Making Your Marketing Move

When I was in college years ago, I had the opportunity to take some classes in Animation.  Now I say "opportunity," because I had hoped to take a different course of classes but had to settle that year for some other "related" classes.  What I didn't realize at the time was how valuable and enjoyable understanding the fundamentals of Animation would be.

Recently, we had the opportunity to animate some promotional images for the Olympia Film Festival and create a couple of promotional videos.  Check out the video, and then look below for some tips on things to consider when looking to create an animated video from 2D images.



Tips for 2D Aminated Videos -

1. Think of your materials in layers. Is there a background image, foreground image, and character image(s) that can be animated?

2. Sound sells the motion. Make sure to use music and sound effects to add reality to the motion.

3. Animation works on a scientific principal called persistence of vision. You are tricking the eye and the brain by moving objects just a small bit per frame, and letting your brain fill in the gaps. So like Ellie's dad says in Contact "Small moves".

4. HD video is created at 72dpi (dpi is a graphics term) and varies from 1280x720 to 1920x1080 frame size. You will need rather large images to move things around on an HD animated screen.

5. Don't feel like you are married to the constraints of the originally marketing piece. As long as you honor the style and theme of the print materials you should be able to create a creative video that your clients and viewers will enjoy.

If you would like some help producing your next animated video, call Pardiman Productions at 360-259-6672 or email us at info@pardimanproductions.com to set up a free consultation.

New OMB Tour TV Spot

This spot was created to promote Olympia Master Builders 2011 Tour of Homes.



For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Tastless TV Ads - How To Lose Your Market

I don't normally make a point of critiquing the work of others, but during yesterday's Super Bowl one ad stuck out that really rubbed me the wrong way.  The spot involved Timothy Hutton downplaying the plight of the people of Tibet in order to plug Groupon, an online coupon company that has been getting a local following.

You can watch the ad here:
 
 
And when I looked for more details about this blatant marketing misstep I came across the fact that the Super Bowl ad was actually one of three produced with similar themes. One mocking the distinction of whales, and another comparing Brazilian Rain Forest Deforestation to bikini waxing.

Groupon founder and CEO Andrew Mason doesn't seem to get the tastelessness in his blog response.

"Since we grew out of a collective action and philanthropy site (ThePoint.com) and ended up selling coupons, we loved the idea of poking fun at ourselves by talking about discounts as a noble cause," he wrote on the company's blog.

At SaveTheMoney.org, Groupon is fundraising for Rainforest Action Network, buildOn, and the Tibet Fund and plans to match up to $100,000 in donations to each charity. It's also soliciting contributions to Greenpeace.

But nowhere in the spots was there any information about these charities, or how someone might donate.

I truly find it hard to believe that these spots starring Hollywood Celebrities, and directed by Christopher Guest, made it past everyone's best judgment and onto such a national stage.

For more marketing ideas and advice contact Pardiman Productions at 360.259.6672 or info@pardimanproductions.com.

Is Commercial Advertising Expensive?

At Pardiman Productions we often deal with the misconception that commercial advertising is extremely expensive and that a small business owner could never afford something like that.  Actually, the opposite is true.  Advertising with a :30 commercial can be very affordable.

:30 second commercial costs on television can be in the single digits per broadcast slot depending on channel and time of day.  And with cable media buys you can target just Thurston County if that is where your customers are.

As for the cost of production, while a :30 commercial will cost you more to produce than a print ad, the overall value of a :30 commercial can be infinite.  Unlike media that is produced and then never seen or heard again, the internet gives your :30 commercial the ability to keep selling years into the future.

Want to find out more about the costs of commercial advertising?

Call 360-259-6672