News
Media Trends Newsletter
MARCH 2010
Dear Tom,
It is hard to believe a year ago, Warner Brothers launched their Warner Archive collection of classic film on DVD and download for movie enthusiasts. Using Allied Vaughn’s automated optical manufacturing DVD On Demand process, Warner was able to offer hundreds of hard to find titles by adopting a zero inventory- on demand model similar to that in use by organizations such as A & E Television, National Geographic and Willow Creek Ministries. In this month’s Media Trends, Blair Zykan provides compelling data on what can make your e-commerce drive more sales. We close off with a nod to green and St. Patrick’s day as we look again at eco-packaging from our DVD group.
Thank you for connecting!
Richard Skillman
Vice President, Sales
Warner Archive Celebrates 1st Year with 30% Sale
Warner Archive is kicking off its anniversary by offering significant discounts on TV movies and miniseries from their web store this week (see link below). The Archive consists of a broad range of Warner films, many not available before on DVD or in retail. By implementing Allied Vaughn’s zero inventory DVD On Demand systems and our “auto-authoring” process to reduce asset preparation costs , Warner is able to reduce the costs of taking a broad library to market and provide high quality entertainment value to the avid film collector. Warner also continues to add new titles to its catalogs on a frequent basis to encourage return visits to its online store.
Three lessons from high conversion e-commerce stores
Recently I attended a study session focusing on 15 of the highest performing (conversion rate) e-commerce sites on the Internet today. Conversion represents the rate at which you turn visitors into buyers, or some other action you want them to take.
Sites included Amazon (number 12), ProFlowers.com, Schwans, and blair.com (my favorite). These sites convert 12% – 40% of their visitors into buyers. Does your site do that? Probably not. So what makes these sites different?
Three things stand out:
Low Cost Shipping
Ability to purchase without cumbersome registration.
Remarketing
I’ve saved the best for last, remarketing Did you know that only 25% of all ecommerce sites stay in touch with their existing customers. But – 100% of the top performing merchants do so, regularly. It works. Worthwhile emails that contain information your customers care about, along with special offers just for them – drive repeat visits and higher conversion into sales. As well – offline marketing can be key. Many of the leading online merchants are also using catalogs and direct mail in their mix.
So – look at your conversion rate (tools are available that track your abandonment points), as well as the three tips above. Your customer and your CFO will love you for it.
Blair Zykan
Director, Media On Demand
Allied Vaughn
Going Green Not Just For the Irish!
Allied Vaughn’s Optical Replication Services continues to see large increases in the use of eco-friendly packaging.
A new trend is the ECO-Seal case tab to replace and reduce the use of shrinkwrap in CD and DVD packaging.
Ask us also about CD and DVD packaging made from 100% recycled Clay Coated News Back Paper and FSC Paper, most often configured as wallets, sleeves and multi-disc packaging.
FSC Paper which carries the FSC designation is produced by mills that participate in the Forest Stewardship Council program, whereby for every tree harvested, 2 are planted. Also, water based coating is recommended on these packages as it is 100 percent recyclable. UV coating, used on many media packages, requires special care and is not easily recycled, therefore, going to a FSC paper and changing over to a water based coating makes a good immediate earth friendly change in your packaging.
The Clay coated stock used in CD/DVD sleeves, wallets and some multi-packs is 100% recycled paper, arguably taking what was discarded and providing a product that is the result of recycling of materials. Depending on your current artwork,however, your media design may not have the “punch” in colors you currently achieve from virgin paper. FSC, as it is virgin stock and will perform much like standard board stock.
If digi-packs and retail style DVD packaging represent your current styles, these eco-friendly papers are available as well for more complex packaging options. If you are interested in the digi-pak style of packaging, we can offer recycled paper and a recycled plastic tray with 35% post consumer content. Contact us at Allied Vaughn for more information, we would be happy to help.
Allied Vaughn Media Distribution | 1310 W. Thorndale | Itasca | IL | 60143
Douglas Technical Services Streams Quality Live Video of Your Event Onto The Internet From Anywhere
Douglas Technical Services has made a major equipment and services upgrade with the purchase of a Mobile Satellite SD/HD Video Streaming System. The satellite dish and webcasting unit are mounted on a production van and is believed to be the only HD system of its kind in Oregon.
With this Webcasting system, live events like corporate communications, training & education, weddings & other family events, fundraisers, news, sports and more can be shown over the Internet from just about any location in the city or the country side throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Scott M. Douglas, DP will be offering Satellite Webcasting services with and without camera services. SD and HD camera signals can be utilized and streaming rates range from 400 Kbps to 1.7 Mbps for a crisp, clean viewing experience. After-event viewing is also available and rate structure can be a sponsored event, pay-per-view or a combination.
