TIZA iPad Clapperboard is 2 years old and STILL top of the charts

TIZA’s iPad Clapperboard is 2 years old and STILL top of the charts

We’re proud parents to this great app which still sells over 100 downloads a week – perfect for any video production. An update is coming soon so watch this space…

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/tiza-dslr-slate-20-20-clapperboard/id602656332?mt=8

You can download the TIZA VIDEO AGENCY Slate at Apple’s App Store worldwide

The TIZA DSLR Slate® 20/20 is a mini revolution for the indie film maker. We’re a London Video Agency and we took a good close look at all the Clapperboard Apps on the iPad and came to the conclusion we needed to make something altogether more simple and modern for ourselves. We wanted to create a great-looking, native HD iPad App which would challenge the traditions of slating a movie production, make the process more intuitive and more relevant to faster DSLR style productions but maintaining the cool look of a traditional clapperboard/film slate.

The TIZA DSLR Slate® 20/20 is a 21st Century semi-pro option for talented, pragmatic movie makers who need to keep a tight log of their shoot but also want an clapperboard App that’s affordable, looks great and takes better advantage of the what an iPad can do.

Questions we asked ourselves during development our Movie Slate:
What do we REALLY need to see on the slate?
Why would I need to show the Director and Cameraman if the director or cameraman is likely to be me?
Who ACTUALLY uses TimeCode anyway?
How can we make this useful, simple, user-friendly without being too basic?

Give me a break!
Out with the old and in with the new – this is the 21st century for godness sake. If some slates are the Rolls Royce of clapper board Apps then The TIZA DSLR Slate® is the Smart Car! A perfect example of why we think the traditional slate is outdated would be the ‘MOS’ text on a traditional clapperboard… sure, most of us know it means ‘Motor Only Shot’ or for some, a bastardized German phrase alledgedly popularised by Fritz Lang in the 1940’s, ‘Mit Out Sound’ ! – What the hell!??
We replaced MOS with two simple mic-ON mic-OFF icons but also added two new icons to quickly and clearly show if the sound source is direct into camera or into a remote mic or both – giving the editor a clear production guide and allow them to work faster.

Check out the video on our support site to see how the TIZA DSLR Slate® works and what functions will help your production.

Here’s what we chose to include on the TIZA Clapperboard, which turned into this list of cool feature functions:

• Traditional clapper stick operation with an additional 1 second digital signal and visual key.

• Color chevrons to show instantly if the camera or editing monitor are producing accurate color

• Editable Project title plus scrollable Scene and Take logs.

• An animated spinning film reel to provide a visual key that the camera is recording and that the slate is activated.

• An editable L.E.D. style panel to toggle between the name of the scene, the current time or a stopwatch style timer.

• Locked Date and Time display

• Panels to show which Memory Card you’re using and type of Camera

• Editable Production company

• Lens type and frame rate indicators

• A ‘Take Log’ feature to mark good and usable ‘takes’ – then email the captured settings to your edit work station.

• Padlock icon to lock the display to avoid accidentally changing settings mid use.

• ‘Reset or Clear’ trashcan icon.

• On/off icons to indicate Interior or Exterior – Day or Night – With or Without Sound – In-Cam or External mic source.

• Lock ON or OFF indicator

In short, the TIZA DSLR Slate® displays a degree of information which will be quick to edit, easy to understand and help, rather than hinder your production – sure we know there are always going to be things you want or need but we wanted to build an App we, as young DSLR shooters, would be happy to use and beed seen using.

What the industry (might) say:

Take a look at what Hollywood might have said about The TIZA DSLR Slate®

Orson Welles: “I just love this thing, it’s bright, colorful and very light…. What is it?”

Alfred Hitchcock: “What a splendid device, how does it glow like that? Is it some kind of projector?”

Cecil B. DeMille: “This makes no sense to me whatsoever… get this trickery out of my sight NOW!”

Do viral videos still exist?

A genuine viral is a rare thing unless you not only have the budget to produce something decent but also promote the thing to the hilt… so do viral videos still exist?

As a video agency used to being asked to produce viral videos on a regular basis, sadly we have to say the answer is no – viral videos don’t really exist in the way the used to, at least not commercially.  The question should be, can I get my video to be seen by millions? to which we’d say yes, but only if you have the cash! You see the reality is, if you have money to promote your video, no matter what it is, you can probably pay to promote ANY video to what we would have referred to historically as viral levels.

