http://www.bigteeth.tv/index.php en gregg@infinitebarrel.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-05T00:42:28+00:00 http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/can-you-pitch-new-business-in-flip-flops/ http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/can-you-pitch-new-business-in-flip-flops/#When:23:42:28Z It's pitch time. Quick put on your suit and tie, hook up the powerpoint and memorize those talking points.... Not for us. We love our direct clients in need of intriguing videos, but also recognize the benefit of working with agencies who have built-in client rosters and could use our production skills. These agencies don't just come to you, so a-pitchin' we shall go. But I think the nature of the pitch has changed. Is it still necessary to button yourself up when new business hunting. We had a recent meeting at a mid-sized B2B Ad Agency in Chicago. Rather than deliver a "talk at you" Powerpoint presentation, we decided to just go in and chat. This way we could ask them questions about their business practices and what video needs they may have, and they could grill us on what our shooting methods were, editing style, how we do estimates, past experiences etc. We did no slick pitch, just chatted about our respective companies, and then pulled up our website so they could look at some samples of our work and let us walk them through the choices we made. Some might think this way of doing it appears too casual and shows a lack of preparation (and in some cases with larger companies it might not be the best approach) but I argue that after an hour-plus of this type of meeting, we walked away thinking this is the type of company we would be happy to do work with because the people we met, who would be our direct contacts, all seemed nice and approachable and appreciate the type of work we do. It appeared that they felt the same about us, and will very likely come calling next time a video project comes up. After all, isn't that what makes for successful working situations; the relationships? As unique as all businesses think they are, there are usually others who can do similar work, so wouldn't you rather work with someone you know you can talk to and trust... even if they wear flip flops instead of loafers? note: Any flip flops referred to in above post were strictly metaphorical. All toes were concealed, but nice jeans may have been worn.   Clients, Marketing 2010-03-04T23:42:28+00:00 http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/movieclips.com-what-is-it-and-what-isnt-it/ http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/movieclips.com-what-is-it-and-what-isnt-it/#When:06:18:14Z In a recent completely unscientific survey of web video usage, I estimated that people watch and share video clips online no less than 1 billion times a day. Most of these are via YouTube, but now there's a new player in town, Movieclips.com. According to "Fierce Online Video," Movieclips.com online video service is seeing growth, which leads me to wonder... What the hell does Movieclips.com do? What does Movieclips.com not do that it should. WHAT IS MOVIECLIPS.COM Movieclips.com is an online video site that has,"... over 12,000 movie clips, [where] you can search, find, view, discuss and share scenes from your favorite movies." Of course, once you find these clips you can watch them on the site and embed them on the usual suspects of movie embeddom. Another big difference is that this is apparently all legal and above the board with Hollywood giving it's hard-earned permission. Movieclips.com is set up to make money by having affiliate links to buy products related to the clips you watch. There are links to iTunes, amazon.com, allposters.com, Fandango and more. Presumably you watch the clip and then have to have the movie poster. Maybe hearing "Go ahead make my day" isn't enough, you need a full "Dirty Harry" fix streamed to your laptop. WHAT COULD MOVIECLIPS.COM BE THAT IT IS NOT With all the iphone/blackberry zombies out there who can't have a single thought without internet backup, having a warehouse of one-liners and scenes at your fingertips definitely has some value. Where the site is lacking is the usability for video content creators. Think about all the people putting video up on the web. Those who make a living at it, like we do, but also the ones who create mash-ups, film their kids hopped up on novocaine, re-subtitle Hitler movies etc. These are the ones who would love to have access to high quality clips to use for their video projects, and might well be willing to pay a reasonable fee for it, but again are shut out. I'm not suggesting some way to open the door for video pirates to swashbuckle their way into easier stealing, but think about all the fun videos people love to create in homage to their favorites - why not allow them to download these files and use them for non-nefarious purposes? It's fun to be able to watch scenes from all these movies, but had they gone a step further and made this more inclusive and useful, we'd be stepping in a much better and more interesting direction. What do you think? Is Movieclips.com good enough just showing you the clips, or do you agree that we should have the chance to borrow some Hollywood magic if it's used for the purposes of good and not evil? New Media, Online Video 2010-03-03T06:18:14+00:00 