Special Guest

Some of you may remember Todd VanSlyck, who’s the director of Multimedia at the UNOH (University of Northwest Ohio). He did a six part series for us several months ago on “what makes great video”.

Well, this time he’s put together a very cool motion graphics tutorial about how he did a composite of the UNOH logo. At first glance, this video may look all too simple. But that’s because he did such a nice job with it.

I recommend watching the final version first. Then, watch the layers of work that went in to this piece to make it look like the logo really belongs in the scene.

This is part of a continuing guest entry from Todd VanSlyck. Use these links to read his previous entry or learn more about Todd. (Also, be sure to check out his awesome stock footage on istockphoto.com)

So you’ve got all the parts, now it’s time to put them all together. The script, video, audio and graphics. Editing is a very powerful tool and I can’t really tell you what makes good editing very simply because it’s mostly feeling.  To quote the editor of Indiana Jones, "I edit from feeling.  If it feels right I go with it.  If you try to edit from knowledge, you don't feel the scene, it becomes mechanical.“

Here are a few things to look at when all is said and done.  Does the commercial “flow”?  Does it say what you want it to say?  Will it speak to your audience successfully?   Would YOU shop at your own store based on the commercial?

When all these pieces are placed together successfully, you should have a great product.  If any one of them is not done correctly, it could be less effective or not effective at all.  While this all may sound very complicated, it really isn’t if you have a professional working with you.  They will help guide you through the process and help you achieve your end goal!

This is part of a continuing guest entry from Todd VanSlyck. Use these links to read his previous entry or learn more about Todd. (Also, be sure to check out his awesome stock footage on istockphoto.com)

OK, don’t get me started on bad graphics.  This is the area that suffers the most when it comes to awful TV.  Since you may be Stan’s future client and he may not want to hurt your feelings - I’ll be the bad cop here.  If I was going to tell something to every single person that is thinking about making a commercial, here’s what I would tell them about graphics:

You’re not writing Moby Dick.  Don’t try to cram so much junk in your commercial that nobody can read it.  You have no idea how much that decreases effectiveness.

Use fonts that make the text legible.  Serify or thin fonts might be OK as long as the text is large enough, but solid fonts are almost always a better choice.  There are tons of cool, free, legible fonts on the web, and Stan has a bunch of them.

When it comes to colors, don’t use red.  Red is bad.  I know you want everybody to see your latest sale price, but bright red is very hard to read on TV.

If you want people to know where your business is or be able to find you on the web, put that information up for more than one second at the end of the commercial

Simple is very effective!  Stan is great at simple, effective graphic design.

And just for good measure:  Don’t flash your text on and off.  That’s just tacky.

OK, I’ll get off my soapbox now.  Sorry.

This is part of a continuing guest entry from Todd VanSlyck. Use these links to read his previous entry or learn more about Todd. (Also, be sure to check out his awesome stock footage on istockphoto.com)

To me, lighting is one of the most difficult things to do effectively.  People dedicate their entire lives to the art of lighting.  For the sake of this article I’ll just say this:  You need to see what’s being shown.  You’re saying “well duh!”, but I can’t tell you how many local commercials I’ve seen that are not lit effectively.  All it would have taken is a couple of lights to change the whole shot.  On the other end of the spectrum, is the scene blown-out and are the shadows horrible or is the lighting diffused and pleasing to the eye?

Okay, let's touch on audio.  This is pretty straight forward.  Can you hear the talent or announcer?  Is the music at a correct level with the voiceover?  Is all the audio mixed together well?  Was the on-camera mic used to capture the speaking parts or a professional microphone?  It is simple but can influence so much.  I can stand watching a commercial with less-than-great video, but if the audio is awful, I change the channel immediately.

This is part of a continuing guest entry from Todd VanSlyck. Use these links to read his previous entry or learn more about Todd. (Also, be sure to check out his awesome stock footage on istockphoto.com)

With the advent of digital video and the recent advances in technology it’s become easier and easier to produce great looking, high quality video.  Yet I see crummy looking video all the time.  Why?

Just because a person HAS a video camera doesn’t mean they know how to USE it.  A camera is a tool that when used correctly can be incredibly effective.  How are the shots framed?  Is it steady?  Does it look grainy or dark?  Is shallow depth of field used to isolate the subject?

I use an HD camera that cost about $6000 and puts out astounding images.  I also have a 35mm adapter that I can attach to the front and use 35mm film camera lenses to get very shallow depth of field.  (Shallow depth of field is when your subject is in focus and the background and/or foreground are out of focus; something that’s difficult to achieve with some digital video cameras).  It produces truly filmic images.

Recently Canon came out with the 5D Mark II Digital SLR Camera.  It shoots full frame still pictures and 1080 HD video and looks stunning.  People are shooting movies with a $3000 camera that you carry around in one hand. What’s my point?  There are HD cameras out there that cost $75-100,000 that can look terrible if not used correctly.  I’ve seen some pretty cool stuff shot with an iPhone because the person shooting knows how to use it.  Granted, you’re limited with an iPhone, but you get the point I’m trying to make.