Using videos to promote services

Funny despite being a mod I'm not 100% about where the best place to put this thread is but anyways.......

I'm looking into producing a couple of short videos to promote the site, mainly youtube but also on the facebook page too. I don't have a video camera that takes anything like the quality I would want to use so this is all stills.

Question is, is one video enough? I'm thinking with all the extras and different events that one video would be trying to do too much and likely to lose the interest of the viewer?

Any advice from people who do use video media would be great :)

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Originally Posted by DeckstarDeluxe

Funny despite being a mod I'm not 100% about where the best place to put this thread is but anyways.......

I'm looking into producing a couple of short videos to promote the site, mainly youtube but also on the facebook page too. I don't have a video camera that takes anything like the quality I would want to use so this is all stills.

Question is, is one video enough? I'm thinking with all the extras and different events that one video would be trying to do too much and likely to lose the interest of the viewer?

Any advice from people who do use video media would be great :)

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Funny this should come up. I'm slap bang in the middle of adding this to my site today (well....Marc J is). It's not live yet but we've been testing it today.

I think several short focussed clips on each service is better than one long one.

Will look forward to seeing them, hopefully it will give me a few ideas

Neil......2 words


Pant Man :D :D :D




Incase you think I've gone bonkers Neils posted a demo vid on FB for comments and there's a random bloke stood in just his pants at one point :D :D :D

:pants:

Just seen the vid :sj:

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Originally Posted by DeckstarDeluxe

Will look forward to seeing them, hopefully it will give me a few ideas

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You probably already have seen them. The clips have been posted here on the forum at intervals.


Here's the latest though, not sure if I've posted this....

‪First Dance - Elite DJ...

The plan is to have several short clips like the above. Maybe one showing the service I can provide during the ceremony. One for Mood Lighting, one for gobo projection, one showing the finale song etc. Just little clips that show different parts of various services and parts of the evening. I think the trick is making them short enough so they won't click off half way through the clip.

Ironically the bloke is supposed to be Flash :D

:rofl: :rofl:


Back on topic though I've recently taken my videos off my site as I thought they weren't good enough. Still have them on my youtube page but not my website.

Going to work on some new ones.

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Originally Posted by DeckstarDeluxe

Question is, is one video enough?

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Nahh do millions of them. :p

One for each area of what you do is ideal.

Ie introduction, weddings/parties, optional extras, how to book etc.
I am doing a series of them at the moment for my new website.

Its nice for a client to see what they getting without even leaving their sofa.
Beats a load of empty dance floor lighting shows.

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Originally Posted by yourdj

Nahh do millions of them. :p

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There is such a thing as 'overkill'. A stage you passed many thousands of videos ago. :d

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Originally Posted by Shaun

You probably already have seen them. The clips have been posted here on the forum at intervals.


Here's the latest though, not sure if I've posted this....

‪First Dance - Elite DJ Entertainment‬‏ - YouTube


The plan is to have several short clips like the above. Maybe one showing the service I can provide during the ceremony. One for Mood Lighting, one for gobo projection, one showing the finale song etc. Just little clips that show different parts of various services and parts of the evening. I think the trick is making them short enough so they won't click off half way through the clip.

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That looks fantastic Shaun. Did you take all the video's yourself? What type of camera was used?

Shaun, would you offer video editing as a service?

I understand you're really busy with your design but do you reckon (some point this year - near your quiet times perhaps?) that it's something you'd consider?

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Originally Posted by MikeW

That looks fantastic Shaun. Did you take all the video's yourself? What type of camera was used?

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Thanks. Clips taken on my cheap handheld Sony camcorder (Amazon . The video takes not too bad footage but it has a lot of niggles that I hate. It goes focus crazy in low light (disco) situations. So half the footage I take is unusable. And anything higher than background music and the on board mic distorts the sound - which is the sole reason all my disco footage has an overdub of music added at the production stage.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Brown

Shaun, would you offer video editing as a service?

I understand you're really busy with your design but do you reckon (some point this year - near your quiet times perhaps?) that it's something you'd consider?

