iFilm Productions - Video Production Houston, TX

Congratulations Leslie!

2012-01-22T08:12:00.000-06:00

Several years ago I was lucky enough to land an assignment from USAID; create a video about Leslie Hawke. She was receiving their "Outstanding Citizen" award for her amazing work with Roma women in Romania.

(As we were we finishing the shoot, she asked "Who are you going to use for the voice-over?" I paused for about half a second. "Your son would be good," I said. Her son is Ethan Hawke.)

I saw today that she recently got married. Congratulations Leslie.

Here's a link to the video's opening segment. You get an idea of her courage...

http://youtu.be/VrknKudrMBs

Broaden your video's reach

2011-10-31T07:34:00.000-05:00

From Christian Arno:

"In this global day and age, savvy marketers are directing their efforts overseas. It's now easier than ever to appeal to a multilingual market. It just takes a translation here and there, modification of your SEO, and bingo -- you're appearing on screens all over the world."

The rest of the article can be found here but very good thinking about global video.

At iFilm, our clients are frequently large multinational or global companies that need to convey their messages. In some instances, we simply add different audio tracks. In some, we have to trans-create the video so that it crosses cultural barriers. Fortunately in a city like Houston, we can find the resources for our projects that can participate in that dialog.

What videos are you making and how do you ensure that they speak to your audience in the right way?

Seven Tips for Marketing a Business with Video

2011-10-25T12:04:00.000-05:00

Great article on video marketing from Entrepreur:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220593

My Favorite Highlights:

Video connects customers on a deeper level because it covers and reaches out to different types of learning styles
Videos also help sites show up higher on the search engines. Use relevant keywords in the video titles and descriptions when you upload them to sites like YouTube.
Include a call to action in your video.
Pick a focus. Make sure the video has the essence of your brand personality and carries a single message or story. Do not try to cover 15 things in a 60-second video.

Awards Season

2011-02-09T09:47:00.000-06:00

Hollywood can have the Oscars. Houston also rolls out the red carpet each spring, for both the ADDY Awards and Marketer of the Year, and iFilm Productions will proudly accept accolades (without the long speeches) at each.

The American Advertising Federation Houston holds the ADDY awards each February to "recognize creative excellence in the art of advertising." It's the biggest night of the year in Houston advertising. Winners advance to regional and then national competition.

iFilm Productions will bring home a coveted ADDY at the big gala (silver? gold?) for producing an animated web movie for GankIt.com.

The American Marketing Association Houston gives out its Marketer of the Year Awards (MOTY) for "innovative and effective marketing programs." iFilm submitted a detailed report for vote by AMA Houston members and a judging panel of local marketing professionals.

iFilm Productions won in the Business-to-Business Services category, and is now a finalist for overall Marketer of the Year in Houston.

Other finalists include CenterPoint Energy, ConocoPhillips, Rice University, the Houston Rockets, MD Anderson, and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. It's an honor to even be mentioned among them.

Law Firm Marketing: 5 Advantages of Using Video on Your Website

2010-10-09T06:10:00.004-05:00

The use of video is becoming important to staying competitive on the web. As more law firms develop an online presence, it’s imperative to differentiate your firm by including video on your website.

While nothing guarantees an increase in business, the use of video is a smart and relatively inexpensive way to market your law firm. Here are five advantages of using video on your website.

1. Introduce yourself to potential clients.

The process of meeting with an attorney for the first time can be unnerving for some clients. Introducing yourself through an online video can remove this anxiety. Potential clients will be looking to get an idea of who you are and what you can do for them. A brief video that introduces you and describes your law firm can accomplish that. Another advantage of introductory videos is the amount of time they save you. Instead of physically meeting with every potential client, the video can act as a filter to bring in primarily clients who have already decided that they might hire you.

