Digital video is a new technology that can be used and manipulated much easier than the old analog signal. This generic term is not to be confused with the name DV, which is a specific type of digital video. In the past video was recorded on tape but today with digital video it can be recorded on tape, DVD or straight to the hard drive of a computer. This generic term is not to be confused with the name DV, which is a specific type of digital video. Digital video can be processed and edited very easily today, special effects are easy to add with digital editing.

Digital video can also be edited on a personal computer which has the proper hardware and software. Regardless of software, digital video is generally edited and needs quite bit of disk space to store everything. Digital video is also used in modern mobile phones and video conferencing systems. The quality of the digital video is far superior to the analog counterpart.

Artistic people will claim that the quality of digital video is cold, that you don’t have the warmth of the look of film images. But one thing is for sure. Digital video is here to stay, which means that our films of our 25th anniversary celebration are also here to stay.

These new cameras can record for several hours on end. The recording is done either on a small videocassette, blank CD or a DVD. Visuals are continuously recorded by these cameras and can be played on the screen.

Marketing videos with poor picture quality are likely to reflect a poor quality company in the mind of the viewer, so try to get the best quality video you can get. When people talk about interlacing they are talking about a special technique that improves the quality of the picture without increasing extra or more bandwidth. Using a camera that is analog you will need multiple tapes for long filming, but with digital video you need plenty of disk space to store all of the video. In the past when recording with tapes you will lose the quality of the recording when duplicating the information but with digital recording you do not have that problem plus the footage will last forever. Today many of the cameras come with many features that you only find in professional cameras. You can get better picture quality when using a more expensive digital camera.

When filming with a DVD format it will allow you to record right to digital disk, the other type of technologies are HDD and this allows you to record right to a hard drive. As the tape format is slowly being phased out by major manufacturers, it is a good idea to invest in disk or hard drive based digital video cameras. While this format is very easy to use and is supported by practically all software it is not efficient as there is no compression applied.

With digital video cameras today there are features that allow you to take low or medium quality footage to save space.

Adding, Digital, Effects, great, Special, Videos

Successful online marketing requires that you keep your marketing and website fresh. One of the best ways to do this is with new and innovative, and interactive, marketing techniques.  Currently, one of the growing mediums is the use of video to interact with and engage potential clients.  Here are 5 great ideas to use this fantastic medium.

1. Give away free video tutorials

What’s better than visiting a website that can show you how to do something useful?  For example, imagine that you have a website that sells mediation supplies. Cushions, altars, music, books etc…one great marketing video idea is to provide your website visitors with a quick video demonstrating how to use a product you sell on your website.  Even better would be to create a video that demonstrates a popular meditation technique.

Another example might be a website that sells information about pet training.  The video could be an image of an expert using a superior training technique to train their dog or bird an interesting or useful trick.  For example, teaching a dog to sit might be useful but demonstrating how to teach your dog to grab a beer from the refrigerator might me more interesting and exciting.  It all depends on your target market and their needs.

2. Video testimonials on your website.

Credibility is extremely important to a business.  If you’re considered an expert in your field, product or service, you don’t have to seek customers, they seek you.  Credibility can be enhanced by a variety of tools including but not limited to testimonials.

Let me just ask you this question, which would you spend $500 on, a product you thought was a good product or a product you knew was a good product because relevant and quality testimonials, success stories, and endorsements were available for you to review?  Personally, I’m much more likely to spend my money on a product with evidence to back it up.  Video is a useful tool to provide this credibility.

For example, you can ask customers to send in video testimonials, create a contest out of it to make it more fun.  Now it’s both a marketing campaign and an excellent credibility tool.  You can also take the time to visit some of your biggest fans and record testimonials.  Case studies and success stories are extremely motivational. They enable your prospective customer to not only see how successful they can be but to also connect with your customer on a personal level.  Speaking of connecting with your customer on a personal level, let’s move to the next great way to use video.

3.  Video welcome message.

Many businesses are enhanced by connecting on a personal level with your customer.  For example, if you’re selling a consulting service, a coaching service, or any type of product or service that helps people improve their personal lives, it can be extremely beneficial to share some of yourself  with them.  An easy way to do this is to connect with them via a video welcome          message.

It doesn’t have to be long, just a 60 second spot where you’re sincerely welcoming them to your site and inviting them to take the steps they need to improve their lives.  It provides reassurance that you’re a real and genuine person and encourages them to take the next step whether that is to make a purchase, make an appointment or simply to inquire and ask for more information.

