All posts in “commercial video”

Very Best Cameras Japan

2015年2月19日 / No Comments

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics coming up, the eyes of the entire world will be on Tokyo and Japan. Along with that, of course, there will be a massive influx of foreigners coming to Japan’s shores and they will be bringing with them their friends and families and that gives us in Japan an incredible business opportunity.

There is, and always will be, another opportunity for smart business people to share their businesses, products, services and ideas with folks outside of Japan through online shopping or auction sites like E-Bay. Did you know that E-Bay annual sales in 2014 were $17.9 billion dollars? And now there is a boom in Japanese online retailers taking advantage of this exploding market.

Last week, we met an extremely smart and charming woman who is the president of an online store called “Very Best Cameras Japan.” Very Best Cameras Japan sells new and used cameras equipment on E-Bay…. And their business is growing by leaps and bounds.  The president was proud of her work and of the company, so she wants to expand and increase her sales so she asked us to help her make a video. We did! Here it is:

This video is effective because it is short and to the point. It gives Very Best Cameras Japan a “human face” and allows us, the potential customer, to see the people we are dealing with when making an important purchase. I think she did a fine job and she comes off as, kind, extremely polite, honest and sincere. As a customer, I have no problem with dealing with her for my business.

When thinking about making a video like this, remember the data I shared with you yesterday in “90% of All People Say a Video Helps To Decide a Purchase!”

Important numbers and words:

1) “90%.”

90% is the percentage of online shoppers at a major retailer’s website who said they find online video helpful in making shopping and buying decisions. Retailers who provide online video to show off their products report that the products with a video sell a lot more than products with no video.

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. (Read more: www.robot55.jp/blog/90-of-all-people-say-a-video-helps-to-decide-a-purchase/)

At Robot55, we specialize in this sort of English language video for businesses in Japan. All of our staff are seasoned professionals and our narrators have thousands of FM radio shows, How to Video narrations, game narrations, animation narrations and even real TV commercials under our belt. We are proud that we have a stable of true professionals who have lived and worked in TV and radio in Japan.

Not only that, but we help the business owner to write their script in a professional manner… And we are doing that part at no charge!

The business owner merely needs to jot down what they want to say, and we will make it up to be a short and effective business promotion video, in English or Japanese… Of course, we also do subtitles in other languages. I will post the Japanese subtitled version of the above video in another post coming soon.

No one can beat our discount price for this level of quality.

Contact us and let’s get started on making a video for Youtube, Facebook or your homepage that will increase your business and sales.

Email: contact@robot55.jp

Very Best Cameras Japan URL:  http://stores.ebay.com/Very-Best-Cameras-Japan

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NOTES: Here is the script for the video above. Use this as a model for your own script!

Looking for the best in new and used camera equipment from Japan?
Welcome to Very Best Cameras Japan. My name is Naomi and I’m the president and owner of Very Best Cameras Japan.
Very Best Cameras Japan sells new and used photographic equipment. Our inventory is wide, versatile and constantly changing.
The Japanese are famous for care of technology and equipment we can assure you of the best quality products at Very Best Cameras Japan.
We always take special care to wrap and pack our items safely and securely and to ship them as promptly as possible.
We personally respond to each and every customer’s questions and inquiries.
Very Best Cameras Japan promises to give you a shopping experience that is easy, reliable, and saves you money!
Oh, and we also speak English.
Very Best Cameras Japan! 

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 *For more help on writing your script, see Make Your Own Video For Your Business For Free! Part 3 – You Need a Map: How to Write a Script! (www.robot55.jp/blog/make-your-own-video-for-your-business-for-free-part-3-you-need-a-map-how-to-write-a-script/) 

90% of All People Say a Video Helps To Decide a Purchase!〜購入の決め手はビデオ広告！

2015年2月17日 / 1 Comment

A video for your business, service, bar or restaurant placed on Youtube, your webpage and Facebook will help increase your business, sales and bring in more customers!

