Great audio lecture series delivered by napoleon Hill personally has taught me a lot about life and business. He especially taught me how to interact with other people and be successful in every aspect of my life.
Check this out:
http://www.videoproductionprimeau.com/content/primeau-productions-store

Some professional speakers have several areas of expertise. It is hard to edit a demo video that reflects this broad expertise. In some cases the funds may not be available to create a demo video. It is very important to have video footage to get speaking engagements. Here is a suggestion that can help both scenarios. Picking clips from a professionally video taped event and encode separately and post to your blog, You Tube (an 50+ other social media sites) and or website.

If you can not manage the video hosting directly on your blog or website, the clips can be titled by subject or theme and uploaded to You Tube. Here is how this is done: Once your video is uploaded to You Tube, to the right of the playback window, you will see an embed option and a long box / window with code. Click inside the white box on the code and another window will open below it. Choose the size of player window you want as well as player color. Then, reselect the embed code and paste onto your blog or website. Make sure you are in full HTML mode when pasting into your blog or website page.

If you are not in full HTML mode, you will paste a bunch of characters into your page instead of the player. If you are in full HTML mode, you will see the You Tube player instantly.

Select clips that demonstrate your talent skills and ability and title them according to what you want to be categorized as. For example, if you are presenting time management, title the clip "Time Management for Success" or something creative.

If you need help or have questions, send me an email or call 800-647-4281.
Ed@PrimeauProductions.com

In the old days, Super Bowl TV commercials were the cat’s pajamas. Big companies spent big bucks to sing their song to a captive audience of football fans. You were a rock star if you drank their beer or ate their chips.
As far back as the ‘I Love Lucy’ TV show, TV commercials would guarantee an increase sales especially if they included Hollywood celebrities. Look at this vintage TV commercial starring Lucy and Ricky:

Today, TV commercials are not as effective as they use to be. Most companies big and small can no longer afford television campaigns. Consumers are less influenced by these high priced advertisements and more influenced by search engine results. That is why Internet marketing campaigns that include video are not only affordable but yield much better results for the investment. Here are eleven tips to help you achieve a successful Internet marketing video campaign.

1. Sell with a benefit based message. Show your viewers how they will benefit from your proposition instead of telling them its features. How will their lives be better after purchasing your goods or services?
2. Be creative and try to entertain your audience. Chances are if your video leaves a good impression, prospects will turn into customers. The opposite is true. If your video is lame, chances are your prospects will go somewhere else.
3. All videos begin with an idea. Be creative; think viral and longevity. Creativity is what makes production companies so successful. When you are creative and produce a video that is really good, chances are that people who see it will pass it on, hence the word viral. This roller skating babies video is a great example of a successful viral video. Nineteen MILLION plus views:

4. Sell the sizzle not the steak. Nobody really cares about all the reasons you think they should buy from you. They are more interested in the snappy light hearted message you communicate with. There will always be time to introduce your prospects to the steak after they are attracted to the sizzle.
5. Incorporate a background music track. There are production music libraries and rights free music libraries available to you. You can also create your own music using garage band or another music production based software. Music is to video what interior decorating is to a room.
6. Create a script like the big boys do. Wright your vision down on paper and see it in your minds eye before you start filming. There is something magical that happens when you put pen to paper.
7. Design graphics to match your brand and website. Graphics can be text on the screen to emphasize your message and point; they can be pictures and images purchased from stock photo libraries like I Stock Photo; graphics can also be a blend of both images and pictures. Videos do not have to all be moving pictures; they can also include static pictures and images.
8. Less is best. When you use benefits to sell your goods and services you don’t need a lot of hype. Remember you goal is to get the phone to ring or have the prospect contact you not tell them your life story.
9. Do not use too much stimulus at the same time in your video. Remember, the brain can process only one thing at a time. Stay away from images, scrolling text and voice over combinations. Much of your message will not be heard when you include too much information at the same time. Plus, the portions that do register in your viewers minds will be less effective when too much is going on at the same time.
10. Get feedback before you launch your video. Ad agencies pay thousands of dollars conducting focus groups to determine which approach will work best when starting an advertising campaign. Conduct your own focus group and get feedback from people in your sphere of influence before you launch your video campaign.
11. Make sure when posting your video you have player controls. When using an auto play feature, make sure to include a skip video button. Nothing is worse than having a video automatically play startling your visitor.

So, what is keeping you from producing a video for your Internet marketing campaign? Video adds media to the blending of your website content and helps grab the attention of search engines. Plus, video has huge perceived value and lends credibility to your business.

