In moving over my Google Video clips to YouTube I ran into this retro commercial spoof. Like “Woodblock Doll,” it’s another commercial parody. That was pretty much the first 10 years of my video shorts: either commercial parodies or mock horror videos (ala “Attack of the Killer Slinky“).
While cleaning up my dad’s office this week in New Orleans, I found a GE camcorder that must have predated my Panasonic. It must have weighed 50 pounds, and the foam mic had corroded. So I stuck it right back on the shelf. No tossing that bad boy out yet.
Are you a b-roll hoarder? Have hundreds of videos of quality HD video content that’s rotting away in your closet?
Thanks to “10 More New Ways to Make Money Online,” here’s a tip…
If you’re a digital video fanatic, turn your high-quality b-roll into bucks using stock imaging sites that also carry video footage like Pond5, iStockPhoto Video and Pixelflow. You get to set your price, set your terms, and add this new revenue stream to your income.
Having tried to find cheap footage (in my case of a golf ball rolling into a hole), I found the options on Getty One cost prohibitive. Three forces will make this marketplace boom:
Need for more inexpensive video content to serve diverse online mediums and target markets.
Declining market budgets put pressure on original production.
Amateurs can produce near pro quality without high barriers to entry.
Just don’t forget… you may need to compete with these guys. Because THEY’VE got that b-roll.
With apologies to you seasoned film enthusiasts, I’d like to introduce the Wilhelm Scream to those still left oblivious to it. You see, I used the sound effect in a recent YouTube video and was again reminded that it’s not as widely appreciated as I should think.
The scream, which originated in a 1951 film called Distant Drums, has appeared in countless movies since. You’ve heard it in Star Wars, Indiana Jones, King Kong (Jack Black’s version), The Family Guy, and many films you may know by heart. Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas have celebrated the sound effect, originally dubbed “man getting bit by alligator and he screams” (source: Wikipedia so it must be accurate).
My sister, who sent me this clip, became aware of it when her son began to notice its repetition (a remarkable feat for a child who was 7 at the time).
I would like to challenge all video creators to find a special place for it in coming months, and make it an Internet meme that is abhorred by Anonymous and 4Chan.
Now enjoy some classic film moments, and listen for it in your movie and Internet-video watching.
My son Grant wakes up first. Every day. Then, after feeding Freddy, he settles down onto the computer. “Dad- did you see the new Google?” He showed me Ernie & Burt on Google, and I did a search to confirm we hadn’t missed the local Jim Henson exhibit (ends Nov. 29).
While telling Grant about my childhood hero, Henson, he reminded me of this video… March 2006 (below).
But first, I’ll provide you with some “must watch” Sesame Street and Muppet moments:
2) Peter Sellers discussing with Kermit how there is no Sellers because he had him “surgically removed.” An interesting moment considering Seller’s history of assuming his character’s identity on and off screen.
I met Neville once while interning at a PBS station in New Orleans. He was as calm, cool, and humble as he appears. Sadly, I never met Henson. It was always one of my dreams.
