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Get some feedback on your site or ad from other rental owners and techies. Also a library of online resources so you can make DIY improvements to your web presence.
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enid
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Post by enid »

There will be lighting, glamour shots, camera moves, food shots, gonna hit it out of the park. Stay tuned!
That sounds exciting and I look forward to seeing it.
But what are you going to do to guide the visitor to the other information they may be seeking about your property - the points raised above about needing to know the most basic things like how many the property sleeps for example. All that needs to be hit out of the park too :)
Brian
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Re: info

Post by Brian »

ravetildon wrote:haha, I am very close to half mood bay!

What video editing software did you use & how did you make the still do that effect?

I am not very good with video... Something I'd like to learn ASAP.
Hey, anyone here with questions about video? don't hesitate to ask me. I used to work in video production.

The software? Basically there are two choices in software: consumer or pro. I've never used a consumer NLE (non linear editing) software but know they're easier to use but not as powerful. I use a pro software called Sony Vegas. I recommend it for two reason: 1) it's cheap 2) it's got the most user friendly/intuitive interface.

Regarding stills, with Vegas you merely import a still into your timeline and then click a pan and crop button which allows you to pan and/or zoom around the image creating the effect of a live shot. Ken Burns, the famous documentary filmmaker is the master of this--check out his PBS documentary on the Civil War.
"To young men contemplating a voyage I say go." -Joshua Slocum
Brian
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Post by Brian »

enid wrote:
There will be lighting, glamour shots, camera moves, food shots, gonna hit it out of the park. Stay tuned!

But what are you going to do to guide the visitor to the other information they may be seeking about your property - the points raised above about needing to know the most basic things like how many the property sleeps for example.
Oh I don't like getting caught up with minor details like that.

Kidding...yeah I already started doing that. I put it on the left side in a box on the home page.
www.panglaobeachvilla.com
"To young men contemplating a voyage I say go." -Joshua Slocum
ravetildon
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video

Post by ravetildon »

Awesome, any recommended tutorials or videos to get a newbie video creator up to speed?
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enid
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Post by enid »

Kidding...yeah I already started doing that. I put it on the left side in a box on the home page.
Well that's a start :)
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

It's a very nice video of the property, but kept stopping all the time. Is it supposed to do that? Or is it just that 1MB of broadband isn't enough? I thought the video was great, but the photos of the hostess put me off, I'm not a feminist or anything, but to me it seems aimed at men and maybe those men who would rather not take their wives with them, if you see what I mean. I wasn't sure whether the click here for paypal logo next to the photo of the hostess was for her or your property :?
Last edited by la vache! on Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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enid
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Post by enid »

:D :D :D :D
Brian
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Post by Brian »

La Vache wrote:It's a very nice video of the property, but kept stopping all the time. Is it supposed to do that? Or is it just that 1MB of broadband isn't enough? I thought the video was great, but the photos of the hostess put me off, I'm not a feminist or anything, but to me it seems aimed at men and maybe those men who would rather not take their wives with them, if you see what I mean. I wasn't sure whether the click here for paypal logo next to the photo of the hostess was for her or your property :?
That's the first complaint about start/stopping. I'll check it though.

I assume you're being facetious about the paypal button...it's for the girl obviously.

Seriously, I think you're right, when I re-do this video in June I'm gong to tone down the sex appeal aspect.
"To young men contemplating a voyage I say go." -Joshua Slocum
Brian
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Re: video

Post by Brian »

ravetildon wrote:Awesome, any recommended tutorials or videos to get a newbie video creator up to speed?
Gosh, I know there are a lot out there. a guy named Douglas Spotted Eagle from VASST has a lot of first rate tutorials, like here http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Vegas-Mov ... 157820271X",

If you're on PC that's probably a good place to start.

There's a simplified new user version of Vegas Pro called Vegas Movie Studio. Might check it out.
"To young men contemplating a voyage I say go." -Joshua Slocum
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

Brian wrote:
... she is NOT in the Philippines, she's talking to you from Half Moon bay in California ...
It's interesting that a video can be shot thousands of miles from its subject matter and be readily accepted as a representation of a rental property. You couldn't do that with stills because you always need to photograph (however artfully) the actual objects that you're describing - anything else would be seen as dishonest. This isn't intended to be a criticism of Brian's video. That's what videos are - a blend of direction, script, movement, sound, talk and music that may (or may not) relate directly to the subject matter. And we suspend our disbelief accordingly, just like when we go to the theatre or read a book.

But to (still) photograph a rental property, you have to capture the real light that's reflected from that object. And it's this 'truth' (even in a digitally manipulative world) that gives still photography its unique power and makes people more willing to believe in a still image.

Edward Weston wrote:
Only with effort can the camera be made to lie.
Jim
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Brian,

Doesn't it strike you as wrong to show California when you are describing the Philippines? What about the shots of crystal-clear water, are those also from somewhere else?
Paolo
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Brian
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Post by Brian »

paolo wrote:Brian,

Doesn't it strike you as wrong to show California when you are describing the Philippines? What about the shots of crystal-clear water, are those also from somewhere else?
Not at all. I've produced commercials that have shown 80 countries and this kind of thing is so common. It's a pretty hostess with a generic blue ocean behind her. In those particular scenes, I'm not selling the ocean behind her, I'm not selling the property, I'm selling her. You need to realize, this isn't journalism, it's advertising. What I'm doing here is no different than what all the websites here do: casting your property in the best possible light be it through photoshop tricks, or gushy flowery (exaggerated) literary descriptions of properties.

I would be uncomfortable if the hostess walked to the edge of the sea and said "Look at this beautiful water! You could be here!" but she never does that. She's only on camera briefly if you think about it. It's a classic switchaway. It's done all the time in video production.

Can you really imagine a guest showing saying, "Hey! That's not the same blue ocean I saw in the video! It's two shades darker! and Where's that pretty little hostess!" These aren't realistic concerns.
"To young men contemplating a voyage I say go." -Joshua Slocum
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enid
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Post by enid »

Got any other examples of your video work?
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Brian wrote:What I'm doing here is no different than what all the websites here do: casting your property in the best possible light be it through photoshop tricks, or gushy flowery (exaggerated) literary descriptions of properties.
It's a little different in that instead of casting your location in the best light you are showing a completely different location. It shows a lot of sailing boats and buildings, suggesting a resort with infrastructure. If your location is not very similar, then to me the video is misleading.
Paolo
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Corporate advertising is one thing and when we see a commercial on TV for example, we know to take every claim and glamorous image with a pinch of salt as a certain amount of directorial licence will have been applied. However one doesn't expect to find this in a promotion of a privately owned holiday property - the reason, after all, why many people actually prefer to book a holiday independently of a tour operator is that by having direct contact with the 'proprietor' they'll be in for fewer nasty surprises.

Long may it stay that way! However if promotion practices such as outlined by Brian start to proliferate, I'm concerned that this trust will eventually become a thing of the past.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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