Archive for » June, 2010 «
More and more businessman with company websites are realizing that a web video, which greets visitors to the web site, makes the web site more personal reaches out to visitors in a stronger way and increases the conversion rate. What are the essential elements of a web video that will turn clicks into customers. That is the central question.
Making a web video for a given profession will have unique requirements. However, many of the qualities which make a video work for one profession will also apply to website videos in other professions. In this article, I will be comparing three web videos that were made for the landscaping profession and are posted on You Tube.
The ATC website video posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYIpt0JebTc tells the story of a day in the life of the ATC company. The background music of this video is the song Takin’ Care of Business by Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The song describes the 9-5 daily schedule of workers who push the time clock. The video describes the story of a typical day of ATC landscape workers. In the morning, the workers conference, they stand around the foreman who gives then a pep talk. Then they clap hands and head to the trucks. Then one by one the trucks pull away. Next we see workers busy with various landscaping chores, mowing the lawn, trimming a bush, and setting up a wooden fence behind a garden. The scenes feature good quality landscaping work and attractive lawns and gardens. When the video is over, we have come to feel that the workers of ATC are decent hard working fun-loving guys. And we would trust them with our landscaping.
The second web video, is constructed of amateur video footage and still photos, arranged and set to music by a professional video production company. This video is compounded of stills and video segments of landscapes the company has made,along with some shots of company workers actively engaged in landscaping. The video features still and video shots of landscapes the company made, and some shots of company workers at work. The music is upbeat universal style background music. The video is not as personal as the first video. It seeks to build trust with the viewer by presenting the quality of the company’s landscape work.
The third web video is also professionally made. The video contains slightly oriental sounding background music. Presumably the music was selected becasue of the asociation between gardens and the orient. The introduction features an off screen narrator who talks about the qualities of the company, followed by a series of before and after photos of various landscaping jobs the company has done.
Studies have shown that trust a shopper has for a company is a very important factor in determining whether or not he will do business with that company. Trust, it has been shown can override considerations of the quality of the work the company will produce. And for obvious reasons, a company may do quality work but if not trustworthy could cheat an individual customer. Whereas a trusty company will always be expected to do well for a customer. So which video wins more trust? Clearly number one. At the end of that video, we feel like we know the company and the workers. Whereas in video two the workers appear in a few still life shots, and in video three not at all.
What other factors are essential parts of these three videos, clearly the shots of quality landscaping. While the first video may inspire trust by introducing the crew as decent hard working and fun loving guys, the shots of quality landscaping, manicured, well cut lawns, well trimmed beds and a sturdy garden fence are also necessary, as they allow the viewer to connect his faith in the workers with the quality work they do. Both the second and third videos also present the quality landscaping work the companies do.
What general conclusions can we draw from these three videos? First, a video which inspires trust in the viewer, by showing the workers as well as the work, is more likely to be successful in winning customers. Secondly, website videos must also present examples of quality work in the profession, so that viewers can connect the faith they have in the company with the belief that the company will do quality work in their given profession.
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For the last three years, eLocal has been creating generic mini-website videos that can placed on the website of anyone in the profession for which the video was made. The videos are produced in quantity and are sold at whoelsale prices and have made website videos affordable for even the small businessman. This strategy has made the businessman feel good, but the question is whether these little mini website videos are drawing in the traffic.
If these videos are drawing traffic, which ones, or which type of content, in this new genre, are most effective at converting clicks to customers. In this article, I will be looking at the eLocal Garage door video # 2 found at: http://www.youtube.com/elocalvideoexamples#p/u/5/pd0xn7w5VD
This video might be aptly called the garage door dance video. In style, it is patterned after a number of videos, which use either repetitive sequences or motion graphics to display the product making a repetitive motion. If the motion is one that people enjoy doing or seeing, then they might become hypnotized by the video, as they gaze at the product dancing around the screen.
In this video, the repetitive motion is the electronically controlled garage door opening and closing. The direction of the moving door is controlled by a button being fingered by an off screen participant. The door moves up and down to the rhythm of a funky repetitive synthesizer tune which plays in the background. On close examination, it appears that the 20 second video was made by splicing 3 segments of the same segment together, with some added material. The video closes with a dark background on which the name and phone number of the company is displayed.
