Web Worker Careers: Video Production and Editing - by Meryl K. Evans

This story is from Web Worker Daily. Included is a quote from me, near the end of this story. The above photo shows me controlling a robotic camera at a Microsoft 7 web seminar - Patty

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November 2nd, 2009 (11:00am) Meryl Evans

Just about every organization can use video to tell its story. Video producers tell that story by creating a product that entertains, educates, informs, promotes, captures or markets.
While video production may involve location-specific elements where you need to go out to capture visuals and sounds, you can still make it a career where you can work anywhere you want.

Is video production the career for you?

Video Production Careers

In video production, some stick to just one task, while others do several things, or even do all the jobs to take a video from start to finish. Here are a few video-related jobs:

Producer: Video businesses vary in the area of production based on the type of videos they create and the topics they cover. Producers may specialize in one or several different types of video. The title “producer” has many meanings, but a producer often oversees the entire video production process.

Post-production: Folks in post-production work with existing video to enhance it, edit it and add to it. These tasks could involve animation, audio, voice-overs, DVD menus, music and graphics.
Editor: Editors compile audio and video to create the final product that meets project requirements. “The editor is much like a cook. We take raw ingredients and combine them artfully into a video that meets the clients’ goals,” says Ed McNichol of EDcetera.

How to Qualify

Video producers and editors are a diverse lot when it comes to how they first entered the video business and gained experience. Tim Clark started on Ken Burns’ documentaries in the editing room. Jack Dever, director of post production at PACSAT, literally started on the bottom floor by sweeping in a studio before and after shoots. After that, he climbed to assistant video editor, editor, producer, director and supervisor. Many folks in video started at the bottom and worked into jobs in the field.

Kim Brame, executive producer with creative illusions Productions, took every job available to her after college to build a network and learn the craft. Her coworkers have degrees and training in audio engineering, programming, graphic design and animation.

Steve Mann, lost his job in the dot-com bust. “Over 50 and no higher degree made me virtually invisible in the collapsed high-tech job market. Since my passion was always photography and more recently videography, doing what I enjoy seemed like the best career move,” Mann says.

Vicky Poole didn’t start at the bottom. Rather, she started in a different job as a secretary working for a post-production company. Her boss gave her opportunities to work with equipment and on smaller projects.
A handful of folks say they received a college degree in mass communications, media, film production or something similar. But these same people say that job experience is what really matters. In terms of gaining skills, many say they just learned how to use the software and practice often. No matter where you are in your video career, everyone has benefited from attending seminars and trade shows. Jeff Davis of JD Savage Productions says, “Do what you love, and never stop learning new stuff.”

“There is a balance of technical aptitude and creativity,” says Tom Hinchey of HincheyStudios LLC. Not only do video producers need to know the technical side of things, but also how to create the message the video must communicate.

A person who knows how to use all the video production equipment and tools doesn’t always have the knowledge and skills to be a full-fledged video producer. “You need to first know how to be a storyteller. This is one of the key components that people don’t understand with video,” says David Spark of Spark Media Solutions.

Video Production Tools

Video production involves a long list of tools. After all, you can’t capture sound and visuals without cameras and microsphones, or put all the footage together to tell a good story without apps.

The following popular tools are a smattering of what the professionals use: Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, HD cameras (especially Sony and Canon), AVID, Adobe Creative Suite, Affect Effects and Premiere. Some also use mics, lighting, DVD authoring and scripting tools. Of course, many use a Mac computer to do their work. They often post their videos on web-based video services like YouTube and Vimeo.

Find Clients

Word-of-mouth and happy current clients rule the roost as the best way to get business. Networking both in person and on social network sites works well. Some do formal marketing or post on craigslist. Video producers create a portfolio for their web sites. “Gone are the days of DVD reels. If a client wants instant access to your portfolio, your website can help you lock in that client instantly,” says Kico Velarde.

Crystal Pyramid Productions’ Patty Mooney not only uses a web site and networks, but also finds clients through the Chamber of Commerce, search engine optimization (SEO) and advertising in online and print directories. Another way to break in the field is to volunteer to get experience and build your portfolio.

