It's Good to Stumble

An inspiring image I stumbled upon.

The Internet web is vast and deep, but a lot of times I get stuck swimming on the surface and going to my standard destinations like yahoo and or other sites that I shouldn't mention... ahem. 

It's easy to get pigeon-holed and hard to, as they used to say, "surf the web" and find obscure sites that are inspiring. Then I found stumbleupon.com. Now I can plug in some attributes like "filmmaking" or "photography" and then aimlessly wander through cool sites that I never would have found otherwise. I've even caught myself drooling a couple of times. You should try it. Go Stumble

Rogin Kim Wins ACLU StandUp Contest

Now in its 3rd year, the ACLU StandUp Contest challenges young filmmakers to defend their rights against the abuse of power in America.

Rogin, a former Hotbed staffer, is completing his Directing MFA program at Columbia University's School of the Arts Film Division.

Here are some shorts he has directed, including the film that won the contest:

Hard to Swallow - Contest Winner!
Don't Look at the Camera
The Rooftop Lesson

Tubemogul

Tubemogul is a great tool to launch videos across a lot of different video platforms. It also allows us to track our viewership. Watch Hotbed's videos on youtube.

Light Fixture

Filmmaking in the Internet Age

A few months ago I moved my family from San Francisco to Spokane, Washington. Our son was almost a year old and the idea of living in a home with a big yard and extended family nearby sounded pretty darn nice. I'd been in San Francisco about five years and my wife for almost ten. Needless to say, this was a pretty big decision for us on many fronts. One of my biggest concerns, however, was how this was going to impact my future at Hotbed. Things were going really well and I didn't want to mess with the mix. But, the country was a callin' (That's my dog Niko above and a moose family we encountered on a hike by our new house). I had many talks with Stokes about how this was going to work. We had a plan in place, a logistical workflow set-up, and we were ready to roll. Stokes was incredibly supportive and I honestly can't thank him enough. But now that I've been up here a few months I've come to a realization: nothing has really changed. Sure, I miss Stokes, Britt, and the rest of the Hotbed crew. We can't talk about a new project over coffee in the morning or head out for a beer at the end of a long day. I miss that. But from a work perspective it really hasn't changed much at all.

Of course this is all thanks to Al Gore and his wonderful Internet. This little invention has enabled us to produce films all over the world. We've produced films in Phoenix, Buffalo, Dallas, Miami, New York, Gold Beach, Denver, Seattle, Paris, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Rome, Dusseldorf, and most recently in Buenos Aires, Argentina for Cahan & Associates/ALDO Shoes. But this is the first time I've been on the other side looking in. So, I thought it would be helpful to explain a bit about about the process of working with a production company from afar.

1) You find us/We find you. Maybe you heard about Hotbed from a friend or colleague. Maybe an agency, company, or even another production company. Or possibly a Google search. Our work is posted on our website for all to see (I'd like to point out that only about 1/4 of our work is on our website. If you have specific type of work you'd like to see just let us know).

2) You request a reel, email us, or call. These are all routed to me (Ed Reese). I'll either send a reel or call/email back with answers to your questions. People typically have questions about their project and I do my best to educate them about the production process, questions they should be asking, and think about which samples of work best match their project. I'll then send QuickTime web links and a custom reel.

3) At that point people have a pretty good idea if we're a good fit for their project. But personality, vision, and individual creative style are also very important factors. That's when I involve Stokes, our Founding Director/Creative Director. We'll schedule a call and talk about the creative and get to know a bit more about you as well as your business.

4) Stokes then works with our producers to create a budget. Sometimes we fire off straight numbers, sometimes we include a treatment and additional details. It depends on the project and how much information is desired by the client.

5) We hope you've chosen us, and if you have, here's where I step back and watch the magic happen. Stokes and the team develops concepts and treatments. The Hotbed team has taken to communicating their ideas in blogs. Here are a few: Amgen - ITP, Focalin XR, Riverbed - Dusan, Baci Mirrors, Amgen - Epogen So even if you are in Philly, D-town or NYC, you can follow the creative process closely. We recently produced a project in Spain. Skype was our friend.

6) When shooting, there is nothing like being there. It's the real deal. So, we encourage you to show up for that if at all possible.

