#if there’s a player you’re interested in check to see if there are highlight reels on YouTube

[pwhl-mybeloved]

Hello. I'm a hockey fan and also an woman (probably). I love talking about hockey with other hockey people. Specifically, I like talking about the play on the ice and the way particular players and teams go about the business of doing the hockey. However, I've only just recently gotten into women's hockey (thanks YTG) and I don't know enough about the players and the teams to actually talk about the PWHL like that and I want to know.

I know that Kendall Coyne is fast, I know that Kristin O'Neill is a tenacious forechecker, I know that Aerin Frankel is Jusse Saros but...more, and I know that Marie-Philip Poulin is clutch. Beyond that, I don't know anything and I would like to know things.

Can you help me out? What kinds of things should I look for when next I watch a PWHL game? What kind of styles do each of the teams play? How is MPP so clutch when half the time it looks like she skates by falling over?

thanks for this question I’m gonna tag @strawberryblondebutch because my answer is going to be a bit lacking I fear

I spend the hockey games screaming and gasping and pointing at my faves, but I don’t often pay particular attention to the style of play for each player, which is what I think you’re asking about here. I also spend a lot of time watching the goalies over the skaters. Or I just watch the puck because that’s where the action is.

One thing I do like to watch is the special teams, during power plays and penalty kills, watching them set up the diamond in the offensive zone during a pp is sooooo satisfying 👌🏻

MPP is a mystery to me tbh. She has these moments of pure brilliance, and other times she’s kinda all over the place.

Some of my thoughts about players:

Emma Maltais is a ‘shit disturber’ she likes to get in the way & instigates ice crimes

Ann Renee Desbiens likes to go on Adventures more than most goalies, she’s always up to something

Sarah Nurse is great on the breakaway, I’ve loved seeing her succeed in that recently

To my followers, please add your commentary!

PS: so glad you’re here & enjoying the pwhl!!!

[zigzagzoom94]

Hey! Do you like tabletop rpg actual-play shows that are equal parts audio drama and improv comedy? You should check out the criminally underrated DnD podcast 'Dice Funk'. It manages to combine the comfy vibe of good friends chilling out together cracking jokes with some legitimately interesting worldbuilding that examines existing DnD lore and conventions to put its own spin on them.

 Each season is a self-contained storyline with new characters so you can jump in at whichever one sounds interesting (you might get spoilered for some stuff 'cos the PCs have a tendency to make world-altering decisions that still have big repercussions, even with the substantial timeskips between seasons, but otherwise they limit any references to earlier seasons to non-essential easter eggs to keep things accessible).

 Personally I started with seasons 3 & 4 and they served as a good introduction to some recurring concepts like "the World of Forms".

 Below the Read More I'll break down each season so you can see what appeals to you:

Season 1, "Stoneroot": A noir-esque black comedy that follows a trio of varying levels of competence attempting to solve a simple missing person case that spirals wildly out of control.

 I kind of think of this as the 'Here There Be Gerblins' of the show since it's the only season with a different GM so it has a pretty different feel to the rest of the show and takes a bit longer to find its feet.

 Personal Highlight: One of the PCs rolls a 3 Intelligence, leading to a running segment where that player brings up monsters from the Monster Manual and asks the other players if they think it has a higher or lower Int than that PC.

 Season 2, "Lorelai": A more lighthearted romp in which a cast of interplanar travellers explore the world trying to figure out the cause of a catastrophic flood and put a stop to it. According to the creators this was conceived as a cross between 'Princess Bride' and 'LoZ: Wind Waker' but morphed into more of a "moist Undertale".

 Personal Highlight: The first time the GM has to portray a mysterious entity making deals with lower life forms he decides to portray them like a wheeling-and-dealing used-car salesman and it honestly made every scene they're in a delight.

 Season 3, "Ilium": The party are trapped in a strange city that people can enter but never leave, taking whatever jobs will make ends meet. Inspired by 'Hot Fuzz' and 'Twin Peaks', this series places a lot of emphasis on how the supernatural elements affect people's normal lives and uncovering the many dark secrets these characters hold.

 Personal Highlight: The GM wrote a custom "Wild Magic" table for the party sorcerer with some absolutely buckwild shit on it. I was on the edge of my seat every time it was rolled.

 Season 4, "Valentine": A cyberpunk urban fantasy with near-future technology levels in which the cast struggle to make ends meet while doing shady jobs for uncaring megacorporations. If your familiar with DnD, this season's based on 'Shadowrun'. Probably the season most explicitly about how capitalism sucks.

 Personal Highlight: One of the PCs is a wizard who uses yugioh-esque trading cards to cast their spells instead of a spellbook. I did not anticipate being so invested in their rivalry with not-Kaiba and neither did the player.

 Season 5, "Markov": If you love unlikely found families then this is the season for you! It's a space-faring sci-fi story in a galaxy reeling from war with the colonialist Mind Flayers, setting the stage for a lot of political turmoil. If you're familiar with DnD, this story's based on 'Spelljammer' and absolutely riffs off of a lot of the bizarre ideas that setting introduced.

 Personal Highlight: The Son Gun. I will not elaborate on what this means but you'll know when you get to it.

 Season 6, "Purgatory": The season opens on a group of mortals who have just been resurrected and tasked with taking up the mantle of the Furies; interplanar assassins who traverse the various afterlives dealing with whichever god-like entities threaten the balance of power between the planes. If you've played 'Planescape: Torment' or are familiar with the city of Sigil you know what to expect.

 I honestly think this might be the best individual season of 'Dice Funk'? Everyone's really firing on all cylinders.

 Personal Highlight: King Badass has my heart. Y'all can't claim to support himbos and then not be supporting my favourite dumbass bae.

Season 7, "Wormwood": After all the previous seasons deconstructed a lot of elements of classic DnD ("what's up with certain species automatically being evil?", "isn't delving into a dungeon to murder its inhabitants and steal their stuff kinda colonialistic and messed up?", "how would access to magic actually affect the way a society functions?", etc.) this seasons brings this all together by having the closest set-up to a conventional DnD adventure. The world is post-apocalyptic and draws a lot of elements from the 'Dark Sun' setting.

 Personal Highlight: Two of the PCs are a cult leader and his follower and I thought I knew exactly what direction that storyline was going...then it absolutely surprised me.

 Season 8, "Grendel": I can't comment on this one yet since it's only just started but so far it has had a very cosy, 'Animal Crossing'-like vibe with a focus on a small community, in contrast to previous seasons' much higher stakes.

[solace-sun]

Not The Typical Way You Meet a Soulmate Chapter Two (Solangelo)

Over the years, Nico had become best friends with Gatorade, Pedialyte, and Ibuprofen, especially after nights like last. Nico used these like shields against his hangovers, but every so often he'd find himself in a drought of Gatorade, or maybe he would get too drunk to remember to hydrate himself. Either way, he always had to face the headache of a hangover once in a while; it was the price he had to pay for his fun.

He regained consciousness on his twin size mattress, with a dim and blurry recollection of the night before. Highlighted in his memory, however, remained Will's impression, his blonde locks, and careful blue eyes. The image made Nico's stomach do flips, but then again, that could just be his hangover.

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he became acutely aware of the piercing pain through his skull, the shakes that came in waves from his core, and the faint sense of nausea rising from his throat. He still wore last night's clothes, which now hung awkwardly off his frame; too tight in all the wrong areas and too loose in others.

He felt like shit.

The more awake he was, the more conscious he grew, the grosser he felt. Wrapping an arm around himself, he pretended to be anywhere but the present, wishing he was somewhere other than his besides his shoddy apartment, but the hammering pain in his head made it hard to focus. He ended up closing his eyes and wishing, praying, he could go back to sleep.

Maybe Nico enjoyed the drunken buzz he'd get at parties, but he never came to welcome the pounding hangover that followed. He never learned to embrace the feeling of a twisted gut or headaches like sledgehammers in his skull.

Unfortunately for Nico, last night's wrath didn't stop with a hangover, he wasn't that lucky. Last night's vengeance was about to enter for round two through the door of Nico's room, in the form of a very unhappy Hazel Levesque.

The door flew open, slamming against the wall behind it.

"Nico!" She shouted, "What the fuck man?"

Well, shit. She's mad about something.

Nico rubbed a sleepy eye awake, "Hazel... Please be quiet. My head hurts," He groaned.

"It's because you're hungover, isn't it?" She accused, "Whatever, that doesn't even matter right now. You got in a fight with someone at the party last night?"

"Who told you?" Nico asked, coercing himself to raise up.

"My friend who hosted the damn party, dipshit!"

"Hazel, I didn't even touch the dude. I would hardly call it a fight. Could you please leave me alone?"

"My friend has a hole in his drywall now! You can't keep starting shit at parties or pissing off people, or getting so drunk you can't remember what happened."

"I remember last night. I didn't blackout," Nico reasoned.

"That's a first. How long has it been since that last happened?" Hazel chided, pinching the bridge of her nose "Actually, no. Don't answer that. I'm gonna be late for class. I'll talk to you when I get home."

She spun out of the room and gathered her things. Before leaving, she called to him from the front door.

"I'm still mad at you still, but I love you!" Her tone was detesting, but Nico could appreciate the sentiment. He laid back, boring holes into the ceiling until his interest became fatigued.

After the ceiling had lost its appeal, he decided that maybe it was time to face the day. He rolled over to check his phone, stretching to reach it where it lay charging.

A text from Will was left in his notifications.

Will: Glad you made it home okay :)

Nico couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. He began to type out a response.

Nico: hey i just wanted to say thanks for walking me home last night

Nico: oh and also for not letting my shit get kicked in by a lacrosse player who was a foot taller than me

Will: Lol it was no problem, just returning the favor

Will: How's ur day been so far?

Nico: i mean i just woke up hungover, so not all that great :/

Will: I'm sorry to hear that dude! You know, they say a good breakfast is the best hangover cure

Nico: well thats unfortunate, all i have at my house for breakfast is pop tarts

Will: Are you serious?

Will: Let me take you to breakfast, I'll buy

Will: Call it the final pay back for everything that you did for me yesterday

Nico: i thought walking me home yesterday was payback? not saying im gonna refuse a free breakfast tho

Will: Walking you home was for the party, breakfast can be for the groceries

Nico: will you don't have to do that

Will: I know! I just wanted to show my appreciation :)

Will: There's a cafe I was thinking of. It's usually pretty quiet, and won't be too noisy. I can send you the address and meet you there in 35 minutes?

Nico: alright, see you there

Nico peeled himself from the hold of his twin-sized mattress. He shuffled to a pile of clothes that resided on the floor, scouring for something that wasn't yesterday's clothes to wear. He slipped on a sweatshirt and pulled the hood on; it was a hood-up kind of day. Before he left he swiped a pair of sunglasses laying on his nightstand, his last hope to buffer his headache from the sober world.

He came to find that it didn't help much.

His groggy walk brought him to the cafe doors earlier than he had anticipated, leaving him to anticipate Will's arrival. He stood idly at the cafe entrance with his hands stuffed in his pockets and his shoulders hunched. His head still pounded, and the talking of strangers passing by became sirens in his head. He had to remind himself this was all worth it for free breakfast.

Just before his waiting turned to worry, Will approached from down the street. The grasp around Nico's anxious heart subsided as he saw the familiar face.

"How are things going man!" He asked as he pulled the cafe door open with his good arm.

Nico couldn't ignore the headache piercing his skull, "Things could be better," he shrugged.

"Hey, once we get a little bit of breakfast, I'm sure things will get much better."

The inside of the cafe treated Nico's hangover much better than the outside had. The cool air and quiet atmosphere were exactly what he needed that morning. He silently thanked Will for being kind of a genius.

As soon as the two settled into their seats, Nico let his head lay on the table. Will gave him a sympathetic smile.

"That bad, huh?" He asked. Nico only nodded in response.

"Let me order for you. I know exactly what will help you out, dude."

"I will do anything, as long as it gets rid of this headache," Nico groaned as he propped himself up, resting his head on his hands, "Thanks for offering me breakfast."

"Thanks for carrying my groceries for me," Will grinned.

Before long, a waitress sauntered over, placing a pitcher of ice water and two cheap plastic cups in front of the two. She asked for their orders, of which Will ordered for the two of them.

Nico tuned their conversation out, getting lost in the scene outside their window. He watched the cars pass by, his eyes hidden by his sunglasses.

Will pushed a cup of water towards him to reel him back into the present.

"You need to rehydrate," he prompted. Nico did as he was told, and took small sips from the cup.

"How's your day been so far?" Nico asked.

"Pretty good. Though, I feel bad saying that to your face," Will joked. Nico shot him a look Will could see even through the dark glasses.

Will chuckled, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He put his hands up in defeat.

"How was the rest of the party?" Nico asked.

"Honestly? I didn't stay much longer after you went home. I checked in with my friends to make sure they were fine then called it a night. Guess it was just kinda boring without you there, starting fights and all."

Nico covered his face with his hands, "God, don't remind me about that," he grumbled.

"What? I thought it was sweet," Will responded.

"Yeah, I don't know," Nico started, "Drunk me thought I was doing something great, but my sister totally chewed me out for it this morning."

"Why?"

"I guess she's friends with the guy who hosted the party... And he's not too thrilled to have a hole in his wall, which could technically be my fault? I don't know," He explained.

"Oh, does your sister go to school?" Will asked.

"Yeah, she's a freshman, studies early education."

"Oh, that's cool," Will engaged. Then his eyebrows furrowed, and his expression became confused, "Can I ask a question?"

"That depends. What's the question?" Nico's tone was apprehensive.

"How come you don't go to school?"

Before Nico had the chance to respond, the waitress had returned and plates were being unloaded on the table in front of him. He looked down at the mystery meal Will had ordered for him.

"What the fuck is this?" Nico exclaimed, "Is this spinach in my breakfast?"

"Oh my god," Will rolled his eyes, "You know, everything on that plate is what they recommend you eat to get rid of a hangover."

"Okay, you know what? Fine. I'll eat your weird healthy breakfast, only because it's gonna make me not feel like my brain is trying to rot inside my skull."

He grabbed at a fork and stabbed his omelette with it, and took a bite.

"Oh shit," He spoke behind a mouthful of food.

"What?" Will gave a concerned look, glancing up from his own breakfast.

"This is actually really good," Nico admitted why a shy smile.

"See? It's not that bad. And it's good for you."

"Will," Nico began, "I want you to look at me in the eyes, and recall everything you know about me, which, granted, isn't a lot," He paused to take another bite of food, "And ask yourself if I really seem like the type of person who cares about which foods are good for me or not."

Will raised his eyebrows. For a second, Nico thought he had offended him, but Will erupted into that contagious laughter of his. Nico joined in, giving in to the pull of the laughter.

Will shook his head, his chuckles slowing to a stop, "Man, I guess you're right."

Will looked at Nico and smiled. Nico glanced back, if only for a second, and reciprocated the grin.

Then he felt the phone in his pocket buzzing. He reached down into his pocket and gave a quick 'sorry give me a second' to Will before answering.

"Hello?"

"Nico! Are you gonna show up for your shift? I've told you before man, you gotta give me notice if you're gonna be late."

Shit.

It was his manager.

"I wasn't on the schedule for today, I thought," Nico defended. Will looked up from his plate and gave a concerned look.

"Should have double-checked, I needed you here thirty minutes ago."

Shiiiiiit.

"Okay. I'll be there as soon as possible,"

"How long is that going to be?" His manager's voice rang through the phone.

"I don't know... I'm not at home right now, and I'm walking so... It could be twenty-five minutes. I'm so sorry, I didn't know I had a shift today."

"Do whatever you can to get here, I need your ass down here now. We're having a rush and we're understaffed."

"Right, okay. See you in a few," Nico responded, and ended the call.

"Do you gotta go?" Will asked, disappointment hidden in his tone.

Nico pursed his lips, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea I was on the schedule, but I gotta go now or I am so fucking fired."

"Do you need a ride?"

"Will, no, I can't ask you to do that. You're already paying for my meal," Nico explained.

"Nico, it's totally fine! I don't mind at all," Will insured, "I picked up my car from the shop yesterday, so we're good to go!"

Nico's brows furrowed while he contemplated the offer. After a moment, he agreed.

"I'm only accepting because I needed to be there, like, 30 minutes ago," Nico said, as he began to pack his things and leave. Will left a pile of cash that would cover the bill plus tip, and the two hurried out of the restaurant, and towards Will's beat up SUV.

When Nico walked through the back door of his restaurant job, he was met with several pissed coworkers and his manager.

"He finally shows up!" his coworker, Jason, exclaimed.

"About fuckin' time!" another employee called out. Nico ignored his coworkers teasing, and snatched his uniform from his locker, and threw it on, trying to smooth the wrinkles out while tugging on the sleeve. He clocked in, and rushed to the front of the house, to take his position.

As he sped to his spot, he bumped into his manager, whose only words were a muttered 'glad you could make it.' Nico gave a shy smile and grabbed a handful of menus before settling at his stand.

Working at a five-star restaurant was kind of like maintaining a well oiled machine -- if well oiled machines could be a dysfunctional team that somehow maintained the image of perfection on the surface. It was a stressful job, but it paid decently, all things considered, and sometimes Nico even liked his coworkers. In the very least, they were usually tolerable.

But today, Nico was up against the edge, still half hungover, and in the middle of a rush, he wished he could still be enjoying Will's company. Something about Will made his heart feel still.

Despite his longing to be elsewhere, Nico was, unfortunately, stuck at his job, taking the orders of people who didn't know mediocre, overpriced food if it hit them in the face. His least favorite part of the job was the customers, but then again, Nico was fairly sure if you asked any food service worker, they would say the same thing.

This rang especially true today. He was getting a headache  (And no, it wasn't just the remnant of his hangover) listening to an older woman complain about her food. He had tried to tune her out maybe five minutes into the lecture about why her food sucked, and why she deserved a refund with a complimentary meal, but he could still hear the echo of her nasally voice through his dissociative state. After the lady finished her spiel, Nico resumed his customer service voice and assured her she would be satisfied with a new meal, per company policy, and left the table.

He walked into the kitchen, ready to announce that he was going on break when his coworker slammed into him. Now, if his coworker had been empty handed, maybe everything would have been fine. But she wasn't, instead, she had been carrying out a meal, which was now plastered all over Nico's white, formal uniform.

Are you fucking kidding me?

"Oh my god! I am so sorry!" She exclaimed. Nico could feel the frustration and annoyance bubbling in his chest, rising up his throat. He shut his eyes, and inhaled, reopening his eyes as he exhaled.

"I am going on break," He spoke in monotone, attempting to disguise any anger in his voice. He dragged himself out back, and slumped onto a crate to sit on. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

Today's shift fucking sucked.

He pulled out his phone. In his notifications was a text from Will. The anger and frustration that held Nico's heart began to loosen its grasp.

Will: How's work? Hope you haven't been fired yet lol

Nico: not fired yet, just got angry looks from my coworkers for being 40 minutes late during a rush

Nico: maybe it's deserved though, it'd be pretty mad if i were them

Will: I mean, in your defense you didn't know about your shift, and you seemed like you genuinely felt bad so I wouldn't beat yourself up too badly :)

Nico: thanks, haha

Will: Quick question, do you have a ride home?

Nico: no i usually just walk home

Will: Do you want a ride? I'd feel bad if I just dropped you off with no way to get back home

Nico: you can't keep doing favors for me like this

Nico: I get off late anyway, you probably wouldn't want to drive around by the time I get off

Will: What time is your shift over?

Nico: uh

Nico: seven

Will: That's not even late

Nico: i don't need a ride, i'll be fine, i promise

Nico: thanks for the offer tho

Will: I will take it as a personal offense if you don't accept this offer, Nico

Nico: dont tell me that

Nico: like seriously though, i can't let you do this

Will: I feel bad just dropping you off like that!

Nico: i walk home all the time, its okay! i promise

Will: How often do you walk home hungover?

Nico: i mean, im not even hungover anymore so

Nico: but now that you've offered, it would be nice not to walk home for once

Nico: im only agreeing because you're practically begging me at this point

Will: I'll be waiting out back at 6:50 ;)

Nico shook his head and smiled, replacing the phone in his pocket.

As he smiled to himself, the back door swung open. Jason peered his head from around the door. He gave Nico a funny look.

"I don't think I've seen you smile before," He paused to think, "Ever."

"Oh, come on," Nico protested, "That's not fair."

"What's got you so happy? Surely not work, not after the shift you're having," Jason commented.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Nico taunted Jason.

"Don't be like that," Jason chastised, "Anyhow, boss wanted me to tell you that he wants you back inside, it's starting to get busy again."

"Tell him I'll be back out there in five minutes. Also, do you have a spare shirt I can borrow?" Nico asked, gesturing down to the mess that was now staining his shirt.

"I was just about to offer you my spare shirt. It's in my locker, let me go get it," Jason replied, holding the door open for Nico. He followed Jason inside as the heavy door slammed behind the two.

The rest of Nico's shift didn't improve by much, but at least he had something to look forward to. By the end of his shift, he never felt so welcomed by his hoodie and casual clothes, that hung loosely off his frame rather than the suffocating hug his work uniform gave him.

Clocking out was the best part of his day.

He walked out back, shoving the door out of the way and giving a curt goodbye to his coworkers. Will's car idled in the back alley behind the restaurant, awaiting his arrival. Will waved when he saw Nico emerge from the building.

"Hey, Nico!" Will exclaimed as Nico pulled the car door open.

"Hey Will," Nico started, "Thanks again for picking me up. I know I resisted at first, but like, I'm actually so glad I agreed. Would have been pissed if I were walking home right now."

"Man I don't know how you do it, walking every day" Will agreed.

"I mean you get used to it, but after some shifts I definitely wish I knew how to drive."

"So what, you never learned?"

"I mean, I never really felt the need to? Like some days I'm like 'yeah a car would be nice,' but most days I'm perfectly fine without."

"Have you ever thought about learning?" Will asked, glancing at Nico from the side of his eye as he drove.

"I don't know... I've always told myself I'd learn at some point, but I keep putting it off. Why?"

"I could teach you now, if you'd like," Will gave Nico a smile that meant trouble.

"What? No, Will, I'll total your car."

"It'll be fun! There's an empty parking lot we'll pass on the way back to your place, we can stop there and I can just show you the basics."

"What if I hit something?"

"Nico, dude, this car is worth at very most a total of 500 dollars. I wouldn't be ruined if this thing suffered a few bumps. It's the perfect car to learn in, you can't do any more damage to it than it has already suffered."

"I mean, I guess I don't have anything else going on tonight..." Nico gave a hesitant response.

"It'll be fun, I promise!" Will said as he flicked his turning signal and pulled into the empty lot. He put the car in park and opened the door.

"Okay, switch places with me," He prompted.

"Uh, okay," Nico gave some thought to hesitation, before stepping out of the passenger seat and into the driver's.

"Okay, look at the floorboard. Do you know which pedal is the brake and which one is for gas?" Will asked.

"Uh, the big one's the brake, right? And the small one is the gas?" Nico gave an answer even he doubted to be correct.

"Yeah! Okay, now put your foot on the brake," He instructed. Nico did as he told, gripping the steering wheel so tightly he thought he might break it.

"Great, now grab the gearshift, and put it into drive," Will explained, "You know how to do that?"

"Uh," Nico choked on his own words, "No?"

"That's okay!" Will assured. He reached over to gently hold Nico's hand, as he placed it on the gearshift. With his hand over Nico's, he pulled the gearshift into place.

"Now you're in gear!" He exclaimed with a bright grin. Nico's hand started to shake underneath Will's.

"What you wanna do now is let your foot off the brake, slowly though," As Will began, Nico lifted his foot off, and the car began to roll.

"Oh fuck the car is moving now," Nico cursed under his breath.

"You're doing good! The car is gonna move slowly as long as you don't hit the brakes. Now, I want you to take the same foot you just used the brakes with, and very slowly, press on the gas."

Nico placed a foot on the gas, and the car jerked forward.

"Oh god, I'm sorry," Nico groaned.

"Don't be! You're doing good!" Will encouraged, "Try again."

Nico lowered his foot back onto the pedal, and the car lurched once more. Surprised by the movement, he took his foot off the gas, giving Will a concerned look.

"It can be tricky to get the hang of, but you're doing really good so far!" He encouraged.

Nico's foot hovered over the pedal. Carefully, he began to press weigh to the pedal. The car began to move faster.

"Hey, there you go!" Will exclaimed, "You got it! Now, see if you can speed up a bit."

Nico pressed on the pedal, and the car roared, picking up speed. As the car gained speed Nico lost confidence, his chest began to feel tight. He could feel his hands tremor as he gripped the wheel, and he began to feel his throat close up. He slammed a foot into the brakes. The car screeched to a stop, causing both himself and Will to lurch forward in their seats. Nico's knuckles had turned white around the steering wheel.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Nico repeated, "I think... I think I'm done. Let's switch back."

"You were doing so well though!" Will reassured.

"No, I think I'm done," Nico confirmed, placing the car back into park.

"Oh, okay," Will's smile fell.

His shaky hands and nerves calmed once Nico returned to the passenger seat. He let out the breath he had been holding and rubbed his arms.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overwhelm you," Will said as he slid back into the driver's seat.

"Will, it's not your fault. I've... I've never been good at managing my nerves while driving. My dad gave up trying to teach me years ago because I'd just freak out whenever I was behind the wheel. I guess I thought this time would be different? I don't know..."

Nico felt a hand on his shoulder. Will ran a thumb over the skin on his shoulder.

"It's okay," Will ensured, giving a small smile to Nico, "I just hope I didn't make you feel pressured to do something you didn't want to."

"No! Of course not, I just thought I could actually do it this time. I mean there's a reason why I don't drive."

"You wanna talk about it?" Will asked.

"There's not much to talk about. It's just, like, my nerves... I just get so anxious behind the wheel. It's always been like that," Nico explained, fidgeting with his hands, "Like, I just personally think I shouldn't drive. There are some people out there who just don't drive, and maybe I should just commit to being one of those people."

"It takes practice," Will comforted, "You'll get it if you give it a chance."

"I don't know Will," Nico shook his head, "I can't drive in an empty parking lot, and I can't even imagine how I'd manage on a road with other cars. I don't know how you do it, especially with a broken arm, oh my god."

"I'm telling you, it's just practice. I mean, I guess the arm thing is a little hard to get around, but, I'm doing fine now, I think," Will spoke.

"Does it still hurt? Your arm?" Nico asked.

Will examined his arm, observing the curve of the cast, "No, not unless I move it the wrong way."

"I feel bad, you like, broke your arm," Nico began, "You said you've been playing lacrosse for seven years? And now, all of a sudden you just stopped? Don't you miss it?"

"I mean, yeah, I put so much of my time into it and spent so many years practicing. It was my sport and I loved it. And then, after I left the hospital, after talking to my coaches and telling them I was done... I realized, y'know, that I had put on my jersey, and played for the last time, without even knowing it, and that... That kinda sucked."

Nico nodded, watching Will as he spoke, "This whole thing sounds like it's been pretty hard on you."

Will turned to Nico, "This... may sound so stupid," Will laughed, "But you are so easy to talk to. Like being around you is just easy."

Nico smiled and nodded, "No, I get what you're saying."

He sighed and looked down at the floorboard.

"Guess I should be getting you home though, right?" Will asked as he started the engine. He pulled out of the lot and accelerated onto the road towards Nico's house. Will studied the road as Nico watched streetlights speeding by, their lights beginning to illuminate as the sun began to fall. A hazy shade of grey began to blanket the sky, and stars began to peek out from behind the veil. Will turned his head to steal a glance at Nico. For maybe a second, he let himself admire Nico's profile and the curve of his nose, the bend of his jawline, before pulling his gaze back towards the road.

He pulled into the apartment lot he had left Nico in the night before. As he pulled in, Nico looked like he was about to say something, maybe in protest, but ultimately decided against it.

Nico gave Will a soft smile and thankful eyes, "Thanks for the ride, Will."

"It's no problem, anytime," Will assured. He wanted to say more, but the back of his mind told him to remain silent, despite the pull in his chest. He didn't want this to be the last time he'd see Nico. He also didn't want to return to his empty apartment. He wasn't ready to be his only company again.

"Hey," Nico said, from outside the car, holding the door open and leaning in, "Text me later. Let me know what your schedule looks like so we hang out again. You're a fun guy to be with."

