Video Tip: Make the most of your Online Videos!

Here's a checklist for making sure your online videos are as accessible and easy to find for audiences and anyone interested in what you do/make as possible:

1. Embed your videos into your Website!

Often I see artists only put a list of links to Vimeo or Youtube videos, which directs the viewer away from the artist's website.  Why not cleanly embed the video into the site for a nice portfolio look that keeps the viewer browsing within the site? **here's some technical guidance on youtube embedding 

2. Use both Youtube and Vimeo

I recommend to clients to put all work samples, highlight reels and promotional edits (anything under 15 min) on both Vimeo and Youtube to increase the potential of an interested viewer finding it online.  If there is a music copyright issue, then Vimeo is the only option. Additionally, I recommend putting full length versions of work on Vimeo (requires having a Vimeo Plus account). **here's a quick and important checklist for cleaning up your links

3. Use Tags!

This seems like a secondary task after uploading a video online, however, adding tags to each video will improve the search engine optimization significantly so that if somebody searches for you/the work, it will be one of the first links in the search engine list.  As a test, search your name/company and one piece of yours on google and see how long it takes to "search" for a video sample of the work. **Some good tags to use are your name, your company name, your city, the title of the work, "dance" or "theater" or "performance", names of performers and collaborators, name of the venue, etc.

4. Share your videos through Social Media

Facebook is a GREAT way to share documentation of your work (as the videos are embedded into the site)!  Tag performers and collaborators and/or post on their individual walls to encourage more traffic.  And a Twitter announcement with a link to the video is always good. Additionally, revisit old videos when you feel inspired to keep them circulating. **Remember to add " &hd=1 " to the end of the url to ensure playback in highest quality

 

These are basic practices that should be applied each time you upload a new video to add to your online portfolio of work.

 

Questions?  Ideas?  Feel free to share!

 

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Video Tip: Clean up your Work Sample Links

It seems to ALWAYS be grant season....and most granters now require links or compressed video files (vs. DVDs) for video submissions to supplement grant applications for performance work.  Here are a few ways to make the most of your video submission:

1.  Clear and Professional Title/Description - make sure, if you haven't already, to add simple text to the description box in the settings of your vimeo or youtube with location, date, and basic credits.  Make a really clear and simple title like the name of the work and "excerpts" and possibly the year.  Keep it professional.

2. Spice up your Profile - add an eye-catching image to your vimeo or youtube profile to avoid the missing person thumbnail that shows up right under the video.  Make sure the name shows up as your actual individual or company name vs. an old hotmail nickname like "luvloren2". Keep it professional.

3. Send the HD Version *this one's a goody!* - vimeo links automatically play in hd if the uploaded video is such. However, you'll need to add &hd=1 to the end of your youtube links for the playback to happen in its highest resolution!!!  I can't stress enough the difference between 360p and 720p playback of a youtube video.  If you invested in high quality video documentation, this little step will help you make the most of your investment!

Take a breath, know you did your best and blow a kiss!

Here's an example of a really nice, clear work sample by Erin Malley:

HAPPY GRANT WRITING!!

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ODC Dance - "Lifesaving Maneuvers"

A great example of a simple edit of highlights for presenters and grants!

Choreography: Brenda Way Commissioned Score: Jay Cloidt Lighting and Scenic Design: Alexander V. Nichols Costumes: Way + Liz Brent

Video Tip: Digitize your DVDs

Best Software for Ripping DVDs

Ideally, you have a digital archive of high resolution video files of all your past work on an external hard drive and then backed up in a second location.  However, most of us have a pile of DVDs of years of performance documentation in varying degrees of quality.  And sometimes it's simply impossible to go back and get a high res version from the videographer. So, at least you have the DVD!

If that's all you have, you gotta digitize your DVD!! (cause that thing won't last forever)

Here's a recommended cheap program for ripping video files off of an authored video DVD (a DVD that will play the video on any DVD player - not to be confused with a data-DVD storing video files):

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MPEG Streamclip - FREE

In order to use this program for ripping video off DVDs to quicktime, you have to purchase a specific quicktime plugin - $30

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Directions (after installing software): 1. File - Open DVD (select your DVD) 2. File - Export to Quicktime (unless you know what you're doing, don't mess with the settings) *I encourage you to include "rippedfromDVD" in the file name so you know the file's origin and save in an organized place on an external hard drive specifically for performance documentation archiving 3. Let the program run!

Now, even beautiful high quality documentation originally shot in HD is highly compressed and downgraded to SD when put on an authored video DVD.  When you rip from this already downgraded version, it's compressed and downgraded once again, thus getting your hands on original footage is ideal.  However, if DVD ripping is the only option, this is your best bet!