Many videos which do qualify for viral status – i.e. more than 150,000 views in less than 48hours tend to be non commercial whereas 5 years ago it would have been relatively easy for a big brand to release a fairly average (by todays standards) video and hit the million mark within hours. Now you need to do a great deal more than simply have a quirky idea.  It’s all to do with the sheer number of videos being published every hour, today, compared with back then – upload volumes have grown exponentially and as a result, the amount of effort required to get a video in front of an audience which it utterly saturated in content is VERY hard to achieve. Unless of course you have a promotional budget which is well targeted and involves a high spend over a short time period. Tiza Video agency believe that a major brand like Nike or Apple would easily be able to allocate a million dollars PER HOUR for 24hours worldwide in order to promote the right product.  This means a super-intense advertising spend covering everything from print media to TV to affiliate to banners to sponsorships across every channel known to man in order get a viral level result.  The sad thing is, there was a time when we thought that the web would provide a level playing field for advertising and promoting products but now that the TRUE VIRAL IS DEAD, that’s no longer the case. Only big brands with fat budgets truly enjoy the sort of viral penetrations anyone could have achieved 5 years ago.

http://tizavideo.com/features/portfolio/our-work/#prettyPhoto/0/

How to make good B2B Video

As a London video agency we’re often asked how to make good B2B Video.

As a full service video production agency involved with helping businesses to promote what they do and sell through video – we has some pretty simple rules largely based on good old common sense. Companies offering their wares to other businesses have found to their detriment that the traditional production video and broadcast pros, have lack the flair, creativity and confidence to sell business to other business. It’s a world of their own making, just saying the phrase Corporate Video sends shivers down the spine of anyone who has been brought up in those days when these films were diabolically dull.  It’s only very recently, (and I mean the past 2 to 3 years) that the new wave of creative, slightly maverick and most importantly, affordable production agencies have risen. Forgive the generalisation, but in the wrong hands, business video content has the potential to thoroughly bore the chuff off any viewer. The problem is that the old school video producers did just that – they were also using the wrong equipment and were way too expensive. TIZA are not like this.

It takes a lot of creative and marketing confidence to make good B2B video content because on the face of it, subject matter is seen as complicated, niche and dry.  You need confidence and creativity to look at an average business offering and see a story worth telling. It’s not easy to sit in a meeting of enthusiastic marketing executives excitedly attempting to nail their script when you know that there’s a mountain to climb before anyone can come up with anything like watchable content.  So yes, in many cases your videos have a very real chance of being complicated, niche and dry – unless you are realistic about how they can be executed and how well you choose your video agency.  Our video production rules are simple, keep it short, stylish and watchable.

New Video work for 2015 – and that’s just 3 weeks into 2015

Already the phone’s gone crazy with new video work for 2015 – and that’s just 3 weeks into 2015 and video is at the front of everyone’s mind. We’ve already kicked off two projects with new client Unilever, got shooting dates in the book with creative gurus The Crocodile and Mum’s-to-be website Emma’s Diary are, as we speak starting to approve edits on their new year wave of filming.  TIZA are already the best and most creative video agency in Surrey* – we know this because people tell us our work has the creative edge that many a video company in surrey fail to deliver.

Having said this the competition is coming on thick and fast with twice as many video production companies in surrey coming online since this time last year. Some of them are even quite good which even more reason for us here at TIZA Video agency to NOT rest on our video laurels! This coming year we plan to raise our production standards by several notches, investing in even better cameras, namely the new Sony PMX FS7 which will make full use of our canon EF lens stock. We’ve also just taken delivery of two new super LED panel lights which are more powerful and stable than anything yet seen on the lighting market.  We also have our new, all sing all dancing teleprompter which will be a hand bit of kit to have in the studio full time rather than renting one every week.

All this is great news for our clients and partners – better kit and higher production values, giving them value for money and keeping us ahead of the rest.

If you are looking for a corporate video company in Surrey or London and a video in mind why not call Ian Nuttall our Head of Production for video in Surrey today and he will me more than happy to discuss your needs.

Call the best video production in surrey today.

*Probably

TIZA est Charlie

As a relatively well established video company based in London we’ve had the privilege to have filmed in various parts of the world capturing footage from the mundane to the dramatic. We’ve taken risks as well as sat back and waited for the action to come to us, but recent events in france showing worldwide coverage of the violent acts which unfolded before our eyes served among many things to emphasise the power of video in todays newscasting.  We’re not newscasters we’re just a corporate video company in Surrey but our commitment to supporting those in the media who take real risks on a daily basis – whether that’s in video, web or ink on paper – those who stand for the truth and those who genuinely want the world to see things for what they really are – not falsehoods, not manipulated corporate media garbage but the truth and nothing but the truth.

If you are in any doubt about your own feeling on all this, try reading this by Russel Brand

http://www.russellbrand.com/2015/01/paris/

We support you.

