Sure enough, and to a shock of many, Google has dropped third party ratings from their stars and is now only displaying their own ratings and reviews to generate star count — although Google is still showing third parties review counts in brackets — but they do not have any impact on the star rating which you should focus on building.  Additionally, some reports are stating that not all third party reviews are being displayed.  So what can you do — well first calm down and start focusing on customers with Google accounts and Google Phones and get them to post on your places page — but that doesn’t mean stop posting to the other rating sites all together — just shift your focus to more ratings on Google.

Once you start to generate some more Google ratings you can use Google Boost to kick-up the heat on your places pay-per-click campaign.

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

MB Motorsports and Skydive Jersey Shore have teamed up to help raise awareness of the local NJ based non-profit organization, MOCEANS (www.moceanscil.org). Celebrating their 20th year of serving the local community, MOCEANS is dedicated to supporting and serving people with all disabilities in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

To raise awareness and help make a contribution to the non-profit organization, MB Motorsports will be sending their very own Allen Gottfried to make his first-ever skydive on June 2 2011 in Wall, NJ with Skydive Jersey Shore starting at 10 a.m.
Using the MB Motorsports Facebook page to promote the event, fans will be asked to click like or comment to help MB Motorsports to help raise money. Each like or comment will count as $1 and if you skydive, MB Motorsports will donate $50 for each jumper. Gottfried has agreed to make the jump and Jersey Shore Skydive will be shooting video of the event too. “This is going to be really fun and ultimately we hope that this helps to raise awareness of a wonderful non-profit like MOCEANS.” Said, Gottfried.

You can join MB Motorsports, Skydive Jersey Shore and MOCEANS at Wall Executive Airport to watch the jump in-person or join Allen in the air. If interested, Skydive Jersey Shore will be offering a special discounted rate of $185 or $175 cash and ask that you register in advance. To get all the details and to like this event please logon to facebook.com/mbmotorsport

So. Here is the original article I wrote as published in the 2005 Indie Bible and in the august 2005 IB newsletter.  I  hope you enjoy.

—————————————————————-

7. MUSIC VIDEOS FOR INDEPENDENT ARTISTS AND LABELS
by Allen M. Gottfried, Owner/Director Electric Head
© 2007 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission

With constant advancements in today’s video production world, more and more high-end equipment is available at lower costs than ever before. This affords independent artists and labels a way to shoot high-end looking music videos for a budget they can afford, while being able to compete with some of today’s top artists and videos that are currently in rotation.

Budgeting, Production Cost, Distribution, Networks
As can be expected, artists are always looking for ways to save money but don’t realize that this can compromise the quality of the production. Sure the band’s close friend will produce a video with his home camera for a beer and pizza, but what outlets are going to play that video? Probably not many at all. If you feel your band is ready to shoot a professional music video, that you want to promote for national airplay, you need to hire a professional production company to provide the creative talent, crew and cast to deliver a video up to the highest standards.

Budgeting
I speak to many bands and labels on a day-to-day basis and many ask what is a good budget for a video. That is always a rough question to answer because you have to realize the many factors that are involved in producing and distributing a music video. When it comes to developing a budget, I always tell my clients to think logically. You can’t shoot on 35mm film, on a big set, with huge explosions, fast cars, and cast, crews and everything in between on a budget of $500…. it’s just not going to happen.

Many artists and production companies are opting to shoot on digital tape (Mini-DV, HD) because of the cost savings of equipment, and media, time reductions to set up shots, and increased delivery speeds from camera to editor to label to air.

When you approach a production company and director, you should have some idea of a budget in mind for the video. When you contact the director, you should have the subject song selected, and a rough idea of the creative approach to the video. The director will then write and submit a treatment for the label’s and artist’s approval along with a budget projection for review and negotiations.

Production Cost
You must remember that the company and production people still have to make a living, even though they are all doing what they love. They all need to make a profit to put food on the table. Here are some things to consider when reviewing a budget projection.

 

Crew (Directors, Producers, Cameramen, Art Directors, Grips, PA’s) And yes sometimes on a smaller shoot some people will do multiple tasks to save money.

Cast (Does your shoot require actors and actresses or extras?) (Union, Non-Union?) Many rising stars are willing to work for a much lower amount of money since they are trying to establish their careers, but still expect to be paid a fair amount for their work.

Locations (Where do you want to shoot your video. In a huge hotel, old house, on city streets?) Depending upon the location of the shoot, certain fees may apply. There are ways to work around or get lower rates or fees, Many private owners typically want to show off what they have, and may charge a lower fee or none for use of their property.

