The Way We Watch

5 Lessons Learned On Producing Viral Video

Last month I produced and directed (via Wheelhouse Communications) the book trailer to Libba Bray's Going Bovine for Random House Children's Books. This video lit up Twitter when it debuted on EW.com and continues to build a growing audience through Young Adult blogs and other sites.  I wanted to tee up the valuable lessons learned in this experience for you to bear in mind on the next video you make:

1. Be Different.  A standard Q & A  author video with cuts to the cover art is not going to stand out or be remarkable.  In this video, we started with a wacky premise: the author wore a cow suit and did not mention it at all.
   
   
2. Spend Time On The Edit.  Most beginning web video makers want to concentrate all on the shoot. Here's my advice: spend more time on the edit. If you're hiring professionals make sure you've budgeted ample time for the creatives to digest all the footage, try out sequences, and then some more time to add some zing and polish.
   
   
3. It Takes A Village To Go Viral.  With the video done, it was time to get people to notice it. Everyone involved in your video should have a strong or fledgling social web prescence to shout out to the world, "Hey, watch this video!"  In the case of Going Bovine - Random House has an incredible in-house publicity department that worked all the blogging and twitter angles to their advantage. 
   
   Libba Bray, the author, has a well trafficked blog and sizable twitter following @libbabray. Her twitter following includes fans, other authors, librarians and bloggers.  Bray blogged about the making of the video (see here) and then tweeted out the link when it was first available.  Lastly, yours truly, the filmmaker pointed all my contacts to see the video by posting on twitter, facebook and linkedin. Through some social networking, I was able able to get it posted on the popular eguiders.com site. (see here).
   
   
4. There Is A Place For Traditional PR. A month before the book's publication, the video premiered on the highly trafficked EntertainmentWeelkly.com's site (EW.com =  nearly 4 million visitors/month) Shelf Life.  Random House did a great job getting this eyeball friendly placement and it was the initial engine that drove views.  I think it was a good strategy.  It forced the truest and most loyal fans to go to the EW site and read the positive review of the book and the video - See here.
   
   
5. Video Feeds The Conversation.  The second life of the video started a week after the EW.com blog premiere.  RH posted the video to YouTube. Fans of Young Adult (YA) literature are all over the web. It's an extremely vocal and supportive group that includes readers, librarians, teachers, publishers, authors and agents. Again, it was traditional PR relationship building at work that informed this audience about the book's release and the video.
   
   When thinking about spending the resources and time on a video think about if there is an existing online community that is already in place.  For this video, it was interesting to see how many blogs embedded the youtube clip or linked to it. See here, here, and here for examples. I would show you the plethora of tweets that the video received but time has erased them from twitter's memory. Believe me - the link chirping was plentiful.

Summary
Be clever with your video - first and foremost. No one is going to link to plain Jane video anymore.  Use your budget for editing; it's the most essential part of your process.  Create videos for audiences that have strong social platforms in place.  Lastly, everyone involved in the making of your video should have a strong social web presence.

Get The Perfect Shot: 10 Checklist Items for Your Next Video Shoot

No matter how many times you go out to shoot something, it's a good idea to review these basics. After doing over 200 shoots - these are the basic pre-pro tips I use again and again.

1. Know the right way into the building. Many city buildings have loading docks that are not the same address as the office. You can lose a half hour in NYC in the morning if your van is unloading in the front entrance but needs to load in the back
2. Have an idea before you go on what the location looks like.  All windows? Prepare for it.  Blah conference rooms?  Suggest something in a heavy traffic area that shows the life of the surroundings.  As long as the camera can see what's going on - viewers are forgiving about extraneous sounds like phone ringing other office chatter
3. Have some wheels. If you're moving from location to location it's a good idea to get a magliner that doubles as way to transport your equipment and also a cart for audio or monitoring.  It's expensive but if you're really into doing this - you'll want one.
4. Find an interview location that isn't up against a white wall.
5. Bring some make-up.  You just want to get the shine off their forehead, nose and cheeks. I use CoverGirl Outlast Pressed Powder, Translucent Light.  Make sure you have a variety of skin tone colors.  Bring some Cosmetic Wedge to smooth out the powder and throw them out once you use them.  I also always carry hair spray, combs, and Oil Wipes.
6. If you're doing interviews - know the questions cold.  It's disconcerting to the interviewee to always be looking down at your questions.  Know them well enough so that you're just using them as back up.  Also, the better you know the questions the more likely you'll be able to veer off and ask a follow up.  Sometimes you'll find a nugget by just listening and taking the conversation where ever it goes.
7. If you're hiring a real production crew make sure there's access to coffee and a bagel for the crew before you get to location - your crew will appreciate it.
8. Give the talent some water to have during the interview.  In my experience, 20% of people have dry mouth or start coughing.
9. Bring extra tape or extra digital storage cards.
10. Check your tape before the interviewee leaves.  Trust me. It's a good idea.

