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Five questions to ask a viral video producer.

December 8, 2008 By 3 Comments

A growing number of video production houses and ad agencies claim to specialize in viral videos. By definition a “viral video” is a web-based video that is so popular that people will want to share it with their friends or colleagues (through social media sites, through email, through IM, through blogs and through media sharing websites). That is a very big promise.

One of the best examples of a successful corporate viral video was created by Blendtec, a Utah-based blender manafuacturer. The company created a wildly popular video promotional series called “Will it blend?” which showcased Blendtec founder, Tom Dickson dumping everything imaginable into a blender to answer the question “Will it blend?” The videos contain an engaging mix of shock, humour and campiness that have generated millions of views. “Will it blend?” has become an Internet meme and the series has generated millions of dollars in increased sales for the company. {The company has even made money from merchandising the ‘Will it blend?’ name and shared advertising revenues generated from Will it Blend? videos on video sharing site Revver.}

So yes, it is possible to generate awareness, buzz and even revenue with viral video but success at the level of ‘Will it Blend?’ is the exception. The challenge is that you have to strike a very delicate balance of entertaining without looking like you are selling. If your video looks like a commercial or a blatant promotion, it won’t be shared. If you create something that is hugely entertaining but does nothing to advance your brand, what’s the point?

It’s also getting much more difficult to break through the chatter. YouTube gets a cajillion new videos uploaded every minute. Yours better be really good.

If you’re thinking of creating a viral video here are five questions you should ask prospective viral video production house:

1. How many viral videos have you done, and for who?
2. How will this video promote my brand? (Most viral video producers squeeze the brand into the video)
3. How will you measure success? If the answer is ‘views’, is there a way to qualify who is viewing it?
4. Do you employ any video seeding strategies, title and thumbnail optimization or other guerrilla techniques that help accelerate video sharing?
5. Are there any guarantees? What if it only gets viewed by 100,000, 10,000, 1,000 or 3 people?

Filed Under: Marketing with Video Tagged With: ,

When should you use a Teleprompter

December 6, 2008 By Leave a Comment

‘Unscripted’, ‘authentic’, ‘spontaneous’, ‘extemporaneous’ - this is the mantra of a new generation of online video producers. Unscripted is a great way to shoot video… sometimes.

Image this scenario: You’ve hired a camera crew, a studio, some special equipment and your senior spokesperson/presenter is ready to go. You’ve given your presenter speaking notes – and he assures he doesn’t need them. A couple hours into the shoot everyone including the presenter realizes it’s not going well. The presenter decides maybe he should refer to the notes, but now he can’t deliver them well because he can’t memorize them and they are not his words. What do you do?

Short form, off the cuff video segments are becoming more popular today as companies look to build their brands by communicating in a less formal manner and by trying to engage their audience using a more personal approach. Corporate presentations and company overviews lend themselves well to this format where an exec and/or staff member might deliver an unscripted, but heartfelt explanation of what makes their company great.

You can be successful with this style of video production if you have a good plan for what you want to get out of the video (and how you will be delivering it), a smart set of talking points to reference and a good presenter who is comfortable with this unscripted format. If on the other hand, you are shooting a detailed product demo or a particularly long or complicated presentation or if you have a presenter who does not have a lot of experience in front of a camera you should consider renting a teleprompter.

These are some of the situations where a teleprompter is well worth the investment:

1. Using a professional presenter/actor. If the presenter is not a subject matter expert then they either have to memorize a script (which is very difficult to do well) or read from a teleprompter.

2. Long presentations. The longer the video and the longer each speaking piece in the video is, the greater the need for a teleprompter. You only have to sit through one session where the presenter continues to stumble over the correct delivery for a prolonged period of time to wish you had invested in a teleprompter.

3. Complex presentations. Product demos, technical presentations and presentations that require a lot of different verbal and physical actions to happen at the same time would benefit from the use of a teleprompter. Product managers and business owners know their products better than anyone but that does not guarantee that they can give you a fluid and professional read if the verbal requirements are complex.

4. Experience in front of a camera. Your best trade show guy might be a crackerjack pitchman in front of an audience (large or small) but that can all change quickly when they are asked to talk to a camera under the glare of lights and no one there to provide feedback. {Shooting them talking to someone on screen (or off) may be a good compromise if that style suits your business needs.}

5. Failure is not an option. {This may be the best reason to consider renting a teleprompter}.  If you’re investing a lot of time and effort for a video shoot (which is usually always the case), if you have asked for senior exec’s or business owners time to shoot the video or if you are working to a tight deadline (which is always the case) the availability of a teleprompter might just save the day. 

