One of my favorite podcasts is Meet The Experts by Pixel Heads Networks. The reason is simple - the value to noise ratio here is huge. Almost every episode taught me about a product or workflow I should know about, and at least once affected my buying decision. So, I took the opportunity to interview Marcelo Lewin, the guy behind this and other shows for digital media creators.

What's Pixel Heads Network? Which shows are a part of the network and who is their target audience?

Pixel Heads Network is a Internet Media Network dedicated web shows for digital media creators. We create shows that entertain, educate and inform digital media creators. Currently we have 5 shows:

Meet The Experts, is a show were we interview experts in new media and we go indepth on topics that affect new media and digital media creators.

EXPOzed covers all the expo shows, including NAB, Macworld, CES, HD Expo, DV Expo, plus many others. We interview all the vendors with in-depth questions on their products.

Digital Media Quick Tips is focused on the "how-to" for digital media creators. We show you how use a variety of different applications and get in-depth on the topics. We usually start with a problem (e.g. How do you capture AVCHD on Final Cut Pro) and end with a solution.

Tame The Tube concentrates on YouTube and how video producers can harness its power for media distribution and marketing.

And Mac-411 which is dedicated to Mac users showing them how to use the thousands of applications that are available for the Mac.

Wow, pretty impressive. Many podcasters can't make a living out of this hobby - is this your full time job, or just a part time thing?

PHN was a part time thing (along with my full time job) until December, when it was acquired by a company called ProMAX Systems, which provides digital media solutions to digital media creators (e.g. Full systems for video editing, web development, audio engineering, etc.). Our match was made in heaven. We both complement each other and have the same customer. Now that we are part of ProMAX, we will continue to provide quality shows (and remain fully editorially independent from what ProMAX sells) to both our viewers and the ProMAX customer base. And our viewers now will have access to purchasing the best digital media solutions anywhere.

How do you gain access to all those great people in your podcasts?

It's funny because many people always ask me this. But I have one rule in life. Ask. Just ask. What's the worst that can happen when you ask? You get denied and you move on. What's the best that can happen when you ask? They say yes! Besides that, another great thing I learned is to make friends and treat PR people real well. Why? Usually, you have to go through a PR representative to get to a CEO or COO or high profile person. If you do a good job with them and then you do a terrific job with the interview, the person you interview usually tells their PR person it was great. Then the PR person usually will get back to you and offer you other people they represent. It's all about building relationships with people, treating people fairly and right.

How do you work with advertisers and sponsors? What are their main concerns? How do you address them?

Advertisers are moving away from traditional media and moving many of their dollars into new media. The target market we go after, digital media creators, are usually well educated, affluent people, so it doesn't take that much to convince a vendor that provides digital media creation tools to sponsor our shows. Our viewers are their potential (or even current) customers. It is very important, though, that you know who your audience is, and be able to define it properly and, have enough statistics to show a potential sponsor who your audience is, what they are watching, the # of views per video, etc. Also, if you can get a high profile sponsor (even if you charge them very little or even nothing), it will help you in the future get other sponsors. No one ever wants to be the first one...but if they see others are in on it, they'll jump right in.

Now that you guy(s) were bought how would your network operate?

Now that we are part of ProMAX, my title changed from CEO of Pixel Heads Network to General Manager of Pixel Heads Network and also Director of Interactive Media for ProMAX. My responsibilities will continue to be the same for PHN, but I will take on additional responsibilities managing all the aspects of interactive media for ProMAX including all eMarketing efforts. It's definitely an exciting time and I look forward to continue to bring quality content to digital media creators while at the same time, working in an environment (ProMAX) which highly values digital media creators!

Would you believe that I will find myself reading a book about video compression and enjoying it?

Video compression is not the most exciting topic in the world to say the least. Too much technical terms, formats, codecs and applications makes it something I really hate doing. However, video compression has a huge effect on how the final video looks like. More often than I am happy to admit, my videos look great within Final Cut Pro, but look horrible on iTunes. Real World Video Compression, by Andy Beach, is the perfect book for guys like me.

Andy was interviewed in one of the best podcasts for new media creators - Meet The Expert . In the podcast, Andy said that he wanted to write a book that is about video compression for non techie guys who are interested in getting things done, without going into too many details. I also liked the fact that Andy was a film student, and not only a computer geek.

After reading this book, I can clearly say that the guy did an amazing job. I read the book in couple of days and started to immediately implement some of the tips. The book not only takes you through different formats and their implications, but also provides detailed review and walk through of main compression applications, including the ones I use (Compressor, VisualHub, and Elgato's Turbo 264). It also gives some general tips that help in understanding the field in general.

The book is accompanied by a blog that keeps the information updated as technology advances.

I strongly recommend this book for the guys who just want to get the job done, without turning into video Ph.D . You can find the book also in our store.

Last week I had a moment of joy thanks to the Workbook Project

The site, started by Lance Weiler, is an open source project for filmmakers, where independent filmmakers and other envelope pushers give tips and advices to filmmakers, analyze the industry, and provide valuable information to the entire industry.

I am reading it since it opened a couple of years ago, finding a lot of useful and thought provoking posts.

Therefore, it was great to be approached by Lance, and join the team. My first post can be found here.  I hope to contribute regularly to this important site, so don't forget to visit...

