumps style.  Also, it is critical to put as much relevant content into the as you can.  If you can produce more content for the same budget, you’re better off than staking your claim on one or two professionally produced segments.

Ok, so when should I do it myself?  Here is a checklist:

• Are relationships important to your sales and marketing process?
• Do your customers value a trusted advisor to help them understand your products or services?
• Are you a small business competing with a larger company?
• Can your customers benefit from training on your products or services?
• Are social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter important parts of your marketing plan?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your business could benefit from using regular video content.  In many cases, you may find that with some training and practice you can make great videos to support your campaign.  In the next few posts, we’ll be providing some basic tips on how to make great online video content.  Keep checking back.

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We recently had the chance to create this video promoting Second Presbyterian Church’s Festival of Faith. It runs the weekend of February 26th through 28th, 2010. Please come and enjoy the festival if you can make it. Second Presbyterian Church is located at 7700 North Meridian Street in Indianapolis.

First of all, relevant information means having value for the audience. It is crucial to consider the perspective of those seeking the information. To be relevant, you need to make a connection with your audience and deliver content that they are seeking. This is most effectively done by knowing who your audience is. When planning your online marketing campaign, consider ways you can engage your audience to figure out what is important to them and then ask how you are doing in providing that information. These efforts will increase your relevance.

Authenticity is as important relevance when trying to connect with your audience. For video presentations, this is often the most difficult element to achieve. Slick, well produced segments often come off as insincere. Rough, homemade videos can distract from the message. Some of the most authentic videos are customer testimonials. Stories translate well, and unrehearsed yet nicely produced testimonials can make a connection that a high gloss ‘pitch’ segment does not.

Finally, your content needs to make sense. Again, this means understanding your audience. Age, sex, education, and occupation are all critical considerations for how people consider or ‘make sense’ of what they hear and see. To insure success, know your audience and talk to them in terms they understand and appreciate.

Paul Colligan predicts on his blog that “In 2010, YouTube will offer a premium streaming television model that, unlike the other options, will work on the desktop, the phone and the television instantly.” and that “Its gonna rock.”

As YouTube continues to explode in terms of availability and content options, it remains the best place to put your content and gain exposure for your business.  If you have any video content about your business, you should make sure it is on YouTube and appropriately tagged and promoted.  If you don’t have content, you should consider how to begin creating it.  Your ability to show up on YouTube is quickly becoming as important as showing up on a traditional web search.

So, the question is simple…  Is your Business on YouTube?