Nowadays, the very phrase ‘TV show’ is starting to look outdated. Browse through social media apps and you’ll find that some of the most popular programs don’t air on television at all, but reach viewers through increasingly in-demand streaming sites such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. So far, Netflix leads the pack with hits like ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Orange is the New Black’ and an exclusive deal to produce original content with Marvel Studios, but Hulu and Amazon both boast robust original programming sections and plan to expand these divisions in the coming years. Yahoo also recently made waves by announcing that, despite the site’s spotty history with original programming (their 2012 Tom Hanks-presented series ‘Electric City’ vanished without a trace), production on four half-hour sitcoms would soon be underway, with per-episode budgets approaching and possibly exceeding a million dollars.
With an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, who needs a network?
There’s no denying that original web series have finally arrived as a viable medium, but will they replace traditional TV shows, as is sometimes suggested? Their current distribution model, where whole seasons get dumped on viewers all at once, certainly caters well to the binge-watching set, not to mention those among us who’d rather gouge out an eye with an iPad stylus than sit through a commercial break. Yet having a show available anytime and anywhere inevitably begs the question ‘how do we know who’s watching?’ As old-fashioned as commercial breaks may seem to the entertainment binger, they still guarantee that millions of people will know exactly what the specs are on the new Volvo or which search engine is launching a new feature. Furthermore, watching a TV show one episode at a time manages to provide a sense of community and shared experience among viewers that binge-encouraging web series simply cannot duplicate. Tweeting your love for the new ‘House of Cards’ season may get you some feedback, but posting your reaction to the latest ‘Walking Dead’ or ‘Mad Men’ episode will throw you headlong into a social media event.
While it’s hard to see web series replacing TV anytime soon, it will be interesting to see what sort of talent they can attract and how they distinguish themselves from traditional programming. As they’ve already shown, there’s plenty of room in our entertainment-saturated browsers for new ideas.
Lets face it: after posting photographic evidence of every night out and better-than-average lunch for the past few years, your mobile uploads folder on Facebook is probably more clogged than the New York sewer system. Like everyone else in our plugged-in technocracy, you want to show your friends just how adorable Mr. Cuddles looks in his new, hand-knit cardigan and bask in their awwwws and too cutes, but you’re starting to realize that you’re probably not going to revisit this priceless moment two years or even two months down the road. How do you share your laugh-worthy or possibly triumphant moments with the world without feeding the clog?
Enter Snapchat, a breaking-big startup that turned two in September and boasts millions of users in the coveted young adult demographic. While other picture-based apps such as Instagram and Flickr encourage users to create highly personalized and carefully planned streams, Snapchat forces users to live in the here-and-now by putting a 10-second time limit on photos and videos. Once those ten seconds are up, the photo/video disappears into the pixilated ether, unless you post it to the newly-added story section, where it will be viewable for 24 hours with no limit on clicks. Snapchat also boasts text and paint options that lend it a sense of self-reflexive playfulness and further distance it from Instagrams arty filter-mongering.
(And to think her grandkids will never see this!)
While sending intentionally-ephemeral photos may sound kind of silly, forward-thinking advertisers are already taking it seriously. A handful of companies, most notably Taco Bell, have been using the app as a means to connect directly with their customers. Through a mix of ads and consumer-participation offers (Snap yourself with our product, get a free coupon), they hope to gain a foothold in the 18-25 demographic, whose buying power continues to remain strong. Still not convinced that this is going to be a thing for a while? Mark Zuckerberg, the golden boy of Silicon Valley and no slouch in the things department, recently offered to buy the app for a cool $3 billion. Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel refused and Facebook launched a knock-off app, Poke, soon afterwards. You may have heard about it. For about a week.
As far as origin stories go, its hard to imagine beat out Facebook leading to an early grave.
Not only do rabbits deliver eggs, but they’re known to be lethal with a hammer or a wisecrack. Observe.
