I’ll tell you what… American Airlines is producing some pretty good videos. If you’re in marketing or public relations, you should be taking notes because they’re doing a lot of things right.

American is in total PR mode. The CEO is reportedly on a “recovery” tour, pumping up customers and employees following the company filing for bankruptcy last November.

To go along with the tour, company officials produced a video. It’s terrific. Nothing revolutionary, just good videography, nice editing and solid storytelling.

One of the reasons I’m highlighting it is because the first two-thirds is simply a good example of an “About Us” video. It features customers and employees, and it’s just great to see how a major corporation produces something every company should have on its website.

For you small business owners, or you PR/marketing folks who help small business owners, there’s no reason you can’t have a quality video like this produced. Some of the shooting techniques might be toned down a bit to save costs, but the storytelling and message are totally doable.

–Tony Gnau

You don’t need a big production to create good videos. You don’t even need a big budget, and T60 is ready to prove it.

$500. That’s the price-point for our latest service. We’re calling them “Elevator Pitch Videos.”

I don’t typically write about the services we offer. This blog isn’t meant to be a sales vehicle. It’s a platform to discuss our passion… storytelling.

I decided, however, to write about this particular service because I run into so many business owners with the same problem. They understand the power of video, and they would love something for their company’s website and social media… but they don’t have the cash.

I’m a small business owner myself, so trust me, I get it. That’s why we developed this service.

Clients get a 1-hour shoot. During that time we conduct an interview of sorts where they give us their elevator pitch. What they do, what sets them apart, and how they want their clients to feel after working with them. We shoot a little raw video, then take it all back and put together a short video.

It’s basic but professional. It’s high-quality but budget friendly. It’s just what a lot of small businesses need.

–Tony Gnau

Okay… I think I’ve recovered enough to blog about last week’s day-trip to New York City. If you missed it, I posted about my extended stay. The short story is storms pass through, flights cancel, hotels fill-up… equals a long night at LaGuardia.

I have never been awake for a longer time… 41-hours.

Now you know why it took me a while to be ready to blog about it.

Today’s post isn’t about storytelling. It isn’t about shooting or editing techniques. It’s about being able to do a lot with just a little.

When you’re shooting somewhere close to home, you can bring everything and the kitchen sink. When you’re traveling, you can’t do that. You have to pick your gear carefully and know how to make things work.

I went on the New York trip solo. That meant I could only take what I could carry, and it also played a big role while getting around the city. I shot in Brooklyn and the Bronx and took the train from location to location.

Take a look at the photo. The only thing I had with me that it’s seen is a small bag that carried my DSLR. Otherwise, I had a backpack carrying a video camera and audio equipment, a hard case for my light kit, and finally, a baseball bat bag on wheels I use for my tripod and miscellaneous other things.

That’s it. Funny thing is I didn’t even use the light kit. We shot the interview outside and the indoor b-roll was fine with the room’s existing lights.

You don’t need the kitchen sink to create good videos. Minimal gear will never be a problem when you know how to use what you have with you.

–Tony Gnau

I’m changing my title. You can do that sort of thing when you own your own business. The tough thing is choosing one.

I’m the founder, president and CEO, but I’m also a videographer, writer and editor. I don’t like any of those.

What I really am is the Chief Storytelling Officer. It’s a good title for a couple of reasons. First, it accurately describes what I do for our clients. I help tell their stories.

Second, I’m T60’s storyteller. I’m in charge of telling T60’s story. It’s not so much about when we started, the type of equipment we use, or listing our clients. Our story is all about our passion for video and storytelling. I’m in charge of getting that message out.

I hope your company has a Chief Storytelling Office… even if they don’t have the title.

–Tony Gnau

The plan was to blog today about our New York shoot, but the trip has turned into quite the adventure and is still ongoing.
Some thunder storms rolled through yesterday afternoon and canceled all the flights to Chicago and beyond. The hotels filled up quickly, which meant… you guessed it… staying the night at LaGuardia Airport.
Ugg. I’ve been up now for over 28 consecutive hours. It’s quite an accomplishment that I can even type this blog post on my iPhone.
Anyway, the post on the NYC shoot will have to wait until next week.
Business travel is so glamorous. :-)
–Tony Gnau

Ground Zero: September 13, 2010

We have a New York City shoot this week. I’m sure we’ll have more in the future, but I think all of them combined will have a tough time competing with our first.

We walked on Ground Zero.

There it is. Top that. It was about as powerful a shoot as I think we’ll ever have.

We produced a story on a former Chicagoland cop who walked from the Windy City to the Big Apple to raise money for fallen first responders and military families.

The shoot at Ground Zero happened by chance. While we were shooting outside the site, one of the Port Authority cops patrolling the area asked what we were up to. After telling her about the walk, she escorted us inside and introduced us to her boss. He then led us onto the site.

Talk about a video that shifted gears.

That’s a good lesson for everyone producing videos. Don’t get married to your plans. A great opportunity presented itself to us, and within 5-minutes we completely shifted the story we were telling.

Powerful, spontaneous moments will almost always trump a good plan.

–Tony Gnau

We have a shoot for a new client this week, and I knew I liked them when they gave us sample videos of the type of stories they like… from Starbucks.

Flat-out… Starbucks produces some great videos. I’ve blogged about them in the past, and they clearly understand the power of storytelling.

They also understand that featuring their own people is a great way to highlight  their company. Your team makes your business work, and they’re also your secret salespeople. They’re great subjects for videos because they’re real… authentic.

Real audiences relate to real people.

–Tony Gnau

Even a little video is better than no video at all. Research tells us people LOVE watching online videos. A short video might be all you need to get prospects to explore your website further.

It’s all about creating a good first impression, and these days you can get professional expertise at a minimal expense. T60’s Elevator Pitch videos are just $500, and we’re not the only ones creating quality low-cost videos.

The point is you can get expert help at a reasonable price. You don’t have to figure out how to do it on your own and risk looking like an amateur. Find a video professional to give you business a polished look.

–Tony Gnau

Music is a great thing to add to a video. It’s important however to pick the right music.

If you’re producing a business video for PR or marketing purposes, make sure to choose royalty-free music. We run into a lot of clients who have a popular song in mind for their videos, not thinking about needing the rights to use that music.

Royalty-free music allows you to set a mood and do it on a budget.

–Tony Gnau

A time out today from our usual video world commentary for an atta-boy to one of our past clients. He’s heading to the Summer Games in London… sort of.

About six or seven years ago we produced a feature on Dr. Stephan Mikulak. He’s an orthopedic surgeon in Southern California and former gymnast. We just found out his son made the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team.

Pretty exciting stuff! Dr. Mikulak was a great guy to work with, and our only regret was that we didn’t get to see him in action in his operating room. We shot an interview, him interacting with a couple of patients in his office, and he provided some other video. It was one of five videos we produced for the doctors in his practice, California Orthopedic Specialists.

While we didn’t get to see him in action… we can’t wait to see his son’s performance. Good luck to Olympian Sam Mikulak!

–Tony Gnau