Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.!

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1 48-HOUR FILM SCHOOL BONUS #5: Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 1

2 BONUS #5 3 TIME & MONEY SAVING IDEO TRICKS 13 Things I Learned the HARD WAY That Can Save You Time & Money James Wedmore Copyright 2014 by James Wedmore All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 2

3 THE INTENTION OF THIS BONUS I ve been filming videos for as long as I remember. But I got older, I ve slowly transitioned away from the long, creative process of making a film, into the quick, efficient methods of making effective marketing videos that get results. The following are 13 REAL changes I ve made to my Daily Video-Making Habits that have shaved precious TIME off of my video-production process. My intention is that it will SAVE YOU TIME so you don t have to discover these the hard way. Without further ado, here are my 13 TIME & MONEY SAVINGS TRICKS that you can start putting into practice immediately! TRICK #1: AVOID THE TIME SUCKS There are certain things that are cool to do in film-making, but will ultimately be the death of you. It s not your job to make a Spielberg-Style film, it s to create an effective marketing video. You re a business owner, not a Director, and your viewers are potential customers, not film critics. If you want to save time, here are 6 TIME-SUCKING VIDEO TRAPS you must avoid at all times. Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 3

4 They are as follows: Green Screen - Using a solid color backdrop or your home office as a backdrop is all you need. External Audio - Although recording your audio externally is recommended for filmmakers, but it takes too much time to sync audio, and causes way too much headaches for you. Stop Animation - Ha. This one doesn t need an explanation, does it? At 30 frames per second, it can take DAYS to create a 60 second video. Multiple Cameras - Making a video that is shot on multiple cameras from multiple angles looks great, but editing and syncing these shots is a nightmare. Don t waste your time. Multiple Locations - Don t switch your location for different shoots. Travel time and set up time are a WASTE of time! Fancy Special Effects - I know it s easy to come up with creative ideas like you flying over a big city, or shooting lasers out of your eyes, but it s not worth the extra effort... trust me. Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 4

5 TRICK #2: USE WHAT YOU GOT (Like Your iphone) Right now, I m a huge fan of using the iphone 5s (or higher!) as your primary video camera. As soon as I switched from the fancy DSLR to my iphone, our filming time dropped down immensely! Less time to set up, the technical issues were far less, and it was just easy! A few tips when using your iphone: 1) Make sure you have plenty of battery and memory AND 2) make sure to switch your phone to Airplane Mode before filming! For more information, I have another BONUS for you: The iphone Video Buyers Guide: tinyurl.com/iphonebuyersguide And if you want to learn more about making awesome videos on your iphone, visit: What if you don t have an iphone?! Well, use what ya got! Most cameras are HD-Quality and shoot great quality footage with proper lighting. DSLR cameras are amazing, but always harder to use and very timeconsuming. If you have the DSLR, I recommend letting a professional film for you! Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 5

6 48-HOUR FILM SCHOOL BONUS #5: TRICK #3: NEVER EVER FILM ALONE! It doesn t matter if you can t afford an assistant or videographer yet, never film alone. Recruit a friend, loved one, or that smart little kid down the street (Billy) to help you. Use them to check your shot, see if you re even in focus, fetch your watch, fix your tie, or even give pointers. Having someone else on standby will make your life ten times easier... I promise! TRICK #4: USE A DEDICATED FILM STUDIO If you have the luxury of having a dedicated film studio, you have the potential to save TONS of time. Setting up your studio, lighting it, framing your shot and preparing your background can take a LOT of time. So once you set everything up the way you want it... don t touch it! Now, if you re like me and your me film studio doubles as a garage (or a bedroom, office, etc.), here s what you need to do. As soon as you set up your studio for the first time, use masking tape or take pictures so you can mark off EXACTLY where all your lights and tripods need to go. This way, when it s time for your next filming day, you can cut your set up time in half! Easy, right?! Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 6

7 TRICK #5: FILM IN BULK Not only does set up and prep work take a lot of time, but it can also take some time for you to get into flow. Your Video Flow is when you are feeling confident and comfortable, and your bloopers are at a minimum. This flow state happens after you warm up for a few videos. It s for this reason I highly recommend blocking out an entire day to film all of your videos in bulk. Once you re in this flow, you ll be able to create MORE videos easier! A few additional pointers here: a) Have various wardrobe options available so you can switch into different outfits quickly. b) Have a Shot List of more than enough videos so you never run out of ideas. TRICK #6: USE A TELEPROMPTER This is hands down the most EFFECTIVE timesaving strategy I have ever deployed. As soon as I started using a teleprompter, I never went back! We literally cut my video-production time down to 1/4 of the time! The type of teleprompter I recommend is the one with Beam-Splitter Glass and works in conjunction with your ipad. We ll talk about using a Teleprompter in Week #2, but here is the link to the one I recommend: ie=utf8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeasin=b008npbeja&linkcode=as2&tag=wwwbartenderc-20 Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 7

