An Effective Video Editing Work Flow

Perhaps you are one of those individuals who consider the thought of editing a video a little frightening especially if you haven't ever done this up to now. The fundamental principles of video editing are simple and this article should help ensure that you can have a completed project that you are able to share.

You probably are looking at the difficulties which you may face for instance, how to move the video files across to the video editor, how to isolate the pieces that you want and where to put them or how you will generate a final video which might be watched by others?

Each of these are issues you would undoubtedly be wondering about if you had never done this before. If you have taken your video files off of your device and across to your laptop or desktop then you are fundamentally off to a start.

First you should get your video files into the video software program library. At this time it's a good option to ensure they are clearly labeled and arranged to help you find them effectively at a later date.

The application library is the place you can build simple sequences of video. This can be done by building the segments gradually until you have the complete product.

All you need to do after that is to output the whole lot as a new video file and you are finished.

All of this may seem somewhat overwhelming but that is ultimately how it is performed and you will be pleased at how uncomplicated modern video editing software makes it.

To view all this occurring you must have the preview display available. This is one of two windows which are typically accessible when you open the program. The preview display is often times over on the left area of your computer screen.

The significance of the preview pane is that it enables you to truly observe the video clips that you are working with at that moment so that it is simple to decide upon what has to be done. After you have made a decision you may then correct anything you need to.

Simply put, that's the place where you focus on the approximate intentions before you make your final production.

After you have the individual scenes in the state you require then you can insert them onto the timeline. The timeline is frequently down below the preview panel and is where you can arrange your finalized production into a full movie.

The time line is also used for scene transitions as well as assorted filters.

With regards to right side of the display you will notice a window that points to the library. This window allows swift visible entry to items like your current video, image and audio files. It is from that window that one is ready to drag elements onto the time line.

Primarily you achieve all your editing on the time line. When you have located the various clips you can subsequently simply situate them any place on the time line. In this way it is easy to ensure your video plays back the way you really want.

It may seem that piling all of your resources on to the time line before you begin editing is the approach to take, but it is actually best to trim as well as adjust the video clips before getting to that phase.

Get your whole collection of clipped video clips onto the time line for starters and insert any transitions you desire to use in between any of the clips. At this time you should also insert any intro sequence such as movie titles plus an ending segment.

The final phase is generally fine-tuning and tweaking the audio track of the project. This is conducted last mainly because editing and trimming clips can throw the audio off. By performing this right at the end you can keep control of the way you want the audio to play and have uniformity throughout.

Once you have finished the video you may then decide how you want it to be seen by choosing the video file type.

Most video editing programs will give you a choice of video file types dependent upon just how you would like the video to get distributed and these are super easy to choose from inside the computer program. All that's left to do is decide on the location and render it to your laptop or computer much like you would any other sort of file.

SMS Marketing - Makes Your Business Easy

SMS marketing has emerged rapidly into the business environment, having especially pronounced impacts on the way small, appointment-based businesses operate. Understanding what it is, how and by who it is being used, will allow you to implement the service in your own business.

Get started with SMS marketing straight away and increase the number of touch points and quality of service given to existing clients. After all, it is a well-known fact in the business industry that selling more to current clients is far more time and cost effective than trying to draw in new customers. SMS marketing can help you achieve this and promote your business.

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing does exactly what the name suggests, using the Short Message Service to market the business to customers, either through informing them about deals or simply engaging them with notices and reminders. Businesses are using the tool to increase reach and effectiveness of promotions, and to develop interactive, valuable relationships with clients at the same time.

Why is SMS Marketing effective?

SMS marketing enables businesses to send timely, targeted offers to current clients. Marketing campaigns have been shown repeatedly to be more effective when targeting a specific group of clients, for example, offering 10% discounts for Seniors who come in on a Thursday or special offers for VIP club members. It is also elicits a positive response as it has the advantage of communicating the message in 120 odd characters so clients don't feel bombarded and pressured by "advertising". Once you have the SMS marketing system in place, the same tools can also enable more general announcements, such as "Our Salon is flooded and all appointments for today are cancelled!"

How you can get started?

There are a number of tools around that enables businesses that run on appointments to send automatic text message reminders to their clients about upcoming appointments. Taking this further, businesses can create and send text message (SMS) marketing messages to their clients.

These tools aim to assist appointment-based businesses, such as hairdressers, salons, therapists or personal trainers (just to name a few), in achieving their maximum marketing and customer service potential. Ultimately, any business that utilizes appointments, wants to save money and increase sales can benefit from SMS.

