If you are interested in using video to differentiate tourism in your region or your business, these three basics are what you need to look after to produce video folks will watch.
This video demonstrates the difference between 1080i and 1080p HD video, mic’d and unmic’d audio and shows the impact studio lighting can have.
We kept the shot wide so you could see what we were up to.

As we turn another page and enter a new decade, I find myself thinking about technology and restaurants. As a customer, how do you see handheld technology being used to enhance your dining experience?
I captured this bit of video while trolling the aisles of the BC Hospitality Expo in Vancouver late last year. The video shows a handheld (iPhone) app that servers can use to be more efficient at handling the orders and billing of their guests.

I am also reflecting on how restaurants can use QR Codes to tell the behind the scenes stories of the meals they deliver to folks in the dining room. One really creative restaurant in New Jersey recently began using QR codes to link to videos showcasing the Ethiopain cultural connection of some of the meals they serve. The diner, clicking on the QR Code links to the video and watches the short Youtube Video. Nice. The restaurant doesn’t even have to create the video content, just has to make the connection for their diner.

How could a brew pub showcase their pride in craftsmanship or educate the customer on how their product is made? How could you give behind the scenes access to your kitchen recipes or showcase where your local food is purchased by filming a short video with a local farmer?

How do you think restaurants could utilize the power of handhelds to enhance the dining experience for their ideal guests? Have you seen anything innovative in this space?

Don’t let Todd’s rant ruin your holiday spirit… ring in 2011 with a smile.
Todd’s not really this crusty, it’s just a show.
Skip this post and get on with the merry-making.
We’ll see you in the new year, perhaps Todd will be a little less ornery and a little more upbeat and fun in 2011….. after all, the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes!

If you really want to be annoyed, click play, otherwise, pour an eggnog and enjoy the rest of the holiday season with family and friends. Life is too short to be cranky.
nevertheless, it’s here if you need it.
Part II of the Stocking Stuffer Edition.

Watch out Vonage . . . Todd says the customer should be able to contact you on their preferred channel, not yours.

What do you think? Are there too many ways to communicate? Should businesses be open to chatting on your terms as a customer?

One of the things I like about Facebook is that the free widget “Facebook Fan Box” that makes it easy to keep your website always fresh.

Yfrog Widget is a Showstopper for Photos and Video

Now Yfrog, the Twitter photo and video sharing platform offers a free customizable widget that will update your Webpage any time you stream video or take photos and sharethem on twitter with YFrog.

The delicious user interface for creating the Yfrog widget allows users to customize the shape of the widget and colour it to seemlessly plug in and match your Web site.

Each video or photo posted to Yfrog shows up in a live stream along with your comment and clicking on the Widget brings you to the full version of the photo or video as hosted at the site.

How to know if YFrog’s Widget is for you:

• looking for an easy way to keep your Website always fresh
• enjoy taking photos and video on a regular basis
• photos and video would help your ideal client appreciate something special about your business.
• You use twitter regularly
• have a mobile device that captures photos and video
• you have a healthy disdain for Facebook and wouldn’t dream of putting a Facebook Widget on your site.

What do you think? Is it important to have an always fresh Website?

Nielsen Company says mobile TV adoption is growing rapidly with 17.6 million Americans using smartphones to view video in the last quarter of 2009 (that is almost a year ago), up 57% year over year.  The average face-in-phone time watching video averaged three hours and 37 minutes per month (or about seven minutes per day).

According to Pew,  in a blog post researchers found “85 percent of Americans over the age of 18 own a mobile phone, and that a staggering 96 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 “own a cellphone of some kind.”  Expect most of these folks to be able to view video on their phone when they upgrade their handhelds over the next few years.

According to the NY Times, in a report released Friday,  market research firm Gartner predicts that tablet devices used to access media will reach sales of 19.5 million units in 2010.  Gartner also predicted that sales of these handheld video-oriented devices would reach a staggering 150 million units by 2013.

While the mobile viewing bubble is a few years off, it’s time to consider what your Web presence will look like on a phone or 3G connected tablet device when handheld video comes of age.

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn

Using Video to tell your travel-related business story can be one of the most effective ways of getting your point across and sharing the benefits you offer with your ideal client.
Wendy Macrimmon, our former guest-relations specialist at Northern Edge Algonquin has found out first hand how a well-crafted video can lead to greater credibility and help turn prospects into buyers and grow business.

Wendy’s Photography Business Internet Video

Wendy – on what it’s like to work with Blue Canoe Video

It’s not enough to just grab your video camera, FlipVideo or iPod with HD video, and start shooting and uploading to Youtube. A well crafted video takes special skills that likely don’t exist within your organization. That’s why tourism businesses and destination marketing organizations need to start recruiting video production skills to create short promotional videos – video business cards (like Wendy’s above) that can be posted to Flickr, Youtube, Facebook, Blogs and even embedded into websites. It is the perfect way for a DMO or marketing organization to provide value for tourism businesses that they just can’t achieve themselves.

We started working with a Topher Earl, a video intern from Canadore College in North Bay in May and learned very quickly that he possessed the skills that many tourism businesses today need. We even opened our studio and production capacity to local businesses, helping others grow their business with professional quality video on the Web. Learn more about how we’re doing it at bluecanoevideo@gmail.com or give us a call toll free at 800 953-3343 and speak with Topher about the technology behind the productions or ask about video for your business.