by chriskiefer | May 19, 2016 | Millennial Marketing Truths
WE GOT THE SMARTS
Let’s get something straight. Despite our bad rap as daydreaming, uncultured hipsters that can’t write in complete sentences, the fact of the matter is that millennials are wicked smart. Yup, it’s true. The same emoji addicted culture that spend their time playing video games is also the most educated generation in history with both high school, bachelors, and masters degrees continuing to rise. (Why playing video games might make you smarter.) 76% of millennials want to be informed on specific topics. 75% want to learn things in general to become smarter.
MARKETING IS SUCH A TURN-OFF
So here’s the deal. There’s good news and there’s bad news for businesses marketing to millennials. The bad news: Millennials don’t trust traditional advertising. A whopping 85% of us won’t care about the money you spend on television ads, billboards, newspaper ads (what’s a newspaper again?), and print flyers. Pop-up ads? Nope. 70% of our digital savvy generation uses adblockers. (Get on the ad-blocking train.) We’ll even be too busy looking down at our smartphones to be affected by that fancy sign you spent hours putting up on your storefront.
KNOWLEDGE IS SEXY
But never fear, there is good news: Millennials trust experts. Millennials are 44% more likely to trust experts-even strangers-than advertisements. We don’t want the pushy salesman or ads, we want the experts who we can trust.
CASE IN POINT: Some experts that have risen in popularity to become millennial household (well…apartment) names: astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson, journalist & mogul Arianna Huffington, nutritionist Michael Pollan. Click the names to follow these rockstars on Twitter. You’ll feel smarter almost instantly.
And millennials, being the digitally savvy explorers we are, will take the time to find experts, spending time researching the best businesses to sink our hard earned cash into. As research-obsessed consumers, we’re 247% more likely to be influenced by blogs or social networking sites when making purchasing decisions. 73% of millennials would agree that they are making smarter brand choices than their parents because of their knowledge, familiarity and access to digital information.
TOP TIPS FOR THROWING DOWN THE KNOWLEDGE
overwhelm with information
Beef up your website, blog, and social media channels with as much info, statistics, graphics, history, and specs as possible. Not only will this help your website & channels pop up quicker in search engines, but it will engage the information obsessed millennial and built trust & loyalty.
WHO’S DOING IT WELL: General Electric. With their catchy “imagination at work” slogan, this ultra-successful digital industrial company bombards consumers with a constant flow tech & software information, solidifying them as experts in their field.
There’s nothing the average millennial doesn’t love about a good old do it yourself project. Where do we go to find the best nuggets of DIY info? Youtube. We love youtube. (Find out how much.) Pick out the information your business can provide that will engage and motivate consumers to get involved and follow you as an expert.
WHO’S DOING IT WELL: Sephora. Sephora keeps it current with an updated daily
youtube channel full of the beauty & make-up tips that millennials crave. Tutorials and how-tos are also posted prominently on their website, giving information to consumers before pushing their products.
Twitter was built for information. If you’re not on twitter, sign up. If you don’t use it frequently, start. If you don’t use it as a way of marketing yourself as an expert, get on it. Doling out information in nice little 142 character sharable chunks is the perfect way to engage millennials with your brand.
WHO’S DOING IT WELL: NASA. NASA kills it on their twitter, with thousands of separate twitter accounts (with followers in the millions) for individual stations, astronauts, and even the Mars Rover. They make the complexities and distsance of space relatable and interesting for the average consumer.
EXPERT TIME
Like what you’re reading? We hope so. But then, we haven’t even gotten to the best part yet! Because the coolest thing about establishing yourself as an expert is that it’s free! All the tips above are easily done by not shelling out big bucks, but by doing what comes naturally — being an expert in your field. And that, in our millennial opinion, is totally cool.
Written by Margaret Anderson
As SkEye’s resident digital media guru, Margaret manages the interwebs with jedi-like precision. With a love for all things social, Margaret is SkEye’s genuis social media manager & tenacious inbound marketer.
by chriskiefer | Feb 9, 2016 | Behind The Scenes, Explainer, Production Equipment
Introduction
Videos require stories, stories require story-telling, and story-telling, well, it requires lighting. Wait? What? Let us explain, at SkEye Studios we ask a lot of questions: How do you make an interview stand out? What is the most important part of an on-camera interview with a subject? Does three-point lighting really matter? What is three-point lighting?
The Experiment
Who doesn’t like experiments? Besides, why take the advice from experienced greats like Errol Morris? He has only won several Academy Awards and Best Documentary Film a couple times 😉 Prior to the production of our latest project with iTech Painting (Lead Paint PSA), we decided to spend a few hours in the studio experimenting with lighting an interview. We asked ourselves, is three-point lighting really necessary? And, is one of the lights more important than another?
Key Light
noun
the main source of light in a photograph or film.
Arguably one of the most important lights on an interview, this is the main source of light in an interview. If you don’t have a key light you probably won’t see too much of the subject. If you only have one light, this would be the place to use it.
Fill Light
noun
a supplementary light used in photography or filming that does not change the character of the main light and is used chiefly to lighten shadows.
The fill light is more optional than the key light. It is used to reduce the amount of contrast on the subject’s face. It is typically set up directly opposite of the key light and farther away from the subject to evenly spread the light across the scene.