More Information on Douglas Technical Services Mobile Satellite Streaming Services
This press release is to inform you of the new Mobile Satellite Streaming services we offer in addition to the television/video productions.
Live webcasting is the next big thing for broadcasters, corporations and individuals to reach a worldwide audience via the Internet.This is not YouTube quality, but much higher in crisp, clean images at 30 fps in HD.
Attributes: KU band satellite dish mounted on the DTS production van. Onboard MPEG 4 encoding system for Windows & Flash streaming. Data rates of 400 Kbps to 1.7 Mbps HD. Dual stream option so your viewer can choose the rate that best fits their system. Webcast live feeds, plus taped or digital productions from just about any location.
Transfer Video and other files via FTP. Internet and telephone connections at any location via Satellite system. Mac/FCP editing system is available to travel as well.
Webcasting services can be sponsored or pay-per-view with a home page, custom graphics and CDN services. Streaming can be done without CDN services directly to your server as well.
What locations are available for satellite webcasting? Offices, homes, conventions, parks, gathering places, beaches, mountains, forests and more. We just need to see the southern sky for an uplink.
Who’s using webcasting? Corporations, broadcasters, first responders and emergency organizations, fundraisers, weddings and other family events, sports, politicians, educators and many, many more.
Check out
http://www.audiocam.com/streaminghome.html for details. For more information, availability and rates, please reply or call 877-686-9880.Best regards,
Scott
Scott M. Douglas, DP
Douglas Technical Services
http://www.audiocam.com
877-686-9880, office
541-913-0475, cell
541-393-3939, fax
TV/video production experience since 1988.
Shooting hi-def with HDX900 & XDcam and now Webcasting via Satellite
from anywhere!
Crew note: Jeff Hedges is back in town and doing sound recordist work for DTS. If you need an audio person or have other production needs, call Scott at 686-9880.
Freelance World by Scott M. Douglas
November 1, 2009
Volume 3
Volume 3
Fall is coming on strong and hopefully the production world will pick up some too. I hear from associates from all over the country how business has been slow for 2009. The national news companies and others have trimmed their travel budgets to adapt to the tightened economy so they aren’t coming to Oregon as often.
So what’s a freelancer going to do with all this time on your hands? I would say when you’re not marketing yourself it’s a good time for repairing equipment and making upgrades.
Your equipment does more than a job when you’re in production. It sends a message to the producer or production company what your business is like. If you show up with cables in the wrong case and can’t find them, forgot to pack the lamps in the kit and other such issues, you’re sending a message. The question is whether or not it’s the message you want to send. Get busy with that soldering iron and repair some cables.
Oh, you thought that freelancing just involved picking up a camera and going to work, NOT. Remember, you’re the repair person, accountant, marketing agent, etc., etc. Also this is a very product driven industry and name recognition can be everything. Buy gear that your client expects to see.
If you have to explain to the crew coordinator or producer that your gear is just as good as the one they want because of X, Y & X, forget it. They don’t know what you’re talking about. They just know that the last shoot they were on brand J monitor was used or their superior told them to get someone with brand X camera. If you don’t have that camera or can’t rent it, you don’t get the job.
However, if you’re doing all in-house productions, it really doesn’t matter what format and gear you’re using as long as the client is satisfied with the end product.
A word on renting gear. You need to have insurance to rent equipment and all rental houses I know ask for a certificate of insurance. They usually want to be named as a loss payee. When you have insurance and they ask for the certificate, just call your agent. They routinely fax or email certificates. It’s part of their job and you paid for it.
To summarize, for freelance work, know what the industry standards are for gear in your niche market and buy that gear; they will come. Make sure your gear is working properly and looks good too. If you’re doing in-house work, know your market and what the client expects in quality and buy the gear that gets the job done within your budget.
Scott M. Douglas, DP owns and operates Douglas Technical Services. DTS regularly supplies national production companies with freelance HD/SD/NTSC/PAL camera & audio services for single or multi-camera productions using Panasonic HDX900 HD and XDcam HD. Now, Webcasting video via Mobile Satellite Streaming System.MOPAN member Liz Cawood nominated for award
Please join us for the second annual Women Business Leader of the Year Award luncheon! This moving awards ceremony honors successful women business leaders in the Eugene/Springfield area for their business success, career achievements and contributions to the community.
Please join us for the second annual Women Business Leader of the Year Award luncheon! This moving awards ceremony honors successful women business leaders in the Eugene/Springfield area for their business success, career achievements and contributions to the community.
