Multimedia Archives | Miceli Productions

Oct

2013

Social Video Marketing is a Must for Your Business

Posted On October 1, 2013 By Jennifer Blessing Miceli And has 1 Comment

You probably already know that video marketing has overtaken the social media landscape. It seems that everyone has seen cute kitten videos, Gangham style flash mobs, the “Evolution of Dance,” or have replayed Super Bowl commercials over and over again. The branding power of video is undeniable, especially for businesses.

Invodo’s 2012 study showed that video in an email campaign drives a 51% increase in subscriber-to-lead conversion, and adding video to email marketing increases customers’ interaction by as much as 200-300%.

A 30 to 90 second video spot added to eblasts and spread across social media networks can be extremely powerful for businesses. The visual is memorable, and by having it on social media platforms, it can be “shareable”, thus increasing awareness. Video also can expedite your branding efforts and solidify loyalty among consumers.

According to Business Insider, “Social media is having a profound effect on this content medium: Video length is shrinking, in part to accommodate the preferences of social media audiences who like to snack on video. The intersection of mobile devices and social media will likely be crucial to video’s future.”

Add video to your eblasts. Spread those videos on social media networks. Be sure to use professional video as well as user-generated video in your campaigns as the combination of both increase conversation rates dramatically, says comScore/EXP.

Consider creating videos such as: “Take a Look Inside” the company, Promotional teaser, B2B conversations, product demos, or a short “About Us” video. Video is taking the marketing world by storm. Harness its power before your competition does.

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May

2013

Video Vocab for Business (part 4 of 4)

Posted On May 26, 2013 By Jennifer Blessing Miceli And has No Comment

Often it seems like people in the world of professional video speak a totally different language that relies heavily on slang for technical and creative concepts. Guilty as charged! As media professionals we do in fact have a unique vocabulary to what we do. A basic understanding of video terms helps business owners be informed consumers when contracting video services and be informed collaborators on a custom video project.

Part 1 of this series, (A – D) can be viewed HERE
Part 2 of this series, (E – M) can be viewed HERE
Part 3 of this series, (N – S) can be viewed HERE

Take–a single continuously-recorded performance, shot or version of a scene with a particular camera setup; often, multiple takes are made of the same shot during filming, before the director approves the shot; in box-office terms, take also refers to the money a film’s release has made

Talking Head — A clip that shows just the head and shoulders of a person who is talking. This tight focus is often used in interview situations where the background is not as important as the talking subject. It is also convenient in a movie destined for the Web because the small amount of movement in a talking-head shot compresses well for the Internet.

Teleprompter –A magical piece of equipment that lets a person look directly at the camera lens (and thus at the video’s viewers) while they read a script. The advantage of a teleprompter is that it lets you script what you’ll say. If you have several short videos to make, a teleprompter is essential. There are no “ums”, no “ahs”, no losing your thought because you’re nervous. Teleprompters make for very smooth video, especially if the person using it has had a chance to practice so he or she doesn’t appear to be reading.

TV Spot— broadcast time slot set aside to be filled by either a commercial advertisement or a public service message

Transcode— To convert from one compression format to another (that is, from DV video from a camcorder to MPEG-2 for DVD). Preferably done intelligently to minimize loss of quality from repeated compression, and not requiring fully decompressing the input and then recompressing to the output.

Underscore— Music that provides emotional or atmospheric background to the primary dialog or narration onscreen.

Video Blogs are simply what their name states, blogging through the format of video.

Viral Video— “We must stop using “viral” as a noun. Viral is a result. It is what happens when a great video or campaign gets recognized, discussed, and passed around. You don’t make a viral video, you just make a video. And hope it goes viral.We put our ads up on YouTube all the time. Some of them get hundreds of thousands of views — but that doesn’t make them viral. Pretty much every music video from every pop artist today gets around a million views. That doesn’t make them viral, either. Something is viral if it has that special something that makes you want to share it. But we often allow it to be interchangeable with the notion of popular. And we often discount the virability of something because it wasn’t massively viral. A video or website can end up being viral among smaller groups too.” – The Seven Dirty Words of Online Marketing by Josh Rose

VO or Voice Over–Narration or non-synchronous dialog taking place over the action onscreen

Wipe— a transitional technique or optical effect/device in which one shot appears to be “pushed off” or “wiped off” the screen by another shot replacing it and moving across the existing image; also called a push-over; a flip-over (or flip) wipe is when one scene rotates or flips-over to the new scene; wipes were very commonly used in the 30s

Wrap— as in “that’s a wrap,” good work everyone go home.

