Win a Video/Photo Shoot! There are several ways to enter below… choose one or all. The more entries, the better chance you have to win. Enter every day if you wish. Contest ends on April 23th, 2013. Winner be chosen on April 23th & will be notified via e-mail. GOOD LUCK!

The Next Big Thing Is A Branding + Video + Photo + Facebook Strategies + Client Getting VIP Day. You’ll get 2 videos plus at least 5 lifestyle photos.


Please note: I run a very legitimate giveaway. All entries are checked for accuracy and will be validated. Clicking on “enter” ensures that your task has been completed. If your task has not been completed, your entry will not be counted and will be considered invalid. If you are chosen as the winner of this contest and you have not completed the task(s) that you claim to complete, a new winner will be randomly chosen. So please be sure that you have completed a task before clicking “enter”. Thank you for your co-operation.
Watch the video below. Does this describe you?

Your shoot must take place by May 2nd 2013. Your video shoot is non-transferrable and may not be redeemed for cash value. The shoot offer expires on May 2, 2013 and can not be renewed. The shoot must take place in New York City and at a location to be determined by Jalanda James.

Learn How I Reverse Engineered 5 Top Entrepreneurs & Made $19,000 doing it wrong when you sign up for my newsletter. NextBigThingAcademy.com

I joined Marie Forleo RHH B School last year. I have invested over $25,000 in my education over the last 2 years and this has to be one of the best investments I’ve ever made.

I’ve never been a quiet chick (Thank God!) nor perfect. But that actually ended up working in my favor — for once.

The B School community communicates via a Facebook group.

It’s quite lively.

There are over 2,000 members. Some stand out – some don’t.

We Want You!

Then I got an email from Marie’s assistant telling me that she was sending her email AGAIN to see if I’d be interested in participating in a video for Marie.
Resending? What? Damn Spam folder!

I quickly jumped on the chance to have any part of a Marie Forleo project. Then paused.

The only instructions given were to wear a bright color and kept quiet because not every B Schooler was invited.

Imagine my surprise when I showed up and discovered there were only 10 women chosen of the 2000 members. I couldn’t believe I was one of them.

It’s funny, because I did a video of two of the women before. We laughed cause we couldn’t mention it to each other days before when we spoke.

Why Me?

As we had fun, sans alcohol, I got a chance to chat with Marie’s assistant.

First I had to ask a few Marie questions, you know I’m nosey. I learned a lot about how efficiently Marie runs her business.

Then I asked why me. Marie’s assistant shared that they loved watching my videos, and thought that I was hilarious!

Me. The Erica Kane of Marie Forleo video contests, made an impression. Yea!

So being loud and trying isn’t a bad thing after all.

What…

Now here is the big tee-hee. I almost didn’t do it. It’s no secret that I’ve been struggling with my weight for the last 2 years. It’s winning. But it was always in my head, to just wait til I’m perfect to put myself out there. Imagine if I would have waited til I was perfect? I would have missed out on this kickbutt opportunity.

So don’t wait til you’re perfect, because you never know what opportunities you’re missing out on.

P.S. If you’re thinking about signing up for Marie’s RHH B School, see my review here. I’m offering the only tangible bonus out there. J

Yes, the attention span of everyone is shrinking – especially mine. I told my sister the other day to skip the ending to a story she was telling and move on to the next. She paused and said “I’m a real person, not Tivo”. Too funny!

This is one of the longest videos I’ve ever created. My initial aim when sitting down to edit the video was 2 minutes. But no matter how I tried to cut it, it felt like all those necessary pieces ended up being 3 minutes.

If you watch it, you won’t feel like it’s 3 minutes. They have such a great story.

That’s the secret to creating longer engaging videos, tell a story.

About The Video

I’m not a mom. After hanging out with my niece and nephew for too long I begin to wonder if I’m cut out for that.

Moms are Superwomen!

Victoria Colligan, President of Ladies Who Launch, wanted to create a video to share her newest project called Kidgistix.com

Victoria and her partner John product helps moms better manage their kids schedules and their own.

I shot this video in space in New York City.

One of the best things about this video is how they mix personal with business. Their story introduces you to the main players, their mission, and how this product came to be. Pretty good. All the things people want to know about a business.

So the next time you find yourself with a longer video, tell a story so you’ll create a more engaging video. When you’re telling a story, you can have more time, and it won’t feel like forever.

Story matters.

These are some of the terms I’ve heard clients use in the past. But they are right. Here’s why!

A great video takes times to capture. A LOT to time.

You are going to need patience.