1. Bugs Bunny – Seriously? I actually have to write a caption for him? If the name alone doesnt bring a few dozen classic cartoons to mind, youve probably got a six-inch bump where your childhood memories should be. From outsmarting rubes the world over to matching quips with partner-in-mischief Daffy Duck to making crossdressing with intent to embarrass an acceptable pastime, Bugs has kept the flame of anthropomorphic anarchy burning for over 70 years now and as long as a wisecracking rabbit giving a high-strung hunter the once-over makes kids giggle, its safe to say hell be around clean into the 24 Century.
2. The Rabbit of Caerbannog – Look at the bones! With a mile-wide jaw and a mean horizontal jump, this deceptively-ordinary looking beasty proves once and for all that you can’t judge a hare by its height. Thankfully, they had the Holy Hand Grenade.
3. Roger Rabbit – Though technically a Disney character, Rogers slapstick antics and manic disposition hearken back to the golden age of Warner Bros. cartoons, when a falling piano lay around every corner and winning an argument meant being the first to pull out a mallet. Seeing as how he debuted in 1988 though, Roger faced the thankless task of wowing an audience weaned on endless Looney Tunes re-runs and so his cartoons of which there are sadly only three, not counting the movie became non-stop traumafests, like Tom and Jerry on Adderall. From riding a roller coaster barefoot to surviving an oven set to volcano heat, no rabbit in history took more abuse in the name of comedy than Roger and his suffering proved so memorable that a sequel still occasionally gets discussed. But really? Hasnt he done enough already.
4. Bionic Bunny – Although hes basically Superman with floppy ears, everyone in the long-running Arthur cartoon series cant get enough of the cottontailed crusader. Budding-fanboys Buster and Arthur have seen every episode of the show-within-a-show and nearly went stir crazy when they had to go an entire week without watching it once. For his part, Bionic Bunny does a pretty good job of defeating old-school villains with names like Doctor Danger and Verminator and can be found on lunchboxes, posters, T-shirts and even in an on ice show. Not bad for someone whose real name is apparently Sue.
5. Babs and Buster Bunny – Bugs may get all of the glory, but he never had to put up with an even zanier girl bunny whose temper could give Taz headaches. Thankfully, Buster inherited all of Bugs forward-thinking and scrappy resourcefulness and perfectly complements Babs madcap, costume-happy extroversion. Yes this entry technically makes the list a ‘Top 6’, but separating them would only show how much one needs the other. You might as well say ‘Mickey or Minnie?’ or ‘Regis or Kathy?’ or ‘Harold or Lloyd?’ while you’re at it!
Want to put a little magic in your business plan? Consider incorporating video into your company’s website.
As a businessman, you instinctively know that nothing sells itself. Even the most revolutionary product or desirable service wont make you a dime if no one knows about it, so like everyone from Fortune 500 CEOs to start-up mavericks dreaming of a post-IPO retirement bash, you try to promote your brand any and every way imaginable and then try to imagine even further. Unlike the CEO however, your promotional budget probably doesn’t extend past four digits, if not three, so you’re forced to play it safe and advertise the old-fashioned way, with print ads and maybe a radio spot or two. After all, its not like there’s a perfect ad campaign that will suddenly get everyone’s attention and drive up demand for your product like magic, right?
Well no, but there may be something just as good that you haven’t tried yet, something that, while it may not cast a spell over your target audience, could at least lead you to a pot of gold filled with increased visibility and a revamped company image: video. Over the past few years, the percentage of online traffic occupied by videos steadily increased, with a peak of just over 50% in November. Experts predict that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future, making it a valuable and perhaps even essential tool for any business to utilize.
First among videos strengths is its streamlined creative process. A simple pitch video for a company website can be shot in just a few days and uploaded a few weeks later, depending on post-production needs. Even if you’re not looking to produce videos for your company, posting popular videos on your website can go a long way towards increasing traffic and giving your site a hip, modern feel. Embedding a video requires no technical know-how beyond finding an HTML code, which can be found on YouTube by clicking Share and then Embed beneath the video you want to put on your site.
