Tag / tips

by Jake

The terror of the blank page (or screen)

Mornings in my world are spent teaching A/V classes to a bunch of bright-eyed teenagers in a rural high school that’s as small as it is full of character.

You might wonder what the scariest part of this routine is. For me, it’s the chill that runs down my spine when administrators grace the classroom with their presence for observation. But for the students? It’s the stark terror of facing the infinite possibilities of a blank screen (or page, but honestly, we rarely actually write anything).

Continue reading →
by Jake

The Power of an In-House Video Team and Navigating the Future

I’ve previously shared my new consulting focus and our philosophy of delivering quality quickly and cost-effectively. Today, let’s dive into the benefits of having your own in-house video team.

Building an in-house video team can offer you control and consistency over your brand message, provide speed and flexibility to respond to changes, be more cost-effective in the long run, and foster creativity and innovation.

Transitioning to an in-house video team might seem daunting, but I’m here to guide you. We’ll cover everything from camera handling, lighting, and sound, to storyboards, shoot management, and post-production editing.

Staying on the cutting edge of technology is a challenge I’m currently tackling, specifically in the realm of AI. But these challenges are what drive us to learn and grow. This is what I want for you – a continuous journey of growth and storytelling through your in-house video team. The world of AI, in particular, holds vast potential for the future of video production, and it’s a journey I’m eager to embark on with you.

So why do it?

Whether you’re a small business looking to grow your online presence, or a larger organization wanting to enrich your marketing mix, an in-house video team can be a game changer. It enables you to capture the essence of your brand in real-time, creating genuine and engaging content that resonates with your audience.

And remember, you won’t be undertaking this journey alone. As a consultant, my goal is to equip you with the tools and knowledge necessary to tell your stories in a way that is authentic to you. Together, we’ll explore the possibilities that an in-house video team brings.

To get started or if you have any questions, reach out to me at jake@jakehallman.com. I’m excited to embark on this storytelling journey with you and look forward to seeing the unique narratives your team will create.

Sub cash register by Franck BLAIS, on Flickr
by Jake

How much to charge for video

(Photo by Franck BLAIS)

I got to a point where my business was humming along pretty well – except I was stressed all the time, had no idea how to expand, and wasn’t happy with our bottom line.

We weren’t losing money. In fact, we had operated with zero debt since the business opened, a particular point of pride for me. It sure would’ve been nice to make more, though. I’d earned less that year than when I was working as a newspaper reporter.* I had no idea how to get there, though.

My state provides free small business advisors, so I took them up on the offer. I ended up sitting down with one of my wife’s old college buddies, and he laid it all out for me – not necessarily how to make more money, but how much to charge for video services, based on how much I wanted to make over the next year.

And once you know exactly what your fee should be, and why it should be that amount, it’s easier to tell clients that’s what you charge. So, assuming you’re a more-of-a-creative-than-a-business-type like me, I’m going to save you a trip and share the secret.

Continue reading →

Photo Credit: TheArtGuy via Compfight cc
by Jake

Make a pot

(Photo Credit: TheArtGuy via Compfight cc)

If you try to make every press release, every commercial, every radio script you work on an absolute masterpiece, the pinnacle of innovation and a trendsetter not just regionally but globally, you’ll drive yourself insane. You’ll never make deadlines. You’ll get depressed.

Basically, you’ll fail. The truth is that no one’s going to have a 100 percent success rate 100 percent of the time.  You can’t always be brilliant, so learn the value of “good enough to get the job done.”

Continue reading →

by Jake

Going viral

Creating a viral video — that’s the dream, isn’t it?

I had that happen just this week, and I’m still waiting to see the implications. The idea came to me suddenly and completely. I knew what I wanted to say, I knew how to put the video together, and I had a strong feeling that it’d resonate. It was a bolt of lightning, one of those creative sparks that I had to act on right the hell now.

But I stepped back for a minute, thought about it, and turned it into a powerful marketing tool. Here’s why it worked, and how it’s going to help my business get its name out.

Continue reading →

by Jake

Quick tip: Find your inspiration space

Running low on ideas? Think about where you got your last one.

No, seriously. What was happening around you the last time that you had a eureka-aha-holy-crap-that’s-a-great-thought moment? Chances are it wasn’t the first time that you’ve had inspiration there.

For me, it’s two places: a stretch between my dad’s house and my own (but only when driving alone), and also behind the piano at my church. For some reason, those are the two places on this planet I’ve found where my mind gets in just the right place for crazy awesome ideas to bubble up to the surface.

There’s science behind it. If your brain is working hard on a problem, a little bit of distraction and a shot of dopamine can kick-start your subconscious into overdrive, making solutions suddenly pop up that your conscious mind might ordinarily suppress. That’s a gross oversimplification, but you can read more about it here.

So when you’re stuck… head to your inspiration space.

by Jake

Keep the rights, or make them pay what your footage is worth

Three times in two weeks, I had clients call with requests for the raw footage from earlier shoots I’d performed for them. In all three cases, they wanted me to send it to other production companies.

At the time, I felt compelled to say yes. Now, there’s a clause in our standard production contract that lets me tell them no. In the long run, it’s better to try and keep the rights to your footage.

Continue reading →

by Jake

Drunk pricing

(Photo by Rob_Rob2001.)

Way back when, the makers of Chivas Regal weren’t happy with their profit margin. In an act of desperation, they doubled the price of their whiskey without changing the formula in the slightest. Sales went up. Sales went up a whole lot.

I can’t even remember where I first heard this story, and it’s very likely apocryphal. But it’s possible to make clients happy by charging them more money — making them think they’re going to get charged an arm, a leg, and maybe a liver.

Continue reading →

by Jake

Everybody wants to be appreciated

My son lulled me into a false sense of security. We got about four good months of his being the perfect two-year-old before the terrible twos started in earnest.  And man, did they start. Every little routine daily activity was no longer routine — it was a battle of wills between us. He got mad. I got mad. His mother got mad.

Worst of all, it was affecting how we felt about our parenting. It’s hard to feel good about raising the youth of tomorrow when you feel overwhelmed, frustrated and utterly emotionally beaten.

Thanks to a little nugget of wisdom, though, things are better. Not perfect, mind you, but better. A lot better.

Continue reading →

by Jake

Replacing Rode VideoMic shock mount bands

(Above: The original Rode VideoMic, with its problematic, but easily-replaceable rubber bands. Photo copyright Kei Izumi.)

I’ve used DSLRs to shoot video from the very beginning of my business, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that the built-in microphone on my Canon 5DII was awful. My solution came in the form of the original Rode VideoMic. It mounts directly on the hotshoe of the camera, gets perfectly usable directional sound, and came with a nifty shock mount that uses teeny-tiny little custom rubber bands to float the microphone in the air, away from any potential bangs and jostles.

But there was a problem. The little rubber bands break. They get old and squeak. I watched the supply that came with the camera dwindle smaller and smaller as they gradually broke, and this week at the very end of a shoot, disaster struck — four of ’em decided to break within about five minutes of each other.

My glorious little mic no longer floated on air. But I found a fast, easy fix that (so far at least) is working wonderfully.

Continue reading →