Tag Archives: video production

I hate missed opportunities. There are a lot of businesses out there producing marketing videos, but in many cases they fall short.

Maybe the production value stinks. Just because everyone has a video camera in their phone doesn’t mean they know how to shoot and edit good video.

HOW SOME VIDEOS GO WRONG

Maybe there’s no story. Storytelling is an art. Professionals like myself dedicate our lives to honing our craft. Storytelling is a skill just like anything else.

Unavailable resources are another cause. Sometimes the video you need to tell the story just isn’t available.

Throw in laziness and you can build quite a laundry list for why some marketing videos miss their mark.

If your videos are suffering from any of these things… stop. Stop making them. You could be doing your business a big disservice.

THE STORY BEHIND THIS STORY

Where’s this triad coming from? Well, thanks for asking. Major League Baseball. Actually, it’s mlb.com. They posted an article yesterday about all the various ballpark across the country performing tributes to the people of Boston. They all played “Sweet Caroline” during their game… a Fenway Park tradition… and people ate it up.

The story was great. The accompanying video… terrible. The article mentioned a bunch of ballparks, but the edited video only showed a few. As a Cubs fan, I was bummed they didn’t have any shots from Wrigley Field.

This wasn’t a marketing video, but it still got me thinking about them.

WHY THIS MATTERS

People who are watching your videos are busy, and they’re all video critics. They’ve seen good and bad videos, and they can spot a bad one a mile away. That means if you’re churning out bad videos, you’re probably leaving a bad taste in their mouths.

I was really excited to watch the mlb.com video, but I left it feeling mad. It was a total let-down.

Watching a bad video is irritating. It’s a waste of time. Your audience is going to judge your business by those videos, so why would you put out garbage?

Make sure to produce something you can be proud of.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

The Boston Marathon bombing has rightly captured the American people’s attention. It was a horrific attack and many of the images will be etched in our minds forever, and believe it or not there’s a lesson there for business leaders and marketing professionals.

VIDEO RULES

I was talking with a friend yesterday who mentioned all the stories he had read, and all the photos he had seen covering the terrorist attack. His comment, “You know what, none of it compares to the video.”

He’s right. The explosion, the chaos, the heroes who stepped forward to help… the Boston video was awe-inspiring. It’s what video does better than any other medium. It transports the viewer to the scene.

WORKS FOR BUSINESSES TOO

Corporate leaders can take advantage of this ability as well. They can use video to transport customers and prospects to their business via the web.

Good video paired with a compelling story makes a great impression on people.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.

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The Masters wrapped up yesterday. I can’t help watching a major golf tournament without thinking about one of our biggest projects ever. In 2006, we produced a DVD for Medinah Country Club that was the mother or all event videos T60 has ever produced.

For those of you not into golf, Medinah Country Club is Chicago’s championship golf club. It has hosted three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and last year… the Ryder Cup. You can be anywhere in the world and say, “Medinah,” and golf fans know what you’re talking about. As a golf fan, you can imagine how honored I was to work on this project.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Club leaders wanted a keepsake they could give to members after hosting the 2006 PGA Championship. Putting on one of golf’s major championships is a huge undertaking. Hundreds of members volunteer a lot of time and effort to make sure every detail is covered. The club leadership wanted to give every member a gift as a thank you.

It’s common at many tournaments for members to get a video… all the highlights, interviews with the golfers, things like that. What the club’s leaders wanted in this case was something different. They essentially proposed producing a 30-minute special on all the efforts to put on the tournament. So while Tiger Woods won the 2006 PGA Championship, he wasn’t the focus of the video… the members were.

See… they understood their audience. GIve the members a highlight video, some may watch, some may not. Give them a video featuring themselves and all their friends… everyone will watch. At the very least, they’ll want to see who made it into the video. It was a great idea, and it was a huge success.

EVENT PLANNING TAKEAWAY

Most events don’t need a 30-minute show produced, but they do need a little something. A short video, maybe 1-3 minutes long is just fine. Something to share with people who attended, those who couldn’t make it and anyone else who might be interested.

Why? People like to know they were a part of something special. Putting it on video and sharing it with them, and allowing them to share it with their friends and colleagues makes them feel like they were.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years. 

See one segment of T60’s video for Medinah Country Club…

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One of the many things I’m considering for T60 this year is whether or not to switch from Final Cut Pro 7 to Final Cut Pro X. For those of you not into video editing, I won’t bore you with why it’s a tough decision. Suffice to say Apple made some software changes and professional editors revolted. Now, Apple is trying to win them back with a marketing campaign, but here’s the crazy part… the campaign’s webpage doesn’t contain any video.