What are your pre-production tips? Share them with us. 

image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreannegermain/ / CC BY 2.0

Will Blip Save The Day?

 
Blip.tv made a big announcement this week.
 
Here's a quote:
 
Our function is simple: we put economies of scale to work for independent producers. We provide services like technology and bandwidth, workflow automation, distribution and business development. We provide services like advertising sales. We do all of this in exchange for a revenue share. We’ve embraced a radical new model. No points on the production. No creative control. No contracts. You can leave at any time if you find someone who can do it better.
 
I am a big big believer in not working for free.  I hope Blip and those who partner with Blip can make a living.
 
Trolling along blip, I found this understated lovely video.  Enjoy.

Why The "I Love You Beth Cooper" Viral Video Marketing Failed

The Wall Street Journal reported today the story of Kenya Mejia, a real life valedictorian from Los Angeles who was paid by the marketers of the movie, I Love You Beth Cooper to pronounce her love for fellow classmate Jake Minor at the end of her speech.
 
Marketing executives for Twentieth Century Fox produced this stunt as part of a campaign to generate YouTube buzz before the opening weekend of the film.

The WSJ article does a great job of explaining how FOX, through a unit of Creative Arts Agency (CAA) found Kenya, got buy in from her and her parents and then filmed the speech with help from another company.  Apparently school officials and the student body were unaware that they were players in the marketing effort.
 
There are a lot of ethical issues here:

1. Should school officials been told of what was happening?  
2. Should Kenya have been paid for her efforts. 
   
3. Should she have accepted. If I was graduating that day in Kenya's class I would have felt used.  
4. Should her parents have let her do this.
   
5. Should personal release statements been signed for all the graduates that can be seen and heard in the video (they may have done this, but I doubt it).
   
6. Should we always be transparent in our marketing? 

 
My thoughts (as a producer of video) lead to why didn't the video do better?  As of this writing the video has only claimed about 2000 hits. Considering the effort and resources that FOX, CAA and the production company put in, why aren't they getting their eyeball's worth.
 
Here is the video:

 
My reasons as to why this didn't go viral:

• The video starts too neatly, "To summarize it all..."  I would have chosen to start earlier or later in the middle of a sentence ... (in media res) that's how the Greeks did it.

• "I was recently watching the trailer for the upcoming movie...."  This sounds fake.  How's this: "I'm borrowing this idea from the new movie "I Love You Beth Cooper." (perhaps also making a joke about citing sources).  Small point but it may have helped. By the way, Kenya's performance was spot on.  They picked the right person.

• There are five cuts in the video. This sets off my radar immediately. No one edits their graduation footage. It's a tip off that this is manufactured.  I would have done it all in one take. Harder to pull off, for sure, but that's what it requires.
• Maybe anyone who quotes a movie trailer in her valedictorian speech isn't worth watching?
  

What do you think?  Forgetting the ethical marketing issues aside, how come this didn't work?

Post script: 24 hours after the WSJ article with tweets and blogs as the engine the video now has 10,000 hits.  Was this the aim all along?

The New Media Mogul: 10 Questions For Daisy Whitney of The New Media Minute

Daisy Whitney is working it. She co-produces and hosts her own show The New Media Minute which is produced in partnership with NAPTE (National Association of Television Program Executives) and can been seen on NAPT'Es site, Beet.TV, TVWeek.com, on ABCNews.com, Jugular's Advertising’s blog, James McQuivey’s blog, ChicagoConvergence.com, Midwest Media Now!, and United Pixels.

