See this odd design above? This is called a Quick Response code, or QR code for short. The code has a white background with black squares placed based on a particular algorithm that ultimately when scanned by a QR scanner, will take the user to a desired destination based on the code creator’s choosing.

This particular one above leads to guest blogger’s site rookievideopro.com! The one below leads to our site spidvid.com! Take a second and scan them both when you get the chance, it’s pretty fun.

QR codes have the ability to store all sorts of information whether it be a website URL, text, a phone number, and even SMS. QR codes have been around since 1994 but have been mostly popular in Japan where they were created, so you likely haven’t heard of them until the last year or two.You might find these codes on the next bottle of medicine you purchase, or even on food packages at retail stores. I happened to pull my desk drawer open the other day and saw that my bottle of Tylenol had one on it. Here is a great explanation of what some of these little black boxes are:

As you can see, quite a bit of information can be saved in just one little area. So how could this be used in video you ask?! While I’m sure you can come up with plenty of creative ideas, here are a few I could think of off the top of my head:

• Being able to give your viewing audience information, or a site URL that they can visit without them having to write anything down.
• Automatically creating a text message for users to opt into your text messaging service to receive new content.
• Content branding.
• Secret messages and promotions.
• Access to unique content.
• Invitations to special events, like a release party.

Now at this point you’re probably wondering where to find an application to scan these codes, and the answer is probably right next to you, in your hand, or in your pocket. If you have a mobile phone, you can get access to a free QR scanner. Most smart phones have apps that can scan QR codes and tell you exactly what information is embedded in them.

Below is a list of 11 iPhone Apps that will scan QR codes:

• SocialWayne QR Code Reader [ itunes link]
• NeoReader [ itunes link]
• Optiscan [ itunes link]
• StickyBits [ itunes link]
• Barcode [ itunes link]
• QuickMark [ itunes link]
• TagReader [ itunes link]
• Redlaser [ itunes link]
• ScanLife [ itunes link]
• Mirascape [ itunes link]
• Best Buy [ itunes link]

Have an Android phone? They’ve got applications for QR scanners as well!

If you want to generate your own QR code(s) then head over to either Kaywa or Qurify and create one in less than a minute! Happy scanning!

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.

Jeremy Campbell Guest Post, Lists, resources Android, apps, film production, iPhone, media, new media, online video, platform, QR code, QR codes, QR codes in video, Rookie Video Pro, RookieVideoPro, technology, video, video production, video sharing, web video

The most important part of a collaborative video production is the planning phase. Planning out exactly how you are going to begin writing a script, drawing storyboards and finally getting into the production it will prepare you for any unforeseen obstacles and ultimately lead you to success. Seeing as Spidvid is a global social platform for video creators and filmmakers, it is important to explore ways in which collaborators can communicate and share ideas through different time zones and locations. This is where Dropbox comes in; an online cloud based storage system that creates a folder on your computer capable of syncing with any other computer or mobile device that gets authorized. No matter the file type, you gain the ease of dragging and dropping your scripts, audio files, and even large videos right into this folder to be shared.

The Dropbox service provides a free “Basic” package with 2GB of space that you can use for as long as you like, but provides the option to upgrade to 50GB of space for $9.99/month and 100GB of space for $19.99/month. 2GB of space is a lot of scripts, documents and media though, so the free package is fine for most users.

Most email systems today provide the ability to attach a file to your email and this is ok unless you are attaching a file larger than 20MB. Gmail, the free email provider owned by Google won’t allow the attachment of a file any bigger than 20MB. Well, what if you need to share a video concept? Sure you could go through the hassle of converting it to the right video format and compressing it. Then you’d have to wait for the file to upload to YouTube and depending how long the video is, you’ll add another twenty minutes to two hours just in processing time. Ok so let’s assume you did all of that and just spent a good two or three hours of your day. Not a very efficient use of time and if anyone understands time management, it should be a video production team.

Let’s consider the same scenario with the Dropbox application. Dropbox places a folder on your desktop (PC) or in your menu bar (Mac) where you simply drag the file and ‘drop’ it. That’s all. No waiting for processing or converting it to the right format; It simply is ready for your team members to view. Depending on your Internet connection there will be some time spent uploading but you gain the advantage of cutting out the converting and processing times, and you just gained back two hours of productivity. Not bad at all for a free program.

