Parc Entertainment - A Video Production Company - Birmingham, AL

Any entrepreneur will tell you that adaptation is an integral part of a successful business. Companies have to study the marketplace. They have to watch and listen, and be willing to evolve as technologies, trends, opinions, and public tastes change.

2010 marks Parc Entertainment’s seventh year in business, and during that time we have been able to work with a variety of clients on some great projects. To date, we have branded ourselves as a video production and post-production facility. But we realize that today’s media is more integrated than it was just a few years ago. Video is now a big part of a company’s web presence. Clients that come to us for video production services often ask about web design and development. And web designers are often asked about video production. They each go hand-in-hand.

As marketing content becomes increasingly connected, we realize that clients need compelling and visually stunning content. They need a production facility that can engage, inspire, and entertain an audience. That’s where we come in. In an effort to give our clients what they are looking for, Parc Entertainment will soon be Red Fox Media. In addition to our video production and post-production services, we now offer full website design, development, and SEO for our clients. By February 1, 2010 we hope to launch our new identity and we encourage you to send us an email, call, or stop by our offices so we can discuss how our production services can benefit your business.

To see some of the website projects we have already completed, you can click on any of the following links:

Southern Fastening Systems

Industrial Health Council

Shelby Academy

Many of the videos we produce end up on a website. It’s a growing trend. More and more companies are integrating video into their online presence. Soon, internet users will expect to see videos on the sites they visit. In the September 4 issue of the Birmingham Business Journal, Haley Aaron writes about the popularity of online videos and the impact they have on today’s consumer. Below are some highlights from the article.

When local law firm Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris wants to share information about their company and cases they are working on, the company doesn’t just post a press release or add a link to their Web site.

Instead, the firm uses Web video to tell its story. It created short films that give a brief introduction to its lawyers, as well as information about high-profile personal injury lawsuits the company represents.

“We want people to be able to come on to our Web site and not just look at who we say we are, but really get a much better feel not only for the firm and the work we do, but also for the individual partners,” said Melanie McCraney, director of communications at Cory Watson.

Internet video is a relatively new medium, but Americans are spending more time watching it. According to a survey compiled by comScore, a Virginia-based research company, Americans watched a total of 16.8 billion Web videos in April, from Web sites and video sharing sites such as YouTube. The average viewer spent 6.4 hours watching videos online during the month.

While consumers look to web video for entertainment and education, businesses are discovering the advantages of using it to market themselves…

Even more importantly, the nature of Web video may allow businesses to reach a more engaged audience since viewers can watch at their convenience…

Companies interested in producing web video should consider their tone and message carefully before producing and uploading videos… While free distribution through YouTube and Facebook cuts costs, it’s important that businesses don’t place cost over quality when filming and producing Web video.

A well-executed video can have an incredibly positive impact on your brand and shouldn’t be the last thing you think of when planning your marketing strategy.

Okay, I’ll admit it. This post will be a hard sell for the benefits of video. But you have to admit that video can grab an audience’s attention. It can raise awareness. It can move people to action. In short, video can get things done.

Look no further than musician Dave Carroll. In 2008, he and his band were on a flight from Halifax to Omaha by way of Chicago. While waiting on the tarmac, the band noticed the United Airlines ground crew throwing their instruments around. Carroll later discovered that United’s blatant disregard for other people’s property had resulted in $1200 worth of damage to his guitar.

After about a year of jumping through corporate hoops, Carroll could not get United to pay for the damages. So, being the creative person that he is, Carroll wrote a song about the experience, created a music video, and on July 6 posted it on YouTube. As of this writing the video has over 4 million views and Carroll is now officially on the map. His story has been picked up by a number of news outlets, including Fox News and BusinessWeek magazine. As a result of the video, United gave $3,000 to charity at Carroll’s request.

This is but one example of how video can be utilized to help you get noticed. Below is Carroll’s video United Breaks Guitars.

In a post last summer I mentioned SnagFilms as a great place to find free documentary film content on the web. Recently, Hulu has gained popularity among online video watchers. On the site you can watch movies, current TV shows, classic films, and a host of other clips — all for free. And the quality of the videos on Hulu looks great.

Now the two sites have teamed up. A press release on the SnagFilms website announces that SnagFilm documentaries will now be made available on Hulu. Here’s an excerpt:

SnagFilms brings the best nonfiction films to the web audience, promotes viral web distribution through virtual movie theater widgets, and engages viewers to assist in charitable and community efforts. “SnagFilms was created to make more great films available to the broadest possible audience. Now with Hulu we can delight viewers on one of the Internet’s most-visited video sites with a growing set of documentaries from our large library, and deepen the already broad set of entertainment choices that Hulu offers,” said Rick Allen CEO of SnagFilms.

I look forward to perusing the site for solid documentary content. Now it’s just finding the time to watch the films.