Canon T2i dSLR camera

If you’ve been following my blog posts, you know I use a Canon Vixia HF S10 to shoot my own videos. Great camera, excellent quality and it does everything it’s supposed to do.

I recently sold my Sony digital camera to a great trial attorney in Virginia (thanks Sandra!) and needed to upgrade. I took the plunge and bought a Canon T2i dSLR. It takes 18 megapixel photos, has a 3″ viewing screen and also takes hi-definition video. I justified my purchase by convincing myself that I could use it to shoot my videos that I make to market my own practice. Oy, what a production.

You may have also seen a recent blog post I did while I was on vacation, testing out my new camera. Yes, I took 938 photos and 35 videos. It was awesome. (Just try color correcting and cropping 938 photos- it’s enough to make you bleary eyed for weeks). Anyway, I recently shot 2 videos about medical malpractice. The videos were about 4 minutes long.

I spent a really long time playing with the settings. Why? Because this is not a ‘point-and-shoot’ camera. It’s not a ‘press the red record button’ and start talking.

First, it has no flip out monitor. That means you can’t tell exactly whether you’re in the frame or not when shooting your own video. That means you have to repeatedly go back and forth to see if where you were standing is good. I could have hooked up a separate TV monitor, but didn’t want to go that route. I wanted to see how easy/difficult it would be without it. Also, the camera doesn’t come with a remote control to press record or stop. Aggh. That means I press record, then walk to where I’ll be taping.

Wait…there’s more. Remember how cool your autofocus function is on your video camera? No matter where you stand, your camera will automatically bring you into focus? Not so with my shiny new dSLR. Why not? Because it’s not a point and shoot camera. You must pre-focus, either manually or by autofocus and press the shutter down half-way.

“But wait!” you scream. “How can I focus on myself, if I have to pre-focus the camera and stand next to the camera to do that?” you ask. A great question! One that perplexed me for some time; especially since I was shooting the video on my own and there was nobody to stand behind the camera and press the shutter half-way. Needless to say, that required a creative solution that I’ll save for my video coaching group (which you are invited to join).

When I played back the videos I was stunned. Amazed. In awe. The quality was magnificent. The depth of field was wild to see on a consumer level video camera. Depth of field is where one object is in focus and everything behind it is blurred. You can often tell the difference between a soap opera, where everything is in focus compared to a feature film where people are often in focus but the background is blurred.

Stay tuned for the herculean effort needed to now get those videos off the camera and into my non-linear video editing software; also known as Final Cut Express.

Final point. If the technical stuff bores you, as I’m sure this will for some attorneys reading this, why trouble yourself figuring out how to do this stuff yourself? Stop wasting your time struggling with getting the video off your camera. Stop trying to get those edits and transitions just right. Don’t worry about how to do lower third graphics with fly-in effects. Have you really gotten those compression settings just right? Do your videos look anamorphic?

Take a breather and pick up the phone to schedule a phone conference with me. 516-487-8207. Go back to doing what you do best; practicing law. Let me take the burden off you. I make creating video fun, simple and easy. Stop struggling and wasting hours of your day. Give me a call. I guarantee it will be eye-opening and refreshing when you realize you don’t need to do this yourself.

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Canon T2i dSLR camera

That’s exactly what my brother asked me when I returned from vacation from the Caribbean after having just purchased the Canon T2i camera with an 18-55mm lens and a 55mm-250mm zoom lens. I was super excited when my camera was delivered the day before we were leaving. I had just sold my previous Sony Cyber Shot DSC F828 camera and had bought the Canon dSLR primarily to shoot video. I am a medical malpractice and personal injury trial lawyer in New York and have created a business where I help lawyers produce educational video to market themselves online. I had been using my Canon Vixia HF S10 video camera to create excellent quality video up until that point.

When the reviews came out about this Canon digital SLR I was fascinated with the fact that it took full high definition video, and importantly had an external microphone input that would allow me to connect my wireless lavalier microphone. This was the perfect opportunity for me to try out the camera’s functions, quality and importantly, video capability.