Now I’m going to let you in on a little secret- the 2GB limit is not necessarily a limit. There are multiple ways of increasing your space and they don’t cost a penny. Here are three simple and free ways of increasing Dropbox space:

1.     Complete the Dropbox ‘Getting Started’ List - The website offers 250MB of space on top of your initial 2GB just for completing their getting started list. There are 7 items on the list, so completing them all gives you an extra 1.75GB of space.

2.     Refer your friends - If you use your email at all you’ve most likely gained a hefty list of contacts. For each referral to Dropbox, you gain an additional 250MB of free space. You can extend your space up to 8GB with this.

3.     Share a Dropbox link on your social media profiles - Many people use social media networks for pleasure and for Internet marketing; now you can use them for Dropbox space. Complete all the tasks and yet again, your space will increase.

So now that you’ve created an 8GB Dropbox cloud sharing service, you not only can use it for sharing, but storing files to edit them on the go. Dropbox has expanded its product to be compatible with most mobile platforms too. Simply download and install the app, and start using your files from anywhere.

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.

Jeremy Campbell Guest Post, Lists, Production Tool Dropbox, file sharing, film production, media, new media, online video, platform, Rookie Video Pro, RookieVideoPro, technology, video, video production, video sharing, web video

So I’ve been thinking for awhile about how much I love writing text posts here and hearing back from the readers of Spidvid’s community, but feel I can do more to connect on a more personal level. Over the past months (and in some cases years) I’ve enjoyed watching video bloggers do their thing because it almost seems like the person is looking right at me, and the impact feels much greater than from any text I can possibly read.

If you haven’t really seen a video blog (vlog) before, or if you are looking for some new content to add to your blog reader, my favorites are listed below.

• Daisy Whitney’s New Media Minute is fantastic because she is a top online video analyst who has a fun and bubbly personality.
• Steve Garfield pioneered the space years ago before the format even had the now standard vlog label. He also recently released the book Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business.
• Chris Brogan is fairly new to creating video blogs, but a long time social media maven.
• Rocketboom is a high quality show discussing Internet culture.
• Last but certainly not least iJustine is one of the very best as she exudes passion, creativity, and consistently creates at a very high level.

The initial plan for the Spidvid vlog is to start out fairly basic (like Chris has done above) creating one video blog per week beginning next week, and hopefully even more over time as I get comfortable with the creation process. I will talk about the story and vision behind Spidvid, questions/feedback/ideas from the community, new projects seeking out talented team members, freshly released videos and films, platform features in development, business challenges, and pretty much anything relevant to the growth and success of Spidvid.

So I look forward to soon appearing on your computer, net book, tablet, mobile screen or wherever you want to have me appear. I will do my best to keep each video very short, roughly 90 seconds in length to respect your limited time and attention.

If you have been vlogging for awhile now and have some beginner advice or tips for me, don’t be shy to reach out on Facebook, or connect with me on Twitter.

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 collaborating, connecting, content, film, internet video, media, new media, online video, video, video blog, video blogging, visual, vlog, web video

A big part of the online fabric is now sharing. We have video sharing, photo sharing, blog article sharing, relatively new location sharing, sharing contacts, and pretty much everything else online can be shared with ease.

What I want to briefly outline in this post is video and film content ownership sharing.

We are typically used to seeing studios, producers, creators, or filmmakers own 100% of all content by paying their employees and/or contractors for their services and talent offered. Spidvid includes many interesting elements, and one of the bigger ones is the ability for members of production projects to share ownership with each other. The project leader assigns a percentage for each team member, ranging from 0% to 100%, in increments of 5%. So a team example breakdown could be: producer 30%, creator 20%, director 10%, editor 10%, actor #1 10%, actor #2 10%, actor #3 5%,  and actor #4 5%.

We may one day put a payment system in place so that team members can be both paid and offered a content ownership stake, but for now that can be manually done outside of our platform if money needs to be exchanged.

If you believe in video and film ownership sharing then get a Spidvid account, and enjoy the ability to partner with your team members.

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 Visionary compensation, content, film, film production, media, new media, online video, ownership, partnerships, production, sharing, social media, video, video production