I’ve been able to play with a pre-release copy of the software for a little over a week now and this post will start off my official review!

Here’s a quick little sample promo-style video I made in Adobe After Effects to start putting it through it’s paces:

Since I’m still running a beta copy of the software I’ll reserve really getting into all the meat and critique until I had  final code but I am interested in seeing how the Social Media / Networking aspect does.

I could use YOUR help with that!

One of the sweet new features involves Facebook, Twitter, and Digg integration right into the player itself.

Can you help me test it by, well…doing all those things?

Another fascinating feature is the ability to create a nice little “page” to display any video in your EVP system with Facebook integration.

Check out this sample:

I’d really appreciate your input, thoughts, questions, etc. and especially any “sharing” you could do.

I’d like to collect a good amount of data (yes…EVP keeps awesome video statistics!) that I can test also.

I’ll be posting the results soon…

Thanks and to see what other content is being sent out during pre-launch by Josh be sure  to sign up for the Early Bird messages.

Lon

You can do all that by yourself…OR…you can leverage Joint Venture (JV) partners and make it happen in a hurry. That’s what I do!

The best JV relationships I have all started as a result of meeting people in person. Here are some examples:

Jeff Mills Boost Seminar (Spring 2010): I met marketer & writer extraordinaire Jason Fladlien.

I live about 30 minutes from the venue so I drove in for each day of the event. This particular morning, Jason was giving his presentation (that I said I would be there for) but I got held up and had to watch from home of Jeff’s excellent Live Seminar Video feed.

And when Jason gave me a shout-out from the stage and found out I wasn’t there…check out what he says! OMG.

I also re-connected with some old friends like Susan Schmidt and Larry Loik (who was also presenting). He gives me a nice mention from the stage as well:

The point being: Meeting brilliant, well-connected, extremely successful folks and becoming friends and JV partners rocks!

Having them call you out from a room full of other marketers (and a world-wide video broadcast audience)?

Priceless!

I’ll be attending Jeff Mills last Boost Seminar on Oct 22-24, 2010 in Minneapolis, MN

Ticket prices are $97 for the entire 3 days, and the price DOUBLES on Friday, October 1. So you’ll want to take action today and claim your generic propecia ticket by clicking HERE.

Some of the amazing speakers coming:

• Rick Raddatz (an ex-Microsoft guy like me! Can’t wait to meet him!)
• Mike Hill (met him when I spoke at Ken McCarthy’s System Seminar in 2008)
• Vince Tan
• Daven Michaels
• Paul Lemberg of StomperNet fame
• and others!

Hey…if you can make it, track me down and I’ll buy you dinner!

GET…TO…LIVE…EVENTS!!

See you there?

Lon

target=”_blank”>CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ALONG

If you’ve followed me for awhile, you probably know that I’m a big fan of big product launches.

Mostly because of the power of high quality video content! So…I study these things.

In the coming days we’ll all see, whether we like it or not, the latest round of in the monster product launch category, something called AffiliateDotCom from Mike Filsaime and Chris Farrell.

This post is the first in a series I’ll be doing to follow the process from a video marketing and Camtasia perspective.

I’ll have a LOT of great tips and techniques to share!

Here’s a link to the I5 Gold Call I mentioned.

And, if you haven’t seen the Google Search Story video, HERE it is.

I also did a tutorial that explains it HERE.

I’m interested in hearing any questions you might have about how the videos in this launch are created by Andy so leave them as comments along with any other feedback or ideas you have!

Thanks,

Lon

since 2002 and I’ve searched over the years for a better video screen capture tool. Haven’t found one yet…

Today, Techsmith has released Camtasia version 7 and these are my initial impressions after having been testing out the software for a couple of weeks with a pre-launch evaluation copy from Betsy Weber.

I’ll keep this short for now and give you some highlights. Of course, I’ll have more in-depth tutorials on the way!

Here’s a little preview video I did using the Search Story concept to show off a few of the features:

What’s New in Camtasia 7?

1. A New Look

The first thing you’ll notice is a sporty new look in Camtasia Studio.

I’ll be honest with ya…it does take a little getting used to if you’re a seasoned Camtasia user. It is, after all, a major interface change.

That being said, I’m finding it to be a well layed out structure as I work with it more & more. Especially as it incorporates some of the new features and how you access them.

Thumbs Up

2. Camtasia Library

One of the most useful things is a new Library feature that let’s you store all of your video elements (music, custom callouts, sound effects, video backgrounds, etc.) in one place! Nice…

One click access to all this stuff is useful enough but it gets even better…

You can also highlight any content on the timeline and right-click to ADD it to your library making it ready for future use! This is especially handy for Title clips & Splash Intros or anything else you might want to “re-use” in future projects with a simple drag-n-drop.

