[Timothy J. allen]

Yes.

[Timothy J. allen]

The issue is whether you intend to use the footage to imply NASA’s endorsement or not. If not, you should be o.k.

Call 281-483-0123 and ask the operator at Johnson Space Center to forward you to the Media Services Library (not the media services branch – it’s in a different building). If you can point them to the shot you need and give them a fed-ex number they will ship the footage to you.

[Timothy J. allen]

Beau,
Houston is a great market for corporate video. As Mark said, you don’t want to compete against the “free” production that the local stations offer. There is, however a lot of money to be made making videos for small businesses in the area.

I’d advise focusing on producing videos for businesses that employ between say 25 to 500 people. These are large enough to have a real need, but small enough that they don’t need full time in-house employees to do what you offer. Your strength is that you can deliver for them “as needed”.

Your challenge is educating them on what they need.

This could be anything from safety training for daycare employees to how to install a piece of equipment on the factory floor. it could be short “marketing” videos for everyone from pet food stores to psychoanalysts. The possibilities are endless, but here’s a thought to help you target your audience… Go with what you know.

Most of these businesses will not only need your technical services, but they’ll need someone who can work with them to best convey the messages. This means that you have another stream of revenue opportunity as a producer/scriptwriter. Having said that, it makes sense to target businesses that are in a line of work that you are already familiar with and that you enjoy being around. You’ll need to understand the business’s challenges in order to serve them well.

Do you hate doctor’s offices, but love motorcycle racing? That’s your compass.

Think of yourself as a consultant with an expertise in video production. Teach your clients that it’s about more than pushing buttons. This way you won’t always be competing for the lowest price.

That may be o.k. starting out, but trust me – it’s not how many clients or projects you have that matters, it’s how much revenue you pull in once your bills are paid.

Congratulations on surviving the first year, and here’s to many more prosperous ones for you!

Tim

[Timothy J. allen]

Steve,
My experience is that you can’t simply trademark names – it’s the “tangible expression” of the words that can be trademarked. Did you have a particular font style or color scheme that made your titles “trademarketable”?

[Timothy J. allen]

Steve said “We get $100 for the credit roll because we hate to do it.”

I love that. I wish I could use that approach when it is time to do the dishes at home.

[Timothy J. allen]

Does anyone know if MTV (Viacom) still uses “Remote Productions, Inc.”?

Funny story… When I was moving recently I found an old invoice that I intended to submit to them… in 1998! It was for a very minor amount to settle up and close out a freelance job… and there’s no way I’d submit something ten years old, but it sure brings memories of one particular (rainy) shoot back to mind.

[Timothy J. allen]

I’ve used http://www.transcriptionstudio.com for transcriptions and captioning, and have been extremely pleased with the service. They have been very easy to work with, very quick and very accurate.

They are based in LA, but, you can upload the file to their FTP site with one click, and they email the transcription back to you.

[Timothy J. allen]

Let’s not forget that advertising agencies actually spend a lot of time researching which types of spots bring the most revenue in for their customers.

While all of us on the production side would like to go for the highest production quality (or at least the highest production value), it seems that the research traditionally has shown that it’s more important to customers who are searching for a new car to feel like they are getting “the latest and hottest ‘tips’ on where to find the best deal”.

I’ve worked very high-end campaigns, shot in HD and film with high production values and where the dealer buys out an entire stop set (instead of a typical 30 second slot). In each of those cases, there wasn’t enough measurable return on investment to continue with that approach. Maybe if it happened as a once a year special sponsorship, but not regularly.

I’m all for making great looking and great sounding spots – let’s face it, we devote huge amounts of time to hone our skills so we can improve the quality of our work. For better or worse, there is a balance between speed and quality and the balance between speed-to-air and quality is commonly determined by market research and feedback.

Occasionally pride will triumph over riches, but in the end, the dollars that come back to the dealer are the ultimate measure of a campaign’s success.

[Timothy J. allen]

Guess we’ll find out on Sunday.

There’s no “fix it in post” for that shoot. 😉

[Timothy J. allen]

Now, that’s just plain mean, Mark.

(shaking head)