How To

How to Maximize Search Engine Optimization for Web Video

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:03:43 -0800

If you don’t optimize your Web video for search engines, the greatest video ever made risks being lost in the flood of content washing over the Internet. With the rise of user-generated content sites such as YouTube and MySpace Video, and traditional media content sites such as CNN and the BBC, it’s becoming more difficult for consumers to find what they are looking for. With increased consumer appetite for online video content, the search engine optimization industry is quickly adjusting. So what is video SEO? Simply put, video SEO is the art and science of ensuring that your video content attracts as much traffic as possible. Here’s how to take advantage of current technology to increase the odds that your Web video can be found by people searching for clips on the Web.

Tip 1: Make your tags relevant

Tip 2: The more tags the merrier

Tip 3: Use consistent tags

Tip 4: Use adjectives in tags

Tip 5: Use tags that describe categories

Tip 6: Match titles and descriptions to tags

Tip 7: Don't use natural language in tags

How to Present Video First-generation video search solutions depended entirely on metadata, the textual data that is applied to a piece of content in order to accurately describe it. This can include user-provided tags, an editorially written title or summary, a transcript of the speech in the video or information stored in the video file itself pertaining to its resolution, frame-rate and creation date. Second-generation video search engines emerged as a reaction to the faults of the first generation. As well as spidering textual metadata, second-generation video search aims to understand and extract meaning from the video itself. Second-generation video search engines use methods such as speech recognition, visual analysis and video optical character recognition to allow software to listen to, watch and read the text appearing on the video content itself. Second-generation video search is still primarily used in government and enterprise settings, but Blinkx.com and Podzinger exist as examples of technologies that have been applied to general, consumer Web video search. Podzinger, as the name suggests, focuses more on audio and video podcasts, while Blinkx indexes all audio and video content on the Web, whether amateur or professional. Regardless of the technology involved, both first- and second-generation video search engines exist and are popular today. For the purposes of a successful video SEO campaign, it is important to be included in both types of engine. The ‘Super Seven’ Must Do’s There are seven absolute essential guidelines to follow when providing the metadata to a video-sharing site: 1. Make sure your tags are relevant to your content. This might seem obvious, but it takes some planning and requires you to get into the minds of your users. 2. The more tags the merrier. There’s no penalty for using all your available tag space. 3. Reuse specific tags across your clips. A handful of search terms are already being used regularly to draw visitors to your content, so it’s to your benefit to include these terms when tagging your clips. 4. Use adjectives. Remember lots of folks are browsing and they’ll use adjectives to find what they are in the mood to view. 5. Have some category descriptor tags. Tag your content with the topic area(s) it belongs to (comedy, mystery, sports). It’s important to remember YouTube’s default search settings are Videos, Relevance and All Categories. 6. Match your title and description with your most important tags. Basic search engine marketing (SEM) practice applies here as well. 7. Don’t use natural language phrases and waste tag space on words such as and or to. Presenting Your Video for SEO As discussed above, both first- and second-generation video search engines consider metadata. Not only should you create metadata, but you should apply it each and every time your content goes onto a new service or is converted to a new format. The media content creation and publication tools used to create video files often dump large amounts of irrelevant metadata into the files that are created. You can use a cleaner to rid your files of this distracting information. Examples include Sorenson Squeeze, Autodesk Cleaner and CastFire. Titles and Descriptions Titles and descriptions are the text most commonly applied to videos. If a video is hosted on a structured hosting or sharing site such as YouTube, insert this information in the provided specified title and description fields. If hosting on your own Web site, the title and description usually will be extracted based on proximity. If you are linking to a specific file that is hosted on a Web server, ensure the filename is a sensible and descriptive one, ideally with hyphens or some other form of separating character between words. For example, use “climate-talks-video.wmv” rather than “videofile.wmv” or “climatetalksvideo.wmv.” Tags Tags are growing as a facet of search and navigation, both for video and for the Internet as a whole. If you use a video sharing or hosting system such as YouTube, you will be given the opportunity to provide tags (and are strongly encouraged to do so). Sitemaps, URLs and RSS Feeds Most video search engines allow the provision of a sitemap, starting-point URL or RSS feed. This invitation should absolutely be taken advantage of and used to provide the engine with a simple list of URLs that point to individual pages that host video. Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is an XML (Extensible Markup Language) based standard for publishing time-oriented feeds of information. The RSS specification can be found here. In-Format Tags Depending on the tools you use to produce and encode your content, you often will be able to input metadata into the video content file itself. Similar to the popular id3 tags that exist in mp3 music files, in-format metadata tags are encoded into the media file itself and, thus, are readable to any engine that indexes the content. Where to Submit (and How) Next, we cover the key video search engines in the market today, types of content they typically index and how to submit to them. Amateur Video Sharing Sites Key sites in this area include YouTube, Google Video, MySpace Video, Yahoo! Video, AOL UnCut, MSN Soapbox, DailyMotion, MetaCafe, Revver and others. A good list can be found here. Video Search Engines Once your video content is hosted, whether on your own site or at a hosting service, it is important to further publicize it on the Web through SEO of the video search engines themselves. An overview below spotlights the key traffic-generating video search engines in the market today. Each search engine’s approach to indexing and search is covered as well as how best to submit content to each. AOL Video AOL Video is hosted at two distinct URLs, http://video.aol.com/ and http://www.truveo.com/. Beyond hosting your content on AOL, however, AOL Video will accept submissions for content stored elsewhere in the form of an MRSS feed. In order to submit video to AOL’s video search engine, you first must create a director account here and then submit your RSS feed from your director home page. AOL provides details of exactly how it expects the MRSS feed to be formatted on this page. As discussed above, Blinkx doesn’t just analyze your metadata; it also uses audio and visual analysis to extract information from your video content itself. Blinkx supports submission in the form of Media RSS and RSS files, which can be provided (and checked for validity) at this form. Assuming your feed passes the test, Blinkx automatically analyzes your feed, ensures it has the appropriate adult flag setting set and will commence indexing the content within 12 hours. Although now part of Yahoo!, AltaVista runs its own submission service and it’s worth submitting your content there. AltaVista’s video search technology is based on the company’s underlying, regular text search-engine technology and, as a result, the submission process is identical for both. Simply provide a top-level URL to your site (www.yourdomain.com) on the following form. Yahoo! operates the world’s single highest traffic Web site and, therefore, it is an essential place to submit your video content. Much like AOL, Yahoo! today focuses on a user-generated content hosting and sharing service, but still operates a basic metadata video search engine. Submission to this service is in the form of an MRSS feed and can be done here. Podzinger’s search engine also applies speech recognition in order to better index the content in your video. Befitting a site with “Pod” in its name, Podzinger expects your content either as an RSS feed or as an iTunes or Yahoo podcast URL (these are essentially heavily modified versions of RSS that you can ignore unless your content happens to be hosted on Yahoo or iTunes). Top Video Search Engines Given recent findings about the increased use of video search, I’d be remiss if I didn’t provide some brief descriptions of the current options available to consumers and viewers. -AOL Video. As mentioned above, AOL’s acquisition of Truveo drives the video search capabilities for AOL. -Blinkx. Quite simply the best video search engine out there. Bar none. ;-) -Clipblast. Provides the ability to search, browse and personalize the video search. -Dabble. Dabble keeps a record of where Web videos are located, descriptions about the video, who made it, what it’s about, how popular it is and so on. -Metacafe. Metacafe specializes in short-form original content from new, emerging talents and established Hollywood heavyweights alike. -Pixsy. Pixsy focuses on customized multimedia search solutions for Web sites of any size, including private-label video and image search engines and portals. -Podzinger/EveryZing. Brings the benefits of SEO to online audio and video content. Final Thoughts It’s exciting to watch video SEO emerge as an industry unto itself over the past year. As with any new technology, much still needs to be clarified. Hopefully, the foregoing will provide a solid basis of best practices for video SEO, but the best advice is to closely monitor this process, as change may be the only constant. Onil Gunawardana, vice president/general manager of Advertising at Blinkx, leads the company’s initiatives in advertising. Most recently he was chief operating officer and VP products at Searchforce, which provides a search engine marketing platform for centralizing and optimizing pay-per-click advertising campaigns. Gunawardana previously managed the marketing and analytics products at Siebel in the communications vertical, where he developed an advertising server to match relevant offers to consumers using real-time data. Earlier in his career, he was a strategy consultant at the Monitor Group, where he was a senior case team leader advising technology companies. He has a BsC in electrical engineering from Yale and an MsC in electrical engineering from Stanford, where his research focused on transmitting video through public networks. He also holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Get Noticed by Video-Site Tastemakers