Another dolphin to swim with

The primary reason for buying this particular camera is that it allows me to create depth of field when shooting video. Standard video cameras keep everything in focus. This dSLR allowed you to have your video image crystal clear in the front, and had your background blurred to create depth of field. The difference is remarkable and is comparable to watching daytime soap opera or watching a feature length movie.

This camera has a super-fast high speed shutter and high-speed exposure, up to a maximum of 3200 ISO. It shoots 3.7 frames per second in continuous shooting mode. The camera comes with a very smart booklet on photography that provides a quick read that explains what the different settings are on the camera. Importantly, it shows you how you can utilize those settings with actual photo results.

Swimming with the dolphins

We were away for five days and I was actually stunned by the quality of the 18 megapixel photographs that were showing up on the 3 inch LCD screen on camera. The low light capability was incredible. We were in a steak restaurant for my mother-in-law’s birthday, and the lighting was very dim. The pictures I took that evening in the restaurant were among the most memorable.

We took the kids to swim with the dolphins one morning and I’m extremely pleased that this camera had the ability to shoot high speed photos and take great action shots. My wife was getting frustrated since she has a small point and shoot camera and every time the dolphin would jump in the air and do tricks she would miss the shot since her camera took too long to compose the picture, autofocus, and then take the picture. My camera was able to take beautiful, crystal-clear photos and video of action shots showing the dolphin in midair and interacting with my kids.

Swimming with the dolphins

The 18 mm-55 mm lens produced great quality photo and video images. There was abundant light generated from this lens that I was really happy with. The zoom lens worked perfectly. It was a perfect complement to the smaller lens.

The settings are easy to learn, and even my eight-year-old became very proficient at shooting great quality photos and video with this camera. Each of my kids had a chance to play around with the camera and each of them said “Dad, this camera is great and takes great pictures.”

Don’t worry, I won’t show you all of my vacation photos…only some of them

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Gerry

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The hotel says you get a nice room for the price. Fair enough. When you check in, they tell you that you will have a mandatory $20 fee, per night, per room, for use of their gym, sauna and steam room, whether you use it or not. Ok. We have two rooms.

When you get to your room, there are two really nice tall bottles of water waiting for you. Until you get closer and see tags around the bottles saying that if you touch them you will automatically be billed $7.50 per bottle. Ouch. To use the internet is another $15 per day. To use their business center costs $1 per minute. Then they charge in increments of $10 per 10 minutes.

Then, since there were no rooms with two double beds they gave us a king size bed. That’s nice, right? Well, where’s my other son supposed to sleep? “You need a roll-a-way, right?” they asked at the front desk. “Yes…” I answered. “That will be $15 per night, per room,” came the quick reply. We needed two roll-aways. (My mother-in-law was so incensed that because they didn’t have the right beds, we shouldn’t be charged for the extra bedding. They agreed. “Thanks, Helene!)

This is how a nice hotel nickels and dimes their way to customer hell. It’s not that I can’t afford this. I can. It’s the way they use these little charges to ruin a great experience at a nice resort.

How does this relate to you?

If you charge clients for your services, you might have noticed a similar pattern. You might charge for postage or photocopying. Maybe you keep track of your paperclips for each client. There’s nothing wrong with that from a tracking standpoint. But look at it from the client’s point of view. Every time you think or breathe on the case, the client gets charged. Fedex; charge. Highlighters; charge it. Binders; charge it. Phone usage; charge it.

As far as the hotel goes, if they simply charged me an extra $75 per night for my room and included everything else in the hotel for ‘free’, I’d be fine with that. In your law practice you might consider the same thing. Charge a higher fee and then tell your client that all the incidentals are free. “Compliments of the house!”

Don’t banish yourself to client hell by nickel and diming your clients. You’ll regret it.

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Don’t get me wrong. I like listening to boring CLE lectures as much as the next attorney. I’m required to rack up a certain number of CLE credits each year, just like you.  I like having the same speakers talk about the same trial tactics seminars I’ve been listening to for more than 21 years. Don’t get me wrong…I’ve learned a lot from these attorneys. I’ve also gone to ‘marketing’ seminars put on by the bar associations with these same personal injury and medical malpractice lawyers. I honestly can say that I have not learned much there. I wish someone had instead directed me to Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazer (direct response marketers that teach other people how improve their bottom line).