Thomas Hoebbel took the old fashioned approach by connecting with organizations that could benefit from his work, and they hired him. Some people like Clint Till of Parc Entertainment, Inc. hand out demo reels on DVD and make cold calls.


Would you consider a video production career?

"Women Who Mean Business Award" Finalist

It's always lovely to receive kudos, pats on the back and honors. Recently I was a finalist of San Diego Business Journal's "Women Who Mean Business" Awards.

In terms of Marketing your business, I always encourage people to participate in as many of these kinds of competitions as you can. They're generally free. Just have someone who knows you nominate you, or nominate yourself. The rewards are worth it. In this case, the Business Journal printed my name and company name in a list appearing in one of their issues. In the following issue, they printed up a blurb about me and my company, Crystal Pyramid Productions. You really can't buy that kind of P.R.

Also, when you attend the awards luncheon or dinner, you will have the opportunity to meet other business people in your community who excel at their chosen careers. You may happen to meet someone who needs the services that your company provides. Definitely a "win-win" situation to blog about!

Photo featuring Patty Mooney and Events Photographer, Brian Bostrum - by Mark Schulze

Link Building for Bing Rankings: Dos and Don'ts - by Chris Crum

Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Bing Talks About its Link-Building Policy

It's easy for businesses to get caught up in Google's expectations for their sites, when trying to market through search. That's certainly a wise thing to do, considering Google dominates the search market by a huge margin. Still, there are other search engines that people are using, and it is also wise to make sure your site is performing to the best of its ability in those too.

I'm obviously talking about Yahoo and Bing, but Yahoo's share is declining, while Bing's is gaining. Furthermore, if the deal between Microsoft and Yahoo goes through, Bing search will be talking over Yahoo anyway.

Do you take Bing into account when optimizing your site? Comment here.

We don't hear as much about what Bing wants out of a site for rankings, but Rick DeJarnette of Bing Webmaster Center has shared some dos and don'ts of link-building for Bing. Not surprisingly, a lot of his advice for honoring Bing's policy, does not differ too much from advice that Google would give you. It is, however, still always nice to see how they feel, just to clear up any possible confusion.

Like Google, Bing places great emphasis on quality links to determine its rankings. "Just don't make the mistake of believing it will result in instant gratification. Successful link building efforts require a long-term commitment, not an overnight or turnkey solution," says DeJarnette. "You need to continually invest in link building efforts with creativity and time."

Other popular WebProNews articles:

Is the Murdoch Bing Deal Really Just About the Wall Street Journal?

Ensuring Your Site is Indexed in Google's Mobile Search

If You Care About Search, You Must Care About Social Media

What Not To Do

DeJarnette shared a list of things that you should avoid in your link building efforts, if it is a good Bing ranking that you are after. Here is what Bing says will get your site reviewed more closely by staff:


1. The number of inbound links suddenly increases by orders of magnitude in a short period of time

2. Many inbound links coming from irrelevant blog comments and/or from unrelated sites

3. Using hidden links in your pages

4. Receiving inbound links from paid link farms, link exchanges, or known "bad neighborhoods" on the Web

5. Linking out to known web spam sites

"When probable manipulation is detected, a spam rank factor is applied to a site, depending upon the type and severity of the infraction," says DeJarnette. "If the spam rating is high, a site can be penalized with a lowered rank. If the violations are egregious, a site can be temporarily or even permanently purged from the index."

What To Do

DeJarnette also shared some tips for getting more quality links. Following are Bing's tips for effective link building (paraphrased):


1. Develop your site as a business brand and brand it consistently

2. Find relevant industry experts, product reviewers, bloggers, and media folk, and make sure they're aware of your site/content

3. Publish concise, informative press releases online

4. Publish expert articles to online article directories

5. Participate in relevant conversations on blogs/forums, referring back to your site's content when applicable

6. Use social networks to connect to industry influencers (make sure you have links to your site in your profiles)

7. Create an email newsletter with notifications of new content

8. Launch a blog/forum on your site

9. Participate in relevant industry associations and especially in their online forums

10. Strive to become a trusted expert voice for your industry, while promoting your site

Most of the stuff DeJarnette shared is nothing any savvy search marketer is not already aware of. That said, there are clearly plenty of online (and offline for that matter) businesses out there that don't have savvy search marketers on the payroll. It can be quite helpful when a search engine itself lays out what to do and what not to do to help webmasters get better rankings.


