Who could have predicted two decades ago that we would reach a situation where a relatively cheap smartphone could...

Who could have predicted two decades ago that we would reach a situation where a relatively cheap smartphone could be used to record video which would be of sufficient quality for distribution on the Internet or screen in theaters?

How Are High-Quality Low-Cost Cameras Disrupting the Video Job Market?

How are high-quality low-cost cameras disrupting the film/video job market?

The impact of technology on the video and filmmaking industry

Until a couple of decades ago a business that was able to shoot videos or to take high-quality photographs were in high demand. This was a relatively exclusive market that required a person to obtain very expensive equipment and to have adequate experience and training in the industry in order to be able to make an adequate income out of this industry. Those people with the necessary expertise and those with the most sophisticated equipment were always the ones that were able to attract the most lucrative offers. 

The latest technological advances have changed all of this because there are dozens if not hundreds of types of high-quality photographic equipment available that can be obtained at a relatively low cost. This allows a person with very little, and in some cases no photographic experience, to compete very successfully with people who have been in this industry for decades. It is now possible to shoot videos which are of sufficient quality for distribution on the World Wide Web and for screening in theaters. There are many ways to produce great content for marketing products and for entertainment.

The door to more affordable film production has been blown off its hinges in a very spectacular fashion. This is not good news for people who are earning their living within the film industry and technological advances have seriously reduced job opportunities within the entertainment industry.

The advances in smartphone technology

Who could have predicted two decades ago that we would reach a situation where a relatively cheap smartphone could be used to record video which would be of sufficient quality for distribution on the Internet or screen in theaters? 

This is exactly what is happening all over the planet every single day. Literally millions of videos which were produced by use of a smartphone are clogging up the social media networks. On top of that, the more successful the video is and the more times it is viewed, the more money a person could make through that video upload. The reality is that there is a huge demand for interesting viewing material on the Internet and such videos are shared over and over again between family and friends. There can be no doubt that the amateur video producer can accomplish a lot with the available technologies. 

The question is how does this impact the film and video job market?

The creation of a successful documentary

The reality is that possessing a high-quality camera and shooting some extraordinary footage is still only one part of the overall end product. There are a lot more involved in making a documentary film that will be able to draw the attention of specialists in the industry and also a sufficient number of viewers. A truly successful documentary video will require very high-quality footage, professional editing and also professional and interesting narrating. Even though it may be true that a picture speaks a 1000 words it will still be necessary to have someone who can guide the viewer through the available content by making available additional information which may not be readily accessible to the viewer when only the video footage is watched. 

There can be no doubt that technological advances have been successful in placing technology in the hands of amateurs which is allowing them to accomplish astonishing results with that equipment. However, it will still require a true profession to put everything together into a well-finished package that will successfully speak to millions of viewers all over the globe.

You don’t need to possess the latest tools or equipment to make an awesome marketing video!

You don’t need to possess the latest tools or equipment to make an awesome marketing video!!! Get started today; it’s easier than you probably imagined.

"Here are 3 types of kick-ass marketing videos you can create for your service or product"

https://e27.co/3-types-kick-ass-marketing-videos-can-creat…/

#videomarketing #marketing #smallbusiness

The path to being an entrepreneur is marked with impressive stories and lots of crash-and-burn.

The path to being an entrepreneur is marked with impressive stories and lots of crash-and-burn. Being an entrepreneur requires a different type of stamina and the passion for doing better than the day before. This demanding profession has no boundaries and requires a challenging lifestyle and these personality traits.

#success #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship
http://successfuel.com/successful-entrpreneur-traits/

It was my pleasure to be featured in Video Marketing Trends in 2018: 15 Experts Weigh In by Clum Creative

It was my pleasure to be featured in Video Marketing Trends in 2018: 15 Experts Weigh In by Clum Creative

There is a TON of great information and advice in this article.

https://clumcreative.com/video-marketing-trends-this-year/#.WtihbBU0NEc.twitter

#videomarketing #videocontent #marketing
https://clumcreative.com/video-marketing-trends-this-year/#.WtihbBU0NEc.twitter

Video Marketing Mistakes to Avoid!

Originally shared by VideoToOrder.com

Video Marketing Mistakes to Avoid!

Video marketing is an awesome way to reach out and engage clients and prospects. However, here are many common errors brands can make while marketing with video and some of them can kill your advertising campaign. We've detailed five critical video marketing mistakes and, most importantly, how to avoid them.

https://videotoorder.com/blog/top-5-video-marketing-mistakes/
https://videotoorder.com/blog/top-5-video-marketing-mistakes/

My Entrepreneur Dream Became a Nightmare.

My Entrepreneur Dream Became a Nightmare.

Very recently I had a dream from which I awoke both confused and, quite honestly, embarrassed...

(This is my first go at posting to Medium.)

#entrepreneur #startup #launch
https://medium.com/@lscottharrell/my-entrepreneur-dream-became-a-nightmare-8bce027225ef

For a few dollars, a clip-on macro lens that magnifies your pictures can turn your smartphone into a window on new...

For a few dollars, a clip-on macro lens that magnifies your pictures can turn your smartphone into a window on new worlds. Tiny planets. For a very inexpensive purchase, a macro lens is a really fun accessory for nature lovers and amateur photographers. Macrophotography is an affordable and entertaining hobby for adults and a fantastic way to stimulate kids’ interest in the world around them.

Oh yeah – it makes a great magnifying glass out of your mobile phone that is small and super easy to carry around, too!

#photography #smartphones
http://scottharrell.net/smartphone-macro-photography/

Deepfakes are still a relatively new phenomenon, having first appeared in December 2017.