The tug at Will's chest rested, "Oh! Yeah, for sure!"

Nico closed the door, and left with a wave, as Will's car began to roll out of the lot.

Will exhaled a shaky breath, the feeling of loneliness beginning to flood his lungs. It was suffocating.  He drove home, trying not to lose himself to the feeling

As he walked into his empty home, he felt a buzz from his pocket. He opened his phone and saw Nico had sent a text.

just caught wind of a party happening tomorrow, any chance you're able to go? ;)

Will smiled to himself and felt some of the loneliness began to fade.

(Big thanks to my beta readers @embooks and @all-this-panic-still-no-disco !!)

[majornelson]

October 2019 Xbox Update Delivers New Family Settings Features, Wish List Notifications, And More

October is here and we know many gamers are already spending quality time with their favorite horror games (we won’t judge if you turn the brightness up). But never fear, we’re here to share lots of new features and improvements with the October 2019 Xbox One Update, which begins rolling out to everyone today. This month’s update unveils new Family Settings options to balance your family’s screen time, Wish List notifications, improvements to the Mixer viewing experience on Xbox One, the ability to refer Xbox Game Pass titles to friends, and even more improvements based on your feedback. Read on for a breakdown on each new feature and update.

App and game limits for Family Settings

With the October 2019 Xbox Update, we’re taking additional steps to improve our existing family settings that work across Xbox One and Windows devices. We’re giving parents more control over what their children see and interact with on the devices in your home, which is part of our commitment to make gaming a fun, inclusive, and safe experience for everyone. For us, that means offering tools that provide choice so families can create the right balance of screen time in their lives.

*With the new app and game limits feature, we introduce two new key elements to screen time:Parents can now set how much time their children spend within specific apps or games in addition to the total time spent on a device. Parents have the added option to set limits at the app or game level, enabling you to be more specific with how your kids are spending their time with technology.

*The app and game limits you set will apply across Windows devices and Xbox One. We want to provide families the convenience of setting this up once, and letting it carry over across your child’s devices. This means one hour of a specific game or app per day is one hour of that game or app – no trying to sneak in extra screen time by switching from one device to another.

Check out today’s Family Settings announcement for a full overview.

Wish List notifications

We’re excited to see everyone enjoying the Wish List feature on the Microsoft Store! The October 2019 Xbox Update enhances this feature with notifications to alert you when an item in your Wish List has a price discount. The new Wish List notifications will make sure you never miss a great deal on games you want. Check out and update your current Wish List here.

Mixer viewing improvements

Mixer is integrating even further into the Xbox One experience with the October update. We’ve built a full Mixer viewing experience right into the dashboard with a focus on speed and simplicity. Viewers will no longer have to navigate to a separate app to enjoy Mixer streams, so getting to the content you want to watch has never been easier! Simply click the stream you’d like to watch to seamlessly start watching.

Recommend an Xbox Game Pass title

Games are more fun when shared with friends. Xbox Game Pass for Console has a curated library of over 100 high-quality games, so you may find a gem that you want to share with your friends. You can now recommend a game from Xbox Game Pass for Console directly to your friend via a message or to your whole community via your activity feed or share to a club. Your friends will be able to easily get to the page for the games you recommend and can start downloading right away if they are an Xbox Game Pass member.

Recent Players improvements

Thanks to your feedback, we’ve made significant improvements to the Recent Players experience, making the service more reliable and allowing you to connect with the gamers you play with instantly. We understand the popularity of this feature and know it can be especially helpful with large-scale multiplayer games. You can now more quickly and easily engage with your Recent Players, whether you are sending a message, inviting players to a party, or adding them to your Friends List.

Under-the-hood game update improvements

Players can jump into their favorite games even faster with the October update. We’ve added improvements to automatic game updates, significantly reducing when you encounter the “update required” screen when launching a title.

Events app

Later this month, you may notice the Events app installed on your console. With Events, we will be introducing new ways for gamers to discover and be reminded of events happening within your favorite Xbox games or gaming communities such as a start of a new season or in-game holiday events. We’ll have more to share soon about how we plan to evolve this feature, so stay tuned for future announcements.

More flexible Capture Settings and Capture & Share experiment

The “Allow game captures” setting now has multiple options, giving you more control over your game capture experience. Previously, game capture could either be enabled or disabled in Settings, with certain games automatically recording memorable moments when this feature was enabled. With the October update, you may now select between “Captures by me,” “Captures by me or games,” or “Don’t capture” settings, providing you more choice over how you build your highlight reel.

In addition to the above, some people may also see an experimental update we are making to improve the Capture & Share experience. For now, we’re rolling out an improved “Capture & Share” tab for a limited portion of the Xbox One audience to gauge interest and collect feedback. We’re eager to hear their feedback before we share more.

The renamed “Capture & Share” Guide tab aims to improve usability by elevating your three capture options, “Record what happened,” “Start recording,” and “Capture screenshot,” to the top of the screen as well as allowing you to quickly revisit your last capture. When you’re ready to share, the following “Share to” menu has also been updated to focus more on what you want to do with your content – quickly and easily share it with your friends, the world via Twitter or your Xbox Activity Feed, or save it in your collection for safekeeping.

These updates are possible because of the Xbox Insiders who have helped shape these features, so big thanks to all participants for their valuable input. If you’d like to help shape the future of Xbox and provide feedback on early features, download the Xbox Insider Hub app on your Xbox One or Windows 10 PC today. You can also visit the Xbox Insider Blog here for the latest release notes, or join the Xbox Insiders subreddit to submit feedback and join the discussion.

We’re always working to improve your gaming experience on Xbox One and will have more announcements in store before the year is done. Stay tuned for more information and enjoy the October update!

via Xbox Live's Major Nelson https://ift.tt/2ATuGvN

[allegra0]

Franz Ferdinand 8-8-18

one of the best concerts i’ve ever been to and basically one of the greatest nights of my life.

sorry this is so long i just love them so much!!!!

I got to the venue around 5:30 when doors weren’t even going to open until 7. Even as I sat outside with only six people ahead of me in line, I was SO anxious about getting front row and I was really afraid that I wouldn't make it. I know this sounds weird, but when they let us into the theater and I bolted for the barrier and actually got it, I felt like I could finally relax for the first time in months.

I loved chatting with the people around me on the barrier! I don’t know any Franz fans in real life so it was nice to be able to talk to people about them.

I really enjoyed POW! They were fun. The keyboard player was cute as hell and her outfit was adorable. I was dying laughing at all the people in the audience who kept randomly yelling POW!!! between songs.

It was surreal when the lights finally went down and they came out. Bob and Paul first, then Julian and Dino...and then Alex, casually strolling onstage with his guitar in one hand and a mug of tea in the other. This video says it all. ♥

I was so happy they opened with Always Ascending! It's one of my absolute favorites of theirs and I feel like it's a great opener with the way it builds up. My memory of this song is a fucking blur because I was mostly just standing there attempting to process the fact that holy shit, this is happening, they're real!!!!! They're fucking real!!!!

They played Come On Home next (which I wasn’t expecting at all!!!) and they dedicated it to a woman in the front row, Reese, for her birthday. :’) Such a lovely song and the fact that they played it for her is amazing.

Alex had to stop during the second verse of Walk Away because he was having some sort of sound issues...they finished the song, but afterwards he had to walk over to the sound guy to get something fixed and he told the other guys to jam and told Bob to start lmao. So they all started awkwardly jamming and laughing and it was cute af.

When Alex came back they played The Dark of the Matinee which was AMAZINGGGG. The intro with Julian and Dino and Alex all on guitar??? So fucking cool. This was the song that sort of lowkey got me interested in them last summer (shoutout to @flakybandit ♥) which made it even better.

Come and dance with me...come and dance with me...now cOME ALL OVER ME MICHAEL

Lazy Boy is so much fucking fun!!! Alex played that shaker thing during the intro (idk what it's called) and then just fucking...flung it onto the floor behind Bob and it landed with a soft chhhk and I was dying. It was also cool to watch him counting out the 10/4 time signature in the middle of the song!

Alex held my hand during the second verse of Glimpse of Love!!!!!!!! aaaa 

It took me a second to recognize Lucid Dreams when they started playing, because I'm more familiar with the version on Tonight, but when I figured it out I fuckin lost my shit. I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH.

I was still reeling from hearing Lucid Dreams and then they fucking started playing EVIL EYE. SAJDJSDJ OH MY GODDDD. This song makes me so fucking happy. Screaming “IT'S RED YA BASTARD!!!” is definitely a life highlight.

I know I said that DotM is the song that got me interested in them last summer, but Do You Want To is the song that finally got me hooked on them this spring. I lost my mind a little bit haha. So much fun. They really drew out the “lucky lucky” part, which I loved. Alex was so into it dsjfjsf. Like yeah, Alex, you know what? I am so lucky. ❤️

Ulysses though ;o; I’ve loved that song from the moment I first heard it. I was a junior in college when it came out and I distinctly remember listening to it while walking around campus, rewinding the “you’re never going home” part over and over because I just loved it so much...yeah. Finally getting to hear it live was incredible.

The first song of the encore was Finally!!! This song means a lot to me for various reasons and I'm so happy I got to see it live. The whole band stopped playing during the little breakdown part in the middle of the song and Alex encouraged the audience to sing along. It was quiet because most people didn't know the song haha but he tried. (God, how it feels good to be with people like me.)

Feel The Love Go. Oh my god. I know I say this about a lot of Franz songs but I honestly think this is my favorite song of theirs. Back in May, when I was first getting into FF, I had a really horrible day at work. I felt like such a failure and I honestly wanted to give up and quit teaching forever. I remember listening to this song that night and the next day, and that was the first time I really paid attention to the lyrics. “For the things that you do are not who you are.” “Think of a friend and wish them love. Think of an enemy and wish them more.” It sounds ridiculous, but it spoke to me at a time when I really needed to hear it – and it kind of put some things in perspective for me. I love it so much. It gives me such a good feeling every time I listen to it. And it's so good live!!! Alex's dancing is impeccable, and I absolutely love when he gives his fucking sermons on feeling the energy and the love in the room tonIGHT!!! Fucking magical. ♥

One of my favorite things about concerts is how the energy in the room changes when a band starts playing their most popular song. The Killers with Mr. Brightside, Duran Duran with Hungry Like The Wolf, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones with The Impression That I Get...everyone just seems to come alive. That's how it felt to hear them play Take Me Out. I love it sosososo much. It takes me back to being 15, in a good way haha. Alex and Julian and Dino jumping at the beginning is cute as hell. I love those bouncy boys.

I'm pretty sure Julian noticed me at one point during Take Me Out, since he was in Dino's spot... I smiled at him and did a heart with my hands and he smiled :D

This Fire was insaneee. if you haven't seen FF play it live go check it out here (not my show but it sounded pretty much exactly the same). I loved the extended guitar jam in the middle! When Lexi and I were outside later talking to Alex, she told him how much she loved this version of the song, and Alex said he thought it was great, too! He said it's not always so drawn out, it all depends on whether he and Dino hit the right groove or not, and tonight they did. :D

Getting down on the floor and watching them through the barrier and then jumping up and dancing my ass off is another experience that I'll never forget. Part of me regrets not taking any videos of this, because it was fucking amazing, but I knew I had to just experience it. (Oh, how I burn for you. <3) Some more random observations from during/after the show:

Alex came back out for the encore with a second mug of tea

When he introduced Dino he referred to him as “the man that is loved by every cat in the world” :')

Julian has the longest legs known to man

Also Julian kept randomly giggling throughout the show jdsfjds so cute

Paul and Bob were so far away :( but it was cute to see them looking so focused and intense!

Alex has a nice butt. Thanks for coming to my TED talk

When Dino and I took our picture he leaned his head into mine (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

When I went to take my selfie with Paul we did that awkward thing where we both put our arms up so he was like “Here, I'll go up” sdjfsfj :’)

I wanted to talk more to Bob but I didn't know what to say! At least I got to tell him that the show was amazing and he thanked me :) What a cutie.

This is going to sound weird I think but like...Alex looked really nice in the dim glow of the streetlights in the alley? It really brought out his eyes or something haha. He's just so stunningly beautiful, and it's even more pronounced in person. <3

I almost didn't tell Alex how much their music has helped me this year. Lexi and I had taken our pictures and she was talking to him and he looked like he was about to head over to someone else and I knew it was kind of a now or never thing so I just...fucking did it. He smiled and put his hand on my shoulder and told me how much he likes hearing things like that and he hopes that next year will be better for me. :)

I was SO nervous to talk to them, especially Alex, but they all instantly made me feel at ease. They're just as lovely as everyone said they would be. If any of you ever have the opportunity to meet them after a gig, do it. They’re so kind and genuine and you can tell they enjoy getting to talk to their fans. 

It’s been a week since I saw them now and I’m not gonna lie, I’m sad and I miss them so much. Weirdly, though, I’m comforted by the fact that even though I don’t know where or when, I’m going to get to see them again (and maybe even meet them again!) and that’s enough to keep me going. ♥

[mikenips]

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy

I got back into bed after having my morning cigarette at three in the afternoon.  Still half a cup of coffee.  Just the right amount of Kahlua.  Enough to catch the notes of rum through the vanilla hazelnut cream.  But not overpowering to the point where you feel like shit for spiking your first drink of the day.  It’s not even five o’clock here yet.  A cigarette always tastes better when you smoke it in bed.  But you gotta get your fresh air somehow.  Probably won’t leave the house today.  Lots of editing to do on the documentary.

Crawl back under the fleece pineapple blanket.  Spoon a lump of sludge into my mouth.  Oatmeal.  Spent a lotta time avoiding the junk.  A coworker turned me onto it during a morning shift when I drank too much coffee on two hours of sleep and couldn’t see cause I hadn’t eaten at all.  I was always under the impression it would fill me up more.  But it’s fuckin’ oatmeal.  Just sits there.  Clumps up in your stomach.  Doesn’t do shit for ya.

Flip open the laptop.  White rocks stuck in the holes over the speaker.  Kief covered keyboard.  I really should finance for a better grinder than that shitty plastic thing I’ve used since high school.  Old reliable.  Works wonders on grinding.  But everytime you shove the top piece back in, clouds of kief mushroom around it.  Settling in puddles of sweat.  Every now and then the fingertips come back stained after a long editing session.

Camera lays next to the bed.  Sitting directly in front of the trash can.  A wall of VHS tapes stacked up next to the black cylinder.  Can only distinguish the different objects by the masking tape.  Chicken scratch Sharpied onto the cream backdrop.  I really should’ve dated all of them.  Not just the subject.  Can better timeline the filmmaker’s journey by knowing when each segment of the film was shot.  And now I won’t be able to track the dates.  Who the fuck saves emails and texts anyways?  Might be able to find a few from Instagram DMs.  But that’s all up to how the artist wants to portray the story.  Should the viewer discover chronologically?  Or should they piece it together and learn with the filmmaker?

Check the Hamtown Rats Facebook group.  It sounds like some gentrifier bullshit.  Young white people moving into a two square mile city.  Starting a Facebook group with all their friends that live there.  Very elitist.  Especially for a town where the majority of the population is below the poverty line and speak English as a second language.  But after all this shit.  More and more people come begging to live in the city that once had a dumpster running for mayor.

That’s literal too.

At least it’s a good way for neighbors to share shit they can’t afford to get on their own.  Posting which alleys have the best furniture to trash pick.  Or what bars have a pop-up kitchen each day.  Or other general bullshit.  Closest thing you can get to commune living here.  Never know what you’re gonna see walking through this town.  Which makes it so much more interesting what the citizens find to be newsworthy.  That’s what you gotta love about this city.  It’s a community of people that didn’t know where else to go.  From the Polish immigrants that founded it.  To the now growing middle Eastern population.  To all the artists and drunks that can’t afford anywhere else.  Everybody is a part of this community.

Last week people were tracking the journey of a wild turkey roaming the streets.

Today.  The first image that pops up through drops of Stroh’s dried up on the screen, the image of a local legend.  Sporting a fur coat.  Mardi gras beads slouching his back.  Bugler and beer in hand.  Only eye contact with the camera was the eyeball earring a friend had made.  Weird how it always looked to the side like that.  Sparkles shimmering in the purple skin around his eyes smeared by a finger with blue eyeshadow.  You never really were sure if he had gotten into a fight or just hadn’t slept in weeks.  Come to think of it.  Nobody ever had heard stories of him getting into fights.  He had a collection of handguns.  But no bullets.  Anything was possible with Bart though.

Barf.  That’s what his friends called him.  The nickname dated back to high school.  The burnouts he was friends with mocking him for puking when they introduced him to grass his freshman year.  Boys will be boys.  A good vomit joke always gets the laughs.  And of course when you tell any guy to stop, they never do.  So the name stuck.  I can still hear him in the interview.  “Fuck the name your family gave you.  Blood don’t mean shit.  I can get a transfusion whenever I want.  A nickname reflects the person others see you as.  And isn’t someone else’s perception of you better than your own?”

He had moved to the city after getting busted with a script full of Vicodin his first year at Wayne State.  Grandma bailed him out.  Mom said he could keep living with her after the bust.  He was an adult now.  Had to make his own decisions.  But he couldn’t bring any junk into her house.  So he got his own place in Hamtown.  Moved in with a girl he was seeing.  The split would happen not much longer after that.  But she didn’t wanna keep the shitty apartment split front and back.  So he took it over.

Sad to see the image.  It was taken at one of his house parties.  Nobody could pinpoint which one.  Not surprising though.  Anything was possible with Barf.

Skim over the stack of tapes.  Find the one labeled “Barf.”  Pop it in the VHS player.  Something about capturing all that stuff on tape.  Seems more real.  Seeing the actual tape move from reel to reel broke down the illusion to me more than watching the Instagram story highlights or YouTube videos that circulated the internet.  With all the fake news out there, you can never be sure where reality and illusion separate.  But wasn’t that kinda the point of art?  Or at least Barf’s body of work.  Pushing the boundaries of reality and illusion.

He was a magician.  Hard way to crack through the art world.  But somehow Bart managed to slip through the cracks.  To the bewilderment of some of the old heads that still were active in the DIY scene.  The urban legends that inspire locals to pick up the axe and start shredding away the stump that still remains.  Bart was slingshot to their status by his peers.  Many of them leaving a much bigger dent on the stump of culture than Bart.  Still, they cited him as a major help to their careers.  As he kept standing in front of the stump.  Curtain held over it.  Hoping one day he’d pull away and it would all be gone.  Some of us, kids my age that were sneaking into his shithole bar underage, believe the stump was never really there in the first place.  These notions were all just in our head.

The snow gives way to the glimmer of a bottom lip grill.  No top.  Mouth hanging open.  Gasping to the tune of “Zig Zag Wanderer” by Captain Beefheart.  Black octagon sunglasses still on in the room dimly lit by rock god prayer candles and ritual candles melted straight to the glass table top.  Greasy hair falling over his face.  Hiding the chain stretching from the industrial piercing in his left ear to the diamond at the lobe.  A knot of baby hair tangled in his right eyebrow piercing.

His head sinks into the penguin pillow.  A gift his grandma gave him when he was a kid.  The white face now gray.  Almost as black as the outer color.  Color chipping off his cracked fingernails.  Purple kimono barely covers his sunken stomach.  Skin detailing the texture of bone.  One floating rib on his right side.  Never was sure how that happened.  “Can’t hold onto everything that hurts you.”  It’s eerie thinking in other people’s voices.

“You ever do quads brooooooo…”  His now baritone voice trails off as the nitrous canister falls outta the cradle of his arms onto the dirty carpet.  The fiend in me wants to Hoover his carpets with my nose.  Someone like him probably doesn’t give a shit how much he spills.  Less getting in his bloodstream.  But part of me says he does regular cleaning on his own.

From the TV you can hear Scooby-Doo scratching his ears.  Doesn’t mute the PS2 game.  Just turns the record player up over it.  Gotta have that full sensory overload to really get in the head space.  “You wanna know the real story of how I lost this tooth?”

“Sure.”  It’s always a shock hearing your own voice on recording.

“So I woke up one day with the worst tooth pain I have ever experienced.”  He rips a line of blow without even lowering his shades.  Looks up and smiles.  “Like ‘em?  My buddy left them after a house show at my place.  His going away party on Devil’s Night when he joined the navy.  Used to run this really cool cassette label.  Always did my part by providing him a venue for releases.”

His palms thunderstrike together.  Shakes his hair violently.  “Anyways.  I shoved my whole phone in my mouth.  Capture a nice pic of the inside of my tooth.  Solid black.  So I get it yanked out.  Smoked three packs of Camel Blues through my nose while I waited out the dry socket.  That was when they did that Camel through the decades promo.  Still got some of the packs on my display of empties in the kitchen.

“Anyways.  Fuckin’ sidetracked.  What most people don’t know is I chipped the tooth at Jenkem.  Managed to get this insane Aussie garage band to play while they were touring the US.  Sold out show.  And this one fuckin’ asshole I knew.  Ian.  He fronted some shitty indie band.  Mac DeMarcore type sound.  Until I opened the bar he only knew me as the bowling bartender.  Even though I met him several times before working there.  And the asshole had been to my house for parties!

“All these shitty indie bands lived in the burbs.  But they loved coming to Hamtown and seeing the garage bands.  Made them feel like they were doing something they shouldn’t be.  And they’d smoke cigs at the bar.  Play pinball and pool.  Stand at the front of the pit.  But stand completely still.  Just kinda romanticizing our filth and flaws without having to see it at home.  Ya know.  Where daddy could pay to get them on Spotify playlists for publicity.

“So he begs me to let his band open.  And they didn’t fit the bill.  But they wanted a fuckin’ shit show.  So we gave ‘em a fucking shit show!  Sparked a joint during their set.  Tried passing it to him while he played.  But he refused.  All the homies booed.  Just dumb shit to make them uncomfortable.

“So the headliners go on.  I’m tanked by this point.  I mean.  I was tanked when I unlocked the bar that day.  But now I was just obliterated.  And somebody hit me from behind in the pit.  I fell forward.  Bust my tooth on this asshole Ian’s leather jacket.  That is standing completely fucking still front and center.

“Lost a third of the tooth.  But left a pretty nice scratch on the leather jacket daddy got him that afternoon for his ‘big gig.’”  I’m gonna miss that beautiful smile.  The kind of innocent smile of a child unsure what’s going on.  But knows he’s enjoying it.

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: EDITORIAL: Lessons on the New Future of Movie Theaters

Image: pxfuel.com

During this last month or so of our collective national and international quarantine, I’ve been holding the topic of re-opening movie theaters from my usual “What We Learned This Week” columns on the Feelin’ Film podcast for a “Soapbox Special.” There have been so many articles, so many perspectives, and so many rapidly evolving updates and changes that I couldn’t distill them down into one little lesson or column entry.

With several regions of America starting to re-open (including my own state of Illinois and city of Chicago), it was time to get on the stump and arm the cannons. I put some of what follows into spoken word recently on an episode of Mike Crowley’s “You’’ll Probably Agree” podcast, but the issue has grown since then. Click into the multitude of links in the lessons for the deeper referenced stories. They are well worth their reads and your attention. The theme of this all can be summarized as cautiously optimistic.

LESSON #1: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO GO BACK TO THEATERS — I’ll open this rant back in late May with polling from Variety. It featured a survey of consumer comfort. Here are some bulleted results in numerical order:

91% requested hand sanitizer stations

90% say the most important factor is a cure for COVID-19.

86% supported limited screenings for cleaning time

75% support employees temperature checks

70% would rather watch a first-run feature at home

61% would feel better about mandatory face coverings

60% support audience temperature checks

47% were comfortable buying concessions

46% were comfortable using public restrooms at theaters

There’s more there in that article, but those were the highlights. Beyond even that poll, you’ve got more and more segments of the population who won’t feel comfortable with any public event, let alone a movie, without a vaccine in place. Putting any number of these initiatives in place would be costly, especially for theater chain companies reeling on the edge of bankruptcy.

LESSON #2: WHAT DOES THAT FUTURE LOOK LIKE — Any of those changes from Lesson #1 would make for a very different setting than the “normal” way we’ve been going to the movies for the last century. Many editorials and articles (Seattle Times in May, Vulture in May, and Quartz in June) have tried to talk that out exhaustively with every guess in the clouds. For example, many of us have embraced reserved seating as a way to select our spots, skip crowds, and guarantee seats even if we walk in last minute to avoid 20 minutes of senseless trailers (I know that’s not just me, *wink*). The activity timeline changes upward if we are to stand in a line for temperature checks and even downward if there are no concession lines or needs anymore, which is a tremendous business hit to the theater chains that have been bolstering their kitchen capabilities and choices beyond candy and popcorn for the better part of the last two decades. The other word in there everyone wants to avoid is “crowds.” Can that be accomplished with roped off sections, skipped seats, or an all-reserved seating model (which some older theaters don’t fully have)? In the meantime, you’ve got companies fumbling financial footballs and poking public outcry bears (bravo Michael Phillips) over requiring or not requiring masks (and reversing courses) and other measures before they even open. Do you really trust them to get all of this right on the first try here in July?

LESSON #3: THE OPTION OF AUTOMATION — Piggybacking off of Lesson #2, one potential solution could be artificial intelligence, as crazy at that sounds. According to Variety in May, some theaters in Korea were considering “contact-free” technology. Theater chain CJ-CGV replaced its human staff with AI robots and automated kiosks for scanning and handling ticket transactions. Concession stands were replaced with app-powered and LED-controlled pick-up/delivery boxes. Leave it to tech-savvy Asia to be the tip of that spear. Could the likes of AMC or Regal pull stuff like that off, again, while teetering on financial failure? How do data-danger-minded consumers feel about that?

LESSON #4: COMPANY SURVIVAL IS PERILOUS — The first three lessons constitute a forecast and some great ideas, but who or what can afford those measures? After months of virtually complete closure, save for some door-front concession hawking, large theater chains, especially AMC (which includes the Carmike brand), are in the financial toilet. Bailouts and loans are hard to come by and “junk” status is hitting stock reports. You even have Amazon interested in gobbling up AMC, which would be quite interesting. It may require a rescue such as that. This peril is international as well with CineEurope reporting a possible $20–31 billion loss for the year. Even reopening isn’t an instant cure. The majority of profits for these companies are dependent on concessions because of the high ticket receipt percentages going back to the studios, a gouge that has been increasing over the years at the high blockbuster level (Thanks, Disney). If the food areas are closed due to viral fears and health code regulations, that destroys earnings. 50% capacities of social-distanced seating doesn’t help theaters either. Even 50% might be optimistic. There are theaters opening at barely 25% capacity.

LESSON #5: “TOO BIG TO FAIL” IS LOOKING FAILURE STRAIGHT IN THE FACE — And with that we reach the studios’ level of wallet hit with an inactive theater distribution market. Even with their demanded big bites of the pie, half-filled (or less) theaters do not help them either. This is especially the case at the blockbuster level. No matter the anticipation demand or potential staying power of a really big hit flick with less competition, it is exponentially harder to recoup $200 million-budgeted tentpoles and their $100+ million marketing campaigns if sizable fractions of the screens holding butts are gone or entire chains are shuttered. That’s why the really big stuff like Tenet, Mulan, Fast 9, No Time to Die, and more are not automatically landing on streaming services or VOD outlets. Even at a Trolls: World Tour-equivalent $20 price tag per rental (and its modest success), those giants cannot recoup those huge red balances versus getting a ticket for every head instead of every household. A little thing like The Lovebirds or Irresistible can land in the green with VOD, but not Wonder Woman or Black Widow. A business with a blockbuster class level of movies that once looked too big to fail making its worldwide billions is now failing because they have no place to go and no one able to come to their shows.