Job interviewing is yet another purpose for digital video. Besides being a great time saver for companies looking to hire the best candidate, video job interviews allow recruiters a fast 24/7 approach to locating the perfect hire. More interviews can be done using video than face to face. In fact, when you consider the advantages, why even bother with the initial face to face interview? After reviewing a video job interview of an applicant, companies and recruiters can tell if the candidate is what they are looking for without spending the extra time and effort conducting a face to face interview.

Video Interview Tips
• Test your video camera and or web cam before your scheduled interview. Skype is a great tool for practicing the on camera interview.
• Ask for help from a professional if you are having trouble with your video equipment.
• Answer all the questions no matter how difficult that the company might ask in a face to face interview. Questions like why did you leave your last job?
• Dress for success in a business professional outfit just like if you were delivering a speech or conducting a meeting.
• Practice, practice, practice! Do rehearsals again and again until you feel like you are comfortable. Some interviews will be live, others pre recorded.
• What are your surroundings like? What is behind you? Make sure your setting looks professional
• Pay attention to lighting and camera exposure. Dark videos are as bad as videos that are over exposed.
• Look at the camera as if it were the interviewee. Looking at the camera is like eye contact in a face to face interview. Do not look away or down at the table.
• Think positive thoughts before your video interview. Programming your brain for success is much more powerful than failure. If you think you can or think you can’t, you are probably right!
• Remain calm and comfortable. People who don’t look good on video probably believe they don’t look good on video. Get it?

Primeau Productions helps Carry Napoleon Hill’s Message into the Future

In March of 2009, we decided to share some VHS videos we had of Napoleon Hill on the Primeau Productions YouTube channel entitled “The Master Keys to Success” a program previously released by the Napoleon Hill Foundation in the 80’s. It consists of 13 principles from the best selling book “Think and Grow Rich”. In 2010, many of the videos have viewings in the tens of thousands.

In September of 2009, Ed had the idea of investigating the availability of purchasing those videos on DVD and discovered they were no longer available. Around the same time, (coincidently) we received a call from Don Green, CEO of the Napoleon Hill Foundation sparked by an earlier request from Ed for the video in digital form.

Don had checked us out on line and was impressed with our forensic and production blend of business activity. He asked if we could restore and transfer some 16mm films of Napoleon Hill so that he could see what is on them. Apparently Don chose Primeau productions, Inc over the Discovery Channel.

We mentioned in an earlier blog post, our friend and client Mike Pallin gave us a set of “Your Right to be Rich” audio cassettes in 1992 introducing us to Napoleon Hill. We have listened to them virtually non stop while building Primeau Productions, Inc.

It is an incredible honor to have been selected by the napoleon Hill Foundation to be responsible to digitally convert and restore (7) titles to date.

The 16mm films have either an optic or magnetic audio track. These films of Dr. Hill have an optic audio track. An optical audio track is herd by projecting light through the film, causing a sensor to translate the varying intensity of the light into electrical signals that are then converted to sound.
Magnetic audio tracks are recorded onto oxide stripes on the edge of the film, which are read by playback heads in the projector and work the same way as audiotape. Optical audio tracks look like a sound wave and take the place of a second set of sprocket holes on one side of the film.

On the left side of the film are the sprockets that aid the projector in moving the film. On the right side is the optical audio track.

The Restoration Process
When the films first arrive at our Rochester Hills location, they are examined and cleaned before the transfer process. Since these films have the original master edit cuts, careful attention is paid to the brittle aged edit tape splices holding each edit together. Every time a camera angle is switched, a splice can visibly be seen on the film. Weak splices are repaired before the film is digitally transferred.

We are using a Cannon XL2 digital video camera with a wide angle lens for the transfer. An Elmo 16mm film projector is used for the film playback. The audio is taken from a ¼” output from the Elmo projector, sent through a direct box and converted to -10db microphone level for the XLR input on the Cannon XL2.

We find that the sound is clearer by stepping down from line to mic level instead of transferring line level audio from the projector to the digital video camera.

We always transfer 24ips to remove film flicker and maintain integrity. Two transfers are made onto the mini DV tape with slightly different iris settings. Focus and cropping is checked ahead of time using other film sources to avoid complications with this rare and historical Napoleon Hill footage.

Once the film has been transferred to Mini DV, we load it into Final Cut Pro for color correction, sharpening and audio optimization. We have been experimenting with a DVD series opening title and graphic.

We receive feedback and requests daily from the original YouTube videos that were posted in 2009 asking for Napoleon Hill on DVD. Teachers and other interested parties tell us that generation X and Y as well as millennials’s want to watch instead of read and listen. We believe that by making these Napoleon Hill videos available on DVD, Dr. Hills message will live on for years to come serving future generations.

