Behind the Scenes at SVG: On Set
Joe, our Shopkeeper, and Brian, the Director of Photography line up the next shot: an insert of addressing envelopes.
Skillman Video Group spends so much time helping our clients market their companies that we rarely get the opportunity to market ourselves. When I began my work at SVG, I decided to make a cinematic commercial for our social media services, something more broad than our usual work.
It takes a lot of work to make a commercial. Scheduling, finding locations, casting, budgeting, lighting, food, etc. As if that were not enough, I set our video in a “turn-of-the-century” shoppe, which requires extra work with wardrobe, set decoration, and props. But I felt the greater production value was worth the extra investment in time.
After searching for several weeks for an appropriate, available location to serve as an Old Timey Shoppe we decided to build a set in my basement. The plan had the advantage of giving us freedom to do whatever we wanted, short of setting the building on fire, on our own schedule. It had the disadvantage of requiring that we build and decorate a set from scratch. My background in set design made it easy, despite the extra work involved.
I knew that the most important part of making a high quality video production was the cinematography. We shot the video on the Cannon 7D, a camera I’ve talked about in a previous blog post, that captures a “film-like” look. We also had quite a few more lights than we usually use in our small shoots, another element vital to achieving a cinematic look. Our cinematographer used not only his lights and camera, but also drew on his experience as a photographer, gaffer, and grip in Hollywood films.
Christina Skillman, Joe, and Francis rehearse their scene in front of Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge.
The set, performances, costumes, and cinematography combined to make a short that showed off what SVG can do with a social video if we “pull out all the stops.”
I cashed in all favors owed to me and had great help from friends and local businesses. Many of the props came from Freight House Antiques and Mad Props. Our costume designer, cinematographer, and actor were good friends from the film business. Our supporting cast were the people of SVG. I even tapped the assistance of my local wine and cheese shop, Formaggio Kitchen, for our exteriors. It’s cool what you can get when you just ask.
If you’d like to know more about how we made our social video just leave a comment. Also check out the Behind the Scenes photos on our Facebook page.
Next up: editing. Stay tuned.
Legal Marketing Video @ Fields and Dennis
Christina takes a moment to pose before we role cameras on our legal Videomercial for Fields and Dennis.
This week we shot a legal marketing video at Fields and Dennis, a family law and estate planning firm. This was another example of our quick and easy production approach like our work here. We shot a short one minute video in just a couple hours at the firm’s offices.
First impressions are everything in marketing, so it’s important to introduce yourself on your website. A short video gives a friendly face to your company, introduces visitors to your services and indicates that you take what you do seriously enough to invest in a video production. More and more companies are creating video content, and it is quickly becoming a standard marketing tool. If you make a short and sweet video it will entice viewers to read more about what you do and ultimately contact you.
The client had prepared a short script, but when we shot it, the video was about 2 minutes long. Over the course of several takes we worked with the client to cut the video down to one minute. That’s the perfect length for a quick introduction. We like to call these short marketing pieces Videomercials.
Check out other examples of Videomercials on SVG’s portfolio page. Here are a few more reasons you might want to invest in a Videomercial for your company.
On Writing Content
Stephen King said of writing, “The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
We think that is why many businesses don’t make marketing videos. They don’t know how to develop content. That’s our speciality. Skillman Video Group works with clients to develop content for social videos. We can do the writing and you can focus on your day-to-day business.
SVG starts with a dialogue about your organization. We ask lots of questions not just to get to know who you are and what you do, but also search for an angle for our script and find your audience. We take copious notes and eventually pitch some ideas to you. SVG comes back quickly with a script that focuses your ideas into a short, understandable, and effective video. Together your company and SVG edit the script into something we shoot.
But revisions don’t end there. There’s a saying in the business: “You make three films. The one you write, the one you shoot, and the one you edit.” Together with you we keep revising, editing, and improving your video throughout scripting, shooting, and post-production. Our work doesn’t end until you get the perfect marketing video.
This might sound like a lot of work, but it moves fast and we make it so easy. There’s nothing to be scared of call today.
Marketing vs. Advertising
Advertising videos and marketing videos sound the same, but we’d like to make a helpful distinction.
Advertisements are a net. Marketing videos are a spear. The net is good for catching a bunch of small fish if its wide enough. The spear is better if you want to catch something big.
Advertisements speak to the widest possible audience and only have a few seconds to get the public interested. Once you’ve attracted your audience with an ad you better have a good marketing campaign to get them to act. Marketing videos have a targeted audience that is willing to watch you for a much longer time. Marketing videos let you talk about what your company does in depth. They speak directly to your customers, clients, candidates, etc. in B2B language that a general audience might not understand. A marketing video shows more examples and demonstrations. You can tie the text and pictures on your webpage to visuals in the video. You can build a social media strategy around the video.
You can just do more with a marketing video.
