Video reviewing: how to get it right

Getting the most out of your reviews

We can appreciate that our video production project is added to your already busy full time job, so here’s how we make sure you get the best results in the shortest possible timeframe.

Get it right the first time

The number one ‘time suck’ and cause of overblown budgets and timelines is not getting the review right, so reviewing properly requires you to be fully mindful of the task.

Here’s how you make it happen.

Get a cuppa. Get Pen and paper. Block out 10 minutes of time, close the door.

Time your review well

There’s a good body of research showing that after about 14.00 our brain’s ability to process information rapidly declines, so try to avoid reviewing in the afternoon. You’ll do a better job and spend less time if you review in the morning.

Wearing different hats

Even for experienced video producers, there is no way to spot every detail in on go so it’s important to run the video a number of times while concentrating on one aspect of the video.

First run: overall impression

You can only make a first impression once; the same counts for getting a first impression.

Put the ‘big picture’ hat on

On your first run, don’t stop the video or get into the detail yet. Use your first impression to look at the big picture; does the message of the video connect to what you want to achieve? Does the structure make sense to you? Are there things that confuse you?

Pen and paper

A good way to do this first run is to have a notebook and pen so you don’t have to switch applications or move things over the screen to capture your thoughts. Don’t stop the video, don’t touch your keyboard. Watch the video in realtime and jot down the ideas with a few words.

Second run: titles

One of the most common issues we see in reviews is getting titles wrong. Do one run of the video just concentrating on titles; is the spelling exactly as you briefed? Is the capitalisation correct? Be especially careful with brand names; for instance ‘Linked In’ has to be spelled like ‘LinkedIn’ with no space. Never make any assumptions about titles, always check them with the person involved.

Third run: other details

Have one last run where you look at details. Are some shots darker than others? How do the colours look to you? Are there any cuts to seem to fast or slow to you?

Audio

Can you hear all the speakers clearly? Do you feel the music reflects the content and your brand correctly?

Titles

Is the spelling correct? Does the font match your other branding?

Deliver feedback effectively

Once you have overview of what you jotted down on paper, put it into the shared Google doc that we provided so everyone can comment. This way you can easily keep track of changes and reviews.

Did you involve all the stake holders?

Last but certainly not least; has every stake holder reviewed the footage? Are you on the same page about what changes are required? Did the branding people/ CFO/ marketing director share their thoughts?

Tim Grogan of Linked In Speaks At Coraggio

February 25 · Uncategorized

Tim Grogan @ Coraggio

We loved Tim’s presentation at Coraggio last week. Tim explored various enterprise options that Linked In has to offer and also shared insights on how to get the best out of Linked In as a company:

The Mojo Sessions with Gary Bertwistle and Tim Power

January 23 · Blog

The Mojo Sessions

We’re very excited about collaborating with brand guru Gary Bertwistle on the Mojo Sessions. The Mojo Sessions is an web based talkshow where Gary interviews business leaders and leading thinkers about leadership, branding, marketing, and work-life balance. It’s angle is the bigger picture stuff like Not so much a ‘how to’ but building on the ideas that lead to success in a broad sense; having purpose and making a real difference

Tim Power: How To Get Leadership Right

In this segment Gary is picking the brain of Tim Power, managing director of 3P Learning about how he selects and trains future leaders in his organisation.

Mojo Sessions 01 – How to get leadership right

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dhjjGtmcg0

The top three reasons why most corporate video doesn’t provide a positive ROI

January 17 · Blog

How the way we think about our content drives success or failure

Recently one of our clients sent us a video one of their competitors created. They wanted to emulate the style of the video, but didn’t quite have the budget. That poses an interesting challenge; Can we create content that can get better results, but on a smaller budget?

Looking for safety

It’s only human. We tend to look for a form of safety by doing something that’s tried and true. So when decide on how to position our brand, we tend to use how our competition communicated, because it’s a proven concept. Unless it isn’t. In this case, when we looked at this particular competitor’s video we found that although they spent about $ 15.000 on the video, their view count was less than 150. That’s a spend of more than $ 100 per click. There were a number of reasons for this underwhelming performance, but production quality was’t one of them. The video looked great, it just didn’t deliver. The problem was the thinking behind the content.

The three top reasons content fails to deliver

Here are three most common thinking patterns that make business video and general content fail. 1. Trying to control the message and the medium. You’re the expert on what your brand stands for; the message. That expertise doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to hire an order taker. You’ll get the best results partnering with someone who can see the blind spots and identify the challenges and opportunities. Someone who can translate your message to the medium in an effective way. 2. Focussing on the competition too much. ‘Me Too’ does not constitute a strategy; it makes your brand a follower. Your business needs to lead. It’s useful to check out what the competition is doing, but use that information to find your own niche so that you differentiate. Success in video marketing is the result of a bold idea that’s well executed and promoted, which brings us to: 3. Scoping based on cost instead of outcome Good content costs the minimum amount required to get the desired outcome. (You did define the outcome, right?) Picking the lowest quote isn’t necessarily going to translate in the best ROI: scope the project in a way that ensures you get it right first time. In todays media saturated world, there are no second chances.

