Big Teeth Productions Blog

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Web TV for You and Me (A dream deferred)

In 2008 HBO lined up some dough for a couple of dudes to build a website filled with funny videos. Wow, where can I get that deal, you ask? Well, if you're names are Ferrell and McKay and you are responsible for the film "Anchorman" its a lot easier to grab that slice of the pie. Now, two years later, according to Web TV News Warehouse Tubefilter, HBO is using "Funny or Die" to launch new content for their TV network.

Well, what good is that for me? I didn't play George W. Bush on SNL, who's gonna buy my show? Wrong-o buster, take this as a good sign for you, the small but plucky Web TV wannabee.

The more stories that emerge of those with the cash (a la HBO) spending any of their precious pennies on video for the web, and better yet having success with it, the likelier these honchos will be more inclined to find new talent.

 

So what should you do if you're an aspiring Web TV Creator?

1. Keep Creating

Hone your skills, discover your voice, sweep the leg (only applies to Kobra Kai's). Do whatever you're doing to build up a following but also just to get to know what works and doesn't work for your own Web TV goals.

2. Support Others

Find people creating Web TV shows that you like and show them support. Watch their show and share it with your friends who might like it as well. The whole viral/social media thing is real and it's a great way to get your product out to people.

3. Join the Community

Find those people who are doing it too and reach out to them. Offer to help them and they'll help you too. Most of us trying to create original content for the web don't have "Talladega Nights" money lying around so we need to help each other create.

In Chicago, I am working with other likeminded souls to create an actual community who meet, network, hang out and get to know each other's projects. If you're in Chicago, ask me about "Let's Create". If you're not, find those people in your area and do the same.

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Stay vigilant friends, and keep doing your thing. We won't all get rich and famous with our Web TV shows, but then again, maybe we will.

MLB, NFL Need to Get out of the Babe Ruth era

"Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this blog, without the express written consent of Major League Baseball, is prohibited."

Why are professional sports so slow to adapt to modern technology and social media? First the NFL employs a draconian Twitter policy  that the Don Quijote of unnecessary PR, Chad Ochocinco, vows to stab with his sword of justice. Next comes a story via SM superstore Mashable about a missed opportunity by Major League Baseball to launch a viral video from a genuine moment by a Philadelphia Phillies fan, that amazingly did not involve throwing batteries at the opposing team.

America's professional sports leagues are extremely blessed with the ability to have essentially 30 (give or take) brands under their umbrella with which to market. Think about all the Cubs, or Cowboys, or Redwings merch that gets sold every year, and imagine the Don Fannuci-like commissioner of each league wetting their beaks from every sale. Isn't that enough for them to be happy - and moreso, shouldn't they embrace the fact that the millions of fans are essentially marketing their product for FREE!

Its not bad enough that the average hard-working fan has to fork over a small fortune to take his family to a game and fill them up with nachos the price of an SUV; but they are treated to a bunch of athletic savants complaining about how underpaid they are (If I hear about one more "hometown discount" contract that involves $200 million I may lose it altogether).

What's so irritating about this is, what are they trying to protect? I get it when the military has to ban tweeting, or when a politician's wife needs to keep some details to herself, but come on, this is a GAME we're talking about. Unless @CC_Sabathia is tweeting signs to @davidortiz I think we can feel safe with Twitter on the sidelines and in the dugouts. For all the commissioners know they might make a few extra bucks - and we KNOW they like that.

Meet the new teeth, same as the old teeth?

Welcome friends to the newly remodeled Big Teeth Productions website. We are excited to launch the site new in form AND function. This redesign is an indication that while the ol' teeth personality remains, we're keen on showing how and why we've changed, and will continue to evolve.

Rather than blather on about all the features, here are a few highlights before you go on your way navigating through our pages like Magellan with a mouse.

THE "GUTS" OF THE SITE
The Big Teeth Productions site has been organized to illustrate the main services we provide [Online Marketing, Fundraising & Special Event Video, and Web & TV series] along with a constantly updated portfolio of our video work samples, a list of clients we've worked with, and of course this here blog y'all are reading. [ed. note: my country accent is much more believable in writing than speaking, hence the "y'all"].

