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Feb 20, 2021
How will crypto affect the future of digital content?
Cue the eye-rolls. Yep, it’s another crypto article from some dude on the internet. This one is a bit more geared to the creative industry, creative entrepreneurs, and digital content creation, however. I want to share the technical knowledge I’ve gained over the past year and explore some possibilities into how these emerging technologies will affect how digital content is created, streamed, and monetized in these strange, exciting times. There will be no Crypto-Bro speak, no 🚀🚀🚀 emoji’s, and no theses on coin speculation. I just want to focus on the technological aspect of what crypto (and the blockchain) can offer and how it can help digital media continue to grow. We’re going deep into the murky waters. Stick with me. (If you want the TL;DR, hop to the last section) Table of Contents What is Crypto? Differences between Cryptocurrencies and Tokens What challenges does Crypto face? How can the blockchain improve digital content? Better digital content streaming with Theta Storj: A more secure and faster cloud storage option Brave Browser can give more power to creative individuals Crypto Art is using the blockchain to get artists paid TL;DR – Tokenization encourages future content creation What is Crypto? Let’s quickly summarize what crypto is because it gets confusing for the less than technically-savvy. If you are already familiar, hop over to the next section. Cryptocurrency first emerged in Bitcoin around 2009 and aimed to replace traditional currencies decentralized from any government. Since then, thousands of cryptocurrencies exist with Bitcoin and Ethereum at the forefront. Their technology is based on a blockchain. Think of the blockchain as a giant database that keeps a ledger of every transaction starting from the beginning. The ledger is public, but each “block” needs to be verified by many different computers to ensure that each record matches accurately. Blockchains store data in the individual blocks chained together in chronological order to make up the global ledger. Transactions that enter the blockchain are permanently recorded and publicly viewable. How a blockchain works From a security standpoint, the blockchain is a safer way to store information because a single node cannot alter the records. Other nodes cross-reference each other and can self-correct if there are any inconsistencies in the data. Here’s a practical example: Maria is 35 years old. Bob and John are good friends of Maria’s and celebrate her birthday every year. They have also seen her Birth Certificate and can verify her age. (ok, that’s strange, but give me a break here). Well, Betty is going around town and telling people that they should know that Maria is 40 years old. A blatant lie! Betty has incorrect data. Maria, Bob, and John can verify that she is indeed 35 years old from looking at her birth certificate. Betty stands corrected, and the rest of the town is informed of the correct information. Maria‘s age is written in the town newspaper with a timestamp that everyone has reached a consensus that Maria is 35 years old. Aside from Maria’s loss of privacy, this is essentially what the workers in a blockchain spend CPU resources doing — reaching a common consensus about a transaction. The block is filled with data and given a timestamp that someone cannot easily alter. Blockchain technology isn’t restricted just to cryptocurrencies as it has been implemented in many other use-cases such as Cyber Security, Healthcare, and Supply Chains. It is useful in preventing human errors when validating data. What are the differences between Cryptocurrencies and Crypto Tokens? You’re a kid again, and your family brings you to your favorite arcade. You pay up ten bucks worth of allowance, and in return, the attendant gives you a cup full of coins. Now inside the arcade, you are rolling in dough. You can play anything you want as long as you still have coins. If you leave the arcade, however, those coins are meaningless. You have the choice to either sell your remaining coins to a friend who wants to continue playing, or you need to spend them. This analogy basically describes what a Crypto Token is. Tokens are meant to be used in a specific ecosystem, where cryptocurrencies are meant to be used as a store of value or method of exchange for goods and services. Currencies like USD, CAD, Bitcoin, and Ethereum get you in the door, but the tokens allow you to participate in the environment. Bear in mind that tokens can be exchanged back and forth with different currencies so long as they have value. This swap is done at Crypto Exchanges. In this article, I want to focus on Crypto Tokens and the tokenization of digital commodities like video streams, art, and collectibles rather than currencies and economics. What challenges does Crypto face? Crypto has exploded over the past few years and has spawned many coins. The rapid adoption of DEFI (Decentralized Finance) during Covid Lockdowns pushed the space even further into becoming a viable financial option. In some ways, coin and token growth can be attributed to an ever-expansive amount of possibilities with finance, Commerce, and entertainment applications. Aside from any future legislation that may negatively affect crypto, the currencies also face internal problems. Bitcoin and Ethereum both need to address the “Blockchain Trilemma” to continue to grow into a fully functioning global currency. The “Trilemma” consists of the following: The system must maintain decentralization without a single controlling entity. The system is scalable to handle increasing transactions on the blockchain. The system is secure for users and protection against bad actors. Many different coins aim to solve these problems, but they must be addressed for all-encompassing adoption. I keep telling my wife, “When 60-something-year-old Joe Schmo can reliably process blockchain transactions and doesn’t have to worry about losing all his investment or learning all the technical aspects, then we will see a massive shift in the trustworthiness of Crypto.” Trust me; she’s heard it plenty of times. So, I am not a finance guy or some tech guru. I am just a friendly neighborhood Creative Director who looks out for potential opportunities that allow me to continue doing what I love. Creating. With that being said, do your research, don’t listen to any single person, and keep your mind open to opportunities while reading this. We are going through a massive cultural shift, and control in the future will be in the individual’s hands. How can the blockchain improve digital content? Better Digital Content Streaming with Theta The Blockchain can improve video quality and playback Video content is here to stay, and streaming is growing exponentially year over year. You may have noticed this over the past year, but streaming platforms have throttled the default quality of videos once the pandemic hit. Bracing for the increased bandwidth usage, streaming providers reduced video quality (as default, you would have to select higher quality manually) to lighten the payloads on Internet Service Providers (ISP’s). As network payloads will continue to increase in the coming decades, it is becoming increasingly crucial for ISP’s to balance quality and delivery. Streaming platforms rely on Content Delivery Networks (CDN’s) or Cloud Computing to deliver video to the end-user. CDN’s were a great solution in the past but suffer from being exorbitantly expensive to host large-scale video content at the Enterprise level and still rely on centralized Data Centers in different regions around the world (POPs). Cloud Computing Providers have been a little slow-moving in adopting blockchain technology, but Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services both utilize it in some forms. Unfortunately, it doesn’t solve the problem of providing a lower-cost solution to indie studios or startups. As 4K, 8K, and VR videos continue to rise, so do the underlying infrastructure’s demands to deliver without buffering or high loading times. Video buffering is so 1998. Enter Theta Token. Theta Network aims to solve the problem of CDN’s by decentralizing content delivery using blockchain technology. Rather than having localized data centers, Theta uses a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Network with individual nodes putting in the heavy lifting by caching and computing the video streams. Think of how Kazaa, Limewire, and Napster worked but on mega blockchain steroids. Ok, bad analogy, but I want to illustrate how multiple computers