Last year the Canon DSLR range stole the show, revolutionising film as we know it, both in affordability and its staggering ability, but that’s old news. It’s been a year, it might as well have been a decade as far as these eager critics care, so what’s new?

Amongst a hoard of shiny new tech, dazzling screens and flashing buttons a few exceptions stole the show. Sony and Panasonic stood proudly behind their new flagship F3 and Af-101 cameras, a crowd hovered admirably around them all day dribbling for a chance to play. They all took their turn and I’m sure their subsequent orders will soon follow. Both camera combine great image quality, reliability and smooth workflow management with a range of compatible prime lenses mimicking the 35mm classic. Unlike its DSLR predecessors its a ‘proper camera’, with less media limitations, a decent sized viewfinder and proper audio XLR inputs, it’s undertaken a logical evolutional step forward.

3D televisions were as expected, dotted in every direction, but in all honesty I still think there is a long way to go before it’s ready for mass consumption, let alone the corporate market. Very occasionally something crops up which is visually stunning, ore inspiring; slow moving, detailed and vibrant close-ups can really mount 3D’s abilities. As a fan of both these it pains me to say that marauding groups of luminescent break-dancers and the range of high-octane sports now available in 3D fall short. I feel similarly to 30 years ago when it was first introduced it stands more in the realms of an expensive gimmick than reality, best kept in the IMAX, not in your living room.

Technodolly showcased their unmanned range of cranes and jibs, it’s an astonishing feat and the first of its kind and will undoubtedly be putting grips out of work very soon. Working with set key frames the camera can through memory operate through a series of unlimited and complex motions. With its ability to remember precision shots, movements and transitions instantly and effortlessly desired effects to be achieved in minutes.

Suitably impressed and seething with jealousy we re-entered the realms of reality, affordability and another grey day in West London.

Apple iPad

New Screen Size:
The latest rumor is a 7? model (dubbed iPad mini) in addition to the current 9” version. However, while the new screen size would help iPad reach a lower price point for consumers and compete with the Amazon Kindle in size and price. Steve Jobs did deny a smaller screen for the iPad in October of last year. He said it would not give the same ‘user’ experience. So perhaps it ‘s unlikely Apple will bow to PC competitors just because they are  releasing 7″ inch versions.

Steve Jobs

New Screen Resolution:
Apple’s Retina Display, or something very close, will make its way to iPad.  iPhone 4 display is a beautiful screen, and the resolution very clean and clear. Not that there is anything wrong with the current iPad screen. This is an inevitable upgrade that is going to force early adopters who own an iPad and iPhone 4 to jump in line. A retina display on the iPad will truly make it stand out from the crowd.

Two Cameras:
A no brainer this one. Don’t know why Apple didn’t put cameras on the original iPad in the first place? FaceTime has made its way to the next generation iPod touch (via a front-facing camera) and Macs (by the way of a software update) so the next logical step would be the iPad. Steve did promise of “millions of FaceTime devices by the end of the year” after all. Well, it’s the new year, so expect cameras on iPad2.

New Form Factor:
Not sure about this one. Apple generally waits two to three refreshes before redoing the overall hardware of its devices, but a thinner iPad may be in line that mimics much of Apple’s iPhone 4. Squaring off the design would help the device lay flat, but would also make it more susceptible to scratches. This is a maybe as Apple can legitimately call this a second generation iPad without modifying the outer shell. Of course, if it’s releasing a smaller screen size, it might be a good idea to change things up a bit to throw off the competition.

There has also been rumours of a USB and SD card slot. There might be a USB slot in order to compile with new EU regulations of harmonisation of mobile chargers. It would also be nice to have a SD slot to transfer large amounts of data and to able to watch Hollywood blockbuster movies, which hog lots of gigabyte space. However, we’re unlikely to see a SD card slot, as it might hurt sales of the large GB models.

New iPad 2 specs:
With each new release of a Mac product, they are usually faster, bigger and better. So it makes sense that we will probably see a new faster processor, with more memory and larger hard drive options. The largest at the moment is 65gb, so 120gb should be in the next release.  Prices should remain the same, although perhaps lower if a 7 inch “entry level’ is introduced.

The iPad is already a huge hit, so why fix something that isn’t broken? I can’t see Apple changing it drastically. There should be an announcement in February about the iPad 2 and hopefully will see it in the stores in April.

Sources: Techradar.com and Appleinsider.Com

Of course, YouTube isn’t a perfect fit for every company, but anybody who does business online should consider taking advantage of the huge opportunities for brand impressions available on YouTube.

