Web 2.0 and social media has become the most important business activity. This reinvention is what businesses are feeling today NOT a recession. Sure the stock market is down and the auto and real estate industry are way down, there is still business available and companies ready willing and able to buy what you have to sell.

Websites that are interactive and facilitate social media are more favored over websites that list text about a company or business, and will generate activity and prospects with little or no effort!

Unfortunately, Primeau Productions is guilty of being the cobbler whose kids have no shoes and let www.PrimeauProductions.com slide down a bit behind the times. We have begun redesigning and restructuring our main company website to be web 2.0 friendly with the help of Philippa Gamse www.WebsitesThatWin.com.

Social media dialogue and conversations that occur as the result of meeting a new person in a social network will yield a business more ROI than any yellow pages ad ever will or has done in the past.
Examples of Web 2.0 websites include (in no particular order); Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter video-sharing sites like Vimeo and YouTube (we have a list of 50+ video-sharing-websites) blogs and of course websites that engage and interact.

Primeau Productions, Inc has begun redesign and revamps for www.ID247.com to help them become web 2.0 friendly. We have brought on (2) graphic designers and three web programmers to help our clients get their website right and ready to generate business in the new business world. Keep your eye out for improvements to www.PrimeauProductions.com in the near future.

Look at this new promo video we created for Connie Podesta that exemplifies a direct approach to another side of Connie.
It is a modified version of her professional speaking demo. Enjoy!

By Edward J Primeau
© 2010

As a video forensic expert and expert witness, I have seen almost everything when it comes to Closed Circuit TV. Some of it is very disturbing, but much of it is benign -- from the lady whose ex-husband is stalking her, to the bank that just captured a robbery on video. Understanding CCTV systems has become part of the video forensic examiner’s job because a majority of video evidence is made on CCTV systems. In the following article, I will give you my tips, from a forensic perspective, on CCTV.

Imagine this. You are the proprietor of a convenience store. Last night at 11:06, you rang up a customer’s Snickers bar and a Jumbo Slurpee. The customer reached in his pocket, pulled out a gun, and put it to your head, demanding all the cash in the register. Terrified for your life, you gave him the money. Luckily you had a CCTV system and turned the tape over to the police. The police sent it to a forensic expert because all you could see on the tape was a dark silhouette of the criminal. Unfortunately, the robber’s face and features were unidentifiable.

Although CCTV systems can prove to be beneficial for many reasons, they can be useless without some well thought out considerations. My hope is that the law enforcement and legal community will read this article and pass on the information to the businesses in their community.

CCTV is a network of cameras hooked to a monitoring system so that various locations or angles can be viewed and/or recorded. It does differ from broadcast television in that CCTV cameras are not openly broadcast through the airwaves. However, some CCTV systems have point-to-point transmissions (wireless cameras) that could be intercepted by someone with the equipment and knowledge to intercept that signal.

The benefits outweigh the drawbacks for implementing CCTV systems for several reasons. Think of how CCTV systems have helped our traffic problems. Having cameras all over our roads and highways allows accidents and traffic jams to be discovered sooner so traffic can be rerouted. In banks, casinos, airports, shopping centers, businesses and military bases, CCTV systems can prove beneficial against crime.

There are some drawbacks that can really cause problems with CCTV systems.
These systems can be expensive. They can be considered an invasion of privacy. Also, a system can fail because of a bad or over-recycled tape, and the crime will not be recorded.”

For some strange reason, businesses who still use VHS tape to record their surveillance often insist in recycling their videos beyond a logical limit. Then, when the expert needs to lift an image off for identification, fuzzy, blurry photos are produced.

In the convenience store example above, the camera was in the wrong position. A light was installed in a recently added display that was not in the store when the CCTV system was installed. Nobody ever updated the CCTV system or performed maintenance to discover the problem.

The purpose of this article is to share some of my experiences with CCTV footage and provide some tips from a forensic expert’s point of view, sound advice to avoid costly mistakes and expensive forensic restoration.

