ビデオ | ROBOT55

All posts in “ビデオ”

More Data Proving That You Need an Online Video For Your Business – 動画をビジネスに活用しよう！

2015年2月26日 / No Comments

Online Video Marketing isn’t the future of business advertising, it is now! Today! Online Video Marketing is critical to your success right now! If you haven’t taken a seat on the bus on the video marketing train in the year 2015, then you are a tad bit late to the game; but not too late to get in the action.

What are we waiting for? I hope we are not waiting for our competition to do beat us to the punch! Because, if we keep waiting, trust that they will….. Yikes!

If you are running any kind of business, service, product sales, organization or event, then there’s an undeniable mountain of research data and evidence showing that online video marketing needs to be a major consideration in your advertising budget in this day of Smart Phones and tablet devices.

Some people will say, “But we are a small organization and can’t afford video.” But, you can afford video in this day and age! Costs are crashing. Robot55 can make you a professional quality marketing video for less than the price of making 500 professionally designed flyers.

No kidding.

Coca Cola online video

And, think about this; take a big company like Coca Cola. They spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on Research and Development and advertising budget, they figured out that a video was critical. They even have one on their top page. Think about that: Gee, Coca-Cola spent millions and came to this decision (actually, they’ve been doing it for a few years now). Your organization doesn’t need to spend a penny to do the same: You can capitalize on the research money they spent by coming to the same conclusions they did. How? Just copy what they do.

Toyota Motors webpage has lots of videos on it for end-users. http://toyota.jp/alphard/

Need more convincing?

Market surveys show that over 100 million people per day watch videos online. In a recent survey of shoppers at a major retailer, 90% of all shoppers aid a video was helpful in making further investigation into a shopping and buying decision. The retailer reports that products with videos greatly outsell products without videos.

Recently 75% of company executives told Forbes magazine that they watch work-related videos on business websites at least once a week.

The breakdown is as follows:

*50% of all corporate executives say they watch business-related videos on YouTube

*65% of all corporate executives say they visit the marketer’s website after viewing a video

* According to ComScore the average user spends 16 minutes and 40 seconds watching online video ads every month.

The bottom line here? If you’re not using video for your marketing, then you are missing out on a huge market opportunity and chance to engage with your audience. It’s not just the massive number of people who watch online videos that’s is critically important – it’s the reasons why they watch it; and if a user views your video it’s because they were searching for you or one of your competitors!

When your company, service, product or organization has an online video, not only can you engage with people who do standard Google searches, with video; you can also access hundreds of millions of Youtube viewers (and in Japan, Nico Nico Douga users) as well as Linked in and Facebook users (Facebook now has an “Auotplay” function for video. I wrote about that here: New Facebook Video Function Great For Businesses! And It’s Free! (www.robot55.jp/blog/new-facebook-video-function-great-for-small-businesses-and-its-free/).

When you place a video for your business online, data shows that you have a higher chance of reaching business executives and people who make decisions specifically concerning your business. Everyone knows that a person to person sales pitch is the best way to land the sale, but, when people are scattered all over the country, that’s virtually impossible to do without going bankrupt.

The next best thing to a face to face meeting is video marketing.

Here’s some more jaw dropping data:

According to the Online Publishers Association, 80% of all people shopping were able to recall which company had video on their webpage that they visited in the last month.

*46% of those people took some action after viewing the ad! 26% of them looked for more information; 22% visited the website; 15% visited the company page in the video ad and a whopping 12% purchased the specific product featured in the ad!

With numbers like these, how could anyone not see that a video – in this day and age of short attention spans and advertising clutter – is the best advertising for the buck? And this data shows that with targeted advertising the most desired results are online video.

There is one more thing that is critical that the data shows. When there is an online video on a site, the average viewer will stay on that site an 2 minutes longer than they will on sites that do not have a video.

Sure the numbers above come from surveys. But how about the real world? I’ll have more on that soon, but here is one that is shocking in its implications: The number is 403%. An Australian real estate group reports that real estate listings with videos receive 403% more inquiries than those without videos. In other words, real estate ads with videos generate quadruple the leads of those without videos.

What are we waiting for my friends?

Get started on making your video for your business, service, product or organization. There is a bunch of free advice on how to make yours for free on this site. Just search for: Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! (www.robot55.jp/blog/video-tips-make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-2/)

Or, if you want a little more professionalism in your video than you have confidence in making yourself, please contact us and let’s get started on discussion on making the video for your business that makes everyone who sees it say, “This looks really good! I’m interested.”

