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Have you thought about using video in your business? Its much easer and costs much less than you might first think. This week’s guest on the next 100 days podcast, Mark Orr, shows us how you can begin to use video in your business. And all you need is the smartphone already in your pocket……….

About Mark Orr

Mark Orr runs PocketVideoSchool.com, a production and training business based in the North East of England. He works with businesses that want to create their own video content for their websites and social media channels.

Mark Orr follows rugby and is a passionate Newcastle Falcons fan, despite being a Yorkshireman at birth he has spent 40+ years in the North East.

Back in the mid-80s, Mark was learning his trade in TV production. He went to college to learn how to use the big cameras, along with the audio and editing equipment. Mark produced TV quality broadcasts and videos. He spent time working on the nationally popular ‘The Tube’ from Tyne Tees Television.

This experience plus working in the video team for the local constabulary provided Mark a real grounding in video.

Pocket Video School

Mark Orr found himself as an employee within the print industry. He took 23 years to extricate himself from that industry and then did marketing and sales roles. When his son was in 6th form, and some friends made him a video and his son was hooked. Chris, his son and Mark, decided to take video to the world. They set up a video production company. They won good contracts. Chris, then decided to go freelance and left Mark at the beginning of 2017, he started Pocket Video School.

He spotted a gap in the market. Most businesses love the idea of video, but the huge prices levied by production companies alienated much of the market. He plugs this gap, by teaching how to teach video, filmography and teaching people how to do this properly. Video in your business can be a reality.

Perception of Video Costs

The perception is that video is expensive. The main platform has been TV. In the past, production was £20k per minute. Now with technology, the platforms are free.

Even with the knowledge of the market being easier and free, there is still a perception isn’t there that professional corporate videos need to be expensive.

There is an element of that. For Mark, it is about education. He’s a renegade. We’ve been spoon-fed that if you want video then this is the track you have got to take. However, the more knowledge people have the easier it is for people to emulate good video.

There is an expectation in corporate that you wouldn’t use a MOBILE PHONE. This is about ignorance. You don’t have to pay a fortune.

In small businesses, we just don’t choose to pay large production fees for videos. Mark is demystifying this sector.

Mark says a one-man band can compete with a larger brand, as effectively as a larger brand.

Video in your business – its the way forward

by 2020 85% of all internet traffic will be video driven. Don’t get left behind

Video in your business in the next 100 days?

  1. Understand your phone. It is whatever you have got. If you have a fairly-new smartphone it will have a camera capable of recording good footage. The down-side is that the smartphone manufacturers regulate these phones with AUTOMATIC settings.Because everything is on auto, the camera has a mind of its own. Light changes, focus changes, because the camera is constantly searching for you.TIP: find and educate yourself on the apps that are available that unlock all these features and give you manual control. This means you can improve the quality of your footage.
  2. Look at the accessories that you need to enhance your phone. Look at external microphones. The ONE THING that people will not forgive is poor audio. On YouTube, the expectation isn’t that the video will be 100% polished, but if they can’t hear your message, then they’ll switch off and go elsewhere.
  3. Once you have got a video, how do you get people to see it? There are lots of opportunities in social media to build relationships. How can you set yourself apart from everybody else? Using video is an effective way of doing that. You start to build a relationship with people because they see you. We are conditioned to be attracted to people’s faces. Remember, everybody does business with people. Not with brands, or companies.Start your journey, talk about yourself, you will magnetise and repel people. It helps you to start conversations with people. You will attract people who want to know more about your business.

Which App should you use to unlock your iPhone’s camera?

In Mark’s experience, one of the best Apps that gives you the best control and the functionality is:

FilmicPro – http://www.filmicpro.com

This app was designed a few years ago. It transforms your mobile phone into the equivalent of a good quality DSLR Camera. It opens up manual control of focus, white balance, ISO and aperture. In fact, everything you need to ensure you have good control over what the camera is actually doing, so it isn’t searching.

Using this app, TV companies have produced broadcast quality video.

This app is available for both IOS and Android.

£14.99 on iTunes.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/filmic-pro/id436577167?mt=8

What about the Microphone?

Buy a lavalier mic. The type that clips to your shirt or jacket. It is directional, so it doesn’t pick up a lot of the ambient noise that’s going on around you.

Kevin and I both have the Rode SmartLav Plus Lavalier. Available on amazon in the UK

These mics make a great difference. The filmicpro app also ensures your audio doesn’t peak and clip so you get good quality audio.

The Rode costs £43.

Mark recommends a lav called Boya BY-M1 which has a long lead.

What should you do with lighting a video?

The more control over light the better. It can be difficult to control light. So if you can use an artificial light source you will have a more controllable, constant light.

The new LED panels give off constant light, low energy and relatively cheap.

There are expensive options but advances in LED technology means you can buy very cheap LED panels now.