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:15:25 -0800

Many user-generated-content video entertainment sites such as Dailymotion, Jib Jab and Super Deluxe are increasingly focused on using editorial curating teams to program their home page and channel pages with the most creative and entertaining videos out there. So how do you create a video with the best chance of getting featured? Sites are often staffed with professionals from both Web and television companies that tend to look for certain elements in any production. Make sure you hit these marks: Save Money on Equipment ... But Not Too Much Don't worry about buying a top-of-the-line professional camera to make your videos. Part of the charm of web-videos is their DIY charm. Having that said, most video sharing sites (ie. Dailymotion) are launching higher quality video, so you don't want your videos to look TOO DIY ... go with a mid-range video camera and you should be fine. Find Your Own Voice This is so important. Everyone is inspired by others, but make sure you're taking inspiration and not copying. Viewers respond to originality, so do what comes naturally and don't look back. Keep It Short Video shouldn't drag on longer than 3-5 minutes. Users are one click away from distractions online, so the second a user gets bored, they will click away to something else. Avoid Extra Camera Movement Too many pans and zooms make Web videos hard to follow, especially because most people watch videos in small players without making them full screen. Short Intros and Credits Keep your intro simple and get your voice across in as few moments as possible. Your credits should fly by quickly, so save the fade-ins and dissolves for longer format films. Dialogue Once you've found your own, unique voice, let it be heard. Don't be afraid to speak up and be yourself, but do make sure you have the proper microphone. Nothing kills a perfectly executed dialogue like the tin-can effect of a poor sound-recording job. Music Get your friend’s band to record something for you or lend you a track or two rather than ripping off Britney … or do something yourself. Besides, it's illegal to use music that you don't have the rights to, and who needs a lawsuit for using Metallica in the soundtrack to their freeboard blooper reel? Edit Edit Edit Trim the fat--the most viewed videos will flow uninterrupted by long breaks in action. Remember that viewers on the Web will click right away if they get bored by a long drawn-out sequence. Cut out unnecessary frames and keep the momentum for your viewer. Use a Descriptive and Attention-Grabbing Title Don't include your profile/user name in the video title -- use that space for a descriptive/funny/informative/attention-getting title. Many people create daily videos and put the date in the title of the video. Unfortunately, most people won’t watch it after that date and homepage programmers wont program it because it looks untimely even if the information is evergreen. Hence, the video has a very short shelf-life. You could either go in and manually change the title of the video the day after you posted it or write the main topics in the title description. Add a Great Description This is your opportunity to tell the viewer what they expect to see in the video -- and you can use the space to drive them back to your profile for more of your awesome videos by putting a link in the description. Finally, many, if not all, of the largest video-entertainment sites that take user contributed content have creative user programs. Make sure to join and participate in the programs and their user communities. You can get more tips, feedback from other creative users and suggestions for resources through these programs. Danny Passman is the Senior Creative Director of Dailymotion in the U.S. He oversees all of the content acquisition and programming. Before joining Dailymotion, Danny was a series development exec at VH1 and fuse.

Surveying the Web Video Services

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:59:10 -0800

If you are looking for the technology to put your video on the Web, the variety of choices can be bewildering. That’s because as Web video has flourished, so have the number of companies providing the tools to deliver video across the Internet. Large media companies and individual video bloggers can now choose from among multiple firms when looking for a Web video product. Many of the technology providers are quite similar and anyone in the market for an Web video platform should kick the tires and try out the ones that seem like the best fit. Most offer five core services: Content management: The process of ingesting content, moving it around, converting to different files and organizing video properly before it goes online. Programming and publishing: The presentation of the video on the Web site, including the player and the playlists. Distribution: Delivering the video across the Web, to either the main site or to distribution channels and portals. Monetization: Making money off the video, by integrating advertising or offering video on a download or pay-per-view basis. Reporting: Providing analysis and reports on number of views, length of views and other similar data. What follows is a quick look at some the major Web video platforms. This list is growing and evolving, so if you know of a platform that may merit inclusion, contact us at editor@webvideoreport.com.

Brightcove

Brightcove has one of the highest profiles of the Web video platforms and is betting on its leadership position to make it stand out. It serves a range of clients from the Discovery cable network and CBS’s broadcast network to small, niche Web sites. Clients can put content into the Brightcove system either via the Web or by using a desktop program that uploads material automatically from an existing digital asset management system, the sophisticated software that helps organize and keep track of video assets. Brightcove also provides tools to manage metadata, which helps Web browsers find material during user searchs, and to tag, sort and organize content. On the programming side, Brightcove provides video player templates that developers can customize by size, shape and the page on which they appear. Players can also be completely customized. To distribute video, Brightcove provides tools to let clients virally share clips on blogs or other sites, and to syndicate to affiliate networks they create. In addition, Brightcove offers social media tools to let Web users remix and mash up content. Brightcove provides the tools for clients to rely on either advertising, such as pre-and post-roll spots, or paid downloads. The service integrates with Web analytics firms and provides reports to clients on usage of video. Brightcove’s revenue is based on license fees and usage. Clients usually pay a set-up fee,monthly charges based on usage, and an annual license fee.

Extend Media

Extend Media concentrates primarily on creating Web video storefronts, a la iTunes, where users can buy content. Customers include Showtime Networks and Wal-Mart. Extend handles transcoding of files, meaning its converts video from the original file into whatever format is needed for use on a mobile phone, media device, or PC. It also supports digital rights management, which means clients can set the rules for where and how their content can be played or downloaded. It also publishes content into the stores it creates and develops the accompanying player and playlist. Customers can customize the appearance of the player any way they like. Extend also interfaces with other Web video platforms if customers need or want to use portions of another service, said Keith Kocho, CEO of Extend Media. On the monetization side, Extend supports downloading, streaming, subscription, free couponing, download-to-own, rental purchases and subscriptions. It is also introducing ad models this fall. Extend provides reports on usage, downloads, customer interaction and other areas, and supports data reporting services like Omniture. Extend offers a variety of pricing including a set-up fee and monthly usage charge. Depending on the solution they opt for, some clients may pay a license fee and a maintenance fee.

Magnify.net

Magnify.net is one of the newest platform providers. The service specifically targets niches, communities and enthusiast groups. Within those areas, Magnify has focused on giving users a way to discover video on the Web and post it to their site. If an individual is building a Web site about places to visit in Seattle, for instance, Magnify will comb the Web and bring in copyright-cleared video from other sites, such as YouTube and Break, to feature in that channel, said Steve Rosenbaum, CEO of Magnify. Magnify also provides a base level of standard features such as uploading, encoding, posting, delivering and aggregating videos. Magnify offers a widget for other sites to embed, but distribution of video to other sites is not a key feature. In September, Magnify launched an advertising network to pair videos with ads and shares the revenue 50-50 with clients. Magnify also provides a free package of analytics and reports on metrics such as page views, unique viewers and video views. Magnify.net’s primary offering is free, with clients given 50 percent of all the page inventory on their Magnify.net site to sell via their own ad networks or a Google AdSense account. For clients with specific needs, such as page template adjustments, increased support or storage beyond the base level, Magnify offers a service contract negotiated on a per client basis.

Maven Networks

Maven Networks targets its technology to major media companies and counts clients such as Fox News, Scripps Networks, Hearst and TV Guide. One of Maven’s competitive differentiators is its ability to distribute not just video but the player itself as part of the syndication process, said Kristin Fergason, VP of marketing at Maven. That’s critical because syndication to multiple sites generates more impressions, which in turn generates more ad revenue. Fox News, for instance, can push its video from a single system to many of its affiliate sites through syndication, for instance letting a local station pick up a national news story via Maven. Maven integrates with existing video asset management systems, Web site content management systems and video content systems. Maven also transcodes video. The publishing tools allow clients to create playlists and build players, including a home-page player and smaller players for additional pages. Clients can customize the player or use a template. Maven’s system also includes workflow tools so designers and developers can track different versions of a project. On the distribution front, Maven’s clients usually establish their own networks and Maven handles the dispersal of that content. In addition, Maven provides 80 reports, such as how long consumers watch, most popular videos, most viewed videos and how content is used virally. Maven’s technology allows customers to match video to pre-and post-roll ads, and in October began testing interactive Web video ads with several clients. The system also includes forecasting and inventory management tools to help clients determine when to insert ads and when an ad has been shown too frequently. Maven’s pricing starts at $5,000 per month for a one-year commitment, which includes 500,000 video plays per month. Fees scale up depending on usage.

Multicast Media Technologies

Multicast Media Technologies focuses on serving small- to medium-sized businesses. Clients include Realtor.com, Baby Universe and Autotrader.com and others. Multicast bills itself as a private label solution for clients and operates as a behind-the-scenes technology provider. As such, Multicast does not brand its video player, but rather lets clients do their own branding. Multicast lets clients customize the video player from 130 different options, said Jim Byrne, VP of product and strategy for the company. That includes the size, shape, color, as well as graphics. Clients can also use the Multicast technology to syndicate videos to sites they choose. “Our customers want to have full control. So we syndicate to where they tell us to syndicate to,” Byrne said. The platform also includes social media tools, such as the ability to e-mail a video to a friend or to embed the link. Multicast has relationships with advertising-technology firms like DoubleClick and Lightningcast to support ads for clients. Multicast does not sell ads, nor does it take a revenue share. The company is paid solely on a license fee basis for bandwidth, licensing and storage. Most clients pay a little less than $1,500 a month in license fees. Multicast counts nearly 1,500 clients. Multicast also includes reporting tools for clients and can provide detailed data on popular videos, geographic penetration and other areas.

Narrowstep

Narrowstep has carved out a niche based on its international presence. The company has targeted and won business with a number of international telecommunication companies such as Telefonica, Virgin Media and Telewest. In addition to its global client base, Narrowstep operates its own content delivery network, or CDN. That’s the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that delivers video across the Internet. Operating a CDN has enabled Narrowstep to win some of its global clients, said Trevor Sumner, director of product marketing and field operations marketing. Other clients include William Morris and Outdoor Channel. On the content management side, Narrowstep encodes at up to eight different bit rates and can serve video at the appropriate rate based on the speed of the connection. Narrowstep can help optimize video for search engines and include metadata to make the video easier to find. Narrowstep offers embedded video players, standard template players and customized players. The service also distributes content to video portals, RSS (real simple syndication) feeds, and to Google, Yahoo, AOL and others when the content owner has distribution relationships with those portals. Monetization features include geographic targeting of ads, digital rights management, subscription models, pay-per-view, download-to-own, download-to-rent, sponsorship and ads, or any combination of those. Reports include viewing times, completion rates, number of viewers, most popular programs and others. The pricing is customized on a case by case basis depending on the customer’s needs. Generally, the pricing starts at about $200,000 a year and goes up from there.

Permission TV

Permission TV said its special sauce lies in creating interactive video experiences with social media and community features such as comment functions. That also includes the ability, for instance, to insert a call-to-action message in the middle of a video. Content management tools let customers publish video and associated metadata on their site or others. Permission TV integrates with existing content management systems. For instance, home improvement whiz Bob Vila’s site connects its existing system for text, pictures and video into Permission TV. In November, Permission TV plans to roll out a transcoding service to upload and convert files to different formats. Permission TV provides toolkits so customers can create tailored video players and playlists. Clients can use Permission TV to distribute videos to their own syndication networks. Monetization options range from ad-supported strategies, including linking into ad serving systems such as 24/7 and DoubleClick, as well as subscription, pay-per-view and download models. The company integrates with Web analytical firms and provides reports on usage. Other clients include HereTV and Toyota. Permission TV has a set-up fee that varies based on complexity, and a monthly software subscription fee in the thousands of dollars, depending on the customer’s needs and size.

