We’ll start with video work since it demands more specific settings and consumes a lot more space.

Filming:

• Shoot with a tripod whenever possible. This is an effort to reduce the amount of shake and vibrations in our videos. When I’m out filming cars, I always have a tripod with me. For interviews, stationary shots, moving shots, pans, and everything else, these shots look a lot more professional. When the footage is more professional it shows that your company puts a lot of effort and thought into every little detail.

• Shoot everything in the same format. Now with HD cameras especially you are given plenty of options in how the camera will record its footage. Varying formats in the same project not only looks less professional, it also can be entirely incompatible.
  • At Kahn Media everything as of right now is shot in 720p and the majority of footage is at 30fps. Why? Because the majority of our video goes online, and YouTube maxes out at 720p, but this format still looks good on a TV screen.
  • Use a GoPro Hero HD? The setting R2 for 1080i/p is largely unnecessary for most internet-based projects and will just result in a larger file size.
  • If you shoot something with the intent of it being turned into slow-motion footage, keep the 720p and shoot at 60fps. This is double the frame rate so the slowed footage will look much smoother.
    • Normal Footage: 720p/30fps
    • Slow Motion Footage: 720p/60fps (R3 on the GoPro)

• Import the Footage from the Camcorder. It is important that you import footage from the camera instead of dragging files over like a hard drive. Cameras don’t automatically record to an editable file format. The footage needs to be imported into an editing program. Cameras come with software to properly import footage and many other programs are also capable of doing this. I’ve been receiving a growing number of .MTS files lately as well as many other non-compatible formats. We have ways of making MTS files work eventually but it is very time consuming and just delays videos further. The exception to this being GoPros which record into a .MOV file format which is perfect for editing.
  • Import footage – don’t just drag files over (Except for with Gopros)
  • Desired files: Uncompressed .MOV Files

Photography:

• Shoot high-resolution. We don’t need or necessarily want RAW files for event coverage and/or blog posts. However, a high-quality JPEG can go a long way.

• Shoot with the sun to your back. This is for lighting/exposure purposes of course. You can do a lot with ambient (natural) light if you utilize it properly. This tip can help you eliminate a lot of unwanted shadows and will clean up the look of photos significantly.

• Show as much as you can. Take photos of everything going on. A cool car, a race, a funny story, a cool story, anything relevant.

• Avoid busy backgrounds. Nothing kills a shot quicker than having your competitors’ vehicles in the background. Always try to get your company’s car separate from anything that could make the photo unusable.

For Both:

• Get multiple shots of each car. Get overview shots and specific shots of your product. If possible, get photos that include the vehicle and owner’s info (Ex: A tag at a car show)

• Interview customers. Ask people questions that use your product. Film their reactions (use a microphone if possible). Take some notes, maybe a good write-up or caption could be tied into the photos. People also enjoy feeling like their voice is heard, especially if it’s by the companies that they have given their hard-earned money to.

• Show people having a good time. Get shots of people enjoying events you sponsor, or customers enjoying your products. This can be as valuable, if not more so than a traditional commercial. People like companies that not only have good products but also reinvest in the community and give that community a chance to enjoy themselves (Ex: Muscle car events for the Muscle Car Community). Make a point of showing that you support the community and that people are enjoying events you sponsor.

• Have fun. If you’re having a good time while shooting and experiencing the cars or races it’ll carry over to the footage. Our goal here isn’t just about showing company’s products, we want to show that our clients are into fun. All of our clients have products that are used in fun applications like races. We want people to see footage from events that our clients contribute to and/or participate in. If someone uses a client’s product in the race I will show that person using the product and usually interview him or her as well. It’s better to have more footage and sort through it than coming up short on footage when working on something.

It’s important that you put some effort into the quality of photo and video work for your company. Customers, both current and potential, will notice the quality of this and directly associate it with your product. The cleaner and better shot everything is, the better the company’s image. Follow these steps when possible and have a good time while doing so and it’ll work wonders.

I can’t wait to see what you guys can do.

Thanks,

-Alex Auerbach

When the smoke cleared on Sunday, over 60 vehicles had run through the cones and the Hotchkis team gave over 400 rides in three company test vehicles. Formerly conservative, drag-race-only Mopar fans were raving about how much fun they had, and many trekked back to the booth in the Manufacturer’s midway to learn more about suspension systems. We shot about 20 hours of high-def video, so we’ll have several chopped up and posted soon. There was a visible perception shift with the crowd by the end of the weekend. They understood handling for the first time, and they were pumped up about it.

Changing hearts and minds is what PR is all about. I just finished reading What the Dog Saw, by Malcom Gladwell, the author of Tipping Point. The first section of the book focuses on Ron Popeil, the owner of Ronco and the innovator of using late-night infomercials to push products like the Showtime Rotisserie and Food Dehydrator. According to Gladwell’s book, Popeil comes from a long line of pitchmen, who in the ’20s and ’30s would sell their wares on the Jersey Shore boardwalk with live demos. Ron took his live demo to late night TV and made millions.