Surrey Video Production

Here’s some great news, if anyone tells you that SEO doesn’t work, how’s this for a success story..

We’ve been fully operational as a video production agency (probably the first video agency in the UK) for 5 years and have invested a great deal of time and energy to SEO-ing ourselves. Not always, it has to be said, successfully – we’ve tried various so-called SEO experts who did little but take our money and not deliver but these experiences leave you with a good general knowledge of what needed to be done.  Without going into the nuts and bolts of what it is  seems to have been which has worked wonders for us, it HAS worked.  When you talk to people about Key Phrases for any particular industry the competitiveness for a give phrase will vary dramatically – imagine how keen the competition on ‘Car Insurance London’ would be.. However we decided on a modest set of 4 phrases which we have systematically plugged away at on every channel we appear in, this effort seemed totally fruitless for years when suddenly one day it all seemed to drop together – a true SEO bod would be able to tell you exactly why this is, we on the other hand believe it to be magic.

The most successful phrases we picked was Video Production Surrey which has seen us rise from nowhere to page 2 of Google. The fact that we do actually fit the mould – we really do represent video production in Surrey and believe we are still one of only a few Video Agency results in the country.  As producers of corporate video in surrey and London and producing some pretty good stuff I might add – you can see for yourself on our work page where I think you’ll find our Surrey video production show reel.

So, don’t give up, persevre with the SEO plug away at your key phrases and eventually something magic with happen.

What is a VIDEO AGENCY in London all about?

As THE first self declared VIDEO AGENCY in London we often get asked to explain why we decided to call ourselves a video agency rather just a production company.  The answer is quite simple, as a business we are crammed with creative talent from a range of marketing and creative backgrounds from film production, script and copy writing through to branding expertise and animation and design. So naturally when we set up TIZA Video Agency in 2008 we knew we would offer more than your average video production company. We we’re all very used to marketing businesses through a multitude of digital channels and that video suited our combined talents very well – hence the VIDEO AGENCY was born.

As of today we’re still dining out on the fact TIZA is probably the first video in the UK.  There’s challenge which we’d be happy to discuss with anyone who believes otherwise.

Why would a business choose a video agency and not a video production company ? The answer in our case is that you get a whole lot more thrown into the mix.  You get genuine marketing creatives working on your project, you get people skilled in page layout, web design and typographic working on your titles, animations and graphics, you get music producers making or researching your soundtrack, you get talented young filmmakers and experienced art directors working together on YOUR video. And there’s more, you get marketing insight and business savvy advice on how to make video work for you – how to reach audiences you perhaps didn’t even know you had the potential to reach and best of all the confidence to produce and show video content you know your audience will be able to watch and enjoy.

VIDEO AGENCY means watchable video – Simples.

The perfect video production partner

Recently TIZA VIDEO have been approached by several marketing and communications agencies looking for the perfect video production partner – now we’re not saying we’re perfect by a long stretch, but we are perfectly positioned as a video production agency in London and Surrey to help.

Video is on everyone’s lips right now and new production companies are coming online daily, which is good in some ways because it means healthy competition for video work and choice for you the agency,  on the other hand more video makers  doesn’t necessarily mean BETTER choice, it can make it more tricky to find the kind of video production agency who are genuinely capable of understanding your industry, whether that is creative design, marketing communications PR or whatever – the point is a young and highly talented young team of filmmakers, can make delicious looking video BUT and this is a big BUT they are never going to understand the bigger picture of WHY the video is being made, WHO it’s being made for and WHAT it has to achieve for your client.  They will also struggle to be able to talk to your client in a mature and experienced manner in order to instil the confidence they need to make more video and develop an ongoing video production strategy which fits within the rest of their marketing activity.

Corporate video is a bit of a dated expression and being a London video production company, we wouldn’t want to appear to be unfashionable… however, Corporate Video is very much alive and well even if you don’t want to call it that. We’ve recently started referring to the corporate video as an ‘About us’ film OR a ‘Business Essence Video’ both of which are actually corporate videos but have the feel of the progressive digitally aware businesses they represent.

What else might you not get?  You might not get the production values you deserve for your video – sound is often neglected by the less experienced video production team, interview lighting is also a weak area for many new video production crews and of the course the skill required in editing can vary dramatically especially with less experienced teams.

The point we’re trying to make I guess – is to ask questions of the next video production agency you speak to, especially if the plan is to partner with a video agency and to white label video production on your own behalf.  Make sure you have a list of pertinent questions which will hopefully weed out the video producers you should not be considering.

Here’s a short list of 5 things you should ask as potential video production partner:

1/ Are you more than a one or two man band?
You need to be looking for a team of at least 4 who can deal with a good sized video production from end to end and communicate well.

