Archive for February, 2013

Who Do You Need?

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

The size of the crew who will shoot your video can vary widely according to the finished product you need. Some of the jobs will be very obvious, and some of them might not.

Camera Operators- How many cameras will be recording depends on the number of people and locations that need to be shot and how much they overlap.

Lighting Director- Sometimes natural light or office lighting are sufficient for a production. But if you need a scene to create a certain feel, or if you want your interview subjects to stand out, in a good way, or you want to make a bland background look just a little nicer, you need a great lighting director.

Director- Do you need a director? It is recommended if you have multiple camera people who need to be coordinated. They can be critical if you’re recording scenarios with actors, or really any time your production is more complicated than individuals talking directly to the camera.

Sound Engineer- The sound engineer runs the sound mixer. When there are multiple audio streams, they’ll go through the sound mixer so that the volume of all the speakers is consistent, the background noise stays background, and the final product sounds clear, balanced, and professional.

Teleprompter Operator- People often think the teleprompter is completely automated. The operator is actually what makes the system work well. They can adjust the scroll speed or pause the text if the reader stumbles. It’s a bit like having a DJ over just running a mix tape, they can customize on the fly and adjust as the situation changes.

Talent- Usually this means actors or hosts, people who are experienced in delivering a camera ready performance. Sometimes, it’s the interviewer. People rarely realize what it takes to conduct a good interview. The interviewer has to be able to really listen to the responses given and then ask the right follow up questions to bring out the really important or interesting information. That’s what will make or break a daytime talk show, and sometimes it can make all the difference in the effectiveness of your video production. Give this some consideration when you are deciding who will do what for your corporate video.
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Your Live Event as a Marketing Video

Thursday, February 14th, 2013

A lot of what we do at Capture Video is capture live events. There are a ton of reasons to do this – archival, because it will never happen again, to study, for training, and, of course, for marketing.

We recently produced a few videos for Miles Stiebel Band, a modern jazz band. We recorded several performances for Miles to review, and then edited a few separate videos to be used on the Miles Stiebel website as well as on YouTube.

This gives people the opportunity to see the kind of work that the band is capable of doing. It also gives the website an SEO boost, since it has video on it. Many people don’t realize that your website has a 50 times greater chance of being on the first page of a Google search if you have a video on your website. In other words, you will be found faster and sooner if your website includes video.

By having the video on YouTube, the band also has an advantage. First of all, they have created more links to their website, from their videos. But also, YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine, and it is owned by Google. So, if people don’t immediately find your services from searching on Google, the second place they look is YouTube. That’s why you need to have a presence there as well.

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International Coaching

Tuesday, February 5th, 2013

The International Coaches Federation, DC Metro Chapter,(ICF – DC) had a problem I see from a lot of my clients. They needed to be able to explain what they do to those who don’t know. The solution? Show examples of coaching in action.

Capture Video crew set up two cameras in an office of one of the ICF – DC members, and we videotaped three separate coaching sessions. Afterwards, Capture Video edited the video, incorporating feedback from ICF-DC on which sections best expressed their mission.

The ICF – DC has been showing the video both in their offices, to interested parties, and has also made it available for their members to use online, to show their member’s potential clients different coaching styles, and what happens in a coaching session.

The below is a shortened version of the 40 minute video, produced by Capture Video, Inc.

Next time you need to explain something to a potential client or partner, what better way than to show them? Video is the perfect tool for show, not tell.