NetVideoMaker.Com

Discovering "Embedly" for Video-Anywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 13:50:00 +0000

Like most social media sites, Linkedin allows display of video. When you choose to add video you're invited to paste a url to the source of said video and Linkedin takes it from there. But, under the link box is an invitation to discover what sources are supported and that's how I found "Embedly".

When you click "Embed" a player appears with a thumbnail from the video and a play arrow and beneath the player is presented the embed code, which I used to create the viewer at bottom:

If you click on "show details" under the screen, any description added at the source appears. Embedly offers several options, a card, which is what I used here, a button, which is says makes it easier to share content on other sites, and a bookmarklet, which allows one to create a card from content on any website from which you want to grab content. Marketing With Custom, Affordable Whiteboard Animated Video This is embed code I got using the bookmarklet on an Embedly webpage: Bookmarklet: instantly generate a Card for any web page. | Embedly Click the image and you'll be taken to the page where you can choose to add the bookmarklet button to your browser. I have been working with digital video for so long, using free and paid video hosting services and embedding in pages and posts that I'm going to need some time to decide just what Embedly brings to the party. That said, I'm glad to add it to my toolkit.

Marketing with Custom Whiteboard Video

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 16:01:00 +0000

It's been too long since I made a Whiteboard video.

This one is an introduction to marketing with Inbound Marketing and Social Media.

Video Photo Booth

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 13:26:00 +0000

Video will take over social media marketing in 2015. Many users of SMM have an opportunity they are either ignoring or don't see - a video photo booth on premises. Customer testimonials, quick product reviews, product introductions and upcoming events are just a few of the subjects out of which social video can be produced. Traditionally, good quality video and particularly audio, required a not insignificant investment of both money and time. That's changed. A goPro camera and an external mic are all you need for the kind of content I've described above. This video makes the case for goPro and external audio very well. If you want to discuss the opportunities, please leave a comment or contact me at davidATfaceliftmarketing.ca

If you can't see a video player click here.

Turn Your Phone Around

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 13:27:00 +0000

A holiday season email from a video group I monitor alerted me to the dangerous response simmering around people shooting (and posting) vertical video from their mobile devices. Videos are being made appealing for change. My favourite so far involves a female singer with a catchy tune supporting great lyrics. There's even some gratuitous violence, all in fun of course. You can skip the ad after a few seconds on the YouTube upload. In case some viewers need an alternate here's a link to the post where I first saw it. I've chosen a new look to my blog template to avoid having the right side of my video uploads hidden. Not sure it's a final fix but I will live with it for a while. (It's the second video presented on the page):
Turn Your Phone 90 Degrees

Modern Day Animated GIFs

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 12:08:00 +0000

Something like twenty years ago I had a piece of software that welded still images together into an animation, a file format known as a "GIF". Some years later I began working with digital video, which provided all the animation I was looking for. But more recently the gif has made a comeback thanks probably to a combination of bandwidth and new methods of creation. My fascination with 3-D printing, and particularly with how quickly the uses and materials are expanding, led me to an article on a designer who printed a dress. The article included this image, to prove that the fabric moved like, well, fabric. I wanted to establish that I could use an animated gif in a blog, and clearly one can. Tomorrow in my weekly digest of things relating to social, mobile and video, I'll find out if I can make it work in email too. And when I have a bit of time I will look into the easiest way to create modern day animated gifs, and share the findings.

Looking Way Back

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 18:06:00 +0000

In late August I visited with my two brothers and their families in Gatineau, Quebec. I stayed with Jon, the older of the two, and was not surprised to find that to numerous other fascinating pursuits, he has added remotely flying helicopters to his weekly routine. It got us talking about his days a decade ago when he learned to fly for real and bought a small single engine aircraft. I had the pleasure of flying with him a couple of times and one day brother Charles brought his son Simon along to the flight club. His mother really didn't want him flying but...

In the next day or two I'll cut a short piece showing the remote control choppers flying in a tall grass field where crashing is a soft landing - and where brother Jon shows off his skill, flying the darn things upside down.

Remove ShakyCam in YouTube Video Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 15:19:00 +0000

Amateur video usually shares two characteristics in particular that give it away. One is excessive panning and zooming and the other is shaky framing resulting from not shooting from a tripod or other stable platform. With so many of us using small mobile devices to capture life the shaky element is all but guaranteed. But for serious amateurs who don't want to sink a lot of money into sophisticated software YouTube has an answer. Their Video Manager offers a stabilizing tool that presents a split screen, showing the original clip at left and the output preview on the right.