So is this video effective as a web video. It must be said in its favor, that pushing the button to control the movement of a garage door is a favorite motion for many people. People finger the button before leaving on a trip or vacation or a visit to a movie or restaurant. They finger it again to close the garage after returning satisfied from a dinner with friends or a movie. They finger it before going out to earn money. Admittedly, at times it can become a nuisance, and because of this we now have electronically controlled garage door buttons. But in general, the electric garage is one of the modern conveniences that people appreciate. And they part they like the most is when they hit the button and the door begins to move in the direction they want. This eLocal video decided to capitalize on the enjoyment of this motion, by presenting a video which only contains that motion.
One way this video might have increased its effectiveness is if they had presented a completed garage door move. People like the completion of the garage door close as well as the start. The part they hate is the long time it takes to get to the end. This video only shows a short segment of the move, albeit the exciting moment when the door curves around the guiding rails as its motion changes from horizontal to vertical or visa versa.
In addition to failure of the video to have presented a more complete move, the display on the screen is a little cramped. We see a finger pushing the button, we see a close up of the door rising up and down and its reverse and little else.
Assuming the cinematic effects were perfect, the central question is whether the idea of this video itself is a good one. Assuming the video was successful at displaying a fun aspect of operating a garage door, will it sell the garage door? Logically, it will. I conclude that the idea of this video has some merit, but the cinematic effects are incomplete and cramped.
What is the take home lesson from this video. Showing a fun aspect of owning or operating a product a company is trying to sell can be a good one. The display should be as more complete than this display both temporally and spatially.
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I want to talk about an ineffable quality found in successful trade show videos. This quality characterizes videos which acheive effective communicate with the listener. It is inculcated into the video when the videographer recognizes that he is communicating with people like himself; reasonable human beings with human needs, human desires, human thoughts and human feelings. This quality is introduced into the video when the videographer dares to bare his own heart and acknowledge via the screen presentation that he or he as proxy for his client is a person like the people in his audience.
How is this ineffable quality expressed? To answer that question, I wish to compare the Dr. 2 shoes video found on the portfolio page of emotionpicturestudios.com http://www.emotionpicturestudios.com/portfolio with a sampling of trade show video clips presented by a video production company in California, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1839990747070661993#docid=-7483874065862199317 .
In the first video a full view narrator describes a diabetic shoe. The video addresses people who need diabetic shoes or people who sell them. It presents important facts about the shoe. Yet it also presents the facts in a way that is not pure documentary, but also imagistic and branding. Information about the shoe is alternated with motion graphics of the shoe or shoe parts, rotating on and off the screen. One important impression comes through, which is that the video knows exactly who it is targeting and it communicates directly to them.
Now look at the sampling of trade show videos clips by a California video production company. The visual quality of each video appears high. The splicing job is superb. But the film has not focus, no message, no narrator, no captions, no words in the background music, which only consists of repetitive synthesizer music. In this video, it is not clear who the target audience is and more importantly who is the communicator and what is being communicated.
The videographer who made the first video has perspective when it comes to balancing video effects and video essence. In his video, the video effects are an accoutrement to the essential human to human communication. In the second video, the video effects become the all, and the communication becomes the type of communication that takes place on a night club dance floor. There is communication on a night club dance floor, don’t get me wrong. When the room fills with music and the strobe lights and lasers and fibre optics are creating a wild light show, there are feelings communicated. But if two people in love spend lots of time at discotheques, they still have to spend other dates at the dinner table or on a quiet patio, communicating in order to make romance evolve to a decision to create a partnership.
The same principle is true with trade show videos. Before a viewer will make a decision about making a financial agreement, he needs to experience real human to human communication, which addresses his full thought, and not merely his temporary entrancement with visual or sound effects. We see that information being presented in the first video, but not in the second video.
If I had to name that special ineffable quality I would call it focus. A video needs a focal point which represents the point of human contact between videographer and viewer, which makes the viewer believe there is a real person communicating with him through the video; and therefore, the video i9s worthy of his time and attention.
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eLocal can take credit for having invented the web video genre of the generic website videos. These little 10-20 seconds web videos are made for businessmen who want to place a video on their website, but can’t afford to spend $500 - $1,000 to get a personalized custom web video. To help them along, eLocal has created a series of generalized videos.
Each video is customized for a particular profession, and any store in that profession can place one on their website. The message is generalized enough that the video fits in, and according to testimonials from eLocal customers, is successfully attracting customers.
The challenge to eLocal as the creator of this genre, was to develop concepts and an approach that would guide the production of these pioneering videos in the field. Since the pioneer in any field is just that, and is only presenting the initial solutions to the challenges of the field, it is worthwhile reviewing these videos and considering what appears to work and what doesn’t.