On a more basic level, video is the most mentally stimulating medium available to you. Although watching one may appear to be a wholly passive experience, a good video fully engages both the eyes and the ears to create an immersive experience which impacts the viewer on a visceral level. Text, on the other hand, requires a more intellectual approach for proper processing and does not truly stimulate our sense of sight, as its an extension of spoken language.
By providing your potential customers with videos, you’re offering them the best possible chance to learn about your company and taking your first step towards that pot of gold.
You’ve heard the rumors. You’ve seen the photos. And now, you get to hear the truth.*
* – The ‘truth,’ in this particular instance, is one man’s subjective opinion plus some easily verifiable facts coupled with pure speculation. Sort of like what you’d hear from that ‘Ancient Aliens’ guy, I guess.
By now, you’ve probably heard plenty of stories about Google Glass, though chances are good you havent seen one for yourself. As per the Tech-Wonk Handbook, it looks a lot like a Star Trek prop and projects an aura of mystery and desirability, which is great for Google considering that its still technically in development. It promises to revolutionize the way we use the internet by giving us instant, hands-free access to it day or night from anywhere on the planet. If you can stand to be seen wearing a headset over your right eye, you can update your Facebook status while skiing down Mt. Everest or shoot video as you box your way to a heavyweight title or have a web chat with your boss as you ski-dive into the Grand Canyon. At least, that’s how they’re selling it.
Log onto the official Google Glass site and you’ll be hard pressed that this game-changer still hasn’t hit the streets. Phrases like Make Glass your own and Go ahead, take it outside pop up as you scroll through photos of plucky twenty-somethings sporting the Glass headsets. There’s already three styles Edge, Classic and Active to choose from, plus a brand new (deluxe?) line called Titanium. (How exactly something can be classic when its still in its test stage is never quite explained. In any case, the color appears to be the only real difference. Apple should consider a lawsuit.) Intrigued? Don’t chuck your smartphone out the window just yet. The How to Get One link takes you to an application for the Glass Explorer Program (anyone claimed that for their party’s event name on Facebook yet?) where you’re choices are to sign up for a newsletter or put your name on a waiting list. So much for taking it outside.
Though Glass will undoubtedly cause waves when it hits stores, will it really change the way we use the internet? Watching the demo video provided on the website, its hard not to be amazed by the variety of features and the browsers (supposed) responsiveness. Taking a POV video while you do trapeze acrobatics? Who could pass that up? But then, will you still want to use it after all of the people leave and you’re hanging backstage with the Bearded Lady and the Conjoined Twins? For most of us, there comes a point where wed rather experience our life than document it and once you reach that threshold, accessibility and features become a moot point. If you take Google Glass off and put it in your pocket, will it still be a miracle of invention when you take it back out or will the ghosts of tech crazes past have magically transformed it into just another relentlessly-trumpeted smartphone?
Can’t stop thinking about spring? Put a little green in your day and hunker down with our list of the Top 5 actors from Eire.
1. Liam Neeson: With a brogue as deep as the Celtic Sea, Neeson radiates an authoritative screen presence that hearkens back to Hollywood legends like John Wayne and Sean Connery. Perhaps best known nowadays for his throat-punching antics in the Taken movies, Neesons eclectic and acclaimed career stretches back four decades and has included roles as far-flung as Irish revolutionary Michael Collins, conflicted Nazi industrialist Oskar Schindler and Zeus.
2. Richard Harris: Though he made his mark as a hard-partying leading man (and unlikely pop singer) in the 60s and 70s, Harris will no doubt go down in history as the ultimate Dignified Old Man. From the refined and blustery gunfighter English Bob in Unforgiven to the world-weary Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator to the beloved Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies, Harris perfectly balanced tenacity and vulnerability as idealistic men battered and tossed by the schemes and cruelty of a world not quite theirs’ anymore.