I like the fact that they have include some royalty free music tracks to use and some wicked cool new animated backgrounds, Title clips, and lower third “sets’” from folks like Digital Juice that you can use!

And also, you can share libraries with others.

Techsmith is providing some Library additions that you can grab:

Camtasia Studio Library Assets

Two Thumbs Up!

3. New Callouts

Camtasia 7 has some upgrades & additions to it’s Callouts. The legacy ones are all there but a new batch of shapes have a much nicer, less cheezy look and Effects like transparency, new Styles with greater control over how they look.

A few new “specialty” Callouts are also available:

Sketch Motion Callouts

I love these! They are animated callouts that you can use that “draw” themselves!

It’s like you have a pen (your choice of color, thickness, etc.) and you can have a circle or oval, square or rectangle, or arrows drawn in the video in real-time to highlight an area. I also like the “scribble it out” one.

Keystroke Callouts

These let you show viewers exactly what keystrokes you used and when you used them. I haven’t played with this one enough to decide if it’s useful but you can also just insert a “Control-C, or “ALT-D”, etc. image to indicate keystrokes for your viewer.

Two Thumbs Up!

4. Cursor Effects

This I find to be wicked interesting. In previous versions, you could add a little highlight, or rings when clicked, etc. to your cursor when recording.

Now, as long as you save your recording as a CAMREC file, you can add or modify all those attention-drawing items (and more) at editing time!

Included are also the long awaited “spotlight” & “magnify” effects and a cool new “warp” effect. You can also just make your cursor bigger!

No more having these effects burned directly into your recording. Add or change them while you edit. Nice!

Two Thumbs Up!

5. Audio Enhancements

OK…I’ve always had extremely mixed feelings about Camtasia’s “Audio Enhancements” like Noise Removal, Volume-Leveling, etc. More on that in a minute…

New to this version is the ability to get some nice control over fading in and fading out and volume levels for an audio track.

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If you are adding intro / outro music or want a music track playing throughout your video but still be talking over it? This is awesome!

That’s the good news…

 Three Thumbs Up!

Now…the BAD news:

The other audio enhancements like noise removal and volume level?

Still mess with EVERY AUDIO TRACK!?!? OMG!!! Ouch…

How can I use this neat feature to get my intro music just right…and then have it basically destroyed if I need to level the volume of my narration??? FAIL.

The workaround is to do  noise & volume stuff first, render out to AVI and the pull it back into Camtasia…ugly.

Ya…oh well.

6. Widescreen Presets

As you saw in the video above, there are now more presets available including new widescreen dimension settings. This is becoming increasingly important for certain viewing devices and for uploading to YouTube.

7. YouTube Integration

This feature is now improved from previous versions. Basically, you can now connect directly to YouTube at production time. It works as a preset so…you can’t really change any of the quality settings.

I don’t know…not very useful in my opinion but for those looking for “easy” I guess it’s OK.

No Thumb Opinion…yet.

8. Improved Recording Engine

This is really kinda sweet. Under the covers, Camtasia now records your content much better and faster. On XP machines you’ll notice a significant difference in the speed at which it captures and records motion on your screen.

Vista and Windows 7 users will see upwards of a 40-50% improvement in capture frame rate.

If you are recording videos playing in your browser, Flash animations, full screen motion, stuff like that…this is a big enhancement!

Worth the Upgrade?

The pricing for Camtasia Studio 7 is the same as previous versions and the upgrade bill is still $149.

When you look at the performance improvement, new features and gadgets I think an upgrade is a reasonable consideration.

I think most users will have to weigh in the factor of a bit of a learning curve since there is a new interface (I’m still getting used to how you “select” with the new Timleline Playhead…) and my feeling is that…

As with Camtasia 6 when it first came out…lots of users will take a wait-and-see stance.

You can download the 30-day free trial and check it out for yourself:

Camtasia 30-day Free Trial

This is a fully functioning trial. You can install it and run version 7 right along with any previous versions you have installed…it doesn’t write over your current installations.

Love to hear what YOU think!

Lon

New Camtasia 7 Callouts

Adding callouts to your videos is always a quick & easy way to add visual interest or emphasis to a talking point.

Camtasia 7 has some new callout styles and, even cooler, something called sketch motion callouts. These are “animated” callouts you can drop in that will “draw” themselves into the video. Nice…

Camtasia 7 Cursor Effects

In Camtasia version 7 you will be able to help your viewer follow along better by editing the mouse pointer to enlarge it, creating a spotlight, and visual “clicks”.