The eLocal appliance repair video, found at http://www.youtube.com/elocalvideoexamples#p/u/3/qbvUMbtXfjE, is one of their 3D motion graphic videos. The video portrays a washing machine that fails. With the assistance of the motion graphic the machine breaks apart, in a way that real machines can’t. It’s lid pops open and closes, the machine leans forward, totters and then falls on its face, as a black dial pops off the control panel and rolls across the floor.
The video is set to an electronically reproduced rendition of California Dreaming by the Momas and Papas. The music and motion graphics, give the video a surrealistic effect, which is almost reminiscent of a Salvidoor Dali painting.
The video is a mood piece, at best. The dying appliance is reminiscent of the brown dead winter leaves in “California Dreaming.” The mood of bleak despair, found in the text and sounds of the background music, colors the video’s presentation. The protagonist in the background song, is stuck in a town in winter. He has gone into a building seeking refuge from the cold. He would like to leave town, but has made a commitment to some girl, which requires him to stay. All the while he is dreaming about being back in warm California.
The appliance owner is told to regret the fact that he didn’t call a repairman earlier. As the machine collapses, the caption reads “this tragedy could have been avoided. ”
While the video successfully creates a mood, one has to wonder about the logic and likely success of the piece. People who might see this video are visiting a repair shop landing page because they’re looking for someone to do appliance repair work for them. Yet the video depicts an appliance beyond repair. If a homeowner owns a machine which is beyond repair then he will search for a new appliance, not for a repairman. The captioned message of the video also misses the point. The text implies that if the homeowner had sought repair help earlier, the death of the appliance could have been avoided. Such a caption is mean to encourage people to seek timely repair help for their home appliances. But people who would look at this video don’t need to see that message, as they’ve already become motivated and are in the process of searching for a repairman.
In my opinion, when making a generic repairman video it would make more sense to create a video showing a repairman at work. That type of image would build trust in the viewer and make him contact the company.
The take home message from this video is to determine two things before starting production. Who am I targeting, and what do they need to hear or see to convince them to contact me. The producers of this video did not correctly answer these questions before beginning production.
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Many people want to make videos, but do not know where to start. Oftentimes, folks appear to suppose that they should go to high school as a way to find out about video production editing or that they need expensive and unaffordable equipment. Nevertheless, this isn’t true and there are lots of things you are able to do to get into making videos.
The advent of digital technologies has made video capture and production very reasonably priced and simpler than ever before. Prior to now, it was needed to buy tons of cumbersome electronics at high prices. Right this moment, all you want is a good digital camera and a computer with the appropriate software.
To get your self started, you must spend money on a good digital camera. To get pictures that look like they got here from a movie camera, select a high definition camera. Nevertheless, you will need to check them prior to committing to buy a digital camera, for the reason that high quality of each camera will likely be different.
When searching for a digital camera, you may additionally wish to put money into special lenses that change the way in which the images look. For example, a large angle lens will assist you to capture extra of the area that you are shooting. Filters may be a great investment, since they’ll transform the colors the digital camera is seeing and create more pleasing or interesting visuals.
You’ll want to use the suitable lighting when you are out capturing footage. Poor lighting can spoil an entire film. To improve your lighting, use the suitable overheads and light banks in your scenes. There are tons of free tutorials on the Internet that describe learn how to light a scene and what you’ll need.
Many filmmakers will create themes within a scenes to express moods or emotions. For instance, a specific coloration or coloration palette could also be used to indicate that a scene is filled with sadness, whereas another shade palette could also be used to symbolize joy.
Capturing the sound is also very important. If you do not capture it correctly when you are out on a shoot, you’ll either must redo the scene, which may cost you time and money, or you’ll have to overdub it in a studio. Overdubbing shouldn’t be advisable, since it is often very obvious. It’s because it is rather difficult to get the standard and constancy of the sound to match that of the unique scene.
The easiest way to edit your footage is to get the footage into your computer. If your camera has a Firewire or USB output, this will likely be easy. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to put money into a video interface.
There are tons of companies who now produce video editing software programs in addition to software programs for particular special effects. The prices differ greatly. If you wish to dive straight into your video production, purchase consumer grade software. This will probably be easier to use. Nonetheless, it won’t have as many options and functions as dearer software.
Different people will use completely different strategies for modifying their footage. While doing your movie production, do not believe you are confined to a single style. As an alternative, discover your own personal style and do what you think feels to be best for the scene.