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You've asked that before :d

Honestly, it's not something I'd ever offer as a service. For several reasons really.

1: I'm 'ok' at it as an amateur hobby. Nowhere near a level that I would feel comfortable charging for.
2: Unlike my design services the editing takes me a while to sort through and decide how to best edit them. The fee I'd have to charge for the huge amount of time spent on it would be very pricey as the process is a lengthy affair for me.
3: It's hit or a miss if the software works. Major issues with my PC has ruled out my 2 favourite video editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro...and the more basic (but my all time favourite) 'Pinnacle Studio HD'). Both keep crashing during rendering so I've had to move onto a relatively cheap and cheerful video editing suite (which I used to make the above video) but it's limited on it's features, but it's fantastic for first time movie makers! You should give it a go. It's VERY easy to get the hang off! AVS Video Editor: http://www.avs4you.com/video.aspx

I'm more than happy to offer help and advice if you do give it a go, but I won't ever be offering editing as a service. There is a few expert editors here on the forum, First one that springs to mind is Max (member visualdjmax). He's forgot more about video editing than I'll ever know.

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Originally Posted by Shaun

Thanks. Clips taken on my cheap handheld Sony camcorder (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-HDRCX6-...dp/B000RF7TQQ). The video takes not too bad footage but it has a lot of niggles that I hate. It goes focus crazy in low light (disco) situations. So half the footage I take is unusable. And anything higher than background music and the on board mic distorts the sound - which is the sole reason all my disco footage has an overdub of music added at the production stage.



You've asked that before :d

Honestly, it's not something I'd ever offer as a service. For several reasons really.

1: I'm 'ok' at it as an amateur hobby. Nowhere near a level that I would feel comfortable charging for.
2: Unlike my design services the editing takes me a while to sort through and decide how to best edit them. The fee I'd have to charge for the huge amount of time spent on it would be very pricey as the process is a lengthy affair for me.
3: It's hit or a miss if the software works. Major issues with my PC has ruled out my 2 favourite video editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro...and the more basic (but my all time favourite) 'Pinnacle Studio HD'). Both keep crashing during rendering so I've had to move onto a relatively cheap and cheerful video editing suite (which I used to make the above video) but it's limited on it's features, but it's fantastic for first time movie makers! You should give it a go. It's VERY easy to get the hang off! AVS Video Editor: http://www.avs4you.com/video.aspx

I'm more than happy to offer help and advice if you do give it a go, but I won't ever be offering editing as a service. There is a few expert editors here on the forum, First one that springs to mind is Tim (member tc1ooo). He's forgot more about video editing than I'll ever know.

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Thanks vey much for the info Shaun. I have downloaded the AVS Video Editor, and will give it a go. I was looking for software that I could use to capture stills from video, and hopefully this will. Thanks again.

I've just recently cobbled together a video, which I don't think has turned out too bad, bit of a work in progress really. I need to tidy up the edit on the track and also add a few more bits of text here and there. Shot mostly on my iphone, so the quality of video isn't that good.

‪Alan Garner - Professional DJ &...

Put it together using Pinnacle version 12

Nice work Alan. :beer1:

The only critique(s) I would add (if I may) is try get the audio edit a little more refined so it's less noticeable. And a little less transition effects (which I'll extrapolate a little further on later. Very nice work though. :)





Are you sitting comfortably? I've had a few :beer1:'s so this could be a long one. :o

I'm going offer some tips and tricks for what I find works for me. Maybe it can be of use to others. Apologies in advance if it's a bit all over the place. My mind tends to wander too frequently when I've had a few so there might not be a cohesive flow to the info below..lol.


I've had a few favourable comments in the past about my videos. The truth is, I'm winging it, I don't really know what I'm doing with regards to video editing. And that's the honest truth!

I don't take particularly great footage. I've already mentioned the bad points about my camcorder that hinders really great shots. I'm (at the moment) using really basic and amateur editing techniques with pretty basic software. What I think I do well though is maximising what I have and refining it into something that hopefully ends up not too bad. It's achieved not through any particular skill, but by having a keen eye to what looks aesthetically good. So there you go. My secret revealed.

