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Chapter 8: Planning A Video

Now that you have learned all about researching YouTube, what video equipment you will need, how to brand your video with your URL, and how to upload the video, it is finally time to discuss some methods to actually create a great quality video.

A little bit of planning will go a long way to helping you create better videos.

Below, I’ve outlined 7 steps to making a video blueprint. A ‘Video Blueprint’ will make it easier to create a good video, and if you don’t want to make the video yourself, you can simply give the blueprint to a video producer and pay them to produce it for you (outsourcing resources at end of this chapter).

Step 1: Brainstorm

When brainstorming, it may help to find other videos that you want to emulate. Here you are just jotting down notes and ideas about how you might put together a promotional video. Anything goes...Any idea that strikes your fancy should be recorded.

You might imagine whether you want a voice to narrate the video, whether you want actors speaking, or whether you want a musical soundtrack (or any combination).

Spend a few minutes trying to visualize what a killer promotional video might look like...Is there lively techno music at the beginning? Or maybe classical music? What will your title screen with your URL (if any) look like? Will you personally be in front of the camera talking? Will you use actors in the video? Employees? Or will you just use images, or pictures of your product in action? Who will narrate the video? Do you need narration? What will be the tone of the video.. .Serious? Funny? What will the end of the video look like? Maybe the video will fade out and then show your company name and website URL.

Step 2: Create A Script

Once you have thought up a theme for your video, it is time to create some sort of script. The script doesn’t have to be perfect. You may discover new ideas you want to add to the video later or you may think of words that sound better as you are speaking them. But do you best to create some sort of script.Even a rough outline can go a long way towards helping guide you to video success and the smaller pieces will fall into place as you go.

Step 3: Choose Your Actors

*This step may not be applicable if you are not using people in your film. But if you are using humans, you have to think about who they are and what they’ll be doing in detail.

Getting Actors:

You don’t need to hire Erik Estrada to pitch your product. Some of the best people for the film will probably be members of the organization for which you are doing the project. Actual people who are related to the product or service in some way will be genuine, authentic, and fun. Using members of your company or even the company CEO is also easier on the checkbook!

Friends & Family:

The least expensive people to use in your videos are friends and family. While they may not be the most talented actors, you may find that friends who appear in the video will want to send a film to their friends , and on and on producing a viral effect.

Hiring actors:

The pool of hired actors available includes theatre and media students from the local high school or college and local theatre groups; and of course professional actors.

You may also want to consider voice talent if your video has a lot of narration. The voices you use in your video can make it wonderful or dull, so if you have someone else narrate your video, choose someone with a good voice without a mumble or monotone.

Step 4: Choose Your Backdrop And Lighting
Lighting:

Try to get decent lighting for your video. If you are shooting indoors in an area that has windows, open the curtains and let as much outside light as you can into the room. If there is enough sunlight, it can light up your shooting area. You may also want to look at artificial light, or experiment with different lamps for 15 second clips to see which works best. Try not to have so much light that you look like a deer in the headlights though. And remember, you don’t have to be ultra-professional, just do the best you can and remember that most of the videos on YouTube aren’t professionally produced, so people aren’t likely to notice that your lighting isn’t perfect.

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities English novelist (1812 - 1870)

Is The “Worst Of Times” Right Now, In 2008? The human race has gone through endless sieges of difficult times. Our current USA and global economies are suffering as we enter the 10th year of our new century. Financial institutions are toppling, people are losing their homes, and many do not have enough to eat, even in the USA. But ARE these the hardest of times?

This Ebook and the video with it, show without a doubt that indeed, each “section” of our time span on planet earth has held extremely difficult scenarios. Thanksgiving in 1951, right here on American soil, was hard for many families. Sixty years in passing has not done a whole lot to change the fact that Figure 4 - "Hearty Thanksgiving Greetings." This vintage postcard depicts a lovely girl in red shirt, blue skirt, and blue plaid apron. Her bonnet is white with a blue rosette. She seems to be talking to a large gobbler.

we don’t always “get” what we think we deserve out of life. Times change, but truly, times don’t change all that much!

What everything boils down to is a mindset. A belief system. And a knowledge that “this too, shall pass.” When one learns the deep benefits for being thankful in all situations, it literally can turn your world around!

(Shotlist: Overview Of The Movie)

[Educational Screen, Oct 1951] This film relates the experiences of a middle-class American family when they are stimulated to review the things for which they are thankful.

The Family Cannot Afford A Turkey For The Holiday

Bill Johnson, a garage mechanic, comes home from work on the day before Thanksgiving to find his children completely disheartened by their mother’s announcement that the family cannot afford a turkey for the holiday.

Shocked at his son Dick’s statement that there won’t be much to be thankful for, Bill gently reminds him and the other children that while turkey on Thanksgiving is a great American tradition, its presence sometimes obscures the real meaning of Thanksgiving.

Making A List - The Things They Feel Deeply

When Dick concedes that modern Americans are a lot better off than the Pilgrims, the others suggest that they all make a list of the things for which they are thankful. Their father cautions them to give serious thought to their list, which should include only the things they feel deeply. He then watches them mulling over their thoughts as they play during the evening.

The Belief That Family Unity Can Become World-Wide Unity At the Thanksgiving dinner table, each member of the family offers part of the thanks.

Tommy is thankful for plenty of food and free library books to read. Susan mentions clothing, Sunday school, and her family.

