You are watching TV at home and there's a commercial break during which two ads play. The first is a sleek, professionally made commercial that features attractive actors, effective background music, and a quick yet clear and comprehensible storyline. The second is a cheaply made production that was obviously shot on a smartphone camera with shoddy sound, poor lighting, and a barely understandable message. Which product would you buy? For most people, the answer is obvious. The way busi...

Training new employees, orientating new students, providing instructions to new applicants. All of these are repetitive tasks that can take a lot of time and energy if done individually. Depending on its scale, repetitive tasks can consume hundreds of man-hours, which can result in a huge labor investment for relatively simple tasks. Businesses, organizations, schools, and other entities often have to spend huge money simply to inform, instruct, or train people on basic, straightforward infor...

Will you watch your wedding video once all the guests have gone home, the honeymoon is over, and you and your partner are settled into your new life together? If you are like most couples, the answer is an unqualified, "Yes!" Some couples report that their wedding video is one of the things they watch more than anything else -- even more than their favorite TV shows and movies. It's not unusual for couples to queue up their wedding video a few times a year. There are others who will watch it ...

When somebody personally recommends a product or service to you, aren't you more likely to listen to them than a commercial on TV, radio, or online? Of course, you are. Most people assign more weight to person-to-person recommendations than any other type of promotion. So one of the fastest, easiest, and more successful ways to promote your business or brand is to create video testimonials from customers who are raving fans. Professionally produced video testimonials create that personal conn...

If you own a business, you already know the importance of constantly attracting a new crop of prospective customers. The best way to get your business in front of people looking for the type of products or services you offer is commercial advertising. But local television isn't as important as it used to be. With so many other opportunities for people to view entertainment -- including video streaming, online videos, social media, and others -- is it even worth producing a TV commercial for y...

Are you hungry? If so, consider the physiological reaction your body has when you see an image of something delicious. The human brain naturally craves food when the eyes see something that looks good to eat. It's as natural as breathing. And if you own a restaurant, catering company, or other food-related business, it could be the key to your success. Seeing Is Believing Most great chefs know that people eat with their eyes before they consume food physically. That's why they spend so muc...

Do you have a specialized skill? An area of expertise that sets you apart from everybody else? Something you know better than anybody? If so, you could be recognized as a global expert in your field. All you need is access to everybody in the world. Fortunately, the internet provides just that. How to Be an Expert To be globally recognized as an expert in whatever it is that you know well, all you need is access to the internet and a video -- or series of videos -- in which you illustra...

If you own a business and need to train your employees on a new policy or procedure, you have a couple of different options. The first is to schedule face-to-face employee training sessions where you can explain the new policy, have the employee practice it, and then test them on their comprehension of the material. A second option is to hire a professional trainer and hold group classes where employees are taught the new procedure altogether, with practicing and testing to follow. Both of...

"Flip or Flop". "Property Brothers". "Househunters". These are among television's most popular reality shows and they all focus on real estate. Whether it's buying it, rehabbing it, flipping it, or just shopping for it, people love to watch people getting into new homes. Why? Part of it is voyeuristic. But the other bigger part has to do with fantasy. Viewers love to imagine themselves living in the spacious, modern, and attractive new homes they see on TV.   The Light Bulb Moment What ...

If you are making a video for your business, school, or organization, consider including drone video photography as part of your production. Cinematic drone shots offer a birds-eye perspective to any video, providing context and beauty at the same time. Just a few years ago, overhead shots were prohibitively expensive to produce. They required renting a helicopter, hiring an airplane with a video camera bolted to its belly, or -- for more low-altitude shots -- a costly crane to raise the came...