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By Chris Blair

I’ve long been aware of WordPress, but had typically viewed it as a tool for creating and managing blogs. In the past year, I’ve found that it’s a powerful tool for building rich, dynamic websites.

If you’ve ever looked into WordPress, the whole enterprise is a little confusing. There is wordpress.com, which is basically a hosting service that provides free and paid WordPress hosting to users. You create an account, they install and set-up everything for you, then you build your blog or site using the WordPress web user interface.

Then there is wordpress.org, which is the free, open-source software group that writes and develops the WordPress software. You download the software, install it on your server, set it up yourself, and build your site or blog using the same basic web GUI.

The difference between the two is that on WordPress.com, there are quite a few restrictions on what you can and cannot use on your site. You’re limited to choosing from roughly 100 layouts…or themes as they call them, you can’t edit the PHP code behind your blog, and you can’t upload any of the great plugins written for WordPress. Of course WordPress.com has paid accounts that lift those restrictions, but they require that you promote their VIP service on your site as well.

With wordpress.org, you can choose from thousands of pre-built themes, many which are free, you can edit the PHP code and css stylesheets as much as you want, and you can use any of the plugins available on the WordPress plugin site. Plus, you don’t have to put links or tags on your site pointing back to WordPress.com!

The downside is if you’re using WordPress on a web host that doesn’t directly support it, you have to install the software on the web server and setup your own database, which can be a little daunting the first time you do it. But many hosting services offer WordPress based hosting packages where they install the software and setup the database for you. I’ve done it both ways and can say that it’s much easier to use a host that offers WordPress based hosting. Your site is ready to edit as soon as you’ve setup the hosting. Setting up a WordPress site without built-in support can take an hour or two and can get pretty technical. But there are tutorials online that walk you through the entire process.

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Filed under: Graphic Design, Online Marketing, Web Video on August 30th, 2010 | No Comments »

By Chris Blair

For our first 11 years in business, we used direct attached storage for reading and writing files on our computer systems. But in early 2008, we switched to an enterprise level, network attached system (NAS) for project and media files. The reasons for the switch were varied, but the biggest was to improve productivity and efficiency.

With direct storage, we often worked on multiple client projects simultaneously where employees needed access to the same media. So if two people were working on projects for the same client using the same media, all that data had to be on both computer systems. Multiply that across four workstations and we spent a tremendous amount of time copying, transferring and backing up files. That workflow translated into wasted drive space, slow transfers and lost productivity from the time it took to move all that data.

You might ask, “why didn’t we already use shared storage in our workflow”; The answer, like most things in life… money. Before about 2007, it was just too darn expensive. Up until then, direct storage was the fastest and most affordable way to move large files…and in our business, speed is critical. Plus, our entire office was wired with a 10/100 ethernet system that was inadequate for the speeds we needed.

Here’s where it got interesting. I must’ve spent 2 months researching shared storage options with an eye on systems designed for real-time capture and playback of broadcast quality video and audio. The system had to have easy administration (since I’m not an IT person) and had to handle many file types. But before I could evaluate systems, I had to first learn the difference between the various shared storage options (and there are many). The two most widely used are Storage Area Network or SAN, and the previously mentioned Network Attached Storage or NAS. Others gaining popularity include iSCSI, SATA over Ethernet (called AoE), Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), HyperSCSI…well you get the idea! It was more than just a little confusing.

For this post, I’ll just stick to NAS and SAN systems since they’re the most common. Just understanding how they worked was a daunting and confusing journey.

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Filed under: Computers, Production Techniques on August 22nd, 2010 | No Comments »

By Chris Blair

I must admit, I’m not much of a fan of 3D in movies and television. About the only time I’ve ever enjoyed it is at amusement park rides and shows, such as Mickey’s Philharmagic at Disney’s Magic Kingdom or Muppet Vision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I’ve also read that shows like Terminator 2: 3D at Universal Studios are great fun. But even then, most of the enjoyment comes from the completely over the top 3D effects. 

At the movie theater the much ballyhooed Real3D seems to be more hype than substance, typically dimming the image to the point that it looks muted and muddy. Even worse, the process often distracts from the story rather than enhancing it. That’s not just my opinion either. Film critics like Roger Ebert and renowned filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola have been outspoken critics of 3D. And consider that Coppola made a 3D movie for Disney theme parks starring Michael Jackson back in 1986. The film, called Captain EO, was recently put back into several of Disney’s parks following Jackson’s death last year!