Primeau productions, Inc. is honored to be able to help the Napoleon Hill Foundation restore these films and digital convert them for future generations! Stay tuned for more information and updates.

What Will Your Video Look Like on an I Pad?
The Apple I-Pad is changing the way we receive information and sell our products. Today, 60% of internet users surf the web from portable electronic devices. Apple I-Pad continues to help that momentum by bringing a larger screen and no frills low cost approach to reading, listening and viewing multi media (many media) content including video from the internet.

Amazon has Kindle, and electronic devise that allows individuals to electronically download books from Amazon without the cost of printing and shipping. Customers can transport and have access to dozens of books without having to carry the weight and bulk of a book.

My friend, Terry Brock (www.terrybrock.com) travels to Panama every August for many reasons turned me on to Kindle. Without Kindle he would have two extra overweight suitcases full of books.

Now with Apple’s I-Pad, not only can you download and read books from I-tunes, you can also download and read these books in color (Kindle is black & white). Now, with the addition of videos and audio on the I Pad, Kindle really has a competitor that may eventually put Kindle out of business.

As professional speakers, entertainers and authors, we can now offer multimedia (many media) content on I-tunes for free, as well as for sale, and bundle them together. Imagine blending a video introduction or video and audio content with your book. It could be an interview with the author on video or a video introduction, by the author of the book. It could be a video product for sale or multiple chaptered videos or other easily referenced video clips. By purchasing and downloading audio, video and text from I-tunes or subscribing to a video pod casts, I Pad helps take us to the next level of product development. Multi media on I Tunes will help market and promote your business.

Primeau Productions Inc. has partnered with Sequencing Inc. to help our customers better understand how to utilize this technology on synergistically implement into Internet marketing progress. Click the link below to listen to an audio pod cast of an interview between Primeau Productions Inc., President and CEO Ed Primeau and Sequencing Inc. co-owner, Jim Barbour, about the future Internet marketing with the I-Pad.

Sending a video clip to your client before your speaking engagement or performance is a great way to get Internet visibility. Plus, if the clip is good (and it should be) more than likely your client will leave it on their website after your event. Ask if they can also add a link back to your website.
This will also help build your Wikipedia credentials.
Primeau Productions, Inc client Juliet Funt recently sent a clip to one of her upcoming engagements. www.JulietFunt.com

In one week, www.ConniePodesta.com rose to number four on Google because of Internet marketing with video. Primeau Productions,Inc. has enjoyed success posting video on our clients websites. "We have always known video drives traffic" states Primeau Productions President Edward J Primeau. In a Nov 2009 article, Microsoft stated that "Businesses can drive more traffic to their websites by using video content". Primeau Productions, Inc has been producing effective marketing video and helping their clients position that video in marketing campaigns very successfully. In one month, www.ConniePodesta.com rose to number four on Google because of Internet marketing with video for the search "Female Keynote Professional Speaker".

We have a guest blogger this week. Carolyn Berg is a Virtual Assistant and owner of CyberOffice Solutions, LLC, of Farmington Hills, Michigan.
The Magic of Customer Service

Ever been to Walt Disney World? If not, have you talked to anyone who has? What is it about that place where people will spend a small fortune to go and then go back again and again?…Magic…and I’m not just talking about the “Magic Kingdom”. I’m talking about the magic of Customer Service and why they decided to make it their number one ingredient in bringing customers back year after year.

Edward J. Primeau, Audio Forensics Expert
Primeau Productions, Inc.
Tel. 248-853-4091
Email: Ed@PrimeauProductions.com

Audio Forensics: An Accurate, Arguable and
Authentic Approach to Understanding Audio Evidence