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The Respower trade show video had a hard challenge to meet. According to information contained in the captions of their video, Respower is the largest 3D film laboratory, serving Hollywood and the film and video industry.. Their list of clients, including such television and film greats as Star Trek, is impressive. At the same time, the company, which services predominantly professional videographers and filmmakers, is almost unknown to the public.
In an industry, such as 3D production, it is not enough to produce a trade show video which describes what the company does, it has to show what the company does. As is apparent from the video, this company also felt the need to describe its accomplishments in words, so parts of the video were full of captions.
How does a trade show video accomplish all these goals? Respower opted for a collage style video. The two minute video presents segments of the company’s most successful 3D imagery coming on and off the screen in a temporal and artistic collage. In the second half of the video, captions present names of famous clients the company has worked for, as well as other pertinent facts about the company, such as their computer set-up, which is the largest in the industry.
If I was asked to judge this video, I would have to opt out, as I have different opinions about different segments. Certain scenes are very effective, others are, in my opinion, a bit busy, especially when you have a list of famous clients competing with as many as four simultaneous segments of famous 3D effects the company has produced for television, video and the theatre.
Impressive scenes, include the start, a traditional 10, 9, 8, second countdown, scene frequently seen in the theatre. This style tells us immediately that the company is active in big Hollywood style movie productions. Other impressive scenes include a rocket taking off from a boat, a dinosaur peddling a bicycle, a plane stuck in a storm. In the middle of the video the company presents a rapid sequence of multi-video collage, which in my opinion was too short and too busy to follow. Subsequently, the video presented a captivating 3D scene of a fantasy stairway entrance to a magical wizard’s palace. However, the powerful scene was now competing with a wealth of captions as the company attempted to present names of its famous clients.
There is another effective scene at the end. The caption tells us that the company employs 100 computers simultaneously the largest technical setup in the industry. And we see a motion graphic depicting a 100 computers linking together in a formation that appears to be floating on water. The scene gives a sense of the power of the company’s technological capabilities.
I can feel for the frustration of this company, which while one of the greats in the 3D industry, is virtually unknown to the public. It wants, therefore, to present a comprehensive albeit abbreviated display of its great accomplishments and famous clients. The result, in my opinion does injustice to the individual 3D segments within the video.
I do not in any way mean to be critical of this video, it is certainly not a bad video. The overall effect, amplified by action style background music is impressive. But I believe, that other viewers, like myself are a bit frustrated by some of the interesting scenes that came and went too quickly, or else we were distracted a bit by competing scenes.
On a spectrum between documentary and branding, this is certainly a branding video. It’s goal, which it accomplishes, is to leave the viewer with images of the impressive powerful ability of this company to create 3D imagery. However, branding videos have no need to present all the information or all the imagery about the company. In fact, by leaving out some images and lingering longer on others a branding video is bound to make an even greater impression.
I also concluded that it might have been more effective to vary the pace of the video. Both the music and the pace run from start to finish. But life isn’t like that. Having a slower segment in the middle might have added temporal texture to the video, and made it more believable.
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Have you wondered where you could get the music you need for your next event? Are you responsible for the upcoming trade fair in your town? How about the presentation you are planning for your job? won’t you need some music for it?
Those are only a few examples where you might need to use some on hold music.
When you need to use accompanying music, then you are going to need to download it from a library that will give You a permission to use the music in lawful way. You should never just use a piece of music without checking how to get permission for doing so.
There are many libraries with music perfect for this. You might like to have music for a podcast that you are involved in. The secure way to get music for this kind situation is through buying music royalty free. In this way, you will not encounter problems with violation of laws connected with illegal use of someone’s copyrighted music.
Are you creating web page for your business? Think about how production music can enhance this webpage. If you want to ad music tracks to your webpage, you can license royalty free music.
This kind of purchase will not entail additional costs after the first purchase . Your webpage visitors will be able to enjoy the benefits of the music. It really makes a big difference in how those visiting your webpage are impressed with it.
You can find out about the kind of format you will need for your download production music online. You should take the time to find out many ways that you can get and use the music that you want. You will want the format that is going to meet technical needs of Your project. Most people can use the CD quality WAV format successfully. Some stock music on hold sites will help You to reformat it to fit Your needs
If you are wondering how many times you will be able to synchronize the music you have purchased as royalty free, you should know that you can use it as much as You want. You will only have to pay the onetime license fee and you are able to use and reuse it.You can also select many kinds of music for different sections of a website.
If You need custom music made especially for You which will be unique and made exclusively for Your need, some of the download production music libraries will do it at great low price. Most of those libraries are available for contact online.
