Steve Stockman's Blog

Dec 14

10 Tips for Great Holiday Video

By Steve Stockman Tips and Tricks, If you’re new to video, Better Home Video One Comment

Ah, Holiday memories. Like the time you think your dad told a hilarious story– but you can’t hear him on the video. Or the time young Sarah– or was it Matthew?– kept talking about “Santa Paws”. Hard to tell which, because whoever’s face is too dark to see. And let’s not even talk about the video you shot of the lights and place settings and decorations and presents and…um…hardly any people at all. Shouldn’t your Holiday video bring back memories… of the Holiday? Of course it should. And from now on it will. Just follow these 10 tips for…

Nov 04

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New Show: DOGS OF WAR debuts Veterans Day on A&E

By Steve Stockman Television, Press Leave a comment

Another new show that I’m very proud of, and another show with “dogs” in the title. But “Dogs of War” actually has dogs in it. Congrats to showrunner/EP Peter LoGreco and his team for a really great job. This is a smart, emotional journey through the world of veterans with PTSD, and the service dogs who save their lives. Here’s the Hollywood Reporter review of the premiere. And here’s the ENTIRE FIRST EPISODE from A&E. Hope you enjoy it! Check out these posts for more: Brew Dogs is Back! Another 10 episodes of our hit show Brew Dogs starts this Wednesday, June 25…

Oct 13

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Making Interview Videos That Hold Their Attention

By Steve Stockman Tips and Tricks, Video Marketing, For Pros, Your Questions Answered One Comment

I made a recent job shift from corporate training to being the “video guy”. I am responsible for capturing “Success Stories” of customers who have installed and use our products. The biggest thing that I’m struggling with now is telling a story that intrigues people and keeps them watching. I just finished your book, and as I think back through some recent edits I completed, I now know the intrigue wasn’t there. How do I find the the most intriguing way to present customer stories in interview videos? –Ken I am going to give you the secrets of intrigue right here, Ken, and…

Sep 30

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Getting from Idea to Film: Collaboration

By Steve Stockman Video Marketing, For Pros, Your Questions Answered One Comment

I’m a post production artist in Chicago. I mostly stick to editing, motion graphics and VFX’s, But recently I’ve done something different. I’ve written a short film! Most of the paper work is done– Storyboards, Shot list, Prop List, even a Budget. Now I’m stuck and I’m not sure what the next step is. Any advice? –Charles J. Williams You have all the successful elements for a great short film, Charles. Now all you need are the people. Video is an art that demands collaboration. Unless you’re shooting scenery or possibly your cat, you’re going to need other humans to help…

Sep 18

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Three Never-Fail Secrets to a Career In Entertainment

By Steve Stockman Video Marketing, For Pros, Your Questions Answered 4 Comments

I wanted to be in Entertainment, but somehow, in the last several years, I wound up working in Financial Services. Determined to get back on the right path while at my last horrible job–working for a banking corporation–I decided to update my skills by buying new equipment and software. I also have been taking opportunities in my chosen industry. I’ve been an actor in a feature film and currently am a Production Assistant. Do you have any suggestions about what more I can do to make this career change from the utterly uncreative world of financial services to the place I’ve always wanted to be? –John Thiel It…

Sep 05

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“Lensing In” to Find What Your Video is About

By Steve Stockman Tips and Tricks, Video Marketing, Teaching and Training, For Pros, Your Questions Answered One Comment

So, @SteveStockman I’m ready for a critique of one of my videos. I’m interested in ideas for improvement. –Paul (Mr. Adventure) @bcoutdoor via twitter Pretty video, Paul, and I can’t tell you how much I love being inside on a nice day writing about it instead of breathing fresh air and paddling across a lake. Okay, not that much. The entire basis for my critique of this video can be found in the description you posted on YouTube. It’s very accurate, and as goes the description, so goes your video: Two weeks ago we spent the weekend hiking and packrafting around…

Sep 01

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Back to School Video

By Steve Stockman Tips and Tricks, If you’re new to video, Better Home Video 2 Comments

At my house we have a back to school video tradition. Every year on the first day of school, my wife makes the kids pose on the front porch for pictures. They’ve complained and whined about it since they were 3, but they also like to look back and see how they’ve changed. Now let’s take the tradition a little farther—how about a quick video interview on the first day of school every year? You can not only see, but hear how they’ve changed. The passage of time in video is its own story. What other video traditions can you…

Aug 27

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Limited Resources for Shooting Video

By Steve Stockman Video Marketing, For Pros, Your Questions Answered Leave a comment

I am an absolute video newbie and am now filming my Church’s small service on Sundays. I have a basic camcorder, but our resources are few. There is lots of movement and many things/events happening unexpectedly that are important to capture. I can’t position my self centrally in front of the speaker due to the arrangement of the chairs, so I have been filming him from the side. I want to do a good job of this. Any advice? –Susan Limited resources. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a filmmaker whine about limited resources, I still…

Jun 22

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Brew Dogs is Back!

By Steve Stockman Video Marketing, For Pros, Press One Comment

Another 10 episodes of our hit show Brew Dogs starts this Wednesday, June 25 at 9pm on the Esquire Network. If you like beer, travel, food or amusing Scottish people, this is your show. Please tell all your friends immediately. And if you’d like to show them how hip you truly are, you can watch the premiere episode early– right here, right now! *******UPDATE: There was a free preview here at the beginning of the season. But it’s gone now. You can still catch up on all things Brew Dogs here — including complete episodes for free if you have Esquire…

May 21

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Every Video Needs a Hero

By Steve Stockman Tips and Tricks, Video Marketing, Television One Comment

When somebody asks you what a movie is about, you probably say something like this: “It’s about a guy who decides to say ‘Yes’ to everything he’s asked to do” or “it’s about a girl who gets flown to another world in a tornado.” Great movies are about someone. So are great videos. The person your video is about is your hero. By hero I don’t mean that they have to kill bad guys or become a vampire—rather, they’re simply the focus of your video. They’re the person who does something, or that something happens to. Why are you shooting…