2011 was a year when online video took another big step forward. Just a couple years ago you couldn’t talk about online video without hearing the word “user generated content.” That term seems to be on the way out as more and more quality video entertainment is getting created for distribution.

Video production value is starting to matter more and more to viewers online, which bodes well for our collaborative video production community who create and produce “mid-tail” video entertainment.

Some videos are shot on a mobile phone, uploaded, and go on to find large audiences, but unless you have a talented cat or capture a remarkably random life moment then chances are your unedited videos won’t get many views. If a video creator and his or her team don’t spend a decent amount of time on their content it really shows through, and audiences don’t spend much time watching their content as a result.

It’s now 2012, a new year, and an opportunity for a fresh start to explore new and interesting video projects. I got an email from a video creator on January 1st stating that his new years resolution was to create videos that viewers love and are proud to share with their friends and family. This guy has a perfect mindset heading into 2012! Don’t waste your valuable time developing video projects that you aren’t proud of, and aren’t passionate about as you will create a video that even you don’t want to watch. Delete your worst project ideas and stories, and leave them behind in 2011 where they belong!

If you have a killer video or film project you want to launch then get a Spidvid profile and post your Spidvid project, or you can join teams who are collaborating on Spidvid projects by bidding on them. 2012 holds tons of potential for developing new and original video content as audiences are exploding and eager to consume it. If you need to build a team of partners and collaborators then keep our Spidvid platform and community in mind, and don’t be shy to tap into their super powers.

We wish you and your video projects a very prosperous 2012!

Jeremy Campbell Rant, community 2011, 2012, 2012 filmmaking, 2012 videomaking, collaboration, community, film, film production, film project, film team, happy new year, new media, new years resolution, online video, production community, team building, video, video production, video project, video team, web video

I was out of town for the last week attending the Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle InfoSummit 2011. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life as I was sitting among some of the top marketers in the world. These aren’t just business owners but real life, genuine, not-afraid-of-anything entrepreneurs. While I was sitting in their “diamond luxury” lounge (set up for only some of the wealthiest and most successful of marketers) I found myself talking to a gentleman by the name of Carl. Carl has a multitude of businesses but he was best known for writing on the back of plates.

While his methods were strange, there he was sitting in the corner surrounded by an audience diagramming his thoughts in a mind map on the back of a paper plate and no, he didn’t not obtain the plate from the hotel. He was actually packing them in his carry-on luggage! When his presentation was over, he asked me if I wouldn’t mind holding his video camera and filming a brief demonstration with a few marketers of how his next product will sell. I found myself fumbling the controls because I personally use very high end equipment (more on this later). Surprisingly, I was lost trying to use this little Sony Handycam and after 3-5 minutes of putting on quite a “display” for Carl, I had realized it was fully automatic.

So let me jump to why I have thousands of dollars worth of equipment and why Carl was running a WebTV show with around $300 worth of equipment. Let’s break down a few numbers here. First of all, the WebTV show I run for work is only obtaining around 3,000 views a week and I was hesitant to admit this to Carl after he astounded me with his 15,000 hits per week. Given my show for work is limited by the concepts and ideas approved by my higher-ups, I shouldn’t be making excuses. Here this man was using $300 to create a show that was making 500% more viewership than mine. This is by no means a reflection upon me or my work as my show is fairly limited. I have to have all of my concepts, scripts, graphics and ideas approved by about 3 people before it can even go out to the web. Carl, being the owner of his company and his own boss has pure creative freedom to produce any videos he wants. Even better, he doesn’t have to hold back.

So why are his videos so much more successful?! I was racking my brain trying to figure out what it was. Could it be he had a better graphic designer? A better website? Better quality of video or sound? Maybe he was throwing a bunch of money into marketing his videos. I was dead wrong so I met up with him later over a drink to ask, “How do you do it?”

He leaned over to me and whispered, “You’ve got to entertain them.” He went on to discuss how it doesn’t matter the quality of your footage and it doesn’t matter if it was cinematic. You have to captivate the audience. Make them laugh, cry or even angered. Something to create an emotional response. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The WebTV show that I run is all educational and that’s fine and dandy but we don’t use any cheesy tricks or funny story lines to introduce the content– It’s strictly been teaching.

So the number one secret to great videos is making sure that you can obtain some sort of emotional response out of your audience. A response that is so intense that they must share the video with their friends or even share their opinion of the video with their friends.

If you like this post by guest blogger, Zephan Blaxberg, founder of RookieVideoPro.com please visit our website, the online source for video production tips, tools and gear. Follow Rookie Video Pro on twitter at @rookievideopro for the latest updates and information.

Another video production secret is to partner up and collaborate with the talented individuals in the Spidvid community.

Jeremy Campbell Production Tool emotion, emotional connection, entertain, film maker, film production, filmmaking, hit a chord, production secret, Rookie Video Pro, secret, story, video camera, video creators, video making, video producers, video production, video secret, videomaking, viewer connection

All too often video creators and producers want to use the same production teams over and over again. Is talent recycling a good long-term strategy? I explore this often overlooked topic below.

4 reasons why switching up your video production teams is a good idea:

1. Safe is risky – Quite honestly it’s a big pain and challenging problem building teams around video and film projects. So what many video creators and producers do is save time by just using their same local talent, without exploring opportunities outside their city. Call it a “team building comfort zone” or whatever term you want to use, but bottom line is that having a core team is perhaps a good idea for stability reasons, but learning to be flexible for attracting outside talent can be very beneficial for your projects.  Sometimes good things take time!