4. Interview an expert.
    
Interviewing an expert is an excellent tool to draw traffic to your website.  You can offer the interview as a free giveaway in exchange for their email address. You can promote the interview as a limited time offer when they make a purchase.  You can simply use the interview with an expert as a way to improve your company’s credibility.  There are many, many uses for a video interview with an expert.  You can even use a portion of it to create a video advertisement.

5. Create an advertisement.
    
Advertising is a great way to market your business and video makes it easy.  You can create an ad and post it on YouTube.  You can also create a You Tube video and embed it on your site or pay others to post it on their site.  When creating a video advertisement, there are a few things that sell well.  They are:

· Humor.
· Talent
· Celebrities
· Special effects
· Animal/pet tricks
· Cute kids
· Spoofs

The key to any advertisement is to make sure it is both memorable, unique, and that it communicates the benefits of your product.  A good video advertisement will be forwarded and shared amongst fans thus generating a viral effect.

Videos must be quality or they will hurt your image rather than enhance it.  There are numerous tools available on the web to create quality videos.  YouTube is one of the most commonly used.  This is because it is fairly simple to use.

The steps to create a YouTube video are:

To first make your video.  In order for your video to be viewable via YouTube, it video has to be taken with a digital device like a digital camcorder, a digital camera, or a cell phone.  I’ve taken movies of my dog with my cell phone and depending on your cell phone’s camera, they can be very good quality.

To upload it from a digital camera or camcorder, it is important to know that any video uploaded into YouTube must be less than 10 minutes long, smaller than 100MB, and in an acceptable format, .AVI, .MOV, .WMV, and .MPG file formats.

Once you have your video in the right format, simply get online and go to the YouTube site.  Click “Upload Videos” in the upper-right-hand corner of the page and enter the video’s title, description, tags, and category to make it easy for people to find your video, and forward to others.  Set your video to Public Click the “Upload a Video” button and then select the file you want to upload by clicking the “Browse” button.

That’s it. You have now created a highly interactive and viral marketing tool that you can use to build your business.

Business, great, Ideas, Market, Video

Popular celebrity weeklies such as Star Magazine and In Touch Weekly explore and report on the glamorous world of popular entertainers and celebrities. It is difficult not to harbor any envy when glossy magazines and popular television shows provide picturesque layouts of palatial estates, and reports of multi million dollar pays for earning a living at something that many do not consider to be work. In addition, celebrities also receive special treatment in most instances and often do not have to pay for things though they can afford to.

While it may difficult to begrudge them their exulted status, there are some things that are positive about celebrity and fame. You may turn a lighter shad of green when you realize that celebs:

Inspire Us to Work Harder

Some may consider this negative, but in a culture full of celebrity worship, we want what our favorite entertainers have. We work harder at trying to attain the perfect body because Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Lopez possess it. We want to own at least one Porsche like Jerry Seinfeld, or platinum Jewelry like Sean Combs.

Though the perfect body may be unattainable, and to be fair celebrities enjoy airbrushing, personal trainers and personal chefs to help them attain either the illusion or an actual perfect body. They make us work harder at being our best self, and most of us figure if he can do it I can do it too.

Teach Us about the World

Not every person blessed with fame is shallow and self involved. Often celebrities use their fame as a platform to increase awareness about national and global problems and events. Whatever the consensus is on Angelina Jolie as a home wrecker, the fact that she has raised awareness of the importance of adoption is indisputable. Jolie, adopted two children from third world nations bringing an awareness of the plight of children in poor and developing countries. Other celebrities such as Meg Ryan, and Madonna have followed her lead and countless others will undoubtedly follow.

George Clooney may someday run for office, but is currently using his celebrity status to raise awareness of the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Clooney has helped raise money, and introduced many Americans to a part of the world that is often not discussed on their local news.

In addition to world events celebrities also help to raise awareness and money for foundations for rare and incurable diseases. Both Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali suffer from Parkinsons disease, Christopher Reeve was an outspoken advocate for people with spinal disabilities. Celebrities make it cool to do charitable activities such as doing a walk for cancer or encouraging women to be tested for breast cancer and men for prostate cancer. Celebrities such as Fran Drescher, and Rudolph Giuliani tell their stories and share their fight with the diseases which undoubtedly saves lives.