Bell Labs was the first to discover that spoken word patterns and sounds could be identified and characteristics examined to identify the individual who made them. This has been a very important advancement in forensic science because the potential to assist law enforcement is well worth the effort it takes to defend the proponents and practitioners. Audio forensics is sometimes referred to by some as a “junk science.” After over 25 years of examining, editing and clarifying audio recordings, I can attest to and scientifically prove that voice identification and audio authentication comprise an exacting science that has huge benefit to the courts, law enforcement agencies and businesses.
In the following article, I will describe what works and does not work for two of the main activities of audio forensic experts: voice identification and audio authentication. I will also review and break down the steps and processes I employ and explain why I believe audio forensics is a valuable tool in litigation.
I have been retained for dozens of court cases, as well as by corporations, to analyze and help explain various aspects of audio evidence in one form or another. Some situations required that I find the truth about the source of a threatening voice, like a bomb threat called into 911 or a sexually harassing voice mail left on a victim’s phone.
Other cases involved defendants trying to validate or disqualify a pre-recorded audio confession. Evidentiary audio recordings all have one thing in common: they needed an experienced audio forensic expert to review and either qualify (validate) or disqualify the evidence. My job as an audio forensic expert is to determine the recording’s authenticity or to identify the person’s voice.
Voice Identification Overview
I have been practicing voice identification for over 25 years. Many of my skills and principles have been learned from employment as an audio engineer. Other skills I have learned through reading and studying to develop skills and completing successful cases successfully. I believe people's voices, just like fingerprints, can be identified through visual inspection of sound waves and spectrum analysis, as well as through critical listening skills. I have conducted voice identification for sexual harassment, workers compensation and employment harassment, as well as various threatening voice mail messages like bomb threats.
In our country today, we are guilty until proven innocent, the opposite of what our United States Constitution promises. It is my job to determine the truth about voice recordings using visual, electronic and auditory inspection of, both the evidence recording and an exemplar (voice sample taken for the purpose of comparison).
A typical case I would review might involve a telephoned bomb threat or harassing call that was recorded on audiotape or digital voicemail. After the police arrested a suspect, I would be retained by either the state (court) or defense to determine the truth about that audio recording.
The first step is to examine the original evidence and learn as much about the recording as possible. How was it created? Who created it? What machinery was involved?
Then, with the help of the court or defense lawyer, I create an exemplar of the accused voice to compare visual, electronic and auditory characteristics.
Almost every legal case I have been engaged in has allowed my report and or testimony into evidentiary status to aid with “due process.” I believe my success rate is high due to the fact that I employ the three testing platforms outlined above.
Steady advances in computer technology have had a huge impact on audio forensic voice identification. Having experience as an acoustic engineer who has listened to literally hundreds of hours of spoken word recordings, in addition to sophisticated electronic software programs, has contributed to my success with voice identification.
One case I examined involved a bomb threat. Bomb threats make up a fairly large segment of voice identification activity. The call in question was made from a pay phone outside of a convenience store to a 911 operator. This was scientifically evident when police traced the call.
The caller identified herself by name as an employee of XYZ Company. When the police arrived at XYZ Company, they found the employee with the name the caller gave the 911 operator and arrested her. The employee denied making the call.
She was charged with making a bomb threat call, guilty until proven innocent. I was retained by the defense to prove that our client did not make the bomb threat call.
Voice Identification Procedure
When comparing spoken word samples for the purpose of identification, I base my processes on historical information I have learned from the scientific community, state police crime labs, other forensic experts and designers and developers of electronic (especially computer) equipment and testing software programs. My process requires the visual, electronic, and auditory examination of every aspect of the words spoken, not just the pathological examination. The words themselves, the way the words flow together, the pauses between the words, the way the words are formed by the mouth and larynx can be measured using three processes. The first process is a visual examination of the sound wave, comparing the evidence and an exemplar (a voice sample of the accused). The second process is an electronic measurement of the evidence, which is then compared to the exemplar. The third process is perhaps the most important: critical listening skills that compare the evidence and the exemplar of how the words are spoken and pronounced. Noise floor and electronic measurement of speech and other audible sounds in the recording must also be considered and measured. Forensic procedure requires careful examination of all audio evidence characteristics, following procedures as outlined by the scientific community.
These scientific procedures begin with the analysis of the quality of the audio recording. It is important to establish that the quality of the recording in question is acceptable and workable. Sometimes, it may be necessary for an audio forensic expert to apply some light equalization or other non-destructive audio processing to reduce or remove background noise that may interfere with the forensic examination.
Voice identification requires the forensic examiner to discover similarities, as well as differences, in all three areas of investigation.
Here are the step-by-step processes I use when conducting voice identification:
1. Visual examination of the original recording, analogue or digital. This includes examination of the physical characteristics of the tape itself (if analogue) or analogue or digital recorder. It is important to examine the cassette tape (standard, mini or micro) or other analogue or digital source to determine if there are visual signs of tampering or alteration.
