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Video production tips, media and messaging secrets & more
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...
Video Production Arizona: The Tempe Police Story
The video production team at DMG is very proud of this special video we produced for the Tempe Police Department. This long time media training client recently came to us with a different project in mind. The department wanted to create a high end, fast-paced video...
Beyond The Obvious: What Are The Real Lessons Learned From The Airline PR-Media Mess
By now most have seen the original stories and many follow ups regarding the mess which is United Airlines and the doctor dragged off the flight for refusing to give up his seat. While that story continues to have legs, another story made headlines regarding an...
Why Arizona Wildcat Head Basketball Coach Sean Miller Is The Best.
No, this Sun Devil did not go to the dark side. I did watch a lot of March Madness though and I believe in giving credit where credit is due, and Arizona Wildcat Head Basketball Coach Sean Miller deserves a lot of credit. Not for getting to the Sweet 16 though. Some...
How Much Time Goes Into Creating a Professional Video?
Maybe you are in the market for a professional video? Or maybe your company uses more and more video and your marketing team is thinking about building an internal video department. Either way, before diving in, it's important for anyone to understand the man hours...
Spotting Fake News: What’s in a Name?
Fake News is THE news of late. Our new President called some traditional news outlets "fake", and the topic of fake news is now dominating social media. How many times have you see someone post this- "I don't know what news is real and what news is fake anymore?" As a...
Four Tips For Creating Successful Social Media Video
Social media video is no longer the exception but the rule. If you are not posting video, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with an enormous audience through direct views and shares. As an example, a few months ago I used Facebook Live and posted a...