“How To...” Videos for 2012

If you're anything like me instruction manuals usually get thrown out with the rest of the packaging and the first place you turn to find out how something works, how to fix something or how to learn a new skill or technique is to get online and head to YouTube.

With this in mind we launched our “How To...” series on Labyrinth Studios TV. Working with local companies, these films are designed to be practical demonstrations rather than just 'talking heads'. Showing real professionals (doing what they do best) using the products they make and demonstrating the services they provide. And not only are our “How To...” videos a great way for businesses in Cornwall to get exposure on the worlds second biggest search engine (and improve their Google ranking in the process) but they are also a great way for Cornish companies to get low cost video content for their web & social media sites. Our “How To..” videos can cost as little as £60 each.

(Prices for an equivalent corporate video shoot start at approx. £350.)

In 2012 we aim to produce a series of “How To...” videos each month designed with a particular theme in mind and, as it's Valentine's Day in a few weeks time, Love is in the Air during February.

We're looking to produce “How To...” guides for -

• Preparing a romantic meal

• Creating a sexy hair/make-up look

• Mixing intoxicating cocktails and making sinful desserts

• What to wear for your big date

• and many more...

Anything with a romantic, indulgent or slightly sexy feel to it - if you have an idea for a romantic “How To...” video get in touch. Especially as all our romantic “How To...” videos produced/released in February will receive a 25% Discount.

Prices:

• 1 Video – Normal Price £100 / with Discount £75

• 2 Videos – Normal Price £75ea. / with Discount £56.25 each

• 3+ Videos – Normal Price £60ea. / with Discount £45 each

We're interested in hearing from any fashion & beauty companies, bars & retaurants or any businesses in Cornwall looking to help spread the love.

Call Icarus Films (UK) on 01209 718842 or email enquiries@icarus-films.co.uk for more details

Future “How To...” themed months:

February – Love is in the Air – a series of romantic “How To...” guides for Valentine's

March – We Mean Business – with the end of the financial year, guides on “How To...” improve your business, your office and your website

April – Spring Clean – the perfect time to clear out that clutter and make those repairs

May – Out in the Garden – green thumbs at the ready in these “How To...” guides on planting and maintaining your garden (and making the most of that fresh produce)

June – Summer is Here – everything you need to know for the perfect Summer, from pitching a tent to firing up the BBQ

July – On Your Marks, Get Set, GO! - “How To...” get sporty in the run up to the Olympic games.

August – Festival Time – time to release your inner artist for the festival season with a series music and performance How To's

September – Back to School – everything you need to know as the world heads back to school and college (including our essential “Student Survival Guide” for Freshers Week)

October – tbc

November – tbc

December – tbc

(Icarus will be offering a 25% discount for themed videos each month. So if you or anyone you know is looking for some video content for their website and has an idea for a “How To...” guide get in touch today – 01209 718842 or email enquiries@icarus-films.co.uk)

Do you have any tips of the trade you'd like to share?

Hands up how many of you remember the TV show "Trade Secrets"?

Okay. How many of you have logged on to YouTube and typed in the immortal words "How to..."?

Icarus Films is launching a new project, a web TV channel harnessing the power and popularity of YouTube, and is looking for local professionals & businesses who'd like to get involved.

One of the first shows I'm looking to produce for this new web channel is a series of little "How to" videos in a similar vein the BBC show "Trade Secrets". (Example - http://youtu.be/sU47hEe96TQ )

I thought these 15-30 second films would sit nicely next Icarus' 30 Second Webspot Video packages (which are already a great way to get video content on your website and social networking pages). But with the advantage of allowing dialogue to be recorded and, initially, being shot at the cost price of just £35 ea.

So do you have any tips of the trade you'd like to share (and in the process get your business up on YouTube, the world's second largest search engine.) Maybe your an electrician and you'd like to demonstrate how to wire a plug. Or a baker and you'd like to show us all how to make perfect pastry. Maybe you work with green technology and you'd like to show us how to reduce our power consumption. Or a painter who'd like show us how best to clean our brushes.