3. Colin Farrell: Farrells early-00s career as a tabloid mainstay frequently threatened to eclipse his day job as an eminently likeable A-Lister who coasted through big budget tentpoles like Alexander and Miami Vice, but hes also built an impressive second career as a capable arthouse lead, having worked with legendary auteurs like Terry Gilliam, Terrence Malick and Woody Allen and starred in the acclaimed indie films In Bruges and Ondina.’
4. Cillian Murphy: By turns sensitive, charming and intense, Murphy got his start in scrappy indie films before graduating to blockbuster fare with the zombie thriller 28 Days Later and retaining his outsider cred with lauded roles in the Ireland-centric films Breakfast on Pluto and The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Today, he enjoys a plush stall in Christopher Nolans stable of regulars, having appeared in Batman Begins, Inception, and the upcoming Interstellar in supporting roles.
5. Kenneth Branagh: Branaghs career as a torch-carrier for Bardphiles hes brought five of Shakespeares plays to the silver screen and directed many more for the stage ensures him a place in the thinking mans movie pantheon, while his Hollywood work, whether it’s memorable (‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,’ ‘My Week with Marilyn’) or cringe-worthy (‘Wild Wild West’), always leaves an impression.
Considering a quiet night at home with the last season of ‘Mad Men’ for Valentine’s Day? Derek Lau has some tips for how to make the most of your episode-engorgement.
Well, its that time of the year again. For better or worse, Valentines Day is nearly upon us and will soon force us to consider the status of our relationship (or lack thereof) like a nosy, but well-meaning best friend in one of those cheesy Rom Coms. Some of us will go out of our way to make up for the past 365 days when the only fantasy we cared about was the football kind. Some of us will pretend to be above it all and spend the night in with just our bruised ego for company. Either way, one increasingly-popular activity is sure to put a little glitter on your paper heart this year, whether you’re looking for an excuse to cuddle for hours on end or you just want to unwind in your bachelor pad and forget all about the gooey cards, plastic roses and bow-wielding teddy bears: binge-watching.
Thanks to the internets infinite shelf space, catching up with your favorite show now requires neither a trip to Blockbuster (remember those?) or springing for the full season on DVD. Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime now allow us to dive right into the latest crop of Walking Dead or Downton Abbey episodes and function as entertainment Libraries of Congress, with near-complete corpuses of everything from nature shows to sitcoms to Filipino cult horror series. Its all there and it can all be watched right now and the only thing that can stop it without warning is you falling asleep in your Chex Mix.
Although binge-watching and careful planning are pretty much antithetical, I’ve come up with a few helpful tips that I think will help smooth out your evening in.
1. Come Prepared: If you’re going to plow through all of Arrested Development in one sitting, chances are you’re going to be sitting on your couch through lunch and on into dinner. Preparing a nice meal for yourself or even just getting some snacks together before you binge cuts down on between-episode down time later on, so you can get right back to finding out where exactly George Sr. is hiding this time or what soul-crushing compromise Michael will make next.
2. Make sure you’re comfortable: No one likes a sore tailbone, especially when you’re trying to catch every last clue in your third Sherlock episode. Throw down a pillow or blanket if you’re not in the market for a couch or a big comfy chair or leave furniture behind altogether and jump onto your bed.
3. Minimize distractions: Assuming it doesn’t feel like getting an amputation to you, turning off your phone will ensure that you can get lost in Kevin Spaceys political string-yanking on House of Cards without worrying about Twitter updates filibustering your evening.
4. Know when to stop: A good binge doesnt have to be limited to just one day. Seasons commonly top out around 10 hours when all is said and done, so dont be afraid to call it quits and get some sleep already when a good stopping point presents itself. After all, whats the use in plowing all the way through Battlestar Galactica when you can barely tell the Ceylons from the maybe-Ceylons?
Happy couchsurfing and please remember to binge responsibly!
As the old song goes, breaking up is hard to do, so leave the hysterics to the actors and let one of these tales of love lost be the icebreaker.
