What is the story of a parade?  Is the story the organization and effort that goes in to putting a parade on?  Is the story the people who volunteer their time to build floats, march and participate?  Is the story the people who come out to see the parade?  What is the story of a parade?

The 275th Anniversary parade of Nazareth, PA is a celebration of the town, its history, and the people.  For me, the celebration is the story.  After all, isn't that what parades are all about? Celebration.  

Videotaping the parade was the easy part.  There's a lot of motion, colors, people waving, interesting angles, bands playing and marching, and fire engines with their lights and sirens.  It all make for great video and is fun to videotape.

Editing though is a challenge.  Especially in trying to determine the music.  What is the music of a parade?  Is it the marches of John Philip Souza?  I played around with several different types of music from modern instrumental to jazz to marches to ragtime.  Finally, I came upon a whimsical piece of music reminiscent of old time silent films.  It was perfect.  Once I found the right piece of music the rest of the edit was easy.

This was a fun project.  Thanks to Joe Marcus of All Points Images for making it happen.

Happy 275th Birthday Nazareth!
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Enjoy.

Yesterday, was the first of new format for the Lehigh Valley Elite Network.  In the new format there's one presenter presenting on a topic related to social media and how it can help grow your business.  Yesterday's presentation was on Google Analytics presented by Andrea Kirchuk of Computer Images Web.  There was a lot of valuable information on how to link your website to Google analytics, the information Google provides, and, most importantly, what that means for your business.  

Next month's presentation is on Google+.  I highly encourage business owners to attend the next meeting at Leaf Cigar Bar to do some networking and learn how Google+ can help you grow your business.

What's Your Story?  Your business's story is one of the most important stories you can tell.  As highlighted in this short film I edited for my friends at FIFO, a filmmaker's consortium in the Lehigh Valley, it's not just any story.  It's the right story at the right time.  

There are a lot of different stories your business can tell from the standard promotional video, to case studies, testimonials and what I like to call the "Why you do what you do" story.  This gets in to your passion for your business and why you started it.


Why should you tell your story?  Simple.  Your website is your 24/7 sales tool.  It can educate and entertain while you sleep.  Having video on your website keeps visitors on your site longer than a site without video.  Time in which you can build a relationship with potential customers and differentiate yourself from your competition.

So, what's your story?  

My friend and fellow Toastmaster Linda Reed Friedman of Advanta Strategies just published her first book.  Yeah!  It's called Act the Part! Get the Part! Make yourself a Power Professional.  I caught up with Linda after a networking event for a brief interview about the book.    The book was a ten year labor of love as she collected tidbits on strategy, etiquette, and leadership.  She also lets you in on the age old secret of which roll is yours at the dinner table.

When most people think of color correcting they think of giving their film a "look".  Yet, there's more to color correcting than just giving your footage a "look".  Color correcting, when done correctly, should help tell the story you are trying to convey.  That could be through a "look" as if you're in the desert or a battlefield but mainly it's used to help focus the viewer's attention to the main subject of the scene.  

Take a look at the two images below.  The image on the left is the original camera footage.  Your eye is immediately drawn to the traffic on the road as that's exposed properly.  The driver (who is the main character of the film) is in silhouette.  By applying simple color correction to the shot and reducing the exposure of the oncoming traffic and increasing the exposure of the driver your attention is now drawn to the film's main character.    This simple use of color correction helps draw the viewer's attention into the story and focuses them on what's important - the driver getting bad news.

Today I had the great privilege of interviewing Scott Mulvaney of the Lehigh Valley Fitness Network and Whitney Derrico of Liven Up Health and Wellness about their collaboration with the Work It Out Foundation. 

The Work It Out Foundation is a new Foundation here in the Lehigh Valley started by Whitney in response to one of her employee's struggle with cancer.  The goal of the Work It Out Foundation is to bring together the Health, Wellness, and Fitness providers to help individuals work through their struggles.  The struggles can be big or small from returning from a hospital visit to wanting to start yoga and not knowing where to look.  The Work It Out Foundation will help you through the struggle.  It's a perfect partnership with the Lehigh Valley Fitness Network which is a Network of Health, Wellness and Fitness providers and consumers in the Lehigh Valley.  

The taping took place at CrossFit Adoration in Bethlehem PA who graciously opened their doors to us and let us take over their box for the afternoon.  While there we also had the opportunity to interview Fran Ohl about her battle with cancer and how she turned to fitness to help her through it.

Thank you to Joe Marcus of All Points Images for the above image and supporting the effort with awesome photography!

It's here!!  The Vowinkel.tv entry in to the Lehigh Valley Elite Network video showcase is ready.  The video seeks to answer the question "What value does attending the Lehigh Valley Elite Network bring to your business?"  Valerie Bittner and I interviewed a lot of people in a "Man on the Street" style to get their input.  

The best part of video production is being able to collaborate with other talented people.  This video was a complete collaboration between Valerie Bittner, Nick Levinos who composed the music and Vowinkel.tv.    I can't say enough about Valerie she approaches a project with a lot of great ideas, is a true professional and, also, fun to work with.   I highly recommend her as a model, actress, and spokesperson. 

If you are looking to have music composed for your next project or a great live band/guitarist talk to Nick Levinos.  Nick went above and beyond on this project.  I asked for a 30 second loop he scored the whole video.  He's fantastic to work with, a great composer, and is able to interpret my non-musical description into great music.

Thanks to all the people we talked to - Patti Klapchar - CK Tours and Cruises, Linda Reed Friedman - Advanta Strategies, Rob Sayre - PMI Performance Marketing Inc., Michael Schwentner - 1847 Financial, Todd Patnaude - Express Signs Outlet, Geraldine Viola - Cupcakes by GG, Brooke Mitman - Third St. Alliance for Women and Children, Rashada Nuñez - Designs by Rashada, Kevin Ramaley - Rockin' Ramaley, Steve Gunn - Steve Gunn Coaching, Becky Konzelmann - Windstream Communications, Peter Ambrosino - Snacky Matz Healthy Vending, Michelle Murphy - Public Adjuster,  Jennifer Schimmel - Keller Williams Realty, Stephan Christopher - Rocking the Valley, Mary Jo Roma - Virtual Specialists, and Andrea Kirchuk - Computer Images Web.

The final day of taping the testimonial video for the Lehigh Valley Elite Network brought Valerie Bittner and myself to Buca di Beppo in Wyomissing, PA.  Once again,  we had a great time talking with members of the Lehigh Valley Elite Network learning about their businesses and the value being a member brings to their business.

Highlights from the second day of taping the testimonial video for the Lehigh Valley Elite Network brought Valerie Bittner and myself to Morgan's Local Flavor.  We had a great time interviewing members about the value of being a member of the Lehigh Valley Elite Network.

The Lehigh Valley Elite Network is running a video contest to highlight the benefits of attending the monthly meetings.  Vowinkel.tv teamed up with Valerie Bittner, actress, voice over artist, and spokesperson to produce an entry in the Lehigh Valley Elite Network video contest.   Attendees were asked "what is the value of the Lehigh Valley Elite Network to your business?" 

Below are highlights from the first day of taping at the Texas Roadhouse in Easton.   Look for the final video in the days ahead.

Enjoy.