Creating Video For Tourism Web Sites

Streaming video on your web site will double or triple your rate of converting web site visitors to customer bookings.

We can help you with both. Video is the future of the web. Google has suggested that web sites offering video clips may receive higher page rank scores for their trouble. The logic is simple enough. Google wants the most interesting sites at the top of their search engine lists for every subject. Video is plainly more interesting!

Web video is within the reach of any tourism operator, any facility or any leisure travel service, guide or tour operator! Everyone with an internet connection will be able to view at least one version of your video. Even dial up users can watch one or two versions of your video if it is properly prepared.

Any video you offer on your web site needs to be offered in four different formats or speeds. Three of the formats are called 'streaming video'. They play as fast as they are transmitted across the web. Streaming video must be produced for three different viewer internet connections. Very Fast, Fast and Slow. The fourth version for Very Slow connections is not 'streaming video' at all. The file is not streamed to the viewer's web browser. The Very Slow version is a video file that must be downloaded completely and saved as a video file on the viewer's computer before it can be played. Its a downloading process that is identical to downloading a music file or a document file. Once the video file is downloaded it can be played anytime whether one is connected to the Internet or not.

Video Version ONE: "The Expensive Professional Video"

The expensive version of creating a video is to hire a videographer to come to your location, plan and shoot a video over a period of half a day to three days or more. Costs start at $5,000 for modest professional videos and can range to $50,000 or more for full productions. Once the video is shot, it is taken to an editing studio where voice overs, commentary, music and special effects are added by a professional video or film editor!

Video Version TWO: "The Inexpensive Professional Video Version"

The secret to shooting a professional video is to plan it, shoot it and edit it. So buy or borrow a digital video camera costing from $500.00 to $2,000 dollars and a tripod. Practice with it, make a plan for your shots and shoot the video.

We have simple free Video Planning Guide you can request. Is not fancy. Its short and to the point and assumes you are not a complete dummy, just inexperienced. It assumes you know enough to remove the lens cap and to put the sun behind you when you take pictures!

You can create your own video. Any scene you don't like can be reshot anytime. You can plan the shots to be included. The activities and the facilities to be featured. You can write up a description of every scene using the simple writers formula starting with "What, Where, Why, When, Who". Shooting the video is something you, your partner, your children or your staff can do and do reasonably well with planing and a little practice. So far you have not created an expense just an investment in a camera if you had to buy it.

Once the scenes have been shot the video must be edited. The secret of producing a professional video is good editing. Even if you had the editing equipment and software it is not likely that you could use it well enough to produce a professional looking and sounding video. Here is where we come into the picture. Send us the unedited video and the scene descriptions you wrote up. We will edit your video, adding voice overs, commentary, music and special effects. Our expert is a professional video film editor retired from the CBC with eighteen years experience editing the best video documentaries every aired on CBC television.

Editing costs range from $500.00 and up to edit modest videos of five minutes or less. For argument sake lets say that editing costs will be $1000.00 to $1500.00 for your video. Once edited, it needs to be converted to the four web formats explained above. A professional streaming video hosting company will do that for you as part of your streaming video hosting costs. To insure that your video is formatted and streamed properly for every speed of Internet connection that your viewers will have, you need the expertise of a professional streaming video hosting company. Hosting costs for your video clips start at $10.00 US per month. Canada's Vacation Guide has partnered with such a company and has over one year of experience hosting customer's streaming videos with our partner.

Please contact Brien East at 705-287-1095 or e-mail to discus the creation of a new video or the hosting of your existing video for your operation so it can be added to your web site. Streaming video on your web site will double or triple your rate of conversion of web site visitors to a customer bookings. If you cannot or will not shoot your own video we will help you find a local person, possibly a skilled amateur videographer to come and shoot it for you no matter where you live or operate in Canada.

Streaming Video Samples

If you would like help your web site or marketing campaign, contact Brien East:705-287-1095 or e-mail:

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