Parc Entertainment - A Video Production Company - Birmingham, AL

One of the exciting things we are working on right now is the development of a new documentary reality TV series. The focus of the show will center on a unique business, industry, etc. featuring individuals with charismatic personalities. For reference, think of shows like “Deadliest Catch,” “American Chopper,” “Pawn Stars,” “Construction Intervention,” “Ice Road Truckers,” or “Cake Boss.”

As a region, the southeast is under-represented when it comes to the shows that are currently being produced, so we are hoping to find some great stories from right here in Alabama. This is where we need your help. If you have a great idea for a new documentary TV series, we would love to hear about it. Send us an email and give us the pitch. If we feel that it has potential, we will get back in touch with you to schedule a time when we can come out and shoot a brief demo reel.

Experts agree - online video will continue its growth over the next several years as consumption of video content continues to increase. In this video from Beet.TV, Jeff Cole, director of USC’s Center for the Digital Future, predicts that people will soon be spending up to 50 hours per week watching video. This rise (up from only 16 hours in 1975), will be due to the popularity of mobile video. This presents an incredible opportunity for advertisers and marketers, who will be able to use video to reach their audience while consumers are outside the home. This is TV without borders.

The question, however, is on the content itself. Where do you see the trend heading? Do you foresee an audience willing to watch 30 or 60-minute shows on their mobile devices, like Cole predicts? Or, do you you predict that the trend will continue to favor shorter, easily consumable 2-3 minute clips?

In regards to advertisers and marketers, what direction do you see video taking? Will production quality give way to production quantity? In other words, is it more important for advertisers to churn out as much video content as quickly as possible? Or, should they take their time with crafting and creating a well-polished, well-produced marketing video that has a longer shelf life?

A disconnect now exists between advertisers and consumers. People don’t like being interrupted by hard-sell advertising messages. They don’t like the idea of being “talked to.” They would rather be “talked with.” They crave conversation and engagement. The old rules of broadcasting to large audiences are slowly giving away to “small”-casting; that is, carving specific messages for a niche audience. For example, a few years ago I shot a video for a hospital. Rather than create a broad overview commercial for use on television, they specifically targeted those interested in nursing. They launched a microsite for their recruitment campaign and placed several short videos throughout. Each video featured a nurse from a specific area of the hospital talking on camera about his/her discipline. The nurse also spoke about the surrounding community - its social scene and nightlife. The campaign was successful because it spoke directly to a niche group. The videos used terminology the audience could understand. And it didn’t interrupt them with a hard sell. The following video humorously illustrates the current relationship between advertisers and consumers. The challenge for marketers is to adapt to this growing change in the way products and services are advertised.