StudioNow - A Cut Above

More Royalty-Free Music Added to Our Library

We're proud to announce that we've added more than 300 fresh tracks to our royalty-free music library for use on your StudioNow projects.

Be sure to visit the music tab of your project page and browse our selections for the perfect choice for your video.  From Latin and Bluegrass to Reggae and Techno, you have every possible genre at your fingertips to match the tone and atmosphere that you and your customer are seeking.

Update on StudioNow Payment Schedule

StudioNow bills its client partners (i.e. Citysearch, Ford Models, etc.) at the end of the month in which the customer approves your project.  Your payment will be processed on the 15th (or the first business day following if the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday) of the following month.  For example, if you submit a cut for  a project on March 1st, and the client approves it on March 15th, we will bill our partner for that project on March 31st.  Your payment would then be processed April 15th. 

Currently, we can send your payment in one of two ways: a)physical check or b)direct deposit.  If you would like to sign up for direct deposit, please let us know via email.

Please keep in mind that failure to send in raw assets and release forms on time could delay payment.

New On-Site Production Checklist

So you're preparing for your shoot, and you're wondering "how do I make sure that I get everything that the client partner (Citysearch, CBS Radio, Clear Channel, etc...) wants while at the same time making sure that I get what each individual customer wants and get in and out in no time flat." 

The answer has always been found in the 5-10 minutes that you spend going over the On-Site Production Checklist with your customer immediately when you get on site.  We call it the Pre-Shoot Consult.  It is your opportunity to sit down with each customer and put them at ease with everything that is going to go on during the shoot and to get their direct input on what exactly they want the video to portray. 

To help make the Pre-Shoot Consult more valuable and to help you elicit more information from your customer, we recently implemented a revised On-Site Production Checklist.   In addition to the shot list, the speaker log, and the customer's primary messages, we have provided an area for the customer to outline key differentiators that set them apart from their competition as well as an area to note special requests that may fall outside the norm of a standard video shoot. 

Again, we hope that this will help all of us in our quest to better serve the members of our network, our customers, and in the end, create the best possible videos. 

Make sure that you are using the latest production pack for all of our clients including our revised On-Site Production Checklist.  As always, we welcome your feedback.  Please look it over, and let us know your thoughts. 

StudioNow and The NewsMarket Launch Custom Video Production Platform for PR and Marketing Pros

NASHVILLE, TN and NEW YORK, NY - March 3, 2009 - StudioNow (www.studionow.com), the premier online video creation platform, and The NewsMarket (www.thenewsmarket.com), the leading video marketing and distribution platform for corporate marketers, today announced a partnership to create a Custom Video Production Platform for companies and organizations seeking to produce and deliver high-quality rich video content to the media and consumers.

The partnership will provide NewsMarket's clients access to the creative talent of StudioNow's global network of video professionals and its proprietary online production management system, enabling companies and other organizations to shoot, edit and create original video content for distribution and syndication through The NewsMarket's platform.

"More companies and organizations than ever are using video as part of their marketing strategies, especially in this tough advertising market, and we are pleased to now be able to offer our customers an easy way to produce more content," said Shoba Purushothaman, CEO and Co-Founder, The NewsMarket. "Coupling StudioNow's market-leading platform for creation of high-quality video content with our global distribution network enables us to deliver a cost-effective, powerful solution to corporate marketers."

"StudioNow is excited to be pairing our new-era, web-based video production capability with The NewsMarket's ability to distribute video content for the world's leading brands and organizations to news and video consumers around the globe," said David Mason, CEO of StudioNow. "The ability for customers of The NewsMarket to quickly produce exciting, professional-grade video content for distribution to their target audiences will be greatly enhanced through this agreement with StudioNow."

StudioNow creates custom, online production platforms for customers like The NewsMarket. The StudioNow production platform provides dynamic management of the entire content development and production process from start to finish, connecting the customer with thousands of expert videographers, editors, directors, producers, animators and voiceover artists. StudioNow quickly and efficiently creates top-quality digital content at a fraction of the cost normally charged by traditional production/post-production houses.

StudioNow Partners with Sony Creative Software

StudioNow has a large contingent out here at the NAB for an announcement that we are very excited about:

StudioNow and Sony Creative Software's Vegas Pro have formed a partnership that we think is a tremendous win for both sides.  Sony Creative Software will be promoting StudioNow as a service through which their Vegas Pro users can access video projects for on-demand work and in turn, Vegas Pro users will have a customized, branded profile and interface that will allow them to access projects and showcase their work.

We are currently accepting registrations through the a co-branded StudioNow-Sony Vegas page at vegas.studionow.com.  We expect to launch the customized, co-branded experience for Vegas Pro members within the next 21-30 days.

If you are at NAB and would like to learn more about what we're doing, feel free to email me at john at studionow dot com.  I would welcome the opportunity to meet up with you.

-John

New partner for StudioNow...

Yesterday, we announced a partnership with Emma, an email marketing and communications service that caters to over 10,000 small businesses nation-wide.  Emma will recommend StudioNow's web-based, 24/7 video editing and post-production services and will soon begin offering the capability for its customers to send video emails to their customers.

We are very excited about this partnership as it will only mean good things for our editors as we have another direct source of traffic and projects.  To learn more take a look at the coverage on internetnews.com and the full press release.