LESSON #6: STUDIOS DID SOME THIS TO THEMSELVES — Believe it or not, the studios have slowly damaged their own theatrical success/potential for years with the incremental shortening of the windows between big-screen premieres and home media release dates. Folks my age remember the months of interminable wait back in the VHS and cable TV eras before streaming services were even a glimmer in someone’s eye. For example, Forrest Gump hit theaters over the July 4th weekend of 1994. It didn’t land on VHS until late April 1995 after a long theatrical run and a winter Oscar bump. After that, it wouldn’t hit paid cable for another bunch of months and then years before basic cable made it “free.” By comparison, Joker opened on the first weekend of October last year, hit store shelves the first weekend of January 2020, and no one cares if it comes to HBO or Showtime because Netflix, Hulu, or VOD is cheaper and better. What used to be six months at the minimum (or even an entire year if you were a Disney release) has shrunk to merely 90 days on average. Sure, both Forrest Gump and Joker raked for their times, but it’s an indictment on patience versus money-grabbing. People that are willing to wait can now weather a pretty comfortable amount of time compared to the past for their 4K players and big-screen TVs in their dens. In our current COVID-19 state, we’ve all got nothing but time on our hands to do just that. Why risk health if personal patience versus some “fear of missing out” can pay one $20–30 digital download/disc price to watch a movie repeatedly instead of hauling the entire family plus concessions once, especially for something they don’t deem “big screen worthy?” The studios trying to keep the buzz constant with shorter waits will now see leverage backfire in favor of the consumer. For a current case of that, just look at Disney/Pixar’s Onward and the mere weeks it took to cave from the VOD rental level to dismissively dishing it to everyone in Disney+. With studios building their own streaming shingles, you’re going to see more of that or see more wins for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.

LESSON #7: THE PRICE POINT OF DIGITAL — Let’s go further with the digital wants of consumers versus the new risks and hassles of theaters. Circling back to that opening Variety polling again, remember that 70% would rather watch a first-run feature at home. And that was back in May. Imagine now knocking on the door of Independence Day, no matter how much antsy-pant anticipation and hope is out there. That same Variety polling screened respondents on online pricing with some keen results. It asked how much a “reasonable” price would be to stream top-quality productions in their home. Here are those results in numerical rank:

47%- $10

20%- $20

19%- only if it was free

6%- $30

3%- $40

1%- $50, $60, or $80%

That’s 67% holding firm at $20 or under and studios need to do their own projections of math. Regardless, welcome to a more than a little bit of the #firstworldproblems portion of this entire “Soapbox Special.” Movies are wants, not needs, period. They are lovely fulfillment, but non-essential. For every one of those 6% hardcore FilmBros and cinephiles with the disposable income to drop $40 or more to see their precious Christopher Nolan film, over 95% aren’t budging or can’t afford it. Check your privilege.

LESSON #8: ADAPT OR DIE — One way or another, change is needed at the highest level that trickles down to every screen in America. A popular industry that has weathered the advent of television, cable, and now streaming opponents and competition in its century of existence should be able to survive this. Or can they? With the Paramount Accords lapsed, is it time for studios to buy or build their own sustainable theaters to show off their own wares and keep all the profits they used to share with the chains? If studios instead mine the digital landscape successfully, do we really need multiplexes anymore? That is a question posed recently in The New Yorker by Richard Brody in a good read. They’ll need smaller budgeted films to do that, scaling so many things down. Go back to the roots. You can make a dozen solid indies or five or more star-driven mid-budget programmers like the industry used to do in the 1990s with the cost of a single MCU film. Reverting back to that level of business would require some baths and haircuts, but it would rescue the industry. It’s time to embrace those needs. In another angle, columnist Nick Clement on Back to Movies says the film industry is “f — ked.” In many respects, I highly agree with him and his fantastic stump piece speaking on unemployment and the public state of some of those aforementioned #firstworldproblems. Time and patience are the biggest needs.

LESSON #9: “ABSENCE AWAY MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER” — I’ve used this lesson before in “What We Learned This Week” and it’s time to end with it again. Shed away all the polling and conjecture. We all know the love for movies is there or we wouldn’t be talking about it. Look at the success of early openings and the lined-around-the-block comeback of drive-in movie theaters. It will be a topsy-turvy year, without question, even with a full return. We’ve had a zero-budget film named Unsubscribe streaking at an empty box office only to be dethroned by revival screenings of Jurassic Park putting it back to #1 in the nation, George Foreman-style, 27 years after it last ruled the multiplexes. If the year ended today, Bad Boys For Life would get the “biggest movie of 2020” championship belt in the record books. Just like Field of Dreams says, “people will come.” They just need to wait. Everyone, for that matter, from the greedy studio execs and sidelined movie stars to the lowly theater ushers and concession stand workers, needs to wait. This has sucked and it will keep on sucking, but the best answer is to wait and get through this better and healthier, personally and financially, than rushing and screwing it all up. The movies will be there. We want all the people to be there too.

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Arplis - News: The Ultimate Guide to Video Marketing