The first clip below is the original 20 second export from Adobe Premiere Elements 10. The clip below that is the stabilized output from YouTube. You may notice that the effect works by zooming in slightly, something that with standard definition resolution of old had limited use because the image begins to get fuzzy after much more than a 5% zoom. High definition contains so much more information that it will survive the process far better. There are limits of course but carefully shot material should almost always come out solid. Unfortunately, the column width of the blog is narrower than the video clips. If you want to see the full frame, use the links at the bottom of the post.

Unstable

Stable

One Customer's View of the Value of Video

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 13:21:00 +0000

For seven years we've worked with Mike Phillips at MVP Marketing in Toronto, on projects for his client, Tom Mihalik of Tom's Place, a high profile discount menswear retailer in the city. Recently, taking a tour of Tom's newly expanded and renovated Kensington Market location, Tom spoke off the cuff about how much he appreciates the technology that allows him to talk directly to his customers.

If you live near or visit Toronto take a few minutes to walk with Tom through the flagship store.

Acquiring Audio for Video

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 16:08:00 +0000

In my post on economical video from audio I mentioned that there are many ways to capture whatever it is you want to build your video on. One of the most useful is the digital video camera. Many if not most households have one today and all of them have at least an onboard microphone, while many have mic-in jacks for better audio quality. Write your script, record it into your videocamera and pass the resulting file to your editor of choice (that would be me of course)via email if it's not too large or, since it probably will be, by opening a free Dropbox.com cloud file transfer account and uploading it. The audio can be stripped out in editing software and used as the narrative track under whatever images you (own and) supply. Titles may be added, even a legal music track from the library of royalty-paid material I've built over the years. A two-minute piece with several image changes can promote your business, event, new product or free download for under $200 and may be made available for viewing on your website, blog, Facebook page, on YouTube and beyond. Video also ranks far better in search results than text and is the way most of us prefer to get messages.

Economical Video from Audio

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 15:03:00 +0000

We recently produced two short video segments starting with mp3 files and still images. Our client wanted to upload audio files from radio interviews to their Facebook page. That can't be done BUT turn it into video and you're off to the races. Read our post and view the sample here. Or just view the sample.

If you don't see a video player, click here.

Casual Video - Great Performance - A Stan Rogers Tribute

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 14:31:00 +0000

I had a couple of firsts last week. Both involved really good restaurant meals and one involved a great musical tribute in an iconic venue, namely Hugh's Room here in Toronto. The two-set musical presentation was a tribute to Canadian folk legend Stan Rogers. The stage was crowded with great players and singers, including Stan's wife and son. I shot bits and pieces with my Blackberry Tablet and offer this segment as a sample. I very seldom upload content I don't either own or have a release for and if I wasn't sure that his family would approve I wouldn't do it here. Certainly, on any objection I would take it down right away. Hopefully that won't occur. If you don't see a video player below, click here.

The Rise of Google+ Hangouts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 18:56:00 +0000

Google's "videoconferencing" app, know as a Google+ Hangout, seems to be coming of age. Last week a client friend sent me a link to a program in which he was a guest, being questioned by the host of a television current affairs program. This segment was streamed live via Google+ with all three participants sitting in their own separate spaces, linked by webcams. Today I wandered into a Hangout promoting the days away release of the next "Hunger Games" movie. This one featured cast and production folk in a single camera shot, with six fans selected to appear from their homes across the world, getting 15 seconds of fame asking one question each. I can't stop thinking about how incredible an opportunity this is for anyone to produce their own tv-like content, to both live stream and archive for on demand viewing with virtually no investment required. Here's what this one looks like: Thanks to a width restriction on the blog the screen is cut off at the right. Here's the link to the YouTube presentation, where that problem isn't. Hunger Games Hangout By the way, at the time of writing this Hangout has been viewed just short of a quarter million times.

Tablet Video Production

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 16:29:00 +0000

Yesterday I attended the Grand Opening of the second "Tom's Place" retail store on the planet. For decades Tom's Place in Toronto's Kensington Market has been a destination for men's business and wedding wear at unbeatable prices. Now shoppers west of Toronto have a shorter trip for the same great deals. Knowing that thousands of people would be curious about the new store I was asked to create a brief, casual video to provide a tour for the store's Facebook page and website. Videographers, particularly of the amateur variety, might be interested to know that all the video and still content was captured on a Blackberry Playbook (tablet), edited in Adobe Premiere Elements 10, with a little help from Photoshop. Also worth mentioning that the original file is 1280 X 720 pixels, which is entry level HD. Unfortunately the blog template won't accommodate that width. This presentation is only 437 pixels in width. While the player offers a full screen option, the video that results is blown up rather than upgraded to the full HD frame.

