Shameless self-promotion alert!!!

Tonight I bellied up to the pundit bar and appeared as a guest on the BlogTalkRadio edition of the excellent blog Wilshire & Washington.

Maegan Carberry, who I met on the Obama campaign invited suckered me into a rough Q&A by herself and Variety Editor-At-Large Ted Johnson.

I don’t know who keeps telling people that I know what I’m talking about (It’s me.), but I can’t say I dislike the attention.

For a refresher course on my past punditry, take a look at the clips below from my appearances on KNBC Los Angeles’ NewsConference…

Former Senator Mike Gravel’s campaign released this video a week back, and I thought it worth posting here. It will get nowhere near the attention of the Rock or Fire videos. That’s a shame because there is something much more important going on in this piece than there was in those artsy one-off clips.

In response to a video question through YouTube, Gravel addresses a bankruptcy in his family’s past in frank and clear words. This is a candidate using the online video medium to give a direct response to a direct – and tough – citizen question. I would love to see more of this from the other campaigns. At least once a week check in with a simple video like this answering a question without a bunch of hubbub.

Just once a week.

Please.

A moment ago, I posted a nice clip from the Biden campaign on the importance of the Iowa Caucuses that defies their M.O. of posting clips from news shows and debate performances.

Now, they follow up with a quartet of video responses through YouTube.

I’ve pulled them into the playlist below. I would have like to put the original YouTuber’s videos in here, but the campaign has not yet attached these clips as “video responses” to the questions they respond to. From the looks of things, they may all be directed at folks who issued typed – rather than taped – comments.

The Third Pillar: Exclusivity

In the First Pillar: Frequency, I discussed the need to shoot a lot and release a lot – providing you with the two things that make your program work: footage and viewers.

In the Second Pillar: Interactivity, I tackled what to put into your pieces – namely, two-way conversation via video. I looked at the need to join existing conversations and to start them – to both ask and answer questions – being sure to listen all the while. This may call for specific shooting with the candidate, or recycling of event footage…with brief reply clips a better use of policy footage than one long speech.

Better use of event footage leads to the Third Pillar: Exclusivity.

So, you’re shooting all the time. What does that mean? That you go to every event and film? Of course. You should certainly film every event. But, know that you won’t be the only one shooting.

Events are for the benefit of the media, who you hope will be shooting and putting it out there. They are for the benefit of voters, more and more of whom are carrying cameras of their own.
Cruise YouTube for videos of campaign events and you’ll find them. Alongside official campaign videos will be shaky cell phone footage of what some audience member found to be the most important or interesting part of the speech.

Don’t be surprised if your opponents have cameras there as well, and they’re not there to make your guy look good.

Therefore – like any work of art – once an event is public, it’s community property.
However, campaign cameras should not stop rolling when the event ends. In fact, what happens away from the event gives you your most powerful advantage. Access.
When the candidate leaves the stage, and the news crews and supporters head home, the campaign camera is still there.

In the hold.

In the car.

Everywhere but in the bathroom, and at fundraisers…two places nobody wants to see a candidate in action.

The campaign camera can give viewers things they will never get anywhere else. The campaign controls the footage. Events shouldn’t be faked or staged. You’re just looking for your candidate in their best light.

Think of it as an anti-tracker; who instead of looking for a gaffe – is waiting for that moment when the candidate gets their brilliant plan out there with such simple clarity and heartfelt passion that the other campaigns hope nobody ever sees the clip – and that the candidate never hits it that squarely again.

Think of it as an anti-paparazzo; who instead of waiting in the bushes to catch someone with their pants down – is looking for that unguarded moment away from the bright lights of candidacy, where the human being shows through, pushing to the top of the “have a beer with them” polls.

As a part of the team, a campaign videographer should become a familiar and welcome face to the candidate. They should build a rapport, and let the candidate know that they are a true believer; that only shining moments will see the light of day. A safety net will develop. The candidate will relax. They’ll stop being polite and start getting real.

Once that happens, you’ve hit a mother lode.

Your campaign will have what people want to see. The race for President is about the person and about personality. With its unparalleled access, the campaign camera can show that to the voters. People love to peek behind curtains, the campaign camera can give them that look.
Moreover, they’ll have to come to you to get it. No one else will have it.

There is a place for event films. There is a place for posting clips of floor speeches and news clips. But, people can get these things on their own. More and more people can create these things on their own. If they really want to watch a rally, they can tune in to C-Span and watch Road to the White House!

