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*Watch This*. What works in web video (editorial). Cathy Resmer and Eva Sollberger Seven Days • www.sevendaysvt.com. Who Are We?. Cathy, online editor — was a 7D writer and blogger for 5+ years before joining the web team.
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*Watch This* What works in web video (editorial) Cathy Resmer and Eva Sollberger Seven Days • www.sevendaysvt.com
Who Are We? • Cathy, online editor — was a 7D writer and blogger for 5+ years before joining the web team. • Eva, videographer — started freelancing for 7D in Jan. 2007, went full-time in June. Splits her time between editorial and sales. Cathy manages editorial projects.
Stuck in Vermont • Weekly arts and culture vlog. Eva covers artists, events, obsessions and outsiders (ie Burlington Zombie Walk). • Each video is heavily edited, and takes approximately 20-40 hours to produce. • This is web-only content that rarely connects with stories in the paper. • 60 Stucks in 2007
Video Features • These accompany 7D stories. They usually highlight an aspect of the story that we couldn’t get in print. • Some have worked, some haven’t. Not as popular as the Stucks. • Needs more planning.
The CQ • Shot, edited and uploaded by our ex-intern. • “Man on the street interviews” on local college campuses. Also appears in print. • Shot with a digital camera. • Uses music from college bands.
What Goes Into Each Video • Equipment: Canon GL2, Shotgun, edit with FCP, G5, 2 Terabyte RAID drive • R&D: 1-2 hrs, find content, discuss with editors, speak with organizer, prep shoot • Shoot: 2-5 hrs, interview participants • Post-production: 20-30 hrs, edit, sound, titles, stills, compressing, uploading, posting • 1-3 hrs footage to 3-5 min episode • TOTAL: 20-40 hrs/episode/week
The Results • Eva produced more than 100 videos in 2007 (60 Stucks, 30 editorial videos, 10 promo videos or ads) • 35 videos with over 1000 views each on YT. • 8 videos with 8000 or higher. Rosie’s Girls has over 135,000. • Brightcove vids avg. between 300-800 views. Dealer.com video has over 1000.
Why invest in these videos? • Internet video is on the rise. • People use them to promote themselves — and promote us along the way. • They’re really fun. And cool. They engage readers, fit our mission, and also enhance our core competencies. • They spread the word that we’re doing video, which helps us sell video ads.
#1: Find Partners • There are people in your community who are already doing video. They have skills and equipment. Get them to work with you. • Public access stations • Students • The “Be Famous” people that Todd mentioned • Hobbyists who post to YouTube and Google Video • Outgoing, creative people on your staff.
One More Partnering Tip • Get music from local bands. Music is key. • ie: 7D Partnership with The Smittens. • Always get permission to use music.
#2: Use video to tell stories • Focus on compelling stories told with attitude and style (not just technical skill). Examples: • Washington Post video of Joshua Bell (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html) • Steal This Bike: Willamette Week (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4yydGUB88c) • 171 Starbucks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwYxuV2dVzw) • Boing Boing TV: Steam Punk Tree House (http://tv.boingboing.net/2008/01/24/steampunk-tree-house.html) • NUVO video of Colt vs. Bear (good idea, ok execution) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4knlQNwj84Q)
Tips on video storytelling… • Get the editorial dept. psyched about video. They are your natural storytellers. Inspire them to collaborate with the video makers. • Video is a storytelling tool. Treat it like one. Cast a wide net for ideas, but editors should haul in the catch (not IT people, not interns, not marketing staff).
#3: Promote, Promote, Promote! • Make video easy to find on your website. New content should appear on a regular basis. • If a video goes with a story, link it. • Use images and text to sell video. • Have a place on your site to store video content.
More Promo Tips • Tease your videos in the paper, but don’t rely on the paper to sell video. • Promote your videos on your blogs, or on email newsletters.
Still More Promo Tips • Use social networking tools to spread your videos. • You want people to embed your videos on their websites. • Be sure that all of your videos are clearly branded so you get credit. • Build an audience for your videos by getting subscribers. • Spread the word online and offline.
Do take risks. Do make your videos short. Do use passion for a story to drive a project. Do ask for help and advice, and keep up with industry trends. Do remember that people will be watching these videos beyond this week. Don’t rely solely on interns. Don’t focus only on the technical and lose the story. Don’t let people post videos without looking at them first. Dos and Don’ts
What’s Next? • Figuring out how to make it sustainable. • Eva is overworked. We need to figure out a realistic work schedule. • We’ve been relying on her equipment. We’re starting to grapple with storage issues and costs. • We want to find sponsors for our videos and sell ads around the videos. • Better planning: we’re still trying to see what works. • More video (music vids, other features) • Possibly a TV channel or TV tie-ins. • Serving video on our own.