talk to each other. This P2P model results in less buffering or dropouts. An added benefit is that the network participants are rewarded in tokens which can be circulated through the ecosystem or converted to currency as payment. Theta essentially rewards participants in the network for their shared bandwidth and resources. Fiat currency like USD is converted into their proprietary token used to fuel transactions between the Content Creators, Video Platforms, and Viewers. It functions as an incentive to partake in upholding the network. This crowdsourcing model is becoming popular with other coins as well. Being an open-source platform, Theta allows individual developers to build new apps on their network, thus extending the practical uses. This allows new businesses to develop their video platform on Theta’s infrastructure and not worry about content delivery or costs associated with traditional CDN’s or cloud computing. An added plus is that more revenue is shared with the original creators of the content and the individuals who contribute the computing power of their machines to help cache and relay the video streams. A big plus for the little guy/gal. How Theta Token can help digital content thrive High-Quality Streams without creating more points of failure in the system Opportunities for Premium or Gated Content through the use of the Theta tokens. Lower barrier to entry for startups seeking to develop a video content platform but can’t afford an Enterprise CDN or Cloud Computing. Opportunities for merchandising or cross-promotion through the exchange of the Theta Tokens. Alternative advertising models where viewers can receive tokens for watching ads. Video streamers are paid by viewers and can help shape the content in demand. I think the ability to piggyback off Theta Network and create a subscription service to premium content and provide products like collectibles (digital or physical) could prove to be an all-in-one entertainment hub for viewers. Picture this: Everyone has Netflix. Everyone who has kids watch Netflix Kids. Imagine if Netflix had a way of allowing the kids to purchase their favorite characters as a collectible digital card to trade with their friends. All inside one app without having to whip out a credit card. It is possible to even without Theta, but incorporating a token system can boost user experience. If Fortnite history has told us anything, people will spend gobs of money for intangible goods if their perception is that of a rare commodity. The problems with Theta Token The current price of Theta Tokens is volatile. For the tokenomics to work effectively, the TFuel tokens’ price (Think of it as gas for the network to operate) needs to stabilize. If you choose to use your rewards to pay for content or merch and the price fluctuates heavily, it would encourage people to hoard their tokens rather than exchanging them on the network for fear that they might not be getting a good “deal.” Not to mention, if the incentives aren’t delivering as promised, content creators may move their content elsewhere. If incentivization is the main play to attract people to the network, they will have to ensure that it remains balanced and fair despite any price fluctuation from speculators. Theta Network has some big competitors. Theta Network could become a direct competitor rather than a partner for big players like Youtube, Vimeo, and Twitch. David vs. Goliath comes up as an analogy, but you may run out of rocks to throw when you have too many Goliaths that you are up against. Despite how good the network sounds in theory, Theta will need to continue pursuing partnerships to carve out its niche. Storj - A more secure and faster cloud storage option It’s no secret that digital content takes up a tremendous amount of space. As I write this, behind me is a cabinet full of old hard drives storing video, graphics, photos, and 3D renders. Oh, hey, Storj! Storj is a decentralized cloud storage network that relies on individuals to share unused storage and bandwidth on their computers. It is still early on in the project, but they aim to create a next-generation file storage system that is faster, cheaper, and more reliable than any current solution on the market today. How Storj can help digital content thrive Faster transfer speeds Potentially 10-100x cheaper than current online file storage providers Very low risk of data loss The Future of Cloud Storage Currently, you have many options for storing your files online — Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box, to name a few. But as content creators and artists know, it sometimes is impractical to store working projects on the cloud due to size and speed limitations. A cheaper alternative Video projects can take up terabytes of space, and the tiered plans from these companies get expensive fast, and you often pay for space that you aren’t using because you have to store larger projects on external hard drives or raid arrays. Since the Storj Network doesn’t use any data centers and by their estimation, the service could slash costs 10-100x from current cloud storage providers. Additionally, you wouldn’t have to pay for unused space. Secure and Private I’d love to store sensitive documents in Dropbox, but I don’t entirely trust that it is totally secure. As we have seen in the past, there have been exploits targeting Google and Dropbox. Dropbox can improve their encryption for files at rest, whereas Google needs to strengthen its encryption for transferring files. Neither offers iron-clad, end-to-end encryption at the moment. Because files have end-to-end encryption, the Storj network is more secure than services like Dropbox. Additionally, each file is split into 80 different pieces, with 29 of those necessary to re-assemble the encrypted file. Each computer that is contributing hard drive space to the network cannot see complete files. Super Fast With Storj, people’s internet connections are the only bottleneck in the P2P network. Files transfers aren’t limited by a centralized infrastructure’s (Dropbox, GDrive, Box) speeds. Soon, when Gigabit transfer speeds are more common, this will only bolster up the Storj network even more. This is entirely different from the current providers in which the files are stored on physical servers. Because each participant on the network is receiving fragments of files, it is much faster to serve kilobytes of data rather than megabytes and gigabytes at a single time. The Potential Problems of Storj Legal Grey Area For those familiar with the technology, it is plain to see that the individual contributors of the Storj Network aren’t able to see what kind of files they are hosting. Everything is fragmented and encrypted. But how clear will it be to Lawmakers trying to prevent illegal or harmful material from being distributed throughout the web? The question I have is, can individual nodes be held responsible for bad actors in the network, or will they be protected as a Safe Harbor like other tech companies? Let’s look at it this way: If you own a storage facility, should you be held liable if one of your tenants is storing drugs in their unit? How do you maintain a safe environment without infringing on people’s privacy? Also, how do you prosecute offenders if you don’t know where to look? Decentralization, at its core, is very troublesome to authorities. Future legislation will need to be implemented carefully to ensure that technology continues to grow but not detrimental to people’s safety. Another question is will a decentralized storage network encourage the distribution of illegal material on the internet, or can the argument be made that it will exist regardless of measures put in place? I was considering sharing some of my hard drive space with the network, but I would like to see how this issue is addressed before doing so. Brave Browser can give more power to creative individuals Man, do I love me some Brave Browser. It looks like Chrome. It feels like Chrome. Heck, it’s built on Chromium. But it comes with a bunch of privacy features that just work out of the box. So, Brave is pretty unique. They made this browser to ensure people’s privacy is respected and to try and fix the broken monopoly that is Digital Advertising. Right now, we face privacy issues. I’m sure that you are familiar with the Facebook ad that conveniently pops up right after you searched for something on Amazon. This is called Remarketing. Every time you google something, what takes up the first five listings? Yep, you guessed it. Ads. Granted, Facebook, Google, and other platforms make most of their revenue from ad