Insurance / Permits If you have a legit production, you will need insurance and most likely permits to shoot, especially in major cities like NYC and Los Angeles. Minimum required insurance is usually a $1(one) million dollar liability policy for the duration of the shoot. I also recommend adding third party coverage as well. Coverage like this runs from $1000+ depending on how long you are shooting and what insurance requirements there are (i.e. stunts, rentals, pyro). You will also have a better chance of securing a location when you have an insurance policy. The owners feel safer and may cut you more slack.

Transportation (Is cast, crew or the band flying, driving in from somewhere?)

Rentals (Rain Machines, Cars, Planes, Limos, Props)

Food (A fed crew is a happy crew.)

Duplication and Distribution (How many copies and where to send it?) Duplications usually runs about $30+ for (Beta SP) tapes most stations require. Some of the smaller networks will take Mini-DV, VHS, and DVD, which will save you money and still get you video airplay. Don’t forget shipping costs.

 

Distribution, Networks
Music videos have been around since MTV launched its groundbreaking station in 1981. Ever since, places like MTV, VH1 and BET all helped to promote artists and their videos to the masses. As many may know, such stations as the above adhere to a very strict play list, usually within the top 40 market. What many artists and labels are not aware of is that there are 1000′s of other locations nationwide that will potentially get your video major exposure. Everyday, more and more cable TV shows, internet shows and websites are popping up, giving even more exposure options to artists with music videos. Other outlets always looking for new videos include shows produced and developed for nationwide and regional distribution to retail stores, bars, night clubs, bowling alleys, concert venues, etc.

Usually a video will start to be talked up a few months before a CD release, if the track is ready before hand. Just like radio airplay, it is usually best to have your new video added to rotation a few weeks before your CD release date. This will get people familiar with you new track and band, and hopefully they will want to buy that CD as soon as it is out.

Whether you are an unsigned, indie or major label artist, the cost to produce a high quality music video has substantially decreased but the value of having a video to air and compete with other artists is greater than ever and will aid in your musical success.

Electric Head, LLC is an award winning music video and commercial production company based on the East Coast. Our goal is to provide top-notch productions at budget-conscious costs so that bands, corporate and other clients of all sizes promote themselves via media that gets results and competes with the best out there! You can visit Electric Head on the web at www.electricheadonline.com or contact them at (732)903-4418 to discuss your next project.

NWFKRSQTXGVC

With cable prices soaring higher and higher and some people I know canceling cable all together. To have the ability to watch free HD over the air or shows through the internet sparked my interesting into internet media players. This is really nothing new to me as when I lived with my brother, the two techno-geeks as some would call us, we built our own DVR system with some basic video playback and internet TV capabilities too. The problem was that it was more like building a computer system that plugged into my LCD TV acting as a monitor and having to stay close even with a wireless keyboard which proved to be a pain as you could imagine.

A few months ago I started reading reviews of HD based media players both hard-wired and wireless units and being that I would like the option to watch a variety of internet based programs or local network videos in my bedroom, which is not close to the router, the wireless units seemed to be the best idea. Also, having an Xbox360 and a Wii I really didn’t need to add another device on the downstairs TV.

The majority of these units will play local files from the USB or SATA ports or through your home network and many units also offer HD up converting capabilities too  Sure, I have a lot of local and networked files I would like to play but my ultimate goal was to watch a variety of different media content from the web. That’s where a media server like PlayOn or Tversity is a great tool and many of the players will interface with these programs.. PlayOn, which was my software application of choice, will also work on the Xbox and Wii, and turns your home computer into an internet streaming media server. With a new plugins always being developed and released this software package would give a media device the ultimate internet media capabilities.  Now the problem was to find a system that supported the PlayON software.  After much research and reading many reviews, I came to the conclusion the CinemaGo by Brite-view had everything I wanted. The unit offered included wireless connectivity, Dolby, DTS, HD – 1080p Up-converting a variety of output options, USB and SATA connections  and a huge list of playback support of many of the most popular formats. The software interface on the hardware has everything from controls to play videos, music and pictures and bonus options that give you direct connection to Muzee Internet Radio and TV, Flickr access and you can  only imagine what additional bonus options are planned.  Another awesome option is that has a built in torrent downloader which means if you have an external hard drive connected to the system you can download the latest and greatest torrents.

The setup of the unit was extremely simple and everything, at least from a tech stand point, was pretty self-explanatory but the included instruction guide was very informative too. I hooked the CinemaGo to the TV with the provided HDMI cable, installed the included batteries in the remote and placed wireless USB device in the port. The only thing at this point I felt was a little odd was having this USB stick taking up not only one of my two USB ports but also that It sticks out the front of the unit. This should be something built-in to the unit and have a dedicated USB port for the wireless device. Nevertheless, the remote is very simple, clear and straight-forward making it already a very simple device to navigate.  I powered on the unit and immediately the menu appeared and I scrolled through all of my options… including video and music menus and more. I played back a few local media files I had on a thumbdrive and the quality was awesome. I had some stuff in Standard Definition and a few short videos in 720p which played smooth and looked excellent!

