Music video editing tips from Tony Kearns at DubWeb Festival

During the DubWeb Festival (now called the London Short Series), I attended two talks by:

• a panel of filmmakers and distributors on the crowdfunding topic
• Tony Kearns on the music video editing topic.

Tony Kearns is a freelance video editor based in Dublin (Ireland), who works for local and international production companies and projects around music video editing. He also edits videos for commercials, films and documentaries.

Photo Credits: Renate Canga – Website: http://www.rens-lens.com/ 

He talked about the challenges of video editing projects and how to make the videos appealing to the viewers. He mainly highlighted few video editing techniques to follow to make music videos more captivating.

First of all, as regards to the music video editing projects themselves, there is never enough time and money to make the best videos. So when working on such projects, it is best to keep this into consideration and be open to different projects.

Furthermore, when you receive a script for a video editing project from the production company directors, it is generally very vague. So, to resolve this issue, what you should start with is listening to the track, and see what will work with that sound and how to make both sound and visual sync.

Then, you must focus on keeping the audience hooked throughout the whole video so that they don’t stop watching it after a minute or so.

For that purpose, you may:

1. create a video striking an emotional response by telling a story
2. fix and stitch things together while editing a track
3. follow the music patterns, especially the drum base
4. compose visual samples that may be repeated throughout the song
5. work with quick cuts throughout the track
6. integrate different elements into videos to make them sounds like a music soundtrack, i.e visuals, sounds, dialogues and movements
7. Use different devices for filming, i.e smartphone, video recorder…and make them all part of the same track.

Tony provided us with some good examples of videos showcasing different filming and sound elements.

Examples of quick cuts or cut through:

• ‘Restless’ by Louis Berry, directed by Finn Keenan (folk/pop music)

• ‘Know About Me’ by Ryan De La Cruz (hip-hop)

Examples of visual samples repeated throughout the track:

• ‘Die Antwoord’ by Fatty Boom Boom (afro-punk)

• ‘Are You Trending’ by Vessels (electro)

Example of integration of different sound and visual elements to make it sound like a soundtrack:

• ‘Cut The World’ by Antony and the Johnsons (ballad).

Here are more examples of video editing works.

If you would like to collaborate with Tony Kearns on a project, visit his website.

 

 

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SEO Masterclass by Filip Silobod from Honest Marketing

SEO Masterclass

First, thanks so much to all those who came to attend this SEO Masterclass by Filip Silobod from Aro Digital Strategy on Tuesday 21st November 2017. Much appreciated! For those who want to keep in touch with him on LinkedIn, he has since then created his own company under the name of Honest Marketing.

I’m sharing with you a few pictures of the speaker and the audience taken at the venue.

If you would like to know more about Filip Silobod and the company he is working for, check this Eventbrite page.

SEO STRATEGY TOPICS

Secondly, Filip gave us a comprehensive masterclass on Search Engine Optimisation Strategy (SEO) to ensure that:

• Your website is getting a high amount of traffic
• It is ranking well on Google
• Your website is user-friendly and user experience-optimised
• The business is getting a good visibility online
• Your website is getting good Click-Through-Rate (CTR) conversions, whether through organic or paid search and advertising.

Let me share with you his presentation before delving into a bit more details on some topics. You will find Filip’s contact details in it. Please note that the slideshow of his presentation can be downloaded, saved or shared through Social Media.

When you build your website, you need to ensure that it is SEO-friendly and follows a long-term strategy.

DIGITAL SEO STRATEGY STEPS

Indeed, you may get more visits to your website and build a loyal customer base by considering these digital marketing and SEO methods:

1. Understand and optimise the use of machine learning
2. Optimise the User Experience on your site: easy access, page loading time, navigation ease, mobile-friendly website… Make sure you regularly check your Google Page Speed Insight as well as see how your website looks on mobile phones
3. Use paid advertising and search: Pay-Per-Click (PPC) with good visuals perform best. Paid Advertising will allow you to rank high in the Google Searches with Google Adwords. You can use Paid Social Media when you launch your website, new products or services
4. Analyse and Compare your site with your competitors
5. Take into account search trends for branded and non-branded keywords by using Google Keyword Planner and having a varied content with plenty of synonyms
6. Have clear Call-To-Actions (CTA) in your website’s main and secondary pages to allow higher conversions
7. Have a good landing page
8. Use long-tail keywords (min 4 words): This advice is especially valid if you are a small business with a recent website. It will improve the discovery of your keywords in searches
9. Create unique content that Google likes
10. Have few good backlinks (off-page optimisation) throughout your blog posts, linking to high authority websites. You may consider as well getting Public Relations (PR) releases
11. Review your website’s authority score with Moz. Your authority score indicates trust in your business
12. Increase your business local visibility by registering with Google My Business. Ensure you add quality images and request your customers to leave you reviews.
13. Optimise, track and analyse your traffic with Google Webmaster Tool.  You will need to review the queries (keywords) made by consumers to find your website or blog. These include meta title, URL and meta description. This analysis will give you insights as to understand when and why people left your website.

Remember that, although Social Media doesn’t have much value in terms of SEO (‘no-follow links’), it still allows people to interact with your brand. Social Media helps consumers discover your brand online. It also adds extra traffic to your website thanks to re-tweets, sharing of your posts’ links.

Although Google is the biggest and most used search engine used worldwide, there are other valid search engines that you may use, such as:

• Baidoo for the Indian market
• Bing for North American market (USA)
• Ecosia.org that is based on Bing
• Yandex for the Russian market.

Finally, keep in mind what matters the most isn’t so much how much your website/blog is searched for, but how many conversions you get. Conversions can be downloads, newsletter sign-ups, purchases, shares… This can be measured with the CTR by using Google Analytics.

 

 

 

Content Marketing Tips by Emma Boylan from Outside the Box

First of all, thanks to all attendees for coming to this event advertised on Eventbrite website. Most importantly special thanks to Emma Boylan from ‘Outside the Box’ for coming to talk to us at Bank of Ireland Grand Canal Square venue in Dublin (Ireland) about Content Marketing.

Secondly, let me talk to you a bit about Emma’s journey and story before going down to the content marketing piece.

Emma went a trip to Australia, where she did all kind of jobs. Then, she got back to work in Ireland. She left her 9 to 5 job four years ago to fulfill her dream of starting her own business.

She set up her ‘Outside the Box’ company when she saw that most marketing was all the same. She realised that businesses were really struggling to attract the right clients and have a message that made them different. At the beginning, she learnt a lot by doing. However, she started implementing a business plan about 2 years ago. She highly recommended you to have a plan when you get started so that you stay focused and motivated to reach your goals.

Using her passion for creative content and background in psychology, Emma has helped 100’s of businesses get crystal clear on their message to get them noticed and fill their businesses with clients in record time! So, I hope this will help you, too!

Please find below the talk topics and her visual presentation with her contact details. Please note that this slideshow can be downloaded and saved in your SlideShare account as well as shared through Social Media.

https://events.bankofireland.com/event/digital-marketing-tips-and-strategies-for-smbs/

Thirdly, I will detail a little more the explanations she gave beyond the slides themselves (transcript) so that you can understand them in the right context.

Step 1: To find the right client with the right message, focus on actually taking actions and avoiding procrastination.

Step 2: when you go about looking for clients, ask yourselves these questions:

• Who is your ideal client?
• What is your target market?
• What are their problems?

In all means, always make sure you are being your unique self. Don’t copy others as clients will notice this and it will appear unauthentic.

Step 3: Once you have done your research, start meeting people like you. Tell your unique story, that should answer the ‘Why’ and the ‘What’ about your business. Keep in mind that your story matters more than offering discounts. Emma suggested not to offer too many discounts to attract customers. Instead, give something people need and that they will buy. Indeed, your company must resonate with their needs and offer solutions to their problems.

