First it's just a camera. Then you realize you need some good lighting. Then you're listening to your video and realize you might need a mic or two. Suddenly, your small video project is coming with a BIG price tag. Before you hit that "Add to Cart" button on B&H, here are our three tips about buying gear. 1) A skilled videographer knows how to use lighting to make a camera look better In the film industry, there is an entire department dedicated to lighting. On a corporate v

As the holidays approach, COVID cases are beginning to rise. But for many brands, the end of the year is crucial for sales. How can you continue to reach your audience while staying COVID compliant? One solution is Stock Footage. 100% Remote Stock Footage is pre-recorded footage that is filmed with the idea that it can be used in a variety of projects. That means instead of needing your team in the office to film a video, you just need an editor. Storyboards, scripts, even vo

Even before colored film, filmmakers were searching for ways to brighten up their movies. While there is a science to color choices in film and television (think Breaking Bad), today we want to touch on how to make sure your brand videos meet color accessibility. What is Color Accessibility? Color Accessibility aims to provide the same experience whether or not your audience has color vision deficiencies. One of the most important places this comes up is in website design. Yo

Having a video on your landing page increases your organic search traffic by 157% (https://cxl.com/blog/optimize-videos/) It can be tempting to use the Autoplay function - making your video play as soon as someone lands on your page. However, there are a several good reasons to disable Autoplay. Accessibility of your website People who are vision impaired often use a Text to Speech app to read websites out loud. Autoplay videos will drown out the TTS reader, making it extreme

Your brand video should be exciting, engaging, and attention grabbing. It can be very tempting to add in some quick graphics or flashing content to try to reach out to the audience. Before you add that nifty effects plugin you just found, is it a good idea to add that to your video? Flashing Content is Dangerous Around 1% of the population has epilepsy, and around 3% of those have photosensitive epilepsy. For these people, flashing lights and certain patterns can cause seizur

Video has one of the best ROI for marketing, but there are ways to get even more out of it. You can reach a larger audience by making your videos more accessible. A crucial way to do that is by adding closed captioning. 80% of people use Closed Captioning for other reasons than hearing loss Not only does Closed Captioning make your video accessible to those who have hearing loss, but it also benefits a broader audience. When a video is in a viewer's second language, using clo

You've decided that your brand needs video. Now you need to decide on who to hire. It can feel a bit intimidating to work with someone from a completely different field. We made a checklist of what you should ask professionals when you are looking to hire a video company. What does their reel look like? Video professionals typically don't have resumes. When you work with so many different companies on a per-project basis, it just doesn't make sense. So instead of asking for a

You are the expert on your brand. But how do you share that through video? Professional video production companies specialize in taking the larger picture and breaking it down into small bites. Here are just a couple of ways we translate your brand to video. Style The choice between an iPhone and Samsung is style. It's not the style of the phone itself - because let's be real, a smart phone is a smart phone - but it's the feeling the brand invokes. Your brand has an image, an

Big or small, a business ultimately needs to be making more money than it's spending. As a local company, it can be tempting to try to DIY as much as you can in order to save money. So we did the math to see what is better for your bottom line: hiring a professional videographer/production company or filming that video yourself. The Gear Do you ever look at your iPhone video and wonder why it doesn't look like the "Made on an iPhone" ads that Apple produces? That's because th

Video posts are shared 1200% more than text and image posts. Yes - 1200% more. Shares are exactly what a brand needs to reach potential customers. But just because you have a compelling video doesn't mean it will turn into more revenue. Branding your videos correctly will ensure the audience is always directed back to your company. What is a Bug? Bugs are a great way to brand your video. Typically found in the lower right hand corner, a bug is similar to a watermark. While a

You spend the time and the money to create a video. It goes through the harsh editing process. Finally you have a polished piece ready to share on all of your social. You reach your target audience, they watch your video, and then ... nothing. You shared your message, but did you tell your audience what to do next? The Call to Action is the most important component of your marketing video. What should your audience do? First and foremost, your Call to Action should tell your

People buy things they need. People buy from people they like. To pull in new clients, you need to show them who your brand is. Creating an About Video is one of the best ways to show potential customers what you're all about. Tell your story Clients want to know you before they spend money with you. The "Our Story" is one of the first pages a brand puts on their website. But why wait for someone to look for it? Creating an "About Video" puts your story in a format that can b

We've been talking a lot about branded video content. Videos are one of the best ROI when it comes to marketing. But it can be difficult to think of new content to constantly be sharing (believe me, I know). So this week's branded video tip is both fun and practical: create behind the scenes videos. The Practical Side Behind the Scenes is one of easiest types of videos to make because you already have the content! Your business has a lot of moving parts. Capturing 30-60 secon

Video has one of the best ROI for when it comes to marketing and branding. Twenty years ago, making a new video once a year was enough. But with the advent of social media, companies need branded videos every week. So let's talk about the different types of tutorial videos you can make to help boost your social media content. Tutorial: How To Use Your Product Are you selling a product? Tutorial videos are a great way for customers (and more importantly, potential customers) t

Video is the number one type of content used to sell products and services. With 71% of consumers believing that video explains a product better than text or photos, it's easy to see why product videos are an essential part to any marketing plan. Last month we did a #LiveStream on what makes a good product video. You can watch the video below for the full details. But in true blog fashion, we're going to answer the top 5 things you need to know about product videos (in quest

Everyone knows you have to spend money to make money. But as a small business owner myself, I'm always torn on how much money I need to spend. While I'm creative at my core, I run my business by the numbers. So what is the best bang for your buck? When it comes to marketing, video is the obvious answer. 89% of video marketers say video gives them a good ROI.* A whopping 95% of marketers say video has helped increase users understanding of their product or service.* We know vi