sales, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. But we should have options. Mainstream ad platforms are invasive, and despite all the data mining that they do, it never truly hits the mark by giving the user a choice on what they would like to see. The Brave Browser is trying to fix that in two ways: A tipping system using their token (BAT – Basic Attention Token) Users are awarded for allowing ad popups The tipping system is pretty neat. It encourages users to “tip” their favorite content creators. This can take the form of blogs, video content, Reddit posts, and more. Heck, I even implemented it into our site so that visitors can give us a little hat tip if they like what we are doing. The whole tipping system wouldn’t function without injecting BAT into the ecosystem. This is where advertising comes into play. Advertisers purchase ad space using BAT, and it is rewarded to users that have ads enabled. Users would then spend their BAT tipping creators for their contributions to the web. It almost sounds too idealistic, but I’ll ask you this. How many bloggers you know can monetize their writing without having to resort to gimmicks? How many YouTubers create free content for years hoping that one day they will have enough visitors to earn a living on it? Brave is providing another outlet for Creative Entrepreneurs to share their work and get rewarded for it. Will it make you rich? Maybe not, but it positively contributes to a level playing field wherein creators have options. What can Brave offer digital content creators? Monetization across multiple media channels and websites A loyal audience who engage in tipping for content they like A new approach to digital advertising that can produce warmer leads Tipping As long as a website, Youtube, or Vimeo channel is registered, content creators can receive tips from fans. This allows greater freedom where you don’t have to be tethered to a specific platform to earn rewards. Crypto wallet functionality is built right into the browser, so users can tip without taking out a credit card or going through a signup process where their data could be abused. The whole system is anonymous and gives control solely to the user. Unique Ad Platform Brave’s browser could be an excellent option for small businesses to advertise themselves. Typical ad platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Business can feel unnecessarily complicated for someone who runs a small studio or agency. To get the most out of them, you would typically need to hire out or have an in-house marketing lead who understands the marketing side and the development side. Facebook Pixel and Google Tag Manager aren’t for the faint of heart. Very powerful when used to their full capabilities, but that also comes at a high cost. This isn’t always feasible for smaller companies. Since Brave values privacy, I would wager that any leads you receive from a Brave campaign would be naturally warmer because they are being served ads that they want to see, and they chose to see them. (Users can go into their ad history and select categories of previous ads that they like) Not to mention that since Brave uses Push notifications on mobile and desktop, users would be more likely to click the ad, especially since they are allowing the ads to be shown. The problems Brave faces It’s a ballsy move going up against Google Though it is one that I support, it will be tough for Brave to carve out a big chunk of market share from Chrome. There is big money being passed around, and I doubt Google would be content sharing the market. I think Brave’s ace-in-the-hole is that they are supporting the little guy. I hope that they continue to nurture the culture around the browser and establish their niche. BAT tokens are volatile right now As I mentioned earlier, it is tough to use their token as a commodity when the price fluctuates every day. Though some people are using the token as they’re intended, many people are hoarding their BAT in the hopes that the value skyrockets. Ad Platform is still in its infancy Well, kinda. At the moment, Brave Ads is not a self-serve platform like other CPC services. To sign up as an advertiser, you have to contact them manually and go through an application process. Additionally, they are only accepting campaigns with a minimum ad spend of $10,000 for 30 days. It’s not the most expensive thing in the world, but then again, it certainly isn’t spending $250 for a boosted Instagram post. If Brave’s Clickthrough Rates (CTR) are as good as they say, it might be worth trying Brave Advertising out. Still, it will be quite a while before smaller businesses can justify advertising with them at the currently available options. Crypto Art is using the blockchain to get artists paid There has been quite a buzz on Twitter lately about NFT’s (Non-Fungible Tokens) and Crypto Art. Some well-known Motion Designers are making a killing selling the art they create but haven’t had a good monetization outlet in the digital artspace before this. Most people I know just create for the sake of creating and then post on Instagram. Unfortunately, you are at the mercy of Instagram for exposure. However, marketplaces like Opensea.io, Superrare.co, and NiftyGateway are changing that. Many people aren’t able to see Crypto Art’s value yet, but as a digital artist, there hasn’t been a solution to people assigning value to digital artworks before this. Anybody can right-click and save an image, so how can provenance be established so that the original creator/owner is credited/paid? Welcome to the wild west of Crypto Art. For Digital Art to become Crypto Art, it must be first “minted” on the blockchain. The minting process is essentially creating a chain of custody from the original creator to any subsequent art token owners. The media file, be it a graphic, photo, or video, is uploaded along with some necessary information from the owner verifying ownership. There is no tangible asset with Crypto Art (unless the owner prints it out and sends it to the buyer), but it serves as proof of ownership. Think of it like this: You are twelve years old again, and you have a rare pokemon card collection (Hello fellow Gen-Y’ers). You go to your local gathering place to trade cards, and someone steals a Charizard Hologram Card from you. How do you prove that A) they stole it, and B) you owned it in the first place? Here’s another example: Let’s say that you go to your local art gallery and because you are awesome and support the arts; you would like to purchase this coveted Basquiat painting. Well, the gallery is relatively new, and you aren’t sure if you can trust them. They also don’t have any paperwork linking Basquiat to the actual painting. How do you know if it is counterfeit? Do you take their word for it? Verifying art on the blockchain solves both of these problems since all transactions are visible on a public ledger. Anyone can check to see who the original owner was. Why Crypto Art and NFTs are changing the digital art landscape NFT’s provide a way for an artist to create collectibles from digital art they create Artists can monetize their digital art Crypto Art has a direct chain of ownership. Easy to prove. Low Barrier to Entry As long as you have a crypto wallet and some artwork, you can start selling NFTs. Many marketplaces are popping up day after day. Not only is it prudent to verify artwork on the blockchain, but it is also an excellent avenue for exposure. Collectors and speculators alike scour the marketplaces for rare artworks that can fetch thousands of dollars. Resale value One of the nice things about Crypto Art is that digital artists can make a small percentage royalty if the token is resold. Try getting that at a traditional art gallery. A growing community of Crypto Art collectors buy and sell based on the art token’s perceived value. Copyright Reinforcement and Licensing Agreements Because there is a clear view of the token’s history, it is relatively easy to prove a chain of ownership and proof of creation. The timestamped records in the ledger could prove valuable in the future when providing evidence that an art piece existed at a particular time. All of the transactions are listed on the token’s history with the respective wallets it ends up in. Another protection for digital content creators comes from the use of “smart contracts.” Though these contracts are all the rage in the De-Fi space, smart contracts ensure that licensing agreements between both parties are respected, and terms are appropriately managed. Taking that a step further, smart contracts can also function as an escrow account where cryptocurrency is locked until