2. Convey emotion and personality.

You can show only so much emotion with text and images on a website. Video, on the other hand, gives you an opportunity to show viewers the way you look, sound and act. It is a wonderful way to project emotions such as empathy and compassion to potential clients. A visitor who is sold on what you say in a video is more likely to choose your firm over a competitor. Videos also are incredibly helpful for firms that practice personal injury or criminal law. Someone who has been injured or arrested may want to hire a lawyer with a bold, assertive personality, and simply put, video is the best way to convey your personality to viewers online.

3. Improve search engine rankings.

In the near future, video will be an integral part of search engine result pages. Google already has begun to factor in the presence of video on a page when determining where the page ranks on Google search results. Posting videos on your site sooner rather than later will put you a step ahead of other firms competing for top slots on search engine result pages. After posting a video to your website and optimizing it for search engines, potential clients will more easily locate your site and its video content. Seeing a video on a search results page instantly gives the searcher a good reason to visit your website rather than a competing site. Make sure your search engine optimization service understands how to take advantage of your video content in getting your site the best possible search engine results.

4. Improve overall website experience.

If done correctly, putting video on your website will improve the browsing experience of your visitors. For maximum effectiveness, it should be integrated seamlessly into your site. An introductory or biographical video typically is placed on the homepage. Similarly, a page dedicated to your firm’s bankruptcy practice might include a video explaining basic aspects of bankruptcy law. The more that potential clients use your site to learn about the law and how it affects them, the more likely they are to give your firm a call.

5. Impress potential clients

Let’s face it, a law firm website with embedded video looks impressive. At present, few law firms use video, so those that do give a clear sign that they’re a step ahead of everyone else. Quality video on your site indicates to potential clients that you are a quality law firm. Of course, not just any video will make your website and law firm look impressive. The most effective videos utilize well-prepared content, shot on high-definition video in a properly lit studio. Top-quality post-production work, including editing, graphics and sound effects, is also crucial to achieving results that will impress visitors to your site.

Article Source

Make Better Promotional Videos

2010-10-08T15:08:00.004-05:00

Businesses of all sizes are turning to videos to drive conversation, traffic, and sales. According to Internet Retailer, e-commerce website visitors who view product videos are 85 percent more likely to buy than visitors who do not. As with most marketing tools, originality is key to the success of any video. Finding inexpensive ways to create high-quality videos is any company’s best bet to get the most for its money while ensuring that the content is original. Keep the following tips in mind:

1. Know that production quality matters. While the majority of the most well-known viral videos are home videos, most consumer-focused viral videos often have solid production quality. Don’t even try to fake shaky-camera "homemade" film. Do it straight, or don’t do it at all.

2. Understand "relative virality." Don’t get caught up in creating a video you hope will be seen by millions. Pay more attention to the quality of views rather than the quantity. In the end, your ultimate goal is to promote your product or service, so make sure your video appeals to the end customer and your marketing goals.

3. Have fun with it. Your goal is to have people talk about your company, product, or service, so give them something they will remember and want to share.

Article Source

What video means to your SEO efforts

2010-10-04T12:45:00.002-05:00

Video is an often ignored component of search engine optimization, notes Marty Weintraub. "It is amazing to me that there is so little discussion of YouTube as a search engine. Most marketers seemingly don't view activity in YouTube as SEO. That's the disconnect. YouTube is very much a search engine," he says. Read the entire interview here.

http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2010/10/04/driving-real-results-with-youtube-questions-for-aimclears-marty-weintraub/

Video in Healthcare Communications

2010-09-27T06:01:00.003-05:00

It's time to take off the sunglasses and use the binoculars to see out farther. HD video done right gets the message across better than the written word, it's faster and it's more engaging. Video will be part of the future for online healthcare communications on many levels as it creates a better human connection.

Video is crucial to P.R.

2010-09-15T06:36:00.000-05:00

Article Highlights

More than 70 percent of U.S. internet users watch video clips monthly, making video viewing bigger than blogging and social networking
Video PR can be the "show me, don't tell me" vehicle that communicates compelling stories to target audiences
Knowing the challenges of capturing eyeballs on top video sites, marketers are also looking for ways to optimize their videos and ensure they're SEO-ready

The link is to the entire article. I agree with some of what the author has to say although his focus seems to be on the business to consumer marketplace. B-to-B public relations professionals can take advantage of P.R. videos as well.

