Personal Video Distribution

Uncle Al's Ab Workout, Mike Jones' Kickin' Karate and The Beach Babe Experiment. Three of the hundreds of successfully marketed low-budget videos available on the market today. Never heard of them? Well, neither have many people. But the tapes have sold enough copies to keep the producers busy making more. What's their secret? Personal distribution.

Not to be confused with the high-cost world of commercial video distribution, which is full of contracts, release dates, recoupment levels, ad commitments, royalties, etc., personal video distribution is a way of reaching select audiences to view your work--at low to no cost. It allows the communication of your ideas, thoughts and feelings to specific individuals or groups that express interest in topics your productions address. I must forewarn you: personal video distribution will not bring you worldwide notoriety or fame. Just examine the list at the beginning of this article for proof. And your bank account won't overflow either.

What personal video distribution will do, however, is fulfill the main reason for committing an image to tape--getting that image viewed by others. The following is a list of methods for placing your productions in the public eye, arousing interest and opinions, good or bad, sparking discussions and, most importantly, getting seen.

This one's a no-brainer, but it deserves mentioning. Show your productions to friends and family. I know the look of dread that crosses a relative's face whenever you grab a tape and move towards the VCR. But this time, when you present your video, create a little atmosphere and you may start drawing a crowd instead of dispersing one. Popping in a tape during the middle of a family get-together won't elicit much of a reaction.

Instead, try introducing the show with a little background about its beginnings and why the subject intrigued you enough to warrant a production. Even pass out evaluation cards for viewers to complete, questioning them on such items as image quality, camera technique, understandability, and interest level. Make this first method of personal distribution do more than get your tape watched by a group of relatives. Valuable feedback from the audience will help you improve future productions and will involve the audience. Successful small-scale viewings often lead to bigger and better things. You never knew that friend-of-a-friend was head of marketing for the local factory. He may be so impressed with your efforts that you'll find yourself shooting a training video for the plant.

Private and public groups and organizations are an indefatigable source of potential audiences. Public events such as parades, horse shows and fairs all offer a multitude of participating groups that may want to view your footage.

Say, while on vacation, you shot video of a rare collection of baseball memorabilia on display in a sports museum. Some of the cards, pennants and photos on display have never been seen before. The footage is something special--why not show it to someone else, like a local collector's society or memorabilia organization. They will only be too glad to include a video presentation of your findings in what would otherwise be another slow, media-less meeting. And who knows--one of the members may hire you to document his own card collection as well.

And instead of merely a showy display of the old cards and pictures, you may opt to inject graphics and narration about each specific item highlighted, giving stats on the teams, players and other historical facts.

Your "History of Baseball" video could prove to be a big hit with students and teachers of a local high school. It's not boring to kids because it avoids the usual antiseptic treatment of most school texts, and the video also appeals to faculty because of it's a good way to get students excited about history.

Educational programs are almost always well received in a school setting; videos that deal with community issues also attract interest. A production on the evolution of new industry, changing political forces or even a short on sporting achievements within your city all make for good school audience fodder.

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