“But Lon…we could do that in Camtasia 6!”

Ya…but not on the fly during the editing process! Ya.

Plus…there are new and much cooler effects (a spotlight and better looking “click” highlights) and a Cursor Track added to the timeline for more control over the effects.

Stay tuned!

Lon

The rumors are true!

The next version of Camtasia Studio from Techsmith is on it’s way and will be available very SOON. This new version is considered a major upgrade and we’re excited to see everything it has to offer!

Check out a couple of teaser videos from Techsmith on the new release of their flagship product Camtasia Studio.

Will it really make screencasting as easy as a “piece of cake”?

We’ll see!

And here’s an interview with the new Product Manager, Shane Lovellete done by Technical Evangelist Betsy Weber:

Shane says:

We’ve got some great new stuff but we’re also addressing a lot of the smaller issues that have been problems for awhile that we want to help make it easier for people to use…

I’ll keep you posted!

Lon

It’s called iFlash and it’s from Jason Anderson & Stefan Billups.

These guys churn out awesome, studio quality videos for marketing
professionals.  I mean, these are online commercials that rival
the quality of big ticket television commercials.

If you’re making your own promotional videos…check out what these
guys at iFlash Video are doing:

Click HERE: iFlash Video

You may never want to make your own promo videos again. I know that sounds strange coming from me but look…even I can’t put a video like these together for myself without spending hours in the mind-numbing complexity of Adobe After Effects.

And they’ll do one 60 second video for me a month for 50 bucks each??? Duh! No brainer.

The videos are:

* 100% CUSTOM…never a boiler plate template
* They all come with professional voice-over
* You just tell them your “vision”, give them an audio script and
the go and do their magic.

They are open for business (and have been for a while)…but this
particular private invitation is for a members only area that
isn’t quite open yet.

Here’s the deal:

They normally sell their video productions for $399 and up but
on February 16th…well…that’s when the new private access service starts.

There is a $149.99 set up fee which includes your first video, and then it’s only $49.99/month to continue.

Because these are all custom made, they are only letting in 500 people for this service. I’ve talked to Jason about this and it’s NOT some stupid “scarcity” tactic. You simply cannot take on too many people and produce this kind of quality work…

Can I vouch for this service?

Well…not yet. But it certainly can’t hurt to sign up for the Notification List to check it out. I was actually invited to take a look at this by my good friend Willie Crawford. In fact, here’s an episode from his BlogTalkRadio show where he interviews the guys on using these kinds of videos:

Bottom Line? I’m pretty jazzed about getting in and trying this out! Maybe I’ll just pay the setup fee for one awesome video at a very reasonable price and then quit…I’m not sure yet.

But knowing that I can get a new one every month has me thinking… I should really come up with a topic and have one made on an ongoing basis and leverage some killer content that I don’t have to create at a stupid bargain of a price…

Let me know your thoughts…

Lon

I really started into the whole thing when I joined his private mentoring group called I5 Gold (at 500 skins a month!) with some other unknown newbies: Alex Jeffreys, Tim Brocklehurst, and a guy named Bob “The Teacher” Jenkins.

Since generic buy rimonabant female viagra then, I’ve watched in amazement as Bob turned out product after product, success after success… the guy is a machine!

So, when Bob announced that he was hold his first live seminar event I wasn’t surprised. And I’m very happy to report that I will be one of only 4 featured speakers presenting with him in Wilmington N.C. Feb. 26-28th, 2010.

It’s called S.I.M.P.L.E. – School for Information Marketing Profits Live Event.

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You see, Bob “The Teacher” was a real life teacher before making a full time living on the net. His ability to, well, teach is nothing short of amazing. Ask any of his current “students” and you’ll find nothing but respect and admiration from them as well.

The one other thing I will mention is that if you are in this business and never been to a live event, you’re missing one of the most impactful things you can do. The relationships and friends I’ve made in these face-to-face forums online pharmacy has been the single biggest factor in growing my business.

Hope to see you there!

It’s called Easy Video Player and as the clever name suggests it creates video players…easily.

The product was developed by Josh Bartlett and is a standalone piece of software that is installed on your web server so it’s accessible from any computer…Windows or Mac

And what it does is make the rather complicated task of creating very useful customized video players…ummm…easy!

Here’s what I got:

This player includes some very interesting things especially relating to video marketing…

The actual “player” itself is an open source piece of work called Flow Player.

I like this player and have used it before…it looks good and has lots of your standard “nice to have” player features…

So…what does all this have to do with the Easy Video Player software?

