The demand for Common Craft’s renowned explanatory videos has grown so high that the company’s husband and wife team, Lee and Sachi LeFever, has decided to start producing custom videos in their famous “Paperworks” style for a limited number of clients once again. To meet the great demand for custom Common Craft videos, Lee and Sachi have partnered with Switch Marketing, an animated video producer that was a founding member of the Common Craft Explainer Network.

The demand for Common Craft’s renowned explanatory videos has grown so high that the company’s husband and wife team, Lee and Sachi LeFever, has decided to start producing custom videos in their famous “Paperworks” style for a limited number of clients once again.

Common Craft’s unique style of short explanatory video is recognized worldwide as they have produced videos for the likes of Google, Ford, Intel and LinkedIn. Perhaps their best known video, ‘Twitter in Plain English’ was featured on Twitter’s homepage and has received more than 11 million views!

To meet the great demand for custom Common Craft videos, Lee and Sachi have partnered with Switch Marketing, an animated video producer that was a founding member of the Common Craft Explainer Network.

All future scripts and storyboards for Common Craft videos will be developed by Lee and Sachi, and Lee will continue to be the voice of each video while Switch Marketing’s creative in-house team will be working on the production and management side of each project. Production spots are currently being booked for August and September and are expected to fill up fast.

Over the last 2 years Common Craft’s focus has been on licensing their own videos. While this will continue to be a focus, working with clients again is an exciting change for the company.

Common Craft was founded in 2003 by Lee and Sachi LeFever in Seattle Washington. They were one of the first to create short web video explanations and their unique “Paperworks” style is recognized worldwide. Their ‘In Plain English’ series, which takes complex subjects and breaks them down into simple, fun and carefully crafted lessons, is what created such buzz around video explanations.

Common Craft’s most recognized video, ‘Twitter in Plain English’ was featured on Twitter’s homepage and since its creation in early 2008, it has gained more than 11 million views. Overall, Common Craft videos have been watched over 25 million times. Their custom video clients include Google, Intel, Ford, Dropbox, LinkedIn and more.

There’s a new player in the market of video conversion — and the good news is it’s free.

Freemake Video Converter enables fast and easy conversion to AVI, WMV, MP4, 3GP, DVD, MP3. The converter prepares videos to be viewed on devices: iPod, iPhone, iPad, PSP, smartphones, mobiles, and PC.

The range of input formats is vast: the program is capable of importing videos from DVD, mobiles, Internet, cams, PC. It is also possible to combine photos with background music or audio with visuals to create videos.

With Freemake Video Converter, it is easy to burn up to 20 hours of video to a standard DVD disc and apply different DVD menu styles. The converter tells if it is possible to write a high-quality DVD judging by the duration of the input files, not by their size.

Freemake Video Converter offers such editing options as cutting unwanted video parts, joining several videos into one file, rotating, and flipping.

It also makes possible to upload files to YouTube directly, without using the original YouTube interface. These can be converted videos, music with visualization, photos or even DVDs. The program will cut videos into 10-minute parts inserting them into one YouTube playlist, and save the account information.

In short, Freemake Video Converter is a new free program that can bring forward the functionality comparable to that of paid ones. Absolutely free downloading and upgrading, ergonomic and engaging interface, high speed of conversion allow users to fulfill tasks of different complexity, without time and money spent in vain.

Online video has long been a powerful and indeed vital way of driving traffic to websites, but submitting them to online video sites has been difficult and time consuming. That has changed with the release of an innovative piece of software.

Videobot makes releasing online videos to a wide variety of online media a matter of moments. It is designed to make releasing and promoting online videos to hundreds of sites a job that can be done in minutes rather than days.

Online videos are a wonderful method of driving traffic and creating back links. Videos can become viral very quickly, with videos and links getting posted all over the net and driving more traffic than many webmasters could dream of normally. But the problem has always been propagating them throughout the net to try to start off a viral effect.

YouTube, for example, has reached 100 million viewers in the United States alone, a massive potential market to tap into. There are a plethora of software options for the easy creation of videos and online animations, but next to nothing available for the posting of videos to available content sites such as YouTube, until now.

This software also aids in the creation of online accounts for these sites. Unlike many ‘automated’ pieces of software which require you to manually sign up for accounts before you can submit all you have to do with Videobot Video Posting Software is enter the details once and then the software will create the accounts for you. Not only does it sign up to the accounts for you but also manages the follow up part, such as clicking confirmation links.

Master Web Software offers lifetime upgrades guarantee and full technical support for this product. For more information, visit http://masterwebsoftware.com.

Reality Digital, Inc., a proven leader of digital media solutions for global brands and their agencies, has announced the launch of Reality Digital Spotlight, a new white-label online video platform for the management, distribution and socialisation of video library content.