In the age of social media and short-attention-span theater, human nature remains the same. People want to experience something in order to buy it. Magazine articles are great, but reading a story about something someone else did is a very passive experience. The beauty of events like Mopars at the Strip, any of the GoodGuys Shows with autocross or shootouts like the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge is that they get people to partake in a real-world roller coaster ride. They have a great time, then they tell their friends. The key is tying that experience to a product. Otherwise its just entertainment – which is fine and good, unless you’re trying to make money on the deal. Having a sponsor banner hanging next to the registration booth for an event is good. Giving the participant a ride in a vehicle with your products on it where they can actually feel the difference is great.

Taking a cue from Ron and his rotisserie, we recognize that giving a few hundred people a ride is wonderful, but then sharing that person’s experience with the world is much more powerful. Since TV has become fractionalized by DVR technology and hundreds of channels, spending tens of thousands of dollars on a 2am airtime slot probably isn’t the best choice. Instead, we’re sharing the experience with the world through real-time Facebook and Twitter updates, and video posted to YouTube and the forums. The goal: to help people live in someone’s shoes as they have a thrilling ride for a about two minutes.

With that in mind, one of our other clients – Spectre Performance – is sponsoring a wild event called the Speed by Spectre 341 Challenge. It’s the rebirth of an old Ferrari Club event called the Virginia City Hillclimb. They’re closing a mountain road in southwest Nevada and letting supercars run the road for time. It’s scary, dangerous, and very very cool. So far we’ve signed up several major car builders, supercar owners, a few superstar drivers and most of the major media outlets to cover the event. Only a few dozen will participate, but hopefully thousands can experience it. To illustrate, we put together a little video featuring footage the Spectre crew shot in 2002 when company owner Amir Rosenbaum set the record (which still stands):

Anyway, those are just some random thoughts on why experience is making a comeback. Stay tuned for some vids from Vegas.

-Dan

After speaking with the organizers of the show, several manufacturers with booths at the the event, spectators and members of the media covering the festivities, I was able to draw a few conclusions. My totally unscientific gut reaction to the Del Mar Show, which is considered the first major car show of the season, is thus:

- People are ready to enjoy life again. The Saturday crowd was HUGE. People walking the show, dragging their little kids behind them, smiles beaming and cars rumbling. Every show participant I expressed a said a variant of the same sentiment: “I’m tired of hiding in my house waiting for the recession to end, it’s time to enjoy my life, my hobby, and spend a little money doing what I love.”

- Business is getting back to normal. Most of the vendors I spoke to from the automotive aftermarket said that after a very lean Winter (particularly November – January) things started picking up again February, and March was actually strong. One manufacturer I spoke to actually told me his business was UP in March compared to the same month last year.

Why? I’m not an economist or a psychologist, but my instincts tell me that:
a) Tax refunds are making an impact
b) People are tired of living in fear and need some relief. For car guys that means working on their car or going to events
c) Those who have been living frugally for the past two years need to splurge on something, and in the case of gearheads that’s car-related spending
d) Baby boomers have decided if they’re going to put money into an investment, at least you can enjoy a classic car. A mutual fund? Not so much.
e) This whole crisis has bottomed out, and is starting the slow climb back to normal.

- Media has changed. Forever. This has been happening for a while, but the change is now irreversible. Members of the “old media” were out in force at the event, from editors and publishers to ad sales people and more. Many of these folks are my friends. In fact, I used to be one of them. While editors were doing interviews and photographers were shooting feature stories, their messages were universal: the big media companies have cut staff to a bare minimum, advertising revenue is way down, and things are pretty lean.

On the flip side, social media sites were represented in force. I saw dozens of hats and t-shirts emblazoned with the URLs of different popular automotive forums, moderators and admins I spoke with were extremely upbeat and positive, and at the racetrack there were clear rivalries and affiliations based on site loyalties. There were hundreds of people shooting the event with high-end digital still cameras and high-def video cameras, and you know all that content is going to land on the web. People have become their own publishers, and while its empowering for the general public it poses opportunities for the clever marketing maven and huge risks for those who ignore it.

So what does that mean for PR & Marketing? NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT DECISIVELY. Don’t get back to the wasteful ways of old spending huge sums of money on advertising. Instead build a lean marketing program that speaks directly to the consumer. Blend traditional media relations to generate ink about how well your company is doing in the face of economic trouble, utilize a social media marketing campaign to speak directly with the most active influencers in your target demographic, and only buy ads in the most effective media outlets to reinforce the messages of the PR and Social Media campaigns.

Act now and capture the hearts and minds of consumers while your competitor is still hiding under his bed waiting for things to blow over, and you’ll not only win your old customers back, you’ll take his too. And that’s the point of a truly excellent campaign, to increase your base and make money.