If you're interested in getting involved give us a shout. And if you'd like any more information about any of our filming packages get in touch today.

Call 01209 718842 or email enquiries@icarus-films.co.uk

And the winners are...

If you didn't know already through out May Icarus was giving local companies, groups and organisations the chance to WIN A 30 SECOND WEBSPOT video shoot by simply following us on Twitter and Facebook.

On Tuesday we announced the winners as-

Sound Club, Penzance (www.facebook.com/soundclubpenzance)

and Catch A Wave UK (www.twitter.com/Catchawaveuk)

Both win a 30 Sec. Webspot video worth £175*.

With the increase in web surfing from mobile devices and the introduction of SuperFast Braodband to Cornwall these simple promos are a great way of grabbing attention and getting video content on your website & social networking pages.

If you'd like a 30 Sec. Webspot for your website get in touch with Icarus Films today - Call 01209 718842 or email enquiries@icarus-films.co.uk

And don't forget to follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/IcarusFilmsUK) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/IcarusFilmsUK)to hear all the latest news and be first in line for any future competitions.


*The price quoted is for businesses located in West Cornwall. Businesses operating outside of West Cornwall may incur additional travel costs.

Cornwall Business Club - LIVE Video Webcast

Beating Bollinger - The Sparkling Success of a Cornish Business.

On June 16th, 2011 Cornwall Business Club brings you "Beating Bollinger - The Sparkling Success of a Cornish Business" with guest speaker Bob Lindo, from Camel Valley Vinyard.

This is a great opportunity for local businesses to meet and network and hear from one of Cornwall's premier winemakers. The event begins at 6pm at The Fal Building, Truro College campus.

For more details and to book - www.trurocollege.ac.uk/cornwallbusinessclub

But if you can't make it there in time worry not because Icarus Films will be broadcasting the event LIVE online.

Live Streaming by Ustream.TV

Simply watch the feed here or head over to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/eventcasting on Thursday 16th June at 18:45. You can also tweet in your questions to Bob Lindo. Either send your Tweets to @TruroBusiness or by using the hashtag #eventcasting. You can also use Ustream's chat to get in touch.

And all you tech heads with tablets and smartphones you can also watch event live on your mobile devices, simply go to http://www.ustream.tv/everywhere and download the iPhone, Android or Windows Mobile app.

For more information or if you would like your own event streaming live online get in touch with Icarus today.

To contact Icarus Films email enquiries@icarus-films.co.uk or phone 01209 718842

Win with Icarus Films

As part of May Madness Icarus Films is offering two companies the chance to their very own 30 Second Webspots.

Icarus Films 30 Second Webspots are a quick and easy way to get video content on your company's web and social networking sites. For just £175* Icarus will shoot, edit and upload your very own webspot to YouTube (or another video streaming site of your choice) for you to embed on your own site or email the link to your clients.

For your chance to win all you have to do is "Follow" Icarus on Twitter and re-tweet the message-

'Win a 30 Sec. Webspot video with @IcarusFilmsUK
For more details http://bit.ly/iGk4R3 #WinWebspot'

And why not double your chances by "Like"-ing Icarus on Facebook and posting on your wall-

'Win a 30 Second Webspot video with Icarus Films (UK).
For more details visit http://bit.ly/iGk4R3.'

(And don't forget to tag Icarus in your post by typing
@Icarus and clicking on the link Facebook suggests.)

Icarus will draw one Facebook winner and one winner from our Twitter followers on 31/05/2011.

To qualify your company, group or organisation must:

• be located in/organise a shoot location in West Cornwall, England. (If you wish to arrange a shoot outside of West Cornwall additional travel costs may apply which you will be invoiced for on completion.)
• be able to arrange a 1 hour shoot in the next 6 months (before 30/11/2011).
• follow the instructions above regarding "Following"/"Liking" Icarus and posting messages. (It is important you use the correct hashtag and Facebook tag otherwise you entry will not be counted.)
• You may re-post and re-tweet the message as many times as you like but your company will only be entered once in the Facebook draw and once in the Twitter draw.
• If you "UnFollow" or "UnLike" Icarus before 01/06/2011 your entry will no longer be counted.

