See What’s Out There

We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with YouTube to present the 4th Annual DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards! The contest will award a total of $10,000 in grants, funded by the Case Foundation, to the best videos of the year found in the YouTube Nonprofit Program—a special program that YouTube designed to help nonprofits achieve their missions. 


Starting today, submit any video your organization made last year by March 19, when a set of nonprofit and media professionals will select 16 finalists to compete in a public vote among the YouTube community. Awards will go to organizations of all sizes, including a special award for Best Innovation in Video. 


“We are thrilled to partner with YouTube for the DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards. With this contest, we get to highlight important nonprofit stories and help organizations engage with the YouTube audience,” said Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3 Communications. “In addition, we are grateful to have such wonderful partners who have been trailblazing how nonprofits use technology, video, and social media.” 


Now is your chance to get your nonprofit video featured on the YouTube homepage, receive great prizes from Flip Video and Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), and have your work showcased at a screening in Washington DC, hosted by Nomadsland.



Winners will be announced on April 10 at the Nonprofit Technology Conference in Atlanta.



Visit www.youtube.com/nonprofitvideoawards to enter today!


I recently put together a webinar about how nonprofits can use YouTube effectively. This issue has become much more important than it once was. When YouTube first started, all of 4 years ago, the quality of the video was bad, the audience wasn’t so huge and messages about changing the world just seemed totally out of place amid the poor amateur video that was appearing on the site.

My, how the world changes quickly. YouTube has improved so much in the past few years that looking at the early version would be hardly recognizable. The changes are too numerous to mention but the quality has improved, user control has improved and what people expect to find on YouTube and how they interact with it has also changed.

I have pasted my entire 1-hour webinar below. It has both audio and the slidedeck and I was told it was quite packed with useful info.

If I had to choose a few key takeaways, this is what I would tell you:

1. Search is critical. Not only are YouTube videos showing up in Google first-page results, but YouTube itself has become a top destination for searches. So if you don’t have YouTube videos for your key search terms you are missing out. YouTube is now a CENTRAL part of an effective SEO strategy.

2. The YouTube Nonprofit Program is The Bomb. If you are a US or UK registered nonprofit, and you are not religious or political in nature, apply for the YouTube Nonprofit Program, today. Right now. It gives amazing benefits to nonprofits in terms of branding and functionality.

3. The best part of the YouTube Nonprofit Program is linkable annotations—the ability to put links, anywhere in a video, that actually go to your website. “Donate Now”, or “Sign the Petition” become links that really work. Finally, YouTube has the potential to drive engagement. (You can watch how this works here).

4. No excuses. Even if you don’t have a budget and are stressed for time you can create a channel on YouTube and put videos in it. You can use existing video assets, repurposed video assets and make simple videos using a Flip Video camera or other low-cost consumer product.

5. Spend some time browsing nonprofit videos for ideas about what you can do. Most likely you will come across something with a style or tone that you think is perfectly appropriate for your message. Flatter them and copy their approach.

6. Fill your YouTube Channel with Favorites from complimentary organizations. There are great videos already online that speak to your message. Leverage those also. With the new YouTube channel designs, you can use these as a playlist on your channel.

Here’s the complete webinar. We are collecting questions about YouTube for future posts, so if you have questions, send them to info@see3.net

[This piece was originally posted as part of “Video Week” on Care2’s Frogloop blog. Thanks to Allyson Kapin and the Frogloop team for inviting us to participate.]

We love watching organizations take video into their own hands. The beauty of online video is that people are more interested in compelling content and stories than fancy camerawork. Pretty pictures can go a long way, but they’re not always necessary.

For those organizations jumping into video on their own, we’ve provided 5 ways to save money and do it right.

1. Plan Ahead

Equipment and software are not your only cost factors. Time, energy, and re-shooting all carry significant costs.

When scheduling a shoot, know what you need in advance and decide exactly what you want to capture. Even if you’re just documenting a live event, have a rough idea of what scenes and images you want to record. If you have these planned out in advance, then you won’t have to waste time going back and getting the footage right.

2. Choose the Right Camera for Your Needs

There are so many great cameras on the market today, but they’re not all going to be right for your organization. If you’re just shooting for the web, we recommend the Flip video camera. It’s cheap, portable, and perfect for online use. And nonprofits are eligible for good deals as part of the Flip Video Spotlight program.

If you’re looking for a solid, inexpensive hand-held, we like the Canon HV30. It allows for external mics and has high quality optics. If you do a lot of your own video and need to make a long-term investment, then go with what we use: the Sony EX3.

3. Get the Gear

Of course, making a video doesn’t end with the camera. There’s all the equipment that goes with it. Look for gear on Amazon.com or New Egg. Sign up for their alerts so you’ll be the first to know when something becomes available.

But also get creative. Instead of buying a tripod, use a table. Instead of buying professional lights, use the lighting around you and a couple of clamp lights from Home Depot.

Don’t skimp on the microphones, though! We’ve found that viewers are more willing to excuse poor visuals than poor audio. Good sound makes all the difference.

4. Take Advantage of Online Resources

For many people, Google is their #1 online resource. But for filmmakers and DIY video folks, try Lynda.com and Creative Cow for tutorials and training. For inexpensive music, try Music Bakery. For stock photos, try Fotolia. Check out Creative Commons, too—you might find quality photos that you can use as long as you attribute the source.