The Platform

The Platform said its key differentiator lies in providing tools to integrate with other technologies. “We have taken a pretty open approach to working with third parties, such as integrating with ad network and ad servers, said Ian Blaine, CEO of the company, which is owned by Comcast. On the content management side, The Platform ingests content, manages the files, formats them into Quicktime, Flash, Windows or other formats and manages the metadata. The Platform also integrates with content delivery networks to publish files to other sites. The player development kit lets customers create their own player using a simple Flash tool. Customers can use a dynamic template, letting them customize many of the options. ThePlatform’s customers include NBC Universal-News Corp.'s Hulu, BBC, CNBC, CBS' College Sports TV, Comcast, Hearst and others. The Platform places the content on the content owner’s site and out on other popular destinations such as MSN, Yahoo, Comcast and YouTube, monetizing video by integrating with ad serving networks such as Double Click, 24/7 and Lightningcast, and video ad networks such as Adap.tv. In addition to ads, The Platform supports pay-per-view, pay-per-download and other models. Reports cover media consumption, time, geography, popular videos and other areas.

Roo

Roo operates as both an online TV platform, providing the technology to deliver Web video, and as an aggregator of video from publishers such as Reuters, NYPost.com and Fox Television Stations. Clients often use a combination of their own content and Roo’s. The content network also gives Roo clients an existing distribution network because not only can they carry videos from those sites, they can also syndicate videos to those sites. The company’s content management tools link to existing content management systems, said Bert Solivan, EVP and general manger for U.S. business operations. That’s critical because media companies don’t want to jettison software they have already invested in. Clients can also use parts of Roo’s system. Roo converts video into the proper format and offers playlists and video players, both customized and templated. A key feature of Roo’s distribution strategy is using peer-to-peer technology because it owns a peer-to-peer network through its purchase of Wurld Media this summer. That technology saves time and lowers transmission costs. The service offers several ways to monetize, such as via ads, branded players, ad overlays, pay-per-view and subscription. Roo links into existing Web analytics tools and reports on click through rates, ad views and other topics. Clients are charged based on a usage or a consumption model. The larger the audience the client attracts, the greater the cost. This model allows for greater monetization via ad revenue.

WhiteBlox

WhiteBlox has targeted a range of companies including Hollywood studios, TV broadcasters and cable programmers. The company specializes in integrating live, multi-camera streams into interactive experiences. WhiteBlox handles content management, protection and encoding on the front end, and also offers multiple options for players. The company’s key features lie in the interactive tools it builds into the programming, such as polling and tickers. WhiteBlox enables video-on-demand, pay-per-view, subscriptions, sponsorships, targeted and contextual ad insertion, and dynamic marketing and advertising campaigns. The company provides reports on usage of the video channels. Pricing for the WhiteBlox service ranges depending on the solution. The pricing includes set-up fees, player design, encoder and other items for the for first year, so pricing could potentially drop in subsequent years. Pricing also depends on bandwidth usage. An average turnkey solution costs about $38,000 a year on average, while custom solutions cost $75,000 or more per year. By Daisy Whitney

Building a Video Computer Work Station

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:36:45 -0800

You need to build a computer workstation that will import, process and export Web video. What equipment do you need? What software is best? The prospects can be bewildering. This buyers’ guide will help guide you in purchasing the computer system, other hardware and software you need to get video up on the Web. This article deals primarily with the Apple technology environment, so most of the specific examples here focus on those products. But the lessons are transportable to the PC environment. The suggestions in this article are one person’s opinion, and while I do mention brand names, I’m not receiving any exchange of value in return for listing them. While some of the information here may seem remedial to Web video pros, there are some recommendations that even accomplished video wizards may find surprising. Computers for Video Editing You first need to decide if you want to have a desktop, laptop, or an all-in-one system for your video. They all have their advantages and disadvantages: it all comes down to your preference. Either way, this is the heart and soul of your video-processing system. There are three important computer characteristics that will determine how well your computer can handle video: processor speed, how much RAM (random access memory) you have, and how big your hard drive is. The Processor: This technology does the mathematical computations that “process” the information. Basically think of it as an engine but for your computer. You want to have the fastest processor you can get. Video editing and compression are known to use large amounts of processor power. RAM: RAM describes the storage that your applications access when they operate. It is different than the storage used to save files. Every application that you have open will take up a portion of the RAM that your computer has available. You want to max your RAM out in a laptop and get at least 4 gigs of RAM for your desktop. You can get by with less RAM, and there won’t be that many issues, but more means faster. Video applications are notorious RAM hogs. If you have any other programs open and you have a limited amount of RAM, things can slow down. You can buy RAM from third-party companies at a drastically reduced rate and install it yourself on desktop models to save some money. For example, if you wanted to max out your Mac Pro desktop with 16 gigs of RAM it will cost you $4,499 from the manufacturer. If you go to third-party companies it will cost you about $2,600 and will take a few minutes to install yourself. If you are looking for RAM to add to your computer, you should checkout Crucial Technologies. They have an easy tool to figure out what RAM is right for your computer and they have a good price for good RAM. Hard Drives: This is the technology that lets you store your computer files. You have two main choices when selecting a hard drive: internal or external. The internal drives will always be in your computer. The external drives can be plugged in and unplugged and moved. When selecting your hard drive, you should consider the cost per gigabyte of storage. Prices have declined dramatically the past two years. You’ll also need to figure out how much storage you are going to need. I like to have one terabyte of storage (that’s 1,000 GB), so I know I won’t run out of space anytime soon. You also want a hard drive that has a high RPM speed. Try to get a hard drive with at least 7,200 RPM or better. Most laptops come with 7,200 but some have 5,400. With a slower moving drive, your data transfers slowly and it can hang up your work from time to time. Another consideration is how loud your hard drive gets. It can get annoying when you are trying to work and all you hear is a loud hum. Make sure that the drive mentions that it is quiet. Apple is selling hard drives that are 750 gigs for $499 ($.67 per GB) each. You can get a 1TB for under $300 ($.30 per GB) at most online stores. Hard Drive Companies: I personally use Lacie as my choice for hard drives. I think it offers a good price for solid drive that is flexible and quiet. I have used a Western Digital My Book that was the same storage size as my Lacie and it was louder and the body of it was much larger. A solid drive that many people like is the G-Drive. This is usually a high GB price but it is really stable from what I have been told. Hard Drive Connections: When I buy a drive, I want to make sure that I can plug it into any computer that I need to at the fastest connection possible. Currently, the fastest connection that is available on the Mac is FireWire 800. This is about 5 times faster in passing files than USB 2.0. The drive you want to buy should have these three connection types: USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and 800. Peripheral Devices: These add-ons can make the difference between fatigue and enjoyment when working with Web video. Computer Speakers and Headphones: I have to say that after having 4 different kinds of speakers for my computers over the years, none have come close to design, sound quality, and features as my Bose Companion 5 speakers. As to headphones, I recently purchased the Bose Quiet Comfort 3 headphones and they sound great. After having a great experience with Bose’s computer speakers, I knew they would be what I wanted. Currently I have about 8 pairs of headphones of all different types and the Bose Quiet Comfort 3s are the best for sitting down and working with headphones on. Desktop, Laptop or All-in-One? Desktop Computers: In the plus column, desktops can be faster than laptops, can be customized component-by-component and can offer huge amounts of internal storage. They have faster processors, more RAM and more options in terms of upgrading graphics and sound cards. They also let users add more PCI Express cards (which can add functionalities like FireWire or USB ports) to your computer.

Desktop: Mac Pro

Processor: Two 2.6 GHz Dual Core Intel Xeon

Hard drives: 250 GB 7200 rpm

Memory: 1 GB

Display: 20-inch

~COST: $3,100

The disadvantages are inherent in the desktop format: They’re difficult to move, louder and take up more space. As to monitors, look at the monitor in action on a basic computer. Don’t buy a monitor unless you have seen how good the colors are. Make sure that you have a high contrast ratio. This is should be 800:1 or better. This is how black the blacks will be and how white the whites will be. The monitor should also be able to display over 16 million colors. When it comes to monitors, bigger is better. It really helps to have the screen real estate when working with video. It usually is not that much more for a larger screen. You might also consider getting two monitors. Also, make sure you like the look of the monitor you select. There are dozens of companies that produce monitors. Personally, I have had a few Samsung monitors and they have been great, with only a few bugs here or there. I would probably buy one again. The Apple monitors are always rated high and have a nice stylish look to them. You should also checkout the Sony and Viewsonic monitors. Laptop Computers: The laptop’s allure comes from its portability and quiet operation. On the downside, they don’t offer as many upgrade possibilities as the desktops to and have fewer ports for inputs from peripheral devices. They also tend to be slower on the RAM front and have a single internal hard drive that’s generally slower than a desktop.

Laptop: Macbook Pro 3

Operating System: OS X

Processor: 2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Memory: 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Hard Drive: 500 GB

Screen: 17-inch matte

~COST: $4,400

All-In-One Computers: This is a bit of a hybrid, combining characteristics of both laptops and desktops. In the plus column, because the computer and the screen are in the same unit, they are somewhat portable. The all-in-ones also are fairly quiet. The downsides are that they are not as flexible for upgrades, have fewer ports to attach peripheral devices and tend to be slower than desktops. They also have only one internal hard drive that’s not as large as a desktop. Tips For Buying an Apple Computer Special Deals: Go to their online store and look at the bottom left of the page for “Special Deals.” This is the area where Apple sells refurbished machines and the computers all come with the same warranty as the new computers. They are not customizable but they are usually pretty good deals. Typically the systems are anywhere from 10-20% or more off. Buy “Apple Care”: This is an expensive extended warranty, but can be well worth it. You get 3 full years of coverage for your laptop. I had a DVD drive die on me and it was more than what Apple Care cost. Luckily I had Apple Care at the time. Buy “.Mac” account: This is an online service that will allow you to do many things like tutorials, create a Website, post your photos and movies. It lets you back up documents, gives you an e-mail account, and offers other goodies.