http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/new-media-revolution-from-no-tube-to-youtube-in-5-years/ http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/new-media-revolution-from-no-tube-to-youtube-in-5-years/#When:04:39:27Z YouTube was founded in February of 2005. This became slightly significant to me as I was unearthing video samples that I created and came across the first short films that I wrote and directed from, you guessed it, February 2005. Five years ago what did New Media mean to us? I'm guessing not a whole lot. Blogs existed but not everyone on the planet had three of them. How many podcasts did you download in 2005? I listened to more this week than I did that year. We didn't tag photos on Facebook, we didn't converse in tweets, and we certainly didn't upload high quality videos that could be played back in real time on every computer in the world. On a personal note these videos are also the first collaboration between Elise and I production-wise. She produced three shorts that I wrote and directed. Now in 2010, every day of our lives involves Elise producing video that I write, direct or edit. The emergence of YouTube and New Media/Social Media has essentially allowed us to be in business and had things not progressed how they did, Big Teeth Productions might not be around today - perish the thought of course. Here's one of the videos that I'm referring to titled, "All In." (full disclosure, this one was actually done in March 2005, not February): Not exactly a cinematic masterpiece but in terms of story and production value right up there with most of what you see on YouTube. Had there been a YouTube like it is today in 2005, its possible that I would have been able to show these videos to more than the few friends and mentors that actually saw it. Then maybe some of those people would have embedded it into their blogs or Facebook pages and thousands more might have seen it. Maybe PETA would have insisted I take it down because I encouraged dogs to gamble, which would have led to some PR for me and more eyes on the video. Then I would have been signed to a 3 picture deal at Dreamworks and become a filmmaking superstar... Then again, maybe I'd be right here where I am. Either way, my life is a totally different one thanks to the New Media Revolution. Has the New Media Revolution effected what you do in your personal life or your career? Do you think we are better off with YouTube and other New Media outlets or worse? Online Video, Personal, Social Media 2010-02-24T04:39:27+00:00 http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/web-tv-for-you-and-me-a-dream-deferred/ http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/web-tv-for-you-and-me-a-dream-deferred/#When:17:12:50Z 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. 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. News, Online Video, Web TV 2010-02-17T17:12:50+00:00 http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/who...is-relevant/ http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/who...is-relevant/#When:17:42:23Z from who dat to the who we give you our outsider perspective to the biggest insider event of the year, the superbowl.   Being at the Superbowl was a thrill for a number of reasons and was definitely something we'll remember for a long time, in no small part thanks to one of the greatest rock bands of all time, The Who. A lot of the buzz I read on Facebook threads and random outlets on the web was that The Who are not "relevant" and are too old etc... as an act for the biggest TV event of the year. It makes me wonder if in fact, the kids are alright? This being our first experience (and probably last) at the actual game versus in front of a TV, I'm left to ponder whether the CBS broadcast just couldn't possibly capture the electricity of the live performance. I know in years past I felt ambivalent about performances by Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, Springsteen and other such mega-acts who phoned in halftime show performances. From where we we're sitting (section 403, third row from the top of the stadium) the aged Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey rocked as hard as two social security aged people could or should. Sure there wasn't the same fire as the "Magic Bus" days and no Les Paul's were smashed (admittedly a disappointment), but to the best of what I could tell, the few missed notes sung by Daltrey or maybe a muffed chord from Pete meant that these guys were actually playing their instruments and singing - NOT lip syncing. If you want to rag on them for anything, it could be the choice to play a set consisting of mostly songs that have been absconded by CBS' CSI franchise; but for the godfathers of heavy metal I'll let that slide. Back to the whole "relevant" thing. Who would you consider to fit that bill? Would you rather have empty party anthem singers Black Eyed Peas take the stage and sing the most overplayed, uninteresting song of all time "I Gotta Feelin'"? And when I say "play" is there any doubt at all that it would just be a recorded track that Fergie and the boys would hop around to? Or the American Idol of the moment? If that's the case then I guess I'd rather not be part of "My Generation." Personal, Superbowl 44 2010-02-09T17:42:23+00:00 http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/sb44-live-at-super-clematis-we-built-this-city/ http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/sb44-live-at-super-clematis-we-built-this-city/#When:15:44:38Z Our first official "super" activity took place last night as part of Super Clematis Live - a football-themed version of the weekly nightlife activity in West Palm Beach. Now for all of you fame watchers waiting to be regaled with tales of shoulder rubbing with the Jonas Brothers, you may want to skip this post. Clematis by Night an outdoor street fair with food, drinks and some live music acts who work tirelessly to cover every cheesy pop song ever written. They nailed it by going from "Don't Stop Believin'" right into "I Gotta Feelin'" - The dynamic duo of overplayed karaoke fare. Now what made this particular night "super" were the few non-descript former NFL players signing autographs and a couple of inflatable games with football logos. Oh, and we think we saw Freddie Falcon and Bobby Bronco running around the place too. The Evening's headliners were none other than soft-rock legends Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas, not to be confused with Jefferson Starship. Mickey and a group of musicians half his age trotted out all the classics you know and love (and Elise REALLY loved a little too much for comfort). For your viewing and listening pleasure here are a few of them captured with our new Kodak zx1 camera. We Built This City - Encore style (listen closely, at one point it sounds like "live goes to tape) Just when you thought you had been soft-rocked to the fullest, they encored with the classic "We Built This City." For one brief moment West Palm Beach was indeed built on (soft) rock & roll. Super soft rock ballad - Sarah Dedicated to our intrepid sports reporter chum  Sarah Spain, who has been covering media week here in So Fla., by request. For those still wishing to know about the Jonas Brothers, take solace in the fact that in another 30 years, they will be Starship. Back for more later, in the meantime, you can follow along with some photos we've added on flickr. Personal, Superbowl 44 2010-02-05T15:44:38+00:00 http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/super-bowl-from-the-outside-in/ http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/super-bowl-from-the-outside-in/#When:16:32:33Z   A series of blogs from our experience winning two tickets to the 2010 Superbowl in Miami West Palm Beach, FL - I'm pretty sure there's a football game taking place on Sunday, and a pretty big one. As a matter of fact it's arguably the biggest sporting event on the American calendar. Yet it seems that all anyone wants to talk about is what celebrities will be on hand (Saints & Colts & Kardashians, oh my) and what party can you get in to, and not who has the better o-line, but who's o-line can sing better at Media Day's none-too subtle tie-in with "American Idol." So rather than provide another insider report on whether Peyton Manning will root for the team he plays for or the one he rooted for as a child, we've decided to provide the complete outsider's perspective to Super Bowl madness. Throughout our week in Florida we'll make our way to a few of the coveted activities, but overall, let us be your eyes and ears at Society Ground Zero. Notes from the Almost Front lines... As noted above, we are not the media elite, we don't have a reality show on E! (yet) and have no discernible ties to the cash-heavy Mafia, so rather than a shimmering ocean view from a South Beach hotel, we're staying in nearby West Palm Beach. I say this not as a complaint, but as statement of fact. The takeaway from this is that we were fortunate to win two tickets to the hottest event and plan on taking full advantage of that - which means spending a week in intermittently sunny Florida during the worst weather month of the year in Chicago. If that wasn't good enough we were handed the keys to a shiny new silver Mustang as our official wheels of the Gregg & Elise adventure. A Super Bowl miracle.   Other things: - Perhaps the two most coveted parties to attend before the Superbowl are put on by Playboy and Maxim magazines. Remember magazines? Those were the paper things that have all but been replaced by the Internet. If I were a more suspicious person I might surmise that these publications have stayed in business past their relevancy just to host the yearly bout of bacchanalia. - The stories not involving the parties and celebrities are all about the advertisements during the game. Are these not the very same 30- and 60-second bits of cleverness that we go out of our way to DVR right past the other 364 days a year? The Superbowl spot seems to be the Betamax in a Blu Ray world. Do these ads bring a return anywhere near what it costs to air them? - Why does politics ruin EVERYTHING? The Superbowl and its sideshow are beloved for the unnecessary excess, over the top half time and anything else that amounts to no actual substance. Now we have to tread out the abortion debate in between quarters of the Bud Bowl? What a downer! Stay with us as the game approaches and we take you to all the places that you want to be.... when you couldn't afford the places you actually wanted to be. Personal, Superbowl 44 2010-02-03T16:32:33+00:00 http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/web-tv-the-british-sitcom-model/ http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/web-tv-the-british-sitcom-model/#When:06:11:48Z Should Web TV follow the British Sitcom Model? Through the magic of a Netflix subscription, my laptop and an HDMI to Mini-display port converter, I watched an entire British series (The IT Crowd) - from start to finish, every episode - in about 4 days time. Now before you accuse me of being a potato of the couch variety, keep in mind a few determining factors of this amazing feat. 1. My wife was out of town and left to my own devices very little happens. 