5. Create a Media Library

Get your calendar out and mark all the important events you want to capture on video. You may not have an immediate purpose for this footage, but it’s likely you will. If someone noteworthy visits your office, get the camera out and shoot a quick testimonial. If you’re on your way to a local rally, grab a still camera and take some pictures.

This past weekend, a group of progressive communicators from around the Midwest gathered in Chicago to kick-off PCN Midwest. The event was organized with the help of the national PCN organization and Chicago-based Community Media Workshop.

I was thrilled to represent See3 at the event and get a chance to spend two days with the diverse and talented activists and organizers that gathered there. Below are some tips I shared with the participants about producing web video on a budget.

3 Things You Should Know About Web Video:

1. Good audio is critical – viewers don’t mind if the picture is fuzzy as long as they can hear what’s going on

2. What kind of camera should I get? Here are some suggestions:

Price Range: $130- $300
Flip is good for minimal shooting but has no external mic input so you need to stay close to your subjects to pick up good sound.

Price Range: $600 - $1,000
Canon VIXIA HV30 is the best value for a consumer camera of its kind and is easy to use. It also comes with an external mic input so you can improve your sound quality with better microphones.

VS.

3. Where should I upload my video? YouTube vs. Vimeo

YouTube - quantity
YouTube has a lot of traffic and its videos can be embedded easily on most blogs & websites

Vimeo - quality
Vimeo looks great, both the player itself and quality of video (check out the See3 Guide to Online Video for an example)

Here are two examples of humorous and effective nonprofit videos that I shared with the group:

“Is it ok to torture?” - Amnesty International


“Insurance Company Rules” - Health Care For America Now

The Flip camera that we love, that revolutionized low-cost video cameras with the web in mind, has competition. The form factor has been copied and if you go to the store you can find other camera that look a lot like it.

The Kodak Zi6 is one such camera. It’s a little larger, but it seems to shoot better video than the new Flip MinoHD.

The Kodak Zi6 is selling for $179.99 on Amazon and it’s HD. The Flip MinoHD is $229 on Amazon.

Here’s a nice comparison of the video quality.

Flip Mino HD vs Kodak Zi6 from Fork You on Vimeo.

Link [Vimeo]
Hat Tip [Brian Thomas Fugate]

Even if your nonprofit is already involved in the world of social media, these 3 tips from David J. Neff of the American Cancer Society (which recently released the video platform sharinghope.tv) are helpful for expanding your online strategy:

1) Experiment - You should personally explore social networks before you make a profile for your nonprofit. That way you will understand the most effective way to publicize your organization and make meaningful connections on sites likes Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.

2) Buy a Video Camera - You should be making lots of video and some can be done in-house, easily and cheaply. While these videos will never replace professionally produced material, they can supplement your online content and be an effective way to engage people on social networks. You can buy a point-and-shoot camera like the Flip video for under $200. For a higher quality consumer camera, we recommend the Canon HV30.

3) Research - Don’t just look at what fellow organizations are doing, pay attention to what big corporations and creative agencies are turning out. You may not have the same budget but social media helps to level the playing field. For example, Michael highlighted Office Max’s One Penny Campaign in a previous post. Take a look and you’ll notice how little money or production quality you need when the idea is compelling.

Big companies have their perks. I have spent this week in Orlando as an invited guest of SAP to talk about Web 2.0 and its impact on corporate social responsibility. It is very important discussion about how web tools can put pressure on the enterprise to be social responsible AND be a tool used by the business sector to solve problems, in association with all kinds of stakeholders. Stay tuned for more on this.

But last night, we took a break from all that and went to a private concert with Eric Clapton. Yes, a private concert with Eric Clapton. Me and 15,000 other guests went to the Amway Arena (I assume where the Orlando Magic play). We used our conference badges to get in and then once in all food and beer were free. Yup, they went all out.

Clapton totally lived up to his reputation. He was awesome. And he had a pretty great band with him as well, including a left-handed guitar player who wasn’t do bad himself. He played lots of hits and Cocaine — not my favorite song — rocked out. It was hot. He did a one song encore of Crossroads.

I had the pleasure of sitting with Shel Israel, who had joined my group earlier in the day and was part of the broadcast part of our discussion. (I will post a link to the first part of our session once I find it.) Shel said he has seen Clapton 4 times over 40 years. The first show he saw was in 1969 in the summer. Cool.

Of course I took a camera. Here’s some of the video. It’s not great quality (it was actually my daughter’s Kodak EasyShare digital camera), but you can get a hint of what you missed.

Clapton opened with Motherless Children

He played Little Wing!

Some acoustic action as well…

Wonderful Tonight… this one takes me back…

Our world has been dominated by the 4:3 square box and it’s time for a change.

As Assistant Editor here at See3, our clients often ask me: why shoot widescreen? The term “widescreen” can also be called “16:9″ or “anamorphic“. The history behind widescreen is that it was originally adapted by Hollywood to give them a one-up on TV when it was first introduced. The reason you should use widescreen is simple: it gives you a larger view of what was filmed. More picture, more action in the frame, more for the viewer to enjoy. I think of it as taking blinders off a horse.

YouTube and other video hosting websites still squish 16:9 footage into a 4:3 frame, and put black frames on the footage, but this is changing. Newer websites have caught on and now play 16:9 footage in a 16:9 player. This has started to put the nail in the coffin of 4:3 and it won’t be long before all websites follow suit. As we usher in HD broadcast and HD footage, the world is going widescreen. When you shoot your next video, don’t get stuck in a box. Go wide.