I’ve spoken to video creators and filmmakers who have created a video or film either by themselves or with one other person, and while it’s possible it’s normally anything but ideal. The fact is most of us are good in just one area, and mediocre at the other important elements which round out the entire process. This is usually apparent when the final product has been completed, and the decision isn’t where to distribute to, but rather if distribution actually makes sense at all.

In order to create an entertaining video or film, it typically takes a few people on the team to really pull everything together in a successful way. Sure there are exceptions out there with solo talents such as iJustine, and some other young YouTube talents, but for the most part the “game” is a team sport.

Make it easier on yourself and partner up with the talent you need to make your next production project a success. Grab a free Spidvid account, post your project, and let us help you build the team you need to create some quality entertainment you can be proud of.

Or if you are looking to join a team, then grab an account, and keep your eyes open for interesting projects led by our talented community of creators and filmmakers.

Stay updated on future Spidvid posts via email, or have them delivered to your favorite RSS reader. Or if you prefer social media then follow Spidvid on Twitter, and like Spidvid on Facebook.

Jeremy Campbell community actor, collaboration, community, connect, director, film production, filmmaker, new media, new media model, new production, producer, production team, skills, talent, team, video creator, video production, video team, writer

Acting isn’t a skill that someone is born with, it’s an art form which is developed over a long period of time in which the actor must practice, fail, learn, and eventually grow into a dynamic talent. Because actors are the faces of video and film productions they have immense value to directors, creators, producers, and most importantly the viewers who consume the content.

Mercedes Rose has been an actor in feature films and TV shows, is the voice of Princess Rosalina for Super Mario Galaxy and Mario Kart for Nintendo Wii (very cool!), and has also worked with lots of big brands. Mercedes shares her knowledge and passion for acting through her “The Lazy Actor” vlogs. We have posted a few of our favorites below, so enjoy! Also, be sure to subscribe to Mercedes’s YouTube channel to stay updated on all her future content.

Tip: Tape yourself auditioning.

Bartering with others.

Be positive and confident.

Social media etiquette.

What is it that you’re naturally good at?

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Jeremy Campbell Lists, resources, video blog acting, actor, actress, art, craft, educator, feature film, how to, learn, mario bros, Mercedes Rose, passionate, performer, princess, resources, skill, talent, teacher, tips, TV, video blog, vlog, VO, voice actor, voice actress, voice over

The definition of “crowdsourcing” according to the collaborative writing community over at Wikipedia is: a neologistic portmanteau of “crowd” and “outsourcing” for the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor to a large group of people or community through an open call. In a simpler form I would say it’s the aggregation of talent completing a task together as a team without corporate restriction.

However you want to interpret the meaning of crowdsourcing is up to you, but just understand that the model is changing every form of business in today’s world. Need to crowdsource to raise money for your film, or another important project? Then check out KickStarter. Need an answer to a question you have? Tap the community at Yahoo Answers, or if you have an engaged following then Twitter can work quite well for this too.

If you want to crowdsource video production where do you turn to? I was at an event last night called Startup Drinks which brings together investors and entrepreneurs, and I was trying to explain what Spidvid was all about to a lawyer. I kept my explanation fairly simple (or so I thought) but the concept still alluded him, so I simply said “Spidvid uses a crowdsourced like approach so individuals can create entertaining videos together.” He pretty much picked up on that right away, so I thought what better post to write today than sharing that story.

If our community, and the media want to think of Spidvid as a crowdsourcing platform for video production that’s fine with me. All I care about is that the idea of Spidvid is understood well enough so that it can be effectively spread from one person to the next, and eventually become a meme.

If a crowdsourcing approach interests you for your next video or film project, then quickly grab a Spidvid profile and tap into our production community for the talent you need.

Jeremy Campbell Visionary, community actor, aggregation, community, concept, crowdsource, crowdsourcing, director, editor, filmmaker, model, new media, platform, production, social media, special effects, video collaboration, video creation, video creator, video production, video project, writer

Video collaboration is starting to catch on as video creators, actors, writers, directors, editors, and other production individuals learn how collaboration can benefit the quality of their projects and content. This is a trend we will see to continue to grow in 2010, and beyond. If you want to dedicate yourself to become a video collaboration dynamo follow these 5 easy steps.

#1. Understand and Clearly Layout Your Project Goals

Just like any project you want to succeed at in life you need to outline the desired outcome, goals and objectives. Doing this will allow each individual that’s directly involved to determine what he or she needs to do to contribute the project’s successful conclusion. Some goals may include: creating an entertaining video aimed to inspire the female audience, creating a video that has the viral ability to be viewed by hundreds of thousands or millions of people, being part of a production project with other like-minded individuals who are passionate about the same topic you are such as the environment or political corruption. The more defined each goal and objective is, the higher the probability for the project’s overall success.

#2. Know What Talent You Need

It’s hard to create a quality video or film by yourself, so you need to surround yourself with talented individuals who have different but complimentary skill sets to yours. If you are amazing at writing scripts but can’t shoot a video to save your life, then connect with a quality videographer in your area who can shoot the video. If you are good at shooting videos but have no interest in editing, then find an editor who can take your raw footage and piece it together to tell an engaging story. If you are tired of seeing your sister Alisha in your videos, then reach out and find someone else who can do a better job then she can. Any company CEO will tell you that the most important part of any business are the people, the very same is true with any video project you want to undertake.