Video is the kind of thing where if you don’t do it right, it’s ruined. You have to go back and do it all over again.

What a waste of time. It’s best to do it right, the first time.

Because my last few clients have run out of steam in the middle of a shoot, I felt it was my fault that they weren’t properly prepared as to what expect on a shoot.

It’s very difficult to video people when they are bored, hungry, and generally don’t want to participate in the shoot anymore. The video suffers. I have to rush, mistakes are made, and footage is ruined.

Why? It’s such a waste of time for all parties involved when this happens. Anything not captured correctly is garbage.

Shooting a video is way different than anything you’ll ever do. It’s more involved than you would think. It does not simply involve just pressing record.

If a shoot is rushed, a number of important considerations are missed and the video will turn out less than stellar.

One of the most important ingredients for a great video is PATIENCE. Here are a few other tips to help you get the best video.

1. Set Aside Enough Time.

Creating a professional video takes time. It definitely takes more time than just pulling out your IPhone and pressing record. If you want a talking head video, that should take 1 hour or less. If you want a Slice Of Life video where there is more going on than just you talking to the camera, you need to budget a full 4 hours of time. Not 1, Not 2, 4 hours! Now will it take the entire 4 hours? Probably not. But it’s better to get your mind wrapped around 4 hours versus the disappointment of 2 hours turning into 3, turning into 4. So plan for 4 hours. Other videographers budget for 8 hours, but I try to streamline the process.

a. Expect Setup
Once I arrive on your location, I have to scout out the best location. This may involving moving furniture multiples times in order to find the best angle. Expect this process to last about 20-30 minutes.

b. Lighting Takes Time
Next I have to setup my lighting equipment. This is an important step to help you look your best. This is a trial and error process until the right look is achieved. Expect this process to last about 20-40 minutes.

As you can see, a lot has to take place before you even step in front of the camera. You should plan on giving me 1 hour of UNINTERRUPTED setup time. While small talk is generally a good thing, however, in this moment it is not appreciated as there are a number of factors that are occupying my mind.

2. Prepare Your Thoughts For 1-2 minute videos.

You are not an actor, so you won’t have a script. You are not in a documentary, so you don’t have time to fully develop your story. You are creating a 1-2 minute video. Your thoughts need to be waaay more focused. You should collect your thoughts before the filming. You don’t have to have a script, but notecards of your essential points are gold. Otherwise, the editor has to go through 20 minutes of footage looking for 20 seconds. Not fun.

3. Keep Your Energy Up.

After filming your interview portion, you will be tired. Who knew talking could be tiring. People think they are done filming, after the interview. And you are if you are doing an About Me video. But for the Slice Of Life video the interview is only 1/4 of the video. Other scenes have to be captured to complete the video. This additional footage is called b roll, and capturing b roll takes time.

I could just whip out the camera and press record, but you want to look your best don’t you. Depending on your lighting situation, a new lighting setup has to be established for EACH SCENE. Otherwise, it looks bad and what’s the point. We’ll waste time recording things that we can’t use in the video.

How much b roll has to be captured? For a 2 minute video, you should see a new visual on the screen every 3-6 seconds. Doing the math at 5 seconds each, that averages out to about 24 different visuals. You can designate 1/4 of the shots to be interview shots. So that leaves about 18 different shots that need to be captured.

I can capture those 18+ different shots in a variety of ways and will using a variety of videographer tools. But be conscience that different tools take time to setup up. If they are setup hastily and incorrectly, they are useless.

4. Be Patient.

It’s better to have too much material than too little. So you must be patient so that I have time to gather more than enough footage.

This is where the cheezy and stupid part come in.

If you have an activity that you can engage in authentically, then you have no problems. I will work around you capturing these different shots.

If you are only performing the action for the camera, you have to continue that said activity with JOY for an extended period of time. 20 seconds is not going to cut it.

Dig deep if you have too, but you have to push through your boredom, uncomfortableness, etc. in order to get the shot. You’ll be so happy in the end that you did.

5. Eat Before & Durning if Necessary.

I’ve had my last 2 shoots ruined because my clients wanted to go eat. We can end the video shoot early, but when I give you the video back, you won’t remember that we had to end early because you were hungry. You’ll only remember that the video is less than stellar.

So please eat something before. Bring something for during too. You should have some time to kill while I set up.

So if you want to have a great video, you have to be patient and set aside the time. A great video can be completed in 4 hours, a less than great video can be completed in 2 hours. But that is a super duper rush job with fingers crossed.

So be patient and your video will come out great.

Thank you and I can’t wait to create a great video with you.