8 TRICK #7: GET YOUR CUSTOM LOGO & CTA ANIMATION This trick is great for multiple reasons. When you can an intro bumper, segeue and call-to-action clip, you can add these to all your videos for consistent branding and efficient video making. The resource I recommend for all of these custom videos is: SPLASHEO! Grab your custom videos here: splasheo.com/?i=rmxenywaz4 TRICK #8: ADD MAGIC AT VIDEOHIVE.NET VideoHive.net is one of my FAVORITE websites/ resources of all time. You can find really cool stuff very inexpensively. I use it mainly for two things: overlays and pre-made templates. We ll discuss pre-made templates in the next trick. For now, let s talk overlays and stock footage. An overlay is a video that can be added ON TOP of your existing footage to create a cool effect. Here is an example of that: Here s how to add snow to your video: Stock Footage is another cool magic trick available on Video Hive. Let s say you want a shot of New York City, or the ocean...well that s easy, just do a quick search on VideoHive.net and you can find something like this: Shot of Santa Monica Pier for $5: Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 8

9 TRICK #9: LEVERAGE PRE-MADE VIDEOS AT VIDEOHIVE.NET There is soooo much potential here. Everyday, new video creators, animators and After-Effects Specialists upload customizable video templates that you can use and modify. Perhaps you want to run a sale, create an Explainer Video or SELL your product...there are styles for everyone! Here s a quick look at what you can get rather inexpensively: Now. There is a catch. These videos are ready to be customized, but you need someone who can customize them. The following is a simple how-to checklist for doing this. Step #1: Find the video template that works for you Step #2: Find an After Effects specialist on Odesk.com or Elance.com Step #3: Give this Specialist your video template with specific instructions on how you want it customized Step #4: Await the finished project! Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 9

10 TRICK #10: RECYCLE & REUSE YOUR TOP 5 SONGS Music is everything! And the right song can make any video GREAT! However... finding music can be timeconsuming... and buying it can be expensive! Here s my tip: find 5-10 songs and that s it! Cycle through them and reuse your favorites. No one will really know the difference. In fact, even sells Music Packs so you can save time and money! Oh ya, plus inside 48 Hour Film School we give you links to some of our favorite songs! :-) TRICK #11: REPURPOSE YOUR VIDEOS The best thing about making a video is that you can repurpose it quite a lot. Here are some ideas of what you can do with a YouTube video AFTER it s been posted on YouTube.com. a.you can add it to your blog. b.you can use the transcription as an article. c.you can cut up clips and share them on Instagram. d.you can turn your video into an InfoGraphic. e.you can strip the audio and turn it into a Podcast. The point being... once you have GREAT content in video form, you can use it several different ways so people consume in their preferred means! Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 10

11 TRICK #12: KEYNOTE/POWERPOINT & SCREEN CAPTURE VIDEOS One of the biggest time-sucks of video is the prep work. Getting dressed, looking good, putting on makeup, etc... it all takes time. And sometimes we just want to press record! That s where Powerpoint and Screen Capture Videos come in handy. Record your voice using a simple USB microphone as you walk people through simple steps on your computer or take them through your presentation slides. This is something we teach in detail on Week #2 of 48 Hour Film School... so if you haven t see that training yet, get ready! Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 11

12 TRICK #13: OUTSOURCE YOUR EDITING And finally, our final time-saving trick: outsourcing your editing. I hired a full-time video editor in March of 2013, and it has literally transformed my busines... simply because I can spend more time on the content and strategy that drives my business... and not in the editing room. You can find someone virtually... but I recommend looking in Craigslist for a local videographer/ editor so you can work in person. Here s what I did: 1. I put a post in Craigslist with the following headline: a. VIDEO EDITOR WANTED: +20 Hrs Week ($15/hr) 2. In the post itself, I asked people to create a 30 second video on the topic: How to Tie Your Shoes, upload it to YouTube and send me the link 3. Then, I interviewed the final candidates via phone 4. I gave the editors a trial assignment (paid) 5. And finally, I chose the one that got things done on time and communicated with me the best. Copyright James Wedmore. All Rights Reserved.! 12