We created a marketing video with Bedford Montessori School to attract new students. The length of the video allowed them to describe Montessori method and its advantages in greater detail than could be done in a 30 second ad. We used many visuals to illustrate the unique educational system which would have been left on the cutting room floor of a TV spot. We spoke in depth directly to the audience: parents.
A marketing video will give your company a greater ROI than an ad and transform more potential clients into actual clients. They are great for customer retention too — You can even speak to you current customers and update them on new developments in your business like a blog. If you don’t know how to market your company with video, Skillman Video Group will develop your content and pitch with you in addition to all the technical details of video production. Marketing videos are our speciality.
Action!
SVG gives you more attention and direction than the unfortunate Hollywood Extra 9413
When a director says “Action” that exactly what he wants to see: Characters with an objective doing things to each other to achieve their objective. Actors think in these terms. What am I trying to do in this scene? What is my obstacle? Who am I working with or against? Why?
It works the same way in marketing. What are you trying sell? To Whom? Why? We help answer these questions by developing your content and writing marketing copy – essentially scripting your lines. We also prepare you so that when the camera roles you sound and look confident and natural.
I talked about preparation on our blog. We had one interviewee struggling to get through her prepared lines. We suggested that she imagine that she was meeting Christina Skillman, our director, at a networking event, and that the client had to convince her to join the company in under a minute. It was a familiar scenario for the interviewee. When she thought in those objective-based terms her delivery was so natural and convincing Christina was ready to submit her resume.
That’s the kind of performance tweak we can suggest to take your video to the next level. Skillman Video Group can also develop content, allowing you to focus on your day-to-day work.
YouTube Aims to Improve Quality of Video Production
Recently, Youtube has gone out and acquired two new companies with the intention of improving the visual quality of the videos that are uploaded to the website. One of these companies is Green Parrot Pictures, an Ireland based business that specializes in improving video quality. Youtube is looking to create a better image from homemade and amateur videos such as for example the ones coming in from Japan recently documenting the wreckage. The service will also help to lower the bandwidth of the videos uploaded.
The other Youtube acquisition is the video production company Next New Networks, which will specialize in helping to improve and accelerate the video production process in order to bring more money to Youtube’s content partners. Youtube’s content partners would include those that have established Youtube channels, which are making money by allowing for display advertisements to be posted next to the videos.
It would appear that through the acquisition of these two companies, Youtube is attempting to create more consistent and quality video channels to compete with media outlets such as cable television and Hulu, which broadcasts high quality video programs. Youtube’s steps toward creating a inexpensive and easier way to create and upload high budget caliber video at a low budget cost is great news for all content creators. It also means that Youtube is investing in the idea that more people will be turning to the internet for their entertainment programming. This is a golden opportunity for a Medium to Small business to market their product or service using video on the #3 search engine on the web – YouTube. With their new focus on quality, YouTube is hedging their bets that more and more people will be looking for their entertainment and information from Social Media as opposed to traditional Broadcast or Cable television. Is your company taking advantage of Social Media and video marketing to their fullest? At Skillman Video Group, our service Social Video Marketing, uses all aspects of Internet Marketing - from high quality video to SEO, web design, blogging and Social Media – to both drive more traffic to your site and then convert those visitors into business prospects. We have our own Youtube channel, which we continue to grow by posting our high quality videos and directing others to the channel through our various social media outlets. Ask today how Social Video Marketing can increase business for you!
To see the type of enhancements Green Parrot will provide to Youtube users, follow this link: http://www.greenparrotpictures.com/stabilization.php
SVG Video of the Week: Old Spice Man Demonstrates the Power of Social Video Marketing
In 2010 Old Spice unleashed a commercial featuring a shirtless actor named Isaiah Mustafa who became famously known as the old spice guy turned into a viral video sensation. In case you missed it, check out the original commercial here:
Recently a new Old Spice commercial has been released, and below is a video with a behind the scenes look at what went into creating the 30 second spot. Looking back on what Old Spice was able to accomplish with Viral video marketing, it is important to point out the great decisions they made.
First and foremost, they created the original commercial, which was funny, clever, and garnered multiple viewings once it was put on Youtube. After that, Old Spice capitalized on this success by filming short clips of the Old Spice Guy answering questions sent to him via Twitter. These weren’t questions sent by anyone however. The Old Spice Guy was creating video responses to famous people such as Ashton Kutcher and his wife Demi Moore. In the Twitter world, Ashton Kutcher has about 6 million followers, which means that when he tweets about the Old Spice Guy responding to his question, a lot of people are going to see it and then watch the video. In doing this, Old Spice used celebrity Twitter user to generate an enormous and invaluable amount of free advertising.
The is just one of the many success stories of online social video marketing and just another reason why it is important to have an online video presence. What’s great about Social Media is that it completely blows open the box of traditional TV or radio advertising. The sky is the limit as far as what can be possible in marketing business of all sizes.
