This video is for a company larger than we normally feature on our Inspiration section, but I had to include it, as it is a perfect business video in almost every way. Coming in at just 4 and a half minutes, we get to understand the story behind Heath Cermamics, their philosophy, their talented staff, see their beautiful store displays and of course covet their gorgeous products.

They’ve used a lovely Xylophone type soundtrack that works really well. They are lots of examples of J and L Cuts (learn about these here) in the edit and almost all the interviews use the Rule of Thirds – you can easily incorporate these techniques into your video. They’ve used a very simple font for all the titles and kept everything really simple and clean. Love it!

1. Promoting your Comany and Services.

Baroque, a bespoke jewellers based in the heart of Brighton, have created this lovely video highlighting their business, products and services. Even though this is a very competitive marketplace, the video demonstrates the uniqueness or “bespoke” quality of their jewellery and you really get a feeling for their passion and experience. It may only be a 4 minute video, but you can see there are loads of “Fill Shots” (mentioned in previous posts) which gives a sense of a busy, bustling workshop. They also use a wide range of camera shots from long, close-up to macro and use simply cut edits to move from one scene to the next. And of course, they use J and L cuts which can be incorporated easily in to your video.

1. Highlight Your Products.

I really like this video. Even though it professionally made, it is a video that anyone can reproduce with a little bit of planning. That is the key to this video, planning. When you watch the video, you can see that each separate section runs in to each other using a specific transition like the dropping of a feather suddenly becomes a pen or the falling of sugar becomes the falling of sand. Before you begin recording your video, spend some time thinking about how you want to highlight your products and want shots you will use to demonstrate this. The video is less than two minutes but you get see a lot of rings in their natural settings which I think is a great way to show off your jewellery.

3. Gift Wrapped.

This 45 second video is a prefect online promotional video. It keeps the user engaged and also provides an insight to their product, the service they provided and the time and care they take to make that expensive gift extra special. They use their gift bag at the end to present their business logo and reasserts the name “Astley Clarke”. I think the major factor in this video with regards to production is the lighting. It’s spot on. The use of candles and soft yellow lights gives the video a real warm and inviting feeling. Finally, they cut the video between two different angles, one from the top and one from the side. This helps give the video a flow and stops it from becoming monotonous if continuously shot from the same angle.

4. Interview in a Specialized Area.

An interview is great way to introduce yourself and let people know what you do and build up a relationship with your customers. It’s even better if you have a specialized skill or technique which the general public might not even know exists. Mike Shorer is a 7th generation Goldsmith and the video provides an insight into how he makes reproduction jewellery, from moulds of artifacts that his father made over a 40 year period. This video uses all the techniques as described in our Video School, including the rule of thirds and lighting techniques (including three-point lighting and the key light). You can see at the start of the video they use a large window in the top right of the screen as the Key Light. This will balanced out by having a Fill light on the opposite side to stop the shadows from being to strong. To learn more about light techniques, please view our lighting lesson.

5. Customer Testimonials.

Endorsements in your videos and on your website from current customers will certainly help reassure new ones. It is also a sure fire way to help increase sales and promote your company in a positive light. This video really confirms these points and one feels by visiting Anania Jewellers, you would indeed get an excellent service. You can tell that the customers enjoyed their experience and didn’t feel pushed in to anything or were over sold to (which can be a big turn off). In the video, the lighting is well done without being overly professional and the use of Lavaliere microphones give a crisp clear sound to the video.

Bonus Video.

Highlighting your work.

This is the video that was created by the company that is located in our complex (I feel obliged to help promote another small business, especially who are located so close). The company is called jewelleryrepair.ie. In the video, they run you through the process of resizing a ring, as well as showing you how they clean and polish it up. Videos like these are a great way to get your business name out there and start to build some brand recognition. And remember if you have a business logo, place in your video.

Why not try out trakAxPC today. It can be used for all your video editing needs. Take advantage of our special price of $39.95 – buy trakAxPC today.

I recently watched a video for Alabama Chanin, which is a clothing company focusing on limited edition pieces which are completely hand-sewn. Obviously this labor-intensive method, means that the clothes are extremely high-end and consequently expensive. However, after watching the video about Alabama Chanin, you realise that firstly the brand is more than just clothes, it is a statement about quality, community and craftmanship and secondly, it makes you reevaluate the concept of luxury. I think any small manufacturer or artisan can take alot from this video – namely:

• Sometimes your story is more interesting that the actual product – if you are directly impacting lives in your community by providing employment, this can be a selling point – especially if it is in traditional crafts that people appreciate
• Focus on the craft involved in making your product – close ups of hands at work – the intricacy involved
• Help your potential customer understand why the product costs what it does – the source materials, the hand crafted element, the uniqueness of the products, the hours put it, the start and end point etc.

Watch the Alabama Chanin Video here

This is of course a beautifully made video, but there are lots of things that you can replicate yourself in your own business or workshop.

Point 1  - Use the Rule of Thirds

To learn more about the Rule of Thirds, see this Tips and Tricks Article

Point 2  - Keep Fonts Simple and Clean

If you are using text to identify people, places or as further explanation, keep the fonts clean and simple – don’t be tempted to reach for the Comic Sans! Use a nice clear elegant Font. It is important to use a Font which can be easily read by the viewer. If you don’t have any fonts which you believe are good enough, we would highly recommend investing in some as it will greatly enhance your videos look. We would suggest visiting a site like myfonts.com where they are a range of affordable and professional fonts. These fonts can give great results and will give a clear and clean look to your video.

(To learn about adding Text to your video using trakAxPC, see the tutorial here).

Point 3  - Use Collaging to Show Multiple Products

If you want to show multiple products, but don’t want to make your video too long, use collaging (or picture-in-picture) to show multiple products simultaneously.

Watch the video tutorials here to learn about to implement the collage effect with trakAxPC.

If you’ve seen a particulary great artisan video or have your own tips on how to create the perfect video for a small business, please share them below!

On a technical side, you can see that this video uses lots of shots implementing the Rule of Thirds and edits using J and L Cuts ]]> http://www.trakaxbusiness.com/2012/01/potblack-ceramics-craft-video-inspiration/feed/ 0