Need free advice on making your own business video or just want to discuss with us? Email the humans who work at Robot55, Mike or Ken: contact@robot55.jp

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NOTE: Data and marketing statistics and numbers from: 18 Big Video Marketing Statistics and What They Mean for Your Business (www.videobrewery.com/blog/18-video-marketing-statistics)

Aerial Videos by Drone for Unbelievably Low Price！- ラジコン空撮を格安価格で！

2015年2月25日 / No Comments

The words to describe video taken from a helicopter are usually, “Fantastic! Epic! Amazing!” That’s what people will say when they see a video taken from air of your business or organization. Having aerial footage taken from a helicopter is a fantastic way to make your video have that “Hollywood Spectacular!” feeling.

It looks great and people also know that it is expensive to make… Or is it?

If you have a business that revolves around a large area of real estate, such as apartments, homes, a school, church, temple, farm, camping, fishing, skiing, horse back riding, and recreation or a river or mountain. Then there is nothing like a video shot from the air to give the viewer an idea of the excitement, expanse and breathtaking view and beauty of what you offer.

But, of course, most small businesses cannot afford a few thousand dollars a day to charter a helicopter and cameraman. And companies today that offer drone services in Japan are quite expensive: I’ve checked and the cheapest I’ve heard about was ¥400,000 per day (which isn’t that bad, really.) The top companies charge ¥1,000,000 per day (about $10,000 USD)

One of the reasons why drones might be so expensive to rent is that there are few seasoned operators; and usage of drones is becoming more and more restricted as they get to become more and pore popular for professionals and enthusiasts alike. One can longer just fly a drone around the neighborhood; people will definitely call the police. Why? A drone is a flying computer and can take photos and videos. This is an invasion of privacy.

This is another reason why aerial video taken by drone is so expensive.

Interestingly, as the use of drones becomes more and more commonplace, some companies have banned the use of them. A major Japanese advertising agency has banned drones for any and all shoots because during a shoot for a major sporting event, the operator of a drone lost control and the drone actually crashed. OK, well a crash is bad, but this is even worse; the drone crashed into one of the events athletes during the event

Oh, I’ll bet that hurt. And I bet that cost the company a lot of money!

So usage of drones requires common sense and expertise and professionalism as well as following the rules and the law (make sure neighbors know what’s up and don’t get bent our of shape when they see a “UFO” buzzing around.)

We are capable of providing aerial footage by drone (and our pilot is experienced and fully insured) for about 1/4 ~ 1/8th what the competition is charging. Our basic one-hour set up and shoot (about 12 minutes of aerial footage – which is way more than your video will need) runs about ¥40,000 ~ ¥100,000 (depending on circumstances).

There’s no company in Japan today that even come close to beating our price for aerial video by drone.

Please contact us and let’s get started on discussion on making the video for your business that makes everyone who sees it say, “Fantastic! Epic! Amazing!”

Email Mike or Ken: contact@robot55.jp

Japan’s World War II Animation!〜日本の古い動画をご紹介

2015年2月24日 / No Comments

I’d like to present for your pleasure and interest a Japanese World War II propaganda cartoon. This is a cartoon originally from 1943. Japan was still “winning” the war; a year and a half beforehand, the Japanese Imperial Navy had attacked Pearl Harbor. But by the time the full length movie came out, in 1944, things were looking deeply grim for the Japanese Empire.

In this cartoon, the Pearl Harbor event is re-enacted. The cartoon is called Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors. This is the entire feature length cartoon.

The cartoon is not nearly as bloody and gutsy as American animation was at the time, but you can sense the subtleties of the Japanese mindset and just how “dark” a society Japan really was at the time (I still think, in many ways, Japan is a very “dark” country… But that’s a post for another time).

In Japanese, Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors, is: 桃太郎海の神兵（ももたろううみのしんぺい）”Momotaro Umi no shinpei.” Interestingly, there’s an entire Wikipedia entry in English about it no less (saves me a lot of work!)

Wikipedia says:

Momotarō: Umi no Shinpei (桃太郎海の神兵, lit. Momotaro’s Gods-Blessed Sea Warriors or Momotaro, Sacred Sailors) is the first Japanese feature-length animated film. It was directed by Mitsuyo Seo, who was ordered to make a propaganda film for the war by the Japanese Naval Ministry. Shochiku Moving Picture Laboratory shot the 74-minute film in 1944 and screened it on April 12, 1945. It is a sequel to Momotarō no Umiwashi, a 37-minute film released in 1943 by the same director. It is black and white.