Depending on the nature of your business, you may find some services more pertinent to your businesses needs, as a medical practice will not likely be advertising products to their customers, but only need the reminder function. Look for a tool that allows you to custom design what services you receive, how often and how they appear to the client. Make sure that the tool you choose gives the option for clients to opt out at any time, so the customer is happy regardless of whether they require the service or not.

Hollywood on Producing Black Films

The political and economical reality according to filmmaker George Lucas

African American filmmakers and other prominent figures should establish a distribution system to market black films across the globe. Hollywood admits that even with an Academy Award winning name like Cuba Gooding Jr. they still don't know how to market black films, according to filmmaker George Lucas, director of "Star Wars". In a recent interview with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, Lucas appeared as a guest promoting his new film "Red Tail", a story about the African American World War II heroes, the Tuskegee Airmen. With an all African American cast starring Cuba Gooding Jr. with R&B singer and song writer Neo, this is a Lucas film 23 years in the making and personally financed. Lucas laid out the political and economical views of the Hollywood Movie system in regards to the production and distribution of black films. He stated that he wanted to make an inspirational film for teenage boys and highlight the African American patriots that helped to make this country what it is today.

The troubling part of this interview was Lucas's story about getting the film distributed. He admits that all of the studios turned it down and expressed views that they didn't know how to market a film like this (Red Tail) because it had no 'green' in it. What did they mean by this? That there is no money in it or the fact that there were no major lead roles with white actors and therefore that no real money can be made? Lucas stated that the studios even refused to release Tyler Perry movies and referred to them as being' low budget films handled by a lower level distribution system'. He said that films like Perry's actually do pretty well but the major studios don't touch them. He said "Red Tail" actually cost him more money to make than what a Perry film earns in box office revenues. The studios believe there's no foreign market for it and that relates to 60% of their profit. Lucas said that "Red Tail" is one of the first all black action pictures ever made. This is incorrect because there are many all black action pictures that have been produced, especially some of the black exploitation films of the 1970s that starred black actors, however Hollywood just didn't embrace them. There are many that exist today that just don't make it to the big screen.

In the interview, Jon Stewart jokingly asked Lucas "Now, the scene in it when Hitler tells Cuba Gooding Jr. that he's his father?". The audience burst into laughter. Well, what are you actually saying Jon? Maybe lines like this are the real reason Hollywood don't know how to market black films. George Lucas said of the Tuskegee Airmen, "They are the true heroes of World War II" and also expressed that those who are still alive showed great emotion, came up to him with tears in their eyes, thanking him for making a film that finally recognized them.

The reality of telling our stories with integrity and depth and getting them to market is falling on the shoulders of the independent filmmakers producing them. Most black filmmakers go into debt and bankruptcy because they believe that their stories have substance, a great purpose and markets waiting to embrace them, even when Hollywood fails them. Black business owners have a responsibility, and should not only take from the consumer but give back, which most of them do. Black businesses should start supporting, sponsoring and financing African American films like never before. They will make a great contribution towards educating African Americans as well as many other ethnic groups who are clueless to the depths of the real African American experience.

I believe that there is a foreign market for African American films and those in Hollywood are just not interested in telling those stories. You know what? That's OK because the stories they do decide to tell, they seem to tell upside down anyway. If there were no foreign market for black films then why did Viacom spend 3 Billion dollars to acquire (BET) Black Entertainment Television Holdings in 2001? At the time of the BET purchase, the programming was airing in approximately 62 million African American households and watched across 14 countries. Somebody is tuning into the black experience via television. Why would EMI Publishing pay former Motown founder Berry Gordy 132 million dollars for rights to those (Motown/Jobete publishing) oldies that did extremely well in foreign countries? It certainly looks like there's a foreign market to me.

Recently Damon Diddit and Natural Langdon, independent African American filmmakers from Brownsville Brooklyn in New York City, produced a film depicting the realities of life in their community called "Bullets over Brownsville" and were invited to Berlin, Germany where the movie screened at a film festival. They also produced a reality program of that experience called the "Unglamorous Life of Filmmaking. Now, it certainly looks like there's a foreign market to me. It's very strange that George Lucas would speak out openly about the Hollywood movie system and their views when they pay him millions to make films. I wonder; is this a publicity stunt designed to get blacks into the theaters on January 20, 2012?