Brands need a video marketing strategy — this idea isn't new. What has changed is how important video has become on every platform and channel. Video is no longer just one piece of your overall marketing plan. It's central to your outreach and campaign efforts … especially your social strategy. Video has absolutely dominated social. HubSpot Research shows that four of the top six channels on which global consumers watch video are social channels. Why is this important? If you aren't creating video, you're likely falling behind. But don't fret. For most videos, the more simple and raw it is, the more authentic the content seems … and that's what really matters to your audience. Better yet, video production is more cost-effective than ever — you can shoot in high-quality, 4K video with your smartphone. Regardless, between camera equipment to lighting to editing software, the topic of video marketing can still seem pretty complicated. That's why we compiled this guide. Continue reading learn everything you need to know about video marketing strategy, or use the links below to jump to a specific section. Why should you focus on video marketing today? The last handful of years saw a surge in the popularity of video as a content marketing format. Specifically, in 2017, video rise to the top of your marketing tactic list. Video as a tactic was likely streamlined by your creative team as a one-to-many awareness play, with lots of focus on expensive production and little analysis to show for it. 2018 and 2019 transformed video from a singular marketing tactic to an entire business strategy. Today, video is a holistic business approach, meaning video content should be produced by all teams in a conversational, actionable, and measurable way. Learn how personalized video is shaping the future of marketing, sales, and customer service. According to a report from HubSpot Research, more than 50% of consumers want to see videos from brands … more than any other type of content. Video is useful for more than entertainment, too. Video on landing pages is capable of increasing conversion rates by over 80%, and the mere mention of the word “video” in your email subject line increases open rates by 19%. 90% of customers also say videos help them make buying decisions. But video hasn't only transformed how businesses market and consumers shop; it's also revolutionized how salespeople connect with and convert prospects and how service teams support and delight customers. In short, video is incredibly useful throughout the entire flywheel — not just to heighten brand awareness. Video can be a versatile tool for salespeople throughout the entire customer buying journey, and it can do much more than increase engagement. Backend analytics also help salespeople qualify and prioritize cold or unresponsive leads. According to Gary Stevens, head of research at HostingCanada.org, "retargeting our website visitors on social media has led to a 47% increase in visitor value site-wide." The granularity of video analytics on platforms like Facebook is one reason why, in 2018, 93% of businesses reported getting a new customer on social media thanks to video. The options are also endless for service teams — onboarding videos, knowledge-based videos, meet the team videos, support video calls, and customer stories are just a few ways that video can create a more thorough, personalized customer support experience. Lastly, according to HubSpot Research, consumers and customers actually prefer lower quality, “authentic” video over high-quality video that seems artificial and inauthentic. Video is within reach for businesses of virtually any size — team and budget alike. 45% of marketers plan to add YouTube to their content strategy in the next year. Will you join them? The 12 Types of Marketing Videos Before you begin filming, you first need to determine the type of video(s) you want to create. Check out this list to better understand your options. 1. Demo Videos Demo videos showcase how your product works — whether that's taking viewers on a tour of your software and how it can be used or unboxing and putting a physical product to the test. Learn how to use video in each stage of the buyer's journey. 2. Brand Videos Brand videos are typically created as a part of a larger advertising campaign, showcasing the company's high-level vision, mission, or products and services. The goal of brand videos is to build awareness around your company and to intrigue and attract your target audience. 3. Event Videos Is your business hosting a conference, round table discussion, fundraiser, or another type of event? Produce a highlight reel or release interesting interviews and presentations from the gathering. 4. Expert Interviews Capturing interviews with internal experts or thought leaders in your industry is a great way to build trust and authority with your target audience. Find the influencers in your industry — whether they share your point-of-view or not — get these discussions in front of your audience. 5. Educational or How-To Videos Instructional videos can be used to teach your audience something new or build the foundational knowledge they'll need to better understand your business and solutions. These videos can also be used by your sales and service teams as they work with customers. 6. Explainer Videos This type of video is used to help your audience better understand why they need your product or service. Many explainer videos focus on a fictional journey of the company's core buyer persona who is struggling with a problem. This person overcomes the issue by adopting or buying the business's solution. 7. Animated Videos HubSpot created the following video to promote a key (intangible) theme from the 2017 State of Inbound report. Animated videos can be a great format for hard-to-grasp concepts that need strong visuals or to explain an abstract service or product. For example,  8. Case Study and Customer Testimonial Videos Your prospects want to know that your product can (and will) solve their specific problem. One of the best ways to prove this is by creating case study videos that feature your satisfied, loyal customers. These folks are your best advocates. Get them on-camera describing their challenges and how your company helped solve them. Discover how businesses like yours used HubSpot to effectively implement marketing, sales, and service solutions. 9. Live Videos Live video gives your viewers a special, behind-the-scenes look at your company. It also draws longer streams and higher engagement rates — viewers spend up to 8.1x longer with live video than with video-on-demand. Live-stream interviews, presentations, and events, and encourage viewers to comment with questions. Learn how Facebook Live video can increase your social following and brand awareness. 10. 360° & Virtual Reality Videos With 360° videos, viewers “scroll” around to see content from every angle — as if they were physically standing within the content. This spherical video style allows viewers to experience a location or event, such as exploring Antarctica or meeting a hammerhead shark. Virtual reality (VR) allows viewers to navigate and control their experience. These videos are usually viewed through devices such as Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard. 11. Augmented Reality (AR) Videos In this style video, a digital layer is added to what you are currently viewing in the world. For example, you can point your phone's camera at your living room and AR would allow you to see how a couch would look in the space. The IKEA Place app is a great example of this. 12. Personalized Messages Video can be a creative way to continue a conversation or respond to someone via email or text. Use HubSpot Video or Loom to record yourself recapping an important meeting or giving personalized recommendations. These videos create a delightful, unique moment for your prospects and can drive them further down the purchase journey. There's a lot that goes into making a video. This section will walk you through the detailed process of creating and publishing a video for your business. Grab your camera and follow along. 1. Plan your video. Before you set up, record, or edit anything, start with a conversation about the purpose of your video. Why? Every decision made during the video creation process will point back to your video's purpose and what action you'd like your audience to complete after watching it. And, of course, without a clear purpose agreed upon by your team, you'll find yourself in a whirlwind of re-shooting, re-framing, editing … and wasting a lot of precious time. There are typically a lot of players when making a video. How can you ensure they're all aligned? Create a questionnaire using Google Forms or SurveyMonkey and pass it along to the stakeholders of the project. This way, you can ask the same questions of everyone and aggregate your answers in one place. Who's your target audience? What buyer persona are you targeting? This may be a segment of your company's typical buyer persona. What's the goal? Is it to increase brand awareness? Sell more event tickets? Launch a new product? Ultimately, what do you want your audience to do after watching the video? Where's the video going to live? On Facebook? Behind a landing page form? You should begin with one target location — where you know your audience will discover the video — before repurposing it for other channels. When's it due? Always start with a timeline. A video on which you have a few months to work will have very a different budget and creative scope than a video needed in a few days. What's the budget? Video can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be … if you set a budget. Do your research and set realistic parameters, especially before you answer the next question. What are the creative requirements? With your budget, skills, and resources in mind, think about the creative roadblocks that might arise. Do you need a designer to create lower third graphics? Are you going to create an animated video or a live-action video? What will constitute success for the video? Choose several key performance indicators that correspond with your video goals — or hop down to the chapter in this guide on measuring and analyzing video. 2. Script your video. There's a time and place for videos to be off-the-cuff and completely unscripted. You have tear-jerking documentaries, vlogging rants, and, of course, the holy grail: cat videos. That being said, most business videos need a script. If you skip this step, you'll find yourself editing more than you need to, releasing a video longer than it should be, and probably losing your audience along the way. Start writing your script the way you would begin a blog post — with an outline. List out your key points and order them logically. Do all of your drafting in Google Docs to promote collaboration and real-time commenting. Use the “Insert > Table” function to adopt one of television's traditional script-writing practices: the two-column script. Write your audio (script) in the left column and insert matching visual ideas in the right column. Don't make the viewer wait until the final seconds to understand the purpose of your video … we promise they won't stick around. Similar to a piece of journalistic writing, include a hook near the beginning that states the purpose of the video, especially for educational and explainer videos. Notice, in our example below, that we don't let the audience get past the second sentence without understanding what the video will be about. As you begin creating videos, you'll notice a key difference between video scripts and your typical business blog post — the language. Video language should be relaxed, clear, and conversational. Avoid using complex sentence structures and eloquent clauses. Instead, connect with your audience by writing in first person and using visual language. Keep the language concise, but avoid jargon and buzzwords. Following the “Little-Known Instagram Hacks” example, note how a section from the original blog post could be transformed for video by using fewer words and relying on visuals. Blog Post Version: “When someone tags you in a photo or video on Instagram, it's automatically added to your profile under "Photos of You," unless you opt to add tagged photos manually (see the next tip). To see the posts you've been tagged in, go to your own profile and click the person icon below your bio.” Video Script: “The bigger your following gets, the more people will tag you in their posts. You can find all of these under the “Photos of You” tab on your profile.” Most video scripts are short … probably shorter than you think. Keep a script timer handy to check your script length as you write and edit. For example, a 350-word script equates to a video that is nearly 2 minutes long. Words on paper sound a lot different than they do when read out loud. That's why we encourage organizing a table read of your script before you start filming. The point of a table read is to smooth out the kinks of the script and nail down inflection points. Have a few people (writer and talent included) gather around a table with their laptops and read the script multiple times through. If you accidentally say a line different than what the script prescribes, think about why and consider changing the language to make it sound more natural. 3. Understand your camera(s). Too often the fear and uncertainty of equipment keep businesses from trying out video marketing. But learning to shoot video doesn't have to be overwhelming. It's likely you have a great, easy-to-use camera right in your pocket: your iPhone. Shooting with Your iPhone Before filming with your iPhone, ensure your device has enough storage. Also, don't forget to enable your iPhone's Do Not Disturb feature to avoid distracting notifications while filming. Once you open the iPhone's camera, flip your phone horizontally to create the best possible viewing experience. Then, move close enough to your subject so you don't have to use the zoom feature — it often makes the final video look pixelated and blurry. Your iPhone might do a great job of focusing on the subject when you take photos, but when it comes to video the camera will continue adjusting and re-adjusting as you move around the scene. To solve this problem, lock the exposure before you press record. Hold your finger down on the subject of the video until a yellow box appears with the words “AE/AF Lock”. Shooting with Prosumer and Professional Cameras While iPhones are great for filming on the fly or becoming acclimated with video, at some point you may feel ready to graduate up to the next model. With all the digital cameras on the market, there are a ton of choices to pick from. Below we've identified a few options to simplify your search. The first choice you make will be between purchasing a “prosumer” camera and a professional camera. Prosumer cameras are considered the bridge between basic compact cameras and more advanced cameras. They're perfect for someone interested in creating more video but want the option to just press record. Most have a fixed lens to keep things simple. Professional cameras, like DSLRs, give you fine control over the manual settings of shooting video and allow you to achieve the shallow depth of field (background out of focus) that people rave about. While they're primarily used for photography, DSLRs are incredibly small, work great in low light situations, and pair with a wide range of lenses — making them perfect for video. However, DSLRs do require some training (and additional purchases) of lenses. If you're interested in going the prosumer route, take a look at the Canon PowerShot ELPH 340. The GoPro HERO5 is another fun option for adventurous shoots with lots of movement. Considering the expense of a DSLR camera, research your options and read plenty of reviews. Top of the line options (from most expensive to least) include the Sony Alpha a7SII, Nikon D810, and Canon EOS 5D Mark III. For a more cost-effective option, check out the Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon 80D, Nikon d3300, or Canon EOS Rebel T6. Understanding Your Camera's Manual Settings If you choose a DSLR, there are a few settings you need to understand before your first shoot: frame rate, shutter speed, ISO, aperture, and color balance. Definitely keep your camera nearby as you read — manual settings can seem quite abstract without testing them for yourself. But before we dive in, we want to stress that this is a high-level overview of each setting. If you find yourself wanting more, dive in and do some of your own research. There's plenty to learn about how to manipulate these settings and use them together to create different looks. Lastly, there will be a different method for adjusting these settings based on your specific camera. Always refer to your camera's instruction manual. Frame Rate As with video concepts, there are tons of customization options. The most basic customization option when it comes to frame rate is shooting your video at 24 frames per second (fps) or 30fps. Video experts often credit 24fps with a more “cinematic” look, while 30fps is more common, especially for videos that need to be projected or broadcasted. A good rule of thumb is to ask the end-user of your video what his or her preferences are and shoot based on that. Then, be sure your resolution is at least 1920 x 1080 to maintain quality footage. Once you've set your frame rate and resolution in your camera's settings, it's time to determine your aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Be sure to turn your camera to manual mode to control these settings. (While we'll define each of these individually, know that these three variables are meant to work in tandem with each other. In fact, many photographers use the term Exposure Triangle to describe how they relate to light and how it interacts with the camera.)   Aperture Aperture refers to the size of the opening in the lens. Like a human eye, a lens opens and closes to control the amount of light reaching the sensor. Aperture is measured in what's called an f-stop. The smaller the f-stop number, the more open the lens is, while a larger number means the lens is more closed. What does aperture mean for your video? When a lot of light comes into the camera (with a low f-stop number), you get a brighter image and a shallow depth of field. This is great for when you want your subject to stand out against a background. When less light comes into the camera (with a high f-stop number), you get what's called deep depth of field and are able to maintain focus across a larger portion of your frame. Shutter Speed To understand shutter speed, we first have to talk about photography. When taking a photo, shutter speed refers to the length of time the camera's sensor is exposed to light. Think of it as how quickly or slowly the camera blinks. If you've seen a perfectly timed photo of a hummingbird seemingly frozen in time, you've witnessed a very fast shutter speed. Meanwhile, an image of a rushing river with the water blurring together was probably taken with slow shutter speed. Shutter speed is measured in seconds, or in most cases, fractions of seconds. The greater the denominator of the fraction is, the faster the shutter speed. So, 1/1000 would be faster than 1/30. But what does shutter speed mean for video? We won't go too deep into the science of shutter speed, but to pick the adequate setting, you'll have to do a little math. First, multiply your frame rate by 2. So if you're shooting in 24fps, that would be 48. This number becomes the denominator of your shutter speed fraction. Since shutter speed is only available in a few increments, you'll need to round 1/48 up to the next closest setting: 1/50. Here are some common shutter speeds and how to calculate them: At 24fps, 24 x 2 = 48, equalling a shutter speed of 1/50 At 30fps, 30 x 2 = 60, equalling a shutter speed of 1/60 At 60fps, 60 x 2 = 120, equalling a shutter speed of 1/20 Remember, this process is just a guideline for choosing shutter speed. Traditionalists stick to these calculations, but there's always room to tweak shutter speed slightly to achieve a desired effect. In the case of video, rules can be broken — as long as you have a good enough reason. ISO Last in the Exposure Triangle is ISO. In digital photography and videography, ISO measures the camera sensor's sensitivity to light. On your camera, you'll see the settings referred to with numbers in the hundreds or thousands (e.g. 200, 400, 800, 1600, etc). The higher the number, the more sensitive your camera is to light … the lower the number, the less sensitive. ISO also affects the graininess of the image. Low ISOs produce a crisp shot, while high ISOs create a more noisy, grainy shot. When choosing an ISO, consider the lighting. If your subject is well-lit (for example, if you were outside), you can get by with a lower ISO, ideally around 100 or 200. If you're indoors in a low-light situation, you'll need to bump up the ISO — just be careful of how grainy it makes your shot. This is where you can begin to see how the three factors of the Exposure Triangle work together. When you have a low-lit situation, for example, you may choose a lens that can shoot with a low f-stop to let more light into the camera and avoid making the shot too noisy with a high ISO. If you're just starting out with manual video settings, don't be overwhelmed. Understanding the ins and outs of the Exposure Triangle takes time and a lot of practice. Here are two tips to beat the learning curve: Start with photos. By switching your camera off video mode, you'll be able to see the relationship between aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. Take a ton of photos and change each setting incrementally. Over time, the numbers will be less intimidating and switching between settings will make more sense — and become easier to apply to video. Form a process. Every videographer has their own method, but we suggest setting your shutter speed first according to the math described above. Then adjust aperture according to the depth of field you want to create. Then, ISO. Finally, circle back to shutter speed for any fine adjustments. While aperture, shutter speed, and ISO may be the three main pillars of manual photography and videography, there is a fourth piece of the puzzle that's just as important: white balance. White Balance White balance tells your camera the color temperature of the environment you're shooting in. Different types of light have different colors. For example, incandescent bulbs (like what many people put in a lamp) have a very warm color. The fluorescent lights (if you're reading this in an office, look up) are a little bit cooler. Daylight is cooler yet. Before you begin shooting, you have to adjust your camera's white balance according to your setup. The exact settings on your camera will depend on your model, but there's likely an auto option, a bunch of presets (daylight, cloudy, tungsten, etc.), and custom. Avoid auto white balance at all costs and opt for a preset or custom instead. If you have a top-of-the-line DSLR, there may also be an option to manually set the color temperature of the room, measured in Kelvin. To help you understand the importance of setting your white balance, consider the difference between these two photos. The environment is lit with yellow fluorescent lights. You can see how the appropriate setting looks natural, while the daylight setting adds a blue tint to the scene. Focus Focus isn't one of the key settings of shooting, but it's definitely important to keep in mind. With a DSLR, you have the option to shoot with autofocus or manual focus. It depends on the camera and lens you have, but typically autofocus is not the most accurate. Instead, flip your lens to manual focus. Use the (+) and (-) buttons to enlarge the viewfinder and move in close to your subject's face. Then, adjust the focus on the lens. For shooting a stationary setup like an interview, make sure the subject's eyelashes are in focus — that way, you can be certain your footage is clear and sharp. 4. Set up your studio. When you begin building your in-office studio, the purchases can add up quickly. Not only do you need a camera, but the more you read, the more you realize you need tripods, lights, microphones, and more. Take a breath. With a little bit of know-how, building your studio doesn't have to be overwhelming. There are plenty of cost-effective choices and DIY hacks to make sure your videos look top-of-the-line. Basic Equipment Always shoot with a tripod. It should go without saying, but the handheld method you use for your Snapchat story isn't going to cut it. Tripods will ensure you maintain a steady shot and not break any expensive equipment in the process. Tripods range tremendously in price, and the quality of your tripod should depend on the level of camera and lens you have. If you're shooting with your phone, you can get by with a table mount like the Arkon Tripod Mount or a full-size tripod like the Acuvar 50” Aluminum Tripod. For a DSLR, Manfrotto makes a variety of trustworthy tripods starting with the Manfrotto BeFree and increasing in quality and price from there. Along with the tripod, stock up on camera batteries and SD cards. Recording video will cause you to run through both much quicker than taking photos. Audio Equipment If you've begun testing out your camera's video capabilities, you've probably noticed that it has an internal microphone to record audio … don't use it. If you set up your camera at a reasonable distance from your subject, you'll quickly learn that the internal microphone isn't powerful enough to adequately record audio. Instead, you should begin investing in a few pieces of quality sound equipment. When you're shooting with your iPhone, there are a ton of microphone options that are all easy to use and decently cheap. For example, the Movo MA200 Omni-Directional iPhone microphone will give you a plug-and-play solution for capturing audio on the fly. Opinions vary greatly among sound engineers on the best method and equipment for recording audio with a DSLR. You've likely seen many videos that use a lavalier microphone — the small piece that clips below the collar of the talent's shirt. Lavaliers come in both wired and wireless options. However, lavaliers can be a bit obtrusive both for the talent (who has to have a wire threaded down his or her shirt) and for the viewer (who has to see a microphone for the whole video). Instead, if you know you're recording in a controlled environment (like a conference room in your office) we suggest recording with a shotgun mic. They're reliable, remain out of the shot, and record background noise in a natural-sounding way. To create a shotgun mic setup in your office studio, you'll need a shotgun mic like the Sennheiser ME66, a shotgun clip, light stand, XLR cable, and Zoom H4N recorder. The Zoom recorder will allow you to record audio separately on an SD card and adjust the gain for the environment you're shooting in. We admit these audio purchases may sound like a lot. But a shotgun mic setup is a worthy investment that will last for years. If you're looking for a more cost-effective solution, look into the Rode VideoMic that mounts on top of your DSLR and plugs right into the camera body. Lighting Equipment You have a camera. You have audio. Now, let's talk about lights. To outfit your studio without breaking the bank, head over to your local home improvement store. Pick up extension cords and a few clamp lights with bulbs. You'll also need three light stands, which are available on Amazon. The traditional setup of video lights is known as three-point lighting. As you might guess, it involves three lights placed strategically around the subject, wrapping them in light and creating appealing shadows on their face. First, you'll need a key light. Place this at a 45-degree angle to the left or right of the subject. Lift the light above their head and aim it downwards. As the name suggests, this is the key light and should be bright enough that it could be the only light in the scene … if it had to be. Next, place the fill light at a 45-degree angle on the other side and lift it close to or just above eye level. The purpose of the fill is to soften the shadows created by the key, but without getting rid of them completely. Therefore, the fill should be dimmer than the key light. If you have to use the same type of light for both, scoot the fill back and diffuse it by clipping a clear shower curtain onto the clamp light with clothespins. Finally, the backlight will add a third layer of dimension. Scoot your subject away from the background. Lift a light above the subject's head and place it behind them and off to the side so it's out of the frame. The light should be aimed at the back of their head, creating a subtle rim of light and separating them from the background. Setting Up Your In-Office Studio Now that you have all of your equipment, you're finally ready to build your office studio. While you could always grab a closet to store your equipment in, let's go a bit bigger and claim a conference room. By having a designated studio, you'll save loads of prep time for each shoot. Just make sure the conference room isn't too empty. If you have to, bring in a couch, chairs, or blankets to minimize the echos in the room. Speaking of sound, pay special attention to the hum of the air conditioning. Find a room with minimal noise or turn down the fan during recording. Consider purchasing photography paper to create a background that's a little more appealing than a white conference room wall. When it comes time to shoot, clear out unnecessary people from the room and turn off the overhead lights. With your three-point lighting setup, there will be no need for those harsh fluorescents. When — and only when — everything is set up, call in your talent. There's nothing worse than being nervous, and then having to anxiously watch as lights are turned on and the camera is tested. 5. Prepare your talent. If you have experienced, confident actors in your company, you're lucky. Video talent is a rare resource. But with a little bit of coaching (and a fair share of nervous laughter), you can help your teammates thrive in front of the camera. No matter if it's your first video or your fiftieth, remember that getting in front of the camera is scary. Schedule plenty of time and give your talent the script early — but make it clear they don't need to memorize it. Instead, place a laptop below the eye-line of the camera. Break the script into short paragraphs and record it section by section until you capture a great take of each. If you plan in advance when the final video will show b-roll (supplementary footage or screenshots), you can have your talent read those lines directly off the laptop like a voice over. During the shoot, your job goes beyond pressing record. First and foremost, you need to be a coach. Balance critical feedback with support and be quick to give encouragement after each take. This is why conducting a table read during the scripting process is so important: It's easier to give feedback when there's not a camera in the room. Remember, be a little silly during the shoot or your talent will be on edge and uncomfortable — and it will show in the footage. But while you're maintaining the fun level on set, remain vigilant. It's your job to pay attention to the little things, like making sure all of the mics are on or noticing if the lighting changes. Record each section many times and have your talent play with inflections. When you think they've nailed the shot … get just one more. At this point, your talent is already on a roll, and options will help tremendously during editing. Finally, circle back to the beginning of the script at the end of your recording. Chances are your subject got more comfortable throughout the shoot. Since the beginning is often the most crucial part of the video, record that section again when they're feeling the most confident. Composition Basics There are some films that are simply beautiful. It's not the story or even the picturesque setting. In fact, the scene might take place in the dingiest of sets, but somehow each shot just feels right. That's the power of composition. When objects appear where they should in the frame, the quality of your video increases exponentially. For video, the rules of composition are similar to what you may have learned in a photography or art class. First, consider the rule of thirds — the idea that you can create a sense of balance by imagining the canvas with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. Key elements should occur at the intersection of these lines. For example, if you are shooting an interview or a how-to video, the subject's eyes should align with the top horizontal line around one of the two intersections. For this “talking head” shot, you can also improve your composition by leaving enough (but not too much) headroom. This is the empty space above the person's head. Source One of the best ways to improve the look of your video is to include b-roll. B-roll is the supplementary footage included as a cutaway. This might include shots of a customer service rep talking on a phone, a designer editing your website, visuals of your office, or even screenshots of your product. The key with b-roll is to make sure each and every piece enhances the story. When you're collecting b-roll, include a mix of shots from varying angles and distances. In fact, film professionals use different names to describe these variations. Establishing Shots: Wide shots allow the viewer to see the entire scene. These are great to use when introducing the scene at the beginning of a video. Medium Shots: Tighter shots that focus on the subject or a portion of the scene. Your classic interview shot could be considered a medium shot. Close-ups: Tightly cropped shots zoomed in to show detail. These might feature someone's hands typing on a keyboard or pouring a cup of coffee. As practice, try telling a story with your b-roll and planning out a shot sequence. For example, your subject might open a door from the hallway, walk into their office space, sit down at their desk, open their laptop, and begin typing. Seems simple, right? But a shot sequence showing this 10-second scenario might consist of six or more different b-roll clips. Here's where the final lesson of composition comes in: continuity. Continuity is the process of combining shots into a sequence so that they appear to have happened at the same time and place. A key part of continuity is making sure any ancillary objects in the scene — for example, a cup of water on a desk — stay in the same place (and have the same amount of water) throughout all of the shots. The other part of learning continuity is match on action. For the scene described above, you'd want to record the subject opening the door and walking in from both inside and outside the room. In post-production, you could then flip between the clips at the exact right time to make the cut seamless. 6. Shoot for the edit. When it comes to video, some are better at shooting while others are better at editing. Whatever side you claim, you should understand the process and pain points of each. For instance, as the person behind the camera, you may believe you collect ample footage and ask all the right interview questions. But to the editor, you may actually be shooting too much of one type of shot and missing out on some that would make their job easier. Filmmakers teach a valuable lesson here: shoot for the edit. By remembering that the footage you record will be edited later, you can make smarter decisions and save countless hours in the editing room. The first step in adopting a shoot-for-the-edit mindset is remembering to leave a buffer at the beginning and the end of each clip. There are called handles and can save editors from the headache of cutting too close to an important shot. In the section on preparing talent, we discussed how to record your script in short sections. If the editor were to stitch these sections together side-by-side, the subject's face and hands might abruptly switch between clips. This is called a jump cut, and for editors, it poses an interesting challenge. Thankfully, this is where b-roll comes in handy, to mask these jump cuts. Example of a jump cut As a producer, your job is to capture plenty of b-roll to make sure your editor never runs out. Create a shot list of more b-roll ideas than you think you'll need and mark them off as you record them. To mask jump cuts, you can also shoot with two cameras, especially if you're recording an interview without a script. Camera A would be the traditional, straight-on shot. Camera B should be angled 30 to 45-degrees to the side and capture a distinctly different shot. The editor could then flip between these two views to make the cut appear natural. Example of switching between interview angles A note about shooting with two cameras: Your editor will need to sync the footage between the different views. To help them do this, clap your hands loudly in the view of both cameras right before you ask the first interview question … yes, just like an old fashion clapboard. Modern editing software has auto-sync features, but this loud clap will help you initially line up the clips. Finally, mark your good clips. Even if you're recording a scripted video, you might have to record each section 10 or more times. Once your subject nails the take, wave your hand in front of the lens. That way, the editor can scrub directly to this visual cue and save time on footage review. 7. Organize your footage. Yes, file organization is boring. But when video editing, it just might save your project. Capturing video will force you to take a hard look at your computer and file organization habits. If you're one of those people who work off a cluttered desktop — you know who you are — you'll find yourself in a world of hurt. First, video format files are incredibly large, so it's very unlikely you'll want to store any of them on your internal hard drive. You'll quickly run out of storage, and your computer's processing speed will begin lagging under the weight. Instead, invest in an external hard drive like one of the Lacie Rugged models. External hard drives come in a variety of sizes and port options (Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, etc.). Multimedia creators will use the phrase “working off of an external” to describe storing all of their project files on this hard drive. This method also makes it easier to collaborate with teammates because you can easily share the drive. Second, video editing programs are very particular about where you keep your files. If you don't stick with the original file structure, you may find yourself buried in error messages. (We'll cover software options and best practices in the next section.) On your external hard drive, you should create a separate top-level folder for each project. Within this folder, there should be a prescribed set of “buckets” to store your video footage, audio, design assets, and more. Create a template project folder that you can copy and paste for each project using the image below as a guide. When you import your footage from your camera, place it in the “footage” folder on your hard drive. For both the project folders and your editing files, follow a consistent naming structure. For example, you could start each name using YRMODA (year-month-date). So a video on Instagram Hacks might be named “180625_instagram_hacks” if it was started on June 25, 2018. Even with a perfectly organized external hard drive, you're not yet out of the weeds. You need to back up your files (and maybe even back up your backup files). It's not uncommon to have an external hard drive for everyday work, another external for backups, and a third set of backups in the cloud via Dropbox or Google Drive. 8. Edit your video. Okay, you've filmed your video footage. Congrats — you're halfway there! Now it's time to talk about editing. We get it, video editing can be confusing. It's easy to feel overwhelmed at first, especially when you see software price tags! Luckily, there are many options for video editing based on your skill level, operating system, and budget. There are even free programs and mobile apps! Let's go over a few options. Intermediate: Apple iMovie iMovie is Apple's video editing software. Compatible with Macs and other iOS devices, iMovie is simple, user-friendly, and free on all Apple products. iMovie allows you to create and edit your videos by cutting together clips, adding titles, music, sound effects, basic color correction, filters, and special effects. The program even provides helpful templates that simplify the editing process. The platform supports high-quality clips like 4K video footage and makes it easy to share your work directly to a video hosting platform. Limited access to advanced color correction and editing features mean it isn't commonly used by professionals, but iMovie is still a great option if you're just starting out. Advanced: Adobe Premiere Pro Adobe Premiere Pro is a leading video editing software program used by amateurs and professionals alike. With a customizable interface and numerous advanced editing tools, the platform is often called the industry standard for video editing and has been used to edit major Hollywood movies like Gone Girl and Deadpool. Premiere makes it easy to collaborate with other editors, organize your material, and sync with other programs in the Adobe suite like After Effects and Photoshop. The platform supports high-quality footage (4K and higher) and includes advanced, built-in color correction and grading tools that set it apart from cheaper or free options like iMovie. The only downside to Premiere is the cost. A year-long subscription to the latest Premiere Pro CC comes in around $240. If you're new to video editing, you may want to experiment with a cheaper option like iMovie or Adobe Premiere Elements before investing in the Premiere Pro. On the fence? Check out some Adobe Premiere Pro tutorials here. 9. Choose your music. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about video? I'm guessing the actual video footage. While it's important to concentrate on your video footage, don't forget to factor music into your overall plan and budget. Music is a powerful tool that can alter your video's mood and tone — just watch the videos above! Choosing the right music often makes the difference between an amateur project and a professional piece of content. When used properly, it can help keep your viewer's attention, evoke emotions, and define your overall editing style. Before you start filming, set a music budget and research your local copyright laws. Copyright law can be very difficult to decipher, especially when you're dealing with digital content. Bottom line: Most music isn't free. If you use another artist's music without permission or proper licensing, you risk video removal and legal action. In order to avoid copyright infringement, you'll need to find royalty-free tunes or pay a composer to create an original score. Royalty-free songs aren't free to use; they're quality songs available for a single flat fee. This means you don't have to worry about paying additional licensing fees or royalties in the future. YouTube, Pond5, and PremiumBeat are all great sites to find royalty-free music. Next, consider your audience and the overall mood for your production. Are you targeting a small audience that will appreciate the newest, underground hip-hop track, or do you need something that will appeal to many demographics? Are you creating a practical product tutorial or an upbeat event recap? Be sure to choose music that enhances the overall tone of your video. In addition to considering your audience, be sure to contemplate the purpose of the music. Do you need background music or something with real impact? Will you be narrating or speaking in the video? If so, don't let the music get in the way of your content. Sometimes the best music is the music you don't remember at all. After you've determined the type of music you need, it's time to start analyzing potential songs. Consider the song's pacing. Songs with a steady rhythm are easy to change to suit your video style. Hoping to include your favorite, Top 40 hit? Popular, radio songs are usually structured in 4-5 parts and can be difficult to transition. Try to choose simple songs that are easy to loop. If you're looking for an instrumental song, be sure to find something that was recorded with real instruments. Songs made with digital samples can make your video feel unprofessional and out of date. Finally, consider adding intro and outro music. Intro and outro music, or bookends, can serve as a theme for your content. These are a great choice if you don't need music throughout your entire video. Bookend music can help set the tone for your video, naturally split your content into chapters, and leave your viewers feeling they had a complete experience. While some videos feel unfinished without background music, others just need a few tunes to tie the project together. Pay attention to videos that have a similar style to see how others utilize music. 10. Record your voice over. You have your video footage and music — now it's time to chat about voice overs. A voice over is the separate video narration that's not spoken by the speaker on-camera. Voice overs are an effective tool that can help make your content more relatable, emotional, and fluid. It's important to remember that video audio is just as important as video visuals. The good news is that you don't have to be the next Don LaFontaine or hire a professional to record a great voice over. Below are a few tips to capture audio on a budget. Find a location. Decide on a spot to record. If you can't go to a professional studio, try to pick a quiet room away from distracting external sounds like sirens, opening and closing doors, and people talking on the phone. Read your script aloud, and pay attention to the room's acoustics. Does your voice echo or sound muffled? If so, consider recording in a different space or adding furniture to fill in the room. Prepare. Practice makes perfect! Before you record, read through your script a few times and take note of any difficult pauses, transitions, and words. On the big day, be sure to stay hydrated and avoid wearing noisy clothing or jewelry. Also, use a stand, laptop, or teleprompter while recording so you aren't rustling through a printed script. Test and listen. Think you can record the perfect voice over in just one take? Think again! Invest in a good pair of headphones and keep an eye on your audio quality throughout the recording process. It's easier to get a new take of audio than trying to fix it during the editing process. We recommend running through your script a few times, especially the first few paragraphs, to ensure that your voice is fully warmed up. If you hear popping or hissing sounds, try standing further away from the mic or invest in a pop filter. Relax! Be sure to read slowly, pause, and take breaks while recording your voice over. Sometimes all you need is a sip of water to get back on track. Video Hosting Platforms You're ready to publish your video. You shot the footage, edited it together, added music and a voice over, and exported it for the web. Now it's time to get your video online so your audience can start viewing, sharing, and engaging with it. You have several options for hosting videos online, and in this section, we'll talk about some of the best ones. YouTube When you ask your friends which online video platform they use, the answer you probably hear the most is YouTube. YouTube is the largest video hosting platform and the second largest search platform and second most visited website — both after Google. Every single day, people watch over five billion videos on YouTube. It's also free to upload your videos to YouTube and optimize them for search. In addition to its massive audience, YouTube offers several other features that make the platform a good option for hosting your video. Because YouTube videos are hosted on individual channels, the platform allows you to build a dedicated audience of subscribers. Users who follow your channel are more likely to see additional videos you upload. Within your channel itself, you can also organize videos into playlists, making it easy for your audience to search within your content. As a social platform, viewers can engage with your videos by liking and commenting on them, providing you another chance to interact with your audience. YouTube also offers a variety of advertising options for more sophisticated targeting. Although YouTube offers the benefit of reaching a large audience with no cost to upload and host videos, there are several downsides to the platform. While video ads can be a great tool for promoting your own content, the number of ads on the platform from other advertisers can detract from your viewer's experience. YouTube is also (surprise, surprise!) highly addicting. 83% of viewers prefer YouTube over any other video platform. Once viewers are on the platform, they usually stick around to watch another video … or 20. This can make it difficult to drive traffic back to your site from the platform. Despite these barriers, YouTube is a great platform for hosting videos and growing your audience. Vimeo If your friends didn't answer your earlier question with “YouTube” then they most likely responded with Vimeo, the second largest video hosting platform. Vimeo's audience is significantly smaller (715 million monthly views) than YouTube's, but there are still many benefits that make it a favorite for content creators and viewers alike. Among these is a simpler, cleaner, user interface that makes it easier to navigate the platform. Unlike YouTube, Vimeo has very limited ads and commercials that would otherwise detract from your viewers' experience. Videos on Vimeo also tend to be higher quality than on YouTube, and the audience on the platform is likely to be more professional. Vimeo offers several different premium account options to better suit businesses. The premium accounts provide additional storage, advanced analytics, customer support, player customization, access to lead generation tools, and much more. In addition to premium accounts, Vimeo also partners with businesses to produce quality marketing content. If you're looking to showcase high quality, artistic content, Vimeo might be the platform for you. Its engaged audience and beautiful aesthetic make it a great place to host creative videos. However, if you're focused on quantity over quality and increasing your reach, you may want to explore other platform options. Vidyard Vidyard is a video hosting platform built specifically for businesses. It's not just another option to store and manage your videos; instead, it allows you to become a fully video-enabled business. Here's what we mean. These days, we know posting your video to YouTube isn't enough. You need channel-specific video content for Facebook and Instagram, not to mention for your website. Enter: Vidyard. The platform allows you to publish and update to all of these places from a central location. From this portal, you'll find all sorts of viewer insights. Discover what types of video content your audience likes and how they watch their videos. Then, channel those insights directly into your marketing automation software or CRM. For example, if that prospect you've been monitoring views your latest case study video, you'll be notified straight away. One of the coolest features of Vidyard is the ability to personalize videos with the viewer's name or company directly in the video design. This is a creative addition as you begin working video into your marketing and sales strategies. How to Create a Video Social Media Strategy We've learned how to create high-quality videos for your business. Now, let's make sure those videos fit within each social network's best practices. Creating and posting videos on social media should always help you drive toward your existing marketing goals. For example, if your goal is to get more people to download an ebook, you could create a short teaser or how-to video and post the full link to the ebook's landing page in the copy of your social post. Let's drill down into best practices for each social network. Twitter Promote a new blog post, engage with your audience, or even drive viewers to a landing page with Twitter videos. When teasing a blog post or piece of content on Twitter, always keep your video short and sweet – brevity is a core factor on this channel. Short clips that are easy to consume tend to perform the best. Try pinning your video to the top of your profile for some added exposure. If you want to get a little more experimental with using video on Twitter, you can try making short, custom videos to engage with your audience. These highly personal, one-to-one response videos are an awesome way to make your brand more human while building personal connections with your engaged followers. Facebook and Instagram When you walk onto a bus or train for your morning commute, how many people are scrolling through their smartphones to see the news and content they've missed overnight? Pretty much everyone – but not everyone is wearing headphones. For this reason, make sure your video works with or without sound. BuzzFeed is the master of silent auto-play — just take a look at their Facebook page. The reason their silent auto-play strategy works so well is because of this rise in mobile video views and the way people scroll through and consume content on social media. They often post quick recipes or quick how-to’s, often with easy-to-follow imagery or helpful text to describe what is happening. Source Facebook also favors longer videos in their newsfeed algorithm. The goal with this shift is to better surface videos that are most relevant to the viewer. So what does this mean for you? Don't panic; this just confirms what we already know is true. Creating the "right" content for your audience is more important than churning out it out for the sake of it. Secondly, upload videos directly to Facebook. Facebook continues to make a compelling case for uploading your videos natively to the platform — the primary reason being that your content will be seen by more eyes. Brand awareness videos that are light-hearted and entertaining tend to perform well on Facebook for this very reason – their algorithm takes into account a user's previous video-related actions when determining what videos to show them on subsequent visits. Make a video that's super relevant to your audience, share it on Facebook, and see what type of engagement you can drum up! Lastly, grab attention instantly... and keep it. Did you know that Instagram was the first social channel to initiate silent, auto-playing videos? It's true! Shortly after, Facebook followed suit, so it's safe to say that catering to this type of video when creating content for social media is the way to go. It might seem daunting to try and grab someone's attention so fast and without sound, but here are a few best practices you can use to make things easier: Start off your video with motion to grab your viewer's attention while they're scrolling through the feed. Videos that feature people speaking are great for landing pages or your website, but try to stick to visually stimulating videos for Facebook and Instagram (unless you're going Live, which we'll talk more about later). Incorporate text or include captions so that viewers can follow along with or without audio. YouTube On YouTube, post with a specific strategy in mind. Think of YouTube as a giant library of video content where people go to either educate themselves or to be entertained. YouTube reports over 1 billion unique users per month – sounds like a social media gold-mine, right? Well, sometimes, yes. There are, however, a few questions you should ask yourself before going forth with posting every video you've ever made to your YouTube account: Can you make the specific video content they're searching for there? Do you need these prospects to end up on your website? If you're purely seeking some broad brand awareness, YouTube could be an awesome channel for you? (Just don't expect much in the way of driving tons of traffic back to your site.) Establish and grow a dedicated channel of subscribers by creating informative, educational content that is in high demand, and you'll start to see some real success! LinkedIn For a long time, LinkedIn was one of the less video-friendly social networks, that's changed. Users can now upload videos, and brands (whether that's your company brand or personal brand) can now get even more creative with the content they share. Considering this fairly recent development, what should you be considering when creating and uploading LinkedIn videos? LinkedIn recommends four different themes for creating video to be used on its platform: 1. Show it. If you're in a fast-paced industry that's always evolving, brands and thought leaders can take the lead by showcasing new technologies in video format, or providing tutorials on how a new physical product works. 2. Transport them there. Video is the perfect medium for giving audiences a taste of what it's like to really be somewhere. The most obvious use case here is industry conferences and events. If your company hosts them, uploading videos of the event to LinkedIn is a great way to demonstrate the buzz you're creating in your industry. If you're working on your personal brand, bringing snapshots of the things you're learning at the event to your connections can be the perfect way to help your community or develop your own thought leadership by sharing your perspective of everything that's happening there. 3. Teach it. If you have a time-saving hack to share or have learned something new that might help other people in your network, video is a super effective medium for sharing that knowledge. If you're thinking about this on behalf of your company, ask yourself what your buyer personas often struggle with, and see if you can teach them a solution in video format. 4. Share it. This is one for the opinionated amongst us. If you have thoughts on a recent announcement or piece of industry news, let people know what you're thinking in a video! Likewise, if your company has some news, or has made a recent key hire that your followers and wider industry would want to hear about, a video is a personable take that can be used alongside the traditional press release. Of course, you don't have to stick to these four themes — get creative and test to see what works best for you. Lastly, upload videos directly to LinkedIn. Here's how to create and upload a video for LinkedIn: Go to the LinkedIn app and tap the video icon in the share box in the top right-hand corner. Select the video icon to record now, or choose a pre-recorded video from your phone's camera roll. If you chose to record now, you'll begin recording a video inside the LinkedIn app itself. Add a description to your video to sit alongside it when you post. Hit Post and your video will start to appear in your followers' feeds. Live Video: Facebook & Instagram While Instagram's traditional features let users record short video clips and post them online afterward, new live features on Facebook and Instagram take a different approach, allowing users to post live video streams of what they're doing at that very moment. When you’re setting up videos for Facebook Live or Instagram Live, make sure you’re following the steps in the first section of this guide. If you do this, you’ll have much higher quality live videos, which will set you apart from other live videos being shown. In addition to these steps, we have a few more things to keep in mind. Consider timing. Keep in mind that your live video will be broadcast from the platform (Facebook or Instagram) itself, so that's where you'll be promoting your broadcasts primarily. Do some research on your Facebook/Instagram audiences to find out when they're most engaged with your posts. Even if some of your followers miss out, the app will save your videos to the app by default (although you can delete them manually if you want to), and they'll be available for viewing by your followers after the fact. As for the length of your video broadcasts, remember that most people's attention spans are fairly short — especially on mobile. If your broadcasts aren't captivating from the get-go, users will likely stop viewing your stream. Spend time coming up with a compelling title. It's vital that your title describes what your video is and why people should either tune in now or replay your stream later (up to 24 hours). Here are a few styles that make effective titles: Straight-Forward: Sometimes, the most effective title will tell people exactly what you're going doing in the video. For example, Elijah Wood once posted a live video with the title "Jellyfish" whilst visiting the aquarium — which is exactly what the video showed; nothing more, nothing less. Exclusive: A title that lets users believe they're seeing exclusive footage can be super compelling. For example, you might broadcast a video titled, "I'm live from my show!" for all the viewers at home. Another version of this could be "A Backstage Look Into..." or something along those lines. Unique: Broadcasting something unique, rare, or just plain weird? Own it. One of my personal favorites was, “My Fridge: 100 Viewers and I’ll Drop Eggs." Respond to comments live. One of the coolest features on Facebook is that people who are watching your stream in real time can comment and "like" the broadcast (which show up as hearts, like on Instagram). Other viewers are able to see these comments and the number of hearts your video has. Acknowledge or even respond to these comments out loud on the live broadcast to encourage engagement and make the experience feel like more of a two-way conversation. Experiment with use cases. Since Facebook and Instagram Live features are still relatively new, there aren't solidly defined ways to use it, especially for brands. This is a unique opportunity for you to experiment with different ways of using it and what type of content your audience likes most. Facebook Live lets you analyze a few key stats you'll want to keep track of while you're figuring out what works. Once your video ends, the app lets you see how many live viewers you had, how many viewers replayed your video, and how many hearts your video received (this number updates automatically as users continue "liking" your video from the time it ends until it expires). Finally, as you experiment with different recording environments, keep in mind that background noise is easily picked up by microphones — so you'll want to make sure you're in a relatively controlled environment if doing a more serious or professional broadcast. How to Use Video Throughout the Flywheel Too often, companies jump at the opportunity to create their first video. They spend tons of money on an explainer video for their homepage, but as soon as the project is complete, all future video ambitions screech to a halt. On the other hand, plenty of businesses churn out a slew of social videos. But since they've simply replicated fads they've seen, their videos hardly consider their audience's challenges or habits. Considering the time, money, and resources involved, video marketing can't be an impulsive guessing game. Instead, you need to create a comprehensive video marketing strategy that applies to every facet of your flywheel. This means thinking in the context of the inbound methodology. The inbound methodology is the marketing and sales approach focused on attracting customers through content and interactions that are relevant and helpful. Each video you create should acknowledge your audience's challenges and provide a solution. Looking at the big picture, this content guides consumers through the journey of becoming aware of, evaluating, and purchasing your product or service. In the following sections, we'll cover the types of videos you should create for each stage in the image above. To start, plan to create at least two videos for each. Don't forget to include call-to-actions to help lead your audience through their purchase journey and into the role of "promoter." Over time, you can improve based on conversion rates and the content gaps you discover. Attract The first step of the inbound methodology is to attract — or turn strangers into visitors. Consumers at this stage are identifying their challenges and deciding whether or not they should seek out a solution. Therefore, the videos you create should empathize with their problems and introduce a possible solution in your product or service. Ultimately, the goal of this kind of video is to expand reach and build trust. Because you are looking to garner shares for your video, it'll likely be more entertaining and emotion-evoking than educational. But, you should still provide enough information to associate yourself as an authority on the topic. Examples of videos in the “attract” stage include snackable social videos that show off your brand's personality, thought leadership videos that establish you as a source of industry news and insight, brand films the share your values and mission, or explainers and how-to videos that provide relevant tips for solving your audience's pain point. Discover 75 tips for creating, sharing, and optimizing video for Facebook and Instagram. For any "attract" video, avoid speaking too much about your product. Instead, let your brand values and personality be your north star(s). Finally, because these videos can live on a variety of channels, keep in mind the strategies of each platform. For example, a Facebook video might have a square aspect ratio and text animations for soundless viewers. Convert Now that you've attracted video viewers and website visitors, the next step is to convert these visitors into leads. With most inbound marketing content, this means collecting some sort of contact information via a form. Video can aid this process by visualizing a solution to the buyer's problem, whether that's before the form on a landing page or as the offer itself. Overall, the goal of this kind of video is to educate and excite. "Convert" videos may include a webinar filled with tactical advice, product demos sent via email, landing page promotional videos, case studies, or more in-depth explainer and how-to videos. For example, while an "attract" video might provide a quick tip for nailing a sales pitch, a "convert" video could be an animated explainer video that breaks down the inbound sales methodology. Close You've attracted a new audience with your videos and converted the right visitors into leads. Now's the time to close these leads into customers. Yet, as important as this stage is, "close" videos are often the most overlooked by marketers and salespeople. At this point, the consumer is weighing their options and deciding on the purchase. Therefore, the goal of this kind of video is to make your audience visualize themselves using your product or service — and thriving. There's a reason 4X as many customers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it. Videos are able to display functionality and leverage emotions in ways a product description never could. Great "close" videos include testimonials of customers with relatable stories, in-depth product demos, culture videos that sell viewers on your quality of service, or even personalized videos that explain exactly how your product could help their business Delight A purchase may have been made, but there's still a lot of video can do to leverage the post-conversion stage of your flywheel. During the "delight stage" of the inbound methodology, your goal is to continue providing remarkable content to users that makes their interaction with your product or service as incredible as possible. It's also in hopes that they'll tell their connections about their experience or up-sell themselves. Therefore, the goal of this type of video is to encourage your customers to embrace your brand and become brand evangelists. Your first opportunity to delight comes directly after the purchase. Consider sending a thank you video to welcome them into the community or an onboarding video to get them rolling with their new purchase. Then, build out a library of educational courses or product training videos to cater to consumers who prefer self-service or simply want to expand their expertise. Defining Your Goals and Analyzing Results At this point, you know how to create a video and where to host it. You're ready to get started, right? Not quite. Before you dive in, you need to define your video goals and identify the best metrics for determining whether you've accomplished those goals. Before launching any marketing campaign, it's important to determine your primary video goal. This could be to increase brand awareness, engagement, or even conversions for a free trial. It's crucial to pick out just one or two goals for each video. When you define more than that, your video will seem unfocused, making it difficult for viewers to determine what they should do next. When thinking of your goals, be sure to keep your buyer persona and target audience in mind. How old are they? Where do they live? What are their interests? How do they typically consume media? What stage of the buyer's journey are they in? All of these questions can help determine what type of video you should make and where you should post it. For example, if your target audience is not familiar with your company, you probably want to make a video that focuses on brand awareness before producing an in-depth, product video. You'll also want to host your video on a site that already has a large reach, like YouTube. Next, let's talk about metrics. Understanding these will equip you to define and measure your success and set your goals. When you post a video, it's easy to get obsessed with one metric — view count. While view count can be an important metric, there are many others that may be more relevant to your campaign. Below are some popular metrics you'll see when you publish and track video. View Count: View count is the number of times your video has been viewed — also referred to as reach. This metric is great to track if your goal is to increase brand awareness and have your content seen by as many people as possible. However, it's important to remember that every video hosting platform measures a view differently. For example, a view on YouTube is 30 seconds while a view on Facebook is only 3 seconds. Be sure to read the fine print before reporting on your video view count. Play Rate: Play rate is the percentage of people who played your video divided by the number of impressions it received. This metric helps determine how relevant or appealing your video is to your audience. If thousands of people see your video, but only a handful of people play it, it's probably time to optimize your content. Social Sharing and Comments: If you're on social media, you're probably familiar with sharing and commenting. Social shares and comments are good indicators of how relevant your content is with your target audience. If a viewer watches your video and takes the time to share it with their network, you probably created a great piece of content. Social shares are also important because the more times your video is shared, the more it'll be viewed. If your goal is to reach a lot of people, social shares is a good metric to track. Video Completions: If you took the time to make a video … you probably want people to watch the whole thing, right? A video completion is the number of times a video is played in its entirety. This metric can be more reliable than view count when trying to determine your video's success. Completion Rate: Completion rate is the number of people who completed your video divided by the number of people who played it. Completion rate and other engagement metrics are a great way to gauge a viewer's reaction to your video. Do you have a low completion rate? Are people all dropping off at a certain point? This might be a sign that your video content is not resonating with your target audience. Click-Through Rate: Click-through rate (CTR) is the number of times your call-to-action (CTA) is clicked divided by the number of times it's viewed. CTR is a great indicator of how effective your video is at encouraging people to take your desired action. If your CTR is low, consider revising the design or copy of your CTA. Conversion Rate: Conversion rate is the number of times visitors completed your desired action divided by the number of clicks on your CTA. If your goal is to have your viewers complete an action like signing up for a free trial, try adding a video to your landing page to see if your conversion rate increases. Bounce Rate and Time-On-Page: Are you thinking about adding a video to a web page? Take note of the page bounce rate and the amount of time people spent on the page before you add the video. Be sure to check the metrics after you place the video to see if changes the way people interact with your other content. Finally, what about your video social media marketing strategy? How do you measure that? Measuring performance on each social media platform provides valuable information, especially to determine whether video really is the right content type for your audience on each platform. Across all platforms, in addition to the metrics above, be sure to measure views over time to determine the life of your videos. You may find that videos need to be refreshed every few weeks, or months, in order to stay relevant with your audience. You also want to always be tracking and comparing engagement of your videos. This will help you determine which topics encourage the most sharing, and therefore will have a higher and longer lifetime value. Ready, Set, Action! I'm guessing you're feeling a little overwhelmed right now. Don't worry, you're not alone. Video editing and marketing can seem daunting at first, but with a little practice and patience, you can easily produce high-quality content that is unique to your brand. With 71% of consumers watching more video online than they were a year ago, brands can no longer ignore their growing popularity. Thankfully, creating great content has never been easier! Try turning a written blog into a video or create a product tutorial. Using video to showcase information in a new, interesting way is sure to interest and delight your audience. Pick up a camera, start filming, and watch your engagement levels increase. It's time to make video a key part of your marketing strategy! Editor's note: This post was originally written in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. #VideoMarketing

Arplis - News source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Arplis-News/~3/emyjctms390/the-ultimate-guide-to-video-marketing

[cornvest1-blog]

Cubs TV is now on YouTube

The Cubs announced their plan for their own TV network earlier this year and one of the questions I frequently hear about the new network is what the Cubs will air beyond baseball games. We might have gotten a bit of that answer today with the Cubs’ expanded YouTube channel, and it’s incredible.