Capture the Spirit of Jypsi in our new Contest...

We have a new contest up for the StudioNow Editor Network.  This time for Arista recording artist, Jypsi.  We invite any approved editor to participate.  The details are as follows:

Client:   Arista Nashville
Project:   Jypsi EPK
Deadline:  10:00 PM CST; Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Length:   3-4 Minutes 6-7 Minutes
Audience:  YouTube/MySpace and other online media outlets
Prize:  $750 to the winning editor

Hurry! The deadline for entering this contest is 8:00 AM CST, December 27, 2007.

To sign up, just click the following link:    Count Me In and submit the contact form that you find there. You will have access to begin downloading the assets by 11:00 AM tomorrow morning (Thursday, December 27). Before signing up, we ask you to take a moment to review the project information and guidelines provided below.

Description:

The client is looking for a compelling visual piece for Jypsi’s website/MySpace that captures the power of the foursome's music along with the true essence of who Jypsi is.

A talented, exciting group that is on the verge of breaking out, Jypsi is the embodiment of their name: the minstrel spirit, the wanderlust, the tightly woven family bonds, the individuality, and a striking sense of fashion and self-expression. Jypsi is a reverence for history while remaining ultra-contemporary. Jypsi is about feeling, about energy, about possibility … on the edge and over the top.

For even more insight into Jypsi, please visit their website and myspace page through the links below:

http://www.myspace.com/jypsi
http://www.jypsi.net

We are looking to present the best edits from our network to the client for review. Only 1 will be chosen as the winner. The winning Editor will receive $750 along with public recognition on the new StudioNow blog

The client has provided a variety of different assets for use within the piece including photos, several music tracks, and a variety of behind-the-scenes and performance footage.

Project Guidelines:

1. Reply to this email by 8:00 AM CST on Thursday, December 27, 2007.

2. You must complete the project by 10:00 PM CST; Tuesday, January 1, 2008 This contest is entirely voluntary. However, please do not agree to participate if you do not think that you will submit an entry. The success of our contests depends on our knowing how many completed projects to expect by the contest deadline. We WILL NOT consider late submissions or submissions from Editors who do not sign-up to participate through the 'Count Me In' contact form.

3. The winning editor agrees to provide up to two rounds of revisions for the client.  Typically the client has a few tweaks here and there to get it just the way they like it.

Good Luck and Happy Holidays from everyone at StudioNow!

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to Charlie Corts!  Charlie is the winner for the StudioNow Contest for editing the Dave Barnes EPK.  Charlie is taking home $500 and is going to be included in a press release regarding the success of the project.

Charlie is making a couple of tweaks to his entry for the client, and when it is final, we will post it here for all to see.

Thanks to everyone for participating!  We will have many more contests in the future.

A New Contest for StudioNow Editors

We're launching a new video editing contest for the StudioNow Editor Network, and anyone who is an approved member of the Network is invited to participate.  So what are the details?  Check them out below:

Client:  Razor & Tie
Project:  Dave Barnes EPK
Deadline:  Friday, November 30th 10:00 pm CST
Length:  3 Minutes
Audience: YouTube/MySpace and other online media outlets
Prize: $500 to the winning editor
Project Page

Description: Dave Barnes is one of the most talented young artists on the scene today. The client is looking for a compelling visual piece for Dave’s website/MySpace and his fans that shows who Dave really is. The primary focus will be on highlighting Dave's musical talent and featured tracks from his new album. At the same time, however, they want to make sure that Dave's endearing/humorous side shines through.

We are looking to present the best 3 edits from our network to the Client for review. Only 1 will be chosen. The winning Editor will receive $500 along with public recognition on our blog.

The client has provided a variety of different assets for use within the piece including photos, several music tracks, and a variety of behind-the-scenes and performance footage.

Click Here to visit the project page and review the project in more detail

How Do I Participate?

It's easy! After you have reviewed the project details, just click the following link - Count Me In - and submit the contact form that you find there. You will have access to begin downloading the assets on the afternoon of Monday, November 26th.

Before signing up, we ask you to take a moment to review the guidelines provided below.

Project Guidelines:

1. Sign-up to participate by 10:00 AM CST on Monday, November 26, 2007.

2. You must complete the project by Friday, November 30 10:00 pm CST. This contest is entirely voluntary. However, if you agree to participate, we fully expect you to submit a completed project by the contest deadline and expect that you will make your best effort to do so. We WILL NOT consider late submissions or submissions from Editors who do not sign-up to participate through the 'Count Me In' contact form.

3. The winning editor agrees to perform up to two rounds of revisions for the client.  Typically the client has a few tweaks here and there to get it just the way they like it.

For more information on Dave please visit the following links:

http://www.myspace.com/davebarnes
http://www.davebarnes.com

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

Preview assets before you download

Ever wondered what exactly you had to work with before you downloaded the assets? 

Now you can actually preview the photos (we don't have previews for videos yet, but that won't be far behind) that are associated with a project... BEFORE you download them, even before you accept a project. 

All you have to do click on the assets tab of the project and mouse over the link to the assets, and a thumbnail will pop up.  Click on the link above browse around to see what it looks like on a sample project. 

We are hopeful that this will make your job of evaluating and editing the video just a little bit easier.  As always, let us know if you have any feedback.