There are two significant benefits of placing videos on YouTube rather than solely on your website. First, you’ll have a vast and captive audience of YouTube viewers searching for keywords related to your product or service.  Second, your videos will piggy back on the popularity of YouTube in the other search engines. A well optimised video on YouTube will start rank in Google in minutes and appear on the first page in a matter of days.

Optimising YouTube pages requires following the same rules as any other search engine optimisation (SEO) project, and all SEO can be broken down into three disciplines: content, linking, and architecture. Since YouTube is going to dictate how the page is built architecturally, that leaves you the opportunities to improve the on-page content and back link popularity of the page. Remember that every video on YouTube has its own page, called a view page, that can be optimized the same as any other page on the web.

Content

Since videos themselves are invisible to search engines you need to provide enough tags and information to help search engines assess the content and relevance of your videos.

• Include well researched keywords in the title of the video, and use the word “video” when appropriate. The title is the most important piece of information that the search engines have about your video, and considering that most searchers include the word “video” when searching for a video, this inclusion boosts the relevance of your page as a search result. Ensure that the keywords you include in the title of your video are relevant to your video content.
• For each video, write a unique, keyword-rich description that includes a URL to your website or landing page. Put the URL at the beginning so even when the “more info” option is collapsed, the user will still see the link. Also, a video’s description is the next-best indicator to search engines of the video’s content, right behind the title.
• Provide video transcripts if possible. Until the technology improves, YouTube and other online videos are practically invisible to most search engines. Therefore, the search engines are only guessing about the content of your video based on the information they parse from the title, description, and tags. But if you have a full transcript of your video placed in the description, the search engines will fully understand the video.

Link Building

• Include links to your YouTube video view page wherever possible. First decide where you want to drive the traffic from to your video pages, and then include links to those pages as much as possible. Ideally, you will be linking from other social media profiles like Facebook and Twitter in order to extend the social media experience. There are many more opportunities to place clickable links to your view page than there appear to be at first glance.
• Encourage participation. For each video, there are options for “Broadcasting and Sharing.” It’s best to open commenting and embedding as much as possible, but remember that you will need to monitor your videos for spam and inappropriate comments. You’ll often find that if viewers find your video information and useful they will place backlinks to your view page. This is one of the most effective ways to create links to your YouTube video.
• Always ensure that you make it easy for the viewer to find your website or landing page. Take advantage of YouTube’s captions and annotation features. You can add notes, subtitles, descriptions, and links directly over the top of the video. Currently only links to other YouTube pages are clickable, but try including your website’s URL as a caption that appears for the final 20 seconds of your video.

Finally, take advantage of YouTube Insights. This analytics feature of YouTube is robust compared to other video sites and can provide information such as demographics and when people abandoned viewing specific videos. This data can help you improve future submissions and help shape your overall web marketing strategy.

Tallboy’s top tips for choosing a video production company:

1. Personal recommendation

Ask around. Ask your colleagues, your customers and your friends. As with a builder, using a company that comes with a personal recommendation is a sure fire way to knowing you are dealing with a good company.

If you can’t get a personal recommendation, look on the video company’s website. Many companies will carry personal testimonials from their clients. A good video company will be happy to put you in touch with those clients so you can ask them about their experiences.

2. Consider how professional the company is

Does it return your phone calls within your time frame? Is its website updated regularly? It’s its literature professionally presented? When you call, are its staff courteous and informed? If not, then how can you expect it to treat your production any differently? Of course you want them to be technically minded and creative, but you need a company that puts your needs and goals above their own.

3. Be clear on your requirements

If you are making a movie in 3 continents, then you will need a company that can handle that kind of logistics. If the company’s website seems to have mainly local clients, then it may not be right for your job.  That’s not to say a small company can’t do a big job – but you do need to have assurances that they have the right facilities and people in place.

4. Chemistry is important

Making a video can be stressful, and can take you out of your comfort zone. Therefore you want to be working with people who you like.  If you are planning on spending 12 hours with the video team away from home on location, you want to make sure you get on with them. It’s vital you understand exactly who you will be working with – you may get on very well with the MD of the video company, but once the shoot starts, never see them.

Making a video is a team process – and you want to feel at the heart of that team.

The idea behind the interviews are to get an insight into what is happening in the fast changing internet world of social media, marketing and video. The first part of the series Simon interviews Paul Cash (Chief Zagga, Hurricane Marketing Ltd) on why businesses should be marketing differently using social media.

Coming up next, learn how and why how to use LinkedIn, as Simon will be talking to Andrew Wilks (Consultant on Lead Generation and Marketing Strategy). If there are any particular topics you are interested in please leave us a comment below.

So how could this have happened? The broadcaster explained that the problem was the result of “human error” by staff at ITV’s transmission provider and they have insisted that “appropriate action” will be taken to ensure it doesn’t suffer a repeat of the problem.