SOCIAL MEDIA
Another section you'll see is "Social Media." This is one of the bigger changes at Big Teeth Productions. Our take on social media is that it isn't a passing fad, it is something that is useful both to promote Big Teeth Productions, but also as a tool to help our clients better market their own brands or products. Look to that section to see both how it relates to video, and how we can help you use Social Media beyond video.

We've made a strong effort not to be one of the army of thousands trying to dupe you into thinking there are social media secrets, rather we've embraced the tweeting and facebooking and linkedin-ing (oh my) as ways of building relationships and helping spread the right message to the right audience.

THERE YOU HAVE IT
That's us in a nutshell. I could go on and on about our philosophies and practices, but really thats why the site exists. We, as a team, have vowed to more frequently update this blog than in the past, including how and why we go about things the way we do.

So, thanks for being a friend, a fan, a jealous competitor, a blog groupie, what have you, and all of us at Big Teeth Productions hope that you'll find our site (and our company) interesting and useful for all of your video and marketing needs. I also welcome any feedback on how you feel about the site, both good and bad, so that we can continue to make this a happy little home on the web. Feel free to drop some comments on this post, or you can email me as well.

Lastly, this site would not have been possible without the incredible insight and ethic of our developer Tristan Blease. Tristan looks at the web not in just how to make things look pretty, but how to make things work for you. If you have any needs for a well thought out, and sexy looking website, please visit Tristan on the web.

Creative quandary: Is client (like customer) always right?

We’ve all heard the saying, “The customer is always right.” In a recent blog, blogger Alexander Kjerulf turned that age-old theory on its head, which led me to wonder: What’s the protocol when you completely disagree with your client’s comments or feedback, in a creative atmosphere?

We were in a situation recently where a client (let’s call him Napoleon) gave us feedback about a video project that basically sounded like he wasn’t too thrilled with the work we did. We, of course, can’t expect everyone to always love everything we do, so that’s part of the process. The rub came when Napoleon referred us to a video that he thought was the perfect example of what he wanted.

So, being the dutiful vendor that we are, we checked out this “perfect” video (I’ll mercifully omit a link to the example), and, in several of the Teeth’s opinions, it was, how to put it nicely, a piece of crap. The music was obvious and overused, the transitions were cheesy and, above all, we didn’t feel it addressed Napoleon’s branding needs any more than the version we presented.

As a vendor, we believe that we provide a quality service and that any video (or other piece) we deliver should be in the client’s best interest. The flip side is that ultimately someone is paying you to do something for them, and when it comes to something “creative,” there aren’t really right or wrong answers.

So what do you do in this situation when you’re dealing with a client you’d like to continue to work with in the future? Should you press back, touting your area of expertise? Is there a limit to how much, or a point you reach where you just give in and give them what they want, even if you know it’s wrong?

Let’s hear it, in your industry how do you deal with these situations?

For those who haven’t seen it, here’s a look into how many people on the vendor side feel.
(note: this is not a Big Teeth Production)

SMC Chicago April 2009 – The Teeth were there… were you?

As Big Teeth continues to expand the services we offer our clients by helping to distribute the videos we create for them through social media channels, we’ve been very active with the exponentially growing organization called Social Media Club Chicago. In fact, Dan Hindin, our marketing and social media dude, serves as communications director for the organization.

SMC Chicago, which was formed by PR maven Barbara Rozgonyi in October 2008 as the local chapter of an international organization, has quickly grown a large following, with well over 800 members in its Facebook group and more than 300 people attending its highly anticipated monthly events. In true social media fashion, the group announces the opening of registration for each event only through its Twitter, Facebook and Eventbrite network. Last month, they reached capacity in less than 24 hours.

The April event was held at Kimball Office’s high-end furniture showroom overlooking the Chicago River in conjunction with SOBCon09, an annual gathering of some of the best bloggers out there, organized by Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker. Food was provided by Domino’s Pizza franchisee known by his Twitter identity @DPZRAMON. We were honored to be invited to shoot footage of the event. We hope you enjoy our take on what we see as a gathering of some of the most creative, intelligent people in Chicago.

And it went a little something like this: