Fire Free 2009 Ads

Here is one spot from a series of spots that we recently completed for The Shop for their client Fire Free.

The Ignite Bend Experience

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers.

Intriguing? Terrifing? Both?

For a lot of the presenters they had nerves and judging by some of the tweets there was almost a level of panic by some. This can be terrifying because for most of these people they are not public speakers, and yet we had 10 presenters that were all passionate about what they presented. This passion showed through in every way and by the end we all were better off for it.

In reality this is what all presentations should be about. These people last night cared deeply about their topic and engaged the audience through their enthusiasm. I am not sure how many presentations we have sat through that the fire and spark are gone. The "love" of what we are presenting is gone. This lack of emotion unfortuneatly finds its way into a poor presentation. I will admit that last night it was all about persuasion and less about pure facts, but within each of our presentations we are trying to persuade people through the use of facts. So we can learn a lot about an experience like this.

Try it out and see what you think... Ignite Bend

Ignite Bend #ib1

If you missed it here is the stream we produced for Ignite Bend. I am really excited about the opportunities of doing more streaming. Got an idea of something you would like streamed?

Video Production on the cheap?

I have run across a blog post with the title "What Expensive Video Production Companies Don’t Want You to Know" and I have to admit it is quite frustrating to read. I thought about not putting in the link, but the rational of the author is not very sound so go take a look.

In this YouTube era anyone CAN do a video and post it online. This is no different than anyone can build a webpage, anyone can be a mechanic, or anyone can be a high rise window washer. Okay so I admit the last two are a bit of a stretch, but the point I am trying to make is just because you can doesn't mean you should. What the author is trying to get from you is to buy their products. He is trying to illustrate how easy it is without giving all of the information so let's break this down bit by bit.

1. Video production companies don’t want you to know about hosting companies who can store these large files online for you. I am not sure who he is talking about here as all of our clients I either recommend them place their videos out on YouTube or other video sites or host themselves on their sites. The trick to doing this is compression and we want you the client to succeed on the web.
2. A video ad marketing campaign requires a good camera to do the job. These cameras are not required or only held by expensive companies but can be rented at local camera shops for a small percentage of what you would pay the company. Good cameras are required for this however you can't go down to your Joe's camera shop and rent one. Good cameras are only really obtainable from a rental house and you can assume $250 plus a day.
   
3. There are cheap editing packages out there you can find to edit your videos for free or even at a very low cost. Yes there are, but how much time are you willing to invest in learning the package.
   
4. They also don’t want you to know that your video is compatible with other platforms and sites. I think I stated this before... You need to be successful
   
5. One of the major costs of a video marketing production company is usually the costs of marketing. I think the author is talking about "large" groups, but ultimately the true cost of a lot of business is marketing. We feel differently about marketing and do not invest large sums into print and online.
   
6. The number one thing a video marketing or production company that is expensive does not want you to know is how easy it really is to make your own videos.
   

This last item is where we all should learn an important thing. Easy = cheap. While the costs of equipment have dramatically come down in the past few years experience with lighting, audio, compression, and scripting go to how your product looks on camera. This is the true cost of hiring a professional. The first video you do personally can take hours if not days. A professional video production company digs in knows what you as a client really needs and gives you a product you will be proud of for years to come not just until the next great internet marketing idea comes around.

If you are not doing video on the web drop us a line at info at pinnaclemediainc.com and discover the benefits in working with a company with the experience in this form of production.

The story of the day....

BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVE TODAY....

Sorry for the yelling. I have been unfortunate to have been in contact with two drives in the last week that are nothing more than bricks. In one case the person had their life's work on it. In classic "Sex in the City" fashion the comment was made no one ever told me to back up my hard drive.

How easy is it? Well if you are on a Mac first start running Leopard and go down to Best Buy and get yourself a 500 gig hard drive and plug the drive in. I prefer firewire for speed, but USB will work. You will be greeted with a box that says do you want to use this drive as a Time Machine backup and you will choose yes. That is as simple as it is for us Mac users.

If you are on a PC I have been told that Acronis True Image is quite good.

The other option is to sync your files into the "cloud" for truly safe backups, but you will only want to do selective backups as the time required even over a fast connection is lengthy. Examples include Amazon S3 (paid) and Mozy (Free for a small amount).

The important thing is just do it today.

PLEASE NOOOOOO

Okay so this may be the worst thing. Production value no! He is reading off a prompter and I really wonder if he knows what is going on with the digital transition. Did he "partner" with them or did they pay him. Talk about a bad choice for a spokesperson. I shouldn't post, but it just is so bad to not.

iTunes losing DRM?

So I was reading my news feed tonight and came across this post in regards to iTunes and DRM. It looks like the record labels may be finally allowing Apple to sell their songs without the blasted DRM that causes so much frustration when moving the files. I have gone in and checked my songs and was greeted with the the following screen.

So maybe we can cross DRM off for good on iTunes? I certainly hope so.

BendFilm Press Release

I realized I never did post this so for your enjoyment... or maybe shameless self promotion.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact: JoAnn Hand, Pinnacle Media (541) 633-7476

BENDFILM WORKS WITH PINNACLE MEDIA ON NEW DIGITAL SCREENING
Pinnacle Media Enhances Viewing Experience for Bendfilm Attendees

(Bend, Oregon) BendFilm recently announced a unique partnership with local film production company Pinnacle Media to offer the for all films shown during the upcoming festival. This technology will significantly enhance the viewing experience for all moviegoers.

Putting BendFilm ahead of the curve, this partnership is also particularly timely as digital theaters are a growing national trend supported by an October 1, 2008, announcement by five major studios – Fox, Disney, Paramount, Universal and Lionsgate – to transition to digital theaters across the U.S.

Specifically for the 2008 BendFilm Festival, Pinnacle created a digital system that allows high definition playback as well as digital playback of standard definition films to vastly improve the overall viewing experience.

“We’ve spent the last few months testing and re-testing the system to ensure it will withstand the rigors of a four-day festival,” says Matt Hand, Pinnacle’s Media Head. “We worked locally with Regal Cinemas – one of the national partners in the digital cinema transition – to ensure the playback will be seamless.”

In addition to testing work with Regal, Pinnacle designed the playback system to work with the editing systems that are in use by the majority of independent film editors. To save time and money, filmmakers can also send their films directly to Pinnacle in their native digital format. Approximately a quarter of the filmmakers have already taken advantage of this service and Hand expects more to do so in the days ahead.

“Why not bring the newest, in-demand technology to Bend right now?” says Hand. “Video and film production is the heart and soul of what we do at Pinnacle, and I am so excited that we will have the best quality possible at our own festival.”

With over 15 years experience in Central Oregon, Pinnacle specializes in work that gets results. From one-camera documentaries to multi-camera, complex productions, Pinnacle provides guidance, creativity and solutions in partnership with small and large businesses.

For more information, call (541) 633-7476 or check out www.pinnaclemediainc.com

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Link to the pdf is here