It's also been said in the past that you need good footage to begin with to have a good finished effect.. Again, not necessarily so...most of my footage is absolute crap. The trick is maximising your best bits. Steady shots with an cheap HD camera and you're all the way.



A FEW TIPS FOR TAKING FOOTAGE>

STEADY CAMERA - shaky footage, zooms in and out, and fast movements don't work for me well at all. I setup my camera on a GORILLAPOD attached to my deckstand booth and I just record short clips about 2 minutes long max at intervals throughout the night. I just click record and carry on DJing, stop recording a few minutes later then repeat later on. Several times I'll place the camera at different angles and do the process again. Short clips make finding footage later a lot easier. Not zooming and having a steady shot allows cleaner edits and better transitions from scene to scene. I've also found that wash lighting effects work great for footage from the rig out onto the dance-floor as it illuminates your dancers. Faster lighting with more movement (especially when using haze) is great for getting footage from the guests perspective looking back at the disco. When recording first dances the more lighting you can get on the dance-floor the better. Perhaps even asking the venue to leave some lights on....it'll make for a better and clearer bit of footage to edit later on.

GETTING USEFUL SHOTS - Take some quick nice close up shots of your lighting in action, and from different angles, these can look great quickly edited into your clips in between dancing shots. Alternate between taking footage of people a distance away dancing and shots where you have zoomed in for a close up. These will offer a bit more fluidity and a range of perspectives in your finished edited video. Again, do all your zooming in and changing camera angles before hitting record, and let your editing afterwards bring the shots alive. There is a time and a place for some nice panning shots but I tend not to use them for the kind of videos I try put together. Don't be adverse to standing on a chair and holding your camera above your head at arms length to get a good shot from up high looking down. You can get some good dramatic shots without guests heads getting in the way. Even doing that for 30 seconds to a minute can give you enough footage for one of your scenes in your finished video.



EDITING AND PRODUCTION>

LESS IS MORE (transitions)
Less is definitely more when editing footage I find. Straight chopping from clip to clip and some basic fades have so much more impact than the hundreds of transition effects that are bundled with video editing software. Experience has made me realise that over use of transition effects can over-crowd the footage and ultimately give the footage less impact. When you do your next clip, out of curiosity, try making it without any transitions (with the exception of basic fades and just chopping from clip to clip). I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how much different it looks, and how much more impact it may have.

MUSIC
Music can have a dramatic effect on the outcome of your video. Music selection is EXTREMELY important as it sets the overall ambiance for your production. Personally, I try to keep away from current 'anthems' as it can restrict the footage longevity for your uses. Current 'big tunes' tend to be over-used, over-played, and people will be sick to death of hearing them this time next year (if not sooner). Try an off the wall, out of the ordinary or perhaps a classic track from way back. It'll offer your footage more shelf-life, especially if you plan on using the footage for an extended period for your marketing etc.

When editing your music track I think it's vital for the edit to be as seamless as possible if you are chopping it up. If in doubt try using just a whole complete section of the song instead of a part from here and there edited together. After the main break in the centre, just as it's kicking back into the main chorus can be a good part of the track to use. That way you get the main part of the song with the gradual wind down and natural end to the track - which will give you a nice finish to your own video. If you're confident in your editing, then a trick I use often is taking the intro and adding it in further in the song (in essence chopping a huge segment out to shorten the clip). As I nearly always add a music track into my clips I always edit the footage to work with the music, not the other way around. Which seems to go against the grain of thinking as the footage is definitely the most important part. It seems to work for me though in most cases. The exception was the clip above. That could have worked with any slow track as all there is to it is basic fades from scene to scene with an overlay of transparent PNG images for the text. I had difficulty finding a track I wanted so I put the music in afterwards once the clip was near completion.