The Cubs relaunched their channel Monday morning with 10 new content series and 17 videos. The videos vary in length from 90-second shorts that include instructions for Cubs-inspired craft projects to 40-minute long documentaries on great moments in Cubs history, like Kerry Wood’s 20 strikeout game, and everything in between. They’ll be dropping new content every Thursday.

I spent some time previewing the channel and I’ll share a few of my favorite video links below so you can begin exploring. It was really hard to limit myself to just a few videos.

Insider looks for the serious baseball fan

If you’re familiar with my series called Sara’s Snapshots, you’ll immediately understand why I gravitated to a series called “The Breakdown” where you can see Cubs players talk through key moments in games. Check out this 10-minute look at David Bote’s Ultimate Grand Slam:

Player profiles

Pedro Strop is probably the most interesting man in the universe. Admit it, you always wanted to know how Pedro Strop spends the offseason. Me too. Your wait is over:

A whole lot of Bryzzo

I was laughing out loud watching everyone’s newest favorite game show “Bae vs. Ballplayer” where Anthony Rizzo and Jessica Bryant compete to see who knows Kris Bryant better for the grand prize of is a Kris Bryant fleece throw. Just watch, you’ll laugh too:

Highlights

The Cubs have a lot of highlight reel material, everything from magical slides, to Albert Almora Jr. and his defensive wizardry, to videos like the one below that highlights the top 10 greatest comebacks of the Joe Maddon era. I imagine there will be a lot more videos like these:

Javy Báez and puppies

I’m not really sure what to call this category, but there is a three and a half minute long video where Javy Báez answers a kiddo’s questions while he plays with puppies. It is perfect and exactly what I needed today:

You really should check out the entire channel. It’s awesome.

However, the brilliance of this channel goes far beyond Javy playing with puppies (although seriously, that made my Monday so much better. I imagine it made your Monday better too). The Cubs have clearly set this channel up to celebrate their players’ personalities and some of the behind the scenes highlights of Cubs’ baseball. It is exactly what baseball needs.

It feels like every few months there is a serious baseball think piece about the lack of superstars in the game and MLB is on a seemingly endless quest to save seconds in the hopes of solving “pace of play” concerns. I’ve always found this aggravating because shorter intentional walks and a pitch clock never struck me as the keys to helping new fans fall in love with baseball. Javy Báez, his magical slides and puppies, on the other hand, just might.

I’m already looking forward to Thursday to see what videos the Cubs come up with next.

Source: https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2019/3/11/18260094/cubs-tv-youtube

[biofunmy]

This Labor Day, We Salute the (Arts) Workers

Before you start loading up your fall culture calendar, take a moment this Labor Day Weekend to reflect on those people who make sure that the city’s cultural events — concerts, Broadway shows and art exhibitions — go off without a hitch. In a culture center like New York, that means there are thousands of people to thank; here, we introduce you to several of them. These are edited excerpts from conversations. — Nicole Herrington, Weekend Arts Editor

The Dancer

Eric Parra, 23, member of the Limón Dance Company

On Saturday mornings during the summer, there is an open invitation from the Limón Dance Company to learn a modern technique typically reserved for dancers training in spacious mirrored rooms. The class is free and takes place in a grassy corner of Bryant Park. No registration is required, and anyone — from toddlers to retirees — can join.

“For all you know, you could be going out for a walk in Bryant Park and you end up taking a full body movement class,” said Eric Parra, who led last Saturday’s class.

He started with simple combinations to warm up the spine and legs, then transitioned into slightly more complicated movement sequences, all set to the rhythms of a live percussionist.

The class highlights core aspects of the Limón technique, which values movement that swings, releases and maintains a grounded connection to the floor.

“If you fall here, you’re going to fall on grass,” Parra said. “It feels safe. It feels fun. When you’re a kid, you love to play in the grass, so I think dancing in the grass lifts the spirit.”

The participants tend to be a mixture of locals and tourists making their way through the park. You could end up dancing with your neighbor, Parra said, or you could be dancing with someone who traveled from across the world. Often participants do not speak English, but luckily, the most important language here is movement.

“You don’t necessarily have to hear everything in order to understand what’s going on,” Parra said. “We try to cultivate a warm, welcoming space for everybody, where language isn’t a barrier to getting the most from this experience.” JULIA JACOBS

When: Saturdays at 10 a.m. through Sept. 28 at Bryant Park; bryantpark.org.

The Frame Makers

Bill Schunk, 64, and Rose Pappalardo, 57, owners of Frames New York

The work of Bill Schunk and Rose Pappalardo has been seen by thousands of people — and yet it hasn’t, because, as they put it, their work is best if it vanishes. “The frame sort of needs to disappear,” Mr. Schunk said. “If you’re noticing the frame, maybe something is wrong.”

The husband-wife team has quietly been supporting the art world since the late 1980s, giving prints, photographs and paintings a border, an edge.

Mr. Schunk works with individual artists who flutter in and out of their studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and Ms. Pappalardo works with galleries and corporations in New York and across the world, including the new Pace/MacGill Gallery. (She is currently working on its upcoming Peter Hujar exhibition.)

Each frame is created at their studio from locally sourced materials, like wood and glass. They finish it off with stains or layers of lacquer and, finally, they decide on a type of glazing.

Over the years, the couple has worked with the Irving Penn Foundation, Hudson Yards and artists like Chuck Close, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ed Ruscha. “It’s like we have our own private show with each piece that comes in,” Ms. Pappalardo said.

They agreed that seeing artists progress and develop is the best part. It’s “like watching them all grow up,” Mr. Schunk said. ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA

When: “Peter Hujar: Master Class” opens on Sept. 14 at Pace/MacGill Gallery, 540 West 25th Street, Manhattan; pacemacgill.com.

The Projectionist

Evelyn Emile, 32, film projectionist at Anthology Film Archives

For Evelyn Emile, a projectionist who has been working at Anthology Film Archives for more than three years, films aren’t just seen and heard; they are also something you touch.

“I love handling film,” she said. “I have some contact with reality when I’m projecting film that I don’t have when I’m doing something digital.”

Working with film prints, she explained, requires precision and constant attention: “If I move the focus knob a millimeter, I know it will come into focus. Small movements can make a big difference on the screen.” And that’s what’s rewarding about it, she added. It’s up to her to ensure that the sometimes fragile reels of film show up onscreen in the way they were intended.

This isn’t accomplished by simply pressing a button. Film prints have to be inspected and occasionally repaired, cue marks have to be added, and lenses, aperture plates and sound formats must be set properly. All that extra effort, she says, is worth it. “Working at a theater that continues to program and screen films in their original format is very important to me. I think that when the film gets digitally transferred, it does lose a little bit of its soul.”

Film projection, she said, keeps her grounded. “Everything that I do in the booth, especially with film, has a consequence for how the film is shown. If I make small movements with framing adjustments, it affects how people see the film.”

The tactile relationship that Emile has with the films she projects has only deepened her love of cinema. Emile is particularly excited to screen films by Carl Dreyer, including “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) and “Ordet” (1955), over Labor Day weekend. “Each of his films is really extraordinary,” she said. “They have simple plots showing everyday people, not judging them, just showing their relationships and how they work through the problems of their lives.” PETER LIBBEY

When: Carl Dreyer’s films will be shown through Sept. 3 at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, Manhattan; 212-505-5181, anthologyfilmarchives.org.

The Manager

Larry Siegel, 44, general manager of SummerStage in Central Park

Larry Siegel wears many hats at a venue that, this summer, has hosted performances by the British singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, the indie-rock act Japanese Breakfast, singers from the Metropolitan Opera and others. Even Taylor Swift stopped by, for a live performance broadcast on “Good Morning America.”

This is what a typical day looks like for Siegel, before and during a show.

“I get in between 7 and 8 a.m., and that’s when we have our first production meeting. After that the band starts coming in. We make sure our hospitality teams are setting up coffee and tea and opening the dressing rooms. I make sure our delivery of portable toilets are coming in, that our turf is clean, and all the leaves and debris from last evening have been blown off.

“Then I check in with the union workers over at the stage. I meet with our production manager, then the front-of-house manager. That’s all in the morning. Then our security deployment arrives and we check them all in, make sure they’re all up-to-date with any threats or anything that we receive from the N.Y.P.D. or Homeland Security.”

This is the time in the day, Siegel said, when they get ready to open the doors to thousands of concertgoers. Then things get frantic.

“There’s a lot of running around. My radio is going off constantly. There was a medical situation last night, so I dealt with that. We tend to have a lot of fainting at shows. Taylor Swift, especially. We had her last week. That was a lot of little girls fainting.

“The best part of my job is knowing that people are coming to us to enjoy their lives, to take a few hours out of their grind. Once a show is up and running and the band is performing and there are smiles on the people’s faces as you’re looking out across them — that, to me, is worth every piece of sweat.” AS TOLD TO GABE COHN

When: SummerStage continues through Oct. 5 at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park; cityparksfoundation.org.

The Bingo Host

Linda Simpson, host of “Linda Loves Bingo” at Le Poisson Rouge and other locations

“I started hosting bingo in the late 1990s. And ‘Linda Loves Bingo’ as an entity started about 10 years ago at Le Poisson Rouge. That’s where my main residency has been and, yes, I have been there that long.

“What I’ve created, I hope, is a real escapist environment. It’s a no-political zone, which I find kind of important these days, and it’s just a great chance for people of all kinds — it’s a very mixed crowd — to enjoy themselves.”

“The challenges include always shopping for prizes because I offer discount-store delights, which means I scour the stores of New York City for fun stuff. I actually enjoy it, but it’s a lot of schlepping — it’s time-consuming. I do have a great crew that works with me — I have D.J.s and drag queens and burlesque girls that work as the Vanna Whites. I will say, even to this day, there’s a little preshow jitters, but I think that’s good.

“Some of the players, I’m genuine friends with them now. And it’s been really good affirmation for me. I always wanted to make a living doing drag, and bingo has just allowed me to live as a drag queen.” — AS TOLD TO ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA

When: Saturdays at 7.30 p.m. at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, Manhattan; lindalovesbingo.com.

The Theater Guide

Ricky Jones, 35, TKTS patron services supervisor

Times Square isn’t a setting normally associated with well-informed conversation, but Ricky Jones says that’s what you’ll get if you come to the TKTS booth at 47th Street and Broadway to buy discounted theater tickets. “One of the big things about us,” he said, “is that you can really have a discussion with people about theater, which I think is really special.”

Part of his job, he explained, is to circulate among the customers waiting in line to go over the shows that have tickets available and that might be of most interest to them. For visitors not on top of the New York theater scene, these exchanges can reduce the stress of choosing among unfamiliar offerings. “When a lot of people come to New York City for the first time, they might know about ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ ‘Chicago’ and maybe ‘Wicked,’ but they probably don’t know about all the other shows on the board,” Jones said.

Instead of offering their opinions on shows, Jones and his team try to find the right play, musical or dance performance for each customer. “I usually ask what kind of show they are looking for, if they’ve seen a Broadway show before, and then I try to pair what they’ve seen before with what they’re looking for.”

For theater experts, these conversations can go deeper. “We can talk about the show you saw or want to see and geek out about it,” Jones said. He speaks from experience, having first come to TKTS as a theater-obsessed kid: “We would come to New York every year for Thanksgiving, and I remember there was a promoter, a British guy with purple hair. While my Mom waited in line, I would just talk theater with this guy, to the point that he has watched me grow up since I was about 8 years old.” PETER LIBBEY

When: Daily at the Times Square booth, as well as the TKTS outlets at Lincoln Center and South Street Seaport.

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[americanahighways]

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Review by Michael Magoolaghan (https://americanahighways.org/author/mack-hooligan/)

Photos by Jimmy Faber Photography (https://www.facebook.com/JimmyFaberPhotography/)

What if I told you I’m in love with a band that was named after its mastermind’s pet snail? And that said band promoted itself for a time by representing its music as having been produced by a snail — and that its label (Yer Bird) was fine with that? And that the band’s website to this day features a page containing nothing but photos of snails?

What if I further told you that the same band decided, after finally agreeing to self- identify as humans, to obscure their identities by adopting the family moniker “Jones” and letting each band member preface his or her common surname (though none are related) with a jokey, old-timey Appalachian name?

Thus we have: Hezekiah Jones (aka, songwriting snail-lover Raphael “Raph” Cutrufello); Pocono Jones (Brad Hinton); Roy G. Biv Jones (Daniel Bower); Kiwi Jones (Kiley Ryan); Tones Jones (Andy Keenan); and Peter L.V. Jones (Alex Luquet).

Welcome to the surreal, humorous, sometimes dark, sometimes darkly humorous and always strangely magical world of Hezekiah Jones, the best and certainly most unique folk / Americana / sui generis band you probably haven’t yet heard of.

Orbiting around the fertile imagination and songwriting talents of Cutrufello, this collective of Philadelphia-area musicians — often featuring Phil D’Agostino in place of Luquet on bass and on this night featuring Keenan, recently returned to Philadelphia from Nashville, on pedal steel and banjo — has been quietly compiling a strong catalog of quirky, mundanely-yet-transcendentally beautiful and always hummable songs since the mid-2000s. A good number of those songs have the morbidly comedic feel of an Edward Gorey illustration; some seem to harken back to a vaguely Civil War-era America that history books could never capture, while others live in a weird, semi sci-fi time & space all their own.

In short, Cutrufello’s aim is off-kilter and intentionally headed off the beaten path — though his songs simultaneously seem hauntingly familiar, like misheard hymns or battle marches. As “Hundred Miles In,” from the band’s most recent, 2015 full-length

album In Loving Memory of oosi Lockjaw (yes, you read that right) puts it: “I know you’re kinda strange / ‘cause you’re not really into the normal stuff / You know you’re kinda weird / when you’re not really into humans that much.” (He prefers snails, obviously.)

If you’re curious about this curious band, …oosi Lockjaw is a decent ledge from which to leap into their eccentric universe. Have You Seen Our New Fort? — a 2011 release that features 14 different players and incorporates such unusual instrumentation (especially for a “folk” album) as glockenspiel, waterboards, sleigh bells, trombones, baritone saxophone and clarinet — is another one.

Though you may not have heard of them, Hezekiah Jones has been a pretty big draw in Philadelphia for a while now, filling places like Johnny Brenda’s, the Ardmore Music Hall, and on this particular evening, the newish venue 118 North in Wayne (on the western side of Philly’s “Main Line”), where Cutrufello hosts a weekly Wednesday night open mic / jam that draws many of the area’s best musicians.

That same venue was packed to the gills with Hezekiah aficionados last Saturday. Darlyngton, the love-child band of Jack Shoudy and Emily MacDonald (who grew up in Wayne) — led off with a set dominated by danceable Grateful Dead jams and lesser known covers, including an interesting rendition of John Prine’s classic “Sam Stone.” A tall redhead with a strong voice and swirling freeform dance moves, MacDonald was the visual focal point, while the rest of the band played their parts more than competently, luring a good portion of the audience onto the dance floor by set’s end.

The Hezekiah Jones sextet then squished onto the smallish stage to play two long sets, performing 25 songs en toto, and re-peforming a snippet of one of those songs (their cover of Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe”) at least eight times, by my count.

To be completely honest, after the third or fourth annoying repetition of that snippet, my reaction was WTF?!?

Cutrufello later reminded me that Februrary 2nd was Groundhog Day, and that that particular snippet — introduced heartily each time with the phrase “Okay campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties, ‘cause it’s COLD OUT THERE!” by drummer Roy G. Biv Hones / Daniel Bower (who also serves as the regular drummer for central Pennsylvania Americana veterans Frog Holler) — plays on the radio as Bill Murray wakes redundantly to his alarm clock in the 1993 comedy of that name.

Now I’m not just annoyed; I’m thoroughly amused.

Cutrufello, you see, is a charmingly wicked, wickedly charming fellow, in his mild- mannered, sweet-natured way. He’s the kind of guy who can annoy you by pulling your leg but then instantly disarm your distemper with a wink and a warm grin (or perhaps a shot of gin). His songs have a similar effect, reeling you in to what feels like a joke that may or may not be on you, but then unreeling them out so that they come to resonate, sometimes immediately, sometimes only in hindsight, like a Zen master’s firm knock on an initiate’s head.

In short, if you’ve never seen Hezekiah Jones live, you’re in for a treat when you do — especially if you like your folk and/or Americana mysterious and a bit offbeat (in a good way). To give you some hint of what you might see and hear, highlights from the Groundhog Day show included:

Cutrufello’s warm vocals on “Spare the Whiskey,” complemented beautifully by violinist Kiley Ryan’s harmonies

Similarly lovely harmonies and guitar accompaniment on “Agnes of the World,” the lead-off song from their debut album, Hezekiah Says You’re A-OK

Keenan’s mournful pedal steel accompanying Cutrufello’s clever lyrics on “Cupcakes for the Army,” featuring such Zen koan-ish lines as “Who needs keys when you got logic? / Who needs logic when you’ve got doubt?” and “No one wins a war anymore with compromise and smiles / Real religion’s in the mind of a child”

The second set’s consecutive sequencing of six of Cutrufello’s best songs, including the 2018 release “If You Harden on the Inside,” which led into a truly astonishing drum solo by Bower. That was followed by the short, cryptic and quickly accelerating “That Panel Where the Soap is at on the Machines” and the crowd-pleasing quartet of “Albert Hash,” “Yeshe and Horus,” the carnivalesque waltz/singalong “Cannonball (I’ve Got a Little Room)” and the Squirrel Nut Zipper- ish “Mind Malaise,” adorned by Hinton’s superb Telecaster soloThe band capped the second set with tasty renditions of a couple of cover tunes: Sparklehorse’s “Knives of Summertime,” on which the Joneses laid out for an extended jam, and the Palace Brothers’ / Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s “I Am a Cinematographer,” featuring tastefully effective fiddle and guitar solos by Ryan and Hinton respectively.Though they’re not touring widely these days (“With kids and mortgages and such, sleeping on floors and making minimal money just don’t make the sense it used to make,” says Cutrufello), Hezekiah Jones does play fairly regularly around Philly, and Cutrufello and the other band members are mainstays at the Robin & Beth Fest each summer. If you’ve never seen them live and are in the area, you owe it to yourself to check them out.

————

More info on the band (plus snail pix!) is available at (http:/www.hezekiahjones.com). The group’s songs are available on Bandcamp (https:// hezekiahjones.bandcamp.com), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/artist/ 20lXQKFXIjJfHdgl7Um0XA), iTunes and most other digital distribution platforms.

  Show Review: Hezekiah Jones Unveils Its Charming Cabinet of Snail Curiosities at 118 North @118_North @hezekiah_jones #americanamusic Review by Michael Magoolaghan ( Photos by Jimmy Faber Photography ( What if I told you I’m in love with a band that was named after its mastermind’s pet snail?

[racingtoaredlight]

Degenerate’s guide to week 4 college football 2018 TV watch ‘em ups

The season is starting get some equilibrium to it. Alabama with a legitimately good QB and Coach Kool might just be unkillable but dumb shit always happens.

Here it is, technically the first fall Saturday. It’s still not an unmissable slate of games but the warmup games are mostly done with. East coast times, don’t care about the sites, nothing good will come of all this. Here you go:

Saturday, September 22

Matchup                                                                 Time (ET)      TV/Mobile

Akron at Iowa State                                               12:00pm            FSN

The MAC and the Big XII are close enough to being doppelgangers that if the Big XII committed a heinous crime 35 years ago the Big XII’s legal counsel could probably create doubt by claiming that it was actually the MAC who did it.

Boston College at Purdue                                      12:00pm        ESPN2

BC kind of plays like what the B1G pretends its teams play like and Purdue is running a Big XII kind of team. Worlds are colliding! Boston College has two RTARLsman candidates but I’ve limited myself to only talking about one per week because I still kind of hate Boston College.

Buffalo at Rutgers                                                   12:00pm            BTN

Tyree Jackson is the kind of player I would lose my job over as an NFL scout. I look at him and think, “this guy is like a good version of Josh Allen!” Watch him go undrafted.

Georgia at Missouri                                                  12:00pm         ESPN

Drew Lock has a three-game stretch starting today that will make or break his prospect status among the general public. NFL evaluators? Who knows. He could look ridiculously awful but show off TRAITS!!! and still go #1 over Ed Oliver and Lil’ Bosa.

Kent State at Mississippi                                          12:00pm         SECN

There are apparently seats at this game available for $2. The Landsharks have some really talented players so if you’re in the area, here’s a 4-hour highlight reel in the making.

Minnesota at Maryland                                              12:00pm           BTN

Brian Kelly got away with murder but DJ Durkin might not. I’d like to think that’s a step in the right direction for society but Durkin is a pretty bad coach on top of being a murderer so it’s probably not indicative of anything larger.

Navy at SMU                                                        12:00pm    ESPNU/ESPNews

Game of the week! I could be wrong but my early impression is that SMU is pretty bad this year.

Nebraska at Michigan                                                   12:00pm          FS1

Scott Frost is trying to get out ahead of things by saying things will get worse before they get better but as it stands Nebraska is gonna be underdogs in every game for the rest of the year so this should probably be as bad as it gets. As long as you understand it’s going to stay exactly this bad at least for a couple more months.

Nevada at Toledo                                                           12:00pm     CBSSN

This is at least as good of a game as the one right above it. So that’s a moral victory.

Notre Dame at Wake Forest                                         12:00pm       ABC

RTARL is officially rooting for Wake Forest this week.

Ohio at Cincinnati                                            12:00pm      ESPNU/ESPNews

The dregs of Ohio football can really give Michigan and Louisiana a run for their money (where monetary value is increased by the decreased quality of football within a given state.)

Pitt at North Carolina                                               12:20pm    Raycom Sports

I wouldn’t have thought two years ago that things could take such a dramatic turn in Chapel Hill but this might be Coach Hat’s last stand. If UNC loses to Pitt they are in very real danger of going 0-12. Stupidly enough, this is a conference game but Ohio-Cincinnati is not.

Louisville at Virginia                                                     12:30pm            RSN

Here is a game desperately in need of Lamar Jackson.

Western Michigan at Georgia State                             2:00pm           ESPN+

There will never be a week where I can remember off the top of my head which one is Georgia State and which one is Georgia Southern. Western Michigan had an NFL prospect last year (I think he went in the 4th round eventually) but this is not last year. As the saying goes.

Illinois State at Colorado State                                      3:00pm            ATTSN

I guess let us know what your interest is here if you have one.

Maine at Central Michigan                                             3:00pm             ESPN+

Wait, is Central Michigan the one that had the big OL last year? Who cares.

Miami (Ohio) at Bowling Green                                      3:00pm             ESPN+

Jesus fuck this is a wasteland.

WKU at Ball State                                                           3:00pm             ESPN3

I can’t speak for the talent levels but this is an interesting watch if you’re really into offensive schemes.

Charlotte at UMass                                                        3:30pm   ES/NESNplus

This is not a heavily advisable watch ‘em up. Only look if you have money on it.

Clemson at Georgia Tech                                               3:30pm            ABC

Interested to see what those crazy refs have in store for this one. I don’t actually know much about Clemson’s LBs but you need to have really good ones against the option. Unless you can just line up 4-3 every play and have your DL in the backfield constantly. We’ll see.

FIU at Miami (FL)                                                             3:30pm      ESPN/2/U

Canes twitter has been obsessing over Andre Ware slighting team captain Jaquan Johnson last week by saying he was faking an injury to stop the clock near the end of the first half. Well, Johnson is out this week so that’s a great acting job by the kid. I don’t really care about this controversy but it’s really odd that Butch Davis is coaching a team against The U and getting basically no notice for it.

Gardner-Webb at Appalachian State                            3:30pm         ESPN+

Oh, hell yeah.

Kansas at Baylor                                                            3:30pm          FS1

Not to discourage our collective Kansas fandom but I really like that we’re back to a point where this game is just a matchup of godawful teams.

Kansas State at West Virginia                                     3:30pm     ABC/ESPN/2

If Will Grier is actually good WFV should win by 30.

NC Central at Duke                                                     3:30pm       ACCNExtra

I’ve got all my favorite NC Central gear laid out for this one.

NIU at Florida State                                                     3:30pm         ESPN/2/U

It’s cool that FSU is still sitting here with like 20 future NFL guys on their roster and they still might plausibly lose to NIU at home.

Texas A&M at Alabama                                               3:30pm              CBS

aTm has good receivers. Stop me if this sounds familiar.

Tulane at Ohio State                                                   3:30pm              BTN

Really looking forward to the redemption angle the announcers use for Urban Meyer in this one.

Virginia Tech at Old Dominion                                   3:30pm           CBSSN

Look the games aren’t good, OK? Just better than the last two weeks.

Arizona at Oregon State                                           4:00pm            Pac-12N

He isn’t going to be a Heisman candidate this way but Khalil Tate’s passing stats are actually pretty good.

South Carolina at Vanderbilt                                    4:00pm               SECN

Can Coach Boom go from redeemed to fired in the span of 10 weeks? Yes, he can. Vandy is not bad this year. Or Notre Dame is bad. Hopefully the second one.

UConn at Syracuse                                                   4:00pm          ESPNews

Classic matchup of Big East rivals.

TCU at Texas                                                              4:30pm                 FOX

TCU doesn’t have enough talent or coaching to get past Ohio State this year but you know who they can still beat by 30? Texas.

McNeese at BYU                                                       6:00pm               BYUtv

I didn’t watch last week. Did BYU show off their turnover chain or did they just hastily design it after they could have given Paul Chryst a stroke?

North Texas at Liberty                                            6:00pm               ESPN3

UNT had by far the funniest upset of the week last week so it’s nice that they get to beat up Liberty this week as a reward.

Arkansas at Auburn                                               7:30pm                 SECN

Maybe Arkansas was just looking ahead last week and they aren’t going to lose by 75 to Auburn this week?

Army at Oklahoma                                 7:00pm  FSOK PPV / SoonerSports.tv

Kyler Murray is really good and Lincoln Riley is really good and neither of those things takes away from how really really good Baker Mayfield is.

Coastal Carolina at Louisiana                               7:00pm                 ESPN+

Thank god this one is in prime time for most of the country.

Florida at Tennessee                                              7:00pm                 ESPN

20 years ago this was the most consistently entertaining annual rivalry in college football. Now it’s sort of the opposite of that. But it’s still a brand name, on the main ESPN channel sort of thing somehow to this day.