You see, it’s all about taking your video produced in either FLV, MOV, MP4, or M4V and easily…

Putting it into the Flow Player WITH…a bunch of cool additional features!

And what are those?

Here’s what it will do for you:

Here are a few sample reasons why this software has grabbed a spot in my video toolbox.

1. Opt-in Form in Video

Normally, if you want to collect a name and email after presenting your compelling video content you need to put an autoresponder opt-in form somewhere on the page that contains your video.

That usually works ok but means a lot of work creating the page with proper formatting and all that and if I post the video on a blog, I have to be very specific about where the form is…

It can be quite a formatting and html or php challenge!

With this player, you can embed the opt-in form right IN the video player itself…so you can have any video, placed on any web page, act as it’s own listbuilder!

This is…NICE!

I’ve created a sample video of this feature below:

I’ve created a special mailing list where I’ll be sending out more tips and tricks on using EVP as I work more with it…

Just watch the very short sample clip and try out the form. This list will ONLY get video tutorials on EVP…how I’m using it, how to use it with Camtasia and WordPress, what my results are, stuff like that.

2. Buy Button code right inside the video.

No more messin’ around with watch this video and scroll down and click the buy button…boom!

Right there…done!

Again, the real power of this is that you can create “stand-alone” sales videos.

Sample video: Help Buy Lon a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT? Please?

3. Automatic Redirect Sample.

In this video sample I use the Redirect feature to automatically send the viewer to a sales page. Notice how I tell the viewer what’s going to happen at the end of the video…

The Cons

I haven’t really found much that I don’t care for in this product. Most of the things are limitations of other software or platforms like WordPress. For example:

* If you use the Visual Editor in WordPress after pasting your player code into the HTML view, WordPress strips out the script code rendering your video unviewable. Uggg….the workaround is to NOT use the visual editor ever. You can use any external HTML editor to write your posts and then just copy / paste the code into the HTML view on WordPress…or…my preferred method, use a plugin like EmbedIt.

* The software “times out” and will log you out. I guess that’s a security feature but it’s kind of a pain if you are working on uploading, customizing, and messing with getting the player just right and all of a sudden…boom! You are logged out! Be sure to save early and often to keep this from affecting your workflow. I’m not 100% sure what the timeout period is but it did hit me a couple of times in the beginning…

* Some things may not be cons…I’m just not sure about them yet. For example, I don’t see a way to increase the preload buffer time to make sure enough of the video is pre-loaded to ensure smooth streaming and playback. I’ll let you know what I find out. This, again, may be a limitation of FlowPlayer and not EVP…

* Not really a drawback but something to be aware of: If you want videos with a Table of Contents I haven’t seen a way to configure that. In this case, you’re better off using Camtasia’s player or the JW player.

The Value

The product currently costs a one time fee of $127. There is a Mastermind membership that you get to check out for free and then continue with if you like but this is completely optional and you can quit at any time! The software may also go to a monthly cost structure in the near future so grabbing your own copy quickly to use as much as you like might be a good idea.

Considering all you get and what it will do for you, I think this is a great value. Compare this to the JW Player which is about $80 per website and doesn’t really do any of the embedded marketing functions…

Overall, nothing in this list is anywhere close to a show-stopper for me and I can heartly recommend this player.

Here’s what you can do next:

To check out all the features and grab your own copy before it goes to a monthly fee to use it, just click the graphic below:

Have a comment or a question?

Post it and I’ll see if I can help!

Thanks,

Lon

Well, they said it might never happen and I must admit I’ve had a
few doubts over the last 2 months but…

Screencast Profits v2.0 will go live this week!

And for my valued members, I’m happy to announce that you get a special pre-launch shot at upgrading to the Gold member level at the current price…

AND…being “grand-fathered” in for all the new modules and bonuses that will cost 50% more later this week!

Yep. ALL Gold members get upgraded access to all the new stuff like:

* New Screencast Profit Modules – Specific ways to profits with screencast videos:
- Affiliate Marketing
- Product Creation
- Sales & Marketing videos
- Growing Your Business with video

* New bonuses
- Royalty free music tracks
- Cool custom callouts
- A most excellent course called “Video Settings in Plain English”

I’ll be throwing in a few more unannounced goodies as well.

So…if you’ve thought about it and forgot or if you were going to
but didn’t…

NOW would be a VERY good time to get your Gold member Screencast
Profits Course.

Just log in at the top menu (or join if you’re not a member):

http://screencastprofits.com

You will see your available upgrade option and can check out the
current content.

I’ll have full details at launch time of course but by then it will
bee too late to get this special deal…this is folks who take
action and pull the trigger.

I’ll be in touch soon!

Thanks!

Lon Naylor