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Video production tips, media and messaging secrets & more
Starting Messaging Tips for Start-Ups
We love working with start-up companies! In fact, over the past month we have begun work with a new national art gallery, a digital textile company, and a remote kitchen co-op. As a media training and expert messaging consultant there is nothing more gratifying than...
Top Three On-Camera Mistakes
We've conducted A LOT of on-camera interviews. Whether for network news, corporate video production, or media training sessions, you begin to see patterns with what clients and interviewees do well and where they do poorly. While we prefer to focus on the positives,...
Three Products For Every Video Shoot To Ensure Your Client Looks Great On-Camera
Some times the simplest things can make all the difference. And a video shoot is no different, especially when a client expects to have a finished product he or she will be proud of. Maybe you've been doing video work for a while and are relatively confident your...
Amplify Your Message with the Message Amplified App!
Perform better on-camera for news media and social media. Create and deliver better messages for presentations and speeches. We can help with our brand new app, Message Amplified. Our free new app for Apple and Android is loaded with tips and tutorials to help you be...
For Best Messages, “Why” is so much better than “What”.
Do you find yourself getting off track during news or on-camera interviews? Or even worse, are you discovering that what you believed to be your best quotes were not used at all? While recently on assignment for NBC News. one of my interviewees was disappointed with...
Media Training & Messaging Coaching Without Leaving Your Office
For the past ten years and counting we have provided our clients with expert, comprehensive in-person media training and messaging coaching. This typically happens in a conference room or off-site space set-up to accommodate this kind of training. While this set-up...
A Sit-Down Interview with a Professional Hitman
Over a 27 year journalism career I have had my share of interesting interviews. Those have included U-S Presidents, professional athletes, Fortune 500 CEO's, porn stars, and many many others. But when NBC News called and asked me to interview a former mafia hit-man,...
Three Simple Ways to Navigate Bad Press
Of all the questions I get as a media trainer, tips for dealing with bad or negative media attention is in the top three. In this hyper-aware media and social media world, just about any company or organization should be prepared to deal with negative attention, as...
Why 2019 is the Year of Video
Using video to help tell your unique business story is no longer an add-on marketing option. It is a consumer expectation. This marketing lesson recently driven home by one of our ad agency clients over coffee who described the upcoming new year for them as "the year...
How to Use Video To Educate New Hires
I will admit that video production for EXTERNAL audiences makes up the highest percentage of our video production projects. But don't confuse the numbers with the importance of effective internal communications using video. While video story-telling for external...
Getting Your On-Camera Interviews To Say The Right Things
The backdrop looks great. The lighting is near perfect. Audio is good. We are rolling! But wait, what is this? We have a bad interview. He is not speaking in complete thoughts. His energy is awful. None of this interview is usable. S***! Now what? The very best...
Changing Behavior Through Video: The Key Ingredients
Videos intended to change behavior may be the toughest to produce. That's because you have to hit all of your marks along the video production process to reach your goals. To ultimately change behavior, you have to give the viewer a compelling and visual reason why....
Video Marketing Without a Great Story? Waste of Time & Money.
Snake oil salesmen peddle video as if it is some sort of magical tonic. You have probably seen some of these video marketing statistics: Before reading any text, 60% of site visitors will watch a video if available. (Diode Digital) One minute of video is worth 1.8...
Lessons In News Interviews Gone Right: Setting The Right Tone
It's probably easier to tear apart interviews gone bad. As a media trainer, I've done plenty of that over the years. But did you catch the NBC News interview with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi? At the time, it was an exclusive with the new CEO and he was facing several...
Jack is Back! Arizona Video Production Fun with PGA Legend Jack Nicklaus.
He's baaack. Scottsdale is definitely on Jack's radar as the PGA legend has made Arizona a regular stop of late, consulting for the Scottsdale Desert Mountain Golf Community. The all-time leader in PGA major wins is a Florida resident but may want to consider a...
Why Screaming “Fake News!” is a Horrible Media Strategy
"Fake News!' is all the rage. Everyone seems to be doing it, especially those caught in the media cross hairs with no where else to go. That was certainly the case for Rep. Claudia Tenney, Republican from New York. Following the horrific mass school shooting in...
Chasing Jack Nicklaus: Arizona Video Production
Even at 78 years young, the greatest golfer to ever play the game is still a very busy guy. Jack Nicklaus, nicknamed the Golden Bear, still holds the record for most career major wins at 18 and is considered by most to be the sports biggest name. Frankly, that is why...
Celebrating 10 Years of Video Production & Media Training: What We’ve Learned.
Back in 2008 we launched AZ Freelance TV, with the idea that we could take our local TV news skills and apply what we know to network news and develop a brand new business while working for ourselves. We are pleased to report it worked! We started working for TV...
Internal Corporate Video Does Not Have To Be Boring!
Just about every corporate communications team is using video in same shape or form. But how are you using video? Especially for internal communications, when it might be easier to record a company statement on an Iphone. After all, the video is for internal purposes...
Expert Video Production Tips: Script First or Last?
Your company or business is ready for your next big video production and the question naturally comes up- do you need a script in-hand before you begin the shoot? Should you have everything scripted out before the first scene is recorded? Based on our experiences, the...
Three Takeaways From Three Hours with a Leading Facebook Expert
Most freelance news media assignments I cover are interesting but some are true learning experiences. That was certainly the case when I recently interviewed one of the worlds leading experts on Facebook. Dennis Yu with Blitz Metrics is now the "go to" network news...
Why HBO’s Vice News Could Be The Future of Local TV News
No anchors. No studio. Maybe you don't have HBO, or haven't taken the time to check out that channels news show. When and if you do, Vice News does not follow the typical news show format model at all. The show starts and ends in the field, with reporters tackling a...
Snap Judgements in a Snapchat World: How to Make a Great First Impression.
Are you on Snapchat? I admit I have not yet taken the plunge but I am in the minority. According to those at the Snapchat app, more than 158 million people are on Snapchat and each user opens the app 18 times a day, on average. The app allows its user to share short...
Top 3 Worst Trends in Video Production
We make it a habit to explore the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to video production and today we will focus on the ugly because we are seeing some really bad trends out there. Some of our picks might surprise you but we ask that you thoroughly read our...
Top Three Mistakes When Pitching News Media
Twice over the past month I've spoken to business groups about the news media and both times we ended up with a large chunk of time focused on pitching stories-best practices, do's and don't, etc. Additionally, as a freelance TV journalist, my email gets bombarded...