Music makes the world go around. Take your part in it and license only stock music for your company or strictly personal needs. If you need to make sure you are legally using music track on your webpage or other event, then you need to take the only direction and to choose production music.
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eLocal, always a step ahead of the competition in the Local Search market, has pioneered the use of the generic mini web videos for business promotion. I call them generic, because each of the 10-15 second online videos can be used by any business in the profession for which the video is made. eLocal markets them as “custom” web videos because each one is made for one particular profession.
The mini videos are appropriate for mounting on a web page or landing page, and have adapted well to eLocal’s local search marketing strategies for the small businessman. It is interesting to examine the videos, and see what content eLocal is using to attract customers.
At http://www.youtube.com/elocalvideoexamples#p/u/1/HCbsWFgCPE0 you can see eLocals #1 auto body repair video. This 13 second video clip shows us cars riding down a country road on a bright sunny day. We see what looks like green pastures, and a country farmhouse in the background. Along comes a convertible sports car, with a driver in a driving cap, only one little detail is out of kilter. While sports cars are always small, this one is so small the driver can’t fit into the driver’s seat. He is forced to sit on the back of the car, with his feet in the driving area, as he leans over to grasp the steering wheel.
The background music for the video is a modern jazz guitar piece. The chords obviously contain discordant 6s and 7s, jazz chords, which add notes that are not in the normal 1,3,5 progression. The chords serve to amplify the theme of things not fitting into place. On a grander scale, the old open air sportscar riding down a country lane is reminiscent of earlier days in the automobile revolution, when cars still did not quite fit into roads meant for the horse and buggy. The video caption reads, “Having car troubles?” As the clip ends, the music fades out.
The caption and part of the scene are out of focus. This may have been deliberate. It might have been the intention of the videographer to liken the out of focus caption and out of focus video with the out of kilter car. [/spin Nevertheless, the lack of focus detracts from the professionalism of the video.
[spin]This video , which takes place in the bright of day, contrasts with eLocal’s other autobody repair video that shows a car breaking down on a dark deserted freeway, at night. While that video focuses on a common emotion of fear, which motorists can identify with, this video attempts to downplay the fear and panic element often associated with a car breakdown. The soothing music invites viewers to calm down and take a stoic look at their car troubles. It seeks to minister to the victim of a malfunctioning vehicle, and in this way to attract them to make contact and use the services of the advertising company.
What do the two videos have in common? They address the emotions related to car problems. In this way the online video attracts the customer, who can feel that this company understands how he feels.
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A successful company is challenged when it is confronted with a new project, which requires them to meet a new challenge and new level of excellence. And when they meet that challenge, then their company grows and expands.
Diginovations, home of creative video solutions, was challenged to create a trade show video for Microwave Radio Communications for the 2007 NAB trade show. Microwave had rented prime space booth, and so their trade show video would be the first video seen by visitors to the 2007 NAB convention convention floor. By 2006, HD video was the accepted standard at NAD, so this added yet one more requirement to the exacting challenge.
Diginovations accepted the challenge, and created an exciting video, which drew myriads of spectators to the Microwave Booth.Their video was imagistic, it was a branding video, and it succeeded in capturing and conveying the excitement, which wireless radio communication has brought to broadcasting.
What is most spectacular about the Diginovations video is that is succeeds in the space of 4 compact minutes in presenting most of the exciting types of imagery that one would expect to be associated with the radio communications industry.We watch as television crews travel by helicopter to cover on the minute spots news events, accidents, sporting events, rescues, fires. We watch broadcasting crews setting up their equipment and dismantling it. We see several fast motion segments which transform the routine actions of the broadcast crew into rapid action scenes that serve to convey the sense of urgency and haste which we associate with on the spot broadcasting.
Spliced in with scenes depicting the news events being covered and the means of transmission, are shots of the front line cameraman capturing the raw news footage. Shots of skiing, and other winter sports are emphasized, in the video by the Boston video company.These scenes reflect strong editing inclusion choices because these are sports which connote speed, accuracy, action, all elements that enhance the image the video is creating about Microwave Radio Communications.
The visual story line is backed up by exciting synthesizer music, which presents an enlarged theme not unlike the short music spots we are used to hearing before live televised broadcasts. While the video presents occasional captions, which enhance the branding, they present some of the written material in a very creative way. The company name is blazoned on the inside of their large concave disc microwave broadcasting antennae, which appear in the video from time to time.
The Microwave Radio Communications %KLINK3% presents exciting ways in which branding can be conveyed through good choices of video footage, which convey the imagery that people expect and want to see, in the companies field of endeavor.