all the terms are met. The problems Crypto Art faces High Gas Fees Many crypto tokens used for trade are part of the Ethereum blockchain. As the Ethereum network gets congested processing transactions (~15 transactions per second), Ethereum Gas (GWEI) price goes up since the amount of work to process transactions increases. Miners who contribute their computational power to validate transactions are paid on these gas fees. Right now, gas fees can range up to $200, even if it is a simple transaction. This doesn’t necessarily facilitate an active trading environment for those without big bucks. Think of the high gas fees like the FastPass at Disney World. You pay extra to be able to skip the lines and enjoy the rides first. The cheapskates who didn’t opt for the first-class treatment have to wait in the slow lane while others move ahead. Let’s use a car analogy. You stop at the gas station with your Dodge Challenger Hellcat. It’s a gas guzzler, but you only have enough money to fill a quarter of the tank. There are two options here. Either you have to drive slowly to your destination to try to squeeze every last mile per gallon from it, or you need to pony up the cash to put in more fuel and get there faster. One important thing to know, however, is because the Ethereum miners are putting in the effort of upholding the network, they can ignore transactions with a low gas limit. Not exactly fair, I know. Ethereum 2.0 will hopefully solve this problem as it can process up to 100,000 transactions per second, but we are roughly two years away from it being fully implemented. For now, Crypto Artists will need to either select a time of day that is less likely to be busy, or they will need to increase the price of their artworks to include this fee. Kind of a bummer, but the Crypto Art market will only continue to grow as these issues get ironed out. Value This issue is subjective, but it affects Crypto Art in the same way that it affects traditional fine art. You’ve always heard “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and so is a price tag. Because there is no exchange of tangible goods, some people have a hard time justifying a purchase for the “right” to a digital collectible. Many purveyors of Crypto Art don’t seem to have this problem. Still, to reach mainstream acceptance, the Crypto Art marketplaces will need to do a good job communicating to the uninitiated what exactly they are buying. I think we are on the verge of something big here in this space. At the very least, having the ability to verify a piece of physical art on the blockchain recognizing you as the creator would be extremely beneficial to brick-and-mortar art galleries in the future. It would seem that it should accompany every purchase of a tangible good to declare a record of incorruptible ownership. TL;DR – Tokenization encourages future content creation Video Streaming will be faster, and Content Creators will have more skin in the game Online P2P File Storage will be cheaper, faster, and safer Alternative types of advertising and crypto “tipping” will help content creators push out more work and get paid for it Crypto art is ushering in a new era of creative artists profiting from work that is near and dear to them With my fingers cramping up from typing, I think I’ll end on this note. This article isn’t meant to be the end-all-be-all. It is just meant to share some thoughts with you and encourage some discourse on this subject. Digital content is already easy to consume. The next step is to make it more rewarding for the creators. With big companies pouring billions into the Crypto-sphere, I can honestly say that I doubt it will go away now. Nor should it. The biggest question will be which Crypto tokens will be around in 10-20 years and how they can change industries to allow for more creativity and freedom.
Read moreJan 22, 2021
What is a creative content studio?
In an era of the gig economy, a Creative Content Studio provides vision and clarity to brands creating digital content, while staying on message.
Read moreJan 12, 2021
Top Video Production Companies – Clutch Awards 2020
Clutch Acknowledges Omnislash Visual as Top Video Production Company #thb-slidetype-63ae2cd95e81f .thb-slidetype-entry { color: #242427; } As Omnislash primarily deals in B2B, it is crucial to take a long, hard look at how we provide value to our existing and future clients. Clutch.co stuck out to us when we were looking around for a review site that would not only show us off but also gather in-depth feedback so we can continually hone our production processes for the betterment of each client. Sites like Google, Yelp, and others tend to focus on ratings with many viewers solely looking at the number of stars (or whatever cute icon they can think of). Granted, Clutch has a rating system as well, but the biggest benefit that we get by being listed is the simple fact that they conduct brief interviews with the reviewers. This results in detailed responses delving deeper into the client’s experience with us on a given project. Not only is it helpful for future clients to do their due diligence, but we find that it also gives us a deeper look at customer satisfaction and where Omnislash can improve. The video industry has come a long way. With new gear and better technology being released each year, video production has become more accessible to everyone. It is now more important than ever to continue distinguishing Omnislash Visual as not only a group of craftsmen but as brand collaborators who have clients’ best interests in mind. With all that said, the main challenge that most video production companies encounter is the difficulty in getting comprehensive feedback from client testimonials and reviews. We are proud to say that we have been named by Clutch as a top creative & design agency in Connecticut. If you aren’t familiar, Clutch is an established B2B reviews platform that helps firms across the globe connect with the solution providers that they need in order to improve effectiveness and increase productivity. To say our thanks, here are a few words from our friendly neighborhood Creative Director: “We are thrilled to have been chosen as one of the leading video and motion design studios in Connecticut by Clutch.co. We’ve already seen an increase in our organic traffic that can be attributed to Clutch’s database” -Paul Melluzzo Client feedback will always be vital, not only in the video production business but also in other industries. With that, we, once again, thank Clutch for paving the way to a better ratings and reviews model. Check out our profile on Clutch to know more about what we do. Want your idea made into something amazing? Give us a shout and let’s make it happen! – The Omni-Gang Start your project Push Start Learn about Omnislash Visual Our Story
Read moreDec 10, 2020
Making a Killer Promo Video
How to make an eye-catching promo video With the right creative direction, a promotional video can really sell your brand in the eyes of your target audience. Whether you have a new product launch, mobile application, or service, creating a promo video showcases your content in a digestible format that drives traffic and views. A video promo is a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. Table of Contents What makes a promo video engaging? Recipe for success What type of promo styles are out there? Promo Videos and Video Marketing TL;DR – Key Takeaways Why should you use promo videos? Promotional videos exist because the quickest way to get your viewer’s attention is by distilling your complicated offering and presenting it in a way that creates excitement. Excitement is the keyword here. Too often have I seen businesses creating videos that are jam-packed with information but fail to engage the viewer. These videos are a perfect sidecar to long-form content that fully illustrates the product or service but should never strive to replace it. How long should a promo video be? The video should be as long (or short) as it needs to be to convey your message in its most straightforward form. I know, I know. Everyone always wants a specific, proven duration to work from. In my experience, I’ve seen really engaging 3-minute videos that kept me hooked the entire time and 30-second videos that totally fell flat. Generally speaking, you should aim to keep it under 2 minutes, but feel free to break that rule as the content should guide the duration. Not the other way around. Once the script is being developed, a picture will reveal itself on how you can cut the fat. Focus on outlining your key points and brainstorm how you communicate them succinctly. What