We are proud to announce our five finalists for the award: Suzanne Arlie of Arlie and Company, Liz Cawood of CAWOOD, Linda Korth of McKay Investments, Anne Marie Levis of Funk/Levis and Jeanne Staton of Staton Companies.
Congratulations to all of our finalists and nominees! See which remarkable woman wins the award on Thursday, November 12 from 11:45 AM – 1:15 PM at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Center. Reserve your seat today!
Sponsored by our friends at KeyBank and Jones & Roth
Sponsored by our friends at KeyBank and Jones & Roth
Report on MOPAN’s Round Table Talk with Vince Porter of the Governor’s Office of Film & Television
Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Film & Television, Vince Porter convened a group of MOPAN members for a round table at the 4th Annual Eugene International Film Festival. The event was quite informative and Vince showed his approachability and earnest desire to facilitate further business, however he can, for MOPAN.
This smooth marketing approach sparked a discussion of alternative distribution potentials for content creators.Next, MOPAN board member Erik Talbert asked Porter what MOPAN can do “on the ground” to increase the amount of production work that stays in our community and county. Porter responded with the suggestion that we need to continue on the success of the MOPAN commercial and DIVA event, “Hollywood On Broadway”, and stay in the public eye.
Among the topics of discussion, Porter shared a success story of an Oregon producer who took a slightly different approach to creation. Instead of developing an idea “on spec”, this producer contacted potential host websites for the content he planned to create (with established sci-fi followings) then created the segmented “film” (or web-series) based on these website’s pre-arranged participation. Smart partnering provided a built-in audience for his narrative.We can keep letting people know what a vast array of tech-savvy talent there is right here, focusing on the industries that excel historically (like outerwear) and the ones poised for quick growth (like Green Energy: wind and solar). He talked about Nike’s recent hire of a Music Executive and why a shoe company needs a Music Executive (tying in the considerable amount of creative work that Nike spreads around Portland’s production community).
Porter went on to talk about the potential inherent in the alliance of Oregon Film and Business Oregon as well as Oregon Film’s recent success with their Twitter account. He then offered to Twitter Oregon Film’s 17,000-some followers with a link to the MOPAN commercial. We discussed the limited amount of exposure the media grant (which went exclusively toward broadcast air-time) offered our group, and the possibility of giving it more life by re-purposing it as a PSA. After all, MOPAN is a not-for-profit, all volunteer organization.
He further extended to have MOPAN participate in the Governor’s Office of Film & Television’s annual meeting by teleconference. It’s now possible that MOPAN will have a room at UofO to view the simulcast and give a brief state-of-our-union address. The offer is equally extended to OMPA, SOFaT and Film Oregon Alliance, Oregon’s other regional production associations. (Editor’s note - FOA’s website was not linked due to a notice that “www.filmoregon.org uses an invalid security certificate.”)
As might be expected, the dialog did get around to financing. While suggesting we try innovative approaches, including checking out angel investors like Oregon Entrepreneur’s Network, he advised making sure to protect your intellectual property in the process. Register your screenplay with the Writer’s Guild or copyright it. Also, having a legitimate business entity certainly helps your credibility when seeking a production budget or development funds. LLCs and sole-proprietorships (Doing-Business-As, DBAs) were noted, though Porter stated his lack of qualifications for dispensing any legal or accounting/entity structure advice.
Finally, he encouraged us all to talk to his office, ask the questions, and get the answers that move our projects along. He wants to help us all to keep working in Oregon!
Submitted by Michael Browning and Erik Talbert
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To support responsible choices and the planet, Next Generation Media will offer 10% off any ‘Green’ project in the month of November!
Now Introducing Next Generation Media’s ‘Eco-Friendly’ Product Line…
To support responsible choices and the planet, Next Generation Media will offer 10% off any ‘Green’ project in the month of November!
Like you, we at Next Generation Media are concerned about our environment and the footprints we leave behind. Even though CD’s and DVD’s are a petroleum-based products, by choosing green options for packaging and distribution, we reduce our impact on the world around us. Not only are some of the green options better for the environment, many actually save you money. We look forward to assisting you with your green projects and working towards a healthier world for the next generations to come.
Here are some green options for your next project:Use a traditional DVD retail case made with less plastic or made with recycled material and a recycled paper stock insert printed with biodegradable ink Design a custom-printed Digipak that includes a recycled plastic tray.