FROM CLIP TO CLIP
Some other tricks I use is editing the footage/photos is so they come in on the beat of the track, or at a certain segment of the song. It's also handy to vary the times of the photos/footage on screen. Occasionally it's nice to linger on a great bit of footage, which can work well during instrumental breaks etc, and sometimes it's great to have a couple of quick and flowing edits from scene to scene during the faster parts of your backing music. It's all about trial and error and seeing what aesthetically looks and sounds right. It can be a lengthy process trying different things and different orders but occasionally it'll fall into place and you'll think "I like that!"



GETTING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR SOFTWARE
Ok, I mentioned earlier about 'winging it'. And to do that I don't use the bits of the software I think are 'too basic'. Firstly the countless transition scenes, of which there are sometimes hundreds. Tacky text overlays that are built in to the editing suites. Unless you pay seriously top dollar for top of the range editing software then the text overlays are (IMHO) very poor quality and to be avoided. A good trick I use is to use photo editing software (even something free like gimp). Make your text up with a nice font of your choosing and save it as an PNG or GIF image using a transparent background from the 'save settings' in your photo editing software. You can then overlay those text images on top of your video. That's the process I used above and it's come out much nicer than if I'd used any of the text overlays that comes with the video editing suite.



PREPPING FOR DISASTER
After too many bad experiences of software crashing, do remember to SAVE SAVE AND SAVE your project regularly. That's the biggest tip I can offer - it'll save you a headache later. Trust me on that.


More will come to me later but it's late so I'll leave it there. Neil, sorry for hijacking your thread, perhaps there is something that'll help somewhere. I'll spit this topic later if necessary.


Well, that's what works for me, and the way I take footage and edit. It'd be nice if some of the more experienced could offer some of their tips and tricks too. :)




Happy editing! :daft:

Not at all Shaun I'm sure others will find it as interesting as I did :)

Wow i won't quote that Shaun lol

BUT

Thankyou and i will follow that very helpfull advice :D

Hopefully i can make a promo video ;)

BTW has anyone used Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11.0 and got any hints and tips on how to make a promo vid on that :D

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Originally Posted by Booche

BTW has anyone used Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11.0 and got any hints and tips on how to make a promo vid on that :D

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Sony Vegas? I'm pretty sure I tried a trial version but didn't purchase it when it expired. Very comprehensive and in-depth software but I didn't have the time for the learning curve it would've taken. If you're new to editing I'd recommend a less in-depth (and less expensive editing suite to start with). Pinnacle Studio is what I started with and it was a doodle to do the basics. The software I linked to above is easy to use too.

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Originally Posted by Shaun

Sony Vegas? I'm pretty sure I tried a trial version but didn't purchase it when it expired. Very comprehensive and in-depth software but I didn't have the time for the learning curve it would've taken. If you're new to editing I'd recommend a less in-depth (and less expensive editing suite to start with). Pinnacle Studio is what I started with and it was a doodle to do the basics. The software I linked to above is easy to use too.

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:o :o :o What link :o :o :o lol :beer1:

EDIT: Found it on your older post sorry my mistake :)

Thankyou will have a play about with that :)

Well done Shaun for a very interesting and informative post. (if that was after a couple of beers, imagine what it would have been like with no alcohol at all:D ). I am sure a lot of members will get a lot from this. Thanks again.

Here's a slightly different question - does anyone use their own Flash video player on their website, or does everyone use Youtube or Facebook for presenting their videos?

I'm just wondering as it seems like a significant percentage of Corporates block Youtube as standard, meaning that by hosting your video's on Youtube, you're effectively making them inaccessible to potentially very profitable clients (this obviously isn't such a big deal for weddings, etc where in theory people will be using their home PC/broadband?)

Julian

Shaun, you're a star. Thanks.

Dave - I purchased the Sony Vegas a few hears ago. Decent software but very hard to use. It's collecting dust in my bedroom now.

Another good one - Cyberlink Power Director (whatever the latest one is) - won loads of awards and is very easy to use.

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Originally Posted by DJ Jules

Here's a slightly different question - does anyone use their own Flash video player on their website, or does everyone use Youtube or Facebook for presenting their videos?

I'm just wondering as it seems like a significant percentage of Corporates block Youtube as standard, meaning that by hosting your video's on Youtube, you're effectively making them inaccessible to potentially very profitable clients (this obviously isn't such a big deal for weddings, etc where in theory people will be using their home PC/broadband?)

