All posts in “video”

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)

facebook screen capture

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!

Yakitori video screen captureTo 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

 

Johnny Sokko and His Giant Robot – Giant Robo (ジャイアントロボ) For You Japanese Fans!

2015年2月22日 / No Comments

(Image at top is the first – totally ripped off design – of the robot for Robot55.)

May I brag? I’ve had so many people tell me that they love the Robot character we use for Robot55. Thanks. I made him myself…robot55sUh, no… That’s not true. Ayumi, our president made him. Besides being a sort-of genius engineer and designer, she’s a mad scientist!


Since I can remember, Japan has always had a lot of robots (be they real, giant or otherwise) as well as monsters and ghosts. When I was a kid growing up in Minnesota, we always thought it was strange. I remember asking my  mom (who was Japanese) why the Japanese had so many weird monsters and robots everywhere. It’s bizarre when you stop to think about it; Japan had lots of robots, etc. since way back when. Now, in 2015, Japan has robot restaurants and all sorts of funky aluminum creatures… And, as for monsters, I guess Fukushima Dai-Ichi could fit that bill.

How little did we realize when we were little kids, that this 60’s Japanese Kitsch was extremely cool…. How little did we realize that those toy cars made out of aluminum beer cans that came from Japan in the sixties would be worth thousands of dollars to collectors today. How could we realize, as little kids, how dumb we were? The robots, monsters and toy cars from Japan were waaaaaay cool. Us dumb dorky kids were the ones who weren’t cool.

I looked up some cool videos of the seminal Japanese robot character: Giant Robot. That cartoon was known as “Johnny Sokko and His Giant Robot” in the USA.  I turned on this Youtube video link and watched. “Ah!” I thought, “I remember this TV show! His finger is a rocket!”

A minute later, my wife peered out of the dining room, when she heard the theme song of Giant Robo and exclaimed, “I loved this TV show! When it ended, I cried and cried!” (She started to cry right there too! She’s so sweet)

Watching my wife relive a moment of her childhood brought tears to my eyes! She reminded me of my mother; and, her emotions remind me, once again, just how romanticist and delicate the Japanese can be.

I love Japan and the Japanese people! 

Here’s a trailer for Giant Robot…

… Maybe this is just one more clue into why the Japanese have a fascination with robots and giant radioactive creatures from space and the bottom of the ocean….


NOTES: Giant Robo first appeared in Weekly Shonan Sunday in 1967. The Giant Robo manga (comics) first appeared in a weekly comic book called Weekly Shōnen Sunday on May 1967. Written by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Giant Robo tells the story of Daisaku Kusama, the titular Robo and an evil secret society known only as “Big Fire.” In October of the same year, a live-action adaptation premiered on TV Asahi.

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.

Contact us and let’s get started making your company, service or product video: contact@robot55.jp

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/) 

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

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.

1966 Japanese kids

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

昭和39年東京オリンピック

2015年2月12日 / No Comments

ホモ・サピエンスの皆様こんにちは！ロボット・ゴー・ゴーです♬

2020年に東京で再びオリンピックが開催されるということでロボット界も大騒ぎなんですが、今日はここで今から半世紀以上前に東京で行われた最初のオリンピックのアメリカ・ユニバーサル・ニュースの貴重なアーカイブ・ニュース映像をご紹介したいと思います。

Continue Reading…

Is Your “Noren” Too Low? Izakaya? Chain New Youtube Video

2015年2月11日 / No Comments

In Japan, a Noren is the cloth sheet that hangs at the front of any establishment that shows that they are open for business. A customer must usually lift the Noren to enter any shop.

If a “Noren is too low,” then it is said that it becomes difficult for new customers to enter because they cannot see the inside of the shop. So, a Noren that is “Too Low” is bad for business. People want to be able to see inside your shop to see the look and atmosphere and staff. If they cannot, many people will hesitate to enter.