makes a promo video engaging? Graphics! Text! Movement! Oh, my. The biggest recommendation I can make is don’t overthink your video. As long as the message is clear and concise, it will be more effective than trying to cram in as much copy as possible. Remember, what might be vital to you might not be as important to your customer. Try to put yourself in the potential customer’s shoes. Wine and dine them with the promo, and close with the CTA (call-to-action) where they can learn more from the long-form content. You are on a journey…get them excited to join you. Recipe for success Set achievable goals No, duh, right? Seriously though, think about what you are trying to accomplish by creating this promo. Is it to increase brand awareness? Well, then make sure it is authentic and communicates what you are all about. Is it to drive website traffic or sales? The focus, then, needs to be on communicating specific selling points or how your product or service can help solve problems. If you are thinking to yourself, “I want all of that,” I would encourage you to consider what the most critical issue to solve is and target that. Many videos try to accomplish too much and end up coming across as a discombobulated mess. Think of your primary goal as an active one. Any secondary objectives should be passive. I’ll break this down a bit more in layman’s terms. Let’s say that you have this new product coming out. You’re in a heavily saturated industry with some big players, and you also struggle to get brand recognition. You know you need to show off this new product, but you also strive to get people to remember you. What do you do? What not to do Don’t try to actively accomplish both by spending half the time on each subject. If you are making a product promo, don’t deviate from the message by consuming 30 seconds of a 1-minute video talking about your company or the mission. That can be a different video. Or a series of videos. I know that video production can get expensive, however, the ROI of creating good content dramatically outweighs the cost of building a single ineffective video that doesn’t amount to new revenue. Like the Star Wars X-Wing pilot trying to take a shot at the death star, STAY ON TARGET. The worst thing you can do with a promo is put too much pressure on it to solve all of your marketing problems. What you should do Keep the message clear and ensure it comes across in the first 5-10 seconds. Show off your product and its key features and take small passive opportunities to highlight your brand. A logo intro/outro or bug with a voiceover can go a long way. Your goal is to entertain/excite your customers, not show off your company for a slight ego boost. If you make good content, make your brand accessible through graphics and VO, and have a clear direction, the viewers will associate your brand with the product. Think of all the commercials you’ve seen in the past that have become Memes. Can you clearly remember what brand they were associated with? This is an important distinction to be made if a promo is successful or not. Here’s a successful example that everyone likes to use: #thb-video-lightbox-63ae2cd9654f4 svg { fill: #f2f2f2; } #thb-video-lightbox-63ae2cd9654f4 svg.thb-play-02 .circle1 { stroke: #f2f2f2; } #thb-video-lightbox-63ae2cd9654f4.thb-video-lightbox-icon-style-style4 .thb-video-text { color: #f2f2f2; } Do you notice how the brand name is only mentioned at the beginning and end? Most of the video is spent addressing their customers’ pain points in an entertaining manner. It focuses on what makes their products enticing, instead of trying to solve every single marketing goal there is. Did you know who the heck they were before they created this video? I sure didn’t. Brand Awareness was created because this video achieved what it set out to do: Sell more razors on a subscription basis. The goal of Brand Awareness was secondary to illustrating why their product was better. The video did a great job at showing that, creating a memorable experience that linked directly to the brand name. Don't let quality be cast aside In the pursuit of creating content for mass consumption, it might be easy to forget that quality plays a huge role in successful video marketing. Ensure that the fundamentals are met. Here are some examples of that: Video is clean, well-lit, and free from compression artifacts. The sound quality is warm and clear. Ensure there is no echoing or anything that could detract from the message The video’s design is consistent throughout and consistent with the brand’s look, fonts, graphics, and motion guidelines. You may think that your customers don’t care about quality, but in my experience, people might not know why they dislike something but still realize that something about the video doesn’t feel right. Build supporting content Sure, a great video should be able to stand on its own legs, but why not create additional content that props it up? You spent all this money making a promo; take the opportunity to look at the video as a whole and see how you can elaborate on the topics covered. This can be in the form of other videos, blog posts, white papers, or press releases. Promo videos should be a piece of your whole marketing strategy. Give your audience a fair chance to learn more if they desire. What type of Promo styles are out there? It is essential to decide on a direction early on in the process. What will the tone be? Your goal is to tell a story. How you tell it is totally up to you. Ensure that the tone matches your brand strategy. Additionally, identify your audience and see what jives with them. Tonal Ideas Comedic Playful Informative Entertaining Inspiring Promotional Video Ideas Product Launch Brand Explainer Before and Afters Sales, Discounts, and Offers Testimonial Videos Promo videos and Video Marketing Ok, the teaser video is done. What now? Here are some real-life examples of how you can effectively leverage your promo content: Use in landing pages Promotional videos on landing pages give the visitor a quick way to see if they like what you are selling. Pairing up video with some key selling point copy and a call-to-action can drive conversion rates. Social Networks Social media lends itself nicely to broadcasting promotional content, whether it be a product video or explainer video. Facebook Good ol’ Facebook. It’s not just for your Aunt Marge to argue politics with a complete stranger. This social platform was one of the earliest adopters of an ad platform, and it features a robust set of tools for you to show off your video promos. Create your video campaigns, set your target audience, and go. Linkedin Depending on what your business is selling, Linkedin might be your gold mine at reaching decision-makers and executive-level professionals across a wide array of industries. Like other social networks, Linkedin boasts a video player to accompany their post formats. In the past couple of years, they have also beefed up their ads platform as well. Instagram Do it for the ‘gram. With various aspect ratios available, Instagram gives a lot of flexibility for creativity when creating posts, stories, carousels, and IGTV. Part of the Facebook Ads platform, Instagram offers even more exposure through their sponsored posts and stories. Vimeo Vimeo is an excellent option for broadcasting your video. Though the audience isn’t as big as Youtube, Vimeo has a proven track record of providing users a way of consuming great content. Additionally, it is a great way to embed videos into your website rather than self-hosting them. Youtube Youtube is an obvious choice when it comes to deploying your promo video. It has the added benefit of providing views while also educating the customer on what you are selling. You have the ability to optimize the title, keywords, and description to drive traffic to your content further. PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Advertising What ad would be complete without engaging visuals? Adding in promotional videos can make your expensive marketing campaigns more click-worthy. Website Product Pages Search engines love video right now. Web pages that feature video are more likely to have a slight boost in rankings on Google than web pages without. Additionally, you might end up getting rewarded with your video thumbnail on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page), further driving click-through rates. Blog Posts Promo videos make a beautiful companion to blog posts highlighting a new product offering or service. Content writing is pretty much a standard these days in any marketing strategy. Why not add video content to complement it? Email Marketing So, email technology hasn’t evolved as fast as other internet services. Unfortunately, there isn’t an excellent way to embed video content into your emails, but create a fantastic thumbnail, slap on a play button graphic on top, link it to a landing page with the promo, and boom. You’re off to the races. Another option is to have your production company cut down a short snippet of the video to be exported as an animated gif. It’s not the prettiest format out there, but it can be an engaging idea to encourage clicks. Make sure to check that your email marketing software supports it first, however. TL;DR – Key Takeaways Be realistic in your expectations of what a single video can accomplish. Focus on a singular message. Keep the message clear and concise. Be true to yourself, but keep the customer’s wants and needs in mind. Make killer content that people would want to watch. You made it this far. #levelup Still, confused? Give us a shout, and we would be more than happy to help out. Push Start
