Marketing with Digital Video: How to Create a Winning Video for Your Small Business or Non-Profit (Paperback)

by Hal Landen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Veteran award-winning cameraman, producer, and founder of VideoUniversity, Hal Landen's latest book, Marketing with Digital Video: How to Create a Winning Video For Your Small Business or Non-Profit, shows how small-budget businesses can take advantage of today's affordable digital technology to produce effective business videos.

Written in the same no-nonsense, readable and user-friendly manner as his previous book, the acclaimed Marketing with Video, Landen has the gift of making the sometimes confusing, technical world of video production accessible to even the least technically-minded reader. Whether you aspire to be a hands-on video maker, or an executive producer who doesn't want to get overly technical, Marketing with Digital Video tells you everything you need to know-everything you should know-before, during and after filming.

As important as technology is today, the heart of this book is not just about technology but rather about how to make an effective video on a shoestring budget. Even if you don't plan to produce your own business video, you'll learn how to hire the right people to do the job for you, pitfalls to avoid, and tricks of the trade gleaned from Landen's years of on-the-job experience.

Hal Landen's love of filmmaking shows in every chapter, and his eagerness to share his vast knowledge and experience help make Marketing with Digital Video a fun book to read, too. Anyone interested in the art of making videos and movies will find Landen's chapters on The Art of Editing, and Sound Editing, which offer a fascinating insight into the mechanics of a highly complex subject, particularly enthralling. His entertaining anecdotes and asides throughout the book make it feel very personal, as if he were sitting next to you guiding you through each stage.

By the time you have finished reading it, you will feel like a pro, knowing what previously impenetrable terms like Dolly Shot and Dramatic Axis mean, how to set up a budget so there are no nasty surprises later, how to hire a cameraman, where to find music-Landen leaves nothing to chance. Even potential legal issues are addressed and the exhaustive, fact-filled appendix includes sample release forms.

Most importantly, though, readers will be well-equipped to produce a professional, highly effective video on a lean budget in order to promote their business or non-profit, and able to take advantage of the infinite marketing opportunities digital video offers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Oak Tree Press (July 20, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 1888093099
• ISBN-13: 978-1888093094
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,166,654 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive Reference Guide, April 16, 2008

By	Stuart Sweetow "sweetow" (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Marketing with Digital Video is a comprehensive book, almost like a textbook. It covers everything from scripting and pre-production to shooting and editing. Author, Hal Landen discusses the myriad ways video can be applied for businesses and non-profits. The book focuses on using video for marketing, and it is aimed at readers who either work for an organization that plans to hire a video production company, or entry-level videographers who want to produce video for businesses.

Landen suggests that you study commercials to learn how visuals are carefully crafted to tell a story in 30 seconds. He discusses the elements that make up commercials and business videos such as the types of shots, using graphics and transitions and incorporating narration, music and sound effects.

Using real world examples, Landen covers everything from location scouting to hiring actors to choosing the best clothing and makeup for the camera. He shows examples of such production concepts as composition and continuity, and he discusses different camera angles, lighting techniques and tips for recording clear audio.

Several chapters are devoted to editing and post production, and other chapters cover cable TV distribution, producing infomercials and using the web to market videos. The appendix is a resource unto itself with a glossary of video terms, lists of media associations, stock footage sources and a list of other books and training materials to further your study of video production.

This book does not cover event videography or documentary video production. It also does not get into producing video for the web. The video industry moves so fast that this 2005 publication of this book does not include high-definition video nor does it include Flash video. These are minor flaws in an otherwise concise and well written book that would work well as a college textbook or a reference guide for video producers who want to produce videos for business marketing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what the title says, July 13, 2006

By	M. Chang "Myrtha Chang" (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are many books on videos, many on marketing, this one is written for readers who want to do both - market with video.

It takes you step by step and explains the equipment, techniques - scripting, shooting, editing concepts in a warm and friendly way. If you want to see excerpts, go to the author's web site: www.videouniversity.com, and you can see excerpts from each chapter in the book.

The book has also been completely revised in 2005. I get so frustrated reading video how to books that are still talking about VHS tapes. This one knows about mini-DV recorders and DVDs. Hurray! I definitely recommend this book if you are trying to market your business using a video.

It is beyond the scope of this book, however, if you are trying to market your business using a video, you should get a book as well on how to stream your video on the internet because that's how business marketing videos are being viewed these days.