Going Tapeless to Save Time and Money

After 18 years of being in this business, I am hardly the one to breathlessly promote every new video technology that comes down the road. In fact, if you ask my friends, they'll tell you that I'm more than a little cynical about the "next big thing that's going to revolutionize the production process!" I've simply seen too many of these come and go to get overly excited at any single product release.

Occasionally, however, a technology comes along that truly IS revolutionary (or at least evolutionary,) and then, after all the hype had died down, I'll usually be the last one to tout the merits of the technology. Today's post is a prime example of my policy of being last to the table. (For those of you hoping to hear me tout Avid's Camcutter technology or JVC's D9 format, you'll just have to keep waiting... ) This post will focus on tapeless production technologies and a specific application where we saved time and money for a client.

What Are Tapeless Production Technolgies?
I'm glad you asked. When I talk about tapeless, I really mean "media-less"--that is, recording systems where video is being recorded on re-usable media as files, and where the recorded files can be directly transferred to a computer and hard drive without the use of additional hardware (like VTRs, media readers, etc.) Some of the most common professional examples are Panasonic's P2 card technology and Sony's SxS technology (which are solid state "flash" memory based) and portable hard drive recorders like the Focus Enhancements Firestore. There are also consumer level camcorders that record to flash memory, but for this post, I'll focus on the professional solutions.








How do tapeless production technolgies save time and money?
As with any new technology that drastically changes the way things are done, it takes some careful consideration (and mistake making) to figure out the best way to apply it. Now that we've been using these technologies for about three years, we've come up with some pretty good techniques for their application.

The most obvious cost savings is attained by virtue of the fact that you are not buying and using tape stock. For some projects, this can be a significant savings. Another way tapeless technologies can save time and money is that they allow some of the logging and marking of footage to be done during production. For example, each question and answer of an interview can be recorded into a separate file, so that when brought into the edit system, the interview is already partially logged. This saves tons of time (and money) in the capture, logging and editing process. Additional time and money can be saved at the end of the project during archiving since you will now be archiving digital assets instead of video tapes.

If you look at a specific example of an actual production, the savings and advantages become more obvious.

A Tapeless Work-Flow Case Study:
Recently, one of our clients brought us in to make a kick off video for an upcoming meeting. As we got into discussion of the project, it became clear that there would actually be four days of meetings and that they would want a video to kick off each day's theme plus two additional videos for one of the breakout sessions. An additional challenge also came up in that meeting: We would need to interview more than 50 team members over a period of 20 days in no fewer than 10 cities across North America. Then the final challenge was issued: At the end of shooting, we would have less than a week to edit and deliver all of the videos.

Our first thought was, "NO WAY, this can't be done!" Then, we sat down and started figuring out how it could be done and came up with a plan. (It is simply not in our nature to say no... ) Eventually, we decided that we could do the project if we had a way to shoot the footage, while simultaneously pre-logging it. We would also need a way of sorting and editing the footage at the end of each day, while we traveled. Five years ago, this would have been impossible, but today, using tapeless production technologies, we were able to do exactly that.

The first tool we knew we would need was a camera that could record to solid state media. We decided to shoot with our Panasonic HVX200 in beautiful HD right onto P2 cards. Separate files were created for each answer (whenever possible) and the footage was transferred into Final Cut Studio on a MacBook Pro on location, as we shot. At the end of the day, we would trim up the answers in FCS so that when we returned, the editor could literally get right to the business of editing. We also pre-composed all motion graphics and titles in Adobe After Effects CS4 so that these could be dropped into the edit at the end of production. In the end, we completed the videos right on time--to rave reviews from our client.

The result of our solid planning and this new technology was that we saved time and money at every stage of the production process AND we were able to take on a project and create stunning results in a way that would not have been possible only a few years ago.

While these technologies are not necessarily for every project you will encounter, I believe they will be an increasingly important part of the professional production toolbox moving forward.

5 Tips for Powerful Videos

In today's "everyone owns a camcorder" world, making a video or finding someone to do that for you is easier than it has ever been. Chances are good that at some point, you, or someone in your immediate family, has made a video and shared it around. But does that experience translate to being able to make videos for your organization, company, or group? The answer depends on what kind of video you need to make and what your other job responsibilities are. Certainly, having some experience shooting or editing video won't hurt and will give you a better understanding of the process.

Whether you decide to take a do-it-yourself approach or hire a professional, answering these five questions will help you get the most bang for your video buck.