The problem is that unless you have seen the presenter on camera before you won’t know how the unscripted format is going to go. Your video production company should be able to guide you on when and where to use a teleprompter but if you are doing the video yourself you should be able to rent a teleprompter and an equipment rental shop for between $300 and $500 for a half day (This includes a teleprompter operator – the person who loads and keeps the onscreen text moving). Conversely you can buy the equipment and software yourself for under $1,000.00. If you plan on doing a fair amount of in-house video then this may be a good option. You’ll just have to train someone on how to use the software (it is not difficult to learn).

 

 

 

Filed Under: Managing Video Projects Tagged With: ,

Where should you host your corporate video?

December 5, 2008 By 2 Comments

 

You have just completed shooting a three minute corporate overview of your company’s services that you want to put up on your website. Now what?

Assuming you know the answer to the following questions:

1.    Where on your website you want to place your video? (Is it on your home page, is it on a main section page, is it in a videos section, is it buried further in the site because it relates to some specific content )

2.    How the video will play on your site? (Will it launch a pop-up window that plays the video, will it take you to another page that contains the video in a player or will it simply play in place by simply clicking on a screen capture image)

3.    What type of player you will play the video in? (Will it launch in a flash player, in a windows media player, in a quicktime player, in the adobe media player etc.)

4.    What features you need in the player? (Play/pause, stop, slider/time bar , elapsed time/full time, audio control, enlarge to full window, and other controls)

You then have to decide how you are serving (hosting) your video to your website visitors.

Listed below are some of the decision criteria for determining the best way to host your video:

1.    How many people do you anticipate will watch the video – both in total (I.e how many people will watch it in one month) and simultaneously (What is the chance that 10, 20 or more people will watch the video at the same time.)

2.    How are you marketing the video – will people just see it when they come to your site or are you sending out one or more emails to drive people to the video (an e-mail campaign would increase the likelihood of many people viewing it at the same time)

3.    What capacity does your web server have – can your servers adequately serve video to people on your site – have you tested it with video? Have you tested it with multiple views of video at the same time?

4.    Where do you web visitors come from – are they local or in your region? Are they from all over the country or are they international.

5.    How important is the quality of the video experience to you – Will it matter to your audience if the video doesn’t play right away  (‘right away’ being a relative term), will it matter if the video pauses occasionally during playback.

6.    Do you just want to host it on a video aggregator like YouTube. – If the playback quality is not that important to you and you don’t mind having other videos appear with your video (could be a competitor’s video or a video of dancing cat) then a video aggregator site might be an option.

Placing your video on a video aggregator like YouTube is free but you cannot control the experience – you can’t control what videos play with it and you can’t control the quality (compression) of the video. Placing the video on your own servers is a good choice if you don’t expect a lot of traffic to the video and you have tested it and are relatively comfortable with the overall experience.

The best route is to use the services of a CDN (such as Akamai, Limelight, Amazon or Edgecast) either directly or through a third party who has a service contract with a CDN.  CDN’s have high speed, multi-server capabilities and redundant points of presence that allow for very fast and reliable delivery of video around the world. {Note: The video is served from the CDN’s server, but it will still appear on your website – the visitor to your site won’t know where the video is being served from.}

The video production company that created your video should be able to provide these services. If not, Google ‘Content Delivery Network’ – there are many service providers with many different price points and plans.

Filed Under: Managing Video Projects Tagged With: ,

How long should my online corporate video be?

December 4, 2008 By Leave a Comment

 

How many pages should my printed material be, is a similar question.  

Attention spans are getting shorter with the consumption of all media, so while shorter is better online there is no ‘correct’ length for an online corporate video.  A two page product brochure and an eight page whitepaper have very different purposes. Similarly, a one to two minute corporate intro video has a very different purpose than an in-depth four to six minute video case study. Video whitepapers which highlight (in a product and company agnostic format) the solution to an industry problem can run between five to ten minutes and incorporate narration, information graphics, video and a host of other media to outline the solution to a complex problem.

Purpose, context and relevance determine the length of an online corporate video:

Purpose. From your perspective, what are you trying to achieve with this media asset? What is the goal, who is the audience and what exactly are you trying to communicate to the audience. Shorter is definitely better because you have to assume that online attention spans are limited.  If the goal is to give people a brief overview of your entire suite of products or services then two to three minutes is sufficient. If the goal is to provide an in-depth description including the benefits (with examples) of one of your products then three to five minutes is a reasonable time range.

Context. Where will your audience be consuming the video? On your site, on a business portal, on YouTube? If you control the environment – on your own site – what other collateral will support the video. If you have print whitepapers and product brochures that deal with the detailed specifics of the offering then the video may only need to be two or three minutes long. You can provide direct links from the video or on the same page to the support material. If you have no other support material then you might want to add a minute or two to the video to provide some of that information.

