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Interview with a Video Virgin
Shani Alexander is the founder of Relocations Made Easy
(www.relocations-made-easy.com) which produces an interactive
website and CDROM tool that advises people on how to make a
stress free relocation to a new city.
To create her interactive product, Shani needed camera vision
of herself explaining to viewers how the product worked in front
of a cityscape backdrop.
We interviewed her to find out her experience of using a video
production company for the first time.
1. Why did you decide that you needed a video component in
your website tool?
I am selling a virtual personal service product and the video
component was needed to introduce a real person from which my
virtual product could springboard.
The video component showed a real person, a company owner. It
gave the personal touch and introduced what the customer was
going to receive from their purchase.
2. What were you looking for in a video production
company?
I really needed a company that could understand what I was
trying to achieve. I really needed them to get inside my head and
make real what I was imagining, what I was dreaming up.
It had to be cost effective with no cost blowouts. It also
needed to be applied to the media I was using - the internet and
CDROM. I needed clear picture quality that could be viewed across
those mediums without any picture quality loss.
3. How difficult was it to compare proposals between the four
providers?
Everyone told me how it is difficult to compare. All the
production houses said they could do the same thing, but the
prices were extremely different.
When I spoke to Digicast they went to great lengths to explain
the type of camera that they used. Whilst I would have liked to
think that everyone could produce the same job, I realised that
the big differences in prices reflected the different types of
camera quality being used.
Digicast also took me on board as if I was a client already.
They gave me suggestions about how to do the shoot the best way
and started treating me like a client before I even made the
decision to go with them. From there, we were able to develop a
relationship and work together on the project.
4. As someone new to being filmed, how did you find your
shoot?
I found it really long, really tiring and boring! I was really
surprised at how dependent you are on the weather to be right -
you have to keep waiting for the right light and the sky. It can
add hours to the shoot.
Andrew Ross from Digicast who filmed me was incredibly
professional. He's passionate, technical and knows what he is
doing and has to keep the poor person on the other end of the
camera still interested. He did a good job managing that. I
really thought he worked well with me as the presenter. Andrew
got me to look at the vision on the shoot and gave me options as
to how we could re-shoot it to make it better. He controlled
everything but I didn't feel like a pawn. His suggestions were
worthwhile.
5. What did you learn about the television production
process?
I really learnt something from it and I can now look at all
the different shows on television and see how good, and bad,
those presenters are. I have a healthy respect for an industry I
took for granted before. It was a fantastic experience at the end
of it all.
6. What advice would you give to anyone looking at starring in
their own video?
I advise anyone who wants to take this on to do lots of
preparation.
Digicast gave me some suggestions before the shoot about how I
could get myself ready and get the most out of the day. I took
those to heart and I did put a lot of preparation into the
script. I re-edited the script, timed it, practised it and
rehearsed it in front of a lot of people beforehand.
I even hired a professional to give me a training session on
hand gestures and facial expressions. My preparation even
extended to my personal grooming and I had my hair coloured
beforehand and bought a new suit.
I also went to a lot of trouble to get the right location. We
had to let the City of Melbourne know beforehand about the shoot.
The liaising with the council was a much bigger component than I
imagined. I checked out the site with a council employee and took
some digital shots which I then emailed to Digicast. It was a
real team effort to work out the right place to shoot.
7. Would you do it again?
You bet. I'm hoping I don't need to, as I should get a few
years of mileage out of it. After all, it was made to be timeless
and dateless. But I'd do it again because I achieved what I set
out to achieve. I'm very happy about the experience and I would
do it again if I needed to.
About The Author
(c) Marie-Claire Ross 2004. All rights reserved.
Marie-Claire Ross is one of the partners of Digicast. Digicast
works with organisations who are not satisfied that their
marketing and training materials are helping their business grow.
She can be contacted on 0500 800 234 (Australia wide) or at
mc@digicast.com.au. The
website is at www.digicast.com.au.
MORE RESOURCES:
MySpace will stream video to select phonesSmartBrief, DC - Dec 3, 2008In becoming the first online social-network community to offer mobile video streaming, MySpace will not sell ads at launch, saying the video streaming will ... |
Bluetooth 2.2 to be released in mid-2009CNET News, CA - 9 hours agoIt will hopefully allow for wireless video streaming, wireless printing, and more. For this to work, your cell phone will have to have WLAN or UWB radio. ... |
Throw This Stock AwayMotley Fool - 8 hours ago... free online access, how much longer will it be before folks cancel their cable subscriptions and take advantage of free on-demand video streaming? ... |
Video-Streaming - Google News
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