One of our passions is being able to help fund the dreams of video creators and filmmakers, as they produce what could be the next big video or film entertainment hit online. One of the video creators we helped to fund on KickStarter was Melissa Center who is the creator of the web series “Missed Connections Live”. MCL is based on the missed connections section of Craigslist where people shoot messages in there with hopes that whoever they came across in the physical world would then re-connect with them online.

Part of our funding deal with Melissa (for season 2) was that she run all of her past production projects through Spidvid, and we would help promote and market her content to the web’s viewing audience.

On Monday her first Spidvid project was completed, and episode 1 (NYC Cafe Hostess hopes to find mystery Economist Man) of Missed Connections Live was later uploaded for distribution as embedded below.If you like episode 1 then you will love Melissa’s future episodes even more, so be sure to subscribe for weekly releases, and other quality entertainment from Spidvid’s collaborative production community too.

Missed Connections Live Episode 1 from Melissa on UnleashVideo

If you have a web series, or short video or film that you would like to run through Spidvid’s system then grab a free account, complete your production project with your team, and get your content uploaded so it can find audiences who crave watching new entertainment.

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Jeremy Campbell New Project, community content, craigslist, creator, film, film production, internet series, Melissa Center, Missed Connections Live, online series, online video, production project, season 1, season 2, video, video creator, video production, web series

This is a guest post by a remarkable video script writer friend of mine, Jerry. Jerry offers tips for what to look for in a video production school, and tells his own personal story based on his experience.

I went to college for video production, much to the dismay of my family. They were sure I was making a huge mistake, and they let me know that they thought I should reconsider my choice. This went on for months leading up to me going to college, but I didn’t pay their remarks or worries any heed. In the end, I didn’t end up with a job in video production, but I can’t say that I regret my decision. Life tends to take you where it wants you to go not matter what you think. I learned a lot more than video production at college, and these things have become handy in my current career as a writer.

I attended The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and I learned both audio and video production there. I went at a bad time however, because they revamped the course while I was in the middle of it. It used to be strictly by their itinerary, and I just took the classes they gave me. In the middle of my education there, they switched it to electives, and you could major in audio or video production, and take more specialized classes. Because I was half way done with my education at this point, this did nothing to help me. In fact, I missed out on quite a few classes because of it.

Though my video production dreams didn’t pan out, I’m happy to say a friend of mine now has a great job, and has a great career ahead of her. She works in video production for a company that does a lot of high profile work for large corporations and even a few sports teams. I also have a lot of friends who were successful in concert production jobs, and I have run into a few of them at concerts I have attended in recent years.

If you want to go into video production, do your homework first. Find a bunch of possible schools, and have a good look at what classes they offer. Find out how much hands-on training they offer, and see if they have an internship program. There are quite a few schools for video production, but you don’t want to waste your money on the wrong one. Visit each school before you decide, if you can that is, and ask about graduate success stores and job assistance after graduation.

If you are attending a video production or film college and are looking to start a project, or find a project to collaborate on with others, why not grab a free Spidvid account and get started today.

Jeremy Campbell Guest Post art, college, film, film production, information, Pittsburgh, school, story, tips, video, video production

To all of the video creators, filmmakers, writers, actors, directors, producers, editors, story tellers, VFX and music artists reading this right now, get out and enjoy this beautiful July weather. Better yet film a video, and collaborate with our community to give it the most entertainment and production value possible.

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So you’ve created an entertaining video or short film with your team, and are now ready to tell its story to the world’s viewing audience, fantastic. Many individuals who create video content aren’t the best promoters and marketers of it, so I’ve composed a list of tips for what should be done after a video project is complete.

1. Video metadata – You are likely going to want to upload your video or film to the web for distribution, and possibly monetization also. How many viewers find videos online is by searching for them so a video’s title, description, and tags have to be of quality. The title must grab a viewer’s attention and make him or her go “wtf?” I have to watch this right now! The description is important because lots of information can be written which can turn up in search results. Using lots of broad and narrow tags is good since lots of viewers discover relevant content using this piece of the metadata.