#3. Communicate How the Process Will Work

Projects have a beginning, middle, and end. The process for how the project will come together has to be stated right from the start otherwise failure is all but inevitable. Leadership is important in this area so creators and/or producers need to work together to ensure a smooth operation. Be sure to know where individuals are needed as well. For example writers are needed early on for pre-production, actors, directors, and videographers are needed for the on location video shoot, and individuals such as editors are needed for post-production. Have a clear plan in place early on to avoid headaches later on.

#4. Tell Your Team What They Can Expect From the Deal

We are all motivated by different things for pursuing personal projects. It may be financial compensation, credit, or purely out of passion that we’re looking to get involved. Each team member needs to be told what they can expect out of the project so they can determine how much of their time or resources they want to contribute. Also, it’s one thing to promise something and quite another to deliver the goods as expected, so be sure to follow through otherwise it will hurt your ability to team up with others down the road.

#5. All Team Members Should Rate and Review Each Other

After the project has been completed, and the video has been uploaded for distribution, each member should spend the one minute it takes to rate and review each team member. Doing this enhances not only other’s profiles by yours as well. People want to know that they can trust you so they can build longer-term relationships with you. Just like people buy from sellers on eBay who have strong profiles, the same can be said about individuals who have proven themselves with positive feedback from previous projects. Become a quality collaborator and you will find yourself getting more project requests, and more quality ones as well.

Am I missing something? Can you think of a remarkable #6 to add to this list? You don’t need an account to post a comment below so take your best shot, and fire away.

Enjoy this post? Stay updated on all our future ones via email or through your favorite blog reader via RSS. Or if you prefer social media, follow us on Twitter, and fan us up on Facebook.

Jeremy Campbell News actor, creator, director, editor, how to, list, online video, video collaboration, video production, videographer, writer

It’s been under a week since we launched our public beta and to date we’ve been impressed with all of the new video creators, actors, writers, directors, videographers, editors, and others who have signed up to become members of our community. Today I’m going to outline how you can easily create a quality Spidvid profile so that other members of the Spidvid community know that you’re for real, are a quality individual, and are ready to collaborate with them on video production projects.

How to pimp out your Spidvid profile

1. First you need sign up to get a Spidvid account.

2. Check your email account for an email from us and then click on the activation link provided.

3. You are now in your Spidvid account. Next click on the Edit Profile link which takes you to the page where you get to upload your picture, tell your story, provide information about yourself, and include links to your site, blog, and/or social networks.

4. If you are a professional be sure to select (by clicking check boxes) what specific talents you have i.e. an actor, writer, videographer, editor, director, music artist or whatever else you may be involved in.

5. Be sure to upload the best possible picture of yourself because this image will not only show up on just your Spidvid profile, but also on every UnleashVideo.com video page that you were a team member of.

Additional Information

My Website(s): Here you list all of the websites, and social network profile links you want to. For each one you have type it and then separate each one with a comma. i.e. I have http://Twitter.com/JeremyCampbell, http://Facebook.com/JeremyCampbell, http://Spidvid.com, http://UnleashVideo.com.

My blog(s): Same as above except list the link to your blog, or blogs if you write posts on more than one site. Again, separate multiple blog links with commas. Have a video blog? If you do then embed some of your top video blog posts here. If you don’t have a blog then no worries just leave this section blank.

My RSS feed(s): Have an RSS feed link or links for your site or blog? Here’s where you want to list them.

My video(s): This is perhaps the most important section to your profile because here is where you can embed videos which you have created, and helped to produce in the past. Have you uploaded videos to YouTube, Metacafe, Revver, DailyMotion, or other video sharing sites? Great, just copy and paste the video’s embed code here. If you have more than one video you can space the embed codes out so the videos display one above the other on your profile page. You can also just insert links here if you don’t want to embed the videos directly on your profile, but we would recommend placing them here so other members can click play and watch them without leaving.

Summary: Provide a short introduction about yourself, a paragraph or two will do. Show off your creativity, talent, and what type of video production projects you’re interested in being a part of on Spidvid.

I’m passionate about: Everyone is passionate about something and if you’re a Spidvid member that likely includes producing videos. Some other passions could be sports, celebrities, family, pets, or hobbies. People want to connect to others who share their passions so be sure to include at least one.

Education: If you graduated from college or university you should say which one or ones, and what your diploma or degree is in. I’m a two time college dropout (in business marketing and computer programming) so I openly stated that information in this section. School didn’t interest and engage me, but entrepreneurship certainly does.

Work experience: List past jobs and if you have one your current job. If you are a contractor or freelancer you can also communicate that information here as well. If you prefer not to then that’s fine if you want to leave this section blank.

Honors and awards: Are you proud about your past accomplishments? If you were acknowledged for something in your life then please share it here in this section. I look forward to reading about the successes in your life.

That pretty much does it, follow these easy steps and you can have a quality Spidvid profile that tells the world who you are, and what you stand for. If you have any questions about creating a profile then please be sure to contact us, we would love to hear from you.

Jeremy Campbell News about, actor, blog, director, edit profile, editor, how to, information, links, music artist, new profile, pimp out, social networks, spidvid, story teller, video creator, videographer, websites, writer, your story