Dick gives thanks for a chance to get an education and a chance to play. Bill thinks as he looks at Baby Janet that she must be thankful in her own way for fun in the bathtub, playtime, and security.

Mrs. Johnson is thankful that her children can grow up healthy and strong, that she can guide them, that her family can have many of the modern conveniences, that she can have freedom of speech, and that Mr. Johnson’s job brings peace of mind.

Figure 5 - Just as in 1951, today we pray or meditate on world affairs. The wise choose an attitude of gratitude. Bill Johnson then finishes the list with the things for which he is thankful: a home with privacy, freedom from fear of political reprisal, the right to pick a vocation in which he is happy, freedom of opinion as represented by his newspaper, the right to vote, and the belief that family unity can become world-wide unity.

[Ken Smith notes --] The Johnson family -- Mother, Dick, Susan, Tommy and “baby Janet” -- are eagerly anticipating their Thanksgiving dinner when Dad (“Bill”) comes home with some bad news -- no turkey! “We’ve had a lot of expenses this month,” he explains, but the kids still want their giblets and drumsticks (“Even the pilgrims had a feast!” they whine).

Dad suggests that they spend some time “toting up the common, everyday blessings we all have to be thankful for,” and thus we find ourselves at the Johnson family dinner table, listening in on their Thanksgiving dinner prayers (with a heavenly choir “ahh”-ing and “umm”-ing in the background). Dick reflects that he likes being in a country “where school books are studied -- not burned”

Mother is grateful for “hot water out of the tap” Tommy gushes, “If I didn’t live in a country where there was plenty to go around -- goll-leee!”

Dad is simply thankful that when someone knocks on his front door, “it’s not going to be some political gangster come to drag us off to jail because we believe in freedom!”

Figure 6 - As in 1951, we are concerned for... and thankful for... our homes.

Things Weren’t Going So Well For The Free World In 1951 Centron really pulled out all the McCarthyesque stops for this film -- things weren’t going so well for the Free World in 1951, so perhaps it’s understandable. Dad: “For all these things, we are truly and humbly thankful. Amen.” Heavenly Choir: “Ahhhhhh-mennnnnnnn!”

In the midst of the Cold War, a family who cannot afford a Thanksgiving turkey instead counts its blessings. What they discover -- that what’s on the dinner table isn’t as important as the freedom under which we eat it -- is at once a cop to Cold War mentality and a rejection of rampant consumerism, Fifties-style.

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Motivation is perhaps one of the topics that is the least understood, yet most studied and talked about of our human traits. Yet there is no action we ever take that is not guided, persuaded and/or altered in some way by motivation.

Whether it's about gaining or losing weight, holding on to or saying goodbye to smoking, attending a business seminar or even buying new clothing… your every decision is influenced by your own internal motivational factors.

You know, even reading this book is being guided by your motivation. If you are really, truly interested in the subject matter and have a burning desire to learn how to become a successful entrepreneur, you will likely finish this in one sitting.

Being motivated or not being motivated makes the crucial difference between incredible success and disappointment for entrepreneurs. Basically, your motivation emerges from two sources… external and internal.

External motivation comes from outside sources like data, prices, success stories of similar people, etc. In contrast, internal motivation comes out from your own dreams, thoughts, desires, passions and even personal habits and shared experiences.

All human beings are very unique, as you are aware. And something that deeply inspires someone else may not influence you in the least (and vice versa). Therefore, it's still going to be you and only you who can determine what really works the best where motivating yourself is concerned.

You need to ask yourself what internal and external factors that are motivating you to become a business owner. And of course, only you know the exact steps you needed to boost up your own motivational levels in order to make your business become a reality and get it going a lot faster.

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Rope tricks rely on the illusion you give to your audience that you're doing something to the ropes when you're really doing something else. You need to be deft with your hands and to practice your tricks you have mastered it. You should also try to find videos of this trick being done.

Here is one classic rope trick that never fails to amaze children and adults alike. It's called the 'cut and restored' trick. Basically what you will tell the audience is that you 'cut' a rope into two pieces, say your magic words and 'restore' it back to one piece looking as if it wasn't cut in the first place. It will sound impossible and because of that, finishing the trick efficiently will result in more applause.

You will need sharp scissors for cutting the rope. The rope should be about 2 meters in length. You might also need to practice what you will say while doing your trick. Sometimes that will help you distract the audience more than the trick itself.

Show your audience your rope. Start telling your story while passing it around. Tell a few jokes perhaps to get things started. Then double up your rope and then triple it. You will end up holding three sections of the rope. If you could come up with some story for that too, then do that.

You should do a cat-shank knot on each end. If you don't know how to do this, just put one end of the rope through the larger loop and then around itself and put it down through the small loop that resulted with what you've done. Try practicing this bit at home as it is the most important part of the trick.

Tighten the knots in place and show to the audience that you have divided the rope into three sections. Tell them your story again. Just make them laugh while preparing the most anticipated part of the trick. Now you can tell them that you will cut the rope.

Now here is where the illusion starts. Yes, you will cut the rope but what you're cutting is the small section of the rope with the knot at the end. This will result to 2 new ends. Grasp this two ends and pull the rope tightly between your two hands. The knots will stay in place if you managed to remember to tighten the knots earlier.

If you have done this correctly, your audience will just think that you've cut the rope and is eagerly waiting for your next move both because they think it's impossible to make or probably skeptical that you can do it.