Step 4: Create your branding message. For that purpose, keep in mind that people, in general, have the attention span of a goldfish, so you need to be brief in your message to grab their attention. When creating your message, you need to focus on your business benefits in 10 seconds. Yes, you read it correctly, your benefits and not so much your features!

Step 5: Think about the results you want to get. A good way to deliver an outstanding message is to reflect on the top 10 problems and solutions you can offer to a client. Again, it’s all about the client, so your content should revolve around him/her!

Step 5: Write a first marketing plan. This doesn’t need to be lengthy but instead highly focused on your goals. For example, ask yourself: ‘how many clients do you need to make X Euros? How many clients per week do I need to get?’ In other terms, focus on your Return on Investment (ROI). Do not worry if it’s not 100 % perfect, you can always revise it as the time goes on and your business evolves.

Step 6: Be social and engaging. It’s not all about how many followers you have but rather how engaged they are. You need to increase the quality of organic followers by measuring your engagement rate on your social posts.

Step 7: Be clear in your message about what you want your clients to do. In other terms, lead people by the hand by providing a clear call-to-action. Do not ask questions that may bring a ‘no’ answer.

Step 8: Represent your own self in your brand. People buy from people. So, be out there in picture or video. People want to get to know you, see who you are and feel connected to you. For example, a photography frame business taking pictures of themselves with their framed photography will see better results than just publishing the framed photography on its own. Your imagination costs nothing, so don’t be afraid to be different and unique!

Step 9: To be remembered, you must focus on creating habits and showcasing what people know you for and people will follow. So, be consistent in your posting schedule and allocate regular time to stick to it. If your followers are used to see your video every Tuesday, make sure you post your video each Tuesday.

Finally, if you would like to deepen your knowledge on how to stand out for success and market yourself to get more clients and make more money, Emma is providing a 6-month online programme. Check her Facebook video teaser for more information and contact her by email if you are interested in emmaboylanpr@gmail.com.

Astuces pour trouver un logement à Dublin, Irlande

Logement à Dublin

Tout d’abord, il y a actuellement une crise du logement à Dublin particulièrement. Par conséquent, c’est très difficile de trouver un logement.

D’autre part, les prix des loyers sont très élevés. Vous devrez vous acquitter d’un dépôt de garantie d’1 ou 2 mois à la signature du bail.  Préparez-vous à cela!

APPARTEMENTS ET MAISONS Meublés(es)

Cependant, bien que les appartements soient chers, sachez qu’ils sont tous meublés.

Dans le cas où vous ne seriez pas satisfait de vos meubles, vous en trouverez d’autres à pas cher chez Argos, Ikea ou Homelinefurniture.

En effet, homelinefurniture a des produits de très bonne qualité. Néanmoins, assurez-vous de vous faire livrer par leurs propres livreurs (livraison gratuite). Je vous conseille de passer votre commande par téléphone ainsi que vérifier si votre objet est à assembler ou non. Argos peut livrer certains produits. Ikea livre les meubles mais pas les plus petits articles.

AVANT VOTRE Départ

Mais, si vous n’êtes pas encore arrivé à Dublin, c’est le moment de planifier votre déménagement. En effet, vous aurez besoin de vous préparer avant votre départ pour éviter de mauvaises surprises.

Tout d’abord, réservez à l’avance en fonction de votre budget:

• une chambre dans une auberge de jeunesse
• un Bed & Breakfast
• un Hôtel.

Rappelez-vous que ces types de logements peuvent être complets lors des weekends ou évènements spéciaux.

Par conséquent, prévoyez une ou deux semaine(s) de réservation d’un hébergement court-terme pour vous donner du temps de recherche. Cela vous épargnera du stress inutile!