Julian

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Hi Julian
I asked a similar question the other day. I recently purchased an Ipad and noticed that any websites which use Flash, are not able to be viewed.

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Originally Posted by MikeW

Hi Julian
I asked a similar question the other day. I recently purchased an Ipad and noticed that any websites which use Flash, are not able to be viewed.

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Did you get an answer? Can you link to the thread if you did?

Ta,

Julian

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Originally Posted by MikeW

Hi Julian
I asked a similar question the other day. I recently purchased an Ipad and noticed that any websites which use Flash, are not able to be viewed.

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Although if there is a YouTube link the iPhone/iPad opens the YouTube player AFAIK ?

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Originally Posted by DJ Jules

Here's a slightly different question - does anyone use their own Flash video player on their website, or does everyone use Youtube or Facebook for presenting their videos?

I'm just wondering as it seems like a significant percentage of Corporates block Youtube as standard, meaning that by hosting your video's on Youtube, you're effectively making them inaccessible to potentially very profitable clients (this obviously isn't such a big deal for weddings, etc where in theory people will be using their home PC/broadband?)

Julian

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Originally Posted by MikeW

Hi Julian
I asked a similar question the other day. I recently purchased an Ipad and noticed that any websites which use Flash, are not able to be viewed.

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Originally Posted by DJ Jules

Did you get an answer? Can you link to the thread if you did?

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Originally Posted by DJ Paulie

Although if there is a YouTube link the iPhone/iPad opens the YouTube player AFAIK ?

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I use the JWPlayer which supports Flash and HTML5, meaning your videos will show on devices that don't support Flash or workplaces which don't allow it.

It's a bit pricey for the sinlgle commercial license (€59) plus another €9 if you want the HD plugin, but well worth it. I have a bulk license which is considerably cheaper per site, which design and hosting clients can use...but if you have multiple sites it gets cheaper the more licenses you need.

Ideally you want to put your video files on a server that supports HTTP PseudoStreaming (see the JWPlayer Support and H264 Streaming Module site) which allows automatic bitrate detection / switching (serve HD quality to high bandwidth visitors, lower quality to lower bandwidth, automatically) and seamless HD / SD switching (without it the video starts again when switching streams). But that's not essential and it works perfectly well without it.

I'm using it on Shaun's site, there's a single video demo link which he might share, otherwise wait to see it on his site :)

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Originally Posted by Marc J

I use the JWPlayer which supports Flash and HTML5, meaning your videos will show on devices that don't support Flash or workplaces which don't allow it.

It's a bit pricey for the sinlgle commercial license (€59) plus another €9 if you want the HD plugin, but well worth it. I have a bulk license which is considerably cheaper per site, which design and hosting clients can use...but if you have multiple sites it gets cheaper the more licenses you need.

Ideally you want to put your video files on a server that supports HTTP PseudoStreaming (see the JWPlayer Support and H264 Streaming Module site) which allows automatic bitrate detection / switching (serve HD quality to high bandwidth visitors, lower quality to lower bandwidth, automatically) and seamless HD / SD switching (without it the video starts again when switching streams). But that's not essential and it works perfectly well without it.

I'm using it on Shaun's site, there's a single video demo link which he might share, otherwise wait to see it on his site :)

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Here's the test stream using the jwplayer Marc mentioned - www.elitedj.co.uk/videotest.html . It's just on a plain white background for testing but it'll be fully integrated into my site with the rest of my clips when complete. Much neater than Youtube and the barrage of ads they place over their videos!