1) Who is my audience? Be specific and thoroughly describe who you want to watch your video.

2) What message(s) do I want my audience to take away from the video. Again, be specific and list everything you want them to know and why.

3) What other media could be used to convey the same message(s)? The key to any successful communication is matching the message to the medium. If something would work better in print, or on the web, figure out how all the media can work together to convey the message(s) most powerfully.

4) What is the definition of success? Ultimately, this is the question your boss is going to ask you (or the most important question you should ask yourself, if YOU are the boss.) Think about the answers to the questions above, then ask, "If the video is successful, what will have happened?" The answer usually involves stating what your audience, or a key portion of it, will have done as a result of watching the video. For example, "10% of the audience of our viral video will have clicked through to our website, and 1% overall, will have purchased our product," or "roll out of our training video will result in a 10% reduction in calls to our customer support call center." Carefully defining success will guide your decisions throughout the production process, so this step is critical!

5) How much should we budget for the video? Now that you have defined your audience, message(s), communications plan, and success the final step is determining your budget. While many people answer this question with the obvious "as little as we possibly can!", the real answer should flow naturally from your success criteria. For example, if your current cost per customer acquired is "x", the maximum budget for your video should be "x" times the number of customers you think you can acquire using your video over a given period of time. Or, if your current cost per support call is "y", an appropriate maximum budget should be "y" times the number of calls you can reduce by employing a training video. While this is not an exact science, it should certainly give you a good starting point.

Once you have answered these five questions, you are now ready to get into the fun part: planning your video. You can learn about this process in an earlier post.

The Professional Difference Part 2: Planning

In this installment, we’ll look at another differentiator between those who pursue film and video production as a hobby, and those of us who are professionals: planning.

One of the most common questions I get as a professional is, “What will it cost to shoot my video?” As a professional, what I think is, “What will it cost to produce your video?” This is an important distinction because the cost of creating a finished product that is dynamic and engaging is not just the cost of shooting it, but the cost of writing it, planning it, shooting it, editing it, and distributing it.

The planning phase (AKA pre-production) is what we will focus on here, because it is the phase of production where you have the most control over your result, and the greatest means of controlling costs. When I explain this, I am often asked, “Wouldn’t it be faster and less expensive to just go out and shoot the video and skip this phase?” My answer to this question is an unequivocal, “No” for a simple reason: Talking and Writing are much cheaper than shooting and editing. If you have a good plan that considers your budget, time-line, and, most importantly your goals for your video, everything will fit together correctly the first time. Re-shoots are avoided. Things don’t have to be “fixed in post.” Budgets and time-lines are met. Goals are achieved.

Here is a good description of all the things that are commonly done in pre-production of a film. Some or all of these activities may be required for your project.

So the next time you need a video produced, make sure the company or person you work with understands the importance of planning. If they don’t, find someone who does. I know a great little production company in Berkeley, CA that can help… really, I do… :)

Frame by Frame Simple Tip: Using Twitwall to Promote Videos

Want to rapidly promote your hot new viral video to all your friends and followers quickly and simply? Use Twitter and Twitwall to blast out a new video quickly and easily.

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The Professional Difference Part 1: Insurance

On a recent well deserved vacation in the mountains, I had the good fortune to spend some time with an old friend from college. As we caught up on family, life, and the typical “what ever happened to…” discussions, the conversation eventually got around to work. When I explained a little about what I do, my friend asked me a question I have been asked over and over throughout the years. “Why,” he asked, “should someone hire you as opposed to doing it herself or having a friend with a video camera come and do the work?”

For a long time, I found this question very offensive. I used to say things like, “Well, you can read and write, and I know you like to argue, so why did you hire an attorney to settle that lawsuit you were involved in?” Or, “Hey, you’re pretty handy with tools, why did you hire a contractor to put the second story on your house?” This, however, never got the point across for a simple reason—most people have no idea that there is a difference between pointing the camera at a subject and making a beautiful, and watchable film or video—and furthermore, it is not their fault for not knowing this difference—it is the fault of everyone in our industry who hasn’t done a good job of explaining the value that a media professional provides. It is my hope that posts here will help toward that end.

Since this a huge topic, which will cover a wide range of areas, I decided to start with one of the simplest areas that differentiates the pro from the amateur—insurance. Before you stop reading, let me assure you that the rest of this post will NOT read like a claim form or an advertisement for insurance companies.

