[mplpost] Video promotion

[Bill Usher]

I agree with George's comments below and they do apply to many other
presenting organizations outside of the "folky" designation that Tony gives
himself.

As I mentioned in a recent email, I've been on both sides of the "showcasing
application". I've seen juries who always want to view video but be very
picky about the kind, style and content of the video they're appraising. If
you're looking at something on a TV you expect it to look like "tv" so how
you present what you want them to see is very tricky.

I've seen applicants submit a fast-paced highly edited video that shows the
performer in a variety of situations and a juror will opine that they want
to see a full uninterrupted performance. Put a full performance in front of
that same juror and then they want to fast forward and skip through to
different 'scenes'.... Duh!

I also warn that jurors/presenters can be severely derailed by the quality
of the video and start to critique that instead of looking through the
"craft" of the video to the "art" of the captured performance.

It's a minefield but I agree with George.... For many presenting situations
they don't even consider you now unless you have a great video. It's also a
function of age as Dugg pointed out. Some are more likely to respond to
computer technology than they would putting a video into the player.

My recommendation is to try and finagle a gig with a live tv show. I did
this with the Rogers community channel in Waterloo a dozen years ago. They
did a three camera shoot of my hour long show and edited it to 30 minutes.
They got to play it a bunch of times on their station, I got a TV video to
use as promotion.

Last year I gave some marketing assistance to a local band called the Prima
Donnas.... They got on TVO's Studio 2 and played three songs - great video,
great sound. We put it on the web site (theprimadonnas.com) and now they're
getting email from festivals in Europe etc. who are turned by the video.

It's a tricky path, Tony. Best of luck.

Bill

> From: George.Sampson@statcan.ca
> Reply-To: maplepost@icomm.ca
> Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 15:43:00 -0500
> To: maplepost@icomm.ca
> Subject: RE: [mplpost] Video promotion
> 
> 
> Comments so far may well enough be true ... for Canada,
> but very different for festivals abroad. International
> festivals' organizing committees often want to see the artist
> 'in action', be it on old-fashioned vhs, or dvd or vcd
> before considering engaging the artist. In my experience,
> for example, festivals in China absolutely demand a video
> component to the package. By the way, digital video formats
> such as dvd or especially vcd may be 'new media' and the wave of the future
> in North America but this is old hat in the Orient.
> 
> For now,
> George Sapounidis
> International performer
> Ottawa
> 
> 
> 
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