+1 for JWplayer

Couple of very minor behavioural issues with Firefox I've come across but perhaps that's just me :p

I would advise those on cheap/free/entry-level shared hosting packages to properly assess the impact of video streaming before uploading gigs of footage though :o

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Originally Posted by Vectis

I would advise those on cheap/free/entry-level shared hosting packages to properly assess the impact of video streaming before uploading gigs of footage though :o

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Absolutely. Video footage, especially HD quality, can be both large in filesize and very bandwidth hungry. The people behind JWPlayer have their Bits on the Run solution for video hosting which I've never used but is reasonably priced. You can also have your video stored on Amazon S3, or find a reasonably priced "unlimited disk space and bandwidth" host and put all your video content on there :D

I use an unlimited space and bandwidth package. I doubt a few small clips on my site will be that resourse hungry though. I'm not planning on getting thousands of clicks a month, just a few small clips on offer for prospective clients to peruse whilst looking through my website. :)

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Originally Posted by Vectis

+1 for JWplayer

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..and I have Youtube because? :confused:

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Originally Posted by Solitaire Entertainments Ltd

..and I have Youtube because? :confused:

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... because that was the most appropriate solution at the time :)

There's a fair bit of work to make the change, and a licence fee, for no real gain other than losing the youtube overlay.

If you want to delve deeper drop me an email :)

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Originally Posted by Vectis

There's a fair bit of work to make the change

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I thought there might be...:p

I'm not keen on having Youtube video on my site but you did say something about video on your actual site taking a lot of resources at the time?

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Originally Posted by Vectis

There's a fair bit of work to make the change, and a licence fee, for no real gain other than losing the youtube overlay.

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....and the fact that videos hosted away from youtube won't have ads. That was the biggest plus point for me. It just feels a little bit more professional not using YouTube (in my humble opinion).

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Originally Posted by Shaun

....and the fact that videos hosted away from youtube won't have ads. That was the biggest plus point for me.

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And looks a bit more professional? :p

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Originally Posted by Solitaire Entertainments Ltd

And looks a bit more professional? :p

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See my edit above.....at the same as you posted. :d

great minds eh! :D

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Originally Posted by Shaun

See my edit above.....at the same as you posted. :d

great minds eh! :D

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You must have edited twice as I saw your comment and then it disappeared and then re-appeared! ;)

Vimeo Plus may be something that appeals to someone. I would imagine those with a reasonable amount of HD content and promotional material could probably justify the expense.

http://vimeo.com/plus

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Originally Posted by Solitaire Entertainments Ltd

You must have edited twice as I saw your comment and then it disappeared and then re-appeared! ;)

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You know me. Trigger happy.

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Originally Posted by Vectis

...no real gain other than losing the youtube overlay.

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Originally Posted by Shaun

....and the fact that videos hosted away from youtube won't have ads. That was the biggest plus point for me. It just feels a little bit more professional not using YouTube (in my humble opinion).

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In days gone by there was a certain "stigma" attached to using Youtube for video on your own site, but that has more or less disappeared as more and more big companies use it. Now (imho) the advantages in using your own video solution are: -

1) No YT overlay.
2) No ads over the video.
3) Clicking on your video doesn't take the visitor to youtube, which will then list similar videos (by other people, perhaps competitors), ads, and any videos you uploaded of aunty Doris singing "Crazy" on the Karaoke or your kid's first steps.
4) Looks more professional.
5) If your video contains copyrighted material, Youtube may do an audio substitution on it. I'm not suggesting that using your own video solution is a way to flout copyright law - but you can easily buy a license for your own site if you need to.

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Originally Posted by Solitaire Entertainments Ltd

I'm not keen on having Youtube video on my site but you did say something about video on your actual site taking a lot of resources at the time?

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The downsides to using your own video solution are: -

1) You might have to purchase a software license for the player you choose.
2) Technically more difficult to implement than simple Youtube embed code.
3) You have to encode your videos correctly. Youtube takes care of all this when you upload video, it accepts a wide array of formats without any problems and encodes them for you. When doing this yourself you have to worry about the quality Vs file size tradeoff, as well as what format / codec to use, especially if you want it to be both Flash and HTML5 compatible.
4) Video is resource hungry, in both disk space and bandwidth. But if you farm this out (see post #29) that's easily overcome.

:agree:

Wot he said :D

A friend of mine is a full time solo artist and he has uploaded a clip of himself in action but i'm not sure if it does him justice....

‪Dick Daz - 5 Minute Mix‬‏ ...