Again, my ultimate goal was to get this thing playing internet media. So, I went to the setting menu and setup my wireless connect ion, which was extremely simple, but documentation should be included in case some people need a bit of help. The unit connected to my network and I tested the connection with the included Flickr viewer and Muzee Radio Stations..Which all worked perfectly. I ran a system update which took a few minutes and it added the Muzee Internet TV service which says it is in beta but offers TV from around the globe…  and yes I did check it out.  There is some very interesting programming on the other side of the planet.

Now ready to actually see more content, I downloaded the 14-DAY Trial of the PlayON service and of course the laptop I installed it on gave me a bunch of errors and it didn’t work. So, I installed on my desktop computer which is always anyway. The service started up and I had tons of included media sites available and now I could go connect my CinemaGo to the new media server.  And I did just that..since my media server is on the network and has sharing enabled and now the CinemaGo is on the same network I quickly refreshed my connection options and the PlayON server appeared.  This is awesome!

I scrolled through a few media site options and tested videos on YouTube and Hulu.. both standard definition and high definition and honestly both looked great. I have read that some sites might generate “file not supported errors” but I have yet to encounter that and with PlayON  third party developers consistently adding new plugins this is really the ultimate media experience. If you are not using the PlayON service there are other options like TVersity and others including ones built into Windows 7 but I chose to use the PlayON service as my system are mostly running XP and not the media center version and I love all the plugins too.  For local files, it will connect to your windows media library and play videos, audio and photo and with a wide range of supported formats you really can’t go wrong with this unit.

I can’t wait to try the torrent downloader which I plan to have in a follow-up article in addition to testing out the support of ISO files which will allow you to navigate a video just like that of a DVD menu.. This pint-sized powerful media unit has not only met but far exceed my expectations and with a retail price on www.brite-view.com for only around $100 this is one product that you need to get right now or at least put on your holiday list! And, if you plan on playing internet media  then the service like PlayON currently cost around $40 and the $20 a year after that.. which compared to $120+ Cable Bill.. I’ll take it!

You should keep in mind that a lot of content on the web is still not in HD.. so don’t be upset when you watch a video that was shot on a cell phone and it doesn’t look great. Nevertheless, the quality of video and media being delivered is only getting better and faster and the CinemaGo will be right there to play it! Time to watch some more of my favorite programming!  For more information or to purchase the CinemaGo visit the company website, www.brite-view.com . Enjoy!

Please also be sure to check out my video review of the CinemaGo at www.expotv.com

Not wanting to spend that amount of money, I researched options online and came across the company Vinshield.com . They offer a whole kit for around $25 that will cover your automobile and comes with everything you need… even the form to submit to your insurance company for the discount.

On the site they ask for your cars information and VIN number to print on the specialty transfer paper. The package comes with detailed instructions, etching cream, applicators, rubber gloves, two-practice microscope slides and enough transfer to cover your entire car in addition to the practice slides. Unfortunately, I waited too long an my etching cream dried up and only had enough for the test slides but it is the same stuff the local art store sold so I purchase and used that.

Make sure you read the instructions carefully and use the precautions for handling the etching cream as it is extremely caustic and dangerous to your skin and health. After performing the test slides and getting the technique down I was ready to go live with it. First, make sure you clean the outside of the window where you will apply the etching. Next peel off your transfer sheet with the VIN number, make sure to double check that all of the transfer paper has the correct VIN, and then adhere it to the window. I used the company recommendation and added an additional border of tape around the template to make sure none of the etching cream got anywhere else on the car. If it does make sure to wash the area immediately because this will damage your glass, paint and skin.

I put on the gloves and applied the cream in a circular motion working the cream into the letters as described. Finally I applied another layer to cover all the letters and then let this sit for about 8 minutes, which worked best for me. I repeated the process all away around the car and they came out great! Once the process is completed
clean the area with water to make sure no cream is still active and your etching is complete. Make sure to be careful when removing the stencils too as the cream can still hurt you.

Finally, I filed out the included form saying that the vehicle has been etched and I submitted for my insurance policy. On my car and policy this will qualify as a category anti-theft system and will save me about $18 a year and the kit cost only $25! So, if you plan on having your car for more than two-years and would like to save on your car insurance premium than etching your windows with the VINshiild kit is for you!

For more information visit vinshield.com