All-in-One: iMac

Processor: 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Memory: 1 GB

Hard Drive: 250 GB

Monitor: 20-inch

~ COST: $1,199

Getting Video Into Your Computer DV Converter: A DV Converter is a hardware device that can take an analog video signal and convert it into a digital video signal, so you can edit your video on your computer. Any DVD player, VHS or other media playing technology that has RCA (Red, White, Yellow) plugs on a device can plug into a DV converter. There are a bunch of different DV converters on the market. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. I prefer to have my DV converter connect to my computer through my FireWire 400 port since my drives are connected to the FireWire 800 port and other devices are using my USB 2.0 ports. The other feature that can make a difference is the “Copy Protection Detection” that some DV converters have. If you try to ingest a Copy Protected DVD the DV converter will not allow it. I use the Sony DVMC-DA2 and I have had zero issues with it. This is a pretty old DV converter and it has worked great. You might be able to find them on eBay at a good price. DVD and VHS Player: You can get a DVD/VHS combo unit pretty much anywhere that will work with the DV converter to bring your video into your computer. I like the ones that add the DVD recording abilities so I can record on them if I need to but you will pay a little higher price for it. Software Video Editing: Apple’s video-editing software is incredibly easy to use and are becoming a Web video and Hollywood editing standard. All of the company’s video-editing software will allow you to export your videos into many different formats. You can also export your videos to the iPhone, iPod, and AppleTV. iMovie: This is the free video editing software that comes with your computer or can be access online through Apple’s iLife service. The latest version, iMovie 08, is even easier to use than older versions. Final Cut Express 4: This is a prosumer (not quite professional level, but more powerful than pure consumer models) editing software product that you will need to get some training on before you use it. Approximate cost: $199 Final Cut Pro 2: This is professional quality video editing software. Many blockbuster movies are edited using this software. Approximate cost: $1,299 Compression Software You will let you take the video that you have created and edited, and compact it into a smaller file size so you can put it on other devices and/or the Web to be viewed. On2 has a program called Flix that many companies are using to encode Flash video. Flash video is one of the most popular formats for video on the Web. Sorenson Media: This company has been in the compression business for many years. They have a product called Sorenson Squeeze that can convert video to any format you need. Elegato Turbo .264: This is a USB device that looks like a USB thumb drive. It will drastically speed up your compression times if you want to compress your video into the H.264 format. This is the format used for iPods, iPhones, Apple TV, PSP’s, etc… YouTube has announced they are converting their videos to the H.264 format. Video Utilities These are programs that help you do various tasks easier when dealing with video. Perian: This is a free plugin for QuickTime that allows for many types of files to be viewed in QuickTime. Flip 4 Mac: They have a program called WMV or Windows Media Components for Mac. It allows you to bring in WMV files into QuickTime. QuickTime Pro: This is an updated version of QuickTime that allows you to export all different kinds of movies. You can also export to the iPhone, iPod, and AppleTV. Tips and Tutorials If you live near an Apple store you can sign up for classes to get additional training with all Apple software. It is $99 for the year and you get a 1-hour private lesson once a week that you can schedule. That is less than $2 per 1-hour lesson if you go once a week for the year. In one year you will be an expert on all of their software. You can get in depth tutorial at the “.Mac” site for all of Apple’s software. You can also get free basic tutorials that will teach you 90% of each program on the main Apple Web site. Apple has an area of their site for pros, but it is just a bunch of cool tips you can also check out based on the application you are trying to learn. Dave Andrews is president of Devious Media, a cross-media consulting and production company. Devious Media consults on and implements cross-media strategies, as well as new businesses, across numerous different entertainment platforms. The company also specializes in the social networking, community moderation, and games space. Andrews has worked as an animation production manager and postproduction supervisor at Disney. At Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, he designed Web sites, worked in marketing and consulted on Internet communities. Andrews has also held positions with Icebox, as producer of experimental on-line programming and gaming. Most recently, Andrews served as Vice President of Production & Interactive Entertainment at GSN, formerly Game Show Network. Andrews is a member of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He also is a four-time Emmy Award nominee in the category of Interactive Television.

How to: Making Daisy Whitney's 'New Media Minute'

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:19:14 -0800

As a reporter who covers new media and online video, I decided in September 2007 that I could no longer just write about the medium; I needed to produce my own show as well. So my husband and I created the “New Media Minute,” a weekly online video report looking at the news and trends in online video. Creating this Webcast was relatively easy for us. I could use the information and news I follow daily as a reporter for TelevisionWeek and other publications as a basis for the content. Since my husband, Jeff, is a professional videographer, we didn’t need to invest in any additional equipment. Here is a step-by-step account of how we create the “New Media Minute” each week. The Content During the week, I maintain a document with story ideas for the “New Media Minute.” I look for research reports on new media and online video consumption, as well as interesting data points that showcase a new or quirky trend. On Thursdays, I turn that research into a short script. For a minute-long show, the script runs about 200 to 250 words. I try to cover two to three topics per week--the key is to make them fun and insightful. Usually one of the topics will be based on a story I am breaking in TVWeek on Monday, but I try to approach it from a different angle for the “New Media Minute.” We make extensive use of B-roll in the “New Media Minute,” so I need to make sure my stories can be illustrated with Web video. Shoot Prep I read through the script a few times to commit the ideas and topics to memory. I don’t read from cue cards or use a teleprompter because I have found that viewers respond best to a natural delivery, rather than a TV anchor-y style. That’s why committing the topics to memory, rather than the precise wording, works best for this show. The Shoot Usually on Friday or Saturday afternoon we shoot the video. We decide, based on the content and whether we are in town, if we want to shoot at the New Media Minute World Headquarters (our living room) or on location. We once shot an episode while on vacation in Florida simply using the internal camera on Jeff’s computer. We also shot an interview with WineLibraryTV’s host, Gary Vaynerchuk, at a wine event in San Francisco because we had already been planning on attending the party. When shooting outside, you need to give more thought to where the sun is coming from. Ideally, you want the sunlight on the face of the person you are shooting. When you shoot inside, you have more control over the light and sound as well. Depending on how much or little I flub of the script, and whether the dog barks or the children come racing out of their rooms, we will shoot anywhere from two to 10 takes. Next, Jeff shoots the B-roll while I eat bon-bons and have my nails done. Most of the B-roll comes straight from Web video, so he sets up his camera on the tripod and shoots several seconds of each Web site or Web video that I talk about in the report. Sometimes, he’ll move the screen a few inches forward or backwards or shoot from a side angle to mix up the look. Editing He edits the clips together using Apple’s Final Cut Pro, then compresses the video using Apple Compressor for uploading to YouTube. Once the video is uploaded to YouTube, he e-mails me the URL. I then log into my site, www.daisywhitney.tv, and embed the YouTube video there. Next, I use iContact e-mail distribution service to send out an e-mail alert to my contact list that a new video has been posted. E-mail is critical because you want to remind viewers when you have posted a new video and guide them to it. Soup to nuts, we probably spend more than eight hours a week on the “New Media Minute.” That includes story research, writing the script, learning the script, hair and makeup, set up, shooting the standup, shooting B-roll, editing, compressing, posting, creating the weekly e-mail and answering all e-mail responses regarding the show. Resources Here’s a list of the equipment we use: Sony DCR-VX2100 camera: $2,500 Lavalier Microphone, a clip-on microphone with a wire that connects to the camera: $40 Mini-DV for tape: $7 to $10 per tape Manfrotto Tripod: $325 MacBook Pro with a 2 GB hard drive: $2,500 Apple Final Cut Pro 6-Studio 6: $1,300 -By Daisy Whitney

How to: Getting Video Noticed, Guerilla Style

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:43:32 -0800

In a world where webcams and kittens mewing at screen doors rule, it's hard to be a creator of scripted Internet content. After so much work, it's a little disheartening to be beaten in numbers by a video of someone falling off a roof. I have no magic formula for getting a video to go viral. But I can share the methods I used to get the first episode of my webisode "The Guild" up to 1,000,000 hits on YouTube, with no professional advertising or marketing help. In my opinion, a lot of the work comes AFTER you shoot, and BEFORE you upload. The more homework you can do in advance, the better. And it all hinges on the “Who, What, Where” of your video. WHO Define Your Audience List the groups who will love your video. For “The Guild” I knew that gamers, especially MMORPG players, would be a target, but I also listed fans of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” (which I acted on) and women filmmakers/gamers too. The more targeted points of entry into the Webisphere the better. Blog-Link Wishlist List the top 5-10 most popular sites for each of your audience categories. These are who you will e-mail on upload day: The more personal the e-mail, the better. I included a few wish list places like “Wired” on my list, but generally I stuck with smaller blogs to increase the chance of a link. If a site had multiple contributors, I picked the person who I thought would like my video the most based on their posts. E-mail Lists Prepare two mailing lists of personal and professional contacts to e-mail on upload day and draft the emails in advance. My personal email asks more of my recipients, like favoriting/subscribing etc, and the professional one is more of a press release. On the day, you just have to cut and paste links into the body of the email and hit “send.” WHAT The Video Thumbnail A video thumbnail is like a department-store window display: The more it catches the eye, the more traffic you get. Have a few screenshots or stills ready that best feature your video, because some sites allow uploading of a .jpeg format thumbnail. YouTube gives you three thumbnails choices now, but mid-frame is always an option. Depending on the flexibility of the edit, you may be able to finesse a magical picture into that frame before locking picture. Title, Tags and Description Put time into naming and describing your video before upload. I read Ebay selling tips to help make mine catchy. For tags, put yourself in the shoes of a targeted audience member. If they were searching for a video on YouTube, what would they enter? I wanted my video to be on the top of that search result. And it was. WHERE Choose Your Portal Pick the video site that matches your audience. A video that makes the front page of “Funny or Die” is vastly different from one that is featured by “Yahoo Video.” With "The Guild", we initially chose to direct all traffic to our YouTube channel. For a webisode, I think this is the best way to go. But for a one-off short, it may be smarter to spread it across the Internet, using TubeMogul.com or another multi-upload site. Different video sites have different viewer sensibilities, and editors feature content they know their viewers want to see. Ultimately, you want a feature to get the big numbers, so be smart when choosing. Claim Your Real-Estate Having a dedicated Web site, however bare-bones, is important if you want to build a fan base. The best way to get contact info for fans is through RSS. If the webpage is literally just your embedded video and a RSS button, that's enough. Then you have the option of including a Web site on the corner of your video, or at least put it at the top of the description, to maximize the odds of making a further connection with viewers. Social Networking MySpace and Facebook both have Group/Fan pages that are important to set up, because some viewers may use those sites as primary windows to their Net life. You want to give them the option to be able to express their fandom in their ‘hood. It’s up to you to decide which social networking sites are important portals for your product. Don’t spread yourself too thin, because you need to keep them up to date. Doing your homework takes a lot of stress out of upload day. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but knowing your “Who, What, Where” beforehand will help start the viral ball rolling. Happy uploading! Felicia Day attended University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a double major in mathematics and violin performance. As an actor, Felicia has worked on television shows such as "Windfall", "Strong Medicine" and "Monk", and most notably the last season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." She has been in over 40 national commercials, and acted in such films as "Bring it on Again", "June," the Emmy award-winning "Warm Springs", with Kenneth Branagh, and most recently "Prairie Fever" with Kevin Sorbo. She produces, writes and stars in the YouTube hit "The Guild" , a Web sitcom about a group of online gamers, and is currently developing another series for the Web.