W- White Noise–A signal having an equal amount of energy per hertz.

Wide Angle— a lens that uses a grouping of glass to enable a shorter focal length than the physical body of the lens would normally permit. In doing so, the wide angle lens can capture more of a subject from an equal distance when compared to a normal lens of the same size.

White Balance is the process of capturing the correct colors for the type of available light. Think of it as making sure the color white is always white, and doesn’t have blue or red tints. Many cameras come with a white balance menu, as well as an auto white balance feature.

XLR-– One of several varieties of sound connectors having three or more conductors plus an outer shell which shields the connectors and locks the connectors into place. (Sound)

YouTube: The second most used search engine in the world and most popular video sharing website. Shot to popularity in 2005.

YouTube Video-– Videos, usually under 10 minutes in length. That can be uploaded and displayed on YouTube at no charge.


Zebra Stripes-– These are the vibrating diagonal stripes that are superimposed on the overexposed parts of the image on a view finder or LCD screen to help filmmakers judge exposure.


Zoom— An optical effect in which the image rapidly grows larger or smaller as though the camera is moving closer or away from its subject. Optical zoom relies on the camera’s lens to bring the subject closer in the recorded video. Digital zoom does not use the lens, but rather enlarges a portion of the image digitally. While digital zoom can be more powerful than most optical zoom features, digital zoom may cause grainy images.

May

2013

Rebranding Your Business Using Photography and Web Video

Posted On May 16, 2013 By Jennifer Blessing Miceli And has No Comment

It’s more than just designing a new logo. It’s more than giving your company a facelift. Rebranding is about strengthening and building upon the integrity of your business. Why not do this with photography and film?

We’ve all heard the old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” And in the digital age, a visual image representing your company speaks volumes. We also know that testimonials, business-to-business referrals, and captivating visual imagery are trusted more than a cold search or one of those Yellow Page ads. But many companies miss these opportunities altogether.

Using professional photography and web video on your website creates a compelling experience for online visitors and has limitless possibilities in attracting new clients. Your rebranding efforts cross-referenced with YouTube, Pinterest, Flickr, Vimeo, blogs, social media sites, and more facilitate organic online engagement and thus can drive sales, bookings, or inquiries.

Miceli Productions HD captures images.
Moving. Still. Corporate. Commercial. Emotive. Scintillating.
Contact us today and take your business to the next level.

Image credit:
https://www.123rf.com/photo_16048196_rebranding-and-marketing-concept-in-word-tag-cloud-on-white.html

Nov

2012

Video Vocab for Business Owners (Part 3 of 4)

Posted On November 18, 2012 By Jennifer Blessing Miceli And has No Comment

Part 1 of this series, (A – D) can be viewed HERE
Part 2 of this series, (E – M) can be viewed HERE
Part 4 of this series, (T – Z) can be viewed HERE

Non-linear editing (NLE): In digital video editing, this is a non-destructive form of editing that allows you to edit any frame in a digital video clip regardless of sequence in the clip. You can cut-and-paste any frame in any order. Common NLE software includes iMovie, FinalCut Pro, and Adobe Premiere.

Overscan: The outer edges of a video image that are typically cut off by TV sets in order to ensure that the image fills the entire display. Typically content for TV has a “safe area” around it – see below.

Pan, Panoramic: Refers to the horizontal scan, movement, rotation or turning of the camera in one direction (to the right or left) around a fixed axis while filming.

Producer: Person responsible for all logistical matters of a production, and is there to support the vision of the Director, preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. Involved with scheduling, budgeting, acquires or develops a story, finalizes the script, hires key personnel, and arranges for distribution of the film or video. Generally manages the production from start to finish. The title Producer has many forms (Executive Producer, Line Producer, Film Producer) and many have different responsibilities depending on the project.

Pixels: The individual picture elements, or “dots” of color, that are arranged in a two-dimensional array to define a digital image or video frame. It is the smallest controllable element of a picture represented on the screen. LCD (liquid crystal display) pixels are manufactured in a two-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots or squares.

QuickTime: Apple program that is most commonly used to play movies. Uses the .MOV file extension.

Royalty free music: Any number of music tracks that are stock or ‘library music’ licensed for a single fee, without the need to pay any subsequent royalties.