Number one: Plan your CCTV system layout in advance. Do not put in a CCTV system without planning for your potential crime circumstances. What crimes could be executed under the watchful eyes of your CCTV system? You can call this crisis management. Draw a diagram of this activity, and use it as your blue print for locating your camera positions. If you own a business that has a back lot to cover, don’t just mount a camera to the back of your building, thinking it will do the job. Consider what you have to protect, the value of these items, and the various ways a criminal could get at them. Then, place the camera (s) to cover all potential activity. Consider multiple cameras because, in the long run, it will save you money.

Because so many systems were not planned thoroughly in advance, the majority of my forensic cases involve video restoration and clarification. So much of this can be avoided.

Look at this video that exemplifies frame rate considerations:

Number two: Use a digital video recorder and record direct to hard drive. If at all possible, do not use VHS . There are some great companies like Focus Micro and Crest Electronics who specialize in DVR CCTV systems, maintenance of the system, and training your staff to use them properly. They offer some excellent products and CCTV systems, and will even help you plan your system layout.

Here are some reasons why a DVR is superior to VHS.
• Far better image quality
• The ability to view cameras, live or recorded, from another location through the Internet
• Ease in copying images from crime scenes
• No VHS tapes to change

Number three: Make sure to account for lighting conditions as well as sun positions.
About one out of ten of my cases require comparison of a frame of evidence from darkly lit video with an exemplar frame or photo. Make sure there is light where your camera is located. If necessary, hire an electrician to put in a light or two near your camera, especially if the potential crimes that warrant the installation of your CCTV system can occur at night. Duh! I can hear the installer now, “Sure looked good in daylight”!

In addition, consider sun positions all year long. Remember sixth grade science class? The sun changes positions with the seasons. Bright sun facing the camera will cause the iris in the camera to close (in automatic position), causing the image of the perpetrator to darken. Try this with your home camera. Take a video of your friends with the sun behind them instead of behind you. The friends will appear dark because of the camera’s lenses adjusting for the high light level.

Number four: Plan camera positions for all possible situations. I have heard it said that if you want to rob a bank, wear a baseball cap. Why is it that CCTV installers put the cameras in high positions that will never show a criminal’s face?

Number five: Keep your camera clean. Car dealerships wash their windows and cars weekly if not more often. Why don’t they wash their cameras? Think about it. Many outdoor cameras are somewhat protected from the elements, but after awhile, dirt will still gather on the surface of the camera lenses.

A solution of Shaklee basic H or white vinegar in hot water will clean them nicely without scratching or clouding the lenses or protective housing. Harsh cleaning chemicals can scratch or cloud the glass, especially on Plexiglas camera housings.

Number six: Do not use wireless cameras. If at all possible, run cable and go wired for your entire network. Wireless cameras are unreliable, especially in storms.

Almost all maintenance can be performed by you or done very reasonably by a professional. Avoid costly mistakes and tragedy by keeping your system maintained and updated. (Use Google to seek a professional in your area who can help with your circumstances.)

Ed Primeau is a video forensic expert, Author, professional speaker and business owner in Rochester Hills Michigan. He is the author of two books, “The Art of Production” and “The Video Revolution”
Visit www.primeauproductions.com for more information or email ed@PrimeauProductiolns.com

www.PrimeauProductions.com

I met Cavett Robert in 1994 at my first National Speakers Association convention in Washington DC. That year I also met Og Mandino, Zig Ziglar and Mark Victor Hansen. It was an amazing convention at both the hotel that facilitated the convention as well as the Vietnam Wall Memorial.

At the time, I had no clue who Cavett Robert was. Today I do.

Cavett Robert was the founder of the National Speakers Association. He wanted to form a national organization with the goals of making professional speaking a full-time job. His first stab at forming the National Speakers Association failed. Nobody believed that anyone could have a full time job as a professional s a living.

Cavett was persistent. He used his skills as a salesman and won people over to form the National Speakers Association. To this day, NSA promotes high ethical and professional standards of its members.

NSA's first president was the late Bill Gove. They began with sales seminars in Phoenix for eight years. 20 people joined at the NSA's incorporation. At the fifth year convention held in New Orleans, 300 people attended, more than three times the number of any previous gathering.

Today, NSA has around 4,500 members and continues to grow! There is now an International Speaking Federation for world-wide members and according to my friend Terry Brock, a new chapter has launched in Panama where Terry resides every August. Cavett passed away in 1997, leaving a lasting legacy in every individuals heart who has heard a motivational speaker or trainer from the National Speaker's Association.