Plot: After completing naval training, a bear cub, a monkey, a pheasant, and a puppy say goodbye to their families. Like the prior film, the movie features the “Peach Boy” character of Japanese folklore. The film is about the surprise maneuver on Sulawesi island, depicting parachute troops’ actions. The monkey, puppy and bear cub are the ones that become parachute jumpers while the pheasant becomes a pilot. The whole movie also depicts the Japanese “liberation of Asia“, as proclaimed by the Government at the time.

There are some musical scenes. Of note is The Song of AIUEO (アイウエオの歌AIUEO no Uta), a scene where Japanese soldiers teach local animals how to speak.

Background: The Naval Ministry previously showed Seo Fantasia, a 1940 Disney film. Inspired by this, Seo tried to give dreams to children, as well as to instill the hope for peace, just as he did in the prequel movie, Momotaro’s Sea Eagles.

The Song of AIUEO (アイウエオの歌 AIUEO no Uta) is famous for being given a homage in the series Kimba the White Lion (ジャングル大帝 Janguru Taitei) by Osamu Tezuka (Tezuka watched the film in April 1945. He later said that he was moved to tears by the movie’s hints of dreams and hopes, hidden under the appearance of war propaganda).

For a long time, the film was presumed to have been confiscated and burnt by the American occupation. However, a negative copy of the film was found in Shochiku’s Ofuna warehouse in 1983 and was re released in 1984. A reproduced movie was later screened and the VHS package is now available in Japan.

So, without further ado, here is the cartoon Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors in it’s entirety.

If you just want to get the gist of the film, I suggest watching the first part and the very last part… The lunacy of war. Why do we do this?

By the way, the foreign soldiers in the final scene are British and not Americans… But the very last scene where the Japanese kids are jumping out of a tree onto a map of the USA drawn on the ground is, quite, well, “interesting.”

New Facebook Video Function GREAT for Businesses! And it’s Free!〜Facebookのビデオ機能がビジネス活用に秀逸

2015年2月23日 / No Comments

If your business doesn’t have a Facebook page, then you need to make one today. Why? It’s free for one. And a Facebook page for your business is a great way to promote your business, service, product or organization.

Did I already mention that it is free?

Nothing can beat free in my book when it comes to promotion!

All you need to do is to take 2 ~ 5 minutes a day to update your Facebook page and to connect with your customers and potential customers. That’s not too much, is it? Especially if you are a small business; just spend a few minutes everyday to promote your business instead of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on buying promotion?

It’s your business, service, product or organization; your call. As for me, I’ll take free anyday. By the way, I gathered nearly 6,250 “Likes” on my program Facebook page in a year. If you make the effort, you’ll be rewarded. (Please come “Like” that Facebook Page. It’s for my radio show! https://www.facebook.com/WhattheFunday76.1?ref=hl)

It’s that simple.

There’s more! Facebook now has a brand new function that allows your video to play automatically if someone visits your page. The visitor doesn’t need to click anything! The video just starts playing if you embed the video directly into your Facebook page instead of just adding a link to a Youtube video.

I think this function is confusing to people if you have a bunch of videos on your Facebook page. But, say, if you only have one, it’s perfect! I highly recommend it!

We made a video production for a young couple who run a yakitori named “Flat” near my house. It was great fun making their promotion video, and Flat is the best Yakitori restaurant around!

In the case of Flat, there is only one video on their page – the one we made – so it is extremely eye-catching and effective. Here’s a screen capture of their top page on FB… (Go see the actual page on FB here: https://www.facebook.com/yakitori.flat)

And, if you just scroll down a touch, you’ll see the video embedded in their FB page. It’s like a TV commercial at the top of their page! AND if you click the “Keep on Top” Tab, the video will stay at the top of the page forever! Just what you want!

To see the actual video, and not just a screen capture, go to the “Flat Yakitori” Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/yakitori.flat

This video at the top of their Facebook page makes the page, “Come Alive!” It brings in more customers as people can see inside the restaurant and know what kind of people the owners and workers are. It is nearly perfect!

On a side note, I was watching the video earlier today and then I thought, “Someday, maybe 10 or 15 or 20 years from now, they’ll look back on this video and have fond memories of a great business and how the video WE MADE helped them to do a good business and make money; as well as wonderful memories.