Pour tous les logements temporaires, consultez leurs évaluations et faites votre réservation en cliquant sur ‘Book Now’ dans la bannière ci-dessous.

Booking.com

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var s = d.createElement(sc), p = d.getElementsByTagName(sc)[0];
s.type = ‘text/javascript’;
s.async = true;
s.src = u + ‘?v=’ + (+new Date());
p.parentNode.insertBefore(s,p);
})(document, ‘script’, ‘//aff.bstatic.com/static/affiliate_base/js/flexiproduct.js’);

RECHERCHE DE LOGEMENT LONGUE DURée

Ensuite, quand vous cherchez votre logement, soyez ouverts d’esprit!

Recherchez aussi bien en centre-ville qu’aux alentours. Voici un article qui explique la division de Dublin en quartiers.

Vérifiez aussi ces sites pour connaitre les transports publics proches de chez vous:

• Dublin Bus
• Luas (Tram)
• Dart (Train).

De plus, pensez aussi à vérifier les directions et distances sur Google Maps.

LES ANNONCES EN LIGNE

• Les groupes d’annonces sur Facebook:

Néanmois, vous pouvez économiser un peu. Pour cela, mettez-vous directement en relation avec les propriétaires par le biais de Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/291707920948894/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/idealflatshare/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1397271653639272/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Dublin.Flatshare/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1607597689487462/?ref=bookmarks

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1459037897697419/?ref=bookmarks=

https://www.facebook.com/groups/theidealflatmatedublin/?ref=bookmarks

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RentalDublin/?ref=bookmarks

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Rentdublin/?ref=bookmarks

Si vous choisissez cette option, n’oubliez pas de commenter sous l’article du logement. Indiquez-leur aussi que vous leur avez envoyé un message privé pour arranger une visite.

• Les sites d’agences de location:

Sinon, la majorité des logements est publiée sur ces sites d’agences:

http://www.daft.ie/

https://www.myhome.ie/rentals/dublin/property-to-rent

http://home.ie/

http://www.rent.ie/

Pour que votre recherche soit efficace, connectez-vous sur leurs sites vers 9h30 et répondez/contactez aussitôt.

En effet, les annonces mises en ligne durant la nuit sont mises à jour dès l’ouverture, vers 8h30-9h et consultables peu après. Comme une bonne annonce ne reste jamais ouverte plus de 3h… Si vous attendez la fin de la journée, c’est trop tard!

• Logements pour étudiants:

Par contre, si vous êtes étudiant(e), vérifiez la section  ‘student room’ ces sites.

Vous pouvez également  opter pour le campus d’une des facs’ ou site spécial étudiants:

https://erasmusu.com/en/erasmus-dublin/student-housing

https://www.daft.ie/dublin/estate-agents/dublin-8/hostingpower/

http://studenthousing.ie/

PAIEMENT DU LOYER

En ce qui concerne le paiment du loyer, soyez vigilants! Si la personne vous dit qu’elle voyage souvent, c’est un avertissement à la fraude!

NE JAMAIS PAYER un loyer ou une quittance à l’avance. NE JAMAIS SIGNER UN CONTRAT à l’avance sans avoir visiter l’appartement! Assurez-vous d’avoir au minimum le contrat en main! Vous pouvez proposer de payer par débit direct.

LES CLAUSES DE VOTRE BAIL

D’autre part,  rappellez-vous que les visites “surprises” des propriétaires  sont illégales. Par conséquent, assurez-vous que le bail prévoit une clause stipulant les conditions de visite.

Vérifiez aussi les clauses du contrat. En effet, les animaux de compagnie sont rarement autorisés.

PRISE DE Décision

Enfin, si vous visitez un logement et que vous l’aimez, ne partez pas en disant je vais y réfléchir!

Il y a des chances que vous perdiez le logement! Ayez aussi tous les documents et l’argent prêts pour réserver le logement!

