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

It’s always an incredible thing to be recognized for what you build and contribute to the world! We were recently notified that we were voted Best of 2011 by Daddy Van Productions. Daddy Van Productions produce amazing concert videos each year, and do many other video productions as well. These guys love what they do, respect other companies who contribute to the industry, and as such want to publicly recognize those contributions and efforts.

Spidvid was firmly on their list this year, and here’s what they had to say about us:

Spidvid.com is a necessary resource for filmmakers. Young filmmakers. Filmmakers that want to make it in the industry. Their online community and blog feature some of the better insights into how to build a career as a filmmaker. Video production is an industry that can take you a number of places: directing TV spots, acting, dramatic film, and even concert videos. Spidvid offers those producers who are just starting out an otherwise unattainable resource.

We are honored that Daddy Van Productions thought of us, and really love what they do in video production as well. They have collaborated with some of the world’s biggest bands including: Nine Inch Nails, Aerosmith, Maroon 5, Motley Crue, Rascal Flatts, Dave Matthews Band, and countless others, so it certainly is humbling that they gave us the big nod. Thanks guys, rock on!

Jeremy Campbell Mention, News Aerosmith, award, bands, best of 2011, concert production design, Daddy Van Production, Dave Matthews Band, groups, honored, Maroon 5, Motley Crue, new, Nine Inch Nails, online video, production resource, Rascal Flatts, spidvid, thanks, video production

We’ve been getting lots of positive and a couple negative pieces of feedback over the last couple months for collaborating with talent on Spidvid. For the most part video creators, filmmakers, actors, and other talent are having excellent experiences on our collaborative platform which is great to hear, but a couple of issues have come up including payment to talent who didn’t complete the work, and lack of communication and involvement.

Below are 3 tips to get the most out of talent on Spidvid

1. Talk to them – The most effective way to build solid relationships with users on our site is to speak to them directly. Whether that’s in person (which is ideal), over the phone, or on Skype, make sure that you establish verbal communication before any formal collaboration begins.

2. Outline objectives and goals – Before doing anything be sure that everyone on the team is on the same page. If an editor is to edit a video then the elements which need to be completed should be clearly laid out on the table up front. If the editor can’t do everything needed, then an alternative individual should be attracted. Establish milestones, which lead up to the end goal of getting the video or film completed and ready for distribution.

3. Be careful with financial compensation – If you intend on paying someone who you’ve connected with on Spidvid, first be sure that a firm deal is in place. We don’t yet have a payment solution in place inside of Spidvid, so if you are paying someone via PayPal or on another third party payment site, you may want to have signed papers in place to protect yourself. So when the work gets done, you pay. Or maybe you pay 50% up front, and the other 50% when it gets completed. We will eventually be accountable for financial transactions between our community members when our internal payment solution is implemented, but right now we can’t be as all deals are externally happening outside our site.

These are 3 simple things to keep in mind when collaborating on video projects via Spidvid, and elsewhere on the Internet for that matter. Understanding them will ensure a smoother Spidvid experience, and ultimately projects getting completed safer and more quickly.

Keep updated on tips for getting more out of Spidvid, have our posts delivered to your email inbox. And join the other 11,338 people by following us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.

This article is sponsored by the project management degree program at SMMU.

If you are interested in learning about project management, many universities offer a project management degree online for individuals with a busy schedule.

Jeremy Campbell Lists, Production Tool, Rant, community actors, film, film collaboration, film tips, filmmakers, filmmaking, new media, payment, payment platform, spidvid, team building tips, video, video collaboration, video creators, video production, video project, video project collaboration, video project management, video project tips, video tips

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!

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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