Sora Surya No wanted a homepage video to explain what she has to offer as a life coach. She has a different approach and needed a way to communicate it to her prospects.

I’m now offering to shoot on location. Shooting on location yields a chance to include more visuals than just a person talking to the camera. (My fave).

Shooting at Sora’s location was not an option and neither was my tiny New York City apartment. So we headed to Central Park.

Sora is one funny, happy, smart, easy-going woman. She laughed the whole time durning our 3 hour shoot in Central Park.

When I sat down to edit her video, I wanted to make sure her humor and easy going style was communicated to her prospects. This video shows both her fun side, her mission, and her story — all in under 1.5 minutes.

I also learned a a lot shooting in the park. It’s not the ideal place. Central Park has a ton of people: Most of whom, don’t care that they are in your shot. (I know right;-).

While we were shooting, a family with 2 kids sat down next to us. They were blowing up and releasing balloons. You can imagine the noise. Ugh! So I had to go ask them to move. Not fun. Thank God the Mom only looked slightly perturbed.

I’m looking for a space just for this reason. I’ll keep you posted.

If you want a video done at your location or a different location, please email me at jalanda at jalandajames.com.

Vanessa Coppes is one of those women you just look at in awe. She’s a mother, a stylist, a writer, a blogger, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff that I’m not at liberty to mention. She’s cool.

She earned my awe when she showed up ONTIME at a networking meeting 8 months pregnant, AFTER driving from Staten Island in the snow. And she looked fabulous. I was late. Me: single, childless, fashion-less, city living, girl was late. Mmm-hmmm.

So now, I know if a mother of 2 who now lives in Jersey can get somewhere on time, I have no excuse.

Vanessa wanted a video that gave an overview of how fun, giving, and talented she is. We shot this in her New Jersey home. She has a great story with natural presence.

Vanessa wrote on her blog “Jalanda James, captured my story in video (in under 2 minutes)…what an amazing job she did!!!!”

I entered Marie Forloe Rich Happy Hot Schlarship contest. I didn’t win. But I had fun.

I have a slew of “fun video” ideas that I never seem to get to. Except when it comes to the latest Marie Forleo Scholarship attempt. The time constraint definitely kicked me into action. Plus I’ve been dying to do a black and white video.

I found out about it only the day before it was due.

I didn’t know what I was going to make a video about and I wasn’t sure I was going to enter. I haven’t had much luck in the past. (Read I’ve entered but never won).

But as does most things that I do before bed go, the idea presented itself in my sleep.

So when I awoke, I had a my video concept in my head and had to spend time plotting out the camera angles, lighting, and wording.

In the past, my entries were professional, more professional than the rest, but a little under.

Don’t get me wrong, my past videos took me like 10 hours or more. This video took me 5 hours to film, and a few more hours to edit. (I know right). But I got it in with like like 9 minutes to spare. Yea rushing.

But the prize value was worth $2000. So I kept saying to myself it’s like you’re getting paid $2000 for this video. But I gotta admit while that thinking fueled me durning filming, it’s not working after filming. Go figure.

So anyway, I made a concise decision to challenge myself.

As you can see from my past video examples, I am a lover of talking head videos. I think they are a great way to get a point across and when done right, they are not boring. See Lauren Fritsch video. Short, sweet, not boring, and meaningful.

So I thought I could just do the amateur roll out of bed, pull out my Iphone, record and upload video route. This is the route that most of Marie’s past winners do. I don’t know if they all just roll out of bed part. If so, those are some pretty morning women. I just meant to say, not too much planning is involved.

Hint: If you want to win a Marie scholarship video, then don’t go professional. Your chances are better if you just use your Iphone and go in your bathroom.

But that wouldn’t be true to my brand, as scattered as my brand is. So I went the other way.

The walk down my hallway towards the light took me 45 minutes to nail. Whoo Child. But I knew it would be impactful.

“Whoooo! I also liked the thoughtful walk- down-hall commentary.” ~ Shannon

So the comments made me it all seem worth it. At least people got it.

In the coming weeks, you’ll be noticing more videos that aren’t just the talking head. They will have more scenes to them. But I’m still keeping my story telling element in my videos, because I don’t like to leave a video going “WTF. It looked pretty but what was the point”. So stay tuned.

A talking head can be more effective than a sizzle reel, especially when done right.

One of the big takeaways from Marie’s contest is that 9/10 winners are just talking to the camera. So talking heads have impact. They aren’t all boring. Remember that when you are looking to get your message out there. It’s the messaging + emotion that really matters. That’s the bottom line.