I agree that "In today's new media world, online video PR is a valuable communications tool that provides companies with priceless credibility that paid advertising cannot buy."

What is your opinion?

iSnap du Jour Revisited

2010-09-14T07:33:00.000-05:00

Heights tree carving.

On my Facebook page, I do an almost daily "iSnap du Jour" that is a random snap from scenes I encounter in my daily life. Here are a few of my recent ones.

Friend me on Facebook for the ongoing series.

New Orleans Option B

New Orleans Option A

Video in your 2011 Marketing Plan

2010-09-10T08:27:00.000-05:00

Before starting on any video project you need to ask yourself first, what is my business objective? As you create your 2011 plan, ask yourself how online video helps with those objectives.

As much as iFilm wants the video production work, companies should avoid spending resources on the production of videos without a plan for maximizing their production cost and for syndicating and distributing them. What does that mean?

We recommend that you have a plan prior to production of all the places that your video elements can be repurposed and utilized beyond the initial production. Talk to other departments about how they could use footage in achieving their goals. Heck, iFilm will even work with you in pre-production to sort out that plan.

Here’s an example … informational footage for your website could also generate a spin-off video for a recruiting campaign where your employees speak about why they like working for you. (Recruiting will be a hot topic as we exit this recession.)

Syndicating and distributing? Well, videos shouldn’t simply live on your website (but having a video there will dramatically increase your site stickiness over your competitors).

You also need to get them on industry sites and have a plan of where and when. Putting them on video sharing sites is good for SEO with the right links back to you. Where else and how else will you use this video to market your company? Can you use it via mobile to educate new employees on company philosophy as part of training? Can you solve other communication problems with this footage? iFilm will be happy to engage in that dialog as well.

If web video is NOT in your 2011 marketing budget, revise the budget.

Video is not a nice-to- have, it is now a must-have. Need help crafting this plan? Call Dave Henry at iFilm Productions.

The cluttered mind uncluttered.

2010-09-08T06:58:00.001-05:00

I read a great article on Preparation this morning.

"Success in the business world is not about who is the smartest; research shows that IQ is largely unrelated to status in the corporate food chain. Success is not about who has the best education; only 14% of Fortune 500 companies are led by Ivy Leaguers. And success is not about who has the best funding or resources; many successful businesses started in garages, dining rooms, and the back of cars. The single greatest influence on who achieves success in the business is preparation." Jim Taylor, Ph.D.

The article went on to list Ten Laws and I saw all of them as relevant to my world of film and video production. Preparation makes or breaks a video's success whether a documentary, TV commercial, or web movie, all require a well thought-out plan with all the details tended to.

A new category: "bikeumentary"

2010-09-06T08:43:00.000-05:00

As a part-time documentary filmmaker, I found this interesting.
http://pedaldriven.howellatthemoon.com/

Taking what you love and creating education around it is wonderful.

There, I Said It: Screw Viral Videos

2010-08-31T08:33:00.000-05:00

"Stop chasing viral, and start looking closely at online video that delivers repeatable, measurable and sustainable views. When putting dollars behind video projects, make sure you understand exactly how the audience-development component works. You don't want to pay for views that never actually get watched. And remember, just like with the Tortoise and the Hare, steady and consistent wins out over jackrabbit view spikes every time." Whole article here: Ad Age Article: Screw Viral Videos.

"Great content, well planned and well executed will trump the chasing of viral propagation."
Dave Henry, iFilm Productions

Favorite quote for today

2010-08-26T04:50:00.001-05:00

"Plainly and simply: If you're not already using video, you could be leaving a lot of revenue on the table." Bobbi Leach, iMedia Connection

Product marketing, customer engagement, internal communication ... all can be improved with quality video online. Why are you not taking advantage? At iFilm we find more and more of our projects are being created only for online applications. Our clients want videos that look crisp online.