Huh? You read that right. Apple… trying to win back professional video editors… no marketing videos.

TELLING VIDEO PRO’S STORIES

The campaign is called, Final Cut In Action. It features positive articles about how some pros are starting to use Final Cut Pro X and the results they’re getting. “Articles” being the key word here. Six articles… NO VIDEOS!

I can’t believe I’m even writing this. Apple is known for its marketing videos. Shopping for a MacBook Pro? There’s a video. How about an iPhone? There’s a bunch of videos. The Final Cut Pro X page does feature video, but not the page specifically focused on marketing to video professionals.

You know how many of those articles I read? Zero. I briefly scanned them. If they had produced videos to tell those stories I probably would have watch all of them. That’s a missed opportunity.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

I am not a marketer by nature. I provide a tool for marketers to use. However, I know enough that your marketing tactics need to align with your target audience.

I’ve always believed our best marketing tools at T60 are our clients’ videos. I’m proud of the work we do and I’m happy to share it with clients and prospects alike. Having said that… we do have marketing videos about T60. Can you imagine a video production company not using video to tell its own story?

I love Apple products. I’ve been buying and using them for about 25-years. I may still take the plunge and get Final Cut Pro X. I just expected a little something better from the company’s marketing team.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years. 

NAB is the premiere trade show for broadcasting and video professionals, and it’s the subject of tons of tweets, shares and blog posts. One post that caught my eye yesterday came from my favorite royalty-free music site (premiumbeat.com). Its blog mentioned how important it is for NAB exhibitors to have a product launch marketing plan that includes video.

I especially like this subhead… Invest In Great Videos. I wish more business professionals would look at it that way. I’ve met a lot of corporate types who lump video into one of two categories.

VIDEO IS SUPER FUN

First, they think… wouldn’t it be fun to do a video! Well, sure. Video is fun. The problem is they don’t understand it’s also an art. While anyone can “do” a video these days, it takes a skilled professional to produce one that’s going to actually appeal to a broad audience. When you go into it thinking it’s just about fun, you actually miss the golden opportunity capture people’s attention and deliver great content.

THIS IS GOING TO SUCK

Second, some think… ugg, we have to produce a video. They envision a lot of work for them, draining valuable funds and resources that could be spent other places. These are clearly people who haven’t discovered the power of video. They also haven’t realized there are dedicated professionals who can make it a painless process that will provide them with a valuable tool to help sell their products and/or services.

PRODUCT LAUNCH FIRST IMPRESSION

A good video is an investment. When a company launches a new product, a compelling video can make a terrific first impression on consumers. It can not only inform them about what makes the product great, it can actually generate enthusiasm.

See… video is all about emotion. When done right, a good video grabs hold of us. A professional storyteller knows this and finds a way to create something that heightens the emotion they’re looking to elicit.

Is that a marketing tool worthy of an investment?

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.  

Okay, you no longer need convincing. You understand the power of video and want to put it to work for your business. The problem is you’ve never been involved with video production so you have no idea how much your project is going to cost.

Here’s some things a lot of newbies fail to consider…

1. think about the reputation of your company

There are companies that spend tens of thousands of dollars on stationary and business cards, and at the same time they skimp on video production. Think about it. Those business cards and stationary are destined for the recycle bin, but they fork over good money because they want to make a good impression through those things.

A company video will be beamed across the web and possibly live on indefinitely. Someone who comes across it is far more likely to watch that video that read a ton of text about a business. That video is going to be the first impression many people have of that business.

Now, why exactly are these businesses producing videos on the cheap? It’s ridiculous. This is your company’s reputation on the line.

2. video isn’t a widget you buy, it’s art

Video is a creative endeavor. It’s a mistake to go into a production the same way you would build a widget.

You’ve heard of the “creative process?” Guess what… it applies here. When you start a new production there’s no telling what’s going to happen. I’ve had fantastic plans heading into a first shoot, only to scrap everything after a couple of interviews.

Yes, you are paying for a product. At the end of a project, you walk away with a video you can share with your audience. What you are actually paying for, however, is the skill and talents of the person/people putting it together.

Anyone can paint a painting, and these days anyone can shoot and edit video. Talent is what sets one artist apart from the other.

3. you get what you pay for.

I hate to say it, but it’s the truth. You can occasionally find a craigslist producer who knocks your video out of the park. More often than not though if you want to produce a video on the cheap, that’s exactly what you’re going to end up with… a cheap looking video.