LA Tech at LSU                                                      7:00pm                 ESPNU

LSU is liable to still go out and win this game by 7 points or less, just so you know.

Mississippi State at Kentucky                              7:00pm              ESPN/2/U

Kentucky might really be top 5 in the SEC this year. Understand that for what it’s worth.

NC State at Marshall                                             7:00pm               CBSSN

A huge battle of unbeatens with national championship implications! I assume there will be some sort of strength of schedule ramifications from this game, I mean.

Rice at Southern Miss                                            7:00pm               ESPN+

There is nothing I could tell you about this game that would make me interested in what I was saying.

Texas State at UTSA                                              7:00pm                ESPN+

No Davenport and no Coker makes interest go something something.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma State                              7:00pm                 FS1

Without checking I’ll just say bet the over.

Troy at ULM                                                             7:00pm               ESPN+

Still traveling through a wasteland here.

UNLV at Arkansas State                                         7:00pm              ESPN3

We’re still 2 years from Armani Rogers getting dark horse NFL draft hype but it’s never too early to say he sucks without ever watching him play.

Michigan State at Indiana                                      7:30pm                BTN

I really believed in Sparty (and Wisconsin) this year. That was a mistake.

New Mexico State at UTEP                                    7:30pm             ESPN3

Now we’re getting into real gambling hours. The line is trending towards NMSU and the over keeps falling. Not sure what to make of either of those things but look for UTEP to spring the big upset in a 5 OT thriller.

East Carolina at USF                                              8:00pm             ESPNews

I feel like the TV info is a mistake. This game has to be on CBS SN, doesn’t it? This pure AAA goodness. Both teams have looked better than expected so far but that doesn’t mean ECU is good. I’d still take them +21.5 if I were betting.

South Alabama at Memphis                                8:00pm      WMC-TV/ESPN3

I’m not asking for a lot from Darrell Henderson. Just get over 300 yards rushing on less than 20 carries and we’re good.

Stanford at Oregon                                                8:00pm                  ABC

This is a top 25 matchup which seems funny. Justin Herbert is the odds-on favorite to be the #1 QB in next year’s draft right now. Oregon still doesn’t defend the run. This could be real entertainment.

Texas Southern at Houston                                   8:00pm               ESPN3

Ed Oliver is really trending towards the Khalil Mack zone where nothing he personally does is going to be enough to make his team’s defense actually good. This is a reference to Mack’s college days but I guess it applies to his time in Oakland, too.

Wisconsin at Iowa                                                  8:30pm                  FOX

Wisconsin really shook things up by shitting all down their own pants against BYU last week. Nice going, Chryst. Turnover chain your ass, indeed.

Air Force at Utah State                                         10:15pm              ESPN2

Let’s get weird!

Arizona State at Washington                                10:30pm              ESPN

How’s the Herm Edwards bandwagon holding up? Per the gambling numbers, UDub should win 34.25 to 16.75 but I’d be very surprised if that’s actually the final score.

Eastern Michigan at San Diego State                  10:30pm           CBSSN

This is the good stuff. SDSU by 100.

Duquesne at Hawaii                                11:59pm     Spectrum / ATTSN PGH

I don’t know if I get this channel, Attention Pittsburgh but you can believe I’ll watch this game if I do. Could be a true Jack Pardee special here.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: The Ultimate Guide to Video Marketing

