Sep 10
2
Animation
Generic Animation.
This may seem like an odd title, but we thought it time to bring up this topic. Generic animation is fast becoming an ever popular phenomenon in the world of corporate video production. We thought we would show you a quick example designed by London based animator, Adam Arnot Drummond who frequently freelances for Wild Lion Media Ltd, (www.wildlionmedia.co.uk).
Although this animation may not be the most interesting or graphical you have seen, the point we wish to explain is sufficed by the use of this clip. Many companies are turning to video to market their services and products and gradually animation is being used more often. The reason we believe is simple. Lets take the travel industry as an example. If you are offering holidays in numerous destinations it can be difficult to have a promotional video produced cost effectively given the locations of all of your destinations, not only this but many luxury travel marketers wish to portray fin details about their trips allowing the customers to gain their own experiences on holiday. This is why we believe animation can work with your video.
An animated clip can portray what you sell, product or service, however it can be far more generic and less detailed therefore becoming more cost effective and less subjective. You can be creative and innovative with your designs depending on which video production company you use of course! Through the use of a voice over, you can explain the important factors about you whilst keeping the viewer interested with great visual effects.
So, when planning your corporate video, think about animation, we’ll be positing an article shortly about the uses of animation within product demonstration videos soon.
Aug 10
29
Logorama
Its been a while since we posted any new material on here for you guys and were sorry about that! Truth is we’ve been too busy in thew world of video ourselves to offer any insight. But we have found one new video/animation that we believe is more than worths sharing. This video is 16 minutes long so be free up some time and turn on your speakers to watch this one. Created by a team of French professional animators, this short film opened the Sundance Film Festival and won an academy award in its category of short animated film.
We don’t have any particular advice on how to utilise this video for your benefit, this is more of a recommendation from us! If anything though, you can at least take inspiration from this video and for those of you working within the corporate video sector, there is some very important issues to take into account from this that could potentially lead to an improvement in your videos. The storyline is key here, the clever idea of using logos of major global brands to explain this entertaining story is indeed worth taking note. Its powerful, simple and incredibly effective.
Take a watch yourself and let us know what you think!
Posted in Global News by .
Jun 10
27
Making your website personal
Human beings respond to other human beings. It’s a matter of fact. Thats why face to face meetings are so valuable within a business environment, its why you take your most valued customers to lunch with you or to the golf course. Human interaction on a personal level is by far superior to any other medium of communication, be it email, telephone, letter, photo or video. However, it is also a luxury that many people cannot simply afford. Lets say for argument sake, your company operates out of an office in London, UK. If a potential customer from Newcastle or as far away as South Africa happens to be somewhat interested in your services, it could be an expensive gamble to offer to go and meet them and win them over especially if they turn out to be completely uninterested in the service, let alone your business.
Video is the best answer there is, albeit at the moment. Whilst its never going to be quite as personal as a face to face meeting, its an extremely efficient way of portraying your business’s personality. Talking head videos meet this demand and for a small fee too. There is a huge array of video production companies to choose from.
A talking head video allows you to introduce yourself and your business, it conveys your expertise and professionalism whilst also showing your potential customers who you really are. Without even having to say anything about the subject, it clearly shows you have nothing to hide, you are honest and confident enough in the service you provide to put your face on the web!
As I have already previously mentioned, humans respond to other humans, if your website is opened and a video pops up with a member of staff saying the simple word “hello”, you’ve already taken a huge step towards securing their business over a rival without video, this potential customer knows your face, humans tend to trust people when they can see them, more so than you would trust a salesman over the phone, it is quite simply more comfortable.
And you can do so much more than say hello with your video, you can help navigate people around your site, let them know whats on and whats on offer, what you do, how your different, in fact anything you want to be quite honest.
Our example video shown at the top of this article was filmed and produced by hertfordshire video production company, Wild Lion Media Ltd, who specialise in the production of high quality corporate video for affordable prices. The example video shows the director of First Ascent Group, talking about his business and what they do, it is one of three videos on their new personal website.
Posted in Benefits of Video by .
May 10
31
The Power of Advertising – Nike
Hi there, so we’ve just seen the newest Nike advert which is both on television and the web and thought we should at the very least share it with all you guys!
This latest video produced by Nike has clearly been produced at a huge cost but it is the way in which companies such as Nike approach advertising, making the most of events that we can all relate to, such as in this case the World Cup.
There is a common assumption that corporate video is boring, dull and painfully time consuming but this does not have to be the case! Of course when having a corporate video produced, you need to make sure you use a decent reputable video production company but its you that needs to give the video production company your aims and overall feel. I thought it worth posting this video in order to spark some imagination into the way you think and approach the making of a corporate video.
Nike have clearly shown the world here that its not all about talking about the benefits of your product and why you should buy it etc, they have taken a far simpler approach which in return attracts more people to view the video and ultimately be interested by it. This video is running on television for the duration of the world cup but has also been posted by Nike onto youtube and has to date received more than 11 million views!