If you’ve been thinking about making a video for your business then smart move! Here’s some eye-opening statistics about web video for your business that you need to know:

Please refer to: 4 Big Numbers About User Engagement with Video Content (If link doesn’t work, copy and paste this: http://www.videobrewery.com/blog/18-video-marketing-statistics) Here are highlights from that article:

Video Content! Important numbers and words:

1) “90%.”

90% is the percentage of online shoppers at a major retailer’s website who said they find online video helpful in making shopping and buying decisions. Retailers who provide online video to show off their products report that the products with a video sell a lot more than products with no video.

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.

3) “15 seconds.”

According to research conducted by Jun Group (2011), videos that are 15 seconds or shorter are shared 37 percent more often than those that last between 30 seconds and 1 minute. If you make your video longer, that stat goes down. Those shorties are only shared 18% more often than videos of longer than 1 minute.

So, you see? Video can help your business to, sell more, reach more people, grow and make you more money!

man at computer

But, perhaps you are not so sure yet and are not willing to spend money on a professionally made video just yet? We totally understand. That why we at Robot55 offer discount professional quality 30 second and 60 second videos for your business at a super reasonable cost. Prices starting from ¥70,000 each!

Won’t you contact us and let’s get started on increasing your business! Email: contact@robot55.jp

Want to see some videos we have made for happy customers in the last few weeks at a reasonable price?

See our Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCRBSdzh-E4_bRM_akdRAAQ

 

 

Choosing a business partner is so very important!〜ビジネスパートナー選びは大切です

2015年2月16日 / No Comments

When you choose a business partner, it is the same as choosing a marriage partner; you have to choose carefully. And, once you do decide,  you must accept that partner as is, good parts and bad, warts and all.

It takes much dedication to make marriage work, whether it is between a man and a woman or between business partners. Dedication requires respect. That means respect for yourself and respect for your partner; as well as respect for what you are doing.

To paraphrase what a friend once told me: “To find and make a partnership (or marriage) is good. Getting a divorce is okay. Having an affair is a mistake, but, polygamy is an absolute ‘No!'”

If you expect that your partner is going to stick with you through thick and thin, then you must realize that they will desire and expect the same from you. This takes complete and total dedication.

In today’s market, with jobs getting tougher and tougher to come by, your company and your partners deserve your total dedication. If you won’t dedicate yourself, there are plenty of others who will gladly take your place. Why should your partner accept a half a loaf of bread from you when someone else will provide a full loaf?

Respect your partner. Respect yourself. There is no substitute for total dedication.

We at Robot55 take our partners very seriously and strive to give them 100% satisfaction and dedication. We will not accept a “90%” satisfaction rate; 100% or bust! We aim to do every project with the goal of making something special and something that we all can be proud of no matter what.

Just like our company mission statement says:

“We make wonderful video productions; at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must. But, no matter what, we make wonderful video productions.”

I think it is this dedication to quality for video productions, whether they are in English, Japanese or other languages is, besides price, what sets us apart from the competition.

Please contact us and let’s discuss making your video production in Tokyo. Email: contact@robot55.jp

The Language Spoken Around the World! Betty Boop in Japan in 1935!

2015年2月15日 / No Comments

Everyone knows the language of love. Everyone knows the language of happiness. Those feeling go past man made languages and borders.

I’ve been talking about the Olympics a lot recently as those will be bringing Japan back into the international spotlight (for good and bad) once again. It will be bringing lots of foreign tourists here too.

I think lots of people will be very surprised when they come to Japan and see just how popular American cartoon stars are in Japan. In fact, some of them are much more popular in Japan than they are in the USA?

The president of TV Tokyo (they own the rights to the Peanuts cartoons and characters) once told me that sales of Snoopy in Japan surpass those of the entire United States and Europe put together. Did you also know that Winnie the Pooh massively outsells Mickey Mouse in Japan too?

Winnie and Snoopy truly are superstars in Japan!