Make your own Facebook page and make your own video to promote your shop, restaurant, organization, service or product.

If you need help making the Facebook company page or if you need help or just advice on making a great video by yourself or you’d like to discuss the best quality and price in Tokyo, feel free to contact me, Mike (or in Japanese write to Ken) at Robot55. We are at your service!

Email: contact@robot55.jp

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*Oh, and please come “Like” our Robot55 Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/robot55video?ref=hl

*And, please give “Flat Yakitori” a “Like” too!!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/yakitori.flat

Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 3 – You Need a Map: How to Write a Script!〜ビジネス動画を自分で作ってみよう！その３〜

2015年2月21日 / 8 Comments

Welcome back! This is Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 3 – You Need a Map: How to Write a Script!” where we give you free simple tips on how to make better homemade videos for your business, service, restaurant, or organization (and even home and family videos!) We are going to help you each week correcting the most basic and common mistakes of homemade videos. So, in just a snap, you can make your business (or family videos) MUCH better by just keeping in mind every week’s simple 3 point lessons. These easy tips will greatly improve your video for business and all your home photos and videos of the kids and family too! So, let’s get started with part 3: You need a map: How to write a script.

In a post last week, entitled: 90% of All People Say a Video Helps To Decide a Purchase! (www.robot55.jp/blog/90-of-all-people-say-a-video-helps-to-decide-a-purchase/) we gave you important data and numbers on effective videos. One of the most important numbers was “10 seconds.” Here’s what the article says:

2) “10 seconds.”
That’s how long you have to grab the attention of viewers in a video marketing clip. According to research by Visible Measures, 20% of your viewers will click away from a video in 10 seconds or fewer. And it doesn’t get a lot better than that. You’ll lose about 1/3 of your viewers by 30 seconds, 45% of them by 1 minute and almost 60% by 2 minutes. And those numbers remain the same no matter how long the video is.

So, it is critical that the first ten seconds say what you do and gives a message that your potential target audience wants to hear. If your video isn’t sending it’s core message out in the first 5 ~ 10 seconds, then your viewer will click it off and stop watching. You don’t want that. But how do we make a good message in such a short time? How do we know what the message should be?

First off, remember the “6 W’s”

1) Who (Who are you?)

2) What (What are you selling, promoting?)

3) When (When are you open or selling? When is the event?)

4) Where (Where is your business, event?)

5) Why (Why is your business, event, service good or different?)

6) How (How can I do business with you?)

Then, with these questions in mind, think about your potential customer and what they want; if you are selling used cars, then a woman looking for a new dress probably won’t come looking at your site or video. People who might find you or your video are looking for used cars. So, knowing that fact, and that a video must be short, let’s write a script!

But how? Like this:

1) Hi! I’m Mike Rogers. President of Flaky Used Cars.

2) We sell the best in used cars for the lowest prices.

3) We’re open all the time.

4) We’re that big pile of wrecked cars you see when you drive by Farmer Wilson’s Pig Ranch.

5) We have tons of old wrecked and used cars that have been dumped here over the years.

6) We accept cash and credit cards. Come on over.

So, there is the basics for our short video.

But wait! Should I use this, in this order? Maybe not! Think again about your customers; what are they looking for? In this case, I reckon my potential customer would be someone looking for an old car chassis for a classic car or the bumper for his Ford truck that he wrecked last weekend.

So, we need to start with what the customer might be looking for. So, instead of #1 first. We should start with #2:

“We sell the best in used cars for the lowest prices.”

But, let’s go one step further and make it more appealing for our potential customers. Asking questions is always good. Let’s make that sentence a question for the viewer!

#2 “Are you looking for the best in used cars for the lowest prices?”

Ah! Now that is more like it! As a viewer, I know exactly what this is about in a few seconds. Perfect!

So, let’s continue by taking the sentences above and rearrange in this order (2-1-5-4-6-3):

2) Are you looking for the best in used cars for the lowest prices?

1) Hi! I’m Mike Rogers. President of Flaky Used Cars.

5) We have tons of old wrecked and used cars that have been dumped here over the years.

4) We’re that big pile of wrecked cars you see when you drive by Farmer Wilson’s Pig Ranch.

6) We accept cash and credit cards. Come on over.

3) We’re open all the time.

