Viddler

Casting can be the most stressful and uncertain phase of the preproduction process. If you’re planning to work with actors for your next online video, here are a few tips to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Know your audience

If you’re targeting moms, don’t hire a spokesman who looks like he hates kids. But beyond that, think about what your clients want out of your product. If you’re selling legal services, even the schluppiest of McSchuppersons wants someone who looks professional and seems like they’d be really slick about buttoning the top button on their suit when they stand up. A common mistake is to stereotype your core demographic and try to emulate them on screen. This can make it seem like you have an outsider’s perspective of who your audience truly is, and doesn’t effectively reflect what unique attributes your company can bring to the table.

Pay

In any creative field, the true artists have an insatiable desire to work on exciting new projects. It’s often fairly trivial to find people who are so hungry for creative work that they’re willing to do it for free. But if the project is being created for commercial purposes, taking an artist’s reckless passion and using it as an excuse to not pay them for their time, talent, and hard work is nothing short of exploitation. Even if you can only afford to pay a small amount out of principle, paying your talent gets you better results, more respect, and a sounder night’s sleep at the end of the day.

Be a pal

No one knows actors better than other actors. Just like when the drama kids in high school were the only ones to know where the super secret sex parties were, being friends with actors can gain you a lot of useful insight. While that insight may no longer be “the 10:30 pm screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show in Jimmy Tanner’s Parents’ basement,” it can still be helpful in ways that won’t involve you awkwardly losing your virginity while wearing a pleather basque from Halloween Adventure and trying to learn the Time Warp. Developing friendships with actors can gain you access to an always-expanding pool of skilled—and often untapped—talent.

Use the internet, Luke.

People like to say the internet is your friend. That’s not true. The internet can help your spouse figure out how to install a keylogger that gains her access to your Google Calendar and reveals that your “squash league” actually takes place at the uptown Motel 6. Friends don’t do that. But the internet can be a very valuable resource. Open calls and relationships with local talent agencies can be useful in the initials stages of casting, but if you google around you generally find tons videos and other real world samples of your potential actors’ abilities.

So if you’re planning to shoot a video with actors soon, keep these tips in mind. Most importantly, treat your talent with professionalism and respect. This will repay itself in the performances they give you, and ultimately reflect well on the product or services you’re trying to sell.

The video cameras of yesteryear hated you and your pants. The cost of a camcorder would burn a hole right through your pocket, and the idea of fitting one of these beasts into the front of your trousers was a laughable concept to all but circus clowns and tightly knit communities of nomadic gypsy-people who wore nothing but parachute pants in order to please their humanoid man-monkey-messahiah, Clap Henson.

But technology has shrunk, prices have gone down, and the followers of Clap Henson have secularized and dispersed in order to concentrate on franchising Jamba Juice establishments. What we are left with is a world where fruit conception is easy and convenient, and where there are a variety of affordable, high quality video cameras available to consumers. Below are five of my favorite pocket camcorders.

iPhone 4

The iPhone 4 is the ultimate convergence device, and you best believe video is a big part of that. Did you know with an iPhone 4 you can capture a 720p video of your breakfast, edit it to have opening titles that say “Reeses?! For BREAKFAST?!?!”, bed Eye of the Tiger from your music collection, upload it to Viddler, and then tweet the whole thing to your 14 followers? I know, we live in the future.

T-Mobile G2x

Or maybe you don’t like iPhones, iMovie, iTunes, and other magical iTems. Maybe you like your phones like I like my Haley Joel Osment characters. Fine. T-Mobile has an Android phone called the G2x that shoots in full 1080p. That’s a lot of p.

Kodak PLAYSPORT Zx5

There are downsides to using your phone as your primary pocket cam. You drop your iPhone and the glass shatters into a million pieces. You take your Andriod out of your mother’s basement and the battery dies instantly. Kodak has a little camera that’s built to do anything and go anywhere. It is resistant to things like dust and sand, and can go underwater up to 10 meters! (Please consult with your local headshop or Massive Attack fan for what that amounts to in American.)

GoPro

Speaking of going anywhere, the GoPro really can go anywhere. It’s a tiny little HD camera that’s comes with waterproof casing and a variety of attachments for things like helmets and surf boards. Personally, I’m still holding out for the colonoscopy mount!

PowerShot S95

If you’re going to buy a separate pocket camcorder to use instead of your smartphone, you might what to pick up something that has a nice compact zoom lens and can take killer snapshots, too. The S95 is one of Canon’s bestselling cameras, and for good reason. This sleek little compact takes 720p video, 10MP stills, and sports a built-in HDMI port, so you can instantly reminisce about what just happened before you unload it off your SD card.

Overall, the best pocket camcorder is usually the one you have on you. If you bought a smartphone in the last two years, chances are it takes decent video. Start with that, and don’t let precious moments slip by. Little Bobby’s taking his first steps! Rex is scratching his back on the floor! Grandpa’s telling the girl scouts about how he used to be a triathlete!

If you’re just getting started, or are just shooting video for casual purposes, use what you have. And if you find yourself needing something more rugged or versitle, try something like the PLAYSPORT or the S95. Happy shooting!