Of course, though, everyone already knows that Japan loves Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse and Snoopy, but did you know that Betty Boop was popular in Japan before any of them? It’s true. And Betty Boop was popular in japan in the 1930s!

I think it is because Betty Boop could speak Japanese… No. Really. I’m not making it up. Watch this cartoon and see for yourself. In it, she sings in Japanese and dances. Her Japanese is pretty darned good too!

Here is a 1935 Max Fleischer produced Betty Boop cartoon called “A Language All My Own.” Max Fleischer was famous for Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, Superman and Popeye.

Wikipedia says about this cartoon:

The studio produced this short after discovering that Betty was very popular in Japan. Animator Myron Waldman, worried that Betty’s gestures might offend the conservative Japanese audience, asked a group of Japanese college students to review his work. Having Betty sing in Japanese also allowed her to slip a racy comment past the Hays Office: one of the lyrics in the Japanese song translates to “Come to bed with me and we’ll boop-oop-a-doop!” “Come to bed with me and we’ll boop-oop-a-doop”

Indeed! Please enjoy this 5 minute cartoon from a simpler time from yesteryear! This is so charming. You don’t get any more eclectic than this!(Betty starts singing in Japanese at about 3:45!)

Betty Boop? You kidding me? I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating rice crackers!

I think it is interesting the date of this cartoon; it is a mere 5 years before the 1940 Tokyo Olympics were scheduled to start! Just like today, 5 years until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics! This just shows that a good film or video production in English or Japanese truly does speak a million words!

Oh, and here’s one more thing that will blow your mind, Betty Boop is STILL popular in Japan! I see her image on girl’s bags and accessories and see her image on posters around Tokyo to this very day… I’d bet that, in 2015, Betty Boop is much more popular in Japan than in the States.

Discount Video Production Services Have Arrived!〜格安動画制作サービスが始めました〜

2015年2月13日 / No Comments

Everyone is thinking everyday about the state of the economy and where the business opportunities lay. The Tokyo Olympics is coming to Japan in 2020 and that means there’s a massive opportunity for Japanese businesses, large and small, to capitalize of the media focus on Japan as well as the large influx of foreigners who will be heading here over the next 5 years. 

On that note, I came upon a small news article buried in the very back of a publication. It dropped my jaw. Read on.

Robot55 has been doing video production in Tokyo for Japanese companies that want to target the domestic market, as well as the influx of foreigners heading to Japan’s shores. Long ago, I did promotion, marketing and PR for mostly airlines and travel related industries. I have worked with Delta Airlines, Austrian Air, ANA, Lufthansa, helicopter companies as well as many major hotels and restaurants. Heck I have even made many videos for companies like Domino Pizza and did the voice over narrations on national TV commercials for Smirnoff Vodka, Success, Roomba Vacuum cleaners and many others so I think we at Robot55, have a pretty good grasp of the state of that business.

helicopterExcel Air Service offers helicopter rides around Tokyo for a very reasonable price. Highly recommended!

When it comes to airlines, many airlines are cutting routes, services and amenities to passengers. The so-called “premium carriers” seem to be the hardest hit and the mid-class carriers want to change their image to “premium carrier.”

I think there is a big difference between wanting to be a premium class carrier and actually being one. Changing a middle class carrier into a premium one takes much more than a note handed down from corporate; it takes a fundamental shift in corporate culture. Some, of which, by the way, will be impossible for most carriers to accomplish.

On that note, I also am puzzled at how people perceive the term “Kakuyasu” in Japan. “Kakuyasu” means “super discount.” Most people seem to have a bad image in their head about this word, but I think this is nonsense and I also think that perceptions are quickly changing.

While many may gruff and snort at the term Kakuyasu, the public is eating it up. One good example is the discount liquor store that even put the term “Kakuyasu” in its name: Kakuyasu. Kakuyasu is a discount liquor store that originally started out as a family shop in 1921 and was derided as low class when it first incorporated as a chain discount liquor store in 1982. Now they have 140 stores all over Japan and are #1 in liquor store sales… Kakuyasu even outsells 7-11 in liquor sales in Japan!