How to Make a Beat Like the Top Producers

Remember when your parents told you- 'Don't be with the in-crowd... Don't follow the crowd?' Well, if you're into making beats, then, the 'crowd' is your 'promise land' or 'end all, be all', isn't it? You want that response like cooks want about their cooking!

So, how do we make beats like the top producers?

Well, we all know that anyone can beat on a table with their hands and have a distinguishing bass drum and snare going. And, with a little basic instruction of some beat making software, transfer that rhythm into an actual recording, but we also all know that's not going to deem them a top producer.

What I'm saying is that it's not making beat patterns and basic melodies that the top producers start with. They start with a feeling. Nope! Scratch that! We humans cannot have a feeling without first being inspired by a thought. And in that thought, ought to be knowledge. Thus, it's knowledge of 'feeling' that these top producers start with in order to keep coming up with hits.

What do I mean when I say 'knowledge of feeling?'

Is he feeling the crowd or is the crowd feeling his music?

You may say the latter, but I say think about the former- 'Is he feeling the crowd?'

One might ask, 'How can he feel the crowd before he makes a beat?'

This is what I mean when I say 'knowledge of feeling'. Sound shapes everything, and when it comes to us humans, music toys with our emotions day after day. Knowledge of how this works is the key to making beats like the top producers.

We've all heard people say things like, 'Ooh, that's my song!' Maybe you have a favorite song that you listen to over and over again. The music is resonating with you... and you like it!

You can make music that has that same type of affect on people! Anyone could do it if they were interested in it and had a little knowledge and understanding about the subject. One would need knowledge such as how a certain sequence of numbers work. You would need to know why when two lovers get together or even think about each other they get that 'feeling.' This knowledge can make you understand how a club DJ makes the 'air' sound when he's mixing.

If you're worrying about being able to afford the type of equipment that the top producers use... fret not! Technology has taken care of that. Not only is there very affordable software in 2012 that replicates the state-of-the-art equipment commonly used in the big studios, technology also provides a cyber display platform in the form of the internet with exposure sites such as YouTube and Facebook. Technology makes things affordable and achievable. As a matter of fact, nowadays an artist could possibly write his/her own lyrics, produce the music, and promote themselves.

You can get my free eBook, 'What The Top Producers Don't Want You To Know', wherein I discuss the above topics and also things like how to conjure different 'feelings' in your listening audience via the particular sounds and beat patterns you choose.

Building the Outline for a Good Website

Having a successful web presence is key to taking your company from local to global. Creating a website can expand your customer pool from the areas around you to the world around you. It makes your business accessible to customers 24/7 with the click of a button. The potential of your company's web presence is great, no doubt about it. But in order to turn potential into results, there are a few things your web presence has to have in order to be successful.

Homepage: The first thing your website design should have is a homepage. This is the place where customers get their first impression. It has to be catchy, comprehensible, and organized. The homepage should give the viewer some basic info on what your business model is. What does your company do? Why are you reliable? What do others have to say about you? You should have some captivating images, maybe a few quotes, and the basic layout of your website. Use tabs or infographs to show your other web pages. Make sure they are easily accessible and interesting as well.

About: The next thing your web presence needs is an about section or company info page. This is the place where you can really shine. Explain to the customer why, specifically, you are the company they want to invest their time and money into. Show that you are trustworthy, reliable, and confident. If your customers were impressed with your homepage, this is where they will probably go next. Continue to impress them with details about your business model and your company's m.o.

Testimonials: If there's one thing customers trust, it's the word of a fellow customer. Include a section of laudable reviews or quotes on why others have been pleased with your company. If someone is browsing your website and sees real life testimony of your previous customers, it's bound to help your company gain their trust and peak their interest.

Blog: Don't underestimate the power of the blog. Having a blog is a great way to enter into a conversation with your customers. Blogs usually have a laid back feel and a conversational tone that is appealing to customers. They also help prove your credibility; if you are a pet sitting business writing blogs that offer tips on how to train your dog to stop barking when the mailman comes to the door, people will trust you know what you're talking about. Blogs are also constantly changing and being updated. This will keep customers coming back to your website to see the latest post.

Social Media: Don't forget to incorporate social media into your web presence. Add share buttons for Twitter, facebook, Google Plus, and other social sites so that viewers can share your company's website with their friends. In addition to share buttons, create a presence on Twitter and Facebook so that you can connect with customers on a social level. Become one of their likes, interests, or favorites.