Spotlight extends digital media publishing to businesses and allows organizations to manage, publish, distribute and monetize their library of professional and user-generated video assets. Businesses with a wide range of digital media management needs can use Spotlight to help socialize their digital content, build viral buzz and create an engaged community around their brand in as little as 15 minutes.

We developed Spotlight to compliment our current social networking platform product line so that our customers could easily manage, distribute and socialize their video content from one vendor, while making their brand more relevant and interactive to their consumers.

Spotlight is a fully hosted platform that eliminates the need for technical or video expertise traditionally required to maintain a video management deployment and makes it easy for businesses to:

• Maintain a mini-social network for video or channel campaigns, via built-in comments, ratings and social distribution links;
• Develop new revenue models and generate incremental revenue on their library of professional content via video advertising;
• Distribute videos in playlists or through a brand’s library of content;
• Accept user generated content from users through an upload API;
• Configure the media player designs and user interface to a business’s brand specifications;
• Analyze their video and playlist performance to gather feedback on content programming and ensure maximum relevance to their customers; and
• Obtain affordable, unlimited access to all features, regardless of how much or how little is streamed.

Spotlight supports the rigorous needs of businesses, including broadcasters, media and entertainment organizations, sports entities, publishers and brands that rely on video distribution as a core component of their day-to-day operations. Liaison with brands and agencies through the development phase of Spotlight revealed that the ability to easily and reliably distribute television and online content was a key demand.

Spotlight’s scalability and stability means businesses can now enjoy the ease-of use and worry-free maintenance that Spotlight’s SaaS-based platform offers and can take advantage of a comprehensive feature-set that enables the ability to publish and deliver high quality video, professionally-produced or user-generated-content in a controlled manner, to any website in less than 15 minutes, creating the most impactful and participatory viewing experiences for their audiences.

Robert Proctor, Head of EMEA, Reality Digital said: “Our expertise in media management stems from the hundreds of social media initiatives we have deployed for some of the world’s most recognized brands, which has helped us develop a keen understanding of what it takes to ensure a successful project. What we’ve found is that our customers want a single vendor that can provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for all their video management and community needs,”

Spotlight also provides socialization tools to execute viral campaigns and build communities around a brand’s digital media library, directly in the player, and customize specific media properties, such as multiple bit rate encoding, metadata tags, bumper video and logo insertions, media scheduling, preview images, and more.

Reality Digital Spotlight is available to all current and new customers in October 2009. Pricing is based on usage and includes a monthly platform fee that includes some storage, a bandwidth delivery fee, and a storage overage fee. Those interested can visit http://spotlight.realitydigital.com to sign up for a free 30-day unlimited access trial account.

She’s written hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines and websites, and now writing coach Maya Payne Smart is sharing her business know-how with other journalists—for free.

Smart knows it takes more than just writing talent to succeed as a freelancer in today’s competitive market. She’s teamed up with journalist Kate Eckman to create the free Breakthrough Freelancing Quick-Start Kit http://breakthroughfreelancing.com.

Eckman, a former TV news reporter, grills Smart about what it really takes to thrive as a freelancer in a challenging economy. Smart’s responses to the aspiring freelancer reveal tried and true methods for getting paid to write. She teaches listeners how to choose a niche, find and attract great clients, value themselves and their work, write once and sell multiple times, and stay motivated despite the odds.

This free kit includes a digital audio file of the 45-minute interview, a 32-page PDF transcript with links to key resources. Also included is a free subscription to Writing Coach — Smart’s bi-weekly newsletter full of insights and inspiration to help freelancers create wealth and enjoy the writing life.

“As print media scrambles to reinvent itself and online news organizations struggle to find profitable business models, many writers can no longer rely on employers for a steady paycheck or benefits, let alone any sort of professional development or long-term career path,” Smart said. “Given these trends, business skills must quickly assume their rightful place beside writing ability and reporting chops in the journalist’s toolbox. Freelancing, for many, will be the first step in moving in an entrepreneurial direction. I hope the Breakthrough Freelancing Quick-Start Kit inspires someone to get going already.”

Aspiring writers, current freelancers or journalism students won’t want to miss this limited time offer. Smart’s advice is not only informative, but uplifting and inspirational—something every journalist could use, especially in this economy.

“If you decide that this is what you want to do, be confident that you can do it,” she said. “It’s possible and you’re capable.”

To sign up for the free program, visit http://breakthroughfreelancing.com/.

For more than ten years, PRWeb has built a reputation for introducing new, disruptive features for news distribution and for supporting a broad range of customers – from local businesses to global corporations.

The enhanced news release management tool helps customers of all sizes leverage the opportunities provided in the new multimedia and social-media enabled landscape.