Eliminate plastic packaging altogether — Try a biodegradable wallet or quicksleeve Choose a multi-disc case instead of a single plastic case for multi-disc projects.Seal your product with a smaller scale tab rather than completely covering your product with shrinkwrap.Build enough lead time in your project to allow for ground transportation instead of air – it’s cost-effective and decreases your carbon footprint by 22%.Choose to duplicate what you need versus replicate what you might use Replace your printed catalogs with a CD or DVD. You can save up to 40%, lower distribution costs, and decrease the amount of waste that enters the landfills.
Next Generation Media continually strives to find new ways to preserve our environment. We utilize an intensive eco-program that allow us to recycle our excess waste; including, sprues, retail and jewel cases, and stampers. Quality controls have been tightened and incorporated in the front-end to reduce excessive scrap. The shipping cartons we use are made from recycled stock and we recycle all of our corrugated materials. Whenever feasible, we consolidate our inbound and outbound freight to reduce our carbon footprint. Looking forward, we continue to seek additional and better options for ‘Green Choices.’
It Pays To Be Green with Next Generation Media!
NGM offers new ‘Greener Choices’ and solutions across many “traditional” packaging options.
The green choices available include the following:
Traditional Retail Cases
Jewel Cases
Sleeves/Wallets
DigiPaks
GO GREEN
Click here to place your ‘Green’ Order
REQUEST A COMPLETE LIST OF GREEN IDEAS
Click here to receive an emailed copy of our ‘Green Options’
To support our customers and the planet, Next Generation Media will take 10% off any ‘Green’ project that ships in the month of November.
Contact Cindy Naugle at
(770) 645-4548 for more information.
(770) 645-4548 for more information.
TAC features Mississippian Mound Site
Friends and colleagues: St. Louis is not the only American city that sits atop the ruins of an earlier civilization. This week we take our audience down the Mississippi River to another such location in
Welcome to Chucalissa, the latest video feature on our nonprofit streaming-media Web site, The Archaeology Channel (http://www.archaeologychannel.org).Located in Memphis, Tennessee, the Chucalissa prehistoric site represents the widespread Mississippian Culture. Founded initially around A.D. 1000, Chucalissa village reached its peak around 1500 with the construction of large platform mounds around a central plaza. Part of a complex society and supported by farming and natural foods, the Native American people of this site traded throughout much of the Midwest and South. Since its rediscovery in 1940, the site has become an education center for the University of Memphis through the C. H. Nash Museum.
This and other programs are available on TAC for your use and enjoyment. We urge you to support this public service by participating in our Membership (
http://www.archaeologychannel.org/member.html) and Underwriting (http://www.archaeologychannel.org/sponsor.shtml) programs. Only with your help can we continue and enhance our nonprofit public-education and visitor-supported programming. We also welcome new content partners as we reach out to the world community.Please forward this message to others who may be interested and let us know if you wish to be removed from our mailing list.
Richard M. Pettigrew, Ph.D., RPA
President and Executive Director
Archaeological Legacy Institute
TAC features Brazilian Archaeology Project
Friends and colleagues: Many countries around the world now take seriously the need to manage and protect their cultural heritage. An infrastructure project in Brazil shows how that country is discovering, investigating and protecting its archaeological sites, as seen in Archaeology in Taguatinga Valley, the latest video feature on our nonprofit streaming-media Web site, The Archaeology Channel (http://www.archaeologychannel.org).
Friends and colleagues: Many countries around the world now take seriously the need to manage and protect their cultural heritage. An infrastructure project in Brazil shows how that country is discovering, investigating and protecting its archaeological sites, as seen in Archaeology in Taguatinga Valley, the latest video feature on our nonprofit streaming-media Web site, The Archaeology Channel (http://www.archaeologychannel.org).
This video describes the Archaeological Scientific Salvage and Cultural Heritage Management Program of Taguatinga Valley in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia. The Goiano Institute of Pre-History and Anthropology (IGPA) from the Catholic University of Goias (UCG) conducted research on a massive water treatment project and carried out extensive public education. The work was supervised by Brazilian National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) and funded under contract by the Company of Basic Sanitation of Brasilia (CAESB).
This and other programs are available on TAC for your use and enjoyment. We urge you to support this public service by participating in our Membership (
http://www.archaeologychannel.org/member.html) and Underwriting (http://www.archaeologychannel.org/sponsor.shtml) programs. Only with your help can we continue and enhance our nonprofit public-education and visitor-supported programming. We also welcome new content partners as we reach out to the world community.Please forward this message to others who may be interested and let us know if you wish to be removed from our mailing list.
Richard M. Pettigrew, Ph.D., RPA
President and Executive Director
Archaeological Legacy Institute
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Freelance World by Scott M. Douglas
November 1, 2009Volume 3
Fall is coming on strong and hopefully the production world will pick up some too. I hear from associates from all over the country how business has been slow for 2009. The national news companies and others have trimmed their travel budgets to adapt to the tightened economy so they aren’t coming to Oregon as often.
