You've probably heard that banner advertising is dead. Everything today is about rich media. Advertisers are competing with a lot of other content on the webpage. How do you grab your customer's attention? Why not give video advertising a try? Too expensive you might think, or you really don't know where to begin. A little searching on the Internet will provide many options, from photographers and videographers who can, for a little or a lot of money, shoot a video for you. You can also "do it yourself". Just grab a camera, do a little planning and put your own video together. If you choose to do it yourself, here are a few tips. 1) Keep it short. No more than 30-45 seconds. Tel: 07549 591069 email: info@kliqmedia.co.uk Main web: http://www.kliqmedia.co.uk Band Services: http://www.bandvideo.co.uk Events and Wedding Services: http://www.kliqweddings.co.uk
2) Make sure your ad includes a "call to action." Be sure to include a coupon, a special offer, a link to your product catalog.
3) Don't forget your contact information, like your e-mail address, your website, your phone number. Some on-line video editors allow you to add a map to your location. Take advantage of this if you can. After all, you have made a great video, now you need to tell people how to find you.
4) Be sure to include people in your video. You lend credibility to your business by including yourself, your employees and your customers in your video. Be Diverse and Selective to let your audience see people like themselves.
5) Combine both videos and still images in your video. Use Vendor-provided photos and video and mix them with your own content to add interest.
6) Be sure to include a list of brands you represent or a copy of your menu if you are a restaurant.
7) Make sure you give some thought to your "keywords." They help people to find your ad. Make sure ou include your street address, your zip code, your town name, brands you carry etc. Experiment a little bit. If your key words are not working, try some new ones. You can change them whenever you like.
8) Use your video for Direct Marketing in e-Mails, Mobile Text Messages, on Facebook pages, Tweets and on Craigslist and other Free Classified sites.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4659050
Monday, 30 January 2012
Tips For Making a Good Video Advert!
Video File Formats For Web Video
Does all the technical jargon about digital video file formats drive you bonkers? Join the club! Confusion over video file formats is probably the single biggest hang-up for people wanting to upload video to the web. The good news is that with just a little bit of basic knowledge, you shouldn’t have any trouble. First, keep in mind there are 2 broad categories of video formats. Some formats are meant for your finalized video and are called sharing formats. Other formats are used more in the beginning stages of a video project. They are good as raw video master clips. These formats will have higher resolution and larger file sizes than the sharing formats. If you are making and uploading video to the web, you need to be aware of video formats in any one of these three stages of the process: When you are evaluating whether a format is the “right” one or not, the three main evaluating criteria are: Depending on how the video clip will function, any one of a dozen or so popular formats will be among the “best” one to choose. For the Internet, you want smaller file sizes. Even though the web’s capacity for video delivery keeps growing, and most people have broadband, it is still best to keep file sizes as small as possible. A large video file is more likely to encounter buffering issues and drive the viewer crazy. The smaller the file size while still maintaining high quality, the easier it will stream, which may very well make the difference between whether someone bothers to watch or not. There can be huge differences in size from format to format depending on the compression used. I’ve experimented around with this and I can take the same video, convert it to QuickTime and get an 80 megabyte file or convert it to an mpeg 4 with h.264 compression and get a 10 megabyte file (you can also compress QuickTime using .h264 video codec but...that is another topic) Rapid Movement and flashy stuff within the video can add to the file size and are more difficult to compress with resulting high-quality. So, it is important to keep that in mind when creating your video. Now let’s go over the most common video file formats. As you probably know, the last 3 or 4 letters on the end of a video file’s name indicates format or file container. Just like .doc indicates a word file, .mov indicates a QuickTime move file; .wmv stands for windows media video and so forth. Here are the common ones, in alphabetical order. AVCHD (.mts) is a high end, high-definition (HD) format originally developed by Sony and Panasonic for HD home theater systems. It’s not a sharing format for the web because it is so huge, but it has become very common as a lot of newer HD camcorders record in this format. Video in this format would be for the beginning of your video project and serves as a master clip you would use to edit with. AVCHD is in its infancy as a format and since it’s still fairly new and compatibility with certain video editing programs may be an issue. Some video editing software applications have begun to support this format but many of can not handle it well yet. Additionally, playback of AVCHD files requires speedy CPUs and a sufficient amount of RAM. That makes this format a little difficult to work with but it maintains high quality. As time goes by, it will no doubt become easier to use. This is a long-time standard developed by Microsoft and has been around as long as digital video has. .AVI files (particularly when uncompressed) tend to be HUGE, way too big for the internet. AVI is more for the beginning of a video project, not