Over the last year, as I began to fine-tuned my total online video solution for attorneys, I wanted to get the word out to fellow attorneys who could benefit from video marketing that was making my phone ring. I have lectured to attorneys at the New York City Bar Association in Manhattan about medical malpractice law. I have created CLE approved lectures both in person and on video, discussing medical malpractice in New York. I have also been invited back to lecture on the same topic. In fact, I am lecturing to attorneys this month, July 15, 2010, at the NYC Bar Association about medical malpractice law. Thinking that I could offer attorneys useful information about video marketing, I approached the New York City Bar Association and the NYS Trial Lawyers Association.

Each has a committee that vets topics deemed worthy. That’s understandable. They don’t want their attorneys to be inundated and bored to death with topics they can’t use or relate to. Also, they have to be able to offer CLE credit to their members and there are various requirements needed to justify approving CLE credits. Also understandable.

When I suggested that I present a seminar about video marketing for attorneys and have other legal marketing experts talk to attorneys about how to market their practice, the response was eye-opening. The NYC Bar was quite clear. They said they do not want a seminar where attorneys or marketers are pitching or selling their services to their members. Not even if the material was educational and informational only. “Hmmm,” I thought. Rejected. Ok. Maybe the NYS trial lawyers would have a different take on it.

I was wrong. The seminar topics were selected two years in advance and they didn’t see a need for topics on attorney marketing. However, they did offer an alternative. They said I could become a preferred vendor and appear outside each of the seminars in order to promote my service. “No thanks,” I replied.

I finally realized that the bar associations didn’t want to run marketing seminars since they could not justify giving CLE credit. That’s understandable. I finally realized that attorneys who want to learn about my services and how they can benefit from video marketing can learn tons of useful stuff from my online webinars, live seminars, video blog articles, my video coaching group for attorneys (the only video coaching group for lawyers in the country) and my Total Online Video Solution for Attorneys. Oh yes, they can also contact any one of the attorneys who have used my services and ask them personally what they thought.

You can be sure that the next time you hear me speak about video marketing for attorneys at a seminar, that my content has never been given to any bar association for CLE credit. What’s more important to you? Accumulating CLE credits or learning how to improve your bottom line and convert online viewers into callers?

The decision, as always, is yours. Choose wisely.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

Gerry

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-You Can't Find This Newspaper Anywhere But Here-

Do you know what the Ken Burns effect is? If you’re a photo buff, you will. It’s where your photo editing program magically takes a still photo and creates movement to make it appear as if it’s a moving image. It’s really cool to see during a slide show. Ok, now you know what a Ken Burns effect is, but what is the John Burns effect?

I’m glad you asked. It’s when a really smart attorney recognizes that the only person to create video for him is a veteran trial lawyer who’s also an experienced video producer. The John Burns effect is where a lawyer realizes that it’s so important to create video with a producer who ‘gets it’ that he (or she) is willing to fly across the entire country just to create their educational video. That’s the John Burns effect.

To give you an idea of who John Burns is, here’s a photo of him in the Lawyers Video Studio creating tons of useful content.

Attorney John Burns

We’re shooting video with a green chroma-key background. You can see the video camera and wireless microphone sitting on a tripod. Notice the lights all around him? Illumination is the key.

Once you recognize that your video producer is the key to creating compelling content, you too will understand the John Burns effect.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Gerry

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The answer is, a really smart personal injury trial lawyer who recognizes how important it is to have a trial lawyer as your video producer.

John Burns was an airline pilot flying wide-bodied jets before he decided to become a personal injury trial lawyer in Southern California. When he decided to create educational video to market his law practice he recognized that there were no video production companies that had a trial lawyer who he could connect with, that understood the type of law he practiced. Until he found me.

He found what I offered so compelling that rather than have him shoot video with a videographer that I personally trained, he decided to fly across the entire country and come to my office so I could direct and produce his videos. Talk about an ego boost! What he learned during our video shoot confirmed his belief that it was vitally important to have a trial lawyer as his video producer. In a few weeks, you’re going to hear John, in his own words on video, describe why he flew cross-country to shoot video with me in the Lawyers Video Studio here on Long Island.

