Crafting a National Commercial under $30k? Writing. Writing. Writing.

This blog is a shout out to the creative minds out there who really think through what a brand should be able to accomplish for the least amount of money. They are the creative directors and writers out there who make the themes, characters, and script become a moment in time for a brand.

Sure there are commercials out there that amaze us with super-expensive seconds of high-impact effects and outrageous staging, but the truth is that I have seen many commercials with incredibly inexpensive production means make the same impact if not greater because the themes were clever. Not cheeky. Clever.

So, can a commercial be produced cheap? Cheap ones can...you know "I'm the Cash Man" (the look awful and feel awful and work locally) and then there are commercials that work with budgets which need to be extended through the only means available: creative.

It is possible to write a low-budget, effective commercial for TV, cinema and web. We have done it. Peel Region Public Health Unit and Fingerprint Communications brought us a commercial that was so clever that the budget was invisible to the viewer. The spot won an international award of excellence and a year and a half later, I am still seeing it in my local cinema. Here is that commercial. It has almost 30,000 views on YouTube, as well. Not a costly commercial, but a very clever, one. I have noticed teens snickering in the cinema and at one showing I saw of it, it got more laughs than any other commercial - one of them for Pepsi using a major sports celebrity.

The message here is this: Only You Can Prevent Big Budgets (I am Woodsey the Production Owl, I guess). Creative can be written to be really effective and make your brand stand out without spending more than $20 or $30k. Sometimes even less.

Using Social Media Along with Traditional TV

Look how much information we get that starts with a social media tipping us off. The blog, TMZ is a great example. In fact the more accurate this information is, the more likely we are to "follow" that information provider, 'tweeter' or 'facebookie'.

Now celebrities tell us about their every bowel movement and we are able to use newsfeeds and IM to update each other instantly.

How do we apply this to the world of television programming? Well it seems obvious, but a little planning goes a long way.

Thinking about what information you will use your show or commercial to push is important. It has to be good to get an audience and keep it.

It has to offer more than your show or spot does-added value if you will- or it has to provide linkage to information in the show. If you provide good info, promoting your show has value, too.

You have to be ready to operate your social adjacent media. Will you update it weekly, daily...hourly...as it happens? Make sure you have someone who will manage the updates you have planned.

Social media is a great promotional tool. After all, what is better than personal ensorsement in a social scene?

Find out how we can plan your social media adjacent production.

www.theredfish.ca

Watching what companies do with video online

There is no doubt about it: the world of video online is enjoying the beginning of it's real hay day. The world seems to be finding every excuse, every means to watch and create video that will garner attention on the web. It has gone from the Jack-Ass world of stunts and outlandish captured video to a place where video needs to have a purpose - training, news/information, education, entertainment, interaction are all some of the launch pads for the new era of video.

I often joke that prime time used to be 7-11pm in our homes in front of the TV and now it is 9 to 5 at work in front of the computer surfing YouTube, NinjaVideo or any other means of free content that will stream to PCs with ease on our high-speed connections.

It was an interesting journey this weekend as I looked around for clues as to where the future of broadcast online is taking us. Well, I have to admit, save for a few really "thinkamified" players out there, many content providers are still trying to repurpose TV content rather than create new adventurous content just for the web.

Sure, there are a few publicly-funded experiments out there that spend big money to license and try to monetize online but seem to be failing. Then there is YOUTUBE-style sites that rely on users to create, promote and recommend content. You get what you pay for here. It is almost always an unsanctioned video of something that gets all the hits.

In the future, content online will have the same demands placed on it that any kind of popular content has, the only difference is that distribution will be much harder. How to do you show how beautiful your tree is in a forest of 100 million trees? Well, the same old same old will take hold for sure: Promotion through mainstream means, popularity by discovery and paid promotion to get an audience. Video will likely not become a million channel universe, but a means to find what you want, verify it is the best out there, and generates income for the content creator. It won't be long before the behemoths that make our movies and TV shows will take this space when the small players just give up.

Keep watching what companies do online with video over the next year or so. Technology is stagnant for video. It is as invented as it can be and still be useful right now. The next year will show us what humans can really do with the video streaming we all demanded 10 years ago. Now it has arrived and stabilized as a technology. Let's see how money is made with it now.

Mike Wixson

RedFish Studios

Is Technology going to sacrifice the art of video and film?

If you follow the Official Google blog about the future of video you will not get much to read. Essentially, their opinion is that video online in the future will "become more ubiquitous than ever" due to the constantly falling price of the technology required to capture and edit video. "Consumers will become creators". These guys have not seen the video my dad shoots. Good luck keeping your head if he's behind the camera.

While I do agree with this sentiment, I don't think that more people shooting and editing video will replace good judgment of what is good content and what is not. More out there simply means more to pick through to get to what you want. The 500 channel universe is already showing us that. Now multiply that by a half-billion content providers... sure you content choices are limitless at that point, but really who wants to wade through a bunch of targeted, home-made shows about whatever? It seems unlikely.

On the other hand... video will most likely become more "ubiquitous" than you can imagine in places like community information site, educational online offerings, and even within affinity groups as I have mentioned before in this blog. Will it replace compelling, high-quality programming and content? No. It will simply drive it into a pay-per-play business space that filters out the garbage and subscribes you to the programming you want for entertainment.

Yes, technology makes creating video more accessible. Yes, technology is making new ways to make video look cool much easier. Yes, technology is bringing down the cost...until you want to watch something dramatic, something epic, or even just content that required sets you will find yourself yearning for real entertainment-budget content.

Sorry, Joe Video Camera, your name in lights is still far, far in the distance.

I am just wrapping. Tell me your thoughts.

Mike Wixson

RedFish Studios

mike@redfishentertainment.com

(Please remember your local food bank)