Rough cut: A quick assembly of raw clips to approximate the desired final program. As a first step in editing, arranging a collection of clips in the desired order as a storyboard of the production.

Safe area: Also known as the safe zone. Margins left around the edge of the image. Used when working with material intended for display on television. Safe margins keep titles from bleeding off the screen. See “overscan” above.

Storyboard: A sequential series of illustrations, stills, rough sketches and/or captions (sometimes resembling a comic or cartoon strip) of events, as seen through the camera lens, that outline the various shots or provide a synopsis for a proposed film story with its action and characters. The storyboards are displayed in sequence for the purpose of visually mapping out and crafting the various shot divisions and camera movements in a video.

Soundtrack: The sound that accompanies a video. Can be composed of dialogue, sound effect and music.

Shot list: A list of all the shots that will be required to create your final video. The shot list is generally created after the script is developed.

Oct

2011

Marketing the Work of Digital Performing Artists

Posted On October 13, 2011 By Jennifer Blessing Miceli And has No Comment

Christopher Eaves is a performer, digital artist and arts educator. His original work CANOPY – A Rainforest Odyssey premiered at the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, CT in their cutting edge multimedia gallery. It’s an impressive space, with high-powered Christie projectors, an 18′ x 33′ immerse screen, interactive floor projection technology and configurable media technology systems for performers working within the digital arts.

Miceli Productions HD was hired by Eaves to create an archival video of CANOPY as well as a short marketing video to be used in the booking and promotional materials for the show. Eaves creates all the amazing visuals that are projected and integrated into his original performances for young audiences. Our goal was to capture the essence of his unique performance on video. Click here to view this recent example of our work, and perhaps learn a little bit about the Rainforest.

Stepping Stones Children’s Museum Multimedia Gallery

May

2011

6 Things Your Intern is Probably Doing Wrong on Your YouTube Channel

Posted On May 19, 2011 By Jennifer Blessing Miceli And has No Comment

We see it time and again. A great video, hosted on the brand new YouTube channel of a business or organization. It’s clear that a lot of time/thought/money went into creating the video. (Good intern!) However, many other elements concerning the video posting haven’t been considered. (Bad intern.) This pains us greatly. (And we are, of course, kidding in our title when we blame it on the intern.)

But seriously, for the most part, folks are wasting their YouTube video posting efforts by not following very basic (and free!) best practices. Instead of spending 2 minutes to publish a YouTube video, spend the 10 minutes it takes to do it correctly. Your video message will reach more people with a higher impact. End of story. Here are the 6 “fails” we most often see.

1) No active links in the video description field

Make sure to include the full web address of your business or organization in the video description. It will automatically turn into a hyperlink and connect the person viewing your video to your website in one click.

2) No branding or poor branding

YouTube videos can be shared and embedded on many platforms. If your video is taken out of the context of your own channel, does it still have your brand connected to it? It should! At the very least, make sure branding exists in the video description and, if needed, in the title itself.

3) No call to action

What do you want people do after they watch your awesome online video? Visit your webpage? Make an appointment? Send an email to enter a contest? Share the video on social media? Make sure to include one clear “call to action” in the video description.

4) Titles, descriptions and tags that have not been carefully considered

VSEO stands for Video Search Engine Optimization. YouTube is currently the #2 search engine in the world (Google is #1) and YouTube provides many tools to help your video get discovered via search. VSEO basics include using relevant keywords in your video title, description and tags. Take a moment to think critically about what keywords could represent your video. And remember, the title you created internally for the piece is often not effective in terms of keywords and VSEO.

5) No chapter markers on a long video

Don’t necessarily believe what you hear about people not being willing to watch a video of more than 60 seconds. That’s not always true, especially if the video is compelling and the topic is of interest to the viewer. However, people online DO want the ability to get to specific points in the content quickly. If your video is longer than 60 seconds use chapter markers in your description to create short cuts for viewers. For example, if you have a video of a ribbon cutting event with different introductory speakers, include the time codes when each new speaker is seen in the video. YouTube makes this really easy. Simply type the timecode “1:30” into the description and a marker is created at 1 minute and 30 seconds into the video. A viewer can then read your video description, see the highlighted 1:30 and click on it – it will take them to that part of the video immediately.

6) Boring or unflattering thumbnails (don’t rely on defaults!)

Generally you are given 3 options for the thumbnail image that will represent your video. Choose wisely. The one that YouTube defaults to might not always be the best one. Pick an image that is engaging and entices the viewer to watch your video.