I suspect the “human error” was caused by a technician previewing the commercial that was supposed to be aired at the half-time break. Unfortunately he or she had the wrong button switched on the vision mixer, which allowed the commercial to be seen when it should not have been. We all make mistakes but I could not believe this happened when England scored! And this is not first time ITV have made the same mistake. The winning goal was missed during an FA cup match between Liverpool and Everton. Again an unscheduled advertisement was aired towards the end of extra time.?Viewers returned to find that Everton had scored the winning goal.

ITV has apologised profusely about the mistakes, but will they happen again? Probably… you can never account for human error. Maybe England needs these kinds of mistakes to score more goals and win the world cup?!

Until recently, ‘online magazine’ meant one of two things. It was either a straightforward PDF with pages that turned. Or it was a flash creation with videos, music and lots of things to click. Extremely impressive, but extremely expensive!

Now there is the technology to create your own online magazine using software provided by Page Turn Interactive. One of the great things about this system is that it is simple enough to use yourself – just drag and drop  articles and images, no graphic design knowledge required!  Or if you’d rather bring in the experts, the team at Page Turn or Tallboy can help.

What’s more you can include a full range of interactive modules to bring the pages of your magazine to life. From click-to-buy links, forward-to-a-friend and voucher downloads to competitions, quizzes and polls and of course video, it really can create an all-singing, all-dancing publication.

“There was a huge gap in the market for a product like this,” says Oliver Gurnell, Product Developer. “Businesses wanted to create high-tech publications without having to bring in specialist staff. Page Turn Interactive can be used by anyone, and the results are truly impressive.”

The best part of the whole system is that you can track your Return On Investment (ROI). You can look at reports which tell you how many visits, which pages were looked at, what videos played, which links clicked on etc. It’s important that your publication works well for you, and by viewing this data on a regular basis, you can evaluate which elements of your publication are working well, and which elements can be improved.

Take a look at our own Tallboy online magazine

If you are interested in a free trial then click here

The tiger loves to be the centre of attention. With its qualities of boldness, bravery and natural leadership, it’s the perfect metaphor for recovery in 2010. But the downside to tigers is they can be independent and go their own way – and in business, that can hinder more than help.

Communicating how you intend to survive and prosper in 2010 is vital. There’s no doubt face to face conversation is best. Different time zones, flexible-working practices, and out of office working styles are also barriers that can prevent the communication from succeeding.

There have been millions of words written about the failings of the email. We all have heard stories about the wrong phrase or piece of punctuation that turns a routine email into a viral nightmare. So, with that in mind, more and more people are turning to video. It’s easy to do, there’s access for all, and more importantly, it allows you to communicate to everyone at the same time and on the same level.

The “message to the troops” video can be used to give an update on trading figures, reassure employees of a specific situation, and deliver a sales presentation when you can’t be there in person. It can be put on a company’s external website, your intranet or even YouTube.

Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” With a video message, there’s no such illusion – just hit the replay button!

Below is a short video with some clips of “Message to the troops” style communications.

*With apologies to Franklin D Roosevelt

But what exactly is High Definition (HD)? And should you be using it in your next Corporate video production? After all, if it’s good enough for Daniel Craig…

Well, it does exactly what it says on the tin – it gives you exceptionally clear, crisp pictures with vivid colours and up to four times more detail than standard definition. More and more programmes on television are now being made in HD and most new flat-screen televisions (LCD and plasma) are able to show them. But this content is shown usually via TV stations with a specially allocated HD channel. In order to create clearer and more defined pictures, the file size containing the programme needs to be much bigger. It’s the same when you send a photo via email – normally you send a small file, which the recipient views on screen. If they want to print it out, the file has to be much bigger – and sometimes if you send something that’s really huge, a few business internet connections and firewalls have trouble receiving the information.

And here is the techie bit. High Definition is  more than one format; HDV, XDCAM, HDCAM, DVCPRO HD and Varicam. And just to make sure you are good and confused, once filmed in HD, you can then change the broadcast format, with at least 4 variations. (1080i, 720p, different frame rates 24p, 50i).

Even with these disadvantages and confusion, there’s no doubt HD is the future of TV and video production. And it’s worth spending the money on HD for a far better looking finished product, despite higher production costs.

But if your finished video is for the web or intranet, many businesses may not have access to enough bandwidth on their connection to really see the benefit or struggle to play back anything at all. However it is possible for HD content to be ‘down converted’ to Standard Definition for play back on DVD or slower web connections.

So what is our advice for High Definition corporate video production? We at Tallboy have waited and watched to see what the market and technology was doing. We believe the time is now right and we are planning to move all our video production over to HD this year. The future of video production product has arrived. It’s time to embrace it!