About the author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Twitter: @CCrum237

Four of 10 Americans Read Blogs and One-Third of Those Click on Ads

Four of 10 Americans Read Blogs and One-Third of Those Click on Ads

How to Use Twitter for Public Relations - by Wes Upchurch

It's very clear that Twitter has become the place for public relations professionals. Twitter allows the PR specialists to connect with journalists and bloggers. When used tactfully, it allows those in media relations to learn about a journalist's specific interests and preferences. This can help the PR professional prepare customized pitches for journalists who want to hear them.

Twitter, when used properly, can be a powerful PR tool. But as with any communication, there are good ways and bad ways to approach it. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Compared to other methods, journalists are often more receptive to being pitched on Twitter, because it forces the public relations professional to be brief. In fact, he only gets 140 characters.

Using a direct message for your first interaction with a journalist is rude-especially if it's a pitch. If you're off topic because you didn't take the time to engage the journalist in dialog it's even worse.

If you take the time to discover what the journalist likes writing about, it will be much easier for you to pitch a story that's relevant to him and his audience. Ideally, you'd follow the journalist for a while before making a push of your own.

Keep in mind that you don't always have to seek a placement in the journalist's publication or land a spot on their show. Often times just demonstrating that you can be a valuable resource to them. When the time is right, they might approach you.

Journalists write because they want people to listen. If you can express your interest by showing appreciation for stories you truly enjoy and respond to the journalists tweets, you'll befriend them much sooner. Journalists will open their ears to you if they know you'll do the same for them.

Above all else, the key to interacting with a journalist is respect. You should communicate with them in a professional manner and put your time in. Blindly pitching your story and pushing your agenda is a surefire way to lose the respect of a writer, broadcaster, or anyone else in the news business. Instead you should consider their needs, interests and preferred method of contact.

By following journalists, you can observe how other communications professionals successfully use Twitter. By noticing what works and what doesn't for each individual journalist, you'll be better prepared for your own approach. Following established PR professionals can benefit you too. Through conversation and observation you'll find that Twitter can be a powerful Public Relations tool.



Wes Upchurch invites you see his latest Tweets about media relations by following PressDr on Twitter. By following PressDr you'll discover the secrets of writing the perfect press release and getting free publicity for your business.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wes_Upchurch

Blog Facts - by Penny C. Sansevieri

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Still not impressed by blogs? Consider this:In 1998 there were only 23 known blogs, the term blog or weblog wasn't born until April, 1999.Since 2002, Technorati has indexed 133 million blogs.Blogs have become a very mainstream form of communication; according to BlogHer, 36.2 million women participate in the blogosphere weekly. Out of this amount, 15.1 million are publishing at least one post weekly.Also according to BlogHer, 32% of blog publishers and 28% of blog readers have decided not to purchase a product as a result of a recommendation or bad experience shared on a blog.


Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

Give A Shoutout To Other Bloggers - by Lisa Morosky

Over the last couple weeks, I've been doing recap posts from my time spent at BlogWorld. In those posts, where I talk about sessions I went to and people I met, I link to the person's blog or website. Pretty standard thing to do.

Fast forward to a couple days ago. I was sitting there thinking about the fact that I suddenly had "big name" people leaving comments on my blog, and tweeting me on Twitter.
"How did all of these people suddenly find my blog and my Twitter username and learn about me?" I couldn't figure out where these people might have seen me.

Then I realized that it was just because I had included a link to their blog in one of my posts. They saw a pingback saying that I had linked to them.

Duh.

Did you know that something you probably do regularly can get you on the radar of those in your industry? I bet you do, but maybe you've forgotten.

Take some time over the next week to reach out and give a shoutout to other bloggers in your market. Who knows. They may give a shoutout back to you, and you'll see a big traffic increase.

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Lisa Morosky is a Virtual Assistant to busy bloggers and Internet entrepreneurs. She founded VAforBloggers.com, LisaMorosky.com, and SpendLessOnLife.com.