So, while, still to this day, some people will hold their noses at the term “Kakuyasu,” the public loves it and has turned this particular store into a smash success that has over $860 million dollars (USD) in annual sales. 

We at Robot55 are targeting companies that want to make videos for the domestic audience as well as the flood of foreigners coming to Japan in the next 5 years and we aim to do that at a price that blows away the competition. The internet search engines give more weight to webpages that are updated often and that includes videos. Why spend ¥300,000 for one video when we can make your entire annual video campaign, including 3 videos for that price? This video below was made for the incredibly reasonable price of ¥80,000. That includes the entire video production team, editing, music and 100% customer satisfaction.

Albatross: http://youtu.be/E5B41Jio1MI

Won’t you contact us and let us give you a quote? We will not be outsold! Send us an email and let’s get started! Email us at: contact@robot55.jp

contact@robot55.jp

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NOTE: So, while the economy tanks and the old school belittles discount services and products, those services continue to make serious in-roads into to public consciousness and then increase their profitability.   

This brings me back to the point of this article and what I set out to write about in the first place. It is an interesting little topic that seems to have slipped between the cracks of the major news outlets. Now, a Chinese Low Cost carrier (LCC) is offering flights from Japan to Chinese for ¥4000. That’s less than  the taxi fare is from my home to downtown Tokyo (and that is only about 20 minutes!)  

Chinese discount carrier Spring Airlines will offer a 4,000 yen one-way ticket between Shanghai and Ibaraki Airport, about 80 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, from September 15 to 29 on a total of 14 flights, it said Wednesday. The discount fare will apply to around 10 percent of the total 180 seats per flight, while fares for other seats are set at between 8,000 yen and 26,000 yen.

Spring Airlines launched chartered flights between the two destinations in July, and has recently received approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to offer the 4,000 yen ticket.

So, like I said, while some will look down upon and thumb their noses at discount services and products, the public seems to want all it can get…. It reminds me of the old quote about giving the public what they want; 

When massive crowds attended the 1957 funeral of L.B. Mayer, the head of MGM, a writer was quoted as saying: “Well, it only proves what they always say, ‘Give the people what they want, and they’ll come out for it.'”

The smart businessman will recognize this for what it is.

 

The Tokyo Olympics – 1964 News Reels

2015年2月10日 / No Comments

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are coming. I was searching for information on the subject when I stumbled upon some old video of newsreel footage that show the scenes and I thought you might like to go with me on a blast to the past.

These two are Universal News newsreels (Yes, Universal used to do the news also!) Probably a common denominator between these videos of 1964 and the 2020 Olympics will be that the USA is probably one of the top two medal winners. I expect that China, and not the Soviet Union, will be the ones to beat in 2020.

This first one is entitled, “The Olympics – U.S. Widens Tokyo Lead from Oct. 19, 1964. Here’s the description:  “(1) brief shot of Harold Wilson of Britain (2) Tokyo Olympics as Hirohito watches; Sharon Studer wins 3rd medal in butterfly swim race; platform diving won by Leslie Bush; track events include 100 meter spring won by Hayes – slow motion of finish; women’s 100 meter (partial newsreel).”

By the way, did you know that Japan came in third in medals in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics? Wow! What’s happened since then? It’s anybody’s guess, but Japan has been an also-ran in the Olympics in the last few decades.

Here’s a medal chart:

1964 Olympics medal countWikipedia has all the details:

The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan from October 10 to 24, 1964. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan’s invasion of China, before ultimately being canceled because of World War II. The 1964 Summer Games were the first Olympics held in Asia, and the first time South Africa was barred from taking part due to its apartheid system in sports. (South Africa was, however, allowed to compete at the 1964 Summer Paralympics, also held in Tokyo, where it made its Paralympic Games debut.)