Read moreNov 30, 2020
Photorealistic 3D Product Rendering
Product rendering has become a staple for companies in the marketing industry. It provides them with a digital visualization instead of utilizing traditional photography. This can produce real high-quality product images from different angles and infinite possibilities for branding and marketing purposes. 3D animation also changed the way products are being marketed, which offers a modern and better way to showcase them effectively and increase opportunities to boost product sales. Let’s discuss what photorealistic animation is and its benefits, as well as how it can help small to large scale businesses grow and better market their products. #thb-video-lightbox-63ae2cd96b6fc svg { fill: #f2f2f2; } #thb-video-lightbox-63ae2cd96b6fc svg.thb-play-02 .circle1 { stroke: #f2f2f2; } #thb-video-lightbox-63ae2cd96b6fc.thb-video-lightbox-icon-style-style4 .thb-video-text { color: #f2f2f2; } What are photorealistic renders? 3D visuals are all about showing the value and vision of a product, giving you a detailed, realistic image even if it’s not yet manufactured or produced during the design process. Today, photorealistic rendering gives you the same look of a product digitally. What makes this more impressive is that clients won’t even notice that it isn’t even real thanks to texturing and lighting. Technology today allows 3D rendering to mimic real-life lighting conditions and shading. Photorealistic 3D is useful in architectural projects, interior design, marketing, real estate, furniture, fabrication, manufacturing, and many other fields. This is because they won’t need to: Build sets or source locations to match with the theme Create a prototype to help visualize the look Hire a professional photographer to capture the images. However, these are not the only benefits that photorealistic renders have to offer. What are the Benefits of 3D Rendering? The advantages of photorealistic product rendering range from design options to product sales. Hence, it will be essential to use in many industries in the years ahead. Most businesses and their customers use 3D models over traditional photography. Here’s why: Photorealistic product achievement unlocked Back in the day, architects and interior designers used to deliver their ideas to their customers through flat sketches. Today, clients can see a clear product image without using pencil-colored drawings, all thanks to the hard-working 3D artists, who bring your idea to life using accurate proportions, dimensions, and textures. Unlimited Output Options Traditional photoshoots, aside from being expensive, offer limited options as it can only do what’s feasible in terms of the light, staging, etc. On the other hand, photorealistic 3D rendering provides you the ability and tools to control the visuals’ look and feel. There are no restraints with design, colors, motion graphics, lighting, or visual effects. The rendered output depends solely on your imagination. Whether you want to create architectural scenes or have your new gadget bathed in studio lighting, you can easily do it in just a few clicks. Usually, all it takes to get started is a Solidworks or CAD file. Additional 3D modeling is then performed before the texturing takes place. When everything is completed, it can be exported as a still image or animation. Convenience for all Unlike in the past, products can only be marketed once they are manufactured and produced. This is a precarious move as you’re creating some products without a guarantee if they’re all going to be sold. However, with 3D images, it’s possible to speed up the production stage a bit. Compared to the physical product, it is easier to correct a 3D scene since the process is entirely digital. Even if the product design cycle takes longer than anticipated, you don’t have to worry because your products can already be marketed beforehand. Flexibility at its finest Because traditional product photography requires a lot of production planning (e.g., staging, location, lighting, theme, and so on), last-minute modifications might seem complicated and costly. With computer graphics (or CGI), changes are not a problem at all. These images are only computer-generated, making it easier and faster for the product’s elements to be corrected and adjusted. Any last-minute makeover? No problem! Excellent quality and pricing The greatest advantage is its cost-effectiveness. Of course, this also costs money, but unlike traditional photography, this is a more flexible option that maximizes potential uses and ROI thanks to its usefulness in creating still images, animations, and exploded views. How can Photorealistic 3D Animation Help you? 3D models look so realistic that you can barely see the difference with professionally done photographs. Here’s how product rendering can help you grow your business: Real Estate Brokers and Developers With CGI’s help, real estate brokers and developers can showcase realistic images of house models to prospective clients easily and more conveniently, even if the project is still under construction. Doing this helps their clients make solid decisions and boost their sales quickly, regardless of whether the project is pre-selling or not. You have the ability to create variations of interior fixtures to provide options to buyers. Marketers Photorealistic 3D serves as a valuable and versatile weapon by marketers that must be leveraged to be part of the overall product marketing strategy to boost their sales and audience reach. With 3D models, nothing can stop them from using it in all kinds of marketing materials in all channels: product brochures, support manuals, presentations, promotional flyers, advertising leaflets, display materials, destination guides and virtual tours, Facebook and Google ads, and many more. Photorealistic 3D images make it easier for marketers to create appealing promo materials, product comparisons, catchy advertisements, and efficient product demos that will surely grab customers’ attention even before launching. Manufacturers Manufacturers do not need to spend as many resources and go through numerous revisions while a product is being developed. Virtual models that can be tested and redesigned as often as necessary are created until the product developers are delighted with the outcome. 3D design also allows you to monitor key quality indicators and fix the design flaws without spending physical resources. This way, the manufacturer launches a perfect product, which leads to a broader audience reach and higher profit. Medical Instruments 3D rendering can be a great way to communicate the benefits even though the underlying topic can be complex. The Healthcare industry relies on 3D to demonstrate how medical instruments or procedures are done without having to figure out how it would be filmed otherwise. Photorealistic Living Room 3D RenderPhotorealistic Dresser 3D RenderPhotorealistic Couch 3D RenderClay Render - Living Room Omnislash Visual - 3D Rendering Solutions Realistic 3D is a great alternative to professional photography and can definitely impact your audience. It’s necessary to find a company providing top-notch 3D rendering services that can help you showcase your products in innovative ways and grab any potential customer’s attention instantly. Omnislash Visual helps agencies and brands launch products, boost marketing assets, and everything in between. We are extremely passionate about helping our clients share their stories and promote their brand. Contact us today and get one step closer to using high-quality imagery in your marketing strategy.