The focus of the video is on one common subject that we are all interested in, the world cup, so they have quite simply put together a really interesting take on the world cup and its outcomes, there is inevitably a couple of shots of the brand logo, most noticeably the shot of Ronaldo’s shooting boots before he steps up for the free kick but other than this there is no in your face voices or text.
Watch it for yourself and think out of the box when planning your corporate video!
Posted in Global News by .
May 10
29
Hotel Marketing
Online viewers looking for a place to stay have to come expect highly resourceful websites from hotel groups regardless of their size or location. Name any of the big hotel chains across the globe and their sure to have a video somewhere, whether it be on their homepage or hidden somewhere amongst the numerous pages of spiel, who knows!, but there’s sure to be one lurking around.
I guess one of the major factors contributing to the lack of video use for smaller hotels is the common belief that the video is far too costly and only an investment available to a chain, not true!
The video production industry to the corporate sector is highly competitive with some companies boasting prices which are less than the cost of an Ipad! Video for the hotel industry can be highly effective, both in being able to showcase all your hotel has to offer in services, activities and location and also in its amazing ability to be viewed by an infinite number of people for no extra cost!
East Anglian based video production company, Wild Lion Media, are just one of many video production companies who produce videos for the hotel market, regardless of size, stature or budget. The videos that can be produced is completely without limits and you can work with any video production company to decide exactly how you would like to approach your video project.
The video above is just one example of how Wild Lion Media and the Milsom Hotel Group decided to approach the use of video. This video showcases the “behind the scenes” scenario at the hotel groups flagship restaurant on a normal weekday. It builds up a sense of atmosphere and excitement and gives the customer an insight that they would normally be ‘blind’ too.
Posted in Hotel Marketing by .
May 10
29
Talking Head Videos
Have you considered giving your online business a face? Because many others have! Let me put a questions to you here and some assumptions. Lets say for arguments sake, you run a solicitors firm, you offer a service to people, a service dependant on your professionalism, personality and persona. Now, lets say a potential customer comes to meet you in your offices, as they walk through your office entrance, do you completely ignore them and leave a sign saying, “Please wander around our office, feel free to read through all our material to find out the answers to your questions” ? Of course not! You greet your customer, you make them feel comfortable, offer them a seat and a coffee and then answer all of their questions quickly and efficiently. So, why would you not want to do the same with your website? Without video, your website is effectively exactly the scenario we have just described, its a library of information with no-one to help. It doesn’t matter what service you offer, in this day and age, people expect to be spoken too and offered a professional service. Websites contrary to popular belief can be personal, you only need a short video of you saying “hello and welcome to our business”, you give the customer a little detail about who you are and what you do and then ask them to give you a call on 12345 78910, its so simple but ultimately very effective, you have not asked your customer to trawl through page after page of information on your website, rather you have allowed them to click one button to get through to your site and then they have been able to sit in the comfort of their own chair whilst you speak to them. People respond to a face, its so much more difficult top ignore! This ind of video can be applied to numerous scenarios, it doesn’t just have to be used to introduce yourself or your company, it can be used to answer questions, instead if an FAQ section for example or it can be used in the following way – Let me show you an example video produced by a video production company for the ‘Business Leaders Network’ of Cambridge, UK.
As you can see this video has been applied in an interview styled format, questions are displayed across the screen and a person answers them, this is far more interesting than reading the answer yourself in the form of Times New Roman! Lets be honest here, its the year 2010, video is the new way of online communication, we have been watching adverts and responding to them on television for decades now, the internet is no different!
Posted in Types of Video by .
May 10
29
Google Chrome Marketing
Google Chrome recently launched its latest advertising campaign for its new web browser, Google Chrome. The video demonstrates how quickly the web browser works compared to various other events that are often associated with speed, such as the speed of lightening! Click on the following link to view the Chrome Video:
If you have a look at the video yourself it may well give you a few ideas of how to market your company or product in the future. The video really does capture ones interest and there is no wander it has received the number of viewings it has done.
I guess the lesson to be learned from this example video is that if your a business with a service or product to sell, then video really could be a great way to advertise to the masses especially if you can be as creative as Google has been. There are numerous video production companies around who offer such services for very reasonable prices. My advice to anyone looking to increase their potential customer base, would be to get onto the web and look on various resources such as youtube for inspiration, once you have found some inspiration, look for a video production company and give them a call and release your own viral video, its really simple, beneficial and cost effective.
If you need a recommendation or a place to start, then why not take a look at the following video production company, Wild Lion Media who specialise in the production of high quality video for an affordable price.
Posted in Global News by .
May 10
29
The benefits of Video Production
It?s now 2010 and we are well into the era of online video but still there are many business? flagging behind and stalling on the idea, the main reason for this is probably cost.
Since the turn of the century, video production costs have been falling dramatically as has the cost and enhancement of most technology. This fall in production costs has lead to a dramatic increase in the number of video production companies based in the UK. You only have to type “video production company” into GoogleTM to see there are more than 72 million findings!