If you have any questions or would like to order a 30 Second Webspot get in touch today. Call 01209 718842 or email enquiries@icarus-films.co.uk

(If you book a 30 Second Webspot before 27/05/2011 you will receive a special May Madness discount of 10% off the normal £175* price.)


* Icarus Films (UK) operates in West Cornwall. Any shoots outside of this area may incur additional travel costs which will not be covered by the 10% discount offer.

May Madness

Icarus celebrates spring with it's May Madness offer.

Icarus is offering 10% Off all its fixed price Corporate and Wedding Video packages throughout May. All you have to do is book before 27/05/2011.

Icarus currently offers two fixed price corporate video packages - our ever popular 30 Second Webspot videos and our new EventCasting packages.

(click on the images for more details)

Both packages use the power of the internet to help promote your company, group or organisation. Whether you are looking for a quick and easy way to get video content on your website or you have a conference or live show you'd like to broadcast across the world, Icarus can help. And as the sun begins to shine over Cornwall this is the perfect time to show your business in the best light... literally.

Icarus' Wedding Video Packages are the perfect way to capture all the events and magic of your day. From the moment the guests arrive to when you say "I do". The laughter & tears of the speeches to the first time you hit the dance floor as newly weds.

Your wedding day is guaranteed to be a whirlwind of emotions. Don't forget a moment of it with a wedding video from Icarus Films.

For more information get in touch with Icarus Films today. Call 01209 718842 0r email enquiries@icarus-films.co.uk


Icarus Films (UK) operates in West Cornwall. Any shoots outside of this area may incur additional travel costs which will not be covered by the 10% discount offer. Offer only available on Icarus' fixed price packages, any bespoke packages or customised quotes will not receive a 10% discount. Wedding Video Packages require a 25% deposit to secure a booking. Corporate videos do not require a booking deposit but Icarus will require the production budget to be in place before filming commences, with post production costs payable on delivery of the finished film.

Shiny New Toys.

Well it's been a busy week here at Icarus. Aswell as kickstarting pre-production on our new Vignettes project, prepping for next month's shoots and getting everything ready for "May Madness" I got my hands on a couple of new toys to play with.

First up, I finally stumpped up some cash and bought myself a HDSLR rig for the 60D. After months of agonizing on what to go for I finally decided on a Gini Rig from Korea, based mainly on the recommendations of CheesyCam and the fact you can pick one up for a decent price on ebay.

Check out my unboxing video.



Even though it's alot cheaper than the big boys like RedRock and Zacuto I'm still really impressed with what I've got.





Everything has a really solid feel to it and comes in a very funky red and black anodized finish. The adjustable handles are really comfortable and thanks to the ball-and-socket joints are perfect for tweaking into postion to suit your shooting style. The cage feels like it can take some serious knocks and keep on smiling, all the time protecting your body and lenses from what could be some damage. The rig I went for came with a couple of arms for mounting your accessories like monitors or the crop of EVFs that are starting to hit the market.



A couple of niggles are the mount isn't the most user friendly of camera mounting options (the tightening screw is a bit of a pig get to) and the shoulder pad has no real cushioning to it but I'll just have to see what it's like after using it in anger for a few hours.

I do like the fact it breaks down and fits in little camera bag quite nicely. Perfect if you dont want to be lugging around to much kit.



Next up is my little prize haul from GoPro after winning their "Everything We Make" daily prize draw.



I've been dying to get my hands on a GoPro HD for a while and after spotting the link to their prize draw on Twitter I thought what the hell and put my name down.

I literally only entered the competition 2 or 3 times before, out of the blue, receiving an email to say I'd won. And look at everything I received.








All I need to do now is find a job to play with all these new toys.