the end. In that sense, it is not really a sharing format. They’ll slide into just about any video editing program and the quality is still high enough to be a master clip. AVI is windows-based and is virtually universal. Problem is, not all AVIs are created equally and you can still run into compatibility issues. AVI is what’s known as a container format, which means it contains multiple streams of different type data, including a control track and separate video and audio streams. Now, what streams inside the container is not necessarily the same from one avi video to the next as the codecs used for compression can vary. Next, we’ll talk about the .flv format. Flash video is the single most common sharing format on the web today. You’ll see the .FLV file extension on videos encoded by Adobe Flash software to play within the Adobe Flash Player. Virtually everyone (99%) has the adobe player installed in their browser and so this has fast become the most common online video viewing platform. Almost all the video sharing sites stream video in flash. You can upload formats other than flash, and those sites will convert it into flash for streaming to the end user. Notable users of the Flash Video format include YouTube, Yahoo! Video, MySpace, and many others. Many television news operations are also using Flash Video on their websites. Most of those sites accept uploads in a handful of formats like QuickTime, mpeg4, or wmv, and then they convert it to flash or MP4 before actually putting it out on the net. In addition to the nearly universal flash video player, FLV is popular because it gives one of the smallest file sizes after compression yet it retains fairly good quality. If you self-host your own videos, you should convert them to flash for greatest compatibility with the highest number of Internet viewers. Although FLV's are the most common format found on the web today, the standard is moving towards the use of using MP4 H.264 files within flash players as it is compatible with both online and mobile, not to mention some HTML5 browser support (Safari, Chrome). MPEG was developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group. This international group was established in 1988 to develop standards for digital audio and video formats but they’re not the only group doing so as anyone who studies digital video files formats knows. MPEG-4 Part 14 is a great sharing format for the internet. It’s small but looks fairly clean. It’s the video format employed by a growing number of camcorders and cameras and it is highly recommended. In fact, YouTube recommends using MP4 format. YouTube accepts multiple formats, and then converts them all to .flv or .mp4 for distribution. As mentioned earlier, more and more online video publishers are moving to MP4 (with H.264 as the video compression codec) as the standard internet sharing format with use within both Flash players as well as HTML5. This is the format that we recommend for online delivery. A .WMV file indicates a windows media video file. Windows Media Video is used for both streaming and downloading content via the Internet. Microsoft's Windows Media Player, an application bundled with Windows operating systems, is built for WMV files. WMV files are tiny. WMV will give you one of the smallest final file sizes. As you might expect, this means they are compressed so much they really do not look very good. In fact, I’d say the resolution is pretty crummy. But a tiny file size can be a real advantage for some things. If you get an email with an actual video attached instead of just a link to a video, it is probably a wmv file. They are the only ones small enough to attach to an email. .MOV is the file extension used to identify an Apple Quick Time Movie. .MOV is an extremely common sharing format. It is considered one of the best looking and it does look great but the files sizes are big. QuickTime hasn’t been a Mac-only program for quite some time. QuickTime versions and players exist on almost all PCs. Some people argue that QuickTime is far superior to similar Windows based applications and I personally would fall into that camp. The vast majority of the videos I personally upload to the web are QuickTime format, followed by MPEG4. If you see a video file on your computer labeled MSWMM, be aware that this is a windows movie maker project file and not a video or movie file designed for sharing. MSWMM will only play within Movie Maker. When you want to save your movie to share it, use Movie Maker to convert it into a sharing format, such as .mpeg4 or .wmv. The difference between sharing formats and project file formats confuses many people. No matter what video editing software you use, a project file is designed for working on within the editing program. You must convert the project file to watch it on any other player. I hope this information helps you navigate your way through the alphabet soup known as digital video file formats.Considerations for Internet Video File Formats
Common Video File Formats
AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition):
.AVI (Audio Video Interlaced):
.FLV (Flash Video Format):
.MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group):
MPEG-4 Part 14 (.MP4):
.WMV (Windows Media Video)
.MOV:
If you would like to talk to Kliq Media about your Video Production needs then please contact us:
Tel: 07549 591069
email: info@kliqmedia.co.uk
Main web: http://www.kliqmedia.co.uk
Band Services: http://www.bandvideo.co.uk
Events and Wedding Services: http://www.kliqweddings.co.uk
Source: An Overview of Internet Video File Formats - Video
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Tel: 07549 591069
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Music Video Tips
A music video, like a drama, should be planned, even scripted, before you shoot. Flying by the seat of your pants isn't going to get you where you want to go.