She also writes for a slew of online publications and has just published her first e-book, Keeping You and Your Content Out of Court which we'll get into later. As an industry expert, Daisy has been interviewed by CNN’s Showbiz Tonight, CNBC’s Closing Bell and G4’s Attack of the Show. She has also been interviewed by NPR and the Wall Street Journal. Not to forget, she is also the host of the podcast, This Week In Media.

Parlaying her knowledge and experience, Daisy has been consulting to organizations and companies on entering the the new media on-line space.
 
Here's her latest show:

 
Where is the best place to to upload your webisodes and why?

Daisy W: This varies widely depending on your business or brand. Sometimes it’s YouTube, sometimes your own site, sometimes a service like blip.tv, sometimes niche sites. It truly depends on the content, audience and release strategy. Generally, I advise posting to more than one place though so you have a better chance of being found.  I picked blip because I know the founders, because they take care of me and their other producers, because they are always accessible and helpful and can solve all problems quickly.  Also, many of the most popular episodic web content uses blip so that seemed a good fit.
 
If you're not on YouTube, why not (I did a youtube search for you and got some old new med. minute shows from long ago)?
 
Daisy W: Um, I should be! I have a YouTube account and I admit sheepishly I need to be on there because I just did a New Media Minute on how every brand needs to be on YouTube, so I better follow my own advice and update my YouTube videos!

How did you go about finding sponsors for your shows?

Daisy W: One came as a result of an ongoing relationship with the CEO of the sponsoring company. I asked if he wanted to try a charter sponsorship with the New Media Minute and he was game, so we struck a deal over email in a day or two. The second sponsor is also a company I know well and follow. The marketing director approached me at NAB and we talked more and I put her in touch with NATPE, my presenting partner which now sells the ads for me in the New Media Minute.

Do you use a teleprompter? If you don't, then you're amazing. Even if you do use one - you're still amazing. Very natural. Any secrets?
 
Daisy W: Thank you. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t! It depends. Originally I did not and just memorized each script. Then I had access to a prompter and loved not memorizing. Now I have found that I actually prefer simply writing the script, reading it a few times and then going off memory, rather than a strict memorization. It makes it more natural, I think. I feel comfortable with this “technique” now because I’ve been hosting the audio podcast This Week in Media for more than a year and because I speak frequently at conferences and these opportunities have helped me hone my ability to “riff” so to speak and just talk without a prompter.
 
Tell me a little about your new E-Book. How did you happen on this subject matter? What will buyers of the book find that's important to making video on the web?
 
Daisy W: I wrote an e-book on fair use of online video and other internet content because I received numerous emails from creators wanting specifics on how to adhere to fair use guidelines. My hope with the ebook (daisywhitney.com/ebooks) is that media producers can learn for $15 the basics of how to avoid getting sued for violating fair use and NOT have to pay lawyer fees!
 
Your work flow for your New Media Minute... Do you have ideas stored away or take it week by week. Do you have a crew helping with shoot and edit?
 
Daisy W: My husband shoots and edits the show. I usually save ideas and batch shoot 2-3 at a time for efficiency reasons. If I am at an event, I do a “live to tape” version and run the next day. Otherwise they are usually shot a week or so before they air.
 
Video is impactful. But many times I'd like to link to some of the stuff you talk about in your pieces (that piece of YA writers for instance). Do you feel like there should be some interactivity within web video? I'm a big fan of youtube annotations but of course you're stuck in a youtube world.
 
Daisy W: Yes, interactivity and links are good things in Web video.
 
Posting a weekly show is grueling. But what has it done for your career?
 
Daisy W: It is grueling! But it’s done a few things. It’s become a revenue stream! And it’s also helped me finetune my presentation skills, reach new audiences, win new clients, earn speaking engagements, and become an important voice in the new media world. I’m delighted that media executives and indie producers alike find it valuable. A talent agent once actually thanked me for doing the show and said he found it informative and useful every week – that’s why it’s worth doing.
 
