An Overview of Digital Compression
by Randy Davis on Dec.10, 2009, under Video Production
As customers continue to demand a higher quality production, the demand for compressing that production onto DVD’s, CD’s, and streaming onto the Internet becomes more of consideration than ever before. TV screens, computer monitors, and even cell phone screens have exploded in size over the last five to seven years. Filling those screens with high quality picture and sound can be an expensive process, but with modern-day compression methods, the process has become more manageable and more affordable.
The goal of compression is to shrink the digital video file down to a smaller size without compromising quality or frame size. When it’s time to view the video, a decompression (expanding) process must take place. A crude analogy to compression/decompression is a fluffy down comforter, which is placed into a plastic bag and vacuuming sealed. It’s easy to store, transport and when time to use it, simply open the bag and allow the comforter to return to it’s normal size. Another example is how iPod’s can store days of music on a single unit.
Two basic types of compressions, or “codec” exist: lossy and non-lossy, or lossless. Lossy compression types lose quality, and data during the process, while Lossless, or non-lossy compression types retain quality, but successfully reduce the amount of data needed to view it.
Often times, videos are compression with an incorrect codec for the application. Pay close attention next time an online video is watched. Occasionally, while the video is playing, there are horizontal lines visible during playback. This is an example of using the incorrect codec for online streaming. Many others exist, but the scope of this post is to make aware of the countless different available compression processes.
Five Winning Secrets for Good Headshots
by Beth Sowell on Dec.07, 2009, under Video Production
Are you ready to shoot your actor headshots? If you’ve already picked a headshot photographer and have your wardrobe, hair and makeup all figured out, here are five tips to help you get the most out of your headshot photo session.
- Shoot one universal headshot.
When you have your actor headshots taken, choosing a few different “looks” that suggest character types (white collar, girl next door, etc.) is a good thing. But you won’t be able to have a look that’s perfect for every role that you want to audition for, so you should also have what I call a “universal headshot” – a straight on, no nonsense, what you see is what you get headshot that tells exactly who you are. It shouldn’t be a dramatic or smiling shot. If you get a good “universal headshot”, you will find yourself using it more and more and it will establish your face in the casting director’s mind (who keeps seeing one same photo over and over). That type of headshot will get you work because it’s full of possibilities. How do you get the right look? It’s all in the eyes, which takes us to this next headshot tip… - Tell a story.
Often, actors preparing for a headshot photography shoot will spend a lot of time thinking about their wardrobe and make-up but will neglect the most important thing – their acting. Unfortunately, being relaxed and open in front of a camera doesn’t come naturally, even to actors. Good headshot photographers help the process, but you’ll get much better headshots if you’re prepared to “tell a story” with your eyes. The night before the shoot, think of what you want to get across in your actor headshots, then write down a one-liner for every different intention. Keep it simple. Just think of how you would convey who you are or what you want in the least amount of words possible (for example, “I really want to get to know you”) and then tell that sentence with your eyes. - Do a headshot mix.
Line up some songs on your iPod the night before your headshot session. Pick different music for different looks you have planned. Don’t worry about picking out cool songs. You’re not getting modeling pictures. Pick music that you respond to. Close your eyes and notice how each song makes you feel, then decide if this is the right “mood” for the headshots you want. If it is, include it in your mix and loop it if you need to. Most headshot photographers are happy to work with actors’ music at the photo shoot since it helps them relax and get in character for their different “looks”. - Stay away from coffee and cigarettes.
I got this tip from a headshot photographer: to avoid bags under the eyes, stop drinking coffee two weeks before the photo shoot. If you’re a heavy coffee drinker, you may get headaches when you hold off on the java, but it will help you have a nice skin tone and overall fresh look you won’t have to Photoshop for hours. Another thing that improves complexion is to stop smoking of course. - Skip the retouching.
A lot of actor pictures look “retouched” to the trained eye of a casting director or agent. If you need to brush off a little speck on your shirt, that’s fine, of course, but avoid going through your headshot session thinking, “I can retouch that later”. Your goal should be to get the perfect shot you don’t need to do anything to. One way to do that is to take regular breaks during your photo session to review your headshots. Most headshot photographers have digital cameras, so reviewing your pictures as you go is easy. Some photographers can even show you a large image of your headshots on a TV screen hooked to their camera. Make sure you love the shots before you go on. Check your general look and posture, but also watch out for little details like flyaway hairs or shiny skin.
Hope these headshot tips help you have a successful photo shoot. For more information, view our step by step guide on how to get great actor headshots and how to pick good headshot photographers.
About the Author
Alex Swenson has worked as an actor, writer and film editor for the past 15 years in New York and Los Angeles. She has created the website Acting School Stop to help young actors start an acting career. The website offers free acting information and a step by step guide on how to become an actor.
Marketing Your Way to Success with Viral Video
by Beth Sowell on Nov.18, 2009, under Charlotte Video Production, Video Production, Video Production Charlotte
The definition of a viral video is basically a video clip which gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing, typically through e-mail, IM messages, blogs and other media sharing websites.
Viral video marketing is the best way to build your online brand, visibility, among a host of other online business benefits. Take some lessons from the big guys about how to use video marketing the right way, it’s about more than just traffic.
The amateurs like “Brookers” and “Lonelygirl” publish their video clips for fun and notoriety, and the big corporations like Nike, Warner Bros, and MTV2 produce and publish them in order to drive traffic to their web sites and sell more of their products or services. Because the advertising cost relatively inexpensive. And it produces amazing results.
Today’s youth now spend more time online that watching television. It’s all about page views and favorites and bookmarks and links on blogs. Your video can assume viral status and be passed on via emails and blogs and even be spotted on Facebook walls. Since the audience themselves decide whether or not your video is worthy enough to become viral or not. You better make sure it is.
People aren’t just watching video online. They’re taking it with them by downloading the files like the video iPod and Sony’s video game console, the PlayStation Portable. Now even cell phones have the ability to watch YouTube videos.
For the online entrepreneur (the web site owner seeking to make money online) the purpose of a viral video is to bring traffic to a website. The viral video is a phenomenon which has taken the world by storm and unless you’ve been off in a far away place, you will not doubt have seen one of the many videos which have been popularized by the site, such as Tyson the roller-skating dog. Did you know that YouTube gets twice as much traffic as Google? That means that YouTube alone, gets one million hits a day.
Their are numerous ways to monetize viral videos. From contextual ad programs like Adsense, Yahoo Publishers Network and Chitika to affiliate programs and product sales. Revenue sharing is just one aspect of earning money through the use of online video.
Viral video marketing is the gift that keeps on giving. Viral marketing is going to be the next big thing in SEO. The “on-demand” characteristic of video marketing is another great benefit. Facebook: Share, share, share. Other ideas include creating an event that announces the video launch and inviting friends, writing a note and tagging friends, or posting the video on Facebook.
