Many indie video creators and filmmakers who attempt to produce entertaining horror videos and films often make many common mistakes, leaving their content looking very amateurish and cheesy. There are a few things to keep in mind before even sitting down to write a script. I offer 3 tips for creating non-cheesy horror videos below, if you have a 4th tip please add it in the comments.

1. Scary music is key – Have you ever watched a horror film without sound? If you have, then you know that what you are seeing doesn’t have the same emotional impact that the composed music element provides. A good film score builds suspense, and unleashes a climax that can scare even the most manliest man you’ve ever met. Look extensively for a quality sound designer if you are creating a horror video, because if the sound doesn’t match the video, or the score is poorly executed then it will come off as cheesy and have viewers laughing instead of screaming. There are many amazingly talented composers and sound designers in our Spidvid community.

2. Go easy on the makeup – Fake blood on victims, and caked on makeup can leave your lead antagonist actor looking more like a clown, rather than the scary “bad guy” you’re striving to create. Makeup artists are so important when on set for horror projects, so be sure to get ones who have related experience and can successfully pull off the unique look you envision in your mind.

3. The bad guy is critical – A horror story always centers around the bad guy who’s purpose is to cause havoc on people’s lives. The audience has to fear this character, understand their power, and must side with the story’s hero to defeat the bad guy and save the day. Try to create an original bad guy, because all too often this character is overly cliche, and as the story builds it’s just too predictable for viewers to guess how it will all end. Have at least 2 or 3 twists and turns to keep the audience guessing what the bad guy will do next, and how he or she will make it tougher for the hero to ultimately prevail.

Have a 4th tip to add? The comments are yours below!

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Jeremy Campbell Lists, Production Tool, resources antagonist, bad guy, Chucky, common mistakes, composing, creating horror, film, film score, film tips, filmmakers, filmmaking, good guy, hero, horror films, horror videos, makeup, movies, production tips, protagonist, sound design, tips for filmmakers, video creators, video tips, videomaking, videos

For every well created entertaining video, there are thousands that are just plain awful and find audiences of 6 people. Just remember that when creating a video, you need to showcase your passion through the lens of the camera, and capture your audience`s undivided attention.

Below are 4 tips for creating and marketing your video entertainment.

1. Write Engaging Scripts – Most online video creators spend very little time on their scripts, and it clearly shows. Many creators are in such a hurry to start filming their project that they neglect what all remarkable films are built upon, and that`s solid writing and storytelling.

Take your time during this phase of the project by thinking out compelling characters that will resonate with your audience, and scenes filled full of interesting situations. If you want your content to stand out, you need to focus on creating something original but at the same time take a look at some of the top viewed and rated content on YouTube or UnleashVideo to get a sense of what works and what doesn`t.

Online audiences expect to watch video content that pushes the envelop more than network TV shows do, so don`t be afraid to tap into your inner Seth McFarlane and be radically original. I recommend that you write your scripts using Celtx, as the software is free and provides a simple and elegant solution for all your pre-production needs.

2. Production Value Matters – If you saw this year`s breakout film “Super 8“ then you likely know that production value is key, as the filmmaking kids in the film were constantly out to get as much as they possibly could for free. You don`t have to compete with Steven Spielberg, but you need to get the basics right. Simple key things such as quality sound, lighting, and shot selection.

Make sure that the dialog between characters can be easily heard, which means that you need to invest some money into sound equipment. Every video creator and filmmaker should have a decent camera, sound equipment, and lighting at the very least.

Once you have got solid acting talent on your team and a tightly written script, then your execution and production values will next determine the success of your project. Don`t forget that online viewers can watch anything they want, so your productions have to stand out from the 99% of crap out there. It`s trial and error, so see what concepts stick with your viewers, and then figure out how you can improve everything by 10x to appeal and reach a wider audience.

3. Understand Your Medium – Chances are good that your video entertainment will be online, at least to start. The ideal length for most online videos is five minutes or less. You need to understand that attention spans are shorter online, so prepare your script and production accordingly. Within your 5 minutes or less you need a beginning, middle, and end.

You need to hook viewers within the first 3-5 seconds or your video will either be turned off, or will be pushed to the background in favor of a text message. Also remember that many viewers watch video alone while online, but are inclined to share content if it will raise their social status in a positive way. Don`t hesitate to ask viewers to share your video with their friends, family, and followers at the end, just remember to do it in a friendly and appreciative way.

4. Marketing, marketing, marketing – What many creators and producers do when they first release their videos and web series is get Twitter profiles and Facebook pages, and start yelling and screaming at people to pay attention. Doing this is like yelling into a chasm that`s filled with the echoes from thousands of people who simply don`t care. Attention is too valuable and coveted now, so you can`t expect to earn it by broadcasting content that only matters to you. Marketing is all about getting people to know, like, and trust you and your content.