1. Annie Hall (1977): Most romantic movies like to make breaking up look easy. With a few unambiguous words and a quick exit, you can wipe your slate clean and find the girl of your dreams faster than you can say quirky extrovert. Implacable mope Woody Allen, though a natural romantic, has never had time for such quick-fix daydreams. His 1977 Best Picture perfectly captures the messy gradualness of a breakup, with false starts and impulsive second-chances building up to a less-than-climactic, but completely realistic collapse of communication and connection.
2. Blue Valentine (2010): With a before-and-after narrative as bracing as a meth PSA, this indie romance contrasts the turbulent married life of a young couple played to the bone by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams with their whirlwind courtship and marriage. As old wounds refuse to heal and new feelings of disillusionment creep in, the inevitable parting of ways arrives not as a tragedy, but a nauseous breath of fresh air.
3. Gone With the Wind (1939): Come on. You know you’ve kicked yourself for not using the line with at least one ex.
4. The Social Network (2010): Typically, getting dumped leads to a long weekend and shallow proclamations of well-being. For Mark Zuckerberg, it led to a multi-billion dollar game-changer. The opening scene, where Zuckerbergs longsuffering girlfriend strains to filter through his whiny narcissism and obsessional class-envy before handing him his walking papers, perfectly skewers the delusional selfishness of the eternally lonely.
5. Being John Malkovich (1999): Tell me if this has ever happened to you: you think youve found the sarcastic ice-queen of your dreams, teleport your mind into a world-famous actors body to win her over, become a distant and self-absorbed celebrity in your own right and end up losing her to your transgender-leaning ex-wife, with whom she apparently conceived a child using your body. As the old folks say, its whats inside that counts.
Our budget friendly web video packages are here to help you succeed online ! Video is a very powerful tool that can inform and entertain your online visitors ! Adding video to your website and social media pages can really improve the experience that your customers and visitors will have. Please see the details below. Feel free to contact us with any questions ! If you want a custom made video with scripts and pre-production, call or email us and we will be glad to help. Check out this video to see how you can save even more in November on website videos !
Thanks for watching the video ! If you call or email in with your promo code you can save big on the below web video packages !
1) Solid Start -$595
The Solid Start web video is the most budget friendly way to get a video made online. We completely eliminate the pre-production process, so there are no scripts, storyboards, or planning of the video. This video provides a real inside look at your organization without all of the fancy graphics, animations or professional talent. Viewers really enjoy these types of videos because of the authenticity that comes through. Here are some details about how these types of videos get made :
-solo camera operator/crew with HD camera and pro microphone – We would come to your business for 1 hour and shoot a 20 minute interview with you or a person you would like to speak for your company. The interview would be based around a set of questions the camera operator would ask you. – The camera operator shoots matching video footage of various activities at your business to match what you are talking about for the remainder of the hour. – We create a mini documentary/story about your business based upon the answers from the interview and the video footage shot afterwards. -As I had mentioned on the phone this style of video, for budgetary reasons, does not have any "pre-production" or scripting element to it. – The going rate for a video of this style is $595. If the shoot goes over one hour, if we have to go to a second location, or if we would have to come back another time to get extra footage it would be billed at $200/hr. – To keep the videos at the lowest price, the $595 rate does not include changes or revisions, unless it is an error on our part – (i.e; misspelled words, tripod or something in the shot that shouldn’t be there, or a bad edit point)
We have made over 200 of these style of videos, and we have it down pretty well. I have to be clear on the "rules" though with extra charges so that people understand what they are getting, and what the cost is. We have had some people before really take advantage of the $595 price point and expected a several thousand dollar video out of it. This is not the main flagship video that you would want to kick off a big video marketing campaign with. This is a great way to get your feet wet with video and get some video content for your web presence.
2) Beyond Brilliant – $1,200.00
– This is the same as above, but it is a 2 man crew, we stay for 2 hours included in the price, and we will bring a light kit and camera slider to get some more aesthetic shots with higher production value. – We can also mix a testimonial or two in with the video on either this video as long as you can schedule the customer to be there within our 2 hour time frame. – The same standards apply for the editing and shooting times beyond the allowed time and rounds of editing.