Hair Light (also known as back light)
noun
illumination from behind.
The hair light (which is nearly synonymous with the term back light) is placed behind the subject around 3 feet above their head. It is arguably one of the coolest and most interesting lights on the set. It has the ability to make you look like an angel, but if it is not used properly it can cause an unwanted lens flare. It is also the light you would use if you are trying to keep someone’s identity secret…as you can see from our screenshot.
All of this aside, the hair light, when used in conjunction with the other lighting, provides a very nice silhouette around the subject and makes them pop off the background. This is a very nice added touch to an interview as it adds depth to the shot.
Hair light
Using only a hair light might seem a little humorous, but it is quite useful if you are trying to protect someone’s identity.
No Hair light with Key Light
You can see in this picture that the set does not look as deep. The lack of light on the shoulders and hair makes the subject blend into the background more of the set.
Back Drop
noun
a painted cloth hung at the back of a theater stage as part of the scenery.
Lighting the back drop is probably one of the most overlooked aspects when lighting an interview. This is because it is a very subtle addition to set. However, you will notice that it definitely adds another interesting element to the set of an interview. One common mistake when lighting the backdrop is letting some of the light spill onto the subject. It is very important that you use barn doors or flanges to focus the light onto only what you want to light.
by chriskiefer | Jul 6, 2015 | Feature, Projects
We had a blast using the beautiful outdoors and big city perks of Oregon for our new video. This is edited down from a different promotional video we did for the National Association of Student Councils. But the footage was just too good to pass up on. We created a fun promo for the great state of Oregon. Included are shots from Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, the local Farmer’s Market in Beaverton, Multnomah Falls, the Dragon Races at the Rose Festival, Forest Park and Pittock Mansion in Portland, and many more sites! Special thanks go to our crew for traveling all over Oregon to get these sweet shots. Watch the video and let us know what YOU THINK, because WE THINK there is no way that you can resist the temptation to come check us out here in Oregon!
[av_video src=’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-fOWi_R7Eg’ format=’16-9′ width=’16’ height=’9′]
by chriskiefer | Jul 3, 2015 | Uncategorized
So where do we go from here? ScottySmiley.com is where you can find all of the latest news.
On the website, you’ll find a countdown to the release of the documentary on November 11th, Veterans Day. You can also subscribe to a newsletter to stay up-to-date on showings and distribution of the documentary.
We’d love for you to be involved in the documentary process, and we want to recognize that. Our team is currently building a list of contributors on the Scotty Smiley documentary website. You can contribute financially to the documentary through the “Donate” button listed on the website. These donations will help fund the editing of the documentary in post-production, it’s entrance into film festivals, and it’s distribution through television and streaming services.
If you have any more questions about the production of the Scotty Smiley documentary or about Scotty’s story, please don’t hesitate to contact us by phone or email. We’d love to hear from you!
by chriskiefer | Jul 2, 2015 | Company News, Production Equipment, Projects
For the production of the Scotty Smiley documentary, we knew that we needed top-of-the-line video equipment to bring out the best cinematic quality. To take a quick look at the results, here’s the teaser that we produced from shooting Scotty and Andy at the Coeur d’Alene Ironman.
Here’s a quick list of our most essential equipment and what enabled us technically to capture the stunning shots and interviews that are shown in the trailer for the documentary.
1. Panasonic Lumix GH4 - 4K Image at 24fps, 1080p at 96fps
This camera is incredibly versatile and dynamic. It gives you the ability to capture footage in 4K at four times the resolution of 1080p, or you can switch to the “Variable Frame Rate” mode where you shoot in slow motion at 25% real time speed in full HD. When we pair this camera with a wide angle or telephoto lens, the results are breathtaking.
2. DJI Ronin M - Three Axis Gimbal
The trademark of cinematic and professional looking footage is the stableness of the shot. The DJI Ronin provides just that and more! By mounting the Panasonic GH4 with the Lumix 7-14mm f/3.5, we were able to follow Scotty and Andy through bike and run portion of the Ironman with completely smooth shots, even when we are sprinting to just keep up with them.
3. Interviews in 4K with a Motorized Parabolic Slider.
Behold the difference just some slight motion can make! Video professionals commonly shoot interviews with the camera positioned on a tripod. Other professionals have taken it a step further by mounting the camera on a shoulder rig to give the image a little more of a moving, yet slight shaky look. SkEye Studios has taken an even larger leap past these two standard shooting techniques. For the Scotty Smiley documentary, we decided to add the Red Rock Micro “One-man Crew” to our arsenal. This device moves the camera left or right along a parabolic track at a very slow speed; automatically changing directions when it reaches the end of the track. The results are remarkable. This slight motion makes the interview look more dynamic, and gives the interviewee that polished look when he/she says a line with emotion or conviction.
*Notice the Slight Change in Background between the two interview shots. Rick and Mary Ann Smiley Interview (Scotty’s Parents)
When we mount the Panasonic GH4 with the Olympus 25mm f/1.8 on the “One-man Crew,” you also have the flexibility of punching-in on this moving interview shot. As editors, this gives us the ability to change angles and distance to the subject when editing together clips and audio sound bytes; all with one camera!
We can’t wait to show you the results in the documentary. Check out www.skeyestudios.com/scottysmiley to donate to the documentary and stay up-to-date on the latest news.