2. British sitcoms tend to be only six episode seasons, and last about 3 seasons total. That's 18 episodes. In the early years, "The Simpsons" would knock that out before Thanksgiving. So, right here on this very blog I am advocating the British Sitcom Model for the advent of the Web TV Age. As the medium matures and the inevitable mixing of regular TV with web TV takes place, this seems to make the most sense. What has made Web TV so intriguing so far is the experimental nature of it. The fact that you can produce a program by yourself, with little to no money, and distribute it as far as your Facebook friends will take you, truly lends itself to the short and unsentimental style of our former masters (oh I hate that King George III). By developing an idea that you can play around with, get a feel for what the characters are like, but remain experimental, this could free up people to constantly come up with new material and challenge the network structure that would rather try out an unfunny, large chinned hack in prime-time over an interesting scripted show. This is just a theory I'm playing with, and in trying to develop a few series of my own I decided to throw it out there and see how the rest of you feel. So, let me know what you would like to see from the shows coming out on the Internet. Should we go with 6 episodes a season, 3 seasons max; or should we keep going and going and going until we get to the "Facts of Life Down Under" episode in Season 10?   Online Video, Web TV 2010-01-28T06:11:48+00:00 http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/vidbits-mpeg-streamclip-convert-compress-and-edit-for-free/ http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/vidbits-mpeg-streamclip-convert-compress-and-edit-for-free/#When:04:04:25Z I get asked all the time how to do certain tasks pertaining to video by people who dabble but haven't dedicated their lives to the dizzying world of video production like I have. So, in our continuing series of helpful tips on video for the web, today I'll introduce you to a free piece of software that does some pretty heavy lifting in terms of converting, compressing and even simple editing of video files. Ladies and gentlemen, please say hello to MPEG Streamclip. MPEG Streamclip is put out by an Italian company called Squared 5 (http://www.squared5.com) and thats as much as I know about them. According to their site, "MPEG Streamclip is a powerful free video converter, player, editor for Mac and Windows. It can play many movie files ... encode movies to many formats, [and] can cut, trim and join movies. MPEG Streamclip can also download videos from YouTube and Google by entering the page URL." Thats a useful little gadget there. Let's look a little deeper. CONVERT AND COMPRESS Sometimes you're given a Windows Media file (.wmv) and need it to be a Quicktime (.mov), just drag and drop it into MPEG Streamclip's simple interface and export away. Maybe, you have a video recording with a great song that you want to put on your ipod - you can export just the audio and be in earbud heaven. You've got your wedding video on a DVD and want to put it on the web for your Aunt and Uncle to watch online - take that giant file and bring it down to a web-friendly size. You need a frame grab of a video to put on a website or send to the press. You can scrub frame by frame and find the one you need, export and you've got your picture. EDIT, JOIN AND TRIM VIDEO Sometimes you want to do a little editing and don't have the time or money to hire a professional, such as yours truly - you guessed it MPEG Streamclip is the answer. You can set an in and out point of your video and delete the bit you no longer want. Or, say you've got two clips that you want to bring together - drag them both in and export out. Voila! CAN'T BEAT FREE AND USEFUL This just scratches the surface and I'm sure there are tons of other uses that I don't partake in since I have my fancy editing software, but I just wanted to share this little gem with those in need. There are many programs that can do similar things but at a much greater price than free. The happy price tag comes with a few drawbacks - an ugly interface with a bunch of extra drop down menus you don't need; a terrible name (nobody uses MPEGs anymore); the accompanying help document is nearly impossible to read. All in all, MPEG Streamclip is a valuable tool to add to your box. Any questions on the above or to delve further into what it can do, feel free to drop me a line. Online Video, video tips 2009-12-02T04:04:25+00:00 http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/mlb-nfl-need-to-get-out-of-the-babe-ruth-era/ http://www.bigteeth.tv/blog/mlb-nfl-need-to-get-out-of-the-babe-ruth-era/#When:22:20:46Z "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. Marketing, News, Social Media 2009-09-16T22:20:46+00:00