So what’s a freelancer going to do with all this time on your hands? I would say when you’re not marketing yourself it’s a good time for repairing equipment and making upgrades.
Your equipment does more than a job when you’re in production. It sends a message to the producer or production company what your business is like. If you show up with cables in the wrong case and can’t find them, forgot to pack the lamps in the kit and other such issues, you’re sending a message. The question is whether or not it’s the message you want to send. Get busy with that soldering iron and repair some cables.
Oh, you thought that freelancing just involved picking up a camera and going to work, NOT. Remember, you’re the repair person, accountant, marketing agent, etc., etc. Also this is a very product driven industry and name recognition can be everything. Buy gear that your client expects to see.
If you have to explain to the crew coordinator or producer that your gear is just as good as the one they want because of X, Y & X, forget it. They don’t know what you’re talking about. They just know that the last shoot they were on brand J monitor was used or their superior told them to get someone with brand X camera. If you don’t have that camera or can’t rent it, you don’t get the job.
However, if you’re doing all in-house productions, it really doesn’t matter what format and gear you’re using as long as the client is satisfied with the end product.
A word on renting gear. You need to have insurance to rent equipment and all rental houses I know ask for a certificate of insurance. They usually want to be named as a loss payee. When you have insurance and they ask for the certificate, just call your agent. They routinely fax or email certificates. It’s part of their job and you paid for it.
To summarize, for freelance work, know what the industry standards are for gear in your niche market and buy that gear; they will come. Make sure your gear is working properly and looks good too. If you’re doing in-house work, know your market and what the client expects in quality and buy the gear that gets the job done within your budget.
Scott M. Douglas, DP owns and operates Douglas Technical Services. DTS regularly supplies national production companies with freelance HD/SD/NTSC/PAL camera & audio services for single or multi-camera productions using Panasonic HDX900 HD and XDcam HD. Now, Webcasting video via Mobile Satellite Streaming System.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eugene International Film Festival 2009
See some photos from the Festival on the MOPAN website at http://www.mopan.org/membernews.html.
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DIVA’s 2010 OpenLens Festival call for Entries
The 2010 OpenLens Festival, Eugene’s only winter short film festival, is accepting entries through December 11th. The competition is open to filmmakers living in the counties of Benton, Coos, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, and Polk.
For more details about the festival and how to enter visit divacenter.org and click on OpenLens 2010. The OpenLens Festival is scheduled for January 29, 30, and 31, 2010.
DIVA Center
110 W. Broadway – Eugene
Phone: 541-344-3482
Web: divacenter.org
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Community TV Schedule Information
CTV29 Public Access programming is seen 24/7 on Comcast Cable Public Access Channel 29 in Eugene, Springfield, Junction City and Lane County.
The CTV29 schedule appears in the grid in the Saturday Register-Guard “TV Week” section (includes VCR+ numbers), on Comcast Cable’s TV Guide Ch. 2, on their website http://www.CTV29.org, and by email (please send your request to info@CTV29.org).
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This week at The Bijou
For the current Bijou schedule, go online to: http://bijou-cinemas.com
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New equipment and capability.
Douglas Technical Services purchased a 4 input SD switcher (composite & S-video input plus composite, S-video & component output). In addition to cameras & video decks, it can take a signal from a computer for full page graphics. The switcher does cuts, dissolves, wipes and P-in-P (good for box over presenter), split, quad-split, freeze frame, border and colored background.
It has a quad-split preview function so you only need one preview monitor. No gen-lock needed and has TBCs on all channels. It works in 4:2:2 color space and does color processing in brightness, contrast, color & tint with a Proc-Amp. Unit is tally light out capable.
The switcher has a 3 channel audio mixer with microphone and line inputs, plus audio meters and headphone jack. It has MIDI control function as well.
This will work great for multi-camera SD video/TV productions and multi-camera streaming projects.
Call Scott at 541-686-9880 to discuss your production needs.
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- Comment Feed for this Post
Hi Members:
Douglas Technical Services supplied a high speed Internet connection for live interviews from Nike in Beaverton for their Facebook site called The Huddle. They interview football players about the sport.
We used the DTS mobile satellite uplink connection to get the stream from Nike to the provider for live Facebook connectivity. Even shooting through the trees, our KU band satellite connection worked flawlessly. The data rate was approximately 500 Kbps.
We worked with a couple suppliers and the signal came to us from a Tricaster via Cat 5 cable.