And we think production values are more important than ever before when the customer attention span means you are one mouse click away from being turned off.

Have you Ganked? It is time for GankIt 2.0

2010-08-24T04:07:00.001-05:00

iFilm Productions' newest client, GankIt, took their 2.0 version of their website live overnight. We produced their home page web movie that explains their service - a hybrid penny auction.

Many thanks to Dan Pratt of RiotMotion and Bob Vance of Audio Bob for their work on this project.

If you haven't Ganked yet, the time is now. I will post a link to the video on my blog and site later today but for now, I want everyone to head on over to GankIt.

Online video

2010-08-23T07:06:00.000-05:00

"Today, 71% of the US online audience watches video on the Internet, and the number of streams consumed should more than double by 2013. An explosion of video content from users, professional studios, and marketers is driving this growth." -- Forrester Research

Just because you add video to your site, it doesn’t mean that viewers will watch it. Use the chart below(also from Forrester) to checklist your online video.

Overall, implement these six rules for video:

start with excellent quality content produced by a reputable firm;
optimize video for search;
distribute video across the Web;
add context to the video on the Web page;
reduce video load time; and
enable video sharing.

Journalism Warning Labels

2010-08-21T13:52:00.001-05:00

These are great. Think of all the news stories that you read or hear about that sound completely fabricated, isn't it a great idea to be able to slap a label on those things.

Scott needs to create them in digital format for people to append to blogs or other posts where there is complete nonsense in play.

Did Shopkick Just Change The Check-In Game? You Be The Judge [Video]

2010-08-18T14:34:00.000-05:00

Good article here: http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/03/shopkick/
Company site here: http://www.shopkick.com/

Love seeing how powerful video can be as an online tool.

As a long-term video producer and director, the explosion of video merged with quality motion graphics allows me to do great work for client getting away from the traditional formats required for TV commercials and allowing constant ongoing updates to encourage consumer engagement.

Good stuff.

Apple's Ad Service Off to Bumpy Start

2010-08-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

Why does Apple make it difficult to advertise? Why force themselves into the creative process? Why not a standard format and template and let the winners develop in the open marketplace? Good creative that connects with consumers will deliver positive results for advertisers. Good content will prevail in the end, Apple needs to let it happen.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703321004575427892781417642.html

Random aside: Oddly enough, Apple does the best job of making all their technology work together based on standards across platforms. Their hardware division seems to embrace standard connectors and power chargers, should hardware help the software side of the house get its priorities straightened out?

If You Build a Web Series Around It, Will They Come?

2010-08-11T11:31:00.020-05:00

For Some Brands, the Answer Is an Enthusiastic Yes; for Others, Not So Much

(Read the entire article here at Madison & Vine or read the synopsis here.)

"In the past three years, it seems "Make me a branded web series" has become the new "Make me a viral video" for marketers, with brands as varied as Ikea, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese and even Poise incontinence pads all trying their hands at branded storytelling online. But as these webisodes clamor to find audiences in increasingly fragmented numbers, a larger metric for success pervades: Did they actually deliver on the hoped-for ROI for the brand?

For marketers, the typical web series consists of a half-dozen five-minute episodes costing an average of $100,000 to $1 million to create -- a paltry sum considering a typical 30-second spot can cost more than three times the price the most expensive web show.

Yet the bar has been high ever since "In the Motherhood," an online sitcom co-created by Mindshare Entertainment on behalf of clients Sprint and Unilever, became a massive hit on MSN, accumulating more than 16 million views by its second season and eventually becoming a sitcom for ABC. But its swift broadcast cancellation forced advertisers and producers alike to re-evaluate the ultimate metric for determining a web series' long-term success: Instead of being picked up by a TV network, why isn't re-investment by the brand the new barometer for success?"

Dave here: Web Series are enticing, it seems you can create a personality, create a buzz and see long-term success. Good production values remain key in winning at this game.