In my experience, a lot of business people expect a Mercedes-Benz at Kia prices. In this way, video is like any other business… if you want quality, you have to pay for it.

Don’t let that discourage you though. There are plenty of companies and independent producers who create incredible videos at reasonable prices (cough, cough… T60). You can find value and bargains in video production just like anything else.

–Tony Gnau

Courtesy: suntimes.com

I wrote last Thursday about putting joy into marketing videos. It was in response to a good friend passing away. Later that day there was another passing, and I was thrilled to see one of my journalistic heroes apparently shared my sentiment.

Roger Ebert left us that day. He was my favorite movie critic. I often shared the same opinion as him on movies, but more than anything I just loved his writing. I remembered sitting in my high school’s library and reading his reviews every week.

A lot has been written about him since he passed, and I came across a quote of his in a few places…

“We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.”

That from a man who was battling cancer. It’s further conformation for me that I’m on the right track. Putting joy into our work, in this case marketing videos, is a worthy cause.

Ebert’s funeral is today. A sad occasion for sure, but I’ll do my best to think about all the joy his writing brought me on a regular basis. Then I’ll go about the business of putting joy into my work for my clients and their audiences.

–Tony Gnau

I mentioned yesterday I was going to a memorial service for a good friend, Marty Napoli, Jr. It was a sad but inspiring occasion. He was one of those people who simple shine, and it actually hit me during the ceremony that Marty had what we all need in our marketing videos… JOY!

Marty exuded joy. He was the type of person who made everyone feel better just having been around him. I don’t know about you, but that’s a response I’d like people to have after having watched one of our clients’ videos.

SEE MARTY’S JOY FOR YOURSELF

Marty made cameos in a couple of T60 videos. I shared one yesterday, but as I was driving home from the memorial I remembered another. It happens to be perfect considering this subject matter.

He was in one segment from our Telly Award winning video for Medinah Country Club following the 2006 PGA Championship. Marty was known as the “Mayor of Medinah” and the segment opens with him welcoming people to “his” club.

“Life is so good. I mean look where we’re at. We’re at Medinah. Sun’s shining.” VIDEO– 2006 PGA Championship

Classic Marty. That’s the way he looked at every day… always something positive. Life is so good.

I’ve always felt like the passion I bring to every project shines through, but now I’m going to put a little Marty into every video… I’m going add some joy.

–Tony Gnau

I’m not a Dancing with the Stars fan. I don’t think I’ve ever watched more than 5-minutes of the show. I’m not a hater. It just isn’t my thing, but the other night I saw it on a TV and it literally stopped me in my tracks with some video production inspiration.

What caught my eye was a series of interview shots. They were interviewing people against  some pretty boring walls, but instead of shooting head-on into the wall they placed the camera up against it and shot down the wall at the interview subject. Does that make sense?

The technique was similar to the interview shots in the photos I posted here from shoots we did a while back for the Northern Illinois Food Bank and also Yellow House Children’s Services.

Anyway, all of us are often faced with shooting interviews against boring backdrops. This is a way to spice things up. The change in perspective adds a lot of visual interest.

Clearly, I’ve done this sort of thing before, but seeing it on DWTS really served as a good reminder and even gave me some new ideas. They used the technique in multiple ways with the camera at different heights, the subject in profile and it all worked.

Inspiration can come from some unlikely places. That’s why you always have to keep your eyes open.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO– Northern Illinois Food Bank

VIDEO– Yellow House Children’s Services

You might talk-the-talk when it comes to customer service, but to you walk-the-walk? I shot a motivational speech yesterday at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo regarding customer service, and it spurred some video thoughts.

The speech was given by United Airlines’ Captain Denny Flanagan. He’s a pilot who has single-handedly taken it upon himself to raise the bar when it comes to airline customer service (CBS News story). A bar he admits is really low.

Captain Flanagan mostly told stories about the different things he does to engage with customers and improve their travel experience. He’s been known to buy everyone hamburgers when there’s a flight delay, call the parents of child flying alone to let them know he or she is on the plane, and he even hands out his business card and cell number to customers in case they have problems making a connecting flight. To say he goes above and beyond is an understatement.

What struck me is that most companies have a person like Captain Flanagan working for them. Why in the world aren’t these businesses’ leaders featuring them in videos!? Companies need to make it a priority to single out team members providing excellent service and share their stories with customers.

–Tony Gnau

For the record…United Airlines is a past client, but I am receiving no compensation for this post.