Apr

2011

Interview With a Quick Response Code

Posted On April 18, 2011 By Jennifer Blessing Miceli And has No Comment

MP: Hello.

QRC: Hello!

MP: What’s your name?

QRC: My full name is Quick Response Code but people often refer to me as QR-Code or QRC.

MP: Why am I seeing you all over the place these days? Best Buy, Macy’s, Calvin Klein, Miceli Productions HD services brochures, you really get around!

QRC: Well, businesses are looking for ways to connect the “real world” to the digital world. And more and more people are using smart devices every day. I’m a business tool that’s consumer friendly, convenient, fast, and universal across devices. (I’m also a little I’m fun and mysterious, no?)

MP: Consumer friendly? Are you sure? You look a little complicated to me.

QRC: Not at all. There are just a few simple steps to “unlock” me. In fact, if you have a smart device and are connected to a wireless network you can test me out right now using my graphic in the top corner.

Open a ‘barcode scanner’ application. If you don’t have one, search in your app store for “scanner”. Most scanner apps are free and can be used on all us QRCs.
Point your phone’s camera at me and scan.
The web address hidden inside my code will automatically launch in the internet browser of your smart device!

MP: How much do you cost?

QRC: I’m FREE! A great place to quickly create others like me is Kaywa.com. It only takes a minute.

MP: Good to know QRC! At Miceli Productions HD we’re all about video. Can you share some of the creative ways people are using you to connect to video?

QRC: Gladly. Earlier you mentioned seeing me at Macy’s. One of their recent glossy magazine print ads for spring scarves used me to connect to a fashion video of 7 different trendy ways scarfs are being worn this season. Someone flipping through the magazine can see the product live, in action right there on their phone. Calvin Klein used me to connect their billboard campaigns to an exclusively mobile (and uncensored) version of their commercials running on TV. The entire billboard was a giant red QR-Code! But I can be used very simply as well. For example Miceli Productions HD prints me on their brochures. When a potential client scans me, I take them directly to the Miceli Productions updated video portfolio.

MP: Thanks for taking the time for this brief interview. Do you have anything else to add?

QRC: iPad 2 just came out with a camera as part of the device. So I think you’ll be seeing even more of me. Happy scanning!

Mar

2011

New Video-Friendly Email Marketing Feature

Posted On March 15, 2011 By Jennifer Blessing Miceli And has No Comment

Leading email newsletter services are going out of their way to make it even easier to incorporate video into email campaigns. How far away are we from embedding a live streaming video in an email invitation? It’s just around the corner. But for now, Constant Contact and MailChimp are leading the way with new video-friendly email marketing features.

Constant Contact is using their new “video link” feature to add YouTube, Vimeo or Blip.tv video links. To be clear: you are not embedding the video into the email, but rather quickly pulling in a video thumbnail, selecting what size you want it to appear and including the link to the video – all in one step. Previous to this new feature, you would need to create an image to represent your video, import it into the media library, import it into your email template and then link the image to the video URL. What a hassle! These new tools are great new short cuts. Your readers will see a recognizable image of a video and know to click it to play, no significant change for them – but a significant time saver for those wanting to include video in email campaigns.

MailChimp offers a similar feature, but by a different name. Using MailChimp’s “merge tag” tool you can seamlessly incorporate video screenshots and links to hosted video. According to MailChimp, “Email clients don’t allow you to embed video, we make it easy for you to fake it with videos from YouTube, Vimeo and Blip.tv.”

PatronMail, EmmaMail, and Vertical Response are other popular email marketing services that don’t currently offer this video link short-cut feature; however all three see the value of video in email and are actively educating their customers on how to use video effectively in email campaigns (see Vertical Response blog post Five Tips For Using Video in Email.)

As video continues it trajectory as the leading online media communication tool, we predict there will be more new features and tools to integrate video easily into email. One of our most successful email campaigns using video was the invitation for our 8th Anniversary Open House Event. Miceli Insiders received an email invitation that included a 3D Timeline Video showcasing our 8 years of growth as a production company. The response to the invite was very positive, the attendance for our open house was close to capacity, and the video gave folks something interesting to talk about, generating buzz before and after our event.