Marketing With Viral Video

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:13:32 -0800

I am not the greatest marketer on the planet or the most famous online-video creator. But I do have a unique view on the hits and misses of online-video marketing since by day I am a marketing director at a Fortune 100 company and by night a popular video creator on YouTube, where I'm known as "Nalts," the seventh most-subscribed comedian. Online video is changing the way we market, and it requires skill sets they don't teach in business school (at least they didn't a decade ago, but now I'm dating myself). On one hand we have marketers believing their "unique selling proposition" is as interesting as the "Numa Numa" kid. On the other, we have today's ADHD-prone video viewers demanding short entertainment whether it is promotional or not. So the rules are fairly simple: Keep your promotion short, interesting, edgy and give us a surprise that makes us want to forward your clip. After all, it's not a "viral video" if nobody wants to share it. Lesson One: Tap Video Creators We online-video creators and watchers are a community that's not shrinking and not growing slowly. Your customers are among us unless you're targeting the maybe 10%-20% of people that haven't watched an online video. We'll watch your advertising and even spread it for you -- unless you promote gratuitously, insult us or, worse yet, bore us. Some of us amateurs have built audiences, and when they entertain or market, each video is guaranteed to get 10,000-100,000 views. That's not a huge number relative to TV's reach, but try getting that many views with a video you upload yourself to YouTube.

Creator: Kevin Nalts

Industry: Marketing

Video play: Kevin Nalts is a top YouTube video creator who writes about marketing and online video at WillVideoForFood.com.

Strategy: To market effectively using Web video, become a true part of the community that creates in the medium; don't get hung up on video quality; try product placements; don't over-rely on contests, and go beyond simple tagging to get your video found.

And here's the best kept secret. Some of us will promote a brand for a modest fee. While some YouTubers are certifiably nuts, others can be your spokesperson and a way to connect with large audiences. And some video creators will make a promotional video for less than your agency bills you for that lunch meeting; others will do it for free product samples. Although the scalability of these programs is currently limited (unless you create one of the extremely rare viral sensations), the return on investment is often better than paid search. Lesson Two: Quality Doesn't Mean Popularity My most popular videos are far from my best. Almost every day my videos rank in the "highest rated" section of the comedy category, and yet I'm far from the funniest creator on YouTube. When I featured a 14-year-old using a fart machine in a public library, I never dreamed "Farting in Public" would get nearly 4 million views. Though popular videos tend to be short, funny and shocking, there are other variables that have as much influence on getting the video seen. Many second and third-tier sites will give entertaining sponsored videos preferred placement for relatively small amounts of media spend. Got $10,000? Use the money to help get a clever sponsored video seen instead of pouring it into a black hole of unseen banner ads. Lesson Three: Try Product Placement While some clever advertisements (with surprise endings, humor or sex) do become viral, most ads don't translate online, and it's a rare promotional video that gets millions of views. The smarter play is to sponsor popular video creators to create entertainment with product placement. This requires brands to let go of overt marketing messages and trust the instincts of creators to please their audiences. Lesson Four: It's Not Just About Contests While contests are pervasive tools to engage online video creators and audiences, they're just one tactic among many. Smarter brands are connecting directly with prominent viral video creators. These folks have huge subscriber bases and fans, and are often delighted to get paid relatively small amounts for a sponsored video. I'm perplexed why some of the "most subscribed" video creators on YouTube don't have sponsors breaking their doors down. I have seen brands pay well into the six figures for videos that get fewer views than some of these creators get each time they post a video. Lesson Five: 'Tagging' Video Is Just a Start Keywords may get your video to rank in searches, but there are far more effective ways to get your videos seen, such as title and thumbnail. A short funny video with a surprise ending will be exponentially more viral. That said, well-tagged videos can help brands in search. Do a Google search for "Healies" (a misspelling of the shoe called "Heely's) and you'll find my "Poor Man's Healies" videos near the top of the results page. Meanwhile, Zappos and Dick's Sporting Goods are bidding against the keyword and paying for each click. Lesson Six: Video Views Don't Mean Sales I learned this the hard way. The conversion rate from viewing a video to visiting your site is not much better than the low-single digits of direct response. That means you either need metrics for the "worth" of a view or hope your video is seen millions of times so the direct-response metrics aren't embarrassing. Lesson Seven: The ROI Disconnect A $250,000 production cost makes a return on investment difficult. Since fewer than 2% of people will visit a Web site after a video, a good ROI requires a low production cost and the highest number of views possible. Lesson Eight: Not All Portals Are Created Equal The vast majority of online viewing occurs on YouTube. Putting your videos on a bloated-product.com site is the online equivalent to running television commercials on a kiosk hidden in an abandoned cemetery. Lesson Nine: Conservatives Welcome Conservative legal and public-relations policies have prevented many marketers from entering into a dialogue with prominent video creators. Most marketers have seen at least a few videos that mention their own brands or those of competitors, but some brands remain squeamish about something as simple as an online-video contest. Doritos, Dove, Heinz and Mr. Clean were just a few of the brands that invited consumers to submit to contests to win cash, prizes, fame or a chance to be on TV. Some brands fear running a contest because they don't want to be ridiculed. But brands will be bashed by disgruntled consumers via online video whether or not their companies dabble in the space. Quietly watching from the sidelines is no insurance policy and certainly won't grow revenue. So refraining from online video in fear is no smarter than those companies that were afraid to market online back in 1998. Lesson 10: The Medium Will Be Measured As it matures, video will become as measurable as search. But for the time being, the most controllable variables are cost of production and total views. I've had sponsors beg for their URL to appear pervasively through a video, but that tends to alienate viewers and reduce the total views. And the rate of viewers that visit the Web site is a difficult variable to change (unless there's a provocative reason for the viewer to interrupt their online-viewing experience). Kevin Nalts is a career marketer (formerly with Johnson & Johnson) and now is a consumer-product director at a Fortune 100 company. He moonlights as 'Nalts,' one of YouTube's top video creators and one of the top 10 'most subscribed' YouTube comedians. A self proclaimed 'Viral Video Genius,' Nalts writes about the convergence of marketing and online video at WillVideoForFood.com. He is authoring a book titled 'The Prophet of Online Video' and creates sponsored videos for such brands as Mentos, GPSManiac, and DoMyStuff. (This article reprinted with permission from Advertising Age.)

