Michael Howard took 10 minutes out of his day to fill out a question he saw on Facebook® that morning. “Tell us your Sony story,” said the request so Michael did just that during his lunch break. As you know by now, Michael is the grand prize winner of the Sony Ambassador Campaign and his winning entry has landed him a spot in a Sony television commercial.
“I can’t believe my 10 minutes warrants all this,” said, Michael as we’re sipping coffee and standing outside the set of the commercial. We’re surrounded by directors, producers, grips, lighting and all of the pomp and circumstance that comes with the recording of a major television commercial. Everyone is here to help get the shot just right so Michael and his moment can be included in the latest Sony ad campaign. This is just the start of the day of prizes and it will end with a visit to a taping of THE X FACTOR™.
The commercial will air during THE X FACTOR on Wednesday and Thursday December 21 and 22, so please tune to see how Michael did. Once you watch leave a comment below to tell Michael what you think of his performance.
One last note, Michael said he didn’t understand how his story could have trigged all this. Well quite honestly, we can tell you speeds and feeds all day long, but it’s your stories of how our technology impacts your life, helps you stay connected with your family and do things you only imagined, that inspires us and others. So thank you again to Michael and to the hundreds of you who shared your story with us.
At last week’s BlogWorld conference in Los Angeles, bloggers of all kinds, gathered to hear tips and tricks from premier bloggers and learn ways to take what they do to the next level. During the session, “The Tools, Tricks and Art of Video Storytelling, former TV producer and founder of LifeAfterKids.TV and DVINIDEAS, Marla Schulman, showed off the Sony Bloggie® camera and shared her advice for making better videos for your blog. (Disclosure: We gave Marla the Sony Bloggie Touch™ camera when it launched this year). We wanted to share some of the simple tried and true techniques Marla used as a video pro and now video blogger to help your videos get more views.
Marla’s Tips for Better Video Blogging:
Control your set, lighting and background. When you’re in a pinch or not able to plan for your “shoot” it may seem like you have to take what you can get in terms of location. But the truth is, you can do simple things to improve your circumstances. Make sure the light is never behind the person or thing you’re filming. When you’re facing your subject, have the light to your back so the person you’re filming is well illuminated. Don’t settle for a bland wall as your background, pull your interviewee away from a wall to make the shot more interesting. If they’re sitting, ask them to stand and pull the seat away from the wall. Adding a little bit of depth to your shot will make it feel better composed.
Spot check the audio. It takes two seconds to roll a test and play it back to ensure your audio is recording, the microphone works and any sounds in the room aren’t drowning out your subject. Anyone who has rolled video has made the mistake of shooting something awesome then realizing you forgot to turn the microphone on or it was out of battery. If your camera doesn’t have an external mic, get close to your subject to make sure the onboard mic is picking up the sound of their voice. A good image is important, but without good audio your shoot is a total bust.
Develop a rapport. When you can, research and pre interview your subject. It will make you both more comfortable when it’s time for your interview. It will also help them remember you if you’re in a sea of people wanting an interview. Marla interviews celebs often and says building a rapport will help you stand out when you’re vying for time and ultimately lead to a better video blog
Restate your questions, listen and be flexible. Always ask your subject to restate your question. If you choose to edit your video it will help you shave a ton of time if you can remove your question and have their answer stand independent. Also, even though there is a lot going on when you’re a one man band video blogger, you’ll want to make sure you’re listening. If you can, plug headphones into your camera to monitor on the spot. Listen to what your subject is saying and give them the chance to tell you a story maybe even better than what you asked for.
Know your tools and keep them with you at all times. There are cameras on so many devices that there is little to no reason not to shoot video when you’re inspired! Even if you don’t do an interview, you can film 10 seconds of an event or place and add that to your blog post to include your readers in the experience via video. Cameras like our Sony Bloggie models (yes, we may be biased) are perfect to keep in your back pocket and have on hand for easy capture and upload. But we aren’t the only ones who think so. Marla actually used the Bloggie Touch camera to catch this video of Bachelorette Ali and her beau at a Sony event in Century City. Marla credited the fact that she captured this video, one of her most popular videos to date, to the fact that she had the tools right there and was easily able to take advantage of the situation. With the Bloggie camera in her back pocket she was able to grab the video in a few minutes and actually uploaded the video right on the spot using a VAIO® PC in the store.
Want more tips on video blogging? Join Marla for a live Twitter Chat on Sunday November 13, 2011 at 7PM Pacific Time. Follow #vidchat on Twitter to view the conversation and use #vidchat to be part of it.
Do you have tips you’d like to share for capturing better video for your blog? Leave them in the comments below. Also, if there is something you’d like answered about how to improve your video blog, drop it in the comments below.
It’s hard to believe that prior to their appearance on America’s Best Dance Crew, Hiro McRae, Mami Kanemitsu, Nichelle Thrower, Riquel Olander, and Alison “Ali” Iannuci had never performed together. Collectively, these ladies are “We are Heroes”, the first all-female group to win MTV’s popular dance competition.
We gave the girls a Sony Bloggie® MP4 camera, and asked each member to create a video to showcase their competition-winning moves. All the ladies of We are Heroes bring a unique flavor to each of their videos, making it easy to see how they won the title of America’s Best Dance Crew.
Each Wednesday, we’ll feature one of their videos on our Sony Bloggie YouTube™ channel. So if you’re ready to flip with Nichelle, lean back with Hiro, or learn some of the crews winning routines with Ali and Riquel, be sure to check our channel weekly.
To kick it all off, here’s Riquel showing us the routine that We are Heroes performed during the first week of America’s Best Dance Crew.
You’ve seen us feature a lot of Sony cameras but we don’t often get the chance to see the amazing photos that Sony camera owners out there are taking – whether it’s a point-and-shoot or a DSLR. The SGNL by Sony team took a moment to feature some of those photos. The Sony Camera Club is a special group on Flickr where Sony camera owners can hang out, share photos and discuss photography with their Sony gear. It’s also a place to get some great tips and up to date news from Sony on all things camera related. It’s free to join too.
Today we’re taking a moment and showing you some of the stunning pictures we found in the Sony Camera Club taken by our members. It was great to see not only photos taken by members who own point and shoot cameras but also some photos taken by members who own some of our older camera models.
Check out the video and tell us what your favorite photo was.
If you watch TV, you’d be hard pressed to say you haven’t seen Steve Terada, even if you didn’t know it. Steve is a member of Quest Crew, a dance crew whose popping tricks, innovative choreography and unique humor have put audiences on their feet including those at SYTYCD, X Games, and numerous talk shows.
Now personally watching sheer talent like this reminds me of how untalented I am, but Steve now is helping us rhythmically challenged to at least feel like we have a chance. We armed him with a Sony Bloggie® MP4 camera and asked him to teach us the tricks he’s so known for. In just a few minutes (well probably like a few hours for me), the everyday dancer can tuck away some new moves in their back pocket and at a minimum have a heck of a fun time watching a pro do it.
So if you feel like it’s time to trade in your sprinkler dance for some new tricks, you’ll have to check out this video. While the Sony Bloggie® camera can’t make you a better dancer, it can at least capture the attempt in high definition.