Read moreJul 1, 2020
What they don’t tell you about owning a creative small business
This past weekend marked the 12th yearfrom my last full-time job. Granted, that previous statement looks a bit misleading. Since then, I’ve worked enough to account for 3 fulltime jobs, but it specifically holds a special meaning because it was the beginning of my Self Employment. It’s been a long road getting here, but despite the bumps and bruises that are typical of small business ownership, especially in the creative field, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Stick with me on this…maybe you can avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made in getting here. If you’re looking for all the answers or some catchy definitive guide to solving everything…you won’t find it here. This is just my story about starting and running a creative studio and some of the gotcha’s that nobody really talks about because shooting, designing, and producing is so much more fun. Clever Naming Convention, Huh? Table of Contents Website and SEO Sales Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing Processes Delegating Tasks Accounting Way back to the beginning They must have painted out the moss for the intro titles. Before I decided to hand in my two weeks, I was sitting at an outdoor bar in Scranton, PA with a friend of mine. We were obsessed with “The Office” and wanted to check out that Penn Paper building at the beginning of the opening credits. So, we were sitting at this little bar sipping coronas, and I was ranting about all the things I would do differently. All the things I would fix. It’s so funny looking back to see how full of piss and vinegar I was. Ready to take over the world and make meaningful changes in the industry. My buddy sat there. Quiet, the whole time; just listening. I stopped my rant (I tend to be very Sam Kinison-like in my rants) to take a swig of the beer when he chimes in, "Why don't we just start a company then?" That hit me like a ton of bricks. I had never considered going off on my own with no safety net, no guarantee of pay, or even a remote form of guidance on how to run a business. But it sounded sexy. If these guys can do it, then why can’t I? I’m smart. I have passion. Boy, was I naive! I think I’m still just as smart…maybe even more passionate. But what I didn’t think of, or know of for that matter, was what was involved in starting (and sustaining) a new business. Well, I’m pretty obsessive and I couldn’t shake off that idea. It stuck with me, and after we parted ways once we got home in CT, I spent all night researching the steps to begin. For those of us who are young, dumb, and broke, it is a pretty steep learning curve to figure out what the State, IRS, and Federal Government want from us. Youtube didn’t exist at that point, so forget about that. I was relegated to combing through the websites to see which form I would need to fill out, all without the assistance of a lawyer to help guide me. Luckily, I had experience in web design, so getting started on our website was a breeze. I was already doing graphic design and video editing on the side. That all helped. It took me a few days to gather my courage, and I submitted my two week’s notice on Friday the 13th. Who the hell would plan it like that? Me, that’s who. I threw caution to the wind and didn’t even glance back. Fast-forward through time, I’m still in business. Took a ton of punches along the way, went through a partner, a business name, lived in multiple cities and months of lost sleep. I now have a great group of peers that I work with and I’m proud of the systems that I’ve built. But, like many small business owners, I am never satisfied. There is always something to improve. For those in the creative field, everyone knows the lie we tell ourselves. Build it and they will come. The truth is that is just a dream. As creative business owners, we need to start balancing our areas of focus— dedicate just as much time, if not more, to the business aspect as we do on the creative end. (I know, it’s heresy to say that). Joel Pilger from Revthink is a great resource that helped open my eyes to this. I had told myself for my whole career that if my work got better, then people would be fighting to give me their hard earned projects. Sorry Paulie, it takes more than that. We need to build it, but also support it. Otherwise, the whole thing crumbles down. I’ve been thinking a lot lately, given the current state of affairs, and I’ve been trying to break down some of the common pitfalls that I’ve encountered and affect all business owners, but especially new business owners. Here are some things to consider: Website and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – God, I hate this term so much. In my younger days, I was so cavalier in not putting in the time to optimize my site. Nowadays, good SEO is mandatory for any business, and even if you aren’t technically savvy, it is important to understand what it is before you pay someone to do it for you. How can you pay someone to fix something but you don’t even know if it is broken in the first place? I’m not a professional on SEO, though. I am a Creative Director, so I will leave those articles to the experts. NeilPatel.com and Backlinko.com have some great resources to build up your understanding of what goes into it. Seriously, check them out…they’ve helped me immensely. If you’ve got some dough to invest, check out Semrush.com. It’s a great tool to measure website performance and run some tests for keywords and backlinks against your competitors. It has a bit of a learning curve, though. Make sure that your website works too. If you aren’t technically inclined, there are plenty of services such as Wix.com, Squarespace, and Shopify, that can help you create your website, and customize it to fit your brand needs. Generally speaking, having a website and having an SEO optimized website are two totally different things. Learn how it impacts you. I repeat, good SEO is mandatory for every business that wants to grow their web presence. For many years, I made the mistake of relying on referral business to keep me growing. That segues me into the next point. Sales Sales, blech! 😭 We are reminded of the image of the scummy car salesman, or the shady vacuum dealer. But that’s a bad stereotype. If you speak to any good salesperson, it is immediately clear that they benefit from your increasing knowledge of a subject. Credit: Giphy.com A good salesperson informs and relates to the prospect. They serve as a guide to help you. Granted, their job is to sell and they are usually paid on their merit, but the ultimate goal is to provide knowledge and work to figure out what is best for both parties. This results in sustainable, long-term relationships; not carnival-style, pack up and leave town transactions. A strong sales system is necessary to manage cash flow and ensure that you are making the most money that you can while assisting clients in achieving their goals. For years I’ve made the mistake of not knowing how to sell myself and my studio, and it’s resulted in lost opportunities. Perfecting your elevator pitch and knowing exactly what makes you special is your biggest weapon in presenting the best “you”. If you take pride in your work, there is something special you can offer someone. You just need to figure out what that is. Be bold and shout it from the rooftops. People don’t buy products. People buy from people. People buy based on feelings. People want to work with others that share their same values. Work hard. Be nice to people. Articulate what makes you great. Rinse and Repeat. Inbound vs Outbound Marketing What is the difference between the two? What do they mean? Inbound marketing is focused on driving traffic to you, and converting leads into sales by educating the customer. Typically, you would capture customer data on your website in exchange for some sort of useful information or guide. Outbound marketing, on the other hand, is what we typically think of when the term marketing is brought up. Advertising, Cold Emailing and Calling are some examples. Once you get busy, marketing is the first thing to fall