A Rise in Online Video Marketing for Small Businesses
A recent study indicates a rise in Online Video Marketing for Small Businesses. Many small businesses which don’t specialize in using the internet to promote their companies are starting to catch up with the times. More and more companies are getting websites so customers can learn about their services, and they are also beginning to embrace the idea of adding video to their websites.
In a study done by Ad-ology, it was found that “45% of small businesses are planning to increase their companies’ resources for online video in the coming year–that’s nearly double the number from last years similar survey.” The study also says that last year the number was only at 28%, which could mean that in the next couple years there will be a major increase in the online activity of the small businesses become more and more accustomed to social media and the advantages of having a website, it would seem that video advertising through these different channels may not be far behind.
Consider the success that businesses have had utilizing online video marketing. The company Blendtec, which sells blenders among other appliances, launched a viral marketing campaign with its “Will it Blend?” videos. The videos have had tremendous success as they showcase the Blendtec blender easily shredding everything from an iPhone 4 to a Rubicks cube. The point here is that the traditional 30 second commercial is no longer the only option, and with platforms such as Youtube, businesses now possess the ability to really think outside the box when it comes to marketing. So what’s does this mean to you as a Small Business owner? That technology has opened the doors wide open to market your product or service to a wider audience than TV, radio or print ads ever could – and all for a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. The Producers at Skillman Video Group have the expertise and experience to not only create a beautiful video, but to also provide a platform to drive more traffic to your site through the use of video marketing, Social Media and SEO thereby increasing business. The study also indicates that it in the modern advertising and marketing world, it is no longer just enough to have a web site, but that web site can and must be used in a larger marketing strategy. With Skillman Video Group’s new service, Social Video Marketing, we can help Small Business’s create a market for themselves at an affordable cost. Call today!
Here are two links referencing the Ad-ology study:
http://www.reelseo.com/small-businesses-embrace-video/
SVG Video of the Week: Frito Lay “Crash the Superbowl” Video Contest Winner
The Video of the week is an advertisement for Doritos that aired during Super Bowl XLV and tied for first place in the USA today admeter, which consists of a selection of consumer panelists who rate the superbowl ads. What makes this commercial unique is that it is a fan made video, entered into the annual Frito Lay “Crash the Super Bowl” contest. In this years contest, thousands of entries were made, and only six (Three for Doritos and Three for Pepsi Max) were picked to air during the big game. In doing this Doritos was able to score a top ad without spending a ridiculous amount of money on special effects or celebrities like some other advertisements that did no fare as well.
The real genius behind the Crash the Superbowl Contest is how much free marketing Doritos gets by hosting it. First of all they are able to connect with consumers by allowing them to not only create their own commercials, but also vote on which ones they think are the best. So as people watch all the contest entries online to decide which one is best, they are going to have Doritos on their mind.
Most importantly, this contest stimulates conversation. People who enter the contest will talk about different ideas for a commercial. Once they enter a commercial they will tell all their friends and family to watch it and most likely post their commercial to Youtube or create a Facebook page in order to promote the ad. It will then be viewed by all their facebook who can then pass it on to their friends and family. Now imagine thousands of entries doing this and Frito Lay has a lot of people talking about Doritos and Pepsi Max, all while waiting in anticipation to see if the entry they want to win will air during the Super Bowl!
For more news on the “Crash the Superbowl Contest” and other information about video contests check out Video Contest News: www.videocontestnews.com
Marketing Videos For Private Schools
Private schools and other educational institutions can benefit greatly from a high quality video promoting the experiences they offer. Parents tend to enroll their children in private schools because they are looking for a quality of education absent from public school systems. Private schools can cost thousands of dollars per year, and like any large investment, enrolling a child in a private school can be a difficult decision.
A video is an excellent way to convey the experience a private school offers because it affords the school to showcase the actual environments children will be engaged in. Videos can introduce teachers, show samples of classroom activities, and impress viewers with shots of a particularly beautiful campus. In watching a video, viewers can gain an immediate understanding of how the school functions and the quality of education they can expect their child to receive there.
Skillman Video Group has produced a number of videos for educational institutions including the Yamaha Music School, where we have produced two marketing videos (one for their Premiere School here in Boston and also for their National program out of Los Angeles, CA), several all school concerts and their Private lesson recitals. Viewers are able to see for themselves what a child’s experience would be in this program, an invaluable factor in determining whether or not they finally choose to enroll their student at the school.
Video Marketing can be a great tool for private schools looking to demonstrate the quality of their programs to internet viewers. Contact Skillman Video Group today to learn more about video marketing and how our services can benefit your business!
Two minute SVG videomercials capture the attention of website visitors as the power of video vividly showcases the excellence of a product or service.
Our Social Video Marketing service is a holistic approach to internet marketing. It increases our clients’ return on investment and expands their presence in the marketplace.
SVG offers small businesses a simple and cost-effective way to increase sales through online video advertising.