Another great idea is to do a series of web videos and to start a YouTube channel, where you can begin creating a place for searchable video content.
Digital Dozen) $1,999.00
We shoot a series of 13 videos made up of; testimonials, tips, product reviews and useful information – again, we can add these to a playlist on your YouTube channel, have some post-roll hot links, and do other things to keep people watching your videos. This allows for a 4 hour production time period, and 1-take shots (no b-roll). These videos do not include any graphics or animations – simply good looking and sounding camera work.
Digital Dozen Plus) 13 videos $3,499.00 half dozen (6) $1,999.00 The Digital Dozen plus similar to the digital dozen, but we can stay around longer and get more b-roll shots to mix in with the video. Comes with a full day shoot, or 2 half day shoots, and editing of b-roll to mix in with the video content.
More and more people have been watching videos on YouTube, and the number will keep increasing. I am sure that your type of business would do great with a YouTube channel. If you don’t understand the playlist and post-roll links, I can help explain it to you in person. I’d have to come up with custom prices/quotes for the series if videos depending on how many videos you might want, and how simple/complicated the shoots would get. When I do the series of videos for people, it is more about quantity than quality, so we try to provide a high volume of videos at a low cost. If you want more production value and a higher quality series of videos, we can provide that as well, but it will be a custom proposal for your video.
CUSTOM YOUTUBE CHANNEL DESIGN) Starting at $500
We will setup a channel for you, or improve your channel with layouts, designs and playlists. Includes importing and uploading up to 13 videos with SEO optimized titles, custom descriptions (prepared by the business) and tagging. (post-roll, annotations, and transcription are optional extra services)
I’m sure that there is some sort of video on this page that will help your organization online ! More and more people are watching videos online everyday, so make sure you are creating a great experience for your visitors and fans online – Tell a better story with VIDEO !
Feel free to call us at 717.449.3648 with any questions or email us at aidemsolutions@gmail.com !
Thanks ! Derek
PS – This offer is good for the month of November !!! There might even be a slight increase in rates for 2014 – so contact us today to save big on your new website videos !
Love it or hate it, Autumn is one of Hollywoods favorite times of the year. With all of the bright colors and changing weather, its easy to use the characters surroundings for interesting and eye-catching scenes that just wouldnt happen on a snowy day or in the summer sun. Here are a few movies perfect for when you need to beat the nippiness and break out the afghan blankets.
1. Dead Poets Society: Nothing beats Autumn in woodsy New England and nothing says summers over like going back to school. In this inspiring coming-of-age tale however, self-expression and creative awakenings trump stifling traditionalism and new growth takes root even as the leaves begin falling from the trees.
2. October Sky: Its hard not to dream of more when youre stuck in a Tennessee mining town, but with a little help from your friends, you might just launch a career with NASA and win back your working-stiff fathers respect. Starring a very young Jake Gyllenhaal, this family film does a superb job of capturing the claustrophobia of living in a small town while also highlighting their pastoral beauty for the rest of us.
3. American Beauty: Will Hollywood ever make a movie celebrating life in the suburbs? Unless they can get Kevin Spacey to make accepting ones lot in life look just as interesting as having a midlife meltdown brought on by a May-December crush, probably not. But this smart and incisive film expertly contrasts its characters angst and moping with gorgeous cinematography and memorable trips around the proverbial block to show that, after all, theres beauty everywhere.
4. Rushmore: Its no secret that changing seasons often bring changing moods and this Wes Anderson romp deftly parallels ironic overachiever Max Fischers descent into depression with the coming of fall and winter. His creative resurrection by the film’s conclusion however, serves to remind us that summer and activity will come once more.
5. Garden State: Autumn doesnt have to be all falling leaves and pumpkin pie. The rainstorm where Zach Braff and Natalie Portman yell into lifes infinite abyss perfectly captures the messy appeal of both Autumn and living life to the fullest.
