Well it happened again. I ran across another online discussion — this time on Hubspot, one of my very favorite SEO blogs and was dismayed to read the following:

“Gone are the days when you have to spend $10,000+ on a video by acquiring a crew, hiring a director, booking a studio, etc. Creating online video doesn’t have to be hard, nor does it have to look amateurish. If you follow these few basic steps, you can — quickly and easily — create a video yourself that shines…”

If you follow that line of thinking — it should be no problem using your own snapshots of the company executives in your next annual report, right? I mean, look at the great digital cameras that are available today. And iPhoto makes retouching so easy!

Here was my response to their blog:

Don’t ever forget that your brand is judged everyday by the quality of the messages and images you put in front of your audiences.

It may not be fair, but if your web site, printed materials or video look amateurish — that’s EXACTLLY the impression your prospects will now have about your organization. Amateurish. Unsophisticated. Unprofessional. Small. Not a major player.

You know you’ve thought the same thing about other companies’ sites when you’ve been online.

So, it’s true — the low cost of HD video cameras and laptop or even web based editing software is making video production much more accessible to everyone.

And, for video testimonials and simple short messages from executives — most companies can and should be able to create good video on their own.

But before you take on a video project with no outside professional help, remember some of the tough lessons companies had to learn back in the 90s when Desktop Publishing was all the rage.

I actually worked with a company that purchased Corel Draw and a color printer and told the RECEPTIONIST to learn how to use both so that they could “spice up” their proposals. Care to guess how that all worked out?

OK, so the point is this: just because you CAN layout a brochure — or point a video camera in the general direction of your CEO — doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

It sounds trite, but it’s true — you only get one chance to make a first impression.

Back in 1995, when we first started Blue Marble Media — literally in our basement –  we had no idea of the places it would take us or the scores of fascinating people it would bring our way.

For instance, one web site we created earned us tickets for four to Wimbledon.  (The company’s owner was a former Wimbledon champion.  He gave us his seats in Court One!)

A national shoe store chain was so pleased with our work that they showed up at our door one day with a size 29 tennis shoe to display in our office.  They had sponsored a contest to find the person with America’s biggest feet — and the winner had signed this shoe that was exactly his size.  Pretty cool! (The shoe still resides in our lobby.)

Our video crews have been on the rooftops of some of the highest buildings in the world … in the cockpit of a Boeing jet … in the permanent winter of a meat packing facility … on the ramps at major airports … in hospitals, banks and laboratories. Our video and web work has informed and entertained everyone from titans of industry and members of congress to day care workers and international travelers arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson.

We’ve ridden the wave of the booming mid-to-late 90s … survived Y2K … held our breath through the the dot-com crash and again through the Great Recession.

15 years — all in all, it’s been quite an experience!  Over the course of 2010, we’ll be sharing some of the history, experience and insights we’ve garnered along the way.  Stay tuned!

This is a question production companies have to deal with every time they put together a quote or bid for a job. And it’s also a question we’re frequently asked by our clients.

The answer is … there is no single perfect answer.  It depends on the script or project, the needs of the client, the limitations or requirements of the shoot location(s), the overall budget and sometimes even the client’s ego (believe it or not)!

Sometimes all that’s needed is a camera person who is also experienced with recording audio — say, for a quick “talking head” interview — and maybe a producer and/or grip. Why does that work? Because there are very few variables. One location. One or two interviews. Not too much that can go wrong.
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