The unique position of a camera embedded with the candidate will create clips that funnel viewers through the campaign – and a venue to tell the story of the campaign like no other outlet can.

This brings me to an important point…that happens to be the Fourth Pillar. You’re telling a story.
A campaign is a natural heroes’ journey. Posting one speech after another has no arc. Shooting that way thumbs your nose at an underlying dramatic structure. The narrative of a campaign will take those people trained to check in by posting frequently, and hook them. So, when I return tomorrow I’ll try to tackle to most difficult of the Pillars for me to wrap my head around – continuity.

The Second Pillar: Interactivity

You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talking… you talking to me? Well I’m the only one here. Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to? (Travis Bickle, Taxi Driver)

Yesterday, we talked about the First Pillar – frequency. Shooting a lot of tape gives you the raw footage for a workable program. Posting often and on a regular schedule encourages return visits – so people are watching what you shoot.

But…yes, there is a but…the treasure trove of clips also has to be good and doing the right things.

The Second Pillar – interactivity – starts to tackle the discussion of what to do with all of that footage you’re shooting, and what to include in all those finished pieces you are putting up.

Joining the Conversation

Think of it this way…

The internet is a big lunchroom, if you will. There are bunches of tables where people are having different conversations. There are the blogs over here, and the social networking sites over there. You’ve got your listserv and message board tables – nerds! – and the current “cool kids” table, the social video sites…namely YouTube. In this election cycle – at least for right now – YouTube is the big man on campus.

Now, the YouTube lunch table is like any other; a bunch of folks sitting around sharing things. The users talk and listen, and react to what others put up…only with TVs for heads and cameras for eyes.

A little creepy, I know.

Anyone can grab a seat at the tables. When campaigns create a piece, they should poke their computer heads into as many tables as possible. Post it to your site. Put it up at YouTube (and Revver, and Brightcove, and the other hosting sites). Embed it on your MySpace page and your Facebook profile. Put it in diaries at group blogs. Talk about it in comments threads. Email it out to supporters.

Of course, do all of this appropriately. Don’t pimp too hard in the wrong places and come off as the boorish visitor who will be ridiculed and not welcomed back.

Do You Ever Shut Up?

You shouldn’t go into a conversation and just talk in real life, nor should you do it with web videos. Listen too. Use videos to respond to what’s going on out there. Post your videos as responses to those who have questions, or in reaction to criticism.

Candidate video reactions offer a strong rebuttal to criticism, provide “from the horse’s mouth” information on issues, and show that the principals are listening to and caring about what’s being said in the real world.

Plus, imagine how your average YouTuber will feel when a Presidential candidate has not only watched their video, but sent back a reply – in living color, no less! I’d bet good money that the user will post about it on their blog, tell their friends to watch the response, or even embed it somewhere…echoing your message through their own network of readers/viewers.

Reach Out and Touch Someone

Since your videos are now a part of other folks’ conversations; why not strike one up yourself? Ask your viewers questions. Listen to what they say, and reply. Now things are going both ways.

A site from across the pond, Webcameron, has drawn interest for the candidate regularly taking questions from the masses and directly addressing them. This has begun to happen here as well, but isn’t nearly pervasive enough.

For all of the complaints about American journalists only covering the horse race, why aren’t campaigns diving into the meat of their platforms by taking questions from real people – whose queries are often better, tougher, and more relevant than those of their professional counterparts. People don’t amuse themselves talking about who’s up in which poll or which candidate had the stronger first quarter. Let them ask the questions, and they’ll open the door for you to talk about your energy plan, or how you’ll tackle healthcare…and they’ll ask it in a way that drives you to talk to them like human beings.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

The best part is, this doesn’t have to be hard – or too demanding on the time of the candidate. Candidates are busy, they have a lot to do. So devote some good staff work to seeing what’s up at each lunch table. Have staffers look out for questions that will allow you to shine…and if you’re brave, tough ones – which will allow you to shine even more!

Answer questions with footage you already have. Go back to the best clips from stump speeches or policy announcements, and use them as video responses on issues. Just pull out a good line. More people will watch 10 to 30 seconds of a speech as a video response than will watch a minutes-long clip of a static shot from a press conference.

On the really good questions, or to ask one yourself…

It only takes a couple minutes during some down time – be it in the car, or the hold room – to ask or answer a question. Use those few minutes and truly converse. Don’t do multiple takes of a scripted piece in a well-lit “set.” Just grab it and go.