Relevance. From the customer’s perspective, what do they get out of the video? The more relevant and valuable it is to them the longer the video can be. (If it is really valuable to your customers then five to ten minutes is not unreasonable.) Relevance should be the primary factor guiding the development of every video and this, I believe, is what will drive the length of videos to increase (marginally) over time. Too many corporate videos today are internally focussed: Beauty shots of the buildings, talk about the company history, clients and processes all peppered with the ramblings of an important executive. Like desktop publishing before it, these videos are the first wave in the evolution of a new communications medium – an artefact from industrial videos which were shown at annual meetings and large presentations.  Today, online videos need to be much more tactical.

In broad strokes, one to two minutes is a good starting point. If you have a lot of relevant material then you might want to consider breaking the video into smaller chunks – a minute or two each and present them in a way that allows the viewer to easily move between the sections. A flash player that automatically moves from one section to the next, but also provides the ability to jump between sections is ideal for longer videos. The ability to control the viewing experience is often enough to encourage viewers to watch a longer presentation in its entirety.

The very nature of this frequently asked question – how long should a web-based video be? – speaks to the nascence of this new corporate media type. As different web video media types evolve (product demos, product overviews, video case studies, corporate presentations, video whitepapers, video case studies, video testimonials, commercials, video press releases, etc.) specific standards will emerge for each specific media type.

Filed Under: Managing Video Projects Tagged With: , , ,

What does an online corporate video cost?

December 3, 2008 By Leave a Comment

The cost of producing an online corporate video depends on many factors:

  1. Format – are you shooting and editing in full 1080P HD or using a less expensive middle or lower-end format?
  2. Length – Is your corporate video a one minute talking head or are you shooting an eight minute documentary on your company’s philanthropic activities?
  3. Crew – Do you need a single videographer or a crew (Videographer, Second Camera, Lighting Technician, Audio Technician, Director, etc)?
  4. Script – Are you developing a purpose-built script and storyboard or are you shooting unscripted footage of a company spokesperson?
  5. B-Roll – Are you shooting or purchasing extra footage that will be edited in with your main footage to add context and improve the pace and style of the video?
  6. Editing – Are any special effects, complicated edits, animation or other media assets required or is it just a straight edit of an unscripted presentation?
  7. Actors – Do you need to hire professional presenters, actors or models to improve the quality of your presentation?
  8. Location – Are you shooting in one spot or many? In town or all over the country? Are there contingent factors that have to be considered like the weather, availability of key executives or rental / studio facilities?
  9. Audio – Do you require narration for the video, an audio music bed for the presentation? Are there multilingual/translation and localization considerations?
  10. Licensing – Are you using any media assets or talent that could be subject to ongoing licensing,  usage or union fees.
  11. Quality – How important is quality to you? As always, there is a strong positive correlation between price and quality.
  12. Direct or Third party – Are you dealing directly with the video production company or are you going through an agency or other middleman?
  13. Delivery/Distribution – What is the final output? How many formats? Who is distributing it and how is it being distributed on the web? How is the video being managed for re-use?

Taking all of the above into consideration there are reasonable ballpark figures that you can use as a guidepost for budget purposes. A three to five minute web-based corporate video presentation might cost between $2500 and $7500 depending on the variables mentioned above. If you use the time honoured “$1,000 a minute” for a professionally produced online corporate video as a starting point, that will give you a reasonable idea of where to begin in the budgeting process. The best way to get a quick estimate is to have a reference video to compare to.

Like in any other business category, there are a broad range of service providers that fall into the online web video production category. From online do-it-yourself tools that ostensibly fall into the web video category to the multi-award winning agencies that shoot only on film and only look at budgets in the six figure range… you do tend to get what you pay for.

The good news is that the cost of video production has come down considerably over the past few years and will continue to drop as increase in demand drives new competition and the cost of production (mostly on the technology side) continues to drop.

Filed Under: Managing Video Projects Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

4 Reasons to shoot corporate video in Full HD.

December 2, 2008 By 2 Comments

There are many different cameras and many video formats at the disposal of video production companies: DV, Digital Betacam, DVCAM, DVCPRO, HD, P2, XDCAM, Red and even film (16 or 35mm if the budget allows).

Full HD (1920x1080p) is becoming the new high-end standard for corporate video production. Cameras like Panasonic’s P2 series or Sony’s EX1 series are capable of shooting at the highest resolutions and outputting directly to disc – which allows for much more efficient workflow. These cameras rival or surpass the quality of broadcast ENG cameras. Fully tricked-out with proper mikes and lens you’re probably looking at an outlay of $12,000 or more. But if you are looking for high quality input (and output) and want to make sure your video will still be usable tomorrow, using a camera that shoots full HD is your best option.