Tags: Kfir Pravda, lance weiler, workbook project, indie, rebel

In the past things were clear - broadcast television required a specific level of production. Lighting, sound, camera quality - all were parts of the definition.

Not only that "fit to broadcast" affected quality of TV images and videos - it also affected the cost per production minute of TV material. This, coupled with ownership of screens and TV channels created a high barrier of entry to new players in the video and TV market.

YouTube, mobile phones, and citizen journalism changed it all. These three factors made sure that poor quality video crossed the boundaries of the Internet to prime time TV. average TV viewer is used to see poor quality video, taken with low end mobile phones video cameras or  web cams, as part of news flashes and entertainment shows.

But why these grainy and pixelated low quality videos are on broadcast TV? Because they tell a good story. Whether it is a Tsunami footage, extra funny lipsync, or unique view on a hot topic, viewers are willing to see low quality footage in case it is a high quality story.

In a past post I've argued that viewers are willing to accept low production quality in exchange for a good story. The fact that we take for granted YouTube clips on news flashes proves this point.

Therefore, a creator without a dime, that has limited resources, should remember that production value, though important, is just part of the equation. Great story, timely news flash, in-depth analysis, and believable characters are crucial for success, much more than HD camera, and great effects.

In the last couple of weeks I came across several links with tons of software information for content creators.

Let's start with the best option - free software for filmmakers. FreeGeekery sent me this link, with their best picks. They pretty much covered the main applications out there, with a clear description of each product and its features.

Chris Brogan was kind enough to share this huge collection of podcast production software, from Mashable, which led me to another collection of software and sites - this time in the video area.

Enjoy!

Last night, Jeff Pulver and I broadcasted and recorded two short live shows from TLV and Frankfurt airport, en route to Stockholm. It was a lot of fun, we just opened a laptop and started broadcasting.

However, since we didn't have a lot of viewers, it made us think about the means of increasing internet TV viewership in general, and particularly live broadcasting. Some of the things we found crucial:

1. Announce your show early enough, through blogs, Twitter and such.

2. Define a concrete topic to each show, so people would know what they are getting.

3. Find hosts that have good chemistry, so non scripted situations will flow and be as funny as the rehearsed ones.

We look forward to do several additional shows like these while in Stockholm - Hopefully with interesting and creative people from Podcamp.

Technorati Tags: BlogTV, Personal Broadband Broadcasting, Jeff Pulver, Live Broadcsting , How to, podcampeurope

CinemaTech: Is Porn Industry an Indicator of How Quickly Mainstream Movies Will Go Digital? - probably is, though it will take longer for the others

The Business Of Online Video: RealNetworks Introduces New Player: We Already Have Too Many - totally agree, but give a good one which is not VLC player and I am happy.

NewTeeVee » Does Digital Fingerprinting Work?: An Investigative Report

- it seems that not really...

Help Izzy to make his wife happy - I watch his show, so I should at least help a bit :)

And, last but not least - how to be a Zombie on the cheap:

Have a great weekend!

Kfir Pravda

Technorati Tags: fingerprinting, porn, online video, video sharing, realnetworks, FX, special effects, rebel filmmaking

Some weekend links:

Om Malik has covers the new video regulations of EU and Japan

If you want to see more DIY tutorials, and learn about micro budget films, Microcinema Scene is the site for you.

And finally, one funny link I got from a friend - Jack Black has his own video creation tutorial. Did you know that he is a son of rocket scientists and shares the same birthday as the breathtaking Shania Twain? Makes you think...

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to have fun!

Technorati Tags: Law, EU, Regulation, Jack Black, Shania Twain, Filmmaking, Microbudget, Microcinema

My friend Chris Brogan posted a great article in his blog about the difference between Video, Audio and text for content creators.

Here are the highlights:

1. Video is good for visual information - and that's why interviews are often cut in the middle as they are boring to watch. it is an important point in my opinion especially for DIY content creators, as interviews are one of the cheapest content type to create.

2. Audio creates deeper relations between the listener and the speaker.

3. Text is a great tool to provide information as is.

Another important observation Chris is making, is that there is no one medium any more - you should use different types of media to deliver your message.

These are just the highlights - please go to the original post for more details.

Technorati Tags: Chris Brogan, audio, text, video, blog, vlog, podcast

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Recently I wrote a post about the importance of a good story, mentioning the amazing book by Robert Mckee with the same title.

Not long after that, Lance Weiler, an independent film producer, director and distributor, who directed movies such as Head Trauma and The Last Broadcast, published a great post about the relation between video games and movie scripts, discussing the same McKee book.

The post, written by M.Strange, and published at the Workbook Project blog, was a real eye opener, and simplified a lot of the concepts in the original book.

Here is a small example, comparing the idea of gradual increase in tension, with difficulty levels of Bosses in most video games:

I wanted to write about Lance for some time, as he is a multidisciplinary person with strong understanding of the power of social networks and online promotion. The Workbook project, one of zillion websites, is a great source for DYI filmmaking and thought leadership.

Lance, if you are reading this post - drop me a line, I'd love to e-mail interview you for my humble blog!

Here's the song from M.Strange first movie, "We Are The Strange":