2. Distribution – When you want to deliver your videos online there are many options to choose from. YouTube is the first video sharing site that will come to mind, but competition for viewer attention is pretty intense there. To get mass distribution quickly, many video creators are now turning to TubeMogul which allows for uploading to multiple sites simultaneously. To release video or short film content as a team, you can turn to our platform as a solution for accomplishing that goal.

3. Marketing – Social media is becoming the go to way to promote online videos. You should be constantly growing your profiles on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, within the blogosphere, and especially in the video sharing communities you distribute in. Advertising can be spent to attract more views, and it’s a good thing to experiment, just be sure to pay attention to the campaign analytics and statistics to see if it makes sense to buy similar ads for your next video. Some bloggers who embed video content drive huge view counts for creators, so be sure to connect with bloggers in your niche to see if they are interested in showing the video to their audience.

4. Comments - If someone spends the time to leave a comment on your video you should thank them and respond to them if appropriate. Normally less than 1% of viewers write a comment, so be sure to treasure the ones who do because they are your fans who may talk about you or your video. Word of mouth and word of mouse viewers are the ultimate marketing vehicles for your video content.

If you aren’t into promoting and marketing  your entertaining video content, you may want to partner up with an individual or two who’s talented in this important area. Our community has individuals who can increase your video’s view count, so you can focus on what you do best which is create or produce videos.

If you read this whole post you have to grab our RSS feed, or have all new posts delivered to your email inbox. If you are into social media be sure to follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

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New technologies in video production equipment combined with the emergence of online video viewing, has made it possible for anyone with some talent and passion, to become a respected video creator in a short period of time. Video production equipment is relatively inexpensive, and can be mastered quite quickly with easy to use controls and features. Even the upcoming release of the iPhone 4 is going to have 720p HD video baked in.

While there is a lot more to the fine art of video creation than just having the right equipment, the accessibility of video production tools has encouraged many amateurs to simply jump in and give it their best shot. Understanding the basics of video production equipment is perhaps the first step to becoming the next Steven Spielberg.

As you prepare to make a new video or short film, it’s a good idea to determine what equipment you will need for an ideal shoot. Below is some of the primary equipment you will need, and some basic considerations you should keep in mind.

• Video cameras – From ENG cameras that are slightly larger than your average camcorder, to Studio cameras, there are infinite choices when it comes to cameras. There are way too many cameras to list here, but $500-$2,000 should get you a high enough grade camera that can provide quality image resolution for video scenes.
• Stabilization – This equipment includes tripods, shoulder mounts, camera dollies, and other related hardware which keeps the camera steady. Stabilization equipment ensures that video production is smooth for viewers to watch. A tripod is one of the best investments that can be made for shooting video effectively, and tripods are usually quite inexpensive to purchase.
• Quality lighting – Some professionals argue that lighting is perhaps the next important thing to video production after the camera selection. If you can’t clearly see the actors in a video, or if there were weird shadows being cast on the set, you can almost hear the viewers vigorously clicking to find another video to watch. Light pricing ranges dramatically in cost, and can be as expensive or even more expensive than the camera itself. Focusing the light, and reflecting light successfully is a whole other post that I may one day write.
• Audio – While many video cameras contain a microphone to capture sound, creating a professional quality video requires separate audio equipment. If the video’s sound is good but the video is of low quality viewers are more tolerant of that, versus good video and poor sound. Just like cameras, there is a multitude of audio equipment options available. Be sure that the video’s audio is clear, clean, and crisp to keep your viewer’s ears happy.
• Editing software – Unlike film, which must be edited manually, video can be edited from the comfort of your home computer. Using professional video editing software you can add transitions, trim scenes, and cut the whole project together seamlessly to tell a story. Final Cut Premiere or Final Cut Pro are two good affordable options. Many new computers now come standard with video editing software, but most of those are only good for home videos. Investing properly in quality editing software is money well spent.

These are the five most important pieces of equipment and software to consider before getting into video production. Having the right mix of these five will get you well on your way towards creating quality video entertainment that viewers will enjoy watching, and sharing with their friends.

Equipment is only the first step though, so if you need the next piece of the puzzle which is talent to add to your team, don’t be shy to create a Spidvid profile and then tap the expertise of our production community.

Jeremy Campbell resources camera, editing, editing software, equipment, how to, lighting, talent, team, tripod, video, video creation, video entertainment, video equipment, video production