by the wayside. To this day, I still struggle with maintaining a balance between the two. Again, I’m not a marketer by trade, so I won’t delve too deep into this, but these sites have some great resources: Inbound Hubspot.com Impactplus.com Outbound Close.com Pipedrive.com For our sales process, we use Pipedrive to keep us organized. It is a great CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool to make sure that potential leads moving through the sales pipeline aren’t being ignored. Using a CRM saves so much time in the end…I can’t tell you how often we would forget when we last messaged prospects, and had to guess which form of communication we used. CRM’s can keep track of that stuff for you. Pro Tip — Be a damn human and write down people’s birthdays for Pete’s sake. Treat clients and prospects like they deserve to be treated, and show a genuine interest in them as a person. If you don’t know their birthday, then wish them a happy holiday when the time comes. Do something to show them that they mean something to you. It’s five minutes out of your day and it might be the pick-me-up that they need. However, don’t use this to be manipulative, because people will spot it a mile away. Nobody likes that guy/gal. Processes As Mike Michalowicz always says, a company lives and dies by its processes. New businesses need to establish processes for things such as Sales, Operations, and Production. As a process junkie, I am always trying to punch holes in the way we work to see if we can optimize for efficiency and communication. For example, let’s say a new job comes in and you don’t have an established production process. How do you start? What do you do if a client makes a change? How do you create a schedule for determining when the work would be completed? These are all easily answered by creating repeatable processes. I know what some of you are thinking, “Well I’m a freelancer so I only need to keep track of my stuff”. This is important especially to those who work by themselves, as there is no one else to keep track of accountability. By the time the client starts doing it for you, you are already losing them. During a grind to finish up a job, it is easy to let some things slide just to get it done, but think of your good friend Gordon Ramsay criticizing you, and stick to the plan. Is the job going out of scope? Well, then you need to charge more. Has the work timeline been extended? Is the client past due on their invoice? Having established guidelines help remind you to keep things in order. Organization is next to godliness. Delegating Tasks As a business owner, it is imperative that as soon as you can create your systems, you start delegating tasks to others. Small business owners have to wear many hats regardless, but is it efficient for you to divide your time doing menial tasks, while simultaneously trying to grow the business? Again, learn from my mistakes. I had tried to juggle everything for years, but not until I started delegating work, did the profitability of my business increase, as did the amount of completed internal projects, which helped drive growth. You gotta spend money to make money It seems counter-intuitive, but spending some money on getting help from others freed my time up to look at the work we were creating more objectively. This ultimately increased the quality of work, as well as increased profits with me at the helm managing the processes, instead of focusing on executing all the labor. Here’s an example. Let’s say that you have years of prior experience working for a Creative Studio. You have a high level of expertise and you ventured into creating your own company. Your level of experience dictates that you should make around a certain amount of money. Would it be prudent for you to be doing all of the video editing and motion design when you should be focused on producing or directing? I didn’t think so. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Surround yourself with talented people and give them things to do. If you can’t afford to because your business is brand new, then check out sites like Fiverr or Upwork, to help you out until you can hire someone that you want. There are also a ton of freelancers across the globe who would love to work with you. If you can’t afford to and your business isn’t new, then there is a good chance that: You are not charging enough You don’t have efficient processes in place to hold you accountable on time or money Accounting Finding a good accountant and learning how to manage your money is so important. Depending on the business you are in, your bookkeeping needs can be more or less than others, but getting set up in bookkeeping software and maintaining good fiscal responsibility can make or break your business. We use Quickbooks Online, but I hear great things about the Quickbooks Desktop version as well as some people using Freshbooks. As a self-employed individual, it makes life so much easier if you keep your personal and business finances separate. Different bank accounts, different credit cards, different expenses. This will help you in the future if (God forbid) you get audited, apply for grants, seek investors, or just to have a clearer picture of how your company is performing for growth. As much as I hate to admit it, Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet documents are your friends. I am not a technical guy outside of the creative industry, so it has taken me some time to fully embrace the data, but it is certainly something that cannot be ignored. Wrap it up, Melluzzo. Some of these points I’ve hit might seem to be glaringly obvious problems to solve, but in my experience, it’s easier to ignore the obvious problems while you are focused on specific details. Like every boxing coach worth their salt would say: Funadamentals win fights. These aren’t the sexiest topics to think about, much less act on, but they are the oft-forgotten/ignored building blocks that your creative business stands on. There are many other things to consider when starting and sustaining a business, but these are the ones that sit at the top of my mind all the time. I hope that this has been informative to those who are in a similar situation as I am and have been. If this article does it’s job, you should have more questions than answers. Luckily for all of us, Google exists. Use it…abuse it. Doing great work will only get you so far if you don’t have all your ducks in a row. To summarize, here are some of the key takeaways: Understand your internet presence and how it affects outreach and authority. Create repeatable processes for efficiency and profit. Get down and dirty with the numbers. If you don’t understand them, speak with a professional who does. (Accountant, Mentor) Don’t be a crappy person. People want to work with others that care. I am always learning, as a business owner, as a Creative Professional, and as a human. I’d love to hear some feedback if you thought this was useful, and I’m always down to elaborate on some topics if you had more targeted questions. If you hated it, feel free to drop me a line as well. I‘m open to criticism, and I want to share my knowledge with everyone else that stands to benefit from it. If you’re lucky, you might just get some sass in return. 😉
Read moreMay 18, 2020
The Keys to Smoother Credit Rolls (/w template)
We found a bulletproof method for getting smoother end credits in After Effects and also included a credit roll template for Photoshop and After Effects.
Read moreFeb 1, 2019
Filming a video interview: How to be a good interviewee
Here are some answers to common questions for people who are being interviewed on film for the first time. Using these tips will help bolster confidence.
Read moreMay 10, 2016
Spec Work: The Setbacks and Benefits
Tackling some of the hurdles posed by accepting spec work, and weighing if your time would be better served by seeking paid jobs
Read moreApr 30, 2016
Being a creative professional and a good sport
Didn't your mother even tell you that sharing is caring? Well, it is pretty important to share with other creative professionals.
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