Though it is quite easy to look at most entertainers as overpaid and egotistical, remember there are two sides to the equation.

about, Celebrities, great, Things

We live in a celebrity obsessed culture. There are news programs devoted exclusively to the lives of stars, and weekly publications that report every facet of their lives both professional and personal. They are not allowed any measure of privacy. Camera people follow them on the most mundane of tasks, await them outside their homes to take photos that can be worth thousands of dollars and even rifle through their trash to find any snippet of information.

Common sense would tell someone in this situation that they must behave in a very respectable manner at all times living in the proverbial fish bowl. Yet, most celebrities do not seem to learn. Therefore I have compiled a list of tips that celebrities on the A, B, or even D list may want to follow.

Do Not Cheat On Your Spouse

This is not to say that they are supposed to be morally superior, or that they need to set an example. The simple truth is that with the increased level of scrutiny it is likely that they will get caught. Celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, and Ryan Phillippe to name a few can attest to this. It is not a good idea of your spouse to learn of your wandering eye through the pages of Star Magazine.

Do Not Commit Any Crimes

Celebrity mug shots are the dreams of publishers of celebrity weeklies such as Star Magazine and The National Enquirer. There are websites devoted exclusively to embarrassing pictures of entertainers. Some favorites are those of Nick Nolte, Robert Downey Jr., Hugh Grant to name a few. Before the desire to pick up a prostitute, buy illegal drugs, or drive under the influence takes hold, remember every interview going forward will discuss the lapse in judgment and show the less than flattering photo provided in public records.

Do Not Lose or Gain Drastic Amounts of Weight

Most of us know that it is incredibly easy to gain weight as we age. Celebrities have no such luck. Every morsel that they consume must be monitored. A mere five pounds of extra weight gain can easily lead to false pregnancy or depression rumors. On the opposite end of the spectrum it is not unheard of for celebrities to be shamed into shedding pounds only to be questioned about their weight loss methods or about having an eating disorder once the weight loss becomes too drastic.

Do Not Marry Kevin Federline

This should be self explanatory; however, it appears that Britney Spears never got the memo. The level of criticism she received once she started to date the former back up dancer reached epic proportions. Though you should be able to date or marry whatever person you like, the same rules do not apply in the entertainment industry. Marrying Federline made Spears become a punch line. In this case the bad publicity did not bode well for her career. The rule in Hollywood for women seems to be that it is best to marry someone who has the same amount of power or more than you. In the case that your career takes off it is essential to upgrade to a more desirable spouse. Jennifer Garner and Katie Holmes are a great example of this.

Though it may seem unfair that those who choose the entertainment industry for a living have to live by a different set of rules, they do reap the rewards of their profession. Celebrities earn large amounts of money, often more in a year then many achieve in their lifetimes. They receive preferential treatment much of the time, receive complimentary expensive items when they can afford to pay. Perhaps it is fitting that they get themselves into such crazy situations. It makes life a bit more fair.

Celebrities, follow, great, Tips

Take a treasured family photo or a picture depicting a celebration and turn it into a pillow! This provides a way to display cherished photos in a unique way. The accent pieces to home décor can now tell a story of your life. Let the pictures in your world come to life. Photo pillows provide a way for the joys in life to be displayed as treasures around a home or office.

Using the latest technology, the selected photo is scanned into the computer. Here, the computer takes the image and transfers it into a woven image. Next, the image is woven into the fabric of the pillow using a computerized weaving machine. By weaving the photo into the actual fabric, the image is guaranteed to last for the life of the pillow. There will be no fading of the image over time or after washing the pillow. This makes photo pillows more desirable than scanned or copied image photo pillows.

The fabric used is 100% cotton blend with a polyester filling. The selected photo can be in color or black and white. The image appearing on the photo pillow does not have to match that of the original picture. For example, a black and white photo can appear in color on the photo pillow. The average pillow size available is 18” pillows. This is ideal for the best resolution of the picture when woven into the pillow fabric.

Custom photo pillows can include any picture available. From family gatherings, to a celebration, there is no limit. Even the family pet can have a photo pillow. This is great way to introduce a new addition to the family or send a child off to college for the first time. The photo pillows are made of durable, cotton fabric with an easily removed slip cover. This allows for laundering the pillow to ensure a favorite memory stays crisp and fresh – in mind and in décor accents!

Gifts, great, Photo, Pillows