I shoot almost exclusively with the Sony EX1 for many reasons:
1. Quality. Attaining high quality footage is the best and most obvious reason to shoot in full HD. Whether you are shooting for a 480×270 web video or for a large HD plasma display at an event, there is no substitute for the quality that a high-end camera produces. In IT circles the expression ‘garbage in, garbage out” relates to the quality of output being determined by the quality of the input. The same holds true for video. Even if you are compressing your full HD footage down to a small web video format the final quality is still determined by the starting quality. Keying out backgrounds, colour correction, zooming in edit mode and many other post production activities are directly affected by the quality of the original video.
2. Flexibility. HD is ‘future proof’ (today). You can repurpose and re-use your full HD footage for a variety of uses such as trade shows, broadcast, and the web and still plan on incorporating it into future productions and formats. Video formats change quickly so having the highest quality footage allows you the most flexibility and re-use options in the future.
3. Standards. Full HD is becoming the standard (16×9 aspect ratio full 1920x1080p) for Corporate Video. Large companies are starting to specifically ask for this format and mid-sized and smaller companies will follow suit. Ericsson even claims that its mobile phone cameras will shoot in HD video in 2012!
4. Ecosystems – A corollary of the quality and standard argument is that ecosystems evolve to support the standards and the higher quality formats because of the larger scale associated with the standard and the higher profits associated with the higher quality. Camera equipment, editing software, storage devices and a host of other support products and services will evolve around the high end HD standards like Sony’s EX1 and the Panasonic P2.

Filed Under: Managing Video Projects Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Should you use a presenter in your corporate video?

December 1, 2008 By 2 Comments

 

If you are blessed with articulate, charismatic executives then consider yourself lucky. If you are like most companies (large or small) however, you may want to consider hiring professional presenters to represent your company in your corporate videos.

This subject often triggers vigorous debate amongst the ‘authenticity’ purists. I tend to take a more pragmatic approach when considering whether or not to use a presenter. The answer to whether or not a professional presenter is necessary or appropriate depends on the context. Some examples:

Commercials. Most companies (large and small) use presenters/actors for commercials, for good reason. Stephen Jobs is arguably one of the best presenters on the planet but Apple doesn’t use him in their ads. Justin Long ( the “I’m a Mac” guy ) is a much better embodiment of the Apple attitude, style and demographic than Jobs. Sure, Dave Thomas was a great spokesman for Wendy’s, Sir Richard Branson is Virgin and Harland David Sanders was KFC – but these are the exceptions. Linking your brand to the CEO is not always a good strategy (especially if he/she leaves the company). Lee Iacocca and his outsized ego almost crushed Chrysler back in the day. Unless you have a compelling, articulate leader – one that your target audience identifies positively with, you are better off to use a surrogate.

Product Demonstrations. This category is much more complicated because there are many types of product demonstrations and many different audiences. As an example, if you are selling into a technical B2B market then a product demo is better delivered by the product manager – regardless of his/her on- screen abilities. Technical audiences trust technical people and rather enjoy ridiculing actors who “probably don’t have a clue about they are talking about”. If, on the other hand you are selling a non-technical product to a B2C market then a presenter that represents your target demographic would be more appropriate. If you are showing how something works – i.e. a real-world example (either in the field with a customer or in reinacting in a studio)  then actors / presenters may be much better suited to the task. “Show me, don’t tell me” is one of the sweet spots of online corporate video and product and service demos in particular.

Corporate Overviews. This is one of the broadest and most common Online Corporate Video Categories – usually the first point of entry for companies using online video to market themselves. This category also overlaps product demonstrations for companies where one product is the company. Corporate Overviews are the best place to show off the executives or employees because the business purpose of the corporate overview is to highlight the company (not necessarily the benefits of the products or services that you produce). In this case authenticity is very important. The challenge however comes when your owner/CEO/ executive is just not that compelling. Some video production companies will claim they can make anyone look good on camera, but the truth is that not everyone does well on camera. Awkward, confused, inarticulate, nervous, distracted, uninspiring… none of these characteristics help your company’s image. You may want to consider reaching down into the ranks to find someone who might have a stronger emotional appeal with your target audience and who is more comfortable on camera.

The desired format and structure of the video should determine the need for a teleprompter. If you are looking for a personal, unscripted style then it might make sense to give the executive some talking points, roll film and cross your fingers. If however, you have a very specific, detailed or structured message you should consider using a teleprompter with either a company spokesperson or an external presenter.

One of the challenges is that you often don’t know how you will do until in front of a camera until you are in front of a camera. It is the job of the video production company to make professional recommendations as to the use of a presenter versus an in-house spokesperson. It can be very difficult for the business to be objective about its own internal capabilities and it also can be politically challenging for internal staff to tell executives that they are not doing well during a shoot.

 

Filed Under: Managing Video Projects Tagged With: , , , ,
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