Brightcove's Jeremy Allaire on Web Video 2008

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:07:58 -0800

As we come to the end of 2007, it’s time to reflect on the forces that shaped the Internet TV industry during the last year and the trends that will define it in 2008. Internet video surged into the mainstream in 2006 with the explosive growth of consumer video sharing sites. The leader in the category, YouTube, became a household name, and everyone watched in awe as they were swallowed by Google for $1.65 billion. But 2007 showed us that video isn’t just for aggregators—it’s fundamental to the Web. The last 12 months saw an explosion in video publishing across a wide array of websites. Video is becoming so pervasive that if you have a web property without video something is wrong with it. The deep investment in online video publishing and distribution by media companies in 2007 brought a new category of online services into the limelight: Internet TV Platforms. Internet TV Platforms, like Brightcove, give media owners the ability to control how video is published on their own sites and syndicated across the Internet. Rather than existing at a single destination, Internet TV Platforms underlie thousands of properties and brands creating economies of scale in technology, delivery and distribution. As an example, Brightcove is now helping thousands of commercial media owners deliver hundreds of millions of Internet video streams to more than 120 million unique viewers every month through tens of thousands of websites. Using Brightcove, hundreds of major newspaper publishers, record labels, cable and TV networks, magazine publishers, and website owners became Internet TV publishers in 2007. 2007 was the year of the Platform. So as we walk into 2008, we have an Internet video market divided into two major groups: aggregators and platforms. Aggregators Aggregators bring consumers together at a destination. Three big categories of aggregators are shaping the Internet video landscape: Consumer Sharing Sites Commercial Video Portals Social Networks Platforms Platforms enable website publishers and content owners to build their own online properties, syndicate video to other properties and monetize their content. The relevant platforms for Internet video break out into three major categories as well: Internet TV Platforms Community Platforms Uber Ad Platforms Before we look at how the new Internet TV ecosystem that emerged in 2007 will play out in 2008, it makes sense to dive a bit more deeply into each of the six major categories that define the market. Aggregators All three categories of aggregators share the same core business model which is to aggregate consumer traffic at a destination and monetize it with a variety of advertising strategies. Consumer Video Sharing Sites Consumer sharing sites are built around user-submitted video, although they are starting to embrace professionally submitted video. This category has largely collapsed into a handful of players, with YouTube the dominant force. Others in the space with scale include DailyMotion, Veoh and MetaCafe. All of these sites are attempting to leverage their traffic into meaningful distribution opportunities for mid to long-tail commercial producers, though there are no major success stories in terms of revenue. The Consumer Sharing Sites continue to be plagued with the challenges of piracy and the low-quality of user-generated content. Some of the 2006 players have been shut-down and others are on the chopping block. Commercial Video Portals Responding to both YouTube’s growth, and the multiple challenges it presents to media owners, as well as leveraging in some cases existing audiences, a number of viable commercial video portals are emerging. Within this category there are a several different models. In ad supported content, there are now destination sites and desktop clients. Both are starting to adopt a business model that is more favorable for media owners, which uses a 90/10 or 80/20 revenue split with content owners controlling ad sales and getting most of the revenue. The portals include MSN Video, AOL Video, Yahoo TV, MySpace TV, Hulu, and Comcast/Fancast. The desktop clients include VeohTV, Joost, Adobe Media Player (AMP) and Bablegum. The other major model is paid content, and while that hasn’t gotten the same momentum as ad-supported content, the players in this category bear some mention. The three notable solutions are iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon, but there are many other players in this space as well. As commercial content libraries open up in response to favorable economics and business deal structures, these outlets are becoming more important pieces in the ‘distribution toolbox’ of Internet TV. However, in a world of open distribution it will be difficult for the Commercial Video Portals to differentiate with content, so they will have to depend on experience, integration with other consumer services, or other means to create competitive advantage. Social Networks Social networks like FaceBook, MySpace, Bebo and iGoogle (with its expected introduction of OpenSocial-based features) are in many ways orthogonal to the Internet video market. But as these services become platforms, they are starting to emerge as viable outlets for commercial programming. Because they aggregate so much traffic, they’re hard to ignore for any publisher trying to reach new audiences. We expect they will increasingly compete with Consumer Video Sharing Sites and Commercial Video Portals as focal points for consumer usage of online video. Platforms In many ways, the three relevant platform categories are completely different than the aggregators both in terms of their business model and how they are deployed on the Internet. Platforms run behind the scenes making it possible for content owners and programmers to build their own branded websites and control their own distribution and destiny. They operate in a business model that is almost always built around charging for usage of their service in one way or another. In 2007, platforms came of age and that sets up important trends for 2008. Internet TV Platforms Unlike end-user destination sites, Internet TV Platforms act as operating platforms for online video publishing and distribution throughout the Web. At their core, Internet TV Platforms allow media owners of all sizes to operate direct-to-consumer websites and syndicate online video to aggregators. These platforms gain scale and value as more publishers use them, and are increasingly able to act as hubs for distribution, advertising and programming strategies. Brightcove helped to define and launch this category in 2005, and we have the largest scale of any player in this space. But the category really came into its own with in 2007 with several other players including thePlatform (owned by Comcast), whose primary focus is acting as a hosted asset management system and good ingest/output mechanisms, Maven Networks, an online video startup that has gone through several incarnations to get to its current state as an Internet TV Platform, and Move Networks, whose proprietary client-side player technology is used by several major broadcasters for delivering full-length episodes. Community Platforms The second major platform category that gelled in 2007 is the Community Platform. Community Platforms like KickApps, Ning, Prospero, and Pluck make it easier to build branded destinations with deep community features including profile pages, comments, ratings, blogs, forums, and chats. Where the Social Networks build community at a single destination, Community Platforms let thousands of destinations develop around specific interests, topics, niches and brands. Community Platforms are largely complementary to Internet TV Platforms, and we see most of our customers using both along with a Content Management System to build out their web properties. But there is some competition around the area of user generated content (UGC). Many of the community platforms support services for accepting video uploads from consumers or they integrate with these services from Internet TV Platforms. Uber Ad Platforms If you weren’t online in the spring you might have missed the buying spree that happened as the first generation ad serving platforms were bought up by major online media players. The flurry of acquisitions was part of a much larger trend around the development of what we like to call Uber Ad Platforms. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL are the four big players in this category. They’re all focused on building Uber Ad Platforms that provide a one-stop-shop for access to ad serving, ad networks and all sorts of strategies for optimizing yield. The Uber Ad Platforms will deliver ads in every major format across every major medium, and they are waging a battle that will reshape the technology and media industries in fundamental ways. The reason is simple: bits plus ads is a winning combination. We all spend more and more time with digital media whether that’s on a computer monitor, TV, phone, game console, radio, etc. and the ability to deliver ads in these environments has become a massive business that will continue to grow. By integrating across screens, ad formats, targeting capabilities and sales strategies the Uber Ad Platforms hope to control how the digital world is monetized and, of course, participate along the way. The Uber Ad Platforms are just taking shape. While they come online, niche ad network and technology players are battling each other with either unique technology strategies or specific genre and category focuses. Trends in 2008 As video content owners and website publishers walk into 2008, we expect several major trends will shape their strategies in the Internet video market. Branded Destinations Nothing about the Internet changes the fundamentals of media—value is created by controlling the content or controlling access to the audience. Media companies with established brands and new start-ups will continue to build successful branded destinations so they can control the access to audiences. We expect these destinations will leverage Internet TV Platforms, Community Platforms, and Ad Platforms to compete with the major aggregators by offering consumers a more focused and differentiated experience, including exclusive content, and by giving advertisers a better environment to build their brands. Audience Networks Because of the power of the big aggregators to reach new audiences, content owners will continue to develop distribution strategies that place elements of their content library into wide distribution, in most cases with advertising attached. Because there won’t be a one-size-fits-all solution, content owners will depend on Internet TV Platforms to help them manage the complex policy and technology challenges associated with implementing Internet distribution strategies. They will use audience networks to bridge the gap between aggregators and their own branded destinations, which will make the web as a whole a much more interesting place. Audience Monetization To date the advertising focus in the Internet TV market has been on monetizing video streams. But this focus is both shortsighted and not nearly as effective as thinking about how to monetize audience. By developing audience-centric strategies, content owners will look for new ways to blend ad formats, insertion policies, and targeting tactics across pages, short-form video clips, long-form shows, and open distribution. While they are more difficult to plan and execute these ad strategies deliver greater yield and a much better user experience, which means better sustainability. These strategies will also take advantage of both direct selling and integration with Uber Ad Platforms. Contextual Publishing One of the key insights from the last two years is that short-form online video does best when it’s placed in a context. The context could be created by pages in a website, comments from users, line-ups in a player, etc. Regardless of how it’s done, getting the context right means you can put the right video clips in front of a viewer, which makes everyone happy. We expect that contextual in-page video publishing will grow, and that it will be extended to slideshows and audio content as more and more rich media is brought out of silos and into the core of websites. High-Quality Video The explosive growth that has happened with the major network episode players, and the increasing access that consumers have to long form, high-quality video will push Internet TV closer to traditional broadcast TV, and widen the opportunity for brand marketers that covet the deep engagement created by a full-screen, immersive experience. We’re definitely looking forward to 2008. We’ve been working closely with our customers and partners to define and develop new capabilities that will let our content owners take advantage of the big trends as they build their Internet TV businesses. -By Jeremy Allaire, Founder/CEO & Adam Berrey, SVP Marketing, Brightcove

Ripping Video and Resizing It, From A to B

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:59:49 -0800

When it comes to manipulating Web video, the simplest tasks are the most insurmountable … at first. For instance: What if you want to embed a piece of video from YouTube on your Web site, but the dimensions of your player are so small the YouTube clip gets cropped badly when you paste it into your site? The problem stymied me for the first few weeks I edited WebVideoReport.com. See, YouTube embed codes are sized to 425x355 pixels. For WebVideoReport, we size videos to 270x255. Pulling the YouTube videos into WebVideoReport tended to put them off center, making the YouTube watermark illegible and putting the video’s center of focus out of whack. Example: YouTube Video Embedded at 425x355 Pixels

Here's a YouTube video embedded at the standard 425x355 pixel dimension.

Example: YouTube Video Embedded at 270x255 Pixels

Here's a YouTube video embedded at the modified size of 270x255 pixel dimension.

Example: YouTube Video Ripped and Resized on Brightcove

Here's a video that's been resized to the 270x255 pixel dimension.