Deepfakes are still a relatively new phenomenon, having first appeared in December 2017. Thus far their range of illicit use stretches from harmless mischief (putting Nick Cage's face in every movie ever made) to potential harassment (overlaying the faces of celebrities into porn videos).

http://lscottharrell.blogspot.com/2018/04/deepfake-video-forensics.html

deepfake fake celebrity pornography
At present, a deepfake can still be easily spotted by the untrained eye. The effect is impressive, but there are still obvious artifacts and inconsistencies in most of these videos that make it clear they have been doctored.

That won't always be the case, however.

Will Deepfakes Lead to a Video Forensics Boom?

Deepfakes are still a relatively new phenomenon, having first appeared in December 2017. Thus far their range of illicit use stretches from harmless mischief (putting Nick Cage's face in every movie ever made) to potential harassment (overlaying the faces of celebrities into porn videos).

At present, a deepfake can still be easily spotted by the untrained eye. The effect is impressive, but there are still obvious artifacts and inconsistencies in most of these videos that make it clear they have been doctored.

That won't always be the case, however. The point at which anyone with a computer can make a very convincing fake video featuring any public figure may only be months away. Imagine the ramifications of a perfectly-faked video in which a CEO announces a revolutionary new product that sends the stock market into a frenzy, or a leader of a nation announcing they have launched missiles at another country.

Deepfakes could potentially be very bad for society, but very good for entrepreneurs working in the field of video verification.

Video As Evidence

In a court setting, video evidence has already long been inadmissible without corroborating evidence and a clear chain of custody. Deepfakes are very unlikely to survive the rigorous examination that takes place during a court case even if the technology is perfected.

There are areas of concern in which scrutiny will be much less rigorous, however. Posting videos directly to social media or a website and getting the public riled up about them seems to be where the greatest potential for damage is, given the current "fake news" climate.

Security camera footage is also another major point of concern. This type of footage is often already of low quality, lacking detail or shot in poor lighting conditions. While it may not be admissible in court, a faked video could find its way to local media and get a manhunt for an innocent person underway.

So what are some potential solutions? 

Trusted Time-stamping Services

Though they are not universally applicable as a solution, trusted third-party timestamp services may well see a huge uptick in business due to deepfakes.

These services cannot protect against the fabrication of an entirely new video, but they can protect against altered versions of videos being put forward as authentic (for example, a hacker gaining illicit access to a server to alter an existing video). The completed authentic video generates a "hash", or data signature, that is entirely unique. If it is altered in any way, the hash will change. The hash is then periodically sent to the trusted third-party service to verify it has not been altered. The third-party service adds a timestamp to the hash, verifying that it has not been altered since their last check of it.

This can also be done in an entirely automated and decentralized way through the use of blockchain technology. Of course, this method relies entirely on the integrity and ongoing security of the particular blockchain being used.

Public-Private Key Schemes

The creation of a harmful deepfake will often require the shooting of entirely new base footage over which to superimpose someone else's face. This could be nipped in the bud by widespread adoption of private-public key schemes in recording devices.

As the camera films, it would generate a timestamped watermark or signature that is applied to every individual frame using its private key. The private key could then later be matched to the camera manufacturer's public key in each frame to verify the video has not been doctored.

There are obvious weaknesses to this scheme, not the least of which being the large amount of existing recording devices that don't employ such a system. It could be used effectively in certain situations, however. For example, social media platforms could maintain a policy of not allowing videos that contain content that could be harmful if they do not have key verification in place.

New Video File Formats

A truly revolutionary step would be the creation of an entirely secure read-only video format used as the "gold standard" for any video of a sensitive nature.

As with the key systems, this would primarily be a security measure at the point of upload; platforms could reject videos containing sensitive content (like the declaration of a political leader) if it is not in the secure read-only format.

Just Scratching the Tip

These are very basic ideas that you may see entrepreneurs expand on in the near future. The responsibility for detecting deepfakes is going to fall heavily on the outlets that publish the video, such as social media platforms and journalists, in particular. They'll need to ensure they are effectively screening video for telltale signs of adulteration before publishing it, another avenue for entrepreneurial software developers to explore.

• What are your thoughts on deepfakes? 
• Is this the first you are hearing of this sort of high-tech faceswap? 
• Will a new niche of video forensics emerge in the next several as a result?

Anytime you join a social media site, you agree to a rather long and exhaustive terms of service agreement.

Anytime you join a social media site, you agree to a rather long and exhaustive terms of service agreement. While few people bother to read these agreements, it’s critical for businesses to understand them. When you’re playing in someone else’s sandbox, it’s important to know all of the rules. If you don’t, you may find the social pages you’ve spent years building can all be taken away over one small mistake.
http://vtrep.com/avoid-unfair-youtube-bans/

Though they promise to bring massive chaos, deepfake videos (deepfakes) are an inevitability.

Though they promise to bring massive chaos, deepfake videos (deepfakes) are an inevitability. The technology used to create these videos just needs a little fine-tuning, and the internet is diligently working away at that. Add in advanced speech synthesis, like Adobe’s VoCo, and suddenly a whole range of new markets open up.

For better or worse, here are seven deepfake business opportunities that you’re almost guaranteed to see at some point shortly:
https://videotoorder.com/blog/markets-that-deepfake-videos-create/

"Deepfake" has become the most common new term for an artificial intelligence process that can digitally swap one...

"Deepfake" has become the most common new term for an artificial intelligence process that can digitally swap one face for another in just about any video. Naturally, the first area this technology found widespread use was in adult videos face swapping celebrities' faces onto adult film stars.
http://lscottharrell.com/deepfake-technology/