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Watershed Management Group!

Ever feel depressed about the state of the world?  Watershed Management Group makes me feel a little better and way more empowered and inspired as a human! See what they do below!! I worked with the organization to make a promotional film that captured the heart of their work and approach to really big and seemingly impossible environmental/social/economic issues.  It was a challenge, as the scope of the organization's work is broad and packed with programming, but somehow we managed to portray their message in 4min and 30 seconds - perfect for supplementing the organization's online presence.

Video Tip: Embed your Youtube Videos in HD

How to embed your Youtube video to automatically play in HD

Have you noticed lately that Youtube now has an option to play HD videos in HD resolution? (they look beautiful!) However, you have to manually change the setting (by pressing the gear button to set to the highest resolution available).  Let me show you an example of what a difference it makes.  First view this recent CounterPULSE video full screen in standard def (press FULL SCREEN):

...then watch it in high def (press FULL SCREEN): (fyi, add &hd=1 to the end of a url of a youtube link for automatic hd playback)

When embedding a youtube video of your work into your website or blog, why not make it look its best, yes? Here's how you do it: 1. go to the Share tab below the video, then the Embed tab

Screen-Shot-2013-04-18-at-5.04.51-PM1
Screen-Shot-2013-04-18-at-5.04.51-PM1

2. copy the html provided and paste into your site's editor, should look something like this: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RrphKwWOfcg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

3. then add the magic html additions (in bold) <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RrphKwWOfcg?rel=0&vq=hd1080" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

(or ?rel=0&vq=hd720 for 720p)

ta da!

Feel free to contact us if you have problems, questions or ideas!

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Hope Mohr Dance 2013

A slick little promo for Hope Mohr Dance's new work Failure of the Sign is the Sign, premiering at ODC Theater in May 2013.

Performers include Jeremy Bannon-Neches, James Graham, Katharine Hawthorne, Roche Janken, David Schleiffers, and Tegan Schwab. Sculpture by Katrina Rodabaugh. Photo credit Margo Moritz. Music by Caroline Shaw for Roomful of Teeth, Made possible, in part, with commissioning funds from ODC Theater and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Simple Samples

Sometimes LRRP takes already existing footage and edits together promotional pieces, like in the case of Erika Chong-Shuch's Chorus of Stones, created in South Korea in 2011 with the Daejeon Metropolitan Dance Theater. One of my favorite things is taking footage of a lengthy show and putting together highlights in a simple and clear way that holds some essence of the work, like a poem.

Love to Erika Chong Shuch Performance Project!

CounterPULSE through the years

I LOVE CounterPULSE!!!  This is a special spot in San Francisco.  It's where I landed when I arrived in 2007.  Having spent many hours there both as former staff, in various rehearsals and shows as a performer, and documenting many performances throughout the year, it's been such a home for me and I know for many Bay Area artists as well! We've collaborated on many videos, my favorite being the year-end films.  It's been amazing to watch how the organization has grown. Here's a peak into the land of CP 2009-2012!

2012:

2011:

2010:

2009:

can't wait for what's to come in 2013!!!

Becky Tarbotton, a hero among heroes

For this post, I originally planned on sharing the Rainforest Action Network's awesome REVEL 2012 highlight video we put together, however because of the recent event of the unexpected death of Becky Tarbotton, my heart is elsewhere... Though I didn't know Becky personally, I had the honor of capturing a few of her speeches as RAN's incredible executive director over the last couple years.  Her presence struck me as one of the most graceful and brightest I had witnessed.  She made a giant room full of people hold complete attention, waiting with baited breath for what she had to say...and then she charmed them, grounded them, inspired them.  As Bill McKibben said on DemocracyNow! last week, "we have no surplus of feisty, smart, wonderful young environmental leaders.  It's an enormous loss."

I've re-watched this recent speech captured at REVEL 2012 many times now, coming away with the spirit of the work RAN has done and will continue to do and how she led with such light and charisma and heart.  Moreover, life is so so precious. I recommend taking a few minutes to watch her speech in tribute.

Skywatchers

One of LRRP's strengths the ability to convey a story of community-based and site-oriented performance making! This year we worked with ABD Productions on their project Skywatchers, held at the Tenderloin National Forest/Luggage Store Gallery, partnered by the TNL's neighbors the Community Housing Partnership. This performance was part of San Francisco's Streetopia Festival. Take a look at this mini-documentary about Skywatchers. This short film is important for contextualizing the work and telling the story of the process, the heart of the work!

The Velveteen Rabbit

"What is REAL?" the Velveteen Rabbit asked the Skin Horse one day. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

Check out this sweet little promotional piece for ODC Dance's annual Velveteen Rabbit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.  Get tickets here!