7) When its time for post, clients are starting to come into the office less and less. Especially with short form work, its a simple process to load up a cut onto the Internet for you to review. Sure, it's fun to hang in the editing suite and eat M&M's, but these days clients seem busier than ever. So, no matter if you are in San Francisco, Atlanta or Shanghai, its all the same. When we produced Picture Life for Sony, Brian Beaver, our Sony counterpart was in Hong Kong for much of post. We'd load up a cut and go home. We'd wake up in the morning with Brian's comments in our inbox. There was never downtime waiting for feedback.

We love working closely with our clients, hanging out, massaging the cut, grabbing lunch and sipping coffee, but we also love working with clients from all over the world. The Internet makes that possible. That's filmmaking in the Internet age.

Authenticity and the Testimonial Interview

Testimonial interviews get a bum rap. I'm pretty sure it's from all of those 2am get-rich-quick real estate ads people see when they can't get to sleep. "Why,... I just read Mr. Real Estate Guru's book and made $280,000 in my first month." Of course it's always followed by a half second disclaimer of "these results may vary." This negative perception (while deserved in many cases) is really too bad. Because in our experience, testimonial interviews done well are one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use to grow your business. You just have to use the right approach. Here's how we walk into a project:

1) Uncover the real story. Interview subjects are often too clouded by the corporate kool-aid. It's tough to hear marketing buzzwords and industry jargon all day and then give a natural response to the camera. We are experts at drawing out those natural responses that will resonate with audiences.

2) No script. You are not an actor. Even very good actors have a tough time giving an authentic read for testimonials. It's just tough. We want the real deal. We want to hear how whatever you do, sell, or provide somehow helps people in very real world terms. We recently filmed interviews with a company called Riverbed. Their appliance makes Internet traffic smokin' fast (up to 100X faster). We could've just gone into the bytes and bits, but instead, we asked the IT professionals how it changed their lives from a day-to-day standpoint. One guy said that with Riverbed, their server backups are done on Friday afternoon, not Sunday. That means he can now go to his kid's baseball games. Let's see that in bold print.

"I can go to my son's baseball games on the weekends because of Riverbed's Steelhead appliance. My server back-ups are done by 5pm every Friday. It used to take all weekend!"

How's that for a testimonial? Their product greatly enhanced his quality of life. People dig that. To find these little nuggets takes a lot of hard work and skill. It's way more than just interviewing someone. It's getting people to let down their guard long enough for us to find these little gems that tell a compelling story.

3) Be honest. It's pretty simple, really. Don't lie to people. If your product or service sucks, then testimonial interview style videos probably aren't for you. If you rock, then the customers will come calling once they see how other people say how great you are.

4) Let them into your world. People love stories and experiences. Put them in the frame.
Paint a picture of what it would be like to work with you. We filmed a personality profile video for photographer Jaime Kripke during a photo shoot of a 2008 Olympic BMX competitor. True, I wouldn't really call this a testimonial. But, you can see how a real client enjoyed the experience. Now prospective clients can see what it's like to work with Jaime. We get people talking, laughing, and thinking back to how great the company, service, or conference was.

Speaking of conferences, we just back heard from Paul Murray, Vice President of Marketing & Sales at the International Risk Management Institute in Dallas, Texas. We interviewed risk management professionals about the value of the IRMI conference series. Apparently, they had good things to say.

"The testimonial interview videos you produced for us is already paying off! In fact, they were instrumental in helping us re-acquire a major account. We've also noticed expanded participation in our product awareness and training webinars. We'll be using them to promote our online reference library and annual conference as well. Our prospects are responding to these well (in my opinion) because the video clips are short, to the point, and sincere. These industry leaders said things about us and our products that went far beyond anything we could've scripted for them ourselves. The skill of Stokes McIntyre at drawing out earnest and meaningful statements from these folks was incredible."

That's what we like to see,.. happy customers. We're extremely excited to hear how great these videos are working for IRMI. If you have a question about how they could work for your company, just let us know. In the meantime, I found a really good article about video testimonials from Jeffrey Gitmer that talks about their power to increase sales. In fact, here's what he had to say about how they increased his business:

I made my first sales video two years ago. It cost more money than I had. Over the last 24 months it has helped me make more sales than I can count. This year I’m making a new one, and spending four times more than I spent on the first one, the one I couldn’t afford. Thanks to my first video, this year I can afford it.

Wow.