HD on the web…isn’t.

This may not press anyone else’s ‘hot button’, but it does mine. So, if this begins to come off like a rant, well, I’m sorry. I’m talking about all of the claims of ‘HD video’ on the web. It’s everywhere. And the hard part is, is that it’s really difficult to dispel without starting to get too technical, which hits the reader’s ‘snooze button’. OK…those are the only two buttons I’ll mention here. I now there are more, but they don’t apply.

HD has a definition – basically a video that has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, or 1920 x 1080 pixels. See?? I just lost a lot of you, didn’t I? Shoot…I knew this was gonna be tough. OK…suffice to say that an HD picture is big – really big. Here’s a comparison of current HD formats to your plain old SD television picture. Just for comparison sake, I’ve thrown in what has been the most common web video size for the past few years – 320 x 240.

So yeah, there are 2 flavors of HD video, but that’s another blog entry for another time. But, if you ever saw ‘Blazing Saddles’, you’ll get the gist – “Standards!? We don’t need no stinking STANDARDS!”

Now, you’ve probably guessed that it would take a lot higher speed internet connection to shove that full HD picture through, and you’d be right. A LOT higher. Try 7 – 10 mbps. A puny little $29.99 per month DSL line wont cut it. But don’t feel bad – there’s precious little out there that can, especially in a residential setting. And let’s face it…that’s who the video is for. I mean, no one is sitting in their corporate cubicle watching videos…right? Righttt…

So…what to do? Well…let’s call our non-HD video….”HD”!!! Heck, no one has a copyright on the acronym itself, do they? I mean, lot’s of companies call their product ‘funilicious’, and that word isn’t even in the regular dictionary, only the ‘marketing’ one.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to disparage these videos. With the codecs being used and improved today, coupled with the relatively higher speed connections at cheaper prices, what’s out there is light years ahead of what we were watching just a mere 2 years ago. It’s certainly High Quality, but High Def it ain’t.

Do you believe they put a man on the moon?

America put Man on the Moon! Where did 40 years go? I can remember it so clearly; I lived with my Great-grandmother who often recounted her father’s stories of the civil war. Now here we were just a few short years later, 1969, watching a man step on the moon! I was only 7 years old, but I had been to a TV studio when I was five and saw how the big cameras work..So I told my Grandma this is REAL really it is!! I’m not certain that she believed me..But we watched in absolute silence. I remember running outside with her binoculars to look up at the summer moon to see if I could see the Apollo capsule or our American flag..OK I was 7! Just a few months ago I found a box of old newspapers and one of the treasures was from 40 years ago- AMERICA PUTS MAN ON MOON! The online video that I have attached is the long version of a video that creative illusions was honored to produce for Space Florida. Over the past 20 years we have created many exciting video projects, but I can truly say as our production team sat and watched the raw footage from the archive reels, it was the summer of 1969 all over again..You could have heard a pin drop and a few eyes swelled up with pride. The editors that worked with the archived footage from NASA were like 5-10 year old boys all over again! That sort of American pride is something that seems to be missing from the summer of 2009, where is that American pride, maybe this online video will bring back a small spark for you or show your friends and family what it was like in July of 1969..and to answer REM..YES I believe AMERICA put the FIRST MAN on the MOON! Thank you Neil Armstrong for taking that step……

How can I get my Baby to SKATE?

How can I get my Baby to SKATE? Very simple you put Evian water in their formula, sippy cup and all of their cereal!  Well that’s what it looks like in the commercial that I saw!

What it takes is alot of Green screen, Baby wranglers, Stage mommies in training, stoller parking, CG artists, patient director and DP oh yes and a boat load of LUCK!  No one can really predict what wil make a great viral video…ok yes sex helps but it is not appropriate for all products or services..but it appears a laughing baby…it’s a hellova great place to start! So roll up your sleeves put your thinking hats on and line up the BABIES!

Everyone loves a laughing Child

It seems like just yesterday  that The Dancing baby of Ally McBeal was all over the “world wide web” isn’t that what we called it way back then?

Well CG and motion graphics editing have come “LIGHT YEARS” and the results are the EVIAN skating babies..but as my very cautious 4 year old niece pointed out to her almost 2 year old brother…don’t try this at home it’s not that easy!

It is a very successful and entertaining VIRAL BRANDING ONLINE VIDEO!! Congrats EVIAN you have struck gold or Water as the case may be!

Quality Content via Collaboration

When I view this video I see a great collaborative work. The singers/musicians are from all over the world. The producers/creators of the production are a handful of video/audio professionals with a vision of their end product and the plan for creating it. They have a very specific message and create a powerful video to deliver this message. This video is shot beatutifully and edited flawlessly. I saw this video last week, it was shown during NAB (national association of broadcasters), it was shown on a 20×60 ft film screen. The video worked as well on the large screen as it does on the encoded and reduced internet image, because of the quality of the content. The point being made during NAB showing was regarding recording high quality audio outside of a studio environment, using the right microphone, mixer and software. Less than a decade ago this would have been difficult. To me the point is QUALITY content is not a happy accident, this video is a viral success because the creators had a plan and executed their plan very well, I hope that you enjoy this collaborative effort.

Good Video Needs a PLAN!

First my ancestry is almost 100% Scottish, with a wee bit of English and an American Indian female tossed in..so I have heard all the jokes about Scots and their sheep.
With that said, these lads from Wales spend “a lot of time” with their sheep and the outcome is well… spectacular! The point is this video is thought through; concept, planning, rehearsal editing and some darn good border collies…so here is the video created by the Baa-studs…enjoy!

Edit makes UNC online video Entertaining

Quality content can be created entirely in the edit. Often times video that would be hard to watch and BORING can be spiced up entirely in the edit. Even for those of us that were thrilled by the UNC Tarheels taking the NCAA championship in the 2009 Final Four, watching the celebration in the street would have been a “snorefest”, but this time lapse edit complete with pep band underscore brings the fun to life QUICKLY….well for everyone except the fellas that work at the physical plant..

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Keith Ferrazzi’s Image in video matters

Keith Ferrazzi the author of Never eat alone, when he speaks online he values how his image, which is his brand, looks everywhere including online video.

In this video clip Keith Ferrazzi talks about how to Network at a party or networking event. This clip is very basic, it is called in the production industry a “talking head”. Enjoy this clip it contains valuable information.

This video is simple yet it is well lit, his appearance is business style yet approachable, the audio is clean and it is edited!! This was not a one shot deal, watch it again and notice all the different cuts.  These cuts helped to keep you interested in what he is discussing.

Now this Video  is the story of who Keith Ferrazzi is and how he got to where he currently is-

That was done by hand?

The most wonderful thing from a production standpoint is how much of the Sony Bravia Spots are REAL not CG. Not possible you say..Here is how they did it- take a peek behind the scenes, my favorite place to be…Enjoy!

It started with balls

The Sony Bravia commercial series started with us following the bouncing balls…100s of 1000s of bouncing balls. These were real balls dumped all over the streets of San Fransisco. Then came paint exploding in Scotland. Then Sony Bravia started their round the world spread of color. Again this spot is a creation of hands on human creation, not computers! What you end up with is a winding river of color-”Sony Bravia Domino City”