Fixation Video

Susi is leaving Fixation Video

Will — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:26:53 +0000

Change is inevitable but necessary in business - especially if you work online. To grow you need to adapt and evolve, rinse and repeat. One change we’re sad to announce is that Susi is leaving Fixation Video. Susi has some other areas she wants to explore and we wish her the best of luck - not that she’ll need it.

Fixation Video is still continuing and we’ll be expanding the range of services we offer. We have some exciting new projects in the pipeline that we can talk more about soon. So, if you have presenting, editing or camera skills - or know someone that does - then drop us a line on hello@fixationvideo.com and someone will get back to you very soon.

Sync-to-TV apps increase viewer engagement (and are awesome)

Susi — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:06:43 +0000

Nielsen brought out some research recently which had some fairly standard findings: viewers were most likely to choose their video app based on cost, with free apps fairing way better than their more costly counterparts. Viewers were fine with ads within programs via the app, if it meant they didn’t have to pay for the content.

Duh. People don’t like paying for things.

Hidden away at the end of the report though, was a reference to Sync-to-TV apps. They were not something I was familiar with 20 minutes ago, but in true tech-loving style, I’m now excited. These mysterious apps actually encourage ‘dual viewing’ i.e. sitting in front of the TV whilst having your tablet on your lap. They recognise audio from the TV set and launch an app that has a second layer of content for the viewer. For instance, you could be watching Big Brother, your tablet could pick up on the audio from the opening credits, and would launch a Twitter app where you could view and engage with other viewers around the country. Or in a more cerebral example, you could be watching Question Time, and your tablet could launch an app where you could pose the participants questions, or give your reaction to their arguments.

There is, of course, an argument that we’re losing our ability to do one thing at a time, even if that one thing is sitting in front of the telly. But at least this way you’re giving your attention to one thing, even if it is on two different devices - it beats keeping one eye on Come Dine With Me and another on Google Reader…

Source: Nielsen

Glenfiddich MOJO New Voice Awards

Will — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:51:34 +0000

Glenfiddich teamed up with MOJO magazine to find the next big talent, hosting a ‘Battle of the Bands’ style evening for the artists. With 35,000 Facebook fans, the social media aspect was an important part of the campaign so we were brought in to capture the action and get it online at top speed.

We filmed both the performances and short interviews with the contestants, to give Glenfiddich followers a taste of the evening, as well as a chance to see the winning performance.

Recombu Mobile Phone Reviews

Will — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:24:17 +0000

Recombu, a site dedicated to mobile phone reviews, wanted a way to translate its written reviews into videos. We came up with a format designed to echo the style of the in-house reviews, with an eye to playing to YouTube’s strengths, such as keeping the name of the phone on-screen for easy identification by viewers from the thumbnail.

Tablets - where they are now and where they’ll be in The Future

Susi — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:22:16 +0000

This is an interesting presentation on what impact tablets are likely to have on the way people use the internet and consume content. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but it does further confirm that tablets have meant that people are watching more VOD and that they’re being used in tandem to TV watching in a lot of cases. I guess I’m a demographic anomaly for owning both ladybits and a tablet…

Understanding the 4th Screen

View more presentations from Essential Research

via Essential Research

Twitter and the TV

Susi — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:18:05 +0000

This is a really interesting (and short) video about the importance of social media in TV in 2011. The key points are that people are checking and interacting with Twitter whilst watching TV, and it’s become the norm. Hashtags are particularly important with TV discussions (#theapprentice anyone?) and people really like the opportunity to talk and direct messages to the stars of these shows - I’m guessing it works particularly well on programmes like The Only Way of Essex, whose stars are so-called normal people, therefore don’t have that aura of Hollywood that makes them inaccessible. Another interesting point is that any advertising campaign that’s tied into a big programme needs to have an element of social media, and that Twitter account needs to be active during the programme itself (and the ad break) as that’s when people will be looking at it.

In’erestin’.

via Nielsen Blog

Fixation Video is hiring!

Susi — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:37:26 +0000

It seems Will and I have gone as far as we can as a two person (with occasional wonderful freelance person) team. Times, they are a-changin’ and staff, they need a hirin’. We’re starting small - we’d really like to offer someone brilliant a paid internship, which will have this person getting involved in pretty much every area of the business three days a week (Mon-Weds).

The role will include
- research for weekly shows
- script writing
- basic video editing
- coffee making (but only one in every three times - our office is a coffee making democracy)

Ideally, this wonderful person will have a video editing background, whether it’s through a media course, a love of uploading videos of cats to YouTube or self taught editing skillz. This wonderful person will definitely be the kind of person who doesn’t mind dressing up as a ninja, should the situation require it, and listening to me “whistle” to Steeley Dan and Will “sing” to Elbow. An all-rounder, if you will.

If this is you, or if you know someone who might be interested the first stage is to drop us an email to hello@fixationvideo.com explaining in a paragraph why you’d be suitable. If you’ve got any videos you could point us towards (ideally that you’ve made), so much the better.

Tesco Mobile Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play promo

Will — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 13:22:38 +0000

When Tesco Mobile came to us asking for a video that illustrated the gaming capabilities of the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play, we had fun coming up with this concept. ‘Sweding’ classic video games, much like Jack Black in Be Kind Rewind, we filmed our own take on 8-bit classics such as Bruce Lee, Starship Battalion and Fifa 10. The video was then used to promote a competition run by Tesco - entrants had to watch the video to get the answer to the competition question.

The Phone O’Clock News - Recombu

Will — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:42:20 +0000

Recombu, a site dedicated to mobile phone news and reviews, commissioned us to make a weekly show. We came up with the concept of The Phone O’Clock News, giving viewers a 3 minute overview of the week’s mobile news.

Celebalike - App Show: Frackulous

Will — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:09:38 +0000

As well as producing video for clients, we have our own daily show - Frackulous. We look at the hottest apps for all mobile phones, covering every platform from Android and iPhone to BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7.
Our review of Celebalike was picked to feature on the front page of YouTube by the YouTube Gods as well as appearing on our own www.frackulous.com page and on the Frackulous iTunes feed.

Retweeted by the likes of Stephen Fry (Twice!), it’s the hottest show on the internet. We think.