2/ Ask to see some examples of their work.
If you don’t see anything you feel is close to what you need the likelihood is they haven’t made anything like this before and may not be capable of it – therefore you’re taking a big risk partnering with them.

3/ How much do they charge? Too cheap and you could regret it (you get what you pay for) Too expensive and you won’t have any room to mark-up their prices to your client.

4/ How mature are they? 23 year olds with Shoredich beards can work wonders, but can they communicate with you and your clients? In the same breath can a 60 year old ex-BBC cameraman really understand the finer points of making affordable sub 2 minute online video content?

5/ Finally do they fit your company? Are they like-minded and do they ‘GET’ what you do?  If not, move on.

Hopefully this short post will be enough to get you really thinking about who you choose to be your new video production partner.  Good luck.

Effective marketing is becoming more focused around video production

Many of you will have seen articles and stories of late which claim something along the lines of “online videos don’t work”. Usually they go on to state that adverts shown on the internet are not watched in high numbers, and there are doubts over their effectiveness. It may surprise you to read this, but we at Tiza Video, the leading company for video production London has, agree with the comment. Cases where adverts and videos shown on the internet don’t “work”, or prove unpopular, are very easy to identify, as they are ones which were made to be seen on television or at cinemas. This is to say that if you want a video to be a success on the internet, you need to make it for the internet, and not just simply post something online that would usually come up during a break on TV.

A lot of companies are convinced that, as the basics of sound and vision are a constant, traditional advertising and production values for TV commercials should simply be applied to video made for the internet. Consider this in terms of a ship and an aeroplane. Both are means of transport, and both will get you from London to Australia. Would you, however, really take the skipper from the ship – even if it was the most respected and admired sailor in history – and happily let him try and fly a plane from Heathrow to Sydney? In all likelihood if you did that he would make a good go of it, knowing the basics, but without specific aviation knowledge – as in understanding the medium – there’s a very good chance that the effort would crash and fail.

At Tiza we have a strong, award winning track record of success with videos for the internet because we understand the medium, and make our video for both the format and the intended audience. We produce the high quality, professional kind of videos that one sees and hears of attracting many millions of viewers because they are suited to net viewing and appeal to the target market. No matter what you want to achieve with your online video – be it advertising, creating a brand awareness, underlining your online presence or simply generating a feel-good buzz for your business – Tiza are the video production company you can turn to and trust to deliver the anticipated and hope for effect.

We are proud of our reputation as the leading and most sought after service of video production London businesses and companies seek out to create their online web videos. We work closely with you to ensure that all elements and ideas you want in place are incorporated, with us crafting them into the optimal viral video experience suited for both the medium and the market of the internet.

Masters of video production that market your product with a mini masterpiece

Nobody believes in magic anymore- certainly not the cloak and wand variety anyway. The truth is the real magic lies in the staggering power of technology. Now that we exist in a modern world that thrives on breath-taking digital development it stands to reason that the internet is where we all go to find whatever it is we are looking for. Consumers, collectors, clients and customers flock to the World Wide Web as they believe what they seek is out there. With corporate video in London from the freethinking and innovative experts at TIZA you can ensure that when people come looking, they will be happy they found you. If you are a business or an organisation that needs to market your product then there has never been a more crucial time to utilise the staggeringly beneficial power of online video. TIZA Video are the team of creative video producers that are just waiting to put you on the map.

When we create video content for our clients we approach it with oodles of passionate zeal. Collectively we are an immensely experienced crew that include winning awards in Cannes and creating Hollywood movie androids among our credentials. We are the result of the perfect team of individuals coming together and pouring just the right amount of charm, courage, free spirit and indelible talent into what has become a winning formula. We do not believe in generic presentations of corporate video, London clients know that their rivals are using the power of video but we want to take you and your brand to the highest of heights.

Catching the attention of an audience is one thing but you need to keep it. The digital age truly is our friend when it comes to marketing and making sure as many pairs of eyes are perusing your product. Your content needs to be sharp, short and sensational. We create work that will be watched, wow the watcher and through the miraculous medium of sharing, work its way onto the screens of an abundance of other viewers.

We have an uncompromising method of working and offer every client the same undivided attention and expert assistance. We obtain a grasp of your concept and brainstorm ideas until the perfect content is decided upon. We respect your budget and schedule and set to work producing your original and fantastic content that will always reflect the essence of you and your company. Finally you will receive your content along with our continued support regarding appropriate marketing strategies. We are extremely proud of our consistent production of work that proves to be spectacularly beneficial to our trusted clients. TIZA are about creative desire and dedication along with commitment and hunger. We make our own magic here.