So now here we are almost 2 months into the launch of the first 3D TV Network, ESPN3D. Coupled with the craze surrounding 3D movies, I figured it would be a good time to see how 3D television is doing. But after spending nearly an hour searching online, there’s surprisingly very little in the way of news or reviews about any of the networks or programming. Read more »

Filed under: Thoughts & Musings on July 31st, 2010 | No Comments »

By Chris Blair

I’ve been aware of Netflix for years, but always viewed their service as more trouble than it was worth. When it comes to watching movies, I’m the spontaneous type, rarely planning a viewing in advance, so ordering a movie or movies, then waiting for them to be delivered in the mail didn’t seem very attractive.

When Netlix added the ability to stream movies instantly, I was more intrigued, but since I couldn’t imagine watching a full-length feature on my laptop or desktop computer and didn’t have a way to output a computer signal to my TV, it didn’t make sense to try it then either.

Then in the Spring of this year Netflix added the ability to stream movies wirelessly to the Wii (which we got the kids for Christmas).  I hate to admit it, but I didn’t even know the Wii had wireless capability! But now it seemed like a good time to give Netflix a try. Read more »

Filed under: Thoughts & Musings, Web Video on July 25th, 2010 | No Comments »

By Chris Blair

I’ve long been on the fence concerning the value of using social media to promote a business or non-profit. I certainly think if an organization can keep relevant information flowing, it can add value. But even when a social media site is well-maintained, using it for marketing is at best a shot in the dark since it’s difficult if not impossible to control who your message is reaching.

The biggest issue I have with a business or non-profit using social media is that it exploits the original intent of the sites, which in Facebook’s case, was as a means for students to stay connected and easily communicate. Unless a group is providing useful information or uses a site as a way to provide customer support, I think most consumers see the practice for what it is: a veiled attempt at selling something.

Of course most people are used to being bombarded with advertising and they realize that few truly non-commercial entertainment or communication venues exist. But there just seems to be something smarmy about an organization that tries to capitalize on what is mostly a social phenomena. In my opinion, the only way a company or non-profit can successfully use Facebook or Twitter is by providing timely, useful and relevant content. If they’re doing that, then social media can certainly be a useful part of a an overall marketing plan.

Here’s a nice article from Business Week’s website listing some of the myths of social media marketing: 

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2009/tc20090522_078978.htm

Filed under: Marketing, Online Marketing, Thoughts & Musings on July 15th, 2010 | No Comments »

By Chris Blair

Ok, you’re probably wondering, “what the heck does Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s crazy comments about Lebron James spurning the Cavs have to do with marketing and advertising?” Well, not that much on the surface, except for the fact the whole affair has brought more attention to the NBA during the second week of July than it’s ever had in an entire summer.

July typically brings us Major League Baseball, Wimbledon, the British Open, the Tour de France and this year the World Cup. But the Lebron James free agency circus changed all that. And oh what a circus it was! Leave it to ESPN, creator of the dubious sports award show “The Espys” to bring us a live TV special with Lebron announcing his decision. Of course we have to remember the “E” in ESPN does stand for “entertainment!” But I digress. The real fun didn’t start until after the show, when Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert published an “open letter” to Cleveland fans on the Cavaliers official website. If you haven’t read the letter, you can do so here:

(Editor’s note: the original letter was removed from the Cavs official website Tuesday morning July 13th, but you can read a transcript of it at the link below):

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/07/gilberts_letter_to_fans_james.html

And here’s a screen capture of part of the original page…a MUST see I might add: http://www.videomi.com/blog/gilbertletter.htm

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Filed under: Marketing on July 13th, 2010 | 5 Comments »

By Chris Blair

If you’ve ever worked with websites, you’ve probably heard the term “keywords.” If you’re not familiar with it, the term refers to the words and phrases used to describe your organization on your site. Keywords are important because search engines like Google use them to determine search rankings. Theoretically the more accurate the keywords, the better your ranking. Keyword frequency on a site (often called keyword density) can also help with rankings. Of course website rankings involve other things, but using the right words, terminology and phrasing is important to getting found on the internet.