Get it! This is darned near perfect. It gets my message out about what we do in less than 4 seconds. If you can get this crucial duty done correctly on your homemade video for your business, then you are ten steps ahead of the game even if your competition spend ¥500,000 on their video: Because, no matter the cost, if you don’t grab your viewers within ten seconds, you’ve lost them.

So, please use this basic “map” above anytime you are thinking about making your own video. If you need help, please don’t hesitate to write to me directly. I’ll help you. No problem!

There’s a few old sayings I’d like to repeat:

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

and

“80% of success comes in the planning.”

Trust me this little bit of planning will save you much time and effort and is extremely important if you want to get the message out and grab people within the first 10 seconds.

Of course, if after making your video, you decide that you do want a little more of a professional video production in Japanese or English (or any other language) then please think about us at Robot55. We are specialists in 30 Second and 60 Second videos for all areas of business videos, restaurant videos, service videos, product videos and more. Contact us if you just want to talk about it (free consultations) and let us give you a free estimate.

Or if you have any questions at all about making your own video, feel free to write directly to me and ask away!  I’m here to help you! Let’s have fun making videos and making more money for your business!

Email: contact@robot55.jp

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For more free tips:

Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Pt. 1 (www.robot55.jp/blog/video-tips-make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-pt-1/)
Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 2 (www.robot55.jp/blog/video-tips-make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-2/)
Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 3 – You Need a Map: How to Write a Script! (http://robot55.jp/blog/make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-3-you-need-a-map-how-to-write-a-script/)
Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Pt. 4(（www.robot55.jp/blog/video-tips-make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-pt-4/)

Key Hunter – Classic Japanese Sixties TV Show〜懐かしの60年代テレビ番組キーハンター

2015年2月20日 / No Comments

In searching for a type of music for a video production we are currently making, I turned to get inspiration from a 1960’s Japanese television detective series entitled “Key Hunter.” Key Hunter was a smash hit on Japanese TV between 1968 to 1973. I got lucky because I found a version with English subtitles!

Wikipedia says:

Key Hunter (キイハンター) was a prime-time Japanese television detective series. It aired on Saturday nights in the 9:00–9:56 p.m. time slot on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) network from April 6, 1968 to April 7, 1973. There were a total of 262 episodes, and it was one of the most popular action dramas in Japan at the time. The story involved “Key Hunter”, a special clandestine unit of the International Police, which endeavored to solve various crimes. “Key Hunter” was a unique TV show, which started out as a grand scale spy thriller never before seen in Japan. The episodes were individually themed on global crimes and political strife. The initial hardboiled theme later evolved to include intellectual elements involving action, and occasionally with comical elements as well. Tetsuro Tamba starred in the 1967 film “You Only Live Twic”e as Japanese Secret Service agent Tiger Tanaka, an ally of James Bond. This role greatly influenced his image in “Key Hunter”.

I really like the images and production in Key Hunter. I laughed out loud at the video at the very beginning where the guy is in bed kissing the girl and suddenly pulls out a gun and points it at someone; I love that style of Hollywood “Camp.”

This program is an inspiration to me because I really like how, in spite of a low budget (like all Japanese shows of the sixties) – and excepting the car crashing over the side of the mountain and exploding into flames – the director and production crew use good ideas and creativity to make a compelling story and an interesting image to watch. This is brilliant work!

The music is also fabulous.

I am especially interested in the sixties in Japan because that was when the first Tokyo Olympics was held and we have the 2020 Tokyo Olympics coming up. The sixties throughout the eighties in Japan were a Golden Time. I look to those days to bring art and inspiration to all our video productions in Tokyo.

Often times, when companies make promotion videos for their products or services, video production companies use library music or stock footage. This has a few problems as there can often be a rights issue and sometimes, even with a contract, the creator has an issue with use of their music or images. Trust me. I’ve seen it happen many times.

You don’t have that problem with a video production done at Robot55; and you never will. Why? We always create our own original music and images for use in all our videos so you never have to worry about getting a letter from a lawyer representing Getty Images or some company that represents an artist’s musical rights telling you to pay several thousand dollars.

And I’ve seen that happen, more than once to other companies, so we don’t do that at all. Everything we use; images, music, sound effects, narrations are original and done specifically for you. There’s never a worry about rights or a time limit on a production we make for you.

With a video production made by Robot55, you won’t have anyone like the folks in Key Hunter chasing you down for use of music or images; we create quality and we are always 100% original. Everything we create for you, becomes yours. It’s yours forever.