Do a little homework.
Study music videos and performances featuring music of the same genre and note techniques that impress you. Try to figure out how and why the directors took the shots and made the cuts that they did. You don't have to duplicate what you see, but it won't hurt to borrow some ideas from the pros. Every song and dance that has appeared on film or video has had someone making decisions about what goes where. And, with a little thought, you can usually figure out why that particular image was shot for that bar of music. You'll find it helpful to get a copy of the song you'll be taping on cassette or CD so you can play it and listen to it before the shoot. As you listen, identify pictures that the music suggests to you. Every song has a story and the goal here is to find and visualize it. To help you decide on the pictures you need, make a simple storyboard. Don't worry that you can't draw. All you want to do is make sketches of the shots you need. Stick figures and visual shorthand are fine. After all, who's going to see these pictures except you?
Check That Sound
If you are shooting a professional performer, use a recorded version of the song being performed as the sound track for the video. Make sure you get the best sound you possibly can, because you won't be able to improve it later. If there is no tape or CD available you'll be forced to record your audio live. That's all right. Just make sure that you get a good, clean recording of the performance. Your on-camera microphone probably won't make the greatest live recording, but if you must use it, get it as close as you can to the performance for the best results. To get better sound, you can plug an external mike into your camcorder. One of the best ways to get great sound from a live performance is to get a feed from the house sound system, though you may need a few adapters and a long cable. Remember, it is important to ask the sound technician for a mike-level feed. A line-level feed plugged into a camcorder's microphone input will sound heavily distorted, and can cause permanent damage to the camera's circuitry. Whatever the case, you should set up the camcorder framing a medium closeup of the performer and allow him to play the number all the way through without stopping the tape. This will give you a continuous audio track to work with. This shot will also provide the primary video for your project, with lips perfectly in sync with the music. Simply insert a few cutaways of fingers on the piano or guitar strings and your video is all but finished.
Do it Again
It's a good idea to shoot your star performing the number several times, from various camera angles. If you are shooting a group of musicians, get coverage of each member. You may find that you need to tape the same song six or eight times to get the shots you need, especially if you are covering a group of performers. Get your performers away from their usual haunts and into a location that supports your interpretation of the music. Let them have fun with the story you are telling. Singers are especially difficult to shoot. Their videos shouldn't just be singing heads. Try to find something else for them to do. Just remember that the music is the star here. Try to make the images, activities and locations support the music.
Better B-roll
All right. You have the music. You've shot a stage performance sixteen times. What other footage can you use to fill out your video? You really have two choices when it comes to B-roll for musical performances. You can mix multiple camera angles and show various shots of the performer performing, or you can cut away to show shots of images related to the theme of the song, like ocean waves or snow-topped mountains. These related images can be full-motion video, but they don't necessarily have to be. Still photos often work well in music videos. Search old photo albums to see if the images you want are already there. You can use still photos to create a video montage, with the music in the background. Try cross fading from one photo to another or slowly scanning across an array of photos.
You've Got Style
Be creative when you're shooting. Take advantage of things that are usually considered mistakes. A lens flare isn't always a bad thing, nor are reflections, backlit scenes or the talent laughing between takes. By the way, don't assume that you have to shoot with rapid cuts, Dutch angle (tilted camera), extensive lighting setups, tons of filters, pulsing zoom or digital effects to make your video memorable. That may work for some music, but your project may not need it. The key is to use a pace that matches the music. Finally, have fun. You'll be amazed at what a little fun will do for your music video.
