Besides the beauty of what the folks are getting up to in this video, it also show the serious amount of work – detailed work – that goes into great filmmaking.

Additionally I like the direction that advertising is going (on occasion as in this one) i.e. providing beauty or laughter or value in some form. This is so important now that an audience isn’t captive.

Enjoy – and do watch to the end as the images are shown in full towards the end. Stunning.

I’m sharing this clip not so much from a film-making point of view, but because what is being filmed is so very, very visually stunning in itself.

Having said that, it’s a good bit of film-making.

Enjoy.

A collaborative short film by Andrew Telling and Owen Richards that documents photographer Robin Friend working on his series ‘Slaughterhouse’ deep beneath the hills of North Wales.

Stunning scenery, followed by underground journey. Love it.

Enjoy.

I tweeted this video clip a couple of week ago. I’ve just watched it again and have decided it’s well worth adding to the FilmStretch blog because it so beautifully illustrates the power of showing as opposed to telling.

The emphasis of this video clip is specifically on data visualisation. This need has certainly come up in some of the video productions FilmStretch has done and there’s no doubt that representing data in a visual way is hugely powerful. It simply easier to take in and digest.

What I’d add is that this is equally true of whatever you are making a video about. If you can accompany your words with visuals that tell the same story as your verbal message your video is going to land in a much more powerful and sticky way. If, for example, you are presenting a concept (a theory) think about what metaphor you might use to explain this concept, and ‘eh voila!’ you have your imagery.

Actually, it’s not always as quick as ‘eh voila’ when one starts to put story-boards together (the words with the accompanying images). However it is usually a creatively interesting journey. One that I’m growing to enjoy more and more as my eye gets more experienced and my mind more adept.

What this all boils down to is that what any video is doing, whether fact or fiction, is telling a story. And there’s a reason film and TV are so popular – visuals are engaging and yummy to most human brains.

Just under 3 minutes of absolute delight, best watched in HD full-screen. For me, this is poetry in film-making and to comment on why it works would remind me far too much of unpacking a Keats poem. Better left unsaid and simply appreciated.

Enjoy!

Unusually I’m copying a full article from Smart Company magazine as I think the message is so important for SMEs to take in. I hope you find it useful. The link to the original copy of the article is at the end of the copy.

I trust you find this useful.

SMEs urged to start producing online video as study underlines popularity of professionally produced content
Friday, 21 October 2011 10:24
by Patrick Stafford

Businesses should start considering how they can develop attractive pieces of video to post online, positioning themselves as experts in their field and potentially bringing in more revenue, experts have urged.

The warning comes as new research from the Australian Media and Communications Authority reveals more users are viewing online video and that nearly half of these viewers are receptive to professionally produced content.

“We’ve brought in about $200,000 worth of revenue through using video,” says Stewart Media chief executive Jim Stewart, who has been running a weekly online video tutorial about SEO for several years.

The ACMA research shows 33% of the total sample of 1,250 people watched video content that was uploaded to sites such as YouTube. Among particular demographics, 53% aged between 18-29 did so, 36% aged between 30-44, 23% aged between 45-54 and 22% over 55 watched video online.

But the fascinating part of the research shows that out of those respondents who watched video on YouTube, while 54% watched mainly user-generated content, the remaining 46% either watched professionally produced content, or were open to doing so.

“Very similar findings also applied to video content that had been downloaded through social networking sites,” the study found.

Stewart says this is a clear call for businesses to start thinking about how they can start using video to not only to increase their web presence, but also bring in new business.

“Probably the best example of this is the ‘Will it Blend’ guys. Doing those videos of blending iPads and iPhones has increased their business five-fold. It’s a fun way to show off what these guys are doing.”

But Stewart says it doesn’t necessarily have to be fun. You can show give weekly tutorials, case studies – as long as it is providing something of value to the reader.
“It’s all about setting yourself out as an authority. If you’re getting in front of the camera, it’s great for personal branding.”

“The possibilities are there. If you’re a handy man, show people how to build a pergola, or whatever. You become the authority of that subject.”

The last few years have been full of examples of YouTube users who start video blogging on a particular subject, then actually create a following that nets them revenue and potential job offers.

However, Stewart says you need to remain consistent in order to gain a following.

“You need your users to know that you’ll be putting something up every week and that you’ll be doing it consistently.”

“The other great thing is that video improves your SEO. You set up your own channel, link that through to your site. We post our videos out to 10 different sites every week, Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, and other video sites. It contributes a huge improvement to your rankings.”

Original Article in Smart Company

A fire-breathing short, filmed at Torquay Pavilion Gardens, Devon by Danny Cooke. A two and a half minute visual feast set to music. Great use of slo-mo. It was shot on a Canon 7D DSLR – love the depth of field that this allows.

Enjoy!

This isn’t the usual meditative sort of video I tend to choose – nothing natural in this one! Instead it’s both highly imaginative and technically skillful.

Film has come a long way since the birth of cinema – if you can imagine it, you can put it in film. A lot of us have heard the story of how cinema audiences ran out screaming the first time they saw a train coming directly at them from the big screen. I wonder what they’d make of this!

Here is an example of an incredibly well executed and beautiful time-lapse clip of Manhattan. What makes this a stand out in our eyes is the use of motion along with time-lapse. This adds an additional layer of visual richness to the time lapse which significantly increases engagement.

What jumps out at you the most?

Thank you Mindrelic for this delightful piece.

After last week’s adrenalin encouraging video my soul is crying out for some more soothing beauty! And thanks to another film-maker (Philip Bloom) I came across this one yesterday. Perfect.

Nothing more to be said really – except that I urge you to give yourself the gift of just under 3 minutes to fire up full screen HD and let go to another visual feast.

Thank you to Alex Cherney for this delight.