During one of John’s videos he mentioned an area of law that I felt needed to be changed. I stopped him and he corrected the important point he was making. He immediately told me that if this was being done with a regular videographer, there was no way this important nuance would have been picked up, and would likely have been misinterpreted by someone listening to it.

We shot over 40 video clips in one day. A long and very productive day. Congratulations to John Burns and watch for previews of his videos and behind the scenes photos- one of which is posted here.

If you’re interested in the only video coaching group for lawyers in the country, then click here to learn more. If you want to start creating compelling video that will convert online viewers into callers, like John did today, I encourage you to click here to learn more.

Gerry

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Great Legal Marketing, Fairfax Virginia

I am thrilled to be back from a lecture I presented to over 250 attorneys in Fairfax, Virginia about the benefits of creating educational video to market their law practices. Before leaving New York, I had visions in my mind of the crowd going wild; jamming to the music; raising their hands and singing along; demanding more and then of course chanting my name for an encore. Then I woke up and realized it was a daydream of sorts.

Here’s what really happened, and you should read further, because you’ll get that ‘Aha!’ moment shortly.
When I arrived Thursday night at the hotel where the conference was being held, I went to the conference area to scope out the area where I’d be speaking the next day. The crew was setting up for the big event. Now here’s what blew me away. As I walked in the door, about 6 different people shouted to me “Hey Gerry, how are you? Glad you’re here.”

What’s the big deal about that greeting, you ask?
Well, I had never met these people in person before. Ever. But they knew me. They knew who I was the moment I walked in the door. They instantly recognized me and eagerly welcomed me.

What does this have to do with attorney video?
EVERYTHING.
Want to know how they knew me?
From watching my videos. Not one video; not five videos but many of my videos.

“Well, what does being recognized at a legal marketing seminar have to do with marketing my law practice?”

I’m glad you asked. The answer is: EVERYTHING.
Video allows you to create a bond with your viewer.
Video allows you to get a viewer to trust you and become familiar with you.
Video allows you to enter the conversation going on in the mind of your online viewer.

The key to converting online viewers into callers is to know what information they want and need to know, and guess what? It has nothing to do with your credentials.

Want to learn more about what content will compel a viewer to pick up the phone and call? Come join me in my video coaching group; the only video coaching group for lawyers anywhere in the Country. No other video production company teaches lawyers the mindset they need to understand what their online viewer wants and needs. My coaching group is perfect for lawyers who do-it-yourself as well as lawyers who use a video production company to create their videos.

Here are comments made by really smart attorneys after listening to what I had to say:

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I want to introduce you to two really smart attorneys who are implementing the ideas and methods that I teach and turning them into action.

The first attorney is Steve Gacovino, from Gacovino and Lake Associates in Sayville New York. He and his partner Ed Lake handle mass tort litigation, product liability cases and personal-injury in New York.

Steve’s first series of videos are designed to educate consumers about various defective drugs and products that have been recalled and pulled from the market. He describes things that consumers need to know in order to make an educated decision about which attorneys to hire.

The next attorney I want to introduce you to is Michael Serres of the law firm Pyrros & Serres. They are very successful workers compensation attorneys handling cases in New York. Their videos showcase and explain details about workers compensation and Social Security disability cases.

Watch my video above to learn why these attorneys are using video to market themselves online. Learning how to create video is so crucial to market yourself as an attorney today. I encourage you to explore my blog and if you have questions about my video coaching program or my total online video solution for lawyers, I encourage you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail: Gerrya@lawyersvideostudio.com. I welcome your call.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Gerry

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In this webinar replay you will learn why creating video is so important to market your practice, distinguish you from all other attorneys and explain why creating video is the best return on your investment anywhere.

Enjoy the webinar, and if you have questions, I encourage you to send me an e-mail at Gerry@lawyersvideostudio.com, or pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207. I look forward to talking with you.

Best regards,
Gerry

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