Why a Book Video? Part II
Before you read this post, it might be prudent to make sure you have read the previous installment, Why a Book Video? Part I.
As mentioned in the previous post, 2005 seems to be the turning point for the use of video to market, not just books, but products all kinds. What changed?
Prior to 2005, there were two barriers to creating a video for marketing use. The first was production cost, and the second was distribution.
Around the turn of the millennium, advents in technology began a revolution that would chip away at production costs. Before this change, cost to produce a professional video for marketing purposes would most likely be in the $10k to $15k range (and that was on the low end). Cameras and camera operators, lighting rigs and lighting technicians, renting time in a video editing suite with a video editor along with the pre-production cost of concepting and scripting… not to mention the cost of a producer…meant a healthy budget would be required.
And once the video was produced, there would be the question of how to distribute it? In other words, how would people see the video? Remember, we are talking about pre-2005, video on the internet was not very common. There were no standards for online video, and most attempts were not very good experiences. Consumer computers did not have the processor speed and internet connections were not yet fast enough. Users were left watching choppy, low-res videos that were usually out of synch with the audio.
If you wanted someone to see the video, it meant you would have to duplicate DVDs (and VHS tapes prior to that). Duplication cost for DVDs could add another $2k to $5k of costs to the project, not to mention possible postage costs of mailing DVDs. And really, what strategy would you employ to decide who to send these DVDs?
So what cracked the video for marketing code?
On the production side, technology created a guerilla video production revolution. Digital video cameras, firewire ports, and slick, easy to use video software removed the financial barriers to entry for would be filmmakers. Now, a couple of thousand dollars could buy you a professional looking produced video, or better yet, you could use that $2k to invest in your own camera and software and shoot videos yourself.
On the distribution side, a new kid on the block came along called YouTube and changed everything. Now, everyone had a broadcast option. No longer were you faced with hefty distribution costs. Now you could load your video up on YouTube and broadcast to anyone in the world (with a computer). And things would only get better with mobile technology.
So, how does this answer the question, “why a book video?” We will put it all together in the next post.