Now let’s make a dent in the universe

So If you really want to your content to make a difference, make sure you: – Pick the right content partner. Take your time to find someone who really fits the bill and is willing to ask uncomfortable questions about your brand. – Don’t emulate. Apple didn’t become huge by trying to be a better Dell. – Be invested in the project. Business video has become a crowded space, so go in hard and fast. If you’re not going to invest the time and resources to make a real impact, it’s a project not worth pursuing. But most of all: dare to be different.

Ignite Talk: Why Amateurism Is A Good Thing

January 14 · Blog

We loved seeing our colleague Stephen Hancock of Contently pluck up the courage to do a five minute talk at Ignite Sydney, and what a great concept!

The Demise Of Amateurism

Leonardo Da Vinci and Charles Darwin were amateurs when they did their best work. Shouldn’t we value people who do work for the love of it more than people who get a pay check? Stephen offers some great insights and thought starters here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA7J2BsUBjc

Shooting With Pixels @ Vetmed Sydney

January 07 · Blog · business video, corporate video production melbourne, corporate video production sydney, DIY video training, hunting with pixels, online video, Vetmed randwick, video production melbourne, video production sydney, video training

Helping Vetmed tell their story in video: that’s what Social Video is about

2014 started well for Hunting With Pixels running our Shooting With Pixels workshop at Vetmed in Randwick. We ran the introduction module in December and as part of the course the Vetmed team interview each other about their favourite Vetmed moment of 2013:

People behind the brand

What we love about the video is that it really gives you an idea of the people behind Vetmed; passionate, caring and professional vets who love what they do.

And some client feedback that made our day!

Here’s what Annabelle, Randwick’s general manager had do say: “Thank you for the fantastic job you have done with the Vetmed 2013 memories video for Vetmed TV. It is absolutely brilliant!!!!! I love the way you have captured the warmth and passion of all the staff, and the sense of fun, in the edit. You have really captured what Vetmed is all about. Love, care, professionalism, hard-work and passion. We all look forward to working more with Hunting with Pixels and the staff are very exciting to be learning with you.”

Why Corporate Video Needs To Be Social: Opportunities In China

November 26 · Blog

Why Corporate Video Needs To Be Social.

Until very recently, having a 3 minute video about your company explaining the features and benefits of your product was a great way to engage your audience. Until very recently, having a 3 minute video about your company explaining the features and benefits of your product was a great way to engage your audience.

Part of the Wall Paper

Not anymore. Online video has become a crowded space and our audience have become experts in dodging marketing messages. Video by itself isn’t a way to amaze your audience; it’s part of the wall paper that is all the other marketing that’s going on.

What happened?

Both in China and Australia, Social happened. Our audiences has moved on to multiple devices and platforms and the expectations of what we as businesses need to offer have changed dramatically.

Growth and opportunities

But it’s not all doom and gloom, on the contrary! • More than 320 million Chinese people watch online video, and time spent watching content nearly doubled over the last two years. • When asked about choosing between TV and online videos, 76.3% respondents chose online videos. • In Australia the market for online video grew a whopping 58% last year.

Engagement is the new marketing

As SMEs, we need to seize the opportunity by developing engaging and targeted online video campaigns, where the primary goal is to engage the audience. We need to be more strategic, less transactional.

How do you make corporate video social?

China is the most socially-engaged market in the world, with 84% of Internet users contributing at least once a month on various social platforms. On the other hand, worldwide 83% of customers is more likely to act on peer recommendations than on marketing messages. This means that our audience isn’t listing to any marketing the brand has to offer.

So what can we do?

The good news is that our audience still wants to engage with our brands: the average chinese netizen is linked to 8 brands! Technology offers solutions too: we can now measure impact in great detail, which allows us to optimise content for a specific audiences.

What works?

Here are videos that have shown to do well in the SME space both in China and Australia: • Useful. What’s in the box? How does your service and product solve problems? Where can I find helpful information? • Fun. Have a look at the fun product reviews of Digital Rev. They get great traction with relatively low cost video by making reviews fun. • Short form. You have about 8 seconds to establish relevance for online audiences before they click away. Make those first lines count! • Regular. You need to reengage on a regular basis to stay top of mind; one awesome clip won’t achieve that for you. • Social proof. Authentic user reviews and recommendations are very powerful tools because they’re credible.

Think Mobile first

69% of the chinese population accesses the internet on mobile devices, mainly on Android devices, so we need to make sure they have a seamless user experience.

Lights, camera, action!

So if you’re ready to take the plunge and engage your audience with online video, here are three things you can’t afford to get wrong: • Understand the mindset of the audience. • Be more strategic; more engaging, less transactional. • Make sure you have a mobile website and mobile specific video content. Sources http://mumbrella.com.au/australias-online-video-market-to-grow-to-442m-over-next-five-years-124435 http://mashable.com/2012/07/02/china-social-networks/

Aim For The Nose; the power of simple communication.