You might be saying, “Ok…easy enough,” but where do I put those keywords? That’s where the confusion begins. We occasionally work with companies that offer SEO (Search Engine Optimization) services. They’re supposed to help clients optimize their search rankings…but I’ll admit up front that I’m not a fan of the some of these companies.

Why you ask? Simply put, many of them don’t understand how to properly use keywords on websites. The most common myth these companies promote is recommending use of the keywords meta tag, which is a type of HTML tag placed in the source code of a webpage. It generally looks something like this:

<meta name=”keywords” content=”your keywords here”>

The problem with this advice is that it has NO effect on your search rankings and is so outdated that its relevance pre-dates the creation of Google! That’s right, search engines haven’t used the keywords meta tag in determining a page’s rankings since 1997! The keywords metatag issue is a prime indicator of whether an SEO company knows what they’re talking about. If they tell you the keywords meta tag is important to your site’s rankings, run away….fast. Read more »

Filed under: Online Marketing on July 3rd, 2010 | 1 Comment »

By Chris Blair

If you’re not sure what a storyboard is, just look at a comic book. A storyboard is basically the same thing, using a sequence of still images to help visualize a story. In advertising, storyboards provide a visual snapshot of key scenes in a commercial, and can be used to help sell a concept or as a blueprint for staging, lighting and photographing a project.

But useful storyboards can take many forms, from elaborate, full color illustrations, to crude stick figures scrawled directly on a script. Whatever their quality, all storyboards serve the same function; they make you think in pictures.

But storyboarding is one of those things that a lot of people misunderstand. For starters, storyboards are not necessary for every type of project, especially if the project has a limited budget, doesn’t involve narrative elements or if continuity isn’t important. Storyboarding also requires an understanding of filmmaking techniques, including composition, continuity and shot coverage, so the most effective storyboards are usually created or supervised by a talented director. Read more »

Filed under: Production Techniques on June 16th, 2010 | No Comments »

By Chris Blair

Magnetic Image buys and places a lot of media and we have two highly experienced media buyers on staff. I’ll admit that I’m not one of them. But in over 25 years in this business, I’ve certainly learned a thing or two about media buying.

One trend I see (and don’t agree with) is to produce an ad, run it in heavy rotation for 3 or 4 days, then assess it’s effectiveness based on sales figures during that period. Sorry to be harsh but this is lunacy! I’m pretty sure we here at Magnetic Image aren’t the ones recommending this sort of ad schedule (at least I hope we’re not). There’s no way you can run an ad for just 3 or 4 days and expect it to consistently deliver results. Of course there are times when a particular event or sale could potentially benefit from this type of buy, but I’m talking about companies using this technique week in and week out for ALL of their television ad buys.

The scenario usually goes like this. A company spends a few days producing a commercial then they buy ad time on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The spot gets placed and the client tracks sales several times a day at multiple store locations. If after the second day, sales aren’t up over last year, it’s decided the ad “isn’t working.” That means either pulling the ad and replacing it with something else (that previously did well), or revising the ad with a new ”sell” message of one kind or the other. Read more »

Filed under: Media Buying on June 5th, 2010 | 8 Comments »

By Chris Blair

Bad audio can ruin an otherwise well produced video. Whether it’s poorly recorded voice tracks, mismatched ambient sound in scenes with dialogue, or poorly timed cuts in a testimonial interview, bad audio can disrupt the flow of individual scenes and sometimes the entire video.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest changes in video production over the last 20 years is that many people don’t budget for audio on projects. Whether it’s having a sound engineer on a shoot, producing custom music, or even spending time sweetening an audio mix, audio is often the first thing that gets cut when planning a shoot or edit. In fact, on most of our shoots, the camera crew ends up being responsible for audio. And while our shooters are adept at setting microphones and monitoring levels, it certainly isn’t the best way to guarantee quality audio on a shoot, especially when it calls for actor dialogue or extensive interviews.

Audio is just too important to be treated as an afterthought. It’s arguably half your product. It can drive the pacing of a project and can create the appropriate mood, add emphasis, and subliminally influence how images are perceived. People have gotten so used to the impact of sound that studies have shown that when test subjects are shown silent video of events or machines that make loud or distinct sounds, a huge percentage report hearing the sound while watching the video. Read more »

Filed under: Production Techniques on May 31st, 2010 | 4 Comments »