Brands need a video marketing strategy — this idea isn't new. What has changed is how important video has become on every platform and channel. Video is no longer just one piece of your overall marketing plan. It's central to your outreach and campaign efforts … especially your social strategy. Video has absolutely dominated social. HubSpot Research shows that four of the top six channels on which global consumers watch video are social channels. Why is this important? If you aren't creating video, you're likely falling behind. But don't fret. For most videos, the more simple and raw it is, the more authentic the content seems … and that's what really matters to your audience. Better yet, video production is more cost-effective than ever — you can shoot in high-quality, 4K video with your smartphone. Regardless, between camera equipment to lighting to editing software, the topic of video marketing can still seem pretty complicated. That's why we compiled this guide. Continue reading learn everything you need to know about video marketing strategy, or use the links below to jump to a specific section. Why should you focus on video marketing today? The last handful of years saw a surge in the popularity of video as a content marketing format. Specifically, in 2017, video rise to the top of your marketing tactic list. Video as a tactic was likely streamlined by your creative team as a one-to-many awareness play, with lots of focus on expensive production and little analysis to show for it. 2018 and 2019 transformed video from a singular marketing tactic to an entire business strategy. Today, video is a holistic business approach, meaning video content should be produced by all teams in a conversational, actionable, and measurable way. Learn how personalized video is shaping the future of marketing, sales, and customer service. According to a report from HubSpot Research, more than 50% of consumers want to see videos from brands … more than any other type of content. Video is useful for more than entertainment, too. Video on landing pages is capable of increasing conversion rates by over 80%, and the mere mention of the word “video” in your email subject line increases open rates by 19%. 90% of customers also say videos help them make buying decisions. But video hasn't only transformed how businesses market and consumers shop; it's also revolutionized how salespeople connect with and convert prospects and how service teams support and delight customers. In short, video is incredibly useful throughout the entire flywheel — not just to heighten brand awareness. Video can be a versatile tool for salespeople throughout the entire customer buying journey, and it can do much more than increase engagement. Backend analytics also help salespeople qualify and prioritize cold or unresponsive leads. According to Gary Stevens, head of research at HostingCanada.org, "retargeting our website visitors on social media has led to a 47% increase in visitor value site-wide." The granularity of video analytics on platforms like Facebook is one reason why, in 2018, 93% of businesses reported getting a new customer on social media thanks to video. The options are also endless for service teams — onboarding videos, knowledge-based videos, meet the team videos, support video calls, and customer stories are just a few ways that video can create a more thorough, personalized customer support experience. Lastly, according to HubSpot Research, consumers and customers actually prefer lower quality, “authentic” video over high-quality video that seems artificial and inauthentic. Video is within reach for businesses of virtually any size — team and budget alike. 45% of marketers plan to add YouTube to their content strategy in the next year. Will you join them? The 12 Types of Marketing Videos Before you begin filming, you first need to determine the type of video(s) you want to create. Check out this list to better understand your options. 1. Demo Videos Demo videos showcase how your product works — whether that's taking viewers on a tour of your software and how it can be used or unboxing and putting a physical product to the test. Learn how to use video in each stage of the buyer's journey. 2. Brand Videos Brand videos are typically created as a part of a larger advertising campaign, showcasing the company's high-level vision, mission, or products and services. The goal of brand videos is to build awareness around your company and to intrigue and attract your target audience. 3. Event Videos Is your business hosting a conference, round table discussion, fundraiser, or another type of event? Produce a highlight reel or release interesting interviews and presentations from the gathering. 4. Expert Interviews Capturing interviews with internal experts or thought leaders in your industry is a great way to build trust and authority with your target audience. Find the influencers in your industry — whether they share your point-of-view or not — get these discussions in front of your audience. 5. Educational or How-To Videos Instructional videos can be used to teach your audience something new or build the foundational knowledge they'll need to better understand your business and solutions. These videos can also be used by your sales and service teams as they work with customers. 6. Explainer Videos This type of video is used to help your audience better understand why they need your product or service. Many explainer videos focus on a fictional journey of the company's core buyer persona who is struggling with a problem. This person overcomes the issue by adopting or buying the business's solution. 7. Animated Videos HubSpot created the following video to promote a key (intangible) theme from the 2017 State of Inbound report. Animated videos can be a great format for hard-to-grasp concepts that need strong visuals or to explain an abstract service or product. For example,  8. Case Study and Customer Testimonial Videos Your prospects want to know that your product can (and will) solve their specific problem. One of the best ways to prove this is by creating case study videos that feature your satisfied, loyal customers. These folks are your best advocates. Get them on-camera describing their challenges and how your company helped solve them. Discover how businesses like yours used HubSpot to effectively implement marketing, sales, and service solutions. 9. Live Videos Live video gives your viewers a special, behind-the-scenes look at your company. It also draws longer streams and higher engagement rates — viewers spend up to 8.1x longer with live video than with video-on-demand. Live-stream interviews, presentations, and events, and encourage viewers to comment with questions. Learn how Facebook Live video can increase your social following and brand awareness. 10. 360° & Virtual Reality Videos With 360° videos, viewers “scroll” around to see content from every angle — as if they were physically standing within the content. This spherical video style allows viewers to experience a location or event, such as exploring Antarctica or meeting a hammerhead shark. Virtual reality (VR) allows viewers to navigate and control their experience. These videos are usually viewed through devices such as Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard. 11. Augmented Reality (AR) Videos In this style video, a digital layer is added to what you are currently viewing in the world. For example, you can point your phone's camera at your living room and AR would allow you to see how a couch would look in the space. The IKEA Place app is a great example of this. 12. Personalized Messages Video can be a creative way to continue a conversation or respond to someone via email or text. Use HubSpot Video or Loom to record yourself recapping an important meeting or giving personalized recommendations. These videos create a delightful, unique moment for your prospects and can drive them further down the purchase journey. There's a lot that goes into making a video. This section will walk you through the detailed process of creating and publishing a video for your business. Grab your camera and follow along. 1. Plan your video. Before you set up, record, or edit anything, start with a conversation about the purpose of your video. Why? Every decision made during the video creation process will point back to your video's purpose and what action you'd like your audience to complete after watching it. And, of course, without a clear purpose agreed upon by your team, you'll find yourself in a whirlwind of re-shooting, re-framing, editing … and wasting a lot of precious time. There are typically a lot of players when making a video. How can you ensure they're all aligned? Create a questionnaire using Google Forms or SurveyMonkey and pass it along to the stakeholders of the project. This way, you can ask the same questions of everyone and aggregate your answers in one place. Who's your target audience? What buyer persona are you targeting? This may be a segment of your company's typical buyer persona. What's the goal? Is it to increase brand awareness? Sell more event tickets? Launch a new product? Ultimately, what do you want your audience to do after watching the video? Where's the video going to live? On Facebook? Behind a landing page form? You should begin with one target location — where you know your audience will discover the video — before repurposing it for other channels. When's it due? Always start with a timeline. A video on which you have a few months to work will have very a different budget and creative scope than a video needed in a few days. What's the budget? Video can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be … if you set a budget. Do your research and set realistic parameters, especially before you answer the next question. What are the creative requirements? With your budget, skills, and resources in mind, think about the creative roadblocks that might arise. Do you need a designer to create lower third graphics? Are you going to create an animated video or a live-action video? What will constitute success for the video? Choose several key performance indicators that correspond with your video goals — or hop down to the chapter in this guide on measuring and analyzing video. 2. Script your video. There's a time and place for videos to be off-the-cuff and completely unscripted. You have tear-jerking documentaries, vlogging rants, and, of course, the holy grail: cat videos. That being said, most business videos need a script. If you skip this step, you'll find yourself editing more than you need to, releasing a video longer than it should be, and probably losing your audience along the way. Start writing your script the way you would begin a blog post — with an outline. List out your key points and order them logically. Do all of your drafting in Google Docs to promote collaboration and real-time commenting. Use the “Insert > Table” function to adopt one of television's traditional script-writing practices: the two-column script. Write your audio (script) in the left column and insert matching visual ideas in the right column. Don't make the viewer wait until the final seconds to understand the purpose of your video … we promise they won't stick around. Similar to a piece of journalistic writing, include a hook near the beginning that states the purpose of the video, especially for educational and explainer videos. Notice, in our example below, that we don't let the audience get past the second sentence without understanding what the video will be about. As you begin creating videos, you'll notice a key difference between video scripts and your typical business blog post — the language. Video language should be relaxed, clear, and conversational. Avoid using complex sentence structures and eloquent clauses. Instead, connect with your audience by writing in first person and using visual language. Keep the language concise, but avoid jargon and buzzwords. Following the “Little-Known Instagram Hacks” example, note how a section from the original blog post could be transformed for video by using fewer words and relying on visuals. Blog Post Version: “When someone tags you in a photo or video on Instagram, it's automatically added to your profile under "Photos of You," unless you opt to add tagged photos manually (see the next tip). To see the posts you've been tagged in, go to your own profile and click the person icon below your bio.” Video Script: “The bigger your following gets, the more people will tag you in their posts. You can find all of these under the “Photos of You” tab on your profile.” Most video scripts are short … probably shorter than you think. Keep a script timer handy to check your script length as you write and edit. For example, a 350-word script equates to a video that is nearly 2 minutes long. Words on paper sound a lot different than they do when read out loud. That's why we encourage organizing a table read of your script before you start filming. The point of a table read is to smooth out the kinks of the script and nail down inflection points. Have a few people (writer and talent included) gather around a table with their laptops and read the script multiple times through. If you accidentally say a line different than what the script prescribes, think about why and consider changing the language to make it sound more natural. 3. Understand your camera(s). Too often the fear and uncertainty of equipment keep businesses from trying out video marketing. But learning to shoot video doesn't have to be overwhelming. It's likely you have a great, easy-to-use camera right in your pocket: your iPhone. Shooting with Your iPhone Before filming with your iPhone, ensure your device has enough storage. Also, don't forget to enable your iPhone's Do Not Disturb feature to avoid distracting notifications while filming. Once you open the iPhone's camera, flip your phone horizontally to create the best possible viewing experience. Then, move close enough to your subject so you don't have to use the zoom feature — it often makes the final video look pixelated and blurry. Your iPhone might do a great job of focusing on the subject when you take photos, but when it comes to video the camera will continue adjusting and re-adjusting as you move around the scene. To solve this problem, lock the exposure before you press record. Hold your finger down on the subject of the video until a yellow box appears with the words “AE/AF Lock”. Shooting with Prosumer and Professional Cameras While iPhones are great for filming on the fly or becoming acclimated with video, at some point you may feel ready to graduate up to the next model. With all the digital cameras on the market, there are a ton of choices to pick from. Below we've identified a few options to simplify your search. The first choice you make will be between purchasing a “prosumer” camera and a professional camera. Prosumer cameras are considered the bridge between basic compact cameras and more advanced cameras. They're perfect for someone interested in creating more video but want the option to just press record. Most have a fixed lens to keep things simple. Professional cameras, like DSLRs, give you fine control over the manual settings of shooting video and allow you to achieve the shallow depth of field (background out of focus) that people rave about. While they're primarily used for photography, DSLRs are incredibly small, work great in low light situations, and pair with a wide range of lenses — making them perfect for video. However, DSLRs do require some training (and additional purchases) of lenses. If you're interested in going the prosumer route, take a look at the Canon PowerShot ELPH 340. The GoPro HERO5 is another fun option for adventurous shoots with lots of movement. Considering the expense of a DSLR camera, research your options and read plenty of reviews. Top of the line options (from most expensive to least) include the Sony Alpha a7SII, Nikon D810, and Canon EOS 5D Mark III. For a more cost-effective option, check out the Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon 80D, Nikon d3300, or Canon EOS Rebel T6. Understanding Your Camera's Manual Settings If you choose a DSLR, there are a few settings you need to understand before your first shoot: frame rate, shutter speed, ISO, aperture, and color balance. Definitely keep your camera nearby as you read — manual settings can seem quite abstract without testing them for yourself. But before we dive in, we want to stress that this is a high-level overview of each setting. If you find yourself wanting more, dive in and do some of your own research. There's plenty to learn about how to manipulate these settings and use them together to create different looks. Lastly, there will be a different method for adjusting these settings based on your specific camera. Always refer to your camera's instruction manual. Frame Rate As with video concepts, there are tons of customization options. The most basic customization option when it comes to frame rate is shooting your video at 24 frames per second (fps) or 30fps. Video experts often credit 24fps with a more “cinematic” look, while 30fps is more common, especially for videos that need to be projected or broadcasted. A good rule of thumb is to ask the end-user of your video what his or her preferences are and shoot based on that. Then, be sure your resolution is at least 1920 x 1080 to maintain quality footage. Once you've set your frame rate and resolution in your camera's settings, it's time to determine your aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Be sure to turn your camera to manual mode to control these settings. (While we'll define each of these individually, know that these three variables are meant to work in tandem with each other. In fact, many photographers use the term Exposure Triangle to describe how they relate to light and how it interacts with the camera.)   Aperture Aperture refers to the size of the opening in the lens. Like a human eye, a lens opens and closes to control the amount of light reaching the sensor. Aperture is measured in what's called an f-stop. The smaller the f-stop number, the more open the lens is, while a larger number means the lens is more closed. What does aperture mean for your video? When a lot of light comes into the camera (with a low f-stop number), you get a brighter image and a shallow depth of field. This is great for when you want your subject to stand out against a background. When less light comes into the camera (with a high f-stop number), you get what's called deep depth of field and are able to maintain focus across a larger portion of your frame. Shutter Speed To understand shutter speed, we first have to talk about photography. When taking a photo, shutter speed refers to the length of time the camera's sensor is exposed to light. Think of it as how quickly or slowly the camera blinks. If you've seen a perfectly timed photo of a hummingbird seemingly frozen in time, you've witnessed a very fast shutter speed. Meanwhile, an image of a rushing river with the water blurring together was probably taken with slow shutter speed. Shutter speed is measured in seconds, or in most cases, fractions of seconds. The greater the denominator of the fraction is, the faster the shutter speed. So, 1/1000 would be faster than 1/30. But what does shutter speed mean for video? We won't go too deep into the science of shutter speed, but to pick the adequate setting, you'll have to do a little math. First, multiply your frame rate by 2. So if you're shooting in 24fps, that would be 48. This number becomes the denominator of your shutter speed fraction. Since shutter speed is only available in a few increments, you'll need to round 1/48 up to the next closest setting: 1/50. Here are some common shutter speeds and how to calculate them: At 24fps, 24 x 2 = 48, equalling a shutter speed of 1/50 At 30fps, 30 x 2 = 60, equalling a shutter speed of 1/60 At 60fps, 60 x 2 = 120, equalling a shutter speed of 1/20 Remember, this process is just a guideline for choosing shutter speed. Traditionalists stick to these calculations, but there's always room to tweak shutter speed slightly to achieve a desired effect. In the case of video, rules can be broken — as long as you have a good enough reason. ISO Last in the Exposure Triangle is ISO. In digital photography and videography, ISO measures the camera sensor's sensitivity to light. On your camera, you'll see the settings referred to with numbers in the hundreds or thousands (e.g. 200, 400, 800, 1600, etc). The higher the number, the more sensitive your camera is to light … the lower the number, the less sensitive. ISO also affects the graininess of the image. Low ISOs produce a crisp shot, while high ISOs create a more noisy, grainy shot. When choosing an ISO, consider the lighting. If your subject is well-lit (for example, if you were outside), you can get by with a lower ISO, ideally around 100 or 200. If you're indoors in a low-light situation, you'll need to bump up the ISO — just be careful of how grainy it makes your shot. This is where you can begin to see how the three factors of the Exposure Triangle work together. When you have a low-lit situation, for example, you may choose a lens that can shoot with a low f-stop to let more light into the camera and avoid making the shot too noisy with a high ISO. If you're just starting out with manual video settings, don't be overwhelmed. Understanding the ins and outs of the Exposure Triangle takes time and a lot of practice. Here are two tips to beat the learning curve: Start with photos. By switching your camera off video mode, you'll be able to see the relationship between aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. Take a ton of photos and change each setting incrementally. Over time, the numbers will be less intimidating and switching between settings will make more sense — and become easier to apply to video. Form a process. Every videographer has their own method, but we suggest setting your shutter speed first according to the math described above. Then adjust aperture according to the depth of field you want to create. Then, ISO. Finally, circle back to shutter speed for any fine adjustments. While aperture, shutter speed, and ISO may be the three main pillars of manual photography and videography, there is a fourth piece of the puzzle that's just as important: white balance. White Balance White balance tells your camera the color temperature of the environment you're shooting in. Different types of light have different colors. For example, incandescent bulbs (like what many people put in a lamp) have a very warm color. The fluorescent lights (if you're reading this in an office, look up) are a little bit cooler. Daylight is cooler yet. Before you begin shooting, you have to adjust your camera's white balance according to your setup. The exact settings on your camera will depend on your model, but there's likely an auto option, a bunch of presets (daylight, cloudy, tungsten, etc.), and custom. Avoid auto white balance at all costs and opt for a preset or custom instead. If you have a top-of-the-line DSLR, there may also be an option to manually set the color temperature of the room, measured in Kelvin. To help you understand the importance of setting your white balance, consider the difference between these two photos. The environment is lit with yellow fluorescent lights. You can see how the appropriate setting looks natural, while the daylight setting adds a blue tint to the scene. Focus Focus isn't one of the key settings of shooting, but it's definitely important to keep in mind. With a DSLR, you have the option to shoot with autofocus or manual focus. It depends on the camera and lens you have, but typically autofocus is not the most accurate. Instead, flip your lens to manual focus. Use the (+) and (-) buttons to enlarge the viewfinder and move in close to your subject's face. Then, adjust the focus on the lens. For shooting a stationary setup like an interview, make sure the subject's eyelashes are in focus — that way, you can be certain your footage is clear and sharp. 4. Set up your studio. When you begin building your in-office studio, the purchases can add up quickly. Not only do you need a camera, but the more you read, the more you realize you need tripods, lights, microphones, and more. Take a breath. With a little bit of know-how, building your studio doesn't have to be overwhelming. There are plenty of cost-effective choices and DIY hacks to make sure your videos look top-of-the-line. Basic Equipment Always shoot with a tripod. It should go without saying, but the handheld method you use for your Snapchat story isn't going to cut it. Tripods will ensure you maintain a steady shot and not break any expensive equipment in the process. Tripods range tremendously in price, and the quality of your tripod should depend on the level of camera and lens you have. If you're shooting with your phone, you can get by with a table mount like the Arkon Tripod Mount or a full-size tripod like the Acuvar 50” Aluminum Tripod. For a DSLR, Manfrotto makes a variety of trustworthy tripods starting with the Manfrotto BeFree and increasing in quality and price from there. Along with the tripod, stock up on camera batteries and SD cards. Recording video will cause you to run through both much quicker than taking photos. Audio Equipment If you've begun testing out your camera's video capabilities, you've probably noticed that it has an internal microphone to record audio … don't use it. If you set up your camera at a reasonable distance from your subject, you'll quickly learn that the internal microphone isn't powerful enough to adequately record audio. Instead, you should begin investing in a few pieces of quality sound equipment. When you're shooting with your iPhone, there are a ton of microphone options that are all easy to use and decently cheap. For example, the Movo MA200 Omni-Directional iPhone microphone will give you a plug-and-play solution for capturing audio on the fly. Opinions vary greatly among sound engineers on the best method and equipment for recording audio with a DSLR. You've likely seen many videos that use a lavalier microphone — the small piece that clips below the collar of the talent's shirt. Lavaliers come in both wired and wireless options. However, lavaliers can be a bit obtrusive both for the talent (who has to have a wire threaded down his or her shirt) and for the viewer (who has to see a microphone for the whole video). Instead, if you know you're recording in a controlled environment (like a conference room in your office) we suggest recording with a shotgun mic. They're reliable, remain out of the shot, and record background noise in a natural-sounding way. To create a shotgun mic setup in your office studio, you'll need a shotgun mic like the Sennheiser ME66, a shotgun clip, light stand, XLR cable, and Zoom H4N recorder. The Zoom recorder will allow you to record audio separately on an SD card and adjust the gain for the environment you're shooting in. We admit these audio purchases may sound like a lot. But a shotgun mic setup is a worthy investment that will last for years. If you're looking for a more cost-effective solution, look into the Rode VideoMic that mounts on top of your DSLR and plugs right into the camera body. Lighting Equipment You have a camera. You have audio. Now, let's talk about lights. To outfit your studio without breaking the bank, head over to your local home improvement store. Pick up extension cords and a few clamp lights with bulbs. You'll also need three light stands, which are available on Amazon. The traditional setup of video lights is known as three-point lighting. As you might guess, it involves three lights placed strategically around the subject, wrapping them in light and creating appealing shadows on their face. First, you'll need a key light. Place this at a 45-degree angle to the left or right of the subject. Lift the light above their head and aim it downwards. As the name suggests, this is the key light and should be bright enough that it could be the only light in the scene … if it had to be. Next, place the fill light at a 45-degree angle on the other side and lift it close to or just above eye level. The purpose of the fill is to soften the shadows created by the key, but without getting rid of them completely. Therefore, the fill should be dimmer than the key light. If you have to use the same type of light for both, scoot the fill back and diffuse it by clipping a clear shower curtain onto the clamp light with clothespins. Finally, the backlight will add a third layer of dimension. Scoot your subject away from the background. Lift a light above the subject's head and place it behind them and off to the side so it's out of the frame. The light should be aimed at the back of their head, creating a subtle rim of light and separating them from the background. Setting Up Your In-Office Studio Now that you have all of your equipment, you're finally ready to build your office studio. While you could always grab a closet to store your equipment in, let's go a bit bigger and claim a conference room. By having a designated studio, you'll save loads of prep time for each shoot. Just make sure the conference room isn't too empty. If you have to, bring in a couch, chairs, or blankets to minimize the echos in the room. Speaking of sound, pay special attention to the hum of the air conditioning. Find a room with minimal noise or turn down the fan during recording. Consider purchasing photography paper to create a background that's a little more appealing than a white conference room wall. When it comes time to shoot, clear out unnecessary people from the room and turn off the overhead lights. With your three-point lighting setup, there will be no need for those harsh fluorescents. When — and only when — everything is set up, call in your talent. There's nothing worse than being nervous, and then having to anxiously watch as lights are turned on and the camera is tested. 5. Prepare your talent. If you have experienced, confident actors in your company, you're lucky. Video talent is a rare resource. But with a little bit of coaching (and a fair share of nervous laughter), you can help your teammates thrive in front of the camera. No matter if it's your first video or your fiftieth, remember that getting in front of the camera is scary. Schedule plenty of time and give your talent the script early — but make it clear they don't need to memorize it. Instead, place a laptop below the eye-line of the camera. Break the script into short paragraphs and record it section by section until you capture a great take of each. If you plan in advance when the final video will show b-roll (supplementary footage or screenshots), you can have your talent read those lines directly off the laptop like a voice over. During the shoot, your job goes beyond pressing record. First and foremost, you need to be a coach. Balance critical feedback with support and be quick to give encouragement after each take. This is why conducting a table read during the scripting process is so important: It's easier to give feedback when there's not a camera in the room. Remember, be a little silly during the shoot or your talent will be on edge and uncomfortable — and it will show in the footage. But while you're maintaining the fun level on set, remain vigilant. It's your job to pay attention to the little things, like making sure all of the mics are on or noticing if the lighting changes. Record each section many times and have your talent play with inflections. When you think they've nailed the shot … get just one more. At this point, your talent is already on a roll, and options will help tremendously during editing. Finally, circle back to the beginning of the script at the end of your recording. Chances are your subject got more comfortable throughout the shoot. Since the beginning is often the most crucial part of the video, record that section again when they're feeling the most confident. Composition Basics There are some films that are simply beautiful. It's not the story or even the picturesque setting. In fact, the scene might take place in the dingiest of sets, but somehow each shot just feels right. That's the power of composition. When objects appear where they should in the frame, the quality of your video increases exponentially. For video, the rules of composition are similar to what you may have learned in a photography or art class. First, consider the rule of thirds — the idea that you can create a sense of balance by imagining the canvas with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. Key elements should occur at the intersection of these lines. For example, if you are shooting an interview or a how-to video, the subject's eyes should align with the top horizontal line around one of the two intersections. For this “talking head” shot, you can also improve your composition by leaving enough (but not too much) headroom. This is the empty space above the person's head. Source One of the best ways to improve the look of your video is to include b-roll. B-roll is the supplementary footage included as a cutaway. This might include shots of a customer service rep talking on a phone, a designer editing your website, visuals of your office, or even screenshots of your product. The key with b-roll is to make sure each and every piece enhances the story. When you're collecting b-roll, include a mix of shots from varying angles and distances. In fact, film professionals use different names to describe these variations. Establishing Shots: Wide shots allow the viewer to see the entire scene. These are great to use when introducing the scene at the beginning of a video. Medium Shots: Tighter shots that focus on the subject or a portion of the scene. Your classic interview shot could be considered a medium shot. Close-ups: Tightly cropped shots zoomed in to show detail. These might feature someone's hands typing on a keyboard or pouring a cup of coffee. As practice, try telling a story with your b-roll and planning out a shot sequence. For example, your subject might open a door from the hallway, walk into their office space, sit down at their desk, open their laptop, and begin typing. Seems simple, right? But a shot sequence showing this 10-second scenario might consist of six or more different b-roll clips. Here's where the final lesson of composition comes in: continuity. Continuity is the process of combining shots into a sequence so that they appear to have happened at the same time and place. A key part of continuity is making sure any ancillary objects in the scene — for example, a cup of water on a desk — stay in the same place (and have the same amount of water) throughout all of the shots. The other part of learning continuity is match on action. For the scene described above, you'd want to record the subject opening the door and walking in from both inside and outside the room. In post-production, you could then flip between the clips at the exact right time to make the cut seamless. 6. Shoot for the edit. When it comes to video, some are better at shooting while others are better at editing. Whatever side you claim, you should understand the process and pain points of each. For instance, as the person behind the camera, you may believe you collect ample footage and ask all the right interview questions. But to the editor, you may actually be shooting too much of one type of shot and missing out on some that would make their job easier. Filmmakers teach a valuable lesson here: shoot for the edit. By remembering that the footage you record will be edited later, you can make smarter decisions and save countless hours in the editing room. The first step in adopting a shoot-for-the-edit mindset is remembering to leave a buffer at the beginning and the end of each clip. There are called handles and can save editors from the headache of cutting too close to an important shot. In the section on preparing talent, we discussed how to record your script in short sections. If the editor were to stitch these sections together side-by-side, the subject's face and hands might abruptly switch between clips. This is called a jump cut, and for editors, it poses an interesting challenge. Thankfully, this is where b-roll comes in handy, to mask these jump cuts. Example of a jump cut As a producer, your job is to capture plenty of b-roll to make sure your editor never runs out. Create a shot list of more b-roll ideas than you think you'll need and mark them off as you record them. To mask jump cuts, you can also shoot with two cameras, especially if you're recording an interview without a script. Camera A would be the traditional, straight-on shot. Camera B should be angled 30 to 45-degrees to the side and capture a distinctly different shot. The editor could then flip between these two views to make the cut appear natural. Example of switching between interview angles A note about shooting with two cameras: Your editor will need to sync the footage between the different views. To help them do this, clap your hands loudly in the view of both cameras right before you ask the first interview question … yes, just like an old fashion clapboard. Modern editing software has auto-sync features, but this loud clap will help you initially line up the clips. Finally, mark your good clips. Even if you're recording a scripted video, you might have to record each section 10 or more times. Once your subject nails the take, wave your hand in front of the lens. That way, the editor can scrub directly to this visual cue and save time on footage review. 7. Organize your footage. Yes, file organization is boring. But when video editing, it just might save your project. Capturing video will force you to take a hard look at your computer and file organization habits. If you're one of those people who work off a cluttered desktop — you know who you are — you'll find yourself in a world of hurt. First, video format files are incredibly large, so it's very unlikely you'll want to store any of them on your internal hard drive. You'll quickly run out of storage, and your computer's processing speed will begin lagging under the weight. Instead, invest in an external hard drive like one of the Lacie Rugged models. External hard drives come in a variety of sizes and port options (Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, etc.). Multimedia creators will use the phrase “working off of an external” to describe storing all of their project files on this hard drive. This method also makes it easier to collaborate with teammates because you can easily share the drive. Second, video editing programs are very particular about where you keep your files. If you don't stick with the original file structure, you may find yourself buried in error messages. (We'll cover software options and best practices in the next section.) On your external hard drive, you should create a separate top-level folder for each project. Within this folder, there should be a prescribed set of “buckets” to store your video footage, audio, design assets, and more. Create a template project folder that you can copy and paste for each project using the image below as a guide. When you import your footage from your camera, place it in the “footage” folder on your hard drive. For both the project folders and your editing files, follow a consistent naming structure. For example, you could start each name using YRMODA (year-month-date). So a video on Instagram Hacks might be named “180625_instagram_hacks” if it was started on June 25, 2018. Even with a perfectly organized external hard drive, you're not yet out of the weeds. You need to back up your files (and maybe even back up your backup files). It's not uncommon to have an external hard drive for everyday work, another external for backups, and a third set of backups in the cloud via Dropbox or Google Drive. 8. Edit your video. Okay, you've filmed your video footage. Congrats — you're halfway there! Now it's time to talk about editing. We get it, video editing can be confusing. It's easy to feel overwhelmed at first, especially when you see software price tags! Luckily, there are many options for video editing based on your skill level, operating system, and budget. There are even free programs and mobile apps! Let's go over a few options. Intermediate: Apple iMovie iMovie is Apple's video editing software. Compatible with Macs and other iOS devices, iMovie is simple, user-friendly, and free on all Apple products. iMovie allows you to create and edit your videos by cutting together clips, adding titles, music, sound effects, basic color correction, filters, and special effects. The program even provides helpful templates that simplify the editing process. The platform supports high-quality clips like 4K video footage and makes it easy to share your work directly to a video hosting platform. Limited access to advanced color correction and editing features mean it isn't commonly used by professionals, but iMovie is still a great option if you're just starting out. Advanced: Adobe Premiere Pro Adobe Premiere Pro is a leading video editing software program used by amateurs and professionals alike. With a customizable interface and numerous advanced editing tools, the platform is often called the industry standard for video editing and has been used to edit major Hollywood movies like Gone Girl and Deadpool. Premiere makes it easy to collaborate with other editors, organize your material, and sync with other programs in the Adobe suite like After Effects and Photoshop. The platform supports high-quality footage (4K and higher) and includes advanced, built-in color correction and grading tools that set it apart from cheaper or free options like iMovie. The only downside to Premiere is the cost. A year-long subscription to the latest Premiere Pro CC comes in around $240. If you're new to video editing, you may want to experiment with a cheaper option like iMovie or Adobe Premiere Elements before investing in the Premiere Pro. On the fence? Check out some Adobe Premiere Pro tutorials here. 9. Choose your music. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about video? I'm guessing the actual video footage. While it's important to concentrate on your video footage, don't forget to factor music into your overall plan and budget. Music is a powerful tool that can alter your video's mood and tone — just watch the videos above! Choosing the right music often makes the difference between an amateur project and a professional piece of content. When used properly, it can help keep your viewer's attention, evoke emotions, and define your overall editing style. Before you start filming, set a music budget and research your local copyright laws. Copyright law can be very difficult to decipher, especially when you're dealing with digital content. Bottom line: Most music isn't free. If you use another artist's music without permission or proper licensing, you risk video removal and legal action. In order to avoid copyright infringement, you'll need to find royalty-free tunes or pay a composer to create an original score. Royalty-free songs aren't free to use; they're quality songs available for a single flat fee. This means you don't have to worry about paying additional licensing fees or royalties in the future. YouTube, Pond5, and PremiumBeat are all great sites to find royalty-free music. Next, consider your audience and the overall mood for your production. Are you targeting a small audience that will appreciate the newest, underground hip-hop track, or do you need something that will appeal to many demographics? Are you creating a practical product tutorial or an upbeat event recap? Be sure to choose music that enhances the overall tone of your video. In addition to considering your audience, be sure to contemplate the purpose of the music. Do you need background music or something with real impact? Will you be narrating or speaking in the video? If so, don't let the music get in the way of your content. Sometimes the best music is the music you don't remember at all. After you've determined the type of music you need, it's time to start analyzing potential songs. Consider the song's pacing. Songs with a steady rhythm are easy to change to suit your video style. Hoping to include your favorite, Top 40 hit? Popular, radio songs are usually structured in 4-5 parts and can be difficult to transition. Try to choose simple songs that are easy to loop. If you're looking for an instrumental song, be sure to find something that was recorded with real instruments. Songs made with digital samples can make your video feel unprofessional and out of date. Finally, consider adding intro and outro music. Intro and outro music, or bookends, can serve as a theme for your content. These are a great choice if you don't need music throughout your entire video. Bookend music can help set the tone for your video, naturally split your content into chapters, and leave your viewers feeling they had a complete experience. While some videos feel unfinished without background music, others just need a few tunes to tie the project together. Pay attention to videos that have a similar style to see how others utilize music. 10. Record your voice over. You have your video footage and music — now it's time to chat about voice overs. A voice over is the separate video narration that's not spoken by the speaker on-camera. Voice overs are an effective tool that can help make your content more relatable, emotional, and fluid. It's important to remember that video audio is just as important as video visuals. The good news is that you don't have to be the next Don LaFontaine or hire a professional to record a great voice over. Below are a few tips to capture audio on a budget. Find a location. Decide on a spot to record. If you can't go to a professional studio, try to pick a quiet room away from distracting external sounds like sirens, opening and closing doors, and people talking on the phone. Read your script aloud, and pay attention to the room's acoustics. Does your voice echo or sound muffled? If so, consider recording in a different space or adding furniture to fill in the room. Prepare. Practice makes perfect! Before you record, read through your script a few times and take note of any difficult pauses, transitions, and words. On the big day, be sure to stay hydrated and avoid wearing noisy clothing or jewelry. Also, use a stand, laptop, or teleprompter while recording so you aren't rustling through a printed script. Test and listen. Think you can record the perfect voice over in just one take? Think again! Invest in a good pair of headphones and keep an eye on your audio quality throughout the recording process. It's easier to get a new take of audio than trying to fix it during the editing process. We recommend running through your script a few times, especially the first few paragraphs, to ensure that your voice is fully warmed up. If you hear popping or hissing sounds, try standing further away from the mic or invest in a pop filter. Relax! Be sure to read slowly, pause, and take breaks while recording your voice over. Sometimes all you need is a sip of water to get back on track. Video Hosting Platforms You're ready to publish your video. You shot the footage, edited it together, added music and a voice over, and exported it for the web. Now it's time to get your video online so your audience can start viewing, sharing, and engaging with it. You have several options for hosting videos online, and in this section, we'll talk about some of the best ones. YouTube When you ask your friends which online video platform they use, the answer you probably hear the most is YouTube. YouTube is the largest video hosting platform and the second largest search platform and second most visited website — both after Google. Every single day, people watch over five billion videos on YouTube. It's also free to upload your videos to YouTube and optimize them for search. In addition to its massive audience, YouTube offers several other features that make the platform a good option for hosting your video. Because YouTube videos are hosted on individual channels, the platform allows you to build a dedicated audience of subscribers. Users who follow your channel are more likely to see additional videos you upload. Within your channel itself, you can also organize videos into playlists, making it easy for your audience to search within your content. As a social platform, viewers can engage with your videos by liking and commenting on them, providing you another chance to interact with your audience. YouTube also offers a variety of advertising options for more sophisticated targeting. Although YouTube offers the benefit of reaching a large audience with no cost to upload and host videos, there are several downsides to the platform. While video ads can be a great tool for promoting your own content, the number of ads on the platform from other advertisers can detract from your viewer's experience. YouTube is also (surprise, surprise!) highly addicting. 83% of viewers prefer YouTube over any other video platform. Once viewers are on the platform, they usually stick around to watch another video … or 20. This can make it difficult to drive traffic back to your site from the platform. Despite these barriers, YouTube is a great platform for hosting videos and growing your audience. Vimeo If your friends didn't answer your earlier question with “YouTube” then they most likely responded with Vimeo, the second largest video hosting platform. Vimeo's audience is significantly smaller (715 million monthly views) than YouTube's, but there are still many benefits that make it a favorite for content creators and viewers alike. Among these is a simpler, cleaner, user interface that makes it easier to navigate the platform. Unlike YouTube, Vimeo has very limited ads and commercials that would otherwise detract from your viewers' experience. Videos on Vimeo also tend to be higher quality than on YouTube, and the audience on the platform is likely to be more professional. Vimeo offers several different premium account options to better suit businesses. The premium accounts provide additional storage, advanced analytics, customer support, player customization, access to lead generation tools, and much more. In addition to premium accounts, Vimeo also partners with businesses to produce quality marketing content. If you're looking to showcase high quality, artistic content, Vimeo might be the platform for you. Its engaged audience and beautiful aesthetic make it a great place to host creative videos. However, if you're focused on quantity over quality and increasing your reach, you may want to explore other platform options. Vidyard Vidyard is a video hosting platform built specifically for businesses. It's not just another option to store and manage your videos; instead, it allows you to become a fully video-enabled business. Here's what we mean. These days, we know posting your video to YouTube isn't enough. You need channel-specific video content for Facebook and Instagram, not to mention for your website. Enter: Vidyard. The platform allows you to publish and update to all of these places from a central location. From this portal, you'll find all sorts of viewer insights. Discover what types of video content your audience likes and how they watch their videos. Then, channel those insights directly into your marketing automation software or CRM. For example, if that prospect you've been monitoring views your latest case study video, you'll be notified straight away. One of the coolest features of Vidyard is the ability to personalize videos with the viewer's name or company directly in the video design. This is a creative addition as you begin working video into your marketing and sales strategies. How to Create a Video Social Media Strategy We've learned how to create high-quality videos for your business. Now, let's make sure those videos fit within each social network's best practices. Creating and posting videos on social media should always help you drive toward your existing marketing goals. For example, if your goal is to get more people to download an ebook, you could create a short teaser or how-to video and post the full link to the ebook's landing page in the copy of your social post. Let's drill down into best practices for each social network. Twitter Promote a new blog post, engage with your audience, or even drive viewers to a landing page with Twitter videos. When teasing a blog post or piece of content on Twitter, always keep your video short and sweet – brevity is a core factor on this channel. Short clips that are easy to consume tend to perform the best. Try pinning your video to the top of your profile for some added exposure. If you want to get a little more experimental with using video on Twitter, you can try making short, custom videos to engage with your audience. These highly personal, one-to-one response videos are an awesome way to make your brand more human while building personal connections with your engaged followers. Facebook and Instagram When you walk onto a bus or train for your morning commute, how many people are scrolling through their smartphones to see the news and content they've missed overnight? Pretty much everyone – but not everyone is wearing headphones. For this reason, make sure your video works with or without sound. BuzzFeed is the master of silent auto-play — just take a look at their Facebook page. The reason their silent auto-play strategy works so well is because of this rise in mobile video views and the way people scroll through and consume content on social media. They often post quick recipes or quick how-to’s, often with easy-to-follow imagery or helpful text to describe what is happening. Source Facebook also favors longer videos in their newsfeed algorithm. The goal with this shift is to better surface videos that are most relevant to the viewer. So what does this mean for you? Don't panic; this just confirms what we already know is true. Creating the "right" content for your audience is more important than churning out it out for the sake of it. Secondly, upload videos directly to Facebook. Facebook continues to make a compelling case for uploading your videos natively to the platform — the primary reason being that your content will be seen by more eyes. Brand awareness videos that are light-hearted and entertaining tend to perform well on Facebook for this very reason – their algorithm takes into account a user's previous video-related actions when determining what videos to show them on subsequent visits. Make a video that's super relevant to your audience, share it on Facebook, and see what type of engagement you can drum up! Lastly, grab attention instantly... and keep it. Did you know that Instagram was the first social channel to initiate silent, auto-playing videos? It's true! Shortly after, Facebook followed suit, so it's safe to say that catering to this type of video when creating content for social media is the way to go. It might seem daunting to try and grab someone's attention so fast and without sound, but here are a few best practices you can use to make things easier: Start off your video with motion to grab your viewer's attention while they're scrolling through the feed. Videos that feature people speaking are great for landing pages or your website, but try to stick to visually stimulating videos for Facebook and Instagram (unless you're going Live, which we'll talk more about later). Incorporate text or include captions so that viewers can follow along with or without audio. YouTube On YouTube, post with a specific strategy in mind. Think of YouTube as a giant library of video content where people go to either educate themselves or to be entertained. YouTube reports over 1 billion unique users per month – sounds like a social media gold-mine, right? Well, sometimes, yes. There are, however, a few questions you should ask yourself before going forth with posting every video you've ever made to your YouTube account: Can you make the specific video content they're searching for there? Do you need these prospects to end up on your website? If you're purely seeking some broad brand awareness, YouTube could be an awesome channel for you? (Just don't expect much in the way of driving tons of traffic back to your site.) Establish and grow a dedicated channel of subscribers by creating informative, educational content that is in high demand, and you'll start to see some real success! LinkedIn For a long time, LinkedIn was one of the less video-friendly social networks, that's changed. Users can now upload videos, and brands (whether that's your company brand or personal brand) can now get even more creative with the content they share. Considering this fairly recent development, what should you be considering when creating and uploading LinkedIn videos? LinkedIn recommends four different themes for creating video to be used on its platform: 1. Show it. If you're in a fast-paced industry that's always evolving, brands and thought leaders can take the lead by showcasing new technologies in video format, or providing tutorials on how a new physical product works. 2. Transport them there. Video is the perfect medium for giving audiences a taste of what it's like to really be somewhere. The most obvious use case here is industry conferences and events. If your company hosts them, uploading videos of the event to LinkedIn is a great way to demonstrate the buzz you're creating in your industry. If you're working on your personal brand, bringing snapshots of the things you're learning at the event to your connections can be the perfect way to help your community or develop your own thought leadership by sharing your perspective of everything that's happening there. 3. Teach it. If you have a time-saving hack to share or have learned something new that might help other people in your network, video is a super effective medium for sharing that knowledge. If you're thinking about this on behalf of your company, ask yourself what your buyer personas often struggle with, and see if you can teach them a solution in video format. 4. Share it. This is one for the opinionated amongst us. If you have thoughts on a recent announcement or piece of industry news, let people know what you're thinking in a video! Likewise, if your company has some news, or has made a recent key hire that your followers and wider industry would want to hear about, a video is a personable take that can be used alongside the traditional press release. Of course, you don't have to stick to these four themes — get creative and test to see what works best for you. Lastly, upload videos directly to LinkedIn. Here's how to create and upload a video for LinkedIn: Go to the LinkedIn app and tap the video icon in the share box in the top right-hand corner. Select the video icon to record now, or choose a pre-recorded video from your phone's camera roll. If you chose to record now, you'll begin recording a video inside the LinkedIn app itself. Add a description to your video to sit alongside it when you post. Hit Post and your video will start to appear in your followers' feeds. Live Video: Facebook & Instagram While Instagram's traditional features let users record short video clips and post them online afterward, new live features on Facebook and Instagram take a different approach, allowing users to post live video streams of what they're doing at that very moment. When you’re setting up videos for Facebook Live or Instagram Live, make sure you’re following the steps in the first section of this guide. If you do this, you’ll have much higher quality live videos, which will set you apart from other live videos being shown. In addition to these steps, we have a few more things to keep in mind. Consider timing. Keep in mind that your live video will be broadcast from the platform (Facebook or Instagram) itself, so that's where you'll be promoting your broadcasts primarily. Do some research on your Facebook/Instagram audiences to find out when they're most engaged with your posts. Even if some of your followers miss out, the app will save your videos to the app by default (although you can delete them manually if you want to), and they'll be available for viewing by your followers after the fact. As for the length of your video broadcasts, remember that most people's attention spans are fairly short — especially on mobile. If your broadcasts aren't captivating from the get-go, users will likely stop viewing your stream. Spend time coming up with a compelling title. It's vital that your title describes what your video is and why people should either tune in now or replay your stream later (up to 24 hours). Here are a few styles that make effective titles: Straight-Forward: Sometimes, the most effective title will tell people exactly what you're going doing in the video. For example, Elijah Wood once posted a live video with the title "Jellyfish" whilst visiting the aquarium — which is exactly what the video showed; nothing more, nothing less. Exclusive: A title that lets users believe they're seeing exclusive footage can be super compelling. For example, you might broadcast a video titled, "I'm live from my show!" for all the viewers at home. Another version of this could be "A Backstage Look Into..." or something along those lines. Unique: Broadcasting something unique, rare, or just plain weird? Own it. One of my personal favorites was, “My Fridge: 100 Viewers and I’ll Drop Eggs." Respond to comments live. One of the coolest features on Facebook is that people who are watching your stream in real time can comment and "like" the broadcast (which show up as hearts, like on Instagram). Other viewers are able to see these comments and the number of hearts your video has. Acknowledge or even respond to these comments out loud on the live broadcast to encourage engagement and make the experience feel like more of a two-way conversation. Experiment with use cases. Since Facebook and Instagram Live features are still relatively new, there aren't solidly defined ways to use it, especially for brands. This is a unique opportunity for you to experiment with different ways of using it and what type of content your audience likes most. Facebook Live lets you analyze a few key stats you'll want to keep track of while you're figuring out what works. Once your video ends, the app lets you see how many live viewers you had, how many viewers replayed your video, and how many hearts your video received (this number updates automatically as users continue "liking" your video from the time it ends until it expires). Finally, as you experiment with different recording environments, keep in mind that background noise is easily picked up by microphones — so you'll want to make sure you're in a relatively controlled environment if doing a more serious or professional broadcast. How to Use Video Throughout the Flywheel Too often, companies jump at the opportunity to create their first video. They spend tons of money on an explainer video for their homepage, but as soon as the project is complete, all future video ambitions screech to a halt. On the other hand, plenty of businesses churn out a slew of social videos. But since they've simply replicated fads they've seen, their videos hardly consider their audience's challenges or habits. Considering the time, money, and resources involved, video marketing can't be an impulsive guessing game. Instead, you need to create a comprehensive video marketing strategy that applies to every facet of your flywheel. This means thinking in the context of the inbound methodology. The inbound methodology is the marketing and sales approach focused on attracting customers through content and interactions that are relevant and helpful. Each video you create should acknowledge your audience's challenges and provide a solution. Looking at the big picture, this content guides consumers through the journey of becoming aware of, evaluating, and purchasing your product or service. In the following sections, we'll cover the types of videos you should create for each stage in the image above. To start, plan to create at least two videos for each. Don't forget to include call-to-actions to help lead your audience through their purchase journey and into the role of "promoter." Over time, you can improve based on conversion rates and the content gaps you discover. Attract The first step of the inbound methodology is to attract — or turn strangers into visitors. Consumers at this stage are identifying their challenges and deciding whether or not they should seek out a solution. Therefore, the videos you create should empathize with their problems and introduce a possible solution in your product or service. Ultimately, the goal of this kind of video is to expand reach and build trust. Because you are looking to garner shares for your video, it'll likely be more entertaining and emotion-evoking than educational. But, you should still provide enough information to associate yourself as an authority on the topic. Examples of videos in the “attract” stage include snackable social videos that show off your brand's personality, thought leadership videos that establish you as a source of industry news and insight, brand films the share your values and mission, or explainers and how-to videos that provide relevant tips for solving your audience's pain point. Discover 75 tips for creating, sharing, and optimizing video for Facebook and Instagram. For any "attract" video, avoid speaking too much about your product. Instead, let your brand values and personality be your north star(s). Finally, because these videos can live on a variety of channels, keep in mind the strategies of each platform. For example, a Facebook video might have a square aspect ratio and text animations for soundless viewers. Convert Now that you've attracted video viewers and website visitors, the next step is to convert these visitors into leads. With most inbound marketing content, this means collecting some sort of contact information via a form. Video can aid this process by visualizing a solution to the buyer's problem, whether that's before the form on a landing page or as the offer itself. Overall, the goal of this kind of video is to educate and excite. "Convert" videos may include a webinar filled with tactical advice, product demos sent via email, landing page promotional videos, case studies, or more in-depth explainer and how-to videos. For example, while an "attract" video might provide a quick tip for nailing a sales pitch, a "convert" video could be an animated explainer video that breaks down the inbound sales methodology. Close You've attracted a new audience with your videos and converted the right visitors into leads. Now's the time to close these leads into customers. Yet, as important as this stage is, "close" videos are often the most overlooked by marketers and salespeople. At this point, the consumer is weighing their options and deciding on the purchase. Therefore, the goal of this kind of video is to make your audience visualize themselves using your product or service — and thriving. There's a reason 4X as many customers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it. Videos are able to display functionality and leverage emotions in ways a product description never could. Great "close" videos include testimonials of customers with relatable stories, in-depth product demos, culture videos that sell viewers on your quality of service, or even personalized videos that explain exactly how your product could help their business Delight A purchase may have been made, but there's still a lot of video can do to leverage the post-conversion stage of your flywheel. During the "delight stage" of the inbound methodology, your goal is to continue providing remarkable content to users that makes their interaction with your product or service as incredible as possible. It's also in hopes that they'll tell their connections about their experience or up-sell themselves. Therefore, the goal of this type of video is to encourage your customers to embrace your brand and become brand evangelists. Your first opportunity to delight comes directly after the purchase. Consider sending a thank you video to welcome them into the community or an onboarding video to get them rolling with their new purchase. Then, build out a library of educational courses or product training videos to cater to consumers who prefer self-service or simply want to expand their expertise. Defining Your Goals and Analyzing Results At this point, you know how to create a video and where to host it. You're ready to get started, right? Not quite. Before you dive in, you need to define your video goals and identify the best metrics for determining whether you've accomplished those goals. Before launching any marketing campaign, it's important to determine your primary video goal. This could be to increase brand awareness, engagement, or even conversions for a free trial. It's crucial to pick out just one or two goals for each video. When you define more than that, your video will seem unfocused, making it difficult for viewers to determine what they should do next. When thinking of your goals, be sure to keep your buyer persona and target audience in mind. How old are they? Where do they live? What are their interests? How do they typically consume media? What stage of the buyer's journey are they in? All of these questions can help determine what type of video you should make and where you should post it. For example, if your target audience is not familiar with your company, you probably want to make a video that focuses on brand awareness before producing an in-depth, product video. You'll also want to host your video on a site that already has a large reach, like YouTube. Next, let's talk about metrics. Understanding these will equip you to define and measure your success and set your goals. When you post a video, it's easy to get obsessed with one metric — view count. While view count can be an important metric, there are many others that may be more relevant to your campaign. Below are some popular metrics you'll see when you publish and track video. View Count: View count is the number of times your video has been viewed — also referred to as reach. This metric is great to track if your goal is to increase brand awareness and have your content seen by as many people as possible. However, it's important to remember that every video hosting platform measures a view differently. For example, a view on YouTube is 30 seconds while a view on Facebook is only 3 seconds. Be sure to read the fine print before reporting on your video view count. Play Rate: Play rate is the percentage of people who played your video divided by the number of impressions it received. This metric helps determine how relevant or appealing your video is to your audience. If thousands of people see your video, but only a handful of people play it, it's probably time to optimize your content. Social Sharing and Comments: If you're on social media, you're probably familiar with sharing and commenting. Social shares and comments are good indicators of how relevant your content is with your target audience. If a viewer watches your video and takes the time to share it with their network, you probably created a great piece of content. Social shares are also important because the more times your video is shared, the more it'll be viewed. If your goal is to reach a lot of people, social shares is a good metric to track. Video Completions: If you took the time to make a video … you probably want people to watch the whole thing, right? A video completion is the number of times a video is played in its entirety. This metric can be more reliable than view count when trying to determine your video's success. Completion Rate: Completion rate is the number of people who completed your video divided by the number of people who played it. Completion rate and other engagement metrics are a great way to gauge a viewer's reaction to your video. Do you have a low completion rate? Are people all dropping off at a certain point? This might be a sign that your video content is not resonating with your target audience. Click-Through Rate: Click-through rate (CTR) is the number of times your call-to-action (CTA) is clicked divided by the number of times it's viewed. CTR is a great indicator of how effective your video is at encouraging people to take your desired action. If your CTR is low, consider revising the design or copy of your CTA. Conversion Rate: Conversion rate is the number of times visitors completed your desired action divided by the number of clicks on your CTA. If your goal is to have your viewers complete an action like signing up for a free trial, try adding a video to your landing page to see if your conversion rate increases. Bounce Rate and Time-On-Page: Are you thinking about adding a video to a web page? Take note of the page bounce rate and the amount of time people spent on the page before you add the video. Be sure to check the metrics after you place the video to see if changes the way people interact with your other content. Finally, what about your video social media marketing strategy? How do you measure that? Measuring performance on each social media platform provides valuable information, especially to determine whether video really is the right content type for your audience on each platform. Across all platforms, in addition to the metrics above, be sure to measure views over time to determine the life of your videos. You may find that videos need to be refreshed every few weeks, or months, in order to stay relevant with your audience. You also want to always be tracking and comparing engagement of your videos. This will help you determine which topics encourage the most sharing, and therefore will have a higher and longer lifetime value. Ready, Set, Action! I'm guessing you're feeling a little overwhelmed right now. Don't worry, you're not alone. Video editing and marketing can seem daunting at first, but with a little practice and patience, you can easily produce high-quality content that is unique to your brand. With 71% of consumers watching more video online than they were a year ago, brands can no longer ignore their growing popularity. Thankfully, creating great content has never been easier! Try turning a written blog into a video or create a product tutorial. Using video to showcase information in a new, interesting way is sure to interest and delight your audience. Pick up a camera, start filming, and watch your engagement levels increase. It's time to make video a key part of your marketing strategy! Editor's note: This post was originally written in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. #VideoMarketing

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/the-ultimate-guide-to-video-marketing

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The Ben Simmons vs. Donovan Mitchell Debate Is Interesting, but Ultimately Pointless

If I had to go out on a limb, I’d say that Ben Simmons is the Rookie of the Year front-runner in Philadelphia while Salt Lake City is leaning toward Donovan Mitchell.