Anyway the problem that seems to linger still is this cost factor. I don?t think many business owners would argue with the fact that video is more influential than video but why pay the extra added cost when high quality photography will do the trick? Well, to a certain extent, one could argue that photos still have a role to play in marketing and of course they do, bill boards for example are still photographs, not moving images but we are entering a new age of technology, video enhancement has been dramatic in recent years, from VHS to DVD and now to the world of Blu-Ray. What has not been well publicised is the decline in production costs.
There seems to be an overwhelming belief that a video production company is a related to high expenditure and therefore many small business? will ignore the opportunities of video. However, video does have extra benefits, if a picture can say a thousand words, then a video can say a million! Quite simply, a video is as close to anything human as were going to get. If your website has a real talking voice, then your customers are going to feel a connection, curiosity comes in, people watch videos, its easier to watch a video rather than scroll through the vast amount if textual information and occasional photo.
Business? need to and should take on video, it will make your website a hassle free experience, there are so many distractions on the web that realistically a single person isn?t going to spend all of there time on your site, its so easy for them to “pop in” to your competitor so you need to give them a reason to stay, think of video as the equivalent to a comfortable seating area in your office reception. Online Video allows your potential customers to get comfortable, they can sit back in their chair, wherever they are in the world and relax whilst extracting information from their computer. If they have to click on your site and scroll down through page after page reading about how your different from another company for the following reasons, they are bound to lose concentration and no matter how strongly you feel about what you right, your text is going to appear exactly the same as the company next door, so move on, get text of your homepage and replace it with a welcoming smile and warm friendly voice! Introduce your company in a way that would make you feel comfortable, get people to relax, soothing background music is often used in web video, it?s not there to be cheesy! Its there for a reason, a scientifically proven factual reason! Humans responds to sounds, effects and voices. A video can be the combination of all of these things and whats more, it is different to the company next-door, at least now anyway.
So, put away those reservations of video being too expensive for you and call a video production company, Im sure you?ll find the cost of such a production to be a pleasant surprise!
May 10
29
Hotel & Travel Video
According to Nielsen’s latest VideoCensus, referrals from YouTube to online travel channels and hotel websites were up 84% in 2009. What’s more, 89% of Internet users surveyed said video directly influenced their booking decisions. It’s no wonder then that almost all major hotel groups are investing heavily in online video for 2010.
Videos are simply the best way to generate bookings and bring your hotels to life. They’re versatile, affordable, impactful and therefore very cost-effective; and in today’s marketplace, increasingly savvy Internet shoppers have come to expect an abundance of information whenever they visit a hotel website. Hotel marketing videos are quickly becoming the online marketer’s tool choice.
Wild Lion Media are a video production company offering this service for an affordable price. Although large hotel chains may have big budgets for marketing and advertising, it does not necessarily mean they should have to spend big on video or if they do then the smaller competition can still keep up. Video production costs have been significantly reduced in recent years and companies such as Wild Lion Media, Spectrecom, Skeleton and Wave FX are all offering competitive prices for the production of hotel videos.
No matter how small or large your hotel, video is something you should be considering. As mentioned previously, online shoppers are starting to expect high quality video online and those that do have video are reaping the benefits. Video can be used in just the same way as photography can to highlight the best parts of a hotel but in even more information and detail, give online viewers an idea of spatial awareness, light and quality.
With prices starting from as little as £795 (www.wildlionmedia.co.uk), there has never been a better time to get involved with video marketing.
Posted in Hotel Marketing by .
May 10
26
Why Video, Why Now?
Ask yourself this one question.
Q. When you are surfing the web, if the following two options are presented to you, which would you prefer. (1) To watch a short 60 second video (2) To read a page of text
A. ……
Recent surveys undertaken by numerous reliable marketing sources such Nielson?s and Comscore suggest that option 1 is the more likely option. Since the creation of youtube, video has gone through a “big bang” phase so to speak. This has led to a dramatic rise in the viewing of videos and awareness of such video information. It has also led to exploitation by major industry players, type in any large company and you?ll find a video on youtube.
Video is enjoyed by millions of online viewers, it is a hassle free way to find out more information about a service or product and it leaves the viewer with a much better idea about the product or service. With the technological advances of the internet such as better speeds and the introduction of broadband, video is now available in nearly every house in the developed world.
Another important factor is cost. Costs of production are falling year on year and this is showing in the price of having a video made. Search the internet briefly and you?ll soon see that the average London Production House is charging roughly £1000 per minute of video, this is dramatically less than what it would have been 10 years ago, in many ways this down to the new era of the digital world. Search for longer and farther afield than London and you?ll find there are many more video production companies who are offering like for like services at a further reduced cost. Having scouted around the web for a few days, we even found production companies offering full corporate videos at a very professional level for about £2500 and the videos are about 10 minutes long!
So why wait any longer, video is booming and it will be the future for all business?, the large corporations have already jumped aboard but with video production companies out there offering these services at their current prices, there is no reason why any small firms should write it off.
If you need a recommendation, why not start by calling Wild Lion Media, based just outside London, the service they offer is in line with London production companies but their prices are truly exceptional, a true value for money service, visit [www.wildlionmedia.co.uk]
Posted in Benefits of Video by .
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