November 26 · Blog · corporate video production melbourne (1) (1), corporate video production sydney (1), effective communication, health and safety video, video production melbourne (1), video production sydney (1)

We loved Rocky’s talk on the power of simple communication, he really nailed the subject in Ignite Sydney’s 5 minute format. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRxCFTHPlOk

So what can we learn from this?

Here’s how this can be applied to corporate video. 1. Keep it simple. Jargon doesn’t make you sound smart. It just confuses your audience, so they switch off. 2. Test on a ‘non expert’ audience. Find someone who doesn’t understand what you do to test your content. If they don’t get it: back to the drawing board. We loved Rocky’s quote of Einstein; ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.’ 3. Apply the Rule of three. Any effective video has to be about one message and a maximum of three ‘take aways’. Why? Because our brain simply isn’t designed to retain more, so by the time you’re at the end of your video, half of your six bullet points are gone. Remember, It’s not about being heard, but about being understood.

Create a corporate video that will grow your business by [insert outrageous claim here]

September 26 · Blog · business video, corporate video melbourne, corporate video sydney, hunting with pixels, ignite sydney, social video (2)

Corporate video is the best thing since sliced bread. And we really really love sliced bread.

So what is corporate video?

Forget what all those pesky content marketing gurus make us believe; corporate video is all about you and your business. This is why corporate videos last a minimum of three minutes, but longer is always better: this is the only way to get all the information in there, but to be sure add a lot of bullet points.

Short is good. Long is better.

Remember, today’s audience is very time rich so get on that soapbox and wait till they drag you off kicking and screaming. The subsequent savage beating is a way in which your audience communicates respect and gratitude. Business people are funny like that.

Let’s talk about me.

A corporate video is essentially a promotional tool for your business and your brand, which means you. So effectively, it’s really all about you.

Plus is better than minus.

Adding value is important. The operative word is ‘adding’ so don’t forget to mention:

What you were up to in 1989.
Add something generic like ‘we’ll go the extra mile’.
So you’re the Apple of chartered accountants? Do tell.

Features and benefits

You can safely assume no-one has researched your product before visiting your site, so hammer home those features and benefits, no matter if they’re also in the written content and the brochure.

Naming names.

You know that guy who always drops names of famous people he met? Be that guy. Nothing boosts credibility more than dropping names of corporates half the town has worked for, so make sure you have a long list of logos flashing up.

Getting the righting write.

Scripts are for wimps. Just copy your entire branding document in a new window and read it all out. Remember, you can always fix it in post by spending a few extra thousand on post production. Your video production company will have a gold plated coffee mug made in your honour.

Jargon

We all know business is all smoke and mirrors, so it’s good to sound smarter than you are. Jargon is the shortcut to business success, so make people care about your product by using lines like ‘we leverage a diverse and versatile distribution channel that is focussed on delivery quality local rollout’.

Flashy: Good

A good rule of thumb is to spend at least a third of your budget on one of those swooshy thingies with your logo that the guys on the board will just love. It also makes great content for showreels of production companies.

Music

Getting the music right is essential, so it’s a good thing that there are only two real choices;

That Coldplay song with the piano intro that you hear at every conference. You know tadadadadada tadadadadada tadadadada. 
Any track from Ibiza Jazz House Compilation 1997. Especially the one with the endlessly repeating sampled saxophone.

Authenticity

Authenticity is very important. Thank God it’s easy to fake. Here’s how you do it: Use lots of stock photos from the first page of Google Images for your ‘staff profiles’ and get a presenter that does morning TV or beer commercials for ‘client testimonials’ too for maximum authentic connection.

Less is not more. But more is morer.

The value of video production is measured with on simple metric; amount of minutes produces agains budget, so squeeze in those extra two minutes where you can.

Call to action!

Our audience can’t think, so we need to do it for them. Having a strong call to action at the end of your video is a great way to remind people why they’re watching.

Buy now

Make sure that your audience is made aware of the fact that they can purchase your product or engage your service. It’s easy to forget, so repeat at 30 second intervals.

There are many ways to contact you

Make sure you audience knows they can call you, and email you, and tweet and write a letter and send a postal pigeon and send smoke signals and visit your Myspace page.

Don’t forget to name your URL!

It’s very important to make sure that people know the full URL of your website, especially if they’re watching the video on your website.

It’ll go viral. Promise*

And the best thing is; Corporate videos have a tendency to go viral all by themselves. Just upload them to Youtube and let the sharing begin!

What is courage?

September 08 · Blog

[four_fifth]

What is courage?

[/four_fifth] At Hunting With Pixels we’re very excited about a project we’re running for the wonderful people of Coraggio, Australia’s great leadership community. As part of the project we’re interviewing business and thought leaders on what courageous decisions entail; what is courage? How do we manage doubt? How do we make better decisions? Last Thursday we played the current version of the clip the Courageous Decisions event in Surry Hills, more on that later http://vimeo.com/72803248

Get involved

We’d love to hear your thoughts on what courageous decisions are. If you’ve got something to share we’d love to hear about it!