These last two thoughts – to reuse old footage for conversation, and to always be grabbing thoughts from the candidate on the go – actually lead me to the next pillar, so I’ll wrap things up.
These conversations are happening, and it behooves candidates to be a part of them. Take that few minutes to shoot an honest, off the cuff answer to the questions real people care about. It’ll feel much better than having to constantly repeat things like, “We’ll have the resources to be competitive” – which is what you end up saying to a reporter.

Go back to the library for the best lines to address common questions (why not a video FAQ or an “Issues” section made up of video clips?), it’s a much better use than showing a whole speech or making the same sort of event film over and over again. People can see speeches on the news. They don’t need you for that. So, use what’s in the speeches creatively to join the discussion. That’s easy. Devote your energy to give people something they won’t get elsewhere…the Third Pillar: Exclusivity.

The First Pillar: Frequency

The first of the five pillars holds its own benefits, while providing a foundation for the others.

Frequency refers not only to releasing often, but also to shooting often. An effective web video program requires a lot of footage. Shooting all the time allows you to build a library, which you can go back to over the course of the campaign. It also protects you from missing something.

Every day on the campaign trail – or in the office, or with supporters, or with strangers on the street…you get the picture – every day on the campaign trail there are numerous magic moments. They are those interactions between candidates and the public that will never be repeated. They are the nuances in a stump speech that come from the little differences each day brings. They are the honest, unguarded reactions to seeing the country up close – from one end to the other – over the course of months.

If you are not rolling, no one will ever see these magic moments again.

Tape is cheap. Keep it moving across the record head!

Having a usefully large library allows you to partake of the other half of frequency; maintaining a plentiful and predictable release schedule.

I was late to the game, but about halfway through its one-year run I became a devotee of The Show, with Ze Frank. Each week day afternoon, Ze would post a new webisode. I knew to truck over there and look for it. If it wasn’t up yet, I’d click around; maybe watching old episodes, maybe exploring the other offerings of his site.

This is a successful model, and one to follow. A TV show will die if it moves from time slot to time slot. People need to know when and where to find it. Campaign videos should be no different.

Campaigns should post videos every day. Yes. Every day. That is what all that footage you’re shooting is for.

It doesn’t need to be much. It can be just a little something. Haven’t had events lately, or they aren’t edited yet? Throw up a little something from HQ, or a private moment from backstage, or a supporter testimonial. Whatever it is, just put up something!

Viewers need to know that when they come back, there will be something new – and hopefully good! – to watch. For the same reason you wouldn’t let your blog have only one post a week, it is unacceptable to post a video once a week.

If people come back and there’s nothing new, they’ll eventually stop coming back. If people know there will be something to look at, they’ll come back…and maybe explore a little.

These two simple steps – shooting everything and releasing constantly and consistently – will provide you with what your program needs to succeed; plenty of footage and well-trained regular viewers.

As simple as it seems, make a little calendar of when the Presidential contenders are releasing clips…do they make the grade?

Now, of course there is much more to this than just burning through tape stock and posting all the time. In the next pillars, I’ll delve into what makes a good video. First up? Interactivity. Leveraging the nature of the web to hold a real conversation (you know who you are!).

Like never before, the media war of the 2008 Presidential campaign is unfolding online. Yet, for all the work of the campaigns, the one piece that broke through – at least to bloggers and the media…who knows about real people? – had its genesis in the wild, rather than from one of the campaigns.

Whole sites have popped up to both analyze the campaigns and figure out the new medium. You’ll find a few linked in the sidebar. A while back at TechPresident, David All put forth a few things he’d like to see:

It’s Friday, and it’s my birthday, so I’m going to dig deep and give away five creative ideas I’d be working on if I were working for a Presidential campaign. Would they go viral? Well, you never know unless you try. And that, my friends, is the beauty of having a free distribution service.

And one more thing, you’ll note that all of these videos are POSITIVE. Video can be used to do something other than tear down the other guy. (TechPresident: Top five Presidential viral videos I’d like to see)

As someone who makes these pieces for campaigns, I too have been watching and ruminating on the state of the “YouTube Primary” on the Democratic side. Last Friday, I promised a series on five basic principals upon which to build a campaign web video program.

Then I remembered I have this whole California Democratic Convention thing to work on.

Well – I’m not getting paid to blog…if you don’t count the two bucks from people clicking the Google ads in the sidebar!

While periodically decompressing, I’ve been jotting down some thoughts. Each day this week, I’ll lay out one of five organizing principals which I have come to think of as pillars to build a campaign web video upon. Monday we look at the foundation of all the others; frequency.