You consult companies on their online video branding. Should companies think like you do in terms of creating a sustained series or should they call the perlorian brothers and get some eyeballs by making insanely funny viral video that speaks to their unique selling proposition?
 
Daisy W: It totally depends on the company or brand! Making video needs to be tailored to your company and your brand and it could be a series or a viral video. But a viral hit is tough so I generally advise aiming to build a sustained and targeted audience over time with ongoing videos germane to your area of expertise.

Where do you see New Media Minute going in 2010?

Daisy W: I hope it continues to be a profitable show for NATPE and me and that I can break stories, provide analysis and help educate media execs and producers.

Thanks Daisy!

My favorite line that she said was this one about her paid advertising on her programming, "I asked if he wanted to try a charter sponsorship with the New Media Minute and he was game." It's a good lesson to remember: if you don't ask, you don't get!

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Here Now The News... (How Do We Make TV News Better)

image credit: internets dairy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16339684@N00/ / CC BY 2.0

With Walter Cronkite passing just three days ago, this is a perfect time to start the dialog to re-invent network and local news.

The days when we have anyone close to one person being the most "trusted man in America" are long gone.

Finding someone intelligent, witty, who can stand up to the tiresome spin of partisan politics seems to be what is needed at the current moment in time (look at how young people today feel that Jon Stewart is increasingly becoming a trusted news source).

Jeff Jarvis had this take ast April,

We don’t need three evening newscasts exactly alike except as a repository for erectile dysfunction commercials. So let one or two networks win the ratings. Let CBS put more resources into investigations on 60 Minutes. Let CNN cover breaking news — with more help from witnesses with cameras. I hope they let others take that news and curate it in different ways with different perspectives. There’ll be a new ecology of news on video and it’s about time.

A new ecology of news on video.  What would those 22 minutes look like:

• Forget headlines.  Anyone with a radio or web browser has already heard it and seen it so don't spend a lot of time on it.
  
• Put the Big Story in perspective.  I'd rather know a lot about one story then headlines of seven stories.  Be meta like The Daily Show and look at how the political parties and corporations are spinning things.  Report the news behind the news. Isn't that the juicy part?
  
• Documentaries. Reporting. Small cameras and two person crews could actually investigate. Create news stories that take a minimum of five days to produce.  Create something of value by researching it, getting it right, make a point - uncover something - they can't be teaching what gets broadcasted now on television news at all those J-Schools.  One story:  5.5 minutes. 
  
• Try the CNN approach (a round table of experts but don't call yourself the "Best Political Team on Television").  Have the panel editorialize the news that permeates press conferences, announcements, and pretty much everything that happens in the senate (or so it seems).  Paul Begala, Jeffrey Toobin and David Gergen do a good job of this. Have interesting people comment on the tape that was just produced. Invite the producer of the five minute documentary to sit in. Ask an artist to be on the panel.  A teacher. Let's hear from different voices.  Three and 1/2 minutes of commentary for each of the above segments.  CNN loves this because it's inexpensive to produce.  It will be inexpensive here too but hopefully without the political punditry. 
  
• Four minutes left.  We need to see some personality here.  Think about what Seth Godin does every day.  He delivers a pithy three paragraph non-political nut of wisdom that makes you think. Bill Mahrer does the same thing but usually in the political realm. 
  
  Can't we find an anchor who can do that too?

Question: What does the future of TV News look like?

Related past post:

...And That's They Way It Is (and always will be) On TV

Film Posts You May Have Missed

 
image credit: E. Bartholomew (see link at bottom)

I've had a lot of film savvy folks join me in the blog in the last week so I thought I would compile my best Film posts.

• 25 Films To See Before You Die
• Missed Opportunity at Academy Awards (Why The French Love Jerry Lewis)
• The Ten Best Movies Ever...
• Cross Genre Dressing
• This Recession Is Your Man On Wire - Document It
• All I Really Know (about Social Media) I Learned Being a Production Assistant (PA)
• YouTube Interviews With Film Directors You Should Know

Agree or disagree?  Let me know and tell me your favorite films too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/uber-tuber/ / CC BY 2.0