Event DV Magazine - June 2009

[HankCastello]

Somehow, I've picked up the habit of thumbing through a magazine from back to front, so in reviewing eventDv magazine this month, we'll begin with Jan Ozer -

Some of you may recall, several months ago I blasted an article (not Jan's) that claimed you do not need a "call to action" in your advertising or web pages.  Having studied (but never completing the courses) communication theory and marketing, you might expect I'd find ways to disagree with Jan's "deep thoughts on MARKETING VIDEOS", and I'll admit - I tried.

But Jan is right-on (as usual) and none of us can afford to skip this article with essential advice on making promotional videos for small businesses - advice you should also apply to your business.

But I do have one huge complaint about Jan Ozer's article - it's too short.  EventDV needs to give Jan more space!

Steve Yankee had nearly put me to sleep in the first column of this two-column page article, telling about the dinosaur-days of videography, but the second column made up for it. (Steve's articles are always worth reading!)

I have two bones to pick with Steve in this article though. The first is where he says -

 * "You can't give them what you want. It has to be what they want."

Often you, the videographer have more understanding of what makes good video and how to tell the customer's story well.  Clients are very often quite naive in these areas and may think they know what is best, when in fact, they do not.

If you feel strongly about doing something a certain way, argue your points.  If the client doesn't come around and you feel their way will destroy the message or severely hamper the delivery, consider walking away and giving a full refund.  I've done just that on two occasions and one of the clients called me to do a job half a year later, saying that this time they'll listen to me!

Even if it's just a matter of style, if you don't like it, you may not be able to effectively deliver what the client wants and they'd be better off with a videographer who is more comfortable with their ideas.

 * "Tell the story with audio; the video is the frosting."

I can't believe my friend, Steve Yankee actually said this!  Our medium is unique from photography, music, etc. in that it deals with moving images.  Got that Steve? - "MOVING IMAGES".  Marconi is dead and forgotten.  The Victrola is passe. 

Our story should be told with moving images and to the degree that audio is not needed to tell that story or to express the emotion it holds, we have succeeded.  To the extent that our story relies on audio to communicate the storyline and deliver the emotion, we have failed.

That's not to say that audio isn't hugely important to video. Like Fred and Ginger, video and audio must dance superbly together. But in the same way that Fred leads and Ginger follows, it must be the moving images that take precedence.  Video is not "frosting" - it is the cake!

Gosh, this has gotten to be long.  If I have any more foaming at the mouth ramblings about this month's eventDV, I'll make a separate post.

Meanwhile, any comments?

[kwshaw1]

I think it's important to try to find out if your customers have specific expectations, but they should also understand that by hiring you they hire your personal style and should be prepared to accept that based on the samples you show them beforehand. This doesn't excuse videographers who refuse to listen to customers or overlook basic videography techniques, but unless someone is paying you big money to meet their expectations precisely they shouldn't expect that.