Unbelievable Bike Tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 14:00:00 +0000

In this case video is just an excuse to show the content. What this guy can't do with a bike hasn't been invented yet.

Cats with Thumbs

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:43:00 +0000

We, sadly, didn't make this gem but it's way too good not to share. Even if you aren't a cat fan and I personally can't imagine why you wouldn't be, this is clever and imaginative enough to be required sharing.

A Word to the Wise - our SMM Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 May 2013 12:29:00 +0000

Last year we launched our social media marketing support website with a White Paper download offer - "A Newcomer's Guide to Social Media Marketing." I reviewed it today, thinking some updating might be called for. To my surprise, it's as relevant and accurate as the day we uploaded it. Get your copy here.

Whiteboard (aka "animated) Video

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 26 May 2013 12:05:00 +0000

A completed whiteboard video for a site supporting Neighbourhood/Ratepayer Associations working at attracting membership, volunteers and, ultimately, influence. Some elements were created outside of the software. Post a comment if you want to learn more.

No-Video Video

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:31:00 +0000

Video is the new PowerPoint in many situations, thanks to the relative ease with which images and text may be used in place of camera video content. In this example a narrative track is illustrated by the work of a graphic artist and a variety of stock images tweaked to support the message. Use the "full screen" function at the far left of the player controls to get the full effect:

Vine - the 6-second Video Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:07:00 +0000

Vine is a recent entry in the crowded field of online video creation tools. Its unique proposition is that the video can't run beyond six seconds. In this video the founder discovers that's easier said than done.

Online Video for Small Business

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 13:05:00 +0000

Diane Chiasson, FCSI, President of Chiasson Consultants Inc., is credited as the founder of the foodservice merchandising profession in North America. I'm honoured that she asked me to write a guest post for her newsletter (Feb. 2013) on using video in a small restaurant/food service business. We agreed that including a demonstration video made sense. The one I chose was done for a south-eastern Ontario family resort, to promote their get-away options, showcasing the property, its amenities and food services. If you have any comments or questions about either video in your business or the blog post (available to download below) call me direct at 416-823-3100 or send an email to david@faceliftmarketing.ca Online Video in Your Small Business

According to a recent 3M study on Facebook, videos are shared more often than photos, status updates or links. Sharing builds your fan base, so the more the better. And video is unique in its ability to communicate information and personality at hyper speed. According to the same 3M study we process visual information 60,000 times faster than text. In an age when grabbing someone’s attention in an instant is critical, visuals work, making video a stellar idea.... (View the post in PDF).

Light Field Camera Comes to Market

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:37:00 +0000

Not long ago (August 27, "Frame, Shoot, Focus" - video available) I profiled the young inventor of a camera that captures ALL the available light, allowing the image to be altered by an algorithm, changing the focus by in effect sliding the "lens" toward or away from the subject. Today an email from Future Shop offers a version for sale by pre-order at a price of $499. View the ad here.

Do-it-Yourself Cartoon Strips

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 15:37:00 +0000

I've taken a bit more time at www.bitstrips.com today and built a strip with considerably more detail than my first effort below this post.

For a better look and more on social media marketing, visit Facelift Marketing on Facebook.

You in the Comics

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 19:54:00 +0000

You can do this.Thanks to www.bitstrips.com you can create your own comic character(s) and build panels and strips with a remarkable range of tools for every visible element. This took me five minutes.

The Tom Mihalik Story

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:41:00 +0000

Over the past several years I've had the pleasure of knowing Tom Mihalik, owner of Tom's Place in Toronto's Kensington Market. Tom has always generously shared his success with his community, having become a much loved and greatly admired Toronto asset. I recently discovered that a documentary had been developed around his life story. It airs a final time for now on Sunday, September 30th. Here's a peek into it:

Frame, Shoot, Focus

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:37:00 +0000

Imagine a camera, still and video, that captures images you can alter focus in after the fact. The lens inventor Ren Ng created captures light in four dimensions and saves it to a sensor. The software simulates moving the lens closer to and further from the original scene, altering what is in focus. Watch an explanation in video here.