This time of year, holiday lights glimmer on just about every corner but in the last few years, massive holiday light shows have made their way onto YouTube™. One legend of home holiday light shows is Rick Turner, made known by his Guitar Hero light display online topping over 2 million views on YouTube. Yes – you could really play the game and watch your own light display on his home. Since then Rick has lent his lighting skills for more holiday light shows and even Halloween shows.
His latest creation (and a personal favorite of mine) is this year’s 2011 “Angry Birds Christmas Light Game” and interactive light show with controller and all. Our SGNL by Sony team had an opportunity to meet Rick and chat with him about his passion for light shows and the effort that goes into making something we all get to enjoy. And in the spirit of the game, we teach you how to snap away at your own local light shows using a point and shoot camera. With easy settings you can make sure that your memory is captured.
A special thanks to Rick for both his time on our show and all the time he spends in letting us enjoy his shows. And with that, here’s our SGNL video…And for the full light show video, go here.
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.
We have big news to share with Sony Tablet S owners. PlayStation Suite, Music Unlimited and earlier this week Video Unlimited all launched in the US. Tablet owners know one of the best reasons to have the device is the freedom it gives you to take your entertainment on the go and now with these Sony Entertainment Network services up and running there is an expanding world of movies, games and music available on your Sony Tablet S.
With the official PlayStation Suite for certified devices online and ready for use, Sony Tablet S users have an expanded list of games to access and to make the experience even more seamless your existing PlayStation Network ID and wallet can be put to use too. Check out the PlayStation blog for a complete list of games and how to get the service.
Music Unlimited also just came online in the US. It currently has 10 million commercial free songs and is growing each week. You can even sync your personal music collection as well as playlists from iTunes (using the Music Unlimited PC interface).
Last week also marked the US launch of Video Unlimited. This service gives Sony Tablet S owners access to 40,000 video releases. This includes blockbusters, currents hits and classic movies from all the major studios, as well as popular TV episodes. I did a quick search for some of my favorite shows old and new, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Parenthood and Walking Dead and found all available seasons ready to download for $1.99 each episode.
Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited are already installed on your Sony Tablet S. Make sure your tablet is running version 3.2 of the Android (Honeycomb) platform. Find information on how to update from the Tablet section on Sony eSupport site. Once that’s done, find the apps on your tablet home screen and open to set up your Sony Entertainment Network account and get started.
We’ll continue to keep you posted on Tablet developments. If you haven’t yet, check out some of the 5 Hot apps we featured last week. If you’ve tried any of these services, what do you think? How are you using your tablet and which of these new services are you most excited about? Leave a comment below.
Remember when you had to wait until the next day to discuss the latest and greatest developments from your favorite TV shows? Well, the days of waiting for water cooler conversations are long gone. Now, TV is more social than ever as viewers are sharing real-time commentary via social networks. ”Social” show fans are checking in to shows using services like Get Glue and Miso, or they are part of a real-time conversation by following Twitter™ hashtags to see how others are reacting to what they’re watching. We’ve been watching this trend grow here at Sony and we’re committed to developing technology that makes socializing your shows even easier.
In fact, a recent over the air update on 2011 Sony Blu-ray Disc™ devices does just that. The new Socialize™ feature lets you share what you’re watching with your Facebook® and Twitter communities directly from your Sony® remote. Yes, that means you don’t have to get up from your cozy couch to grab your laptop or mobile phone to write an update. A number of owners have already stumbled on to this new sharing tool to check in to the shows they’re streaming.
So, how can you play along? Well, if you have a 2011 connected Blu-ray Disc device and relish the post-show water cooler conversations you have the next day, you no longer have to wait to broadcast what you’re watching. The feature works while you’re streaming a show or movie. Push the options button on the remote. You’ll find the “Socialize” menu. Once you set it up to share with your social networks by adding your username and password, you can start to share with the press of a button. What’s cool about this feature is that it draws on the show’s information database to create an update with show info and a dropdown of options for you to describe your thoughts on the program. Your friends will see an update like this:
For me, my TV sharing epiphany came with the show LOST. By searching for #LOST on Twitter I connected with fellow fans around the globe and became part of a much larger conversation. I was able to talk with other “social” fans and analyze each cryptic scene or make predictions with friends online. No matter where my fellow show fans are, we’re able to share the experience.
So how about all of you? Do you talk about the shows and movies you watch online? And do you think this is a trend we’ll see continue?
Ever wondered if a car you see in the movies is real or portions of it? Take it a step further, how about how the cars featured in movies are even built? We were curious too and were lucky enough to visit Cinema Vehicle Services and speak with Hollywood auto legend, Fireball Tim. Fireball Tim is also owner of one of the largest movie car fan sites, Fireball Tim’s Hollywood Garage. He has also helped Sony build some cool cars (including a mini with a massive car audio system made by Sony). Of course when you’re looking at some super hero cars, you need a super hero expert. This is where owner of iFanBoy, Ron Richards helped us out. iFanboy is one of the most popular comic fan sites. By fans for fans.
And what Fireball Tim shows us is amazing. If you’re a gear head, you’ll love it. The video even includes a car with an estimated worth of $1,000,000.00. Can you guess which car it is? Special thanks to Fireball Tim and Ron Richards and you’re curious about the Sony car audio system in the vid, you can learn more here.