Today, Primeau Productions has been asked by Joe Sabah to digitally restore some Cavett Robert video from 1973 and share it with the world so everyone can understand first hand who Cavett Was. Below is the first in a series of 4 Cavett Robert Podcast episodes we will be sharing with you. To launch this series, Ed Primeau interviewed Joe Sabah one of the founding members of NSA on Skype using VodBurner to record the interview.
Listen as Joe reveals many behind the scenes tips and techniques used by one of the original professional speakers:

The next 3 episodes of the video series uses the footage we uploaded of Cavett's final performance at an NSA convention and these newly restored videos can be seen on the Video Revolution Podcast Channel.

If you have any thoughts or stories you'd like to share about Cavett Robert, the National Speakers Association or anything else, leave us a comment below or Tweet us @Ed_Primeau.

Philanthropy, a word I could barely spell let alone understand when I began Primeau Productions, Inc in 1984. Philanthropy is a concept where moneys are donated to organizations striving to help a cause or make a change where change is necessary. This change could not happen without the giving.

Philanthropy is the effort or inclination to increase the well-being of mankind, as by charitable aid or donations.

This is a fine example of philanthropy in social media and I would like to share it with you. Since my professional background and passion is music, this cause really hits home for me. Look at what Playing for change has done with their movement. Study their techniques and see how you can apply this social media style to your nonprofit.

Professionally produced social media marketing campaigns, when used correctly, are a powerful way to build an Internet marketing campaign and organic search engine results. Social media is growing, expanding and changing not only the way we communicate, but also with marketing a company message business to consumer (B to C) and business to business (B to B).
Primeau Productions, Inc is seeing an increase in "social shopping" - online prospects looking within their social networks for ideas on who to buy from.
“Our social media campaigns are up 75% in 2010 over this same time last year. It is a similar concept as word of mouth referrals” said Primeau Productions President and CEO Ed Primeau.
For business owners, this represents an opportunity to reach prospects that use these tools to share, recommend and find products and services.
Content is King-If a company can use a writer from inside the organization to consistently create content to disseminate across all social media networks, eventually search engines will tag that content and produce favorable search engine results.
Engage for Conversions- The days are gone of the simple resume based website with information about a business’s goods and services. Today’s businesses that get increased website traffic know how to incorporate engagement on their websites. Look at the social media campaigns we have at www.ConniePodesta.com

Use video in your Internet marketing and social media marketing campaigns - More than 60% of Internet users will watch online video search results than text only. This demonstrates an opportunity for businesses to engage with its audience organically and hold their attention longer with creative professionally produced video.

Use multiple social networks - This allows a business to speak directly to its different audiences. Using tools like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs connected (hence the word web) to ensure a business stays consistent with one brand and one message across the Internet.

A podcast can seem like a daunting, technologically complicated and overwhelming task. However, the truth is quite a relief. Creating, maintaining and distributing Podcasts is easy to do and VITAL to a holistically successful social media marketing campaign.

Here at Primeau Productions, we recently created a two part Video Tutorial, showing and explaining the step by step process of podcasting. The video is available as a podcast and can be downloaded via iTunes. The two video segments can also be found on The Video Revolution website . By following along with the tutorial videos and reading the downloadable, supplementary step by step guide, you will be willing and ready to create your own rich content, available world-wide on all devices instantaneously.

Click Here to download the Video Revolution eTutorial: Turning Your Media Into a Podcast.

Please leave any and all questions or comments in our comments section. You can also join in the conversation:
@ThevideoRevolutionOnline, #podcasthelp

We have arrived at “The Video Revolution Online”. There is more video on the Internet today than ever before. Much of the video is homemade and works for its intended purpose. If you are a business that is using video to help convince a prospect to contact you (which is a very important focus for your Internet and social media marketing efforts) then you must consider these 5 components of a successful video.

By successful we mean your video has to accomplish a purpose that it was intended for. If your video is intended to sell (sales video), then it better walk your Internet shopper through a sales process driven by benefits. If your video is intended to demonstrate (demo video) than it better demonstrate your talent, skill and ability. If your video is intended to market (marketing video), than your video better show marketing process that engages your prospect.

There are 5 qualifications of a great video; Creativity, video production quality, audio quality, graphics quality and sustainability.