The most effective way to build a grassroots marketing campaign is giving to getting. It`s a slow process but in order to receive attention, at least in the beginning, you must pay attention to what others are doing and engage with their content. If you come across a web series that is in the same niche is yours then comment on their videos, blog posts, and jump into the conversation with them on Twitter and Google Plus. Sharing is caring, so if you come across outstanding video entertainment then please give your followers a break from your content and share others instead.

These are just some basic tips, but ones that should serve as a starting point for getting your projects off the ground, and hopefully into a successful flight path high above the clouds. If you need to build a team to help you create your next video or film, then grab a Spidvid profile and post your project for our community to check out.

Do you have any tips you`d like to share? If so, feel free to add number 5 below!

Jeremy Campbell Lists, resources film tips, filmmaking, films, how to, marketing tips, new media, online video, production tips, production value, screenwriting, scriptwriting, tips, tips for video, video entertainment, video tips, videomaking, videos, web series, web video

When you upload a new entertaining video do you focus on getting attention from bloggers? If not, you should be looking for niche bloggers who write about video content which you produce. Get them to link to your videos, or better yet get them to embed videos directly within their posts so their audiences can watch right away on the same page.

Watch the video below to learn more about how to promote your videos to bloggers, and tap into their large audiences. Bloggers drive roughly 50% of all video views online, so blogger initiatives must be included in your marketing plan! We are proud to sponsor this how to video, along with GoDaddy.

About the creator - Travis Gordon is a video creator who manufactured the brilliant fantasy action web series Spellfury which has now amassed over 3 million views throughout its incredible existence! In addition to being a web series creator, he also teaches others on how to promote their videos to receive more views, comments, likes, subscribers, and love.

If you create videos that may interest us to sponsor, please contact us and let us know how we can mutually benefit together.

Jeremy Campbell resources, video blog attention, audience, audiences, bloggers, blogosphere, embedding, how to, love, marketing, new media, online video, promotion, Spellfury, Travis Gordon, video audience, video content, video embeds, video marketing, video promotion, videos, view views, views, viral, viral video, web video

We’ve been getting some questions lately on what types of video content can be produced using our platform. Our vision has always been entertaining content which can be monetized via advertising and sponsorships so that compensations can be distributed to each team member. We now allow for both ad supported, and non ad supported video projects, so videos can be produced by teams for fun as well.

Marketing videos are getting big these days, especially for smaller companies looking to build a brand. While you can tap Spidvid’s community to produce a marketing video for your company, distribution will be only on UnleashVideo.com (for now), and it may not interest our actors, writers, videographers, and editors to collaborate on the project with you. If you need a professional marketing video produced PopTent, and TurnHere are effective solutions at a relatively low cost.

Music videos are certainly ideal for Spidvid’s community. So if you are a music artist with a newly released song and looking to get a video produced for it, then sign up for a creator/music artist account and get your project posted.

Funny videos are huge hits with viewers world wide, so entertaining content like CollegeHumor’s is ideal to collaboratively produce via Spidvid. Documentary and drama genre production projects are very well suited for our platform as well. And with the popularity of today’s reality shows, these would work well too.

Just like Twitter never expected users to use their platform the way they are today, we are open and looking forward to see how users adopt Spidvid.

Stay updated on all our future blog posts, subscribe via email or RSS.

Jeremy Campbell News content type, documentary, drama, marketing video, music video, online video, PopTent, TurnHere, twitter, video production, videos, what

Not too long ago you would only watch videos from a large studio company usually based out of New York or Hollywood. Production studios used to have the video industry in lock down as they had many competitive advantages, keeping the smaller guys and their videos in the dark without much attention.

This is no longer the case as anyone with passion, a dream, and a script can create quality video content from anywhere they wish. Tools, software, and resources used to cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. The most important aspect about the production process has always been about the contributions of talent from individuals, not the products they had at their disposal.

So now as we enter a new production world where videos can attract millions of views on a low budget, or no budget at all, we need to ask ourselves what the competitive landscape will look like in five or ten years from today.

With Fred being one of YouTube’s most important and viewed creators, it won’t be shocking to see more similar examples like Fred or small production teams successfully build communities around their content as we move further into this new media landscape.

The independents used to have to compete on solid story telling, but now can also compete on solid production values as well. Mixing these two elements it’s realistic to believe that our favorite mainstream shows on TV now, will compete for our attention with low-cost niche content production.

One of the motivating factors for originally developing Spidvid was understanding the power and value of connecting human talent together for production projects. As individuals learn to understand what talent they need for their projects, how to attract that talent, how to effectively collaborate, and understanding the benefits for everyone involved, there is a new media model on verge of truly exploding.

There is something very special happening here, and we believe the opportunities for getting involved will be very lucrative as all the stars align to build out the ecosystem. Re-imagine the video production process, visit our site and click “Sign Up” to become a member to join this new media movement.

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