2. Fresh perspectives – Teams can get stagnant, so bringing in even one or two new members for every project can help liven things up a little, and ignite more conversations that ultimately beat a better path towards the end goal. Individuals who challenge the status quo should be at the very top of your list.

3. More resources to draw from – Raw human talent is a wonderful thing, and so too are the assets which each member brings to the table. Some examples are videographers who have their own cameras and lighting, producers who have money to invest, composers who have sound equipment, etc. When bids are made on Spidvid projects we always urge the talent who are bidding to specify what they can contribute in terms of skill set, and any equipment, tools, props, or software they have at their disposal.

4. New connections – When you attract new members to your teams the chances are good that a few of them will be valuable connections beyond video projects. As a small non video production example, I’ve been offered places to stay should I decide to visit San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, London, New Zealand, and even Australia. Harness these relationships, and never burn bridges if things don’t go according to plan.

Build the teams you need for your video entertainment projects, join our Spidvid community to gain access to a vast pool of talent from across the world that wants to collaborate with you on developing your content!

Do you have a 5th reason to add? The comments are yours below!

Don’t miss any future articles posted here, have them delivered to your email inbox.

Jeremy Campbell Lists, Production Tool, community Australia, benefits, film production, fresh perspectives, London, Los Angeles, New York, New Zealand, production team, resources, safe is risky, San Francisco, skills, talent, team building, video creators, video idea, video producers, video production

Today the iPhone 4S by Apple (pictured above) launched, and what a beautiful looking product it is! I’m personally not going to buy the iPhone 4S as I already have the iPhone 4,  but I’m anxiously awaiting for the projected iPhone 5 later next year.

I have shot numerous videos on my iPhone 4 including my Spidvid team’s enchilada video embedded below, and really enjoy the experience of using a simple yet powerful device fully equipped with a 720p HD video camera.

How To Make Chicken Enchiladas from Jeremy Campbell on UnleashVideo

The new iPhone 4S video camera is 1080p HD that has stabilization built right in for steadying shaky shots, and video editing can be done in a native way on the device as well.

3 of my favorite iOS apps for mobile video production are:

- ReelDirector: Full editing suite to add titles and credits, cut scenes, add music, and add transitions.

- 8mm: Has a few various lenses to shoot source video with including; 60s, 70s, Sakura, XPro, Noir, Siena, and 1920.

- Movie Looks: Select already filmed clips and select the look  you want including; Black and White, Cold Day, Face Light, Mojito, Pop, Soft Faded, Sunset, Vintage Color, Bleach Bypass, Bronze, Cinematic, Cold Beauty, Cross Process, Grunge, Warm Beauty, White Diffusion, Crime Scene, Curahee, Epic, Hughes, Neo, Night Vision, Ohio, Warm and Fuzzy, Auto Art, Blue Note, Crush, Gold Tone, Hi Con Glow, Platinum, Selenium, Sepia, Action, Connor, Garber, Jake, MC, Optimus, Resident, and War. 40 different looks in all, very cool!

Perhaps the most important thing to my video shoots is my little, trustworthy tripod as pictured below. Steady shots are key and this product provides a wonderful solution.

Mobile video production is ever improving as the tools and technologies are paving a path for new filmmakers and video creators to explore, and prosper from. It will be interesting to see where these products go in the future. Perhaps by 2015 or 2020 the top mobile devices will have RED quality cameras come standard.

Side note: RIP Steve Jobs, you truly changed the world with your passion, vision, and execution. You will be truly missed.

Where do you see mobile video production going? The comments are yours!

Jeremy Campbell Production Tool, product 1080p HD, 720p HD, 8mm, camera, film production, iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone production, iPhone video, iTripod, mobile, mobile camera, mobile film production, mobile production, mobile video, mobile video production, new media, production apps, Reel Director, smartphone production, smartphone video, steve jobs, tripod, video, video apps, video editing, video production

Because we are an influencer, innovator, and evangelist in the filmmaking industry we were sent a copy of the new book “Mastering Celtx” by Writers Guild of America member Terry Borst. Celtx is the top product for managing your film and video pre-production, and also any kind of other professional writings you may do.

This fantastic book includes: The Evolution of Pre-Production, Getting Familiar With Celtx, Project Navigation, Creating and Editing Production Film Scripts, Script Breakdowns, Reinventing Project Scripting, Storyboards, Sketches, Calendaring and Scheduling, Sample Projects, Creation and Admin, User Interaction, Sketch Images, Celtx Community, and other related topics. The book is also very visual with lots of great Celtx screen shots, which was a good idea so readers can learn very easily.

We have read it over, gotten value from its contents, and now want to give the book away as a gift to one of our Spidvid members. If you want to win this book, be sure to get a Spidvid account, and then let us know why you deserve this book more than anybody else. You can tweet us, post on our Facebook page, email us, or comment below to enter. Tell us a story and emotionally engage us to maximize your chances of winning! We will announce the winner tomorrow on July 26th so enter NOW!

P.S. We will throw in a few Spidvid stickers (as modeled below by this little guy) inside the book as well!

If you are a Spidvid member you should be using Celtx for your collaborative projects. Celtx is the perfect pre-production tool to complement your Spidvid projects, and any other film project you want to successfully bring to fruition.

Jeremy Campbell Give Aways, Production Tool audio play, author, book, Celtx, comic book, contest, film, film production, free, giveaway, Mastering Celtx, new media, novel, pre-production, product, screenwriting, scriptwriting, software, story, storyboard, Terry Borst, theatre, video