Creativity is the backbone of your video. It’s the spark that brings your idea to life. Some people feel they can create their video on their own and save money. That works some of the time. Most successful videos that sell have a creative team behind the video production; a creative director, project manager, graphics designer, video editor, audio post producer, and producer. The creative director is the person who pulls all creativity together and organizes the design, look and feel of your video.

Video production quality is the look and feel of your video footage. “You can’t make a purse out of a sow’s ear” is true especially when producing a video you want to make a great first impression. However if you know what you are working with going into a project, there are skills that can be applied and planned for in advance to improve the quality of a poor video like color correction and other adjustments. Video restoration is an art that Primeau Productions founder Ed Primeau as perfected. Several of our clients send us DVD’s as a master video source which is not optimal. We extract the DVD video footage and import into one of two video editing systems; Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro.

The audio is then exported from the video editing program and imported into an audio program like Pro Tools or Sound Forge to optimize the volume, reduce background extraneous noise, and add equalization. The outcome is an improved video source for your production.

When we are provided existing video, we always begin the production process looking at all video footage provided. Rating is based on video and audio quality, composition, number of cameras, level of energy and performance. If we are hired to record the video footage, all these items are covered well in advance.

Audio quality is an often overlooked characteristic of video production. There are some basic fundamental requirements to great audio for video. First, volume should be in the -15 to -6 range on digital video; peaking no more than -3. In the old analogue days, over saturation was more forgiving than on digital video. Over saturation or audio that is too loud will become distorted when recorded to digital video. Keep in mind that if you are recording audio to video through an audio mixer, these same volume characteristics still apply. Maintain the same volume levels on the audio mixer as you do on the video camera (video recorder).

Background audio noise is another characteristic that can ruin audio quality on video. If a mixing board is too noisy because of unnecessary inputs that are on and not being used or electric buzzes and hums are present, background noise will be present creating more work in the edit suite. Primeau productions and other professional production houses have a part of the video editing and production process called audio post that minimizes background noise, optimizes volume and sound quality and evens out all audio from the many video sources.

Graphics quality has become a very important ingredient in video. If you look at some of the graphics and motion graphics you see in television programs and other Internet videos, you will notice a level of quality that must be acknowledged. People may not dissect your video and point out that your graphics are poor but subconsciously poor graphics contribute to lack of interest in your message. When professional graphics are added to a video production, it lifts the overall quality of the production.

Sustainability is a video that lasts and will stand up to time. If you are going to create a professional video that brings in prospects and generates leads, then you want it to last a long time so you get a good ROI (return on investment). Great video production companies know how to create videos that are not only effective but have sustainability; they hold up over time.

Here is a video Primeau Productions, Inc recently completed for Walter Bond:

Walter Bond-Mr. Accountability from Ed Primeau on Vimeo.

Father’s Day-Ten Tips to Being a Good Father
By Ed Primeau

As far back as I can remember, my father was the biggest influence in my life. Since I grew up in the late 50’s and early 60’s, tradition was different then it is today. Fathers were the main support and income for the families as mothers were the caregivers and nurturers.

This is very different today. Both parents work to support the family as expenses and cost of living are greater. It seems that people want more than the simple life we had when I was growing up. Much has been forgotten about good simple family values.

Some of you reading this know I have four children. Well, young adults may be a more appropriate term to describe them. I am very proud of their accomplishments and proud to be their father.

Not everyone grew up with a positive father experience. Many grew up with abusive fathers or even no father at all. This article is for the men that want to know what I know about being a good father. It is also for daughters who want to learn how a man should treat a lady. It’s for boys who didn’t have fathers to better understand how to become a father and for single mothers trying to find a father for their children.

It is very important for fathers to teach their children about life, love and intimacy. When a boy grows up without a father, how does he learn how to be a man? When a little girl grows up without a father, how does she know how men are supposed to treat them? How do they learn how to be in a healthy relationship? Parents have to demonstrate healthy relationships. What does a good marriage look like?

It is my opinion that boys learn how to be fathers from their father. If the father was abusive, the boys probably learned to be abusive. Sad but true.

Why is it that many men turn out to be lame fathers? Do they lack the courage to be strong for the children? Did they learn what courage actually is? Do they know how to balance their life between family and work?