Tokyo was chosen as the host city during the 55th IOC Session in West Germany, on May 26, 1959. These games were also the first to be telecast internationally without the need for tapes to be flown overseas as they were for the 1960 Olympics four years earlier. The games were telecast to the United States using Syncom 3, the firstgeostationary communication satellite, and from there to Europe using Relay 1. These were also the first Olympic Games to have color telecasts (partially). Certain events like the sumo wrestling and judo matches, sports huge in Japan, were tried out using Toshiba’s new color transmission system; but just for the domestic market, not for any international coverage. History surrounding the 1964 Olympics was chronicled in the 1965 documentary film Tokyo Olympiad, directed by Kon Ichikawa.

The second video is about the dawning of the Bullet Train. Check it!

I think there is one more thing though that might be common about the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; There’s going to be lots of foreigners from around the world coming to Tokyo so Japanese businesses need to up their game and promote their businesses to these wealthy foreigners while they can!

Web video and local productions in various languages will be key to growing your business.

If you need anything concerning video production in Tokyo and video production in the English language, please ask us at Robot55.

Edit the Movie? A “Rock N Roll Ghost Story”!

2015年2月4日 / 1 Comment

Yes. Today is the big day! The day of the first edit session for that movie or video project you’ve been thinking about.

We are doing that too for our “Rock N Roll Ghost Story” movie today too.

shoot 012615Shooting session at Shibuya Milky Way Jan. 26, 2015. Bottom right, clockwise: Ken Nishikawa, Enrico Ciccu, Bogie, Dori, Danny (The 50回転ズ）Tatsuji Nobuhara (The Privates), Taro Furukawa (famous DeeJay), Tomomi Hiraiwa (actress) and Mike Rogers (playing dead guy).

 

The entire video production team got together two times in Tokyo. The first day was Jan. 23, in Komazawa in Setagaya-Ku in Tokyo; the second shoot was Jan. 26th in Tokyo’s famous Shibuya area.

The Robot55 team had everything together to make a perfect shoot; lighting, professional video team, director, professional actors and, of course, a screenplay.

The screenplay is a sort of “map.” We have to have a screenplay; don’t know where you are going to without a map, right?

I plan on posting some early edits here for your pleasure!

Stay tuned!

7万円で家宝をゲット！孫の代まで自慢出来るお子様の演奏・パフォーマンス・ビデオを制作しませんか？

2015年2月3日 / No Comments

うちの息子は子供ピアノコンクールで大変いい成績を残しており、受賞も何度かしています。とても自慢の息子ですが、大きな夢を叶える迄の道のりはまだまだ長く、これからだと思います。とはいえピアノ教師である妻と努力を重ねて既に叶えた夢も幾つかありますし、父親である私と一緒に努力して実現した夢だってあるのです。例えば一生残るプロ品質のYouTubeビデオ – そんな素敵なものを欲しがらない子供なんているでしょうか？

Continue Reading…

Video Shoot at a Shot Bar Named Albatross and a Izakaya named Chain

2015年2月2日 / No Comments

Last week we went to Shinjuku to shoot a wonderfully decorated bar named Albatross. Albatross is basically a shot bar and is one of the most interesting drinking places I have ever seen. It is in Omoide Yokocho just 2 minutes walk from Shinjuku station and it has a wild interior!

Ken shot the video and did a superb job of editing. This place is tiny, Ken uses his video production skills and creativity to make it look like a  huge museum. The place does kind of look like a museum, but it is quite cozy inside. Check it out!

Using the same model for Albatross, yesterday, we went all the way out to Fuchu and shoot a video for a restaurant/ bar named Chain. Chain is a nice, spacious establishment with great drinks and delicious food. Chain specializes in meat dishes such a braised steak, chicken and pork as well as a wide array of side dishes. I will post that video as soon as it is ready too!

We had a good time at the video shoot and I drank too much. I think I must owe Ken some money for drinks!