If you do only have natural light, always turn around to make sure the light is facing you, otherwise you’ll be in silhouette. If you don’t lock down exposure, the colour temperature and light will change. Use filmic pro app to stop the video constantly changing.

Lighting a Green Screen

A big issue with green screen is the ability to ‘key’ it out. Its old tech, but effective. Mobile phones struggle because of the size of the sensor. Make sure the talent is lit separately from the green screen. Separate the person to remove the spill, the green halo. That’s where the light bounces back from the green screen onto them. It means you need 4 or 5 lights instead of 2 or 3.

This adds additional post-production editing.

What should you use as a background in video?

Something that stands out, is non-reflective and doesn’t give shadow. Mark uses a brick effect backdrop. He only uses one light. He wants to make it as easy as possible. A white wall doesn’t really give you contrast.

A book case? The problem is when the background becomes too complicated and people peer in to read the book titles. Don’t make it distracting.

If you have a good amount of room, use a depth of field feature, so you can focus on the talent and have the backdrop a little blurred.

If you have a book case, you can add an LED lamp, which adds colour but is not distracting.

Editing software

Mark edits on his computer. He currently uses a windows PC. There is a lot of software out there for video editing. It depends what you want your video afterwards – adding graphics etc.

A lot of software has a lite version. Good functionality. Big learning curves, but will make the difference between run-of-the-mill and stand out. Mark advises you should get good at editing.

One video editing option is CAMTASIA: https://www.techsmith.com

Break up the visuals of a talking head video, means you usually more than the basic stuff.

Kevin suggests iMovie on the Mac. It is built in.

More control over audio and visuals – this can make a big difference to the videos. A talking head will engage people for a while. But no matter how good they are, people will be visually bored. Cut aways, add graphics.

How long should the video be?

As short as you can. It needs to be as long as the message is.

What kind of video should I start with?

Instead of a textual about me page, put a video in there.

When someone visits your web-page they are in search mode. So, there is information they want to know. To see if you are the solution to their problem. They come armed with questions:

What can this person do for me?

How much do they charge?

Etc

If you can address those questions with a video based FAQ, you are answering those questions that people have got to make sure you are the right solution AND you are starting a relationship with potential customers.

That’s a good start. Answer the questions that people always ask you.

The next one is a promo video.

Or explain a process. Do it visually.

Video plugs the gap between prospect and sale. Video helps you starting a relationship. You are nurturing a relationship. It’s the fastest way from being a prospect to becoming a customer.

Do I use background music on my video?

It depends on the style of video. Corporate videos use elevator music. Using a piece of music helps keep the pace of the video. It stimulates senses.

DON’T USE audio that does not belong to you!

Algorithms are out there trying to find offenders.

Use freely available royalty-free music. YouTube has a large library of music and sound effects for you.

https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music

https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/soundeffects

You don’t need attribution. But be careful where you are using the music, it might need to be hosted on Youtube.

Also search out INCOMPETECH

https://incompetech.com

usually requires attribution – music by XYZ at the end of the video.

Mark recommends you search YouTube for Royalty-Free music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPMs8jiz2i4oOz64HdaQR-A

Where do you host video?

There a few different options. You can use YouTube. They create limitations for you though. It puts a lot of links in there and constrains you. Unless you tell it not to it puts related videos at the end of your videos. This could be a competitor video. Mark says adjust the embed code to say don’t show relevant videos.

That becomes a free way to host videos. The downside is that if you do something that YouTube doesn’t like, accidentally and they will take down your video.

Alternatively, VIMEO https://vimeo.com

Alternatively, Amazon’s S3: https://aws.amazon.com/s3/ which is literally just a cloud storage, but it is pennies for a lot of views. But you have to connect it to a player to play the file. There are free options out there that allow you to play your video with the player.

How do you get more people to view your videos?

Avoid the billboard in the desert. With YouTube, you benefit from search. The 2nd biggest in the world. Optimise with the right title, description and tags. If they are on YouTube looking for a solution that your service is an answer for.

Vimeo and self-hosting doesn’t benefit in the same way.

Promote your videos. Amplify with paid exposure. Video is more sharable, so it might be shared. Video is 1200% more likely to be shared than text and images combined. There are some real benefits from using video in your business.

On Twitter, now you can serve video up to 2 minutes or so.

How to overcome the “I don’t like the sound of my own voice” argument

Mark says, when you are in the supermarket, do people cringe when you talk? No. So, what makes you think they will when you are on video? You hear your own voice differently to other people.

How do people get in touch with Mark Orr?

Facebook:             Pocket Video School

Twitter:                 @PocketVidSchool

Website:                pocketvideoschool.com

YouTube:               https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI4grXTJ4YabGa-uhiCbbpg

The statistic: by 2020 85% of all internet traffic will be video driven. No excuses start using video in your business in the next 100 days.

The Next 100 Days Podcast is brought to you by Graham Arrowsmith and Kevin Appleby