But, when you stop to think about it, if a customer is already at your shop’s entrance to where they can just lift up the Noren to look in, then you already have them at your shop’s front door and that’s half the battle of just getting them inside and becoming a customer.

But how about people who are far away or standing at the station waiting for friends and looking for a suitable place to dine or shop? Well, that’s where a video on Youtube and then embedded into your webpage or Facebook page or other Social Media can help you to get new customers and to help them to find you and enter your shop! With Youtube video, people can see inside your shop, meet you and see what kind of a place you are running, and then they can feel comfortable entering for the very first time.

You know what the old saying is? “Familiarity breeds content.” If people know what the inside of your place looks like and who you and the staff are, it makes it MUCH easier for them to enter.

There’s an interesting bar and eating establishment near Fuchu station named Chain. The restaurant specializes in a friendly and warm atmosphere and various dishes featuring quality beef and other cuts of choice meat braised or pan fried. I tried several of the dishes and they were quite delicious.

chain izakaya

Chain is run by a husband and wife team of Masamichi and Takeo Suzuki.

Chain doesn’t have their own webpage, but they decided to make a video for Youtube and place it on their Facebook page as well as on other social media sites. So we took the Robot55 team out to Chain and made the video for them and their customers as well as potential new customers.

Here is the video. I think with this, you can see what sort of place Chain is and the kind of people running it as well as get an idea about the food and drink menu.

With a video like this on your website or Facebook page or blog, new and first time customers can get a glimpse of what’s inside.

It makes it every easy for folks to lift the Noren at your shop and come on in. And that is good for your business!

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Izakaya? Chain

１８３－００４５ 東京都府中市美好町３－２－２－２０１号

3-2-2-201 Miyoshi-Cho, Fuchu City, Tokyo.

Hours: Mon – Sun:5:00 pm – 12:00 am

Tele: 042－207－2941

Map: http://yahoo.jp/fkvWZ9

 

 

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.

Life is Short – Keep Learning! Day of Editing and Color Correction〜ビデオ編集講座カラーコレクション編

2015年2月8日 / No Comments

“Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.” ― Isaac Asimov

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” ― Henry Ford

“I’m unpredictable, I never know where I’m going until I get there, I’m so random, I’m always growing, learning, changing, I’m never the same person twice. But one thing you can be sure of about me; is I will always do exactly what I want to do.” ― C. JoyBell C.

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Yesterday was a great day editing our Japanese Rock N Roll Ghost Story movie. It was fun.

I felt happy because of two important things:

1) We were creating our dream. I mean, it was me, us, we. We were creating our dreams by making the effort. There was nothing stopping us from making what we wanted to create and, therefore becoming who we are destined to be.

2) We were learning. We were all learning a new skill and how to become better at our craftsmanship. We learn by doing; by being; by making the effort. Isn’t this the way to live a fulfilled and happy life?

Today? I woke up happy and feeling good. It’s nice to be nearly sixty-years-old and wake up in the morning feeling good and thinking, “Gee! I learned something totally new yesterday.” No matter how old we get, we must continually keep learning and expanding ourselves and our universe.

There are quotes at the top of this page by the famous, but in my own Hollywwod, the quote might be:

“Life happens to people.”

Folks, keep learning! Live life to the fullest.

Yesterday, we had a day of editing and color correction on the Japanese Rock N Roll Ghost Story movie. It was the first time to have ever used Da Vinci software for color correction. I had never seen the software before. I now know why all the big Hollywood movies use it.

I mentioned before that we had finished the initial stages of video production and the trailer now looks set to be of “Hollywood” quality. I am expecting the trailer to be ready for your viewing within two weeks of this posting.

I look forward to more video editing, shooting, and post production in the next few days. I hope you do too.

We will keep you posted.

mr. pan 012615Mr. Pan, lead vocalist and guitar of the Neatbeats. Mr. Pan is starring in the film. (Photo by Osamu Arai)

To read more about: A Japanese Rock & Roll Ghost Story – click here: www.robot55.jp/rock-roll-ghost-story/