The solution turned out to be relatively simple. For Web video jocks, it’s trifling. For novices, near impossible. Had it not been for a colleague in the office showing me the way, I would have been stuck with badly cropped videos junking up the site. This how-to article represents just one way of solving the problem. The advantage? It’s free. If you do a Google search on “resizing YouTube videos,” you’ll get plenty of other ideas. There is commercial software out there that offers another method of accomplishing what appears to be the same result. Specifically, ZillaTube worked when I tested it out, and it seems to provide additional ways of manipulating video to suit your needs. Drop me a line or comment below if you’d like to add other solutions to this article. But putting together WebVideoReport each day sometimes puts one value, expediency, at a premium. So I tapped the Web savvy of Chad Rooney, the design guru at WebVideoReport's sister publication, TelevisionWeek. Chad pointed out that Mozilla’s Firefox offers a free utility that lets users rip video off sites that stream clips. So I tried that today and it worked on the first go-round. Caveats Don’t use anyone’s video without permission. The best way to encourage the artistic and commercial boom in Web video is to bolster the business. That means paying for content, or exposing yourself to whatever commercial pitch comes along with the content. Sorry, I’m just square that way. Or that's how you roll at 40. Step-By-Step I can only attest to this method working on the setup I’m using. I’m sure it would work on others, but I haven’t tested them out. WebVideoReport is a Brightcove client, which means we use their service to format, upload, display and syndicate our video. There are lots of Brightcove competitors out there that provide similar services. The system I’m laying out here worked on both a Mac and a PC, which kind of goes without saying, but remedial users like myself don’t mind the reassurance. Step 1: Find the Software Open up Mozilla’s Firefox browser and go to Google. Type in “video downloader.” Choose the following URL (or cut out the middle man and just go to this site): https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2838 Step 2: Download the software Click the download button and the process will begin. You’ll have to restart Firefox, and you’ll know you’ve been successful when you inspect your navigation bar at the top of the application and you see a little icon representing three circles stacked around each other. Step 3: Use the Utility It’s unnervingly simple. Whenever you are on a page that has video that Firefox can download, the little circles icon will light up in color and rotate. So for instance, on YouTube, if you click into a video that the utility can access and copy, the icon will signal you. Just click on it, and the files available for duplication will appear in a drop-down menu. Click on one that ends in “.flv”. This indicates a Flash file exists that is subject to manipulation. You’ll be prompted to save the file to your computer. Putting it on your desktop is fine. Step 4: Loading the Video Now you want to load that video into your video service provider’s system. Follow whatever steps are indicated for importing clips. On Brightcove, we use the Publish Pod function. Step 5: Resizing the Video Resize the video using whatever function your video service provider uses. As noted above, in the case of WebVideoReport, we squeeze our video clips into the relatively small area of 270x255 pixels. Step 6: Posting the Video Post the clip to your site and you’re done. At WebVideoReport, we need lots of workarounds to secure video from our partners and get it up on the site. This one turned out to work like a charm. -Greg Baumann is editor of WebVideoReport and TelevisionWeek.

WebVideoReport's Advertising Glossary

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:31:55 -0800

The business of Web video is evolving rapidly, and the lexicon that is developing around the market is changing with it. If you’re a new publisher trying to pick up the tools you need to understand how Web-video advertising works, the lingo can be baffling. The glossary below is meant to provide a starting point for beginners, and a space for Web video pros to share their knowledge. If you’d like to contribute, please use the comments section below or e-mail the editor, Greg Baumann. AdWords The auction system developed by Google that enables advertisers to bid on particular keywords they would like to purchase so that when a Google user enters the word in a search, the buyer’s Web site is more likely to appear at the top of the sponsored links on the search results page. Alpha video Animations that pop up on the page without affecting its other content or functionality. An alpha video can be a sponsor’s mascot or spokesperson, for instance. Banner ads Horizontal, rectangular ads typically displayed at the top or bottom of a Web page. In-stream advertising Ads that run within the video content, either as a pre-roll, post-roll or mid-roll CPM (Cost Per Thousand) The amount of money an advertiser pays for every 1,000 times an ad is seen on a Web page. Mash-up tools Editing software tools that let a user to take the video they are watching and combine that with other video or other content to form new content. For example, a user could take clips of a certain video and combine them with other video to make a new video. Overlays/Flash overlays Ads shown on the bottom 1/3 of the video screen consisting mostly of text with minimal graphics. The overlays can be clicked on to take the user to other content, such as a sponsor’s Web site or a full-length ad. Post-roll A video advertisement shown at the end of the video a user has selected to view. Typically 15 or 30 seconds in length. Pre-roll A video advertisement that plays before the start of a video that a user has selected to play shown prior to the user's selected content starting to play. Typically 15 or 30 seconds in length. Pre-roll bumpers Short pre-roll video ads or content previews shown before a user's selected content starts to play. Typically 8 seconds in length. Product and brand integration A video that includes identifiable products or logos embedded into a video’s content, such as a character in the video is holding a brand-name can of soda. Rate card The price list of the various forms of advertising on a particular Web site. Reminder unit A static ad that runs outside a video player, below a video ad from the same advertiser Reservation-purchase basis An advance reservation for an ad, meaning the ad must be bought and reserved in advance Roadblock Full-screen ad that usually takes over the home page of a Web site when a visitor lands there. The ads, which can usually be bypassed by users who can find a “skip this ad” message, can run for any length of time. Most run 15 or 20 seconds. Alt. def: An advertising package that gives a sponsor all the ad units on a Web site. Skyscrapers Vertical, rectangular ads typically displayed on the left or right side of a Web page. Static ad Ads that have a defined place on a Web site. They can link either to an advertiser’s Web site, or launch a video ad from that sponsor. Static companion ad A static, square ad that typically sits to the right of a video as it plays. A static ad generally is from the same advertiser as in-stream ads placed in the content. Transitional pages Static pages that appear full screen when a user moves from one section to another of a site. Video ads Ads in the form of a video, rather than a banner, display or text ad. Video buy An ad buy involving video -Daisy Whitney

Tailoring Ads to the Web

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:37:38 -0800

Video on the Web is white hot. As the network TV market tightens, and marketers seek to engage consumers across multiple platforms, budgets are being directed to broadband video as a new way to deliver compelling creative. Consumers are already there, and they are open and responsive to watching advertising online. Recently, the Online Publishers Association released a study showing that video is the most powerful online creative format. The study found that more than 40% of respondents watched online videos on at least a weekly basis and over 70% watch at least monthly. As marketers, our new challenge is to capture the consumer’s attention and hold it with video that works on the Web.

Company: Electronic Arts

Industry: Video Games

Video play: Audience participation

Strategy: Electronic Arts used a Web video campaign to let users vote on which NFL player would be represented on the NFL Tour arcade game.

Result: The open voting process on the Web engaged gaming enthusiasts, raising awareness of the NFL Tour arcade game.

We can, and do, gain value from running the same (or shortened) spots that are produced for TV. But, there is an opportunity to take broadband video to a higher level of performance. “The Momentum Effect,” which is created through viral pass-along, or sharing in a social networking environment, is the next Holy Grail of advertising campaigns. By tapping consumers to participate with and spread brand messages, marketers can benefit from “free” media (loads of it, if done well). Importantly, the brand also enjoys a halo of credibility that comes with any friend-to-friend endorsement, which enhances brand favorability. Our company believes strongly that the brands that will win in the future are those whose customers tell each other the best stories, versus the brands that tell the best stories to their customers. This presents a major shift in how we use video to create brand stories. The beauty of the Web is that everyone and everything is connected. Viewers can instantly share the things they find interesting or entertaining. But how can advertisers tap into the power of consumer-to-consumer media? The operative words here are “interesting” and “entertaining.” We know it is possible to hit it big on YouTube and other video sharing sites. But what are the ingredients needed to entice consumers into watching and passing along brand messages to their friends? Here are a few things to consider when preparing to tap the power of the Web using video as your messaging format: Are You Content Worthy? It shouldn’t have to be said in this day of the fickle and inattentive consumer, that creative in any medium should be some combination of compelling, entertaining, valuable and relevant. Put that bar up a notch or two in the online space. The lean-forward video watcher can be a captive audience, receptive and responsive to video messaging. On the other hand, that same watcher may also be impatient and ready to click away the moment the content is boring or irrelevant. The online viewer may be willing to sit through 30 seconds of video (generally two 15’s) in order to watch branded, longer form content such as news clips or sports highlights. But the majority of video accessed on the Internet is short form, along the lines of YouTube content. According to comScore, in the US, the average length of Web video content is about 2 minutes, 40 seconds. If you want to tap into the vast majority of online video watching, you should be developing video creative that is meant to be viewer-initiated. For this kind of creative to be successful, it needs to be as interesting to the viewer as the content he/she would otherwise be watching. Imagine your brand’s creative lined up with pure unbranded content: Your video message needs to compete with that to be chosen by the viewer. It has to be THAT interesting, THAT entertaining, THAT relevant or THAT useful to the viewer. If we can deliver this kind of positive experience, we may actually condition consumers to like advertising! Because this means brands are moving from producing advertising to producing content, there are a plethora of branded content-production houses emerging. Companies like Next New Networks, Liquid Generation, Ripe Media and many others are creating online video content series that brands can sponsor or be featured within. Done well, this can be a great way to take advantage of established audiences that regularly watch specific categories, as well as broad distribution channels developed and cultivated by the production houses. For instance, Next New Networks is producing highly targeted content. Bride-o-rama, for instance, is the first network that delivers real advice from the recently married, and Pulp Secret is dedicated to comic book news and culture. Think Non-linear In the online space, the consumer actively controls his own viewing experience. This behavior creates the opportunity to give the viewer exactly the experience he/she wants. Instead of delivering video that plays out a story from start to finish, we can allow the viewer to select parts and pieces in the desired order. In this Electronic Arts NFL piece, the viewer is offered the opportunity to watch and vote for which of their favorite NFL stars should grace the cover of EA’s new NFL game release. There is no particular order in which these videos should be watched. It is meant to be an entertaining exploration of content, where the viewer can be drawn in to watch as much or as little as desired. This aspect of being able to dip in and out can keep the viewer engaged for longer, and watching continues to be an active versus a passive experience. Taking the non-linear experience to the next level, some marketers are allowing the viewer to participate in creating the brand’s story. Instead of producing a video that tells the same story to every viewer, the video is created in many segments that can be modified by the viewer to tell a customized story to be shared with friends. In the U.K., BMW Mini gave viewers the opportunity to create a humorous message to send to a friend. By creating a database of video segments that are pieced together by the viewer’s selection process, the result is a video piece that recognizes the friend by name, calls out his profession, and pokes fun in a personal way. It is both funny and ingenious, almost startling in its personalization. Virtually any recipient is compelled to give it a try by creating their own and passing it along. The video was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, with the vast majority from the UK due to the particularly local sense of humor employed. Dial Down the Heavy Sell Can you see yourself passing along a message for beauty cream and its skin smoothing effects? Probably not – what would your friend think you were telling her? What would make it worth it for you to pass a brand’s message to a friend? Seems obvious…people love funny, they like new ideas, and they are connected to causes. But with very few exceptions, they care little about the selling features of products or brands. If you want the consumer to care enough about your message to pass it along, you need to dial down the overt selling points most marketers are programmed to broadcast. You have to NOT BRAND heavily…how is that for a marketing concept? Look at the Dove video, “Evolution,” part of the Campaign for Real Beauty. The video has had more than 12 million views on YouTube alone. The brand is wrapped into a compelling message that helps to diminish women’s insecurities about their own beauty, as compared to models. Unilever discovered that only 2% of women consider themselves to be beautiful. The video exposes the beauty industry for its practice of transforming common faces into ravishing beauties through digital photo doctoring techniques. This is a gift to women who compare themselves to these photos, and it is a gift that women all over the world have shared with their friends and families. Unilever’s ability to attain viral success was based on finding a message that simply appeals to women. They were able to associate the Dove brand with a message that was appreciated, thereby creating goodwill toward the brand. In addition to generating consumer pass along, which produces free media for the brand, that emotional connection is powerful in heightening brand awareness and perception. Stop Trying to Be So Perfect! As marketers, we have been trained to polish our material - to produce a quality of creative that is as close to perfection as we can make it. Meanwhile, viewers are gravitating toward less perfect, more human content – creative that reflects real behavior in the real world. Consumers have a natural distrust toward marketers. They are more interested in what is being produced by other regular people. People are reveling in the creative developed by other regular people – they are not looking for perfection. More marketers are succeeding by developing that feeling of human imperfection. You might ask when you watch “The Heidies”, an episodic video series promoting Diesel’s underwear line, “Is this advertising? Or did some crazy college kids create this?” The piece is campy enough that it could pass for user-generated. But it was produced by this year’s Grand Prix winner of the Cyber Lions Awards in Cannes: Farfar, a highly creative agency in Sweden, and a part of the Isobar network. The material is highly unorthodox for a marketer, and gets away with what TV never could. Models prance around in their underwear performing silly antics in a hotel room, where they have captured the Diesel sales manager. The material is outlandish and appears to be unscripted. What matters is the interest and momentum. This has great appeal to young audiences who love silly, outlandish, unscripted material. They may or may not know the videos were actually from Diesel, which makes it that much more compelling to them. Compelling enough to spend significant time with the Diesel brand and forward the videos to friends. A home run for the brand! Measure Success! As with any online program, a broadband video campaign is meant to engage the consumer, and can be measured in multiple ways, depending on campaign goals. At the minimum, you should monitor your average viewer watch times. The way media providers charge for video is not currently optimal for advertisers. Typically, we pay for each video served, even if it is closed immediately after being opened by the viewer. While deals don’t allow for second-by-second payment (today), you can monitor and assess your online video campaign by understanding your average watch times. This can become your own benchmarking system for understanding which creative material is having the most or least success. In addition to measuring the audience’s time spent watching your broadband video material, you can also create response mechanisms surrounding the video viewer display. Very often, online video is highly effective in creating viewer response – a direct call to action. Finally, you can measure how your video campaign is affecting branding metrics you are looking to lift. Companies like Dynamic Logic or Insight Express can provide benchmarks that show how your online advertising program affects awareness, brand favorability, purchase intent, intent to recommend, etc. This can also be a useful way to determine the overall success of the program, and provide a benchmark for future program success. -By Sarah Fay, CEO, Carat and CEO, Isobar US.