Let me repeat that: 100% yours to use. Forever.

ROBOT55格安動画講座 – 上手な動画撮影のコツ其の弐

2015年2月19日 / 1 Comment

こんにちは！ROBOT55（ロボット・ゴー・ゴー）です！

昨日のブログでは商業サイトを運営する９割の方々が動画がビジネスの役に立っていると答えている、というお話をしました。

ただこの数字の対象となっているのは殆どが動画制作に何十万、何百万も予算が使える企業ばかりです。僕ROBOT55はどちらかといえば個人ビジネスの方々がメインのサービスを提供しています。そんな「志は高いが予算は低い」方々にDIYでウェブ動画を制作する為に少しでもお手伝い出来ればと不定期に行なっているのがこの「上手な動画撮影のコツ」シリーズ。 Continue Reading…

Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 2〜ビジネス動画を自分で作ってみよう！その２〜

2015年2月18日 / No Comments

In yesterday’s post, I pointed out data that showed that 90% of people surveyed say that videos online helped them to decide on a purchase at a major retailer. That shows the power of video for increasing your business and making more money. Please refer to: 90% of All People Say a Video Helps To Decide a Purchase! (If that link doesn’t work, try this: www.robot55.jp/blog/90-of-all-people-say-a-video-helps-to-decide-a-purchase/)

But, that survey was done at a major retailer; big companies can afford expensive video productions. But what about the little guys? That’s where Robot55 comes in. And that’s also why we have started this weekly column: Video Tips! Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free!

And this is simple. We are going to help you each week correcting the most basic and common mistakes of homemade videos. So, in just a snap, you can make your business (or family videos) MUCH better by just keeping in mind every week’s simple 3 point lessons. These easy tips will greatly improve your video for business and all your home photos and videos of the kids and family too! So, let’s get started:

1) First off, the most common mistake that I see people doing everyday! When using a smart device or smart phone, make sure that the picture is always framed horizontally. Keep a steady hand. Do NOT leave a lot of “head space” in a picture or video.

The image on the left doesn’t fill up the screen. The top of the head is at the halfway point. This is generally bad unless you are going to put in titles above the head. The image on the right fills the screen. This is correct and, judging side by side, you can see for yourself how much better it looks. Get close to your subjects; fill the screen. Do not leave a lot of head space. For a tip, just watch the news on TV when they close up on the anchor person: they get very close. You need to do that for your videos.

2) Do not “pan” a lot (swing the camera around). It is always best to take shorter close ups (like still photos). If the camera is swinging around, it is difficult for the viewer to grasp the image. You can understand what’s going on because you are there shooting the video and you are the cameraman, but for people watching it, especially on a smart device or PC, it only causes headaches. Here watch this if you can. It’s a example of bad “panning” (swinging the camera around):

Your viewers won’t be able to see what you see and they’ll not be able to grasp the images well. Instead of this poor panning method, I’d strongly recommend three shots of the same thing without the pan. See?

I know you want your viewers to be able to see everything, but on a screen, especially a small one, it just doesn’t work out that way well. You are much better off finding the important points and getting up close to them so the viewer can better enjoy the experience. And, like in #1 above, get close. Fill the screen!

3) Here is another basic mistake that might even be the most common. Never take someones picture when they are standing with a big window behind them or the sun behind them; the sun or light must always be behind you the cameraman. Always have the sunlight or lights behind the camera and behind your back. Never have the light source or sun behind the subject of the picture. Here’s a simple example of two photos taken in the exact same spot. One has the light behind the subject; the other has the light behind the cameraman.

Oh my god! On the photo on the left I look terrible! But, well, we can’t fix my face. The lighting though is a wreck as it is behind the subject and facing the camera. This is no good at all. What to do? We switched standing positions. In the photo on the right the cameraman is now standing with the window behind his back! I look much better (but a tad bit hung over! Yikes!)

Well, folks, that’s it for today’s simple three point lesson. Keep in mind these three simple points and your home and business videos (and your family photos or vacation and those birthday parties, picnics and weddings) will all be much better!

Seriously, I went to university to learn this stuff and that cost lots of money and time wasted not doing homework. But, because dear reader (you) are so cool, here’s information you need for absolutely free.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to write directly to me and ask away!

email: contact@robot55.jp

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For more free tips:

Time Travel! Video of Life in Japan in 1966

2015年2月14日 / No Comments

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. And we all agree with that, right?