Both fan bases seem totally baffled by the idea that their opinions could ever be disputed, but I think we know that Sixer fans didn’t watch many Jazz games and Jazz fans, like Mitt Romney, probably didn’t watch a lot of Sixer games.

So we could defer to the opinions of national people, but how much attention do you think a guy like Reggie Miller or Kevin McHale really paid to both players over the course of a full season?

This whole thing is ultimately a wash, in my mind, because Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT players. Simmons is a 6’10” converted point guard with a pass-first mentality who plays in an up-tempo and mobile system. Mitchell is a stone cold killer, the leading scorer on a top-five Western Conference playoff team.

That’s why the raw statistics are ultimately useless when you add a bit of context, but we’re gonna go down that rabbit hole anyway for the sake of the article, so here’s how these guys stack up against each other:

The nice thing about Simmons and Mitchell is that they both averaged very similar minutes this season – 33.4 per game for Mitchell and 33.7 for Simmons. Per-game numbers are going to look almost exactly the same as per-36 extrapolations.

Ben is obviously averaging more rebounds and more assists and shoots at a higher percentage because he rarely tries anything outside of the paint. Mitchell was a 43.7% shooter in the regular season and hit at 34% from three, averaging 10.2 two-point attempts per game and 7 from deep. Simmons didn’t shoot three pointers and his free-throw percentage was very poor compared to Mitchell’s. As a primary ball handler, Ben turned the ball over more frequently, but his assist-to-turnover ratio was, obviously, significantly higher.

On the other end, Simmons averaged more blocks and steals and finished with a 102 defensive rating. Mitchell logged a 105. Ben’s offensive rating was also better, with a 111 compared to Mitchell’s 103.

A big reason for that discrepancy is because Mitchell just requires more shots to hit his averages. He needed 17.2 average field goal attempts and 3.8 free throw attempts to average 20.5 points. Simmons needed 12.3 field goal tries and 2.4 foul shots to average 15.8 points, and that was without even trying three pointers. So even though Mitchell is more of a pure scorer, his efficiency is lacking, which is why the advanced stats like true shooting percentage, effective field goal percentage, and player efficiency rating all favor Simmons:

Among qualified shooting guards, Mitchell only had the 17th-best field goal percentage, finishing below guys like Buddy Hield, Courtney Lee, and Evan Fournier.

For comparison, look at a guy like Klay Thompson, who played 0.9 more minutes than Mitchell, shot the same amount of three pointers, and averaged almost the same exact point total, but did it with one less field goal attempt and 2.5 fewer free throws per game:

There was a little bit of Allen Iverson to Mitchell’s situation, where Utah was fine with him putting up 17+ shots per game. He had a 29% usage rate on that team, which is wild for a rookie. Simmons was a facilitator and involved a lot of his teammates while Utah needed Mitchell to be the primary scorer. Even though Simmons always had the ball in his hands, he wasn’t asked to carry the late-game scoring burden in the same way Mitchell was.

That sort of leads us into the whole issue of who played on the better team. Was one guy surrounded by better players?

I don’t think so.

Utah was missing Rudy Gobert early, struggled for a bit, then Mitchell found his feet and they went on a tear, putting together win streaks of 11 and 9 to finish 48-34 in what was probably the tougher conference. Philly similarly struggled out of the gates, going 14-18 through the hardest part of their schedule, then transformed into a different team after the All-Star break and finished by winning 16 in a row.

In a vacuum, both teams have elite defensive anchors in Gobert and Joel Embiid, both of whom are top-ten NBA centers. Gobert doesn’t have Embiid’s offensive chops, but he finished the season strong and is now averaging a playoff double-double. Both teams played chunks of the season without their big men, and both Mitchell and Simmons continued to perform at a high level without those guys on the floor.

Ricky Rubio isn’t an elite point guard and never has been. Joe Ingles can shoot the ball as a small forward. Dario Saric and Derrick Favors are different types of power forwards, so it’s hard to make a comparison there. I think you’d look at both squads and see that the biggest takeaway is that they were exceptional defensively, finishing #2 and #3 in DEFRTG after 82 regular season games. The Sixers liked to sling the ball around and play fast while Utah had the 25th lowest PACE in the league, so the style difference is apparent.

When you look at the talent on each team, I guess you could say the Sixers are better, but Simmons is surrounded by guys with a lot less NBA experience than Mitchell. Saric, Embiid, and Robert Covington don’t have half as many games under their belts as Rubio, Gobert, Favors, or Jae Crowder. Philly’s veterans are JJ Redick and a pair of bench players who were added in February. To that point, I think you’d have to be impressed that Simmons is orchestrating an offense that features two second-year guys and a Process-era success story.

Ben certainly benefited from being able to dish off to a variety of high-level perimeter scorers, but it’s not like Utah is chopped liver; they’re a damn good squad. If either one of these guys did what they did on the Suns or Nets, then the “better team” angle might be legit, but I really do believe that both teams are pretty good and I don’t see too much to pull from this storyline.

Here are a couple of other narratives being tossed around relating to ROTY:

What is a rookie?

Of course you’ve heard this thing about Donovan Mitchell being a “true rookie” while Ben Simmons sat out injured last year. Some people slap Ben with the “redshirt” label and feel like he had an advantage this season because he was familiar with the NBA game and the NBA environment even though he didn’t actually play last year.

Here’s Mitchell’s take on the redshirt thing:

“So, let’s say you have an exam to take on June 1 and you have a whole year to study for that exam, you’re going to get a pretty good grade on it, aren’t you?” Mitchell said. “But some people may not have all that time to prepare for that exam. So, that’s how I look at it and I hope that puts it in perspective for people.”

Simmons has brushed that off in the past.

Brett Brown is on the record with this:

I don’t have too much to add beyond that. Blake Griffin won ROTY in this “redshirt” fashion, and I don’t recall a ton of bitching about that, although Twitter and social media were not as “robust” back then. There’s a portion of people out there who felt like Simmons could or should have played last year, but that the Sixers were being extra cautious and simply looking ahead to this season.

Simmons and Mitchell are both 21 years old and were born about 50 days apart. Both were in the same class coming out high school. Ben was injured last year while Mitchell played an extra season at Louisville. Who really has the advantage here? I could see that argument being made.

If you want to slap an asterisk on the ROTY entry on Wikipedia, I think that’s justified, but it doesn’t hold a lot of tangible weight, in my mind.

Triple-doubles and double-doubles don’t always tell the story

I see people roll out all these arbitrary stats, like “Ben Simmons is the first player to do blah blah blah since Oscar Robertson did blah blah blah back in 1961.”

I’m not a fan of that stuff because I can easily just find a bunch of parameters I like and keep tweaking them until it fits my narrative. I can say, “well Joel Embiid is the first non-American right-handed Sixer since Manute Bol to average 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks while a Republican is in the Oval Office.”

Philly fans see those types of tweets and go crazy, like, “wow that’s an incredible piece of information,” when it’s really just fudging a bunch of criteria instead.

To that end, I think triple-doubles and double-doubles often lack nuance. For instance, Ben Simmons had 10 rebounds in game five against Miami. One was on the offensive glass and 9 were on the defensive end.

A portion of Ben’s rebounds are usually uncontested snags where he then quickly starts moving up the court, stuff like this:

There’s no statistical value in that.

That’s an uncontested defensive rebound with no opponent within 10 feet of Simmons, yet it counts just the same as a tough offensive rebound in traffic. This was one of 10 boards that got him over the hump for a double-double, and then you’ve got Sixer fans saying, “well Simmons is averaging a double-double when Mitchell doesn’t do anything besides shoot.”

It’s similar in the sense that…

…sometimes assists don’t check out, either

We’ve all seen a ton of amazing passes from Simmons this year. You could put together a 20-minute highlight reel of needle-threading if you really wanted to.

Sometimes he also gets the benefit of the doubt on his assist totals, when a guy takes a dribble or two and pulls up, or Simmons simply just dumps the ball off to a wing player for a catch and shoot:

Same thing there. The discrepancy is between some of the amazing passes he throws versus those gimmes is significant.

Take that play there and compare it to this:

My God, that Ben Simmons pass pic.twitter.com/QCMpMqv5Xc

— Good Takes NBA (@GoodTakesNBAPod) April 19, 2018

You see how one might carry more weight than the other, yea?

It does, of course, go both ways, and you can apply these same things to Mitchell, too. Difference is, we aren’t using rebounds and assists as main part of the argument as to why he’s a better player. There’s just a lot more nuance in Ben’s game, stuff that requires you to pay closer attention. It’s very easy for the casual NBA fan to say, “wow what an amazing three pointer in the 4th quarter!” versus watching how a rookie ball handler runs an offense or picks out passes or positions himself for offensive rebounds. Ben’s game has more layers to it.

As an exercise, say that each rebound, assist, and point counts for one “unit” of production in an NBA game. Considering what I wrote above, look at these three statistical lines:

30 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists

20 points, 0 rebounds, 10 assists

10 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists

Option three looks the most balanced, right? Even contributions across the board, yea? But what if 4 of those rebounds are uncontested on the defensive end? What if two of the assists are just dumping the ball off for a catch and shoot?

That’s why the raw numbers are weird, because you just can’t take rebounds and assists at face value. Raw point scoring is much less nuanced. It’s more about what I mentioned above, the efficiency with which a scorer reaches his totals. If a guy scores 10 of his 30 points from the foul line, of course that’s worth noting, but the ball is going in the basket either way. Rebounds, to me, have the least amount of importance in a Simmons/Mitchell argument. One guy is a point guard and the other is a shooting guard and they’re playing completely different roles for completely different teams.

Of course, the fact that Ben can rebound the way he does shows how much more well-rounded and expansive his game is, but it’s more of an eye test thing and less about just data mining for triple-double and double-double narratives.

Consistency

One area where I think Simmons has a clear advantage is that he was performing at a high level from day one. He started 81 games and really didn’t have many clunkers at all. The Memphis loss stands out to me (6, 3, 7, four turnovers and five fouls). His numbers dropped a bit in December when he went through a deferential month where he wasn’t putting up as many shot attempts as he did in the two months prior. Otherwise, he showed incredible regularity throughout the year.

Mitchell started the season on the bench but ended up finishing with 79 appearances and 71 starts. He was a little slow to begin and threw up some rough lines, notably a 3-21 effort at home against an Embiid-less Philly and a 4-17 shooting night in Milwaukee. However, six of his ten single-digit scoring outputs took place in October and November. He finished the regular season with 24 straight double-digit scoring games.

So they both were excellent for LARGE chunks of the season, certainly light years ahead of anything Malcolm Brogdon did last year. But if we’re paying close attention, Simmons technically did what he did from day one while Mitchell needed a little bit of time to get rolling.

The Verdict

There really is no verdict. You just have to decide which type of player has more value. Do you rate dagger-dropping two-guard as more valuable than a unique and well-rounded point guard?

I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong answer to that, but if you’re making me pick one guy over the other for an ultimately meaningless award, I’d probably have Simmons as 1A and Mitchell as 1B. I think Donovan Mitchell is a LOT better than most Sixers fans give him credit for, but I feel like there’s at least one Mitchell in every draft. I see a smooth scorer who is going to be a perennial All-Star for years to come. But when I look at Simmons, I see a freak athlete with a wildly unique skill set who reminds me of Magic Johnson. I see “eye test” type of stuff that makes me believe his ceiling is much higher than Mitchell’s ceiling. It’s not off-base to view Simmons a potential LeBron James type if he develops a jump shot.

That said, I don’t know what typical national media person thinks. I get the sense that there is a bit of an anti-Process crowd out there that might lean towards Mitchell out of spite, but I’m really not sure. That’s just a hunch. One thing that should help Simmons’ case is that Salt Lake City ain’t exactly a massive media market. If Donovan Mitchell played for the Knicks or Lakers, he’d be getting 10 times the coverage and plaudits he’s currently receiving.

At the end of the day, both of these guys are gonna be elite ballers for years. We’re talking about two different players in two different systems playing two different positions. One guy is asked to score and the other is asked to facilitate, and both are exceptional in their respective roles. If you wanna stand firmly on one side of the debate, knock yourself out, but it’s also acceptable to straddle the fence.

  The Ben Simmons vs. Donovan Mitchell Debate Is Interesting, but Ultimately Pointless published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[maysoper]

Off To Smashville

For the first time in 31 years, the Winnipeg Jets can state that they're off to the next round. That next round just happens to take place for potentially four games in the defending Western Conference champion's city of "Smashville" as the Nashville Predators will meet the Winnipeg Jets. There's a lot to be excited about if you're a fan of both these teams, and, if you're the media, you seem to have a lot to whine about when it comes to these teams meeting. We'll get to the second part of that statement in a bit, but there should be a lot of eyes on this series as these two divisional powerhouses clash to see who is the best of the Central Division! It took Nashville a little longer to dispatch the feisty Colorado Avalanche and their carousel of goaltenders than one may have thought. I predicted the series would be closer than most gave Colorado credit for, and it seemed like upstart team from Denver wasn't about complaining when Semyon Varlamov was ruled done for the season prior to the playoffs starting. Instead, they turned to Jonathan Bernier who was very good in the Mile High City this season, and he led the charge against a Nashville team that seemed a wee bit too overconfident in their approach to this series. In the first three games of the series that saw Nashville open the series at home, the Predtaors surrendered the first goals at 6:36, 2:34, and 1:50 in those three games, respectively. There seemed to be a refocusing of sorts as they took those deficits into the first intermission - a 3-0 deficit in Game Three - and came to life in the second periods of each of those games. The only problem? Winnipeg, who scored first in each of their five games against Minnesota, is a much better team defensively than the Avalanche are. Early deficits were a death knell for the Wild against the Jets, so Nashville will need to be better in the first ten minutes of this next series of games if they hope to eliminate the surging Jets. Goaltending will certainly be on a more even keel than what Jonathan Bernier and Andrew Hammond brought to the series. Neither played poorly, but neither are on the caliber of Vezina nominee Pekka Rinne. That will change when he looks 200-feet down the ice to the Jets' net and sees Vezina nominee Connor Hellebuyck standing in the blue paint. If Rinne continues to put up un-Vezina-like numbers of a 2.60 GAA and a .909 save percentage in this round, that will be more than enough to give the Jets' shooters confidence in scoring goals. While injuries certainly took their toll on the Wild lineup, Hellebuyck's 1.93 GAA is down from his regular season mark of 2.36 while his save percentage has remained consistent at .924. If this series comes down to goaltending, you'd have to give the nod to the more consistent goaltender right now as Connor Hellebuyck is outplaying his Vezina-nominee counterpart in Rinne. There will be all kinds of chatter about the defence corps used by these two teams, but there is a significant difference between the two teams in the opening round. Nashville's blue line, while arguably one of the best in the league, generated just one goal on 69 shots while adding eight assists in the opening round of the playoffs. If you take Matthias Ekholm out of the equation, the five remaining defenders contributed just three assists - and yes, that includes PK Subban, Ryan Ellis, and Roman Josi. If the Jets can contain Ekholm in a similar fashion as they did to Matt Dumba, the rest of the Nashville blue line will have to be more productive if they're going to win. With how they played against Colorado, it's going to be hard to kick up a few levels against Winnipeg. That being said, Nashville's top four defenders were used twice as often as the bottom pairing of Alexei Emelin and Matt Irwin. Emelin averaged 11:28 per game while Matt Irwin checked in with 10:05 per game, so those two defenders are being used primarily to spell off the Big Four for short shifts. With the abuse that Winnipeg generously handed out to Minnesota in their defensive zone, can Ekholm, Josi, Subban, and Ellis withstand the punishment that Winnipeg will bring if they're playing no less than 22 minutes per night? Winnipeg is one of the top teams when it comes to hit through the first round of the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see how they handle the physicality. And before we continue, let's not fall into the fallacy that more hits are good either. Hits, or more specifically finishing one's checks, is vitally important in wearing another team down. Running around and chasing players who have the puck specifically to throw hits is not good because your team doesn't have the puck. Possession does play a key role in the playoffs, and throwing hits for the sake of making SportsCentre's highlight reel will almost certainly result in losses. Back to Winnipeg, and their defence corps has been far more impactful as they've contributed four goals on 67 shots and added eight assists. Even removing defensive leading scorer Dustin Byfuglien from the mix still yields four goals and three assists, so the contributions from the other six players who have slotted into the lineup have been good. Outside of Tucker Poolman, Winnipeg's regular six are playing between Joe Morrow's low of 16:34 to Dustin Byfuglien's high of 25:13, but removing those outliers sees the remaining four defenders in Trouba, Morrissey, Chiarot, and Myers skating between 17:20 and 22:28 on average per game. Fatigue in a long series can set in with the physical demands put on the body, but Winnipeg's bench management seems to be working out well as the team had a ton of jump in Game Five against the Wild. However, all of this examination means very little right now. The two teams are watching video, preparing for their opponents, and making sure they're of good health before engaging in what will be an extremely entertaining series. Media across the land are lamenting that the top two teams in the NHL will meet each other in the second round, but all of this whining is ridiculous. Nashville finished with the highest point total with 117, and Winnipeg followed with 114. This is indisputable, and both teams should be commended. But this is the second year in a row that it's happened. If Boston can win their series, we'd also have the third-overall and fourth-overall teams going head-to-head in the second round, meaning two of the top-four regular season teams will be out in the second round. Pump the brakes, though, and read this segment of the last line again with my bolded and capitalized words highlighting the most important part of the statement: two of the top-four REGULAR SEASON TEAMS will be out in the second round. Let that sink in as I wax poetic about why this is meaningless. Since 1986 when the first President's Trophy was awarded to the best finisher in the regular season, eight times has the winning team gone on to capture the Stanley Cup. Some quick math says that's a 25% success rate as only eight times in 32 years has that been done. The most recent team to do it was the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks playing in a shortened season, and the last team to do it in a full NHL season was 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings. In the last ten years, it has only been accomplished once. In the last ten years, the President's Trophy-winning team has only appeared in the Stanley Cup Final twice (Vancouver in 2011). In the last decade, only three of the President's Tophy-winning teams have made it to the conference finals (New York Rangers in 2015). For the remaining seven years, including this year, the President's Trophy-winning team has not advanced past the second round. Nashville could change that this season, but there's no guarantee they will. This lazy narrative of anger and fury over the best regular season team meeting the second-best regular season team is ridiculous once the regular season ends. Ask Washington what it meant to be the best team in 2015 and 2016 when they lost to Pittsburgh who was the fourth-best in 2016 and second-best in 2017. Or the New York Rangers in 2015 who lost in the Conference Final to fifth-best Tampa Bay after Tampa eliminated second-best Montreal in the second-round. Or Boston in 2013 when they lost in the second round to ninth-best Montreal while second-overall Anaheim lost in the second round to tenth-overall Los Angeles. The season rankings once the regular season is over are meaningless outside of who gets to play at home four times in a seven-game series. If the Jets happen to eliminate the Predators in this round, they not only advance to the Western Conference Final, but they also claim home-ice advantage for the remainder of the playoffs. To the victors go the spoils, and the winner of this series will claim home-ice advantage throughout the remainder of the playoffs. It doesn't mean that team is the best team in the NHL by any means. That's why they hand out hardware at the end of this tournament to determine which team was the best for the ENTIRE season, regular and playoffs combined. Regardless of the rhetoric from the media, this is going to be an outstanding series of hockey. Forsberg, Johansen, Subban, Josi, and Rinne against Wheeler, Laine, Scheifele, Byfuglien, and Hellebuyck. The Central Division has never been more hotly contested by two teams, and we'll see who moves on to play one of Vegas or San Jose in two weeks. Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice! from Sports News http://hockey-blog-in-canada.blogspot.com/2018/04/off-to-smashville.html

[snarkydefense]

Quick Take: The Greatest Showman deftly tells the story of a charming hustler intent on bringing his dreams to vivid (and profitable) life. The character at the center of the action is, Phineas Taylor Barnum (Hugh Jackman) best known as P.T. Barnum.

The Greatest Showman‘s a story told with a deliberately light dramatic touch and bombastic savoir-faire. It’s less traditional musical biopic and more a stylistic “highlight reel.”

But while P.T. Barnum may be the story focus, it’s the people who make up his menagerie that give this film its purpose.

This film entices its audience room to engage and have fun while gleaning its message from the margins. So if you wait around for this tale to told through dialogue, then you’re going to miss most of the important (and interesting) bits and leave feeling like it’s a film with little substance under the glitter and glam.

The Greatest Showman delivers its character backstory through song and dazzling visuals. It entertains and keeps the film’s pace with a delightful syncopated precision.

The cinematography and set design are nothing short of amazing. The period costuming and site location establish time and place perfectly. Everything behind the scenes works together to capture the heartbeat of this period piece and sets a believable image of the times.

I’m pretty sure I could watch the opening sequence of The Greatest Showman once a day. Great staging, fantastic lighting, perfect vocal drop in. It has the rush of an opening night, that moment of great expectation and Hugh Jackman striking a dashing pose.

This scene does more than just set the tone; it sets the pace and The Greatest Showman doesn’t slow down for a single second.

Grade: B- (due entirely to the extraordinary visuals and accidental revelations behind all that dancing)

Hugh Jackman (P.T. Barnum) and Zac Efron (Philip Carlisle) star in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE GREATEST SHOWMAN.

P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) and Charity Barnum (Michelle Williams) share an enchanting dance on a New York rooftop in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE GREATEST SHOWMAN.

Reality Check:

But this isn’t really the story of P.T. Barnum, showman, impresario and circus master. It’s a tale invented by screenwriters Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon and Director Michael Gracey’s vision of a savvy American nobody who built an empire and fortune out of his wit, hard work, and ingenuity.

And that’s not who P.T. Barnum was at all. In reality, he launched his career as a showman by exploiting former slave and extremely elderly Joice Heath turning her into an exhibit then authorizing her public autopsy after death.

He wasn’t just a “hardworking Joe” turned businessman made good. He was a social climbing, fast-talking, huckster who wasn’t above employing a good gimmick to make a name for himself. He repeatedly and shamelessly exploited others for his own gain.

Barnum’s motto might well have been, “scandal equals sales.”

Phineas Taylor Barnum is not a hero, he wasn’t a trailblazer; but he is very much so the embodiment of a capitalist-minded, win at all costs (as long as the profits wind up in my pocket) American businessman. He should not be lauded as a role model or example of how to get ahead. But this is America, so of course, he’s cast in an admirable light and given the “Hollywood” treatment.

So, how do you build a movie around such an unapologetic shyster?

With music, dancing, to die for costuming and sublime set designs. Naturally.

With a story that wholeheartedly distracts from a few truths: 1) there are plenty of people who believe that realizing their dreams are more important than people’s lives; 2) “American ingenuity” is usually just code for a willingness to lie, cheat, steal and shamelessly use people to get what one wants. Obviously.

By focusing on the dazzling extravaganza of it all and peppering the rest of the cast with people and story arcs that uplift and only hint at the grime behind it all. Of course.

This entire script is a lie. But that doesn’t take away from the fact this ensemble cast led by Hugh Jackman, Zac Effron, and Michelle Williams do a pretty solid job of selling it (jazz hands and all).

P.T. Barnum would be proud.

♦

After the opening credits, time swiftly rewinds to reveal a young Phineas and his father struggling to make ends meet and working for an upper-crust (socially and financially) family. Phineas lives in his head where anything is possible including marrying the daughter of his father’s employer Charity. Almost immediately, talking gives way to singing and the lyrics carry the story arc and character development forward right through to the end.

This part of the story is, for the most part, sweet and intended to have you rooting for Phineas to capture his dream, win his girl and sail into a great future. But while it offers insight into how Charity and Phineas grow closer and remain true..ish to each other and their hopes, it also reveals the beginnings of Phineas’s willingness to do anything to make a buck.

♦

Jackman plays Barnum with enduring wit and a charmingly slick edge. He’s a guy with his eye on the main chance and his head in the clouds. He’s promised himself a grand life and he’ll stop at nothing (and for no one) to make it happen.

It’s clear from the story angle, Gracey wants you to see Barnum as a man unafraid to step outside the norm (exploit), to innovate (cheat), and invent (lie). You’re supposed to be inspired by his ingenuity (sticky fingers) and quickwittedness (con); it’s supposed to showcase the American work-ethic and “bootstrapping” mentality at work, so to speak.

His relationship first with Charity and then with his daughters in the movie humanizes Barnum up to a point and the reworking of the Jenny Lind years serves to underscore that he’s not completely without loyalty (he so is) and integrity (just saying that word would totally give him hives).

I found this more accidentally unvarnished look at a man of his type refreshing. Jackman’s portrayal leans “into the light” but the overt inferences and his onscreen interactions tell the real tale. P.T. Barnum was a selfish, smarmy asshole of a man.

His use of the subversive wasn’t intended to benefit anyone although that was a very real secondary effect (the primary being he made money) for those ordinarily cast-out and shammed. Those “othered” by society found kinship, homes and a greater sense of safety working under his banner. He wasn’t a humanitarian. He didn’t give a damn about the plight of others unless it could make him a dollar.

So kudos to the film’s screenwriters for finding a way to paint Barnum as just a quick-thinking American with a dream and a heart of gold. It only goes to show what good writing and a loose relationship with the truth can really accomplish.

♦

Despite being issues of the day, the secondary storylines are decidedly modern feeling: A tale of star-crossed love (a story I’d much rather watch unfold with greater detail), the combustible public protests against his showcase of Oddities, the hostile environment his cast members navigated daily and the chokehold Barnum had over the players in his exhibits (let’s not pretend he wasn’t running a human circus).

All these story arcs serve to balance the scales (but not nearly enough) and insert a dose of the realistic into The Greatest Showman. Some of the musical numbers didn’t sync with the time period and therefore rang slightly false. They’re great songs but not always put to their best use. This may be due to the aggressively modern niche Ben Pasek and Justin Paul seem content to rest in.

Plus the story angle and direction took gross liberties with what truly would’ve been permitted which undercuts the emotional payoff in the end and makes it all just one more element of Barnum’s showcase.

There are moments where it’s clear Gracey wants you to see them as pivotal for Barnum emotionally. We’re to believe those moments are what shape his willingness to bring those living in the shadows to the main stage. Not that he’s playing to the public’s interest in the macabre and bizarre.

Gracey does a solid job of “show not tell” for the majority of the film but he’s occasionally a bit heavy-handed.

It doesn’t detract from the story or the glorious visuals but it does make everything feel as though it’s trying just a little too hard (because making P. T. Barnum not come across as the trash he is is hard work) and aiming to deliver the overall storyline with an edge that just a little too slick.

But anyone willing to can see P.T. Barnum was a charming flim-flam man who pitched the right scheme at the right time to the right banker to secure funding with a wink, smile and some slick talking and slight of hand. He saw a niche market he could capitalize on and goes for it with no remorse.

I will not be surprised if most critics flat out do not like The Greatest Showman.

The Greatest Showman is a song and dance extravaganza that’s anchored in joy, light, pain, hubris, laughter, and promise.  It’s far more than a simple “boy makes good” story.

Go, have fun but remember this is “theater” at its best; don’t get blinded by the lights.

Overall:  2.75 out of 5 (because truth in advertising damn well matters)

*originally posted on tggeeks.com

Repost: Now Watching: The Greatest Showman | Movie Review Quick Take: The Greatest Showman deftly tells the story of a charming hustler intent on bringing his dreams to vivid (and profitable) life.