Buying a Semi-Pro Video Camera

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:17:48 -0800

When you’re in the market for a semi-pro video camera, you have myriad options to consider. Below are some tips for finding a camera that will give you the most mileage and flexibility and result in some great, professional-quality film. Image Sensors When it comes to CCDs, the components that translate light coming through the lens into electronic signals, size matters. Bigger is better. Most prosumer cameras use 1/4-inch CCDs, although a few models use larger, 1/3-inch CCDs. Standard definition cameras should have at least 3 CCD chips (one each for red, green and blue light). HD cameras are even better. Frame Rates A good prosumer camera should be capable of shooting various frame rates, such as 60i and 24p. It’s great to have 24p (progressive), which offers a film look without all of the costs associated with film production. Sound Inputs You must have XLR inputs because they are necessary for connecting professional microphones. Some cameras have 2 inputs. Power A rear battery well can accommodate batteries of varying capacities and support a variety of filming needs and environments. Brightness Changeable pedestals allow accurate brightness level control for better quality video. Light A good prosumer camera is capable of producing video in very low light conditions. Aspect Ratios You should be able to shoot 16:9 as well as 4:3 content—check to make sure the camera you’re purchasing allows for this. Many DV cameras offer menu options that take a 4:3 image and convert it to 16:9. Some cameras (including HD) are native 16:9. Lenses Consider the availability of lenses and filters for the specific camera. Some cameras have changeable lenses, others offer fixed lenses, but changeable is the best bet. Viewfinders A good viewfinder is vital. The best ones give you control over the brightness and contrast. Marc Prager, VP Creative Services and Strategy at TurnHere, has nearly 20 years of experience creating compelling content for broadcast, cable, film, corporate video and the Internet. Before joining TurnHere, Marc Prager was a producer on two History Channel TV series, “Man Moment Machine” and “Tactical To Practical.” Previously, he worked at Pixar Animation Studios, where he managed the editorial department on the Academy Award-winning film “Finding Nemo.” He has also worked in network news as a producer for NBC News Specials and for ABC News PrimeTime Live and World News Tonight. His international media experience includes high-profile television projects in Russia, Sri Lanka, Macedonia and Afghanistan. Marc received an MS from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. TurnHere is a digital media company that produces professional digital videos, accessible on the Internet. TurnHere uses established videographers to create content, and applies rigorous production and technical standards to create the finished product.

Equipping a Small Video Studio

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:16:49 -0800

Project: Putting together a small, modular video studio

Problem: Knowing what it will cost

Takeaway: To do a two-camera setup with all the fixings, you're looking at spending about $25,000

Eventually, outsourcing video production or renting gear becomes more trouble, or more expensive, than it’s worth. When it becomes apparent that having an in-house studio would pay off in terms of cost and productivity, it’s time to look at expenses. The run-down below will give you an idea of what kind of outlay you may be looking at. Of course, your needs will dictate your approach, and you can go either much lower budget, or over-the-top high end. LIGHTING Soft Lights & Stands (2) $900 Mini-Spotlights w/Stands & Reflectors (3) $750 Spare Bulbs $160 CAMERAS 3CCD Mini DV Cameras (2) $5,800 High Capacity Batteries & Charger $500 AUDIO Lavaliers (3) $570 Field Mixer $600 XLR Cable $150 SUPPORTS 10x10 Support Stand for Backlights/Backgrounds $225 Tripods & Heads (2) $1,000 BACKGROUNDS 10x12 Muslin Patterns/Solids (4) $400 Clamps $40 TELEPROMPTER LCD Prompter & Software $3,750 EDITING WORKSTATION Computer/Display/External Drives/DVCAM VTR/ Software $10,000 TOTAL $24,845 +Tax/Shipping Steve Raddock is SVP–Production, The Meetrics Group.

Becoming a Video Auteur

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:45:34 -0800

The world of online video is crowded, and it can be extremely difficult to get exposure for your work. Believe it or not, creating and uploading a video is–in many ways–the easy part. Making sure your video gets seen can be much tougher. And getting paid for your work? Do-able, but it requires some research and effort. Following are my top five tips for realizing online video success.

Know Your Market

Who are you trying to appeal to? The easiest way to determine this is to look at what the most viewed or most popular videos are on the site to which you’re uploading. That will give you a pretty good idea of who your target audience is and what kind of content they like. There’s really a wide range of tastes out there, and you might be surprised at the diversity of genres that have quite a large audience.

Create a Great Video

This includes a good story, audio, lighting and editing. On the Web, less really is more–you only have a few seconds to capture the audience’s attention, so engage them right away and get to the point quickly. Production value is also important. Not everyone is a professional videographer, of course, but do the best you can. Research different video techniques. Try to learn as much as you can about video production. Solicit feedback from your friends and family–it’s always useful to see your work through the eyes of a first-time viewer (especially after you’ve been engrossed in a project for a while). And practice–you really will see marked improvement in pretty short order.

Make a Good First Impression

When viewers are surfing a video site, they make decisions about what to watch based on a video’s description and thumbnail image. Both of these can make or break the success of your video. In order for people to click on it, there has to be something that draws their attention–and you’ll only be successful if that first impression is an accurate representation of what they’re going to get once they start watching. A description that quickly tells the general story in the least amount of words is best. Think of it as a headline to your video. If you have the opportunity to select a thumbnail for your video, choose one that best represents the video and would attract a potential viewer.

Be Accessible

If you have your own Web site, include the address in your videos or their descriptions. Lots of video sites have embeddable players that can drive cross-promotional traffic from your site to theirs–and vice versa. Take advantage of this. Also, provide an e-mail address on your site or in your videos–making it easy for the people who like your work to get in touch with you helps put a human face on it. This, in turn, can help drive viral distribution of your video because people have a connection to the creator. As you establish connections with people, start building an e-mail distribution list that you can contact when you have new work to share. Some sites will do this heavy-lifting for you through their “User Channels” functionality. This is a great way to collect and showcase all your work in one place. And you can even have people subscribe to your channel–with subscribers automatically getting e-mail updates when you upload a new video. If the site you submit to allows people to comment on your videos, be an active participant–answer questions directly, and don’t take criticism too personally. And be sure to comment on the videos you like–the world of online video really is about community, so be a good online neighbor.

Put the Internet to Work

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Web sites and blogs dedicated to virtually every subject–and sub-subject–you can think of. Become familiar with those that focus on topics for which your videos are well-suited. Many of the people behind these sites and blogs are always on the lookout for content that will prove interesting to their readers. When you have a video that fits the bill, let them know about it! Just send a note or use the “Tip the Editor” function. If the site you submit to accepts embedded views, these sites can help generate views without any effort on your part. This is putting the power of the Internet to work for you! Kipkay is a videographer with 25 years of video production experience. In his spare time, he makes videos that reflect his personal interests in technology, gadgets and DIY solutions to everyday problems. Since November 2006, he’s made more than $50,000 from Metacafe’s Producer RewardsTM program. His work can be seen at www.metacafe.com/channels/kipkay.