Well, if a mere photo speaks a thousand words, then a video speaks millions. Here is a video that I found while searching for images for a client. Actually, I cried at about 1:40 of the video where the mom is serving food to the two kids and the song, Shojyoji no Tanuki Bayashi 「証城寺の狸囃子」（しょうじょうじのたぬきばやし) , is played. My mother used to sing that song for me at bedtime when I was a little boy.

This video shows the life of a typical Japanese family in 1966. It was filmed by a German TV crew. This is quite enjoyable as it shows the family and their daily life; waking in the morning; going to work and school; the day’s events and coming home at night.

Please pay attention because there are many very cool shots of Tokyo intersections, the train stations, an old TV and much more. But one thing really struck me about life in Japan: Basically, things haven’t changed all that much since 1966 to today: kids still wear uniforms, the family unit is still strong, the train stations look the same. It’s wonderful. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Here is the video:

1966 Japanese Family Life (if the video doesn’t play, click here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvoZjbp9R1w)

I watched the entire film and enjoyed it immensely so I thought we should share it with you.

Having a film like this immortalizes this family and this slice of time.

Having videos of the family is great and it is wonderful to see everyone prosperous and healthy.

When it comes to family videos, the cameras nowadays make great videos for the family. But for the business, and those special occasions, you want to show customers and potential customers your dedication to quality and care, then a professionally made video from the Tokyo production team of Robot55 could be the answer you are looking for.

The video above is 45 years old and is still very cool and cost several tens of thousands of dollars to create. But, a top-quality professional 60-second video showing people your shop, restaurant or business done by Robot55 can be made as low as ¥70,000!

Let’s do the math, the Tokyo Olympics is coming in 5 years, so your video can help your business greatly in that time and beyond. 5 years x 365 days a year = 1,825. ¥70,000 / ¥1,825 is ¥38 yen a day. (¥4 a day if we are looking at it from a 45-year calculation!)

Could there be any better, cheaper, more effective way to drive customers using a smart phone or other device to find your business than a video on Youtube or your webpage? Contact us at Robot55! email:contact@robot55.jp

Top 6 Favorite Foods Amongst Foreign Tourists to Japan

2015年2月12日 / No Comments

Well, a survey of tourists leaving Japan shows what everyone already knows: Sushi is a favorite among tourists (and Japanese alike). Here is a list of the top favorite foods amongst tourists to Japan!

A recent newspaper article I read said this:

Foreign tourists visiting Japan enjoy sushi above any other national dish, according to a survey by the Japan National Tourism Organisation. The state-run agency said it interviewed more than 15,000 foreign tourists as they left Japan and asked what their favorite food had been during their visit.

So what were their favorite foods?

Drum roll please!

At #6: Gyudon! Gyudon is everywhere in Japan too. Gyudon is beef and vegetables on a bed of rice and it is probably the best value for the money in town. You can have a full stomach for under $5 (USD)! I recommend Sukiya as they have nearly 2000 shops all over Japan (and English menus!)

#5: Udon! You need the best and most delicious and inexpensive Udon in Tokyo? Check out Takamoto Seimenjyo: Gaijin Gourmet! Awesomely Delicious Udon in Kamiyacho, Tokyo!

At #4: Tempura! Fish, shellfish or vegetables deep fried in batter! I don’t usually eat fried foods but I have been to Tenya a few times and it is fast, cheap and delicious.

At #3: Sashimi! (good sashimi is expensive so I don’t really know any cheap places… But try out #1 below!)

At #2: Ramen! A noodle soup that originated in China, came in second with 21 percent of visitors placing it top. I can’t really recommend any ramen shop because there’s millions of good ones everywhere in Tokyo!

At #1: Sushi! Four out of ten people picked sushi as #1. Sushi is morsels of vinegar-flavored rice usually served with sliced raw seafood. Well, there’s a million great sushi places in Japan too! (Well, duh!) But if you have kids who are picky eaters and you are on a budget traveling in Japan, then try out Hamazushi! The kids LOVE this place! Gaijin Gourmet: My Favorite Robot (Sushi) – Hamazushi

Of course, as the Olympics get closer, there will be more and more of these establishments making English language videos for the foreign audience coming to Japan and you can bet that Robot55 will be there making these video productions for the shops, especially in the Tokyo area. As we produce these videos, we will post them on the Robot55 webpage.

Bon apetite!

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