Jettez un oeil à ces astuces utiles du forum Reddit pour ne pas rater d’opportunités.

I may earn a small commission for my affiliate link to booking.com services from this website. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you real information about expatriation in Ireland.

BlueFire Street Festival 2017 – music and dance in videos

This year, we got a little unlucky for the Bluefire Street Festival because it was ☔ the whole day. So, fair play to festival organisers, volunteers, festival-goers and street performers who put up with the rain!👏On the main stage, there were a little luckier as they were sheltered from the rain.

However, this didn’t prevent us from attending it and it was enjoyable despite the bad weather conditions.

I have taken pictures of the programme from this year’s festival as well as street art murals, circus performers on stilts, a stage music performance (Ronix), a youth talk from the Girl Crew and the welcome tent. Take a look at this slideshow to view the pictures. If you’d like to find out more information about the performers at BlueFire Street Festival, take a look at their website.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I have also filmed this new school hip-hop street dance performer that replaced Sam Gabriel. If you’d like to follow Des Ebelle on Facebook as well, check his page here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZJLsmqF_hN/

Finally, I spent most of my time watching the Venezuelan singer Ronix featuring Allegro andante band on the main stage playing Latin fusion sounds like merengue, bachata… Their infectious latino rhythms kept us on our feet!

If you would like to follow them, you can find them on Facebook at Ronix and Allegro andante show band.

I have filmed two long videos and a shorter one, which I hope you will enjoy!

If you have taken more pictures or videos, share their links with us in the comment box below!

If you would like to watch the festival for the 2015-year edition, check my other blog post. That year, the organisers got luckier with the weather, so more people attended the event. I was also able to take more pictures and film more performances. So, enjoy!

Belgian Hip-Hop History Exhibition and Festival 2017 in Brussels

Belgian Hip-Hop History Exhibition

Before heading off for a few days in Brussels, Belgium, I did a bit of research about what was on during my stay. I fell upon the following PDF article from Bozar and visit.Brussels about a Belgian Hip-Hop History Exhibition and Festival 2017.

That article teased my curiosity and 👀 I decided to check Bozar’s website further. When you visit their homepage, you will be given the option to select between French (FR), English (EN) or Dutch (NL) languages before landing on the programme page.

If you are interested in Hip Hop history from the very beginnings in the USA to its export and expansion in Belgium, you’ll be enjoying this post!

The hip-hop festival organisers enabled online booking. Online ticket bookings entitled you to:

• a free coffee upon order of a pastry
• a free glass of wine or a meal.

However, if you were not around for that period of time, don’t worry, I will take you through the exhibition by sharing with you few pictures and videos. 😉 (I can’t talk about the other programmed events, though).

DANCE VIDEO TUTORIALS

When I entered the Centre for Fine Arts, there was a screen showing a b-boy doing few moves. It was also providing visitors with dance tutorials on basic b-boying steps. Take a look at some of the video snippets filmed with Snapchat!

 

 

DANCE COMPETITION

After that, I walked up the stairs to enter the exhibition area, which was a mix of audio, visuals, and videos explaining the hip-hop movement history. There was a big screen displaying a film of all world b-boying dance competitions.

HIP-HOP IN ALL ITS FORMS: MUSIC, ARTS AND DANCE

Then, the exhibition went through the hip-hop evolution in all its forms, i.e music, arts and dance.

Again, the exhibition was in French, Dutch, and English. Please note however that for some of the pieces, I couldn’t get the whole translated text in pictures.

Remember that you can pause each picture in the slideshow to read the information. You will find 2 short videos below this slideshow showcasing:

• B-girls dancing,
• Stromae singing
• Rab djing.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

At the very end of the exhibition, they had a 360 degrees screen showing different clips simultaneously.

I have recorded few bits of the main ones:

I hope you learnt a few things about the hip-hop evolution.

Any of you want to volunteer to translate into English the few pieces that do not have a translation?