“By providing a new tool that makes it easier to create and distribute multimedia news releases, PRWeb is helping PR professionals bridge the gap between interest and action.”

With the rise in unemployment in 2009, the number people hoping to turn to graduate school is reaching an all-time high.

Top U.S. business schools have reported a record number of applicants in the past year and the number of GMAT test takers have reached an all-time annual high of slightly over 250,000. At the same time many universities are committed to maintaining a consistent class size which means that the percentage of accepted applicants is dwindling. Having access to detailed advice and information about the MBA application process is now more important than ever to setting a candidate apart from the crowd.

MBA Podcaster, well known for it’s in depth audio interviews with business school representatives and admissions consultants, has launched a new video series geared to MBA applicants, MBA PodTV. Like the podcasts, MBA PodTV is committed to bringing business school applicants useful application strategies and relevant news to prepare them for a successful business school experience.

The new video series will feature one-on-one interviews with admissions’ directors, MBA students, alumni and other experts in a fun, easy to watch format. MBA PodTV will also produce short weekly roundups of industry news relevant to applicants today. In addition, the “Day in the Life” episodes will show viewers what life is like on some of the top business school campuses around the world, as the MBA PodTV crew shadows a current student through classes, meetings and social events.

The face of MBA PodTV is Mia Saini, a second year Harvard Business School student. An MIT graduate and previous CNBC financial producer, Saini sits down with various experts across the field to ask them the questions MBA applicants want to know. While most applicants rarely have the opportunity to visit their targeted business schools, let alone interview admissions’ directors, MBA PodTV helps bridge the gap between schools and applicants. Viewers are encouraged to submit questions for upcoming MBA PodTV segments on the MBA Podcaster Facebook page.

Starting today, viewers can visit the MBA Podcaster Web site to watch the first installment of MBA PodTV. Each episode will also available for download every week on iTunes, YouTube and the MBA Podcaster website.

About MBA Podcaster:
MBA Podcaster is an online source for information, insight, and advice on the MBA admission process. Ranked #1 on iTunes in both the MBA & GMAT categories, MBA Podcaster delivers relevant information and advice through weekly audio and video segments for those planning to apply for a Master’s in Business Administration. Topics include everything from a behind-the-scenes view of the admission process to post-MBA job opportunities and current market trends. Guests include Deans of various business schools, alumni, corporate recruiters, MBA consultants and more. For more information visit mbapodcaster.com. Keep up with MBA Podcaster news and podcasts by signing up to be a fan of the MBA Podcaster on Facebook, or following MBA Podcaster on Twitter.

Since the first daguerreotype, photographers have cropped their images to hone in on the details that matter most. The crop tool does that, as well as straighten and more. Check out the latest video from Deke McClelland with #27 in the dekePod’s Photoshop Top 40:

In a move that could rattle the wireless industry, Verizon Wireless is gearing up to challenge Apple in the market for software applications that are downloaded to cell phones.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. As it turns out, it may well be worth more than a few bucks as well.

If you are an aspiring shutter bug or videographer, you can easily position yourself to profit from your talents.

Video & Rev-Share Sites
One of the best ways to make money through your web videos is by using ad revenue sharing sites. These types of sites allow you to place your web video on their sites; when your video generates income through the ads that are placed on the page, you earn a certain amount of money. While you won’t be able to retire in Aruba on these earnings, you do have a shot at a respectable side income that you could easily use to fund promotional efforts.

Selling to a Niche
The key to making the most money off of ad revenue sites is by uploading as much content as you can, and tailoring the video for a specific type of audience. The more targeted the ad message, the higher potential of converting those click-thrus into sales. Some good ad revenue video sites are Revver and Google Video.

Selling to the Masses
Another method of earning through video is by selling your videos to others who may want to use them. There are a multitude of sites that allow you to sell your stock video clips, and stock photos, such as iStockVideo. Each site has specific guidelines as to the types of images that they accept, as well as size and quality guidelines — so be sure and familiarize yourself with these beforehand. In order to maximize your earning potential, you may want to do some background investigation to see what types of images are popular. You can do this by browsing the site to check out the profiles of the most popular contributors; another option is to check out sites like Alexa, Google News, and Alltop and see what topics are capturing headlines. Many web designers utilize stock photos to create client sites — you may want to contact a few designers to see if they have any current photo needs. If you are able to establish a few strategic partnerships with some busy designers, you may well end up with more work than you can handle.

Contract Out Your Services
Perhaps you are a big fan of a widget made by a specific company. If you make contact with the company that makes the widget, they may be interested in working with you, or even paying you to create a video on their behalf. By creating videos that affiliates and sales representatives can utilize, you are offering a value-added service that many small companies can’t afford to produce in-house. By establishing a few partnerships, you can create a lucrative niche business for yourself.