Wil this trend continue? Soap operas were called such because P&G was selling dish soap so yet again they are leading the way and they have a long history of success. Web series are here to stay. If you want to start your own web series, contact iFilm Productions so we can be your production guide.

Inject interactivity into your video

2010-08-11T05:53:00.001-05:00

Many thanks to David Kaiser for this thought.

"While interactive or "hypervideo" is still the exception versus the rule, major strides are being made to create more immersive online experiences. To help the process and create more dynamic video experiences, here are some ways content creators can bring more interactivity to their online content.

Contextualization
One of the biggest leaps into interactive content is the ability to present information in context. Publishers and brands can now enable viewers to enjoy truly immersive experiences with content, fostering longer viewing times and more focused advertisements that speak to consumer interests. Here, online video can include points of interest, such as the ability to click on a product and purchase it. This not only extends a brand by creating interactivity on a commerce level, but also creates new engagement avenues for brand loyalists. In the realm of linear content, imagine how product placement can reach new consumers in the form of fans of a program, as well as new environments for a brand to live in the digital world.

Encourage participation
Interaction does not only need to be about using a mouse. Social media makes it easier than ever to get the word out about online contests and participatory ad campaigns, and of course to directly engage with consumers.
By allowing consumers to "take over" your brand and make their own statement, you might be surprised what creative life a Flip cam, some ingenuity, and brand loyalists can bring to your product. Brands are also discovering that loyal fans can breathe new life into products and make memorable ad campaigns from the ground up.

Participation can also come from the business side. Want to share some tips or talk about your latest product innovation? Get personal with a simple webcast to provide an authentic, first-person account about your brand.

Software solutions
With the launch of the iPad and other devices that use physical touch as the primary way to use these technology products, true "hypervideo" experiences are a natural complement to this increasingly popular way to interact with our computers.

I define hypervideo as the convergence of online video, social media, weblinks, and commerce into one immersive experience. For both traditional PCs and touch-based devices, software solutions with cross-platform creation and playback tools bring interactivity to new heights. Beyond two-dimensional clicks, hypervideo at its best combines one part web with one part video to form a singular experience.

With an enhanced online ecosystem, content creators can make one-of-a-kind video experiences for audiences and further customize them with demographic data such as gender, age, and personal preferences.
Hypervideo represents the best of what's to come in creating immersive, online experiences. It's the most dynamic platform to engage so-called "superfans" and to seamlessly integrate logical brand representation into both linear and viral online programming. This can include anything from delivering Facebook profiles straight into the video viewer to presenting related content, such as a profile of the director, actor, or lead costume designer of a show. These additional features also provide ways for programmers to create "sticky" content and prolong audience engagement.

Online video presents exciting new ways for audiences to interact with programs, brands, and businesses. With new interactive software and other engagement tactics available, the sky is the only limit to how rich we can develop online content."

Video Sitemaps: Making Your Videos Searchable

2010-08-10T13:01:00.000-05:00

Great starter introduction from Google on Making Your Videos Searchable.

Don't want to learn all this yourself? Contact a video production firm who can assist you in completing, like me ... at iFilm Productions.

Live streaming: The video ad opportunity of the future

2010-08-10T05:46:00.004-05:00

"Live internet video is on the verge of exploding. Learn how you can capitalize on this fast-growing medium." Read more>>>

My most recent projects are all for online applications, shooting and creating for the small screen is a different sort of challenge than shooting for a 50" TV screen - in a good way.

"How I Saved My Company" Video Competition

2010-08-09T05:30:00.001-05:00

A new video project asks small-business owners to share their survival stories.

Almost every successful small-business owner has survived a near-death business crisis. Today, the NY Times is beginning to collect these personal stories in a series of video contributions called How I Saved My Company.

They are looking for business owners who have struggled and survived and who are willing to submit a short video telling about their experience. Read More>>

Have a story you want to share with them? Let me know and maybe we can work on it together.

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