2. Once the physical evidence has been examined, the next step is to load the recording in question into a forensic computer. Visual examination of the sound wave, sonogram and spectrograph reveal speech characteristics and patterns of verbal delivery as well as electronic characteristics. At this point, the recording has been digitized so forensic software can analyze and conduct various tests.
3. If possible, for authentication or voice identification, an exemplar or comparison recording should be made of the original recording to compare the original recording characteristics. This same forensic examination process that is applied to the evidence is also applied to the exemplar to determine that the characteristics are the same and the recording is from the same audio recorder.
4. When conducting voice identification, it is important to create an exemplar of the accused for audio comparison using as exact conditions and equipment as close as possible to the measurements taken from the evidence as outlined above. The speech must be the same as the speech on the evidence in order for the testing to be accurate. As an audio forensic expert, I often have to coach the accused into the same energetic voice tone and inflection as the evidence recording. However, it is still possible to compare speech if the exemplar is not as close to the evidence as I would like.
5. Critical listening skills are used to examine the speech pattern, pronunciation, voice tone and inflection, accent, dialect and specific speech characteristics (like a lisp or significant “s” delivery). There is a rhythm in how an individual speaks, and even if s/he is trying to disguise his/her speech (in an attempt to fool the forensic examiner), the rhythm and speech patterns as described above still show through. The expert must pay careful attention to the rhythm of spoken word formations. I listen to single words as well as phrases and sentences. I like to compare original evidence sections of spoken word recordings as well as individual words. This is best accomplished by editing exemplars and original recordings back to back. It is extremely helpful to then make these sub files of words and sentences within the section back to back with exemplars. I repeat the assembly over and over to accommodate critical listening skills with the auditory identification process. That way, your ear can experience the sounds, vowel formations and consonants without interruption.
There are many character traits that can be experienced in a spoken word recording. It is important for the audio forensic expert to become familiar with the evidence speech patterns and visual and electronic characteristics. These characteristics are evident in a person’s voice even if he or she attempts to disguise it and they are compared to the exemplar.
Audio Authentication
Using many of the same tools as described above, audio authentication can help determine the validity of audio evidence that is being considered as evidence in litigation.
When authenticating an audio recording, it is important that the audio forensic expert pay careful attention to tone consistency of the audio recorded signal (speech) as well as the recording’s noise floor.
The consistent audio-recorded signal is important because audio recordings that are not authentic are most always edited or fabricated assemblies of two or more audio recordings for the purpose to deceive the person(s) listening to the recording. Using the tools described above, the audio forensic expert can measure the tone consistency to determine authenticity.
Those same tools can also measure the noise floor looking for inconsistencies in the room tone or background noise of the recording. These breaks or changes in either audio recorded signal or background noise are signs that the audio recording being considered may be counterfeit or fake.
Critical Listening Skills
I have been working with professional speakers and analyzing other spoken word recordings since 1980 and have developed my critical listening skills to a degree that far exceeds the average person’s sound perception. When I first hear audio evidence and add exemplar recordings so I can listen to both back to back, then I apply my critical listening skills to determine the speech similarities as well differences between the two.
In my early days as an audio engineer, I learned to edit ¼” reel to reel tape with razor blades to make a recording sound as if it were recorded start to finish without a single mistake. Some of my edits were pretty tricky. I got so good I could split words in two and even three edits to fix a problem or shorten a script. After a while, I became very familiar with speech characteristics and patterns as well as vocal tone and pronunciation.
The best way to become skilled in voice identification is to listen to hundreds of hours of forensic evidence to become familiar with the various speech pathological characteristics and develop critical listening skills.
There can sometimes be differences in speech patterns that can help identify clues. Listen for several similarities as well as differences, such as nasal resonance differences and voice tone with regard to inflection.
Voice Identification Conclusions
When conducting the examination, the audio forensic expert must look for similarities as well as differences in all three testing platforms to help arrive at a conclusion.
After the investigation and testing procedures are complete, the forensic experts report must arrive at one of the following conclusions: positive identification, probable identification, positive elimination, possible elimination or inconclusive.
The key to successful voice identification is to develop a methodology and standard procedure that you strictly follow every time you conduct an identification and comparison.
Audio Authentication Conclusion
Every tone change in either the audio recorded signal or background noise must be documented and analyzed as a whole before considering the recording genuine or authentic. All forensic concerns must be documented and listed in the forensic report to prove the audio forensics findings.
The Audio Forensic Report
It is my belief that the audio forensic report should include:
1. The introduction: What the expert was asked to do and how the expert arrived at their conclusion, including all scientific fact.
2. The testing processes you employed to examine the audio evidence.
3. The expert’s conclusion of the tests, including the expert’s opinion as to the relevant facts and concerns.
4. The expert’s curriculum vita (resume) to establish credibility as an audio forensic expert, and to accommodate the Federal Court’s protocol for submitting an expert report.
5. A published article authored by the expert concerning the kind of testing relevant to the current case.
For more information contact Ed Primeau at 800-647-4281 or by email Ed@PrimeauProductions.com.