Image: Blue Sky Factory

Mar

2011

Video Vocab for Business Owners (Part 2 of 4)

Posted On March 7, 2011 By Jennifer Blessing Miceli And has No Comment

Part 1 of this series, (A – D) can be viewed HERE

Exposure: The quantity of light reaching the video. Even with a professional quality camera, footage can be underexposed or overexposed by the camera operator. There are limited options to make under- or over- exposed footage better in the editing process. It is crucial for a camera operator to have experience with maintaining optimal exposure in a variety of environments of light (dark theaters, bright daylight, concert lighting, etc.).

Fade: A transitional effect consisting of a gradual change in the intensity of an image or sound, such as from a normally lit scene to darkness (fade out, fade-to-black) or vice versa, from complete black to full exposure (fade in), or from silence to sound or vice versa; a ‘fade in’ is often at the beginning of a sequence, and a ‘fade out’ at the end of a sequence. You might see this term used in storyboarding.

Green Screen: A bright green fabric that is hung behind the action being recorded on camera. The green background allows an editor to insert a particular background or create special effects. Busy business owners who are the voice and face of their business often don’t have time to commit to long video shoots on location; green screen can therefore be a great solution for this, allowing different locations to be put in after the fact.

High Definition or HD: Video footage shot in a high-definition format, which means that the frame size is larger than SD (standard definition), and each frame holds much more digital information. As a result, picture quality and file sizes are much higher than SD video. High def is a general term that can describe different frame sizes, so it’s important to understand that some HD video can be higher-definition than other HD video. Generally, HD video is of excellent quality and looks great no matter where it’s shown – on the web, on a dvd, or projected on a screen. In today’s world, HD video has become a production standard. (Miceli Productions has more than 5 years experience working in HD, we committed to the format as soon as it emerged).

Interactive: The back-and-forth dialog between the user and the computer. Games are always interactive, and most computer applications are interactive. More and more web commercials these days are interactive (commercials on Hulu.com are a great example) and YouTube videos with action overlays can be interactive. Click here to see Lombardi on Broadway example of interactive commercial.

JPEG: A still image file format developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (no joke) that can compress photographic images into much smaller file sizes while sacrificing only a little image quality. A cross platform-friendly file format useful if you are providing images for a custom video project or want image files pulled from a video project to use in email, web applications or print.

Key: In this case key is a verb: to key. To specify a region of an image or video clip to be used as a mask for transparency. When using Green Screen, for example, the green background is “keyed” out to be replaced by something else.

Lav, Lavaliere or Lapel Mic: A small microphone that clips to your lapel or neckline, usually wireless. A lav is an option for recording high quality sound when the shot is too wide for use of a boom mic.

Montage: Refers to a filming technique, editing style, or form of movie collage consisting of a series of successive short shots or images (often disconnected in time or place) that are rapidly juxtaposed into a coherent sequence to suggest meaning or a larger idea; usually a montage is not accompanied with dialogue, but uses music to drive the footage; an accelerated montage is composed of shots of increasingly-shorter lengths.

Jan

2011

Video Vocab for Business Owners (Part 1 of 4)

Posted On January 10, 2011 By Jennifer Blessing Miceli And has No Comment

Burn a DVD? Rip a DVD? Dupe a DVD? What’s the dif? Often it seems like people in the world of video speak a totally different language and have 3 different words for what appears to be the same concept.

As media professionals we do in fact have a unique vocabulary to what we do. Having a basic understanding of video vocab helps business owners be informed consumers when looking to purchase a service or a product.

Your mini video-vocab lesson begins with A, B, C…and D for Donut.

A roll: An old film term meaning the content structure of the piece, voice track and sound bites.

B roll: Supplemental or alternate footage intercut with the main shot in an interview or documentary. Most often B roll footage is what is submitted with a media press release.

Bug: A digital on-screen graphic or logo that many TV broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen to identify the channel. This term has migrated online and is now commonly used for businesses and organizations who use a bug of their logo or website to brand their online videos.

Burn: To record data on a CD or DVD.

Compositing: Combining visual elements from separate sources into single images creating the effect that all those elements are parts of the same scene. For a strong visual example and concept of compositing from our In The Studio web videos series CLICK HERE

Compress: To change the file size of a video, to reduce the amount of data storage space necessary. Most often used when putting video online.

Donut: Pre-recorded commercial with a blank time span in the center into which a special advertising message may be inserted.

Dupe: To duplicate a DVD that has data written on it. Typically it takes more time to burn a DVD than to duplicate one that is already burned. There is no difference between a duplicate and an original in terms of quality.

Stay tuned for E – Z.
Part 2 of this series, (E – M) can be viewed HERE.

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