It’s been said if a family were a business; the father is the CEO, chief executive officer. He may also be the CFO, chief financial officer (although today many moms handle the family’s expenses). Being a father is much more than running a business. It is about love and leading by example. It’s about teaching and directing lives. Fathering is about guidance and free will. It is about helping children understand life.

It is also about fun things like bar barbequing, bowling and camping. Canoeing, playing cards and cooking as well as entertaining, being a leader and decision making. Bottom line, children learn more from their fathers than any other human being in their lives! So why is fathering so important? It is a huge responsibility that many men don’t realize they have.

Nobody hands us a manual when we become fathers. We take our collective knowledge and experiences and do the best we can. Here are ten tips to becoming a good father based on my experience:

1. Heal your relationship with your father the best you know how.
2. Children spell LOVE - T-I-M-E Do things with your kids often, not just watch TV.
3. Help your children learn about things not taught in school (like spirituality).
4. Always take time to enjoy your children’s accomplishments and praise them.
5. Teach your children about music especially your favorite songs.
6. Criticize in private, praise in public. Never yell at your children in front of people.
7. Teach your children how to choose friends and avoid trouble.
8. Talk to your children about drugs, alcohol and sex.
9. Take family vacations.
10. Be involved, not controlling in your children’s lives.

Ed@PrimeauProductions.com

Some Things Should Be Free!

a) Content providers want to (and incorrectly think they can) monetize the actual media they are distributing over the Internet.
This is a flawed belief system. In the past the internet existed as a means for information gathering, evolved into a means for communicating and evolved further as a means to enjoy media such as movies, music, tv, etc. The current state of the internet is a complete integration of all three: Information, Communication and Media. All three concepts boil down to content. And with so much content available to satisfy those three main aspects, instantaneously, for free, ask yourself, why would anyone PAY for yours? The answer is they wouldn't.

While it is possible to monetize certain digital PRODUCTS, it's nearly impossible to monetize CONTENT. However, without CONTENT you won't sell PRODUCT.

It's Growing, It's Growing!

b) Content providers falsely believe that podcasts are limited to iTunes and generally not a popular form of media consumption.
This is incorrect. As seen in the graph below, the U.S. podcast audience has been steadily increasing since 2008 and by 2011 will reach over 30 million people:

Because of this steady increase in audience, the sooner you get into the game the better.
Podcasting is an amazing way to engage in all three areas (Information, Communication, Media), while simultaneously: Increasing the value of your brand, positioning you/your brand as a thought leader, providing a medium for engagement in social media and most of all making your presence MOBILE! Chart below demonstrates the increase in the increase of mobile's share of internet usage:

The mobile web grew 110% since 2008. This means that more people are on the go while on the internet. Podcasting is a perfect companion to this phenomena. Predominantly because almost all mobile web devices can receive, play and store podcasts, making your valuable media available to consumers while driving in their car, jogging, etc.

Add to the above statistic the fact that iPhones/iPods, devices that are designed specifically for easy access to podcasts, make up 65% of mobile internet usage and you've got a recipe for success.

A rapidly expanding audience + growing ease of access + great content + free = Marketing Machine that will only bring you good fortune.

This post is from our Swiss friends at www.acrproductionservices.com
by: Carsten Rauin

Switzerland is a small country. 41‘285 sqm, only 1/10 the size of California and with 7.8 M inhabitants less than New York City. Though with 4 different official languages!
Beneath German, French and Italian is Romantsch (don‘t even try to pronounce!) the 4th language. Ok, almost nobody speaks it (except a small amount of people who are really proud about) and less people understand, BUT you can see what this small country is able to undertake.
Well, we‘re not finished yet. There is a 5th language, the ,Swiss-German‘. This is kind of special pronouncing of the ,normal‘ German language which is - even for Germans - difficult to understand.

You see: it‘s a mess!

Nevertheless Switzerland is a beautiful and charming country. Amazing landscapes, beautiful towns, historical buildings and - not least - very nice people. Although Swiss are very formal and a bit - let‘s say - donnishly, they are acutely friendly and obliging.

With one word: Swiss is worth a trip!
In the future, Swiss‘ film industry and it‘s role in world‘s film biz
Visit: www.acrproductionservices.com