The simple fact of the matter is that all business endeavors carry a certain amount of risk with them and the media business is no different. In addition to the common risks of injury (which requires worker’s compensation insurance) or general liability the media business carry risks that are associated with the nature of our business. These include but are not limited to: damage to the negatives or recording media, completion of a project, damage to props and locations, and improper use of someone’s image or recording.

The first thing a professional has over a pro in these areas is that they understand these risks and know how to mitigate them. After all, avoiding a disaster is far better than having an insurance policy to cover it. This being the real world, however, we all know that even the most prepared and risk-averse people sometimes have accidents, and when these accidents happen, insurance is the best way to recover from them.

Rather than going into all of the different types of insurance that our out there for media professionals (and boring you to tears) let me just make a simple observation and recommendation: Media professionals carry insurance, amateurs do not. If you are uncertain about whether the person you are about to hire is a professional or not, ask for proof of their insurance for liability and worker’s comp—at a minimum. If the person you are hiring doesn’t carry this type of insurance, keep in mind that you--or your organization--will likely be responsible if something happens during the production.

This is a good explanation of the different types of insurance Film and Video Professional carry.

Using Video with Social Media-3 Quick Tips

I know, I know.... you're tired of hearing about social media and how web 2.0 has changed the world... blah, blah, blah!

I totally understand. Everyone I talk to and everywhere I go, it seems, social media is THE topic of conversation. While there is a TON of hype out there about the promise of these new media, I think in this case, you CAN believe the hype (sorry Flava...) There has been an explosion in the number of users the best of these sites are attracting.

If this is true, (and if you've seen you're Facebook and LinkedIn networks grow as much as mine in the last 3 months, I suspect you KNOW it's true,) then there is a tremendous opportunity to use these media to distribute all kinds of content, inlcuding video.

So what should you do if you have video content you want to distribute via social media networks? Here are three quick tips.

1) If you haven't already done it, get accounts set up for your organization at Facebook and MySpace, then go find niche social networks in your organizations area of interest.

2) Encode and upload your videos to all of the major viral video sites (we can help you with this if you want.) Keep them short and focus on humor and how to videos for best results.

3) Embed links to your videos on viral sites on your social network pages so that your network is instantly notified that you have uploaded new content. (You can also upload directly to many of the social network sites, however this will make it more difficult to track the traffic you generate for your videos.)

That's it, simple! Oh yeah, and if you would be so kind as to join our Facebook Group while you're at it, it would be much appreciated!

Pro-sumer HD Video Formats Demystified

There are many different flavors of HD Video available for today’s video producer, and it seems like more are being created each day. In this post, I’ll look at a few of the common flavors and talk about their strengths and weaknesses. Since I am not even close to being an engineer, I’ll attempt to keep the information top-level and look at them from the standpoint of someone considering shooting and editing in these formats. If you want information suitable for an engineer, check out this site. Also, keep in mind that some of what I say is my subjective opinion. Don’t take mine as the final word—ideally, you should look at both first-generation footage and finished projects from the various formats to form your own subjective opinion.

HDV: This has rapidly become the most popular of pro-sumer formats due to the relatively inexpensive cameras that shoot in the format and the feature that it records on miniDV tape stock. Other than these two features (which are actually pretty huge), HDV really doesn’t have many advantages over other formats. The high compression and use of an MPEG-like codec make it a poor choice for editing and DVD distribution, although many projects that originate on HDV are improved by use of dedicated editing technology. This format is also made more difficult to work with due to competing and incompatible formats released by Sony and JVC.

XDCAM xe: This is the most recent release from Sony and is largely an answer to DVCProHD (see below.) This format uses a compression technology similar to, but better than, HDV. While the verdict is out on whether this compression is “better” than DVCPro HD, the considerably lower data rate allows for longer record times on solid state media, but will probably also require you to convert to a different format for editing. Prosumer cameras using this flavor of HD record on Sony’s proprietary solid state media which sells for a price similar to Panasonic’s P2 cards.

DVCPro HD: This format, available on Panasonic Cameras, is a nice step up from HDV in terms of quality. The much lower compression, wider dynamic range and color space, and use of discreet frames makes DVCProHD (also sometimes called DVCPro100) a much nicer recording format. It is also an excellent choice for post production when disc space is a consideration—in fact many people recommend converting HDV to DVCProHD for editing to preserve the image quality of the HD. The primary drawback of this format is that in pro-sumer cameras like the HVX200, you can only record on Panasonic’s proprietary solid state P2 cards instead of inexpensive and widely available MiniDV tape.

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