Here is one of my favorite videos.

I met Lauren Fritsch at a networking event. She was suppose to be the timekeeper. But because she did such a horrible job, I had to fire her. We always laugh about that.

Lauren is one of those magnetic people. You can’t help but be drawn to her. She is one of the most authenic, real, people, I’ve ever met. Just a fun, fun, fun girl.

I got a chance to shoot Lauren on my white background. We also played around in the park a bit. This is my edited video that I liked. You can visit Lauren’s website here.

I know you’re wondering if this video thing really is worth it. It’s very important that before recording any video, you establish a clear objective.

There are multiple ways to measure your video success. Of course everyone would like a viral video, but that’s based on luck and most videos rarely reach more than 100 views, much less viral video status.

So now that your viral video dream has been shot down, here are some clear objectives to help you define your Video Marketing ROI.

Don’t Depend On Views

30% of videos on YouTube gets less than 100 views. But that’s ok. The numbers may be off. It’s been debated whether YouTube counts views from videos embedded on external websites. While views are one indicator to whether your videos are being viewed, a better indicator is the feedback and comments you receive from your visitors. If you land (1) additional client per video, then you can mark video as being a success for your marketing efforts. That’s one more client in your pocket than you would have had.

How do you know if it was the video that did the trick? Your new client will tell you. If they don’t tell — you ask them. They’ll say things like “After watching your video, I knew I had to work with you”. I had clients say that to me and I have heard it said to others.

2. Don’t Be Too Hasty

After you upload a video, you think the flood gates are going to roar open. Wrong. Sometimes it can take days, months, and even years for a video to land. But the best part is as long as your video hosting site is around, that video will be alive. Depending on the treatment from Google, that video can bring you clients or traffic for years to come.

An additional bonus of continually adding videos is that you will be assembling a collection of work. It’s been said that people need to be introduced to the same concept 7-9 times before they embrace it. Your collection of videos will serve as your constant reminder and will handle the repeated exposures for you. So while it’s impossible to ever believe you’ll ever upload more than (1) video when you’re starring at a (0) video Youtube account. You’ll be amazed that after steadily uploading videos, you’ll assemble a collection beyond your dreams. I know that’s how I feel when I look at my video collection.

3. Do Measure Your Comfort Level.

Like all things worth doing, practice makes perfect. That certainly is the case with video. Trust me, you will hate your first video. I know I did. Especially after looking back on it. Whew Child. But the thing is the more you do it, the better you get.

I got one of the best compliments from Ann. Our first video shoot was a great learning lesson for us both. By the second video shoot, we both had improved.

“I also have to tell you that yesterday I started filming an episode of HGTV’s _________. I have you to thank for how relaxed I am now on camera. In fact they all totally assumed that I’d done TV before… I have been telling EVERYONE about my before/after experience with you, your ears must be burning every few days. Thanks again for everything. ~Ann”

In closing, video is never a wasted effort. Who knows where your increased camera presence will lead you.

If you want an engaging “About Me” video that will get your clients excited to work with you, schedule a Free 15 mins Video Brainstorming Session with me. Click here.

Dear Blog,

This is my “no blog post” blog post.

I wanted to adore you with a sizzling, witty video. But (and get ready here come some excuses) I just couldn’t get it together to record a video.

See for you to have a video on your beautiful white page, I need to first shower. And to be quite honest showering isn’t as high on the list as you’d think when you work from home. So yes, showering is an obstacle.

Then I have to put on some makeup. I actually quite enjoy that part, which is probably when I end up taking an hour to do some pretty basic makeup.

Then and here comes the hard part — I have to pick out an outfit. Simple right. Wrong.

I hate shopping and have since temporarily outgrown my favorite outfits. A reasonable girl would’ve when out and purchased more clothes but in case you didn’t get it, I hate shopping.

So choosing an outfit is an hour long event. It has to cover my stomach, my arms, and look reasonably ok. I’m working on making picking clothes easier by fitting into my old clothes. Yea. But that ain’t the story today.

You think I’m ready to record now right. Nope. We now more on to the setting up of the video area which includes the lighting and the audio.

Finally we get to the content portion which sometimes comes out of inspiration but other times, is just “Oh my god Friday is almost here. Crap!”

It’s a lot. But when the stars align and I get my ish together to make you a video to adore in your space, you love it. And so do others. Today that is not the case.

It’s days like video recording day that I wish I could be my own client. All I want to do is show up, record, and go home. See universe, this is yet another reason I need a husband;-).

So no video for you today. But I’ll get one ready for your next Friday.

Thanks for understanding.