Edwards
Talking Shop: My Appearance on Wilshire & Washington’s BlogTalkRadio Show
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…
Joe Trippi is Out of Ideas. Supporters to Make John Edwards Next Ad!
Enter your :30 second spot between December 28th and January 16th – just in time for the Nevada Caucuses!
More details are available at JohnEdwards.com.
No word if the winner gets the customary cut of the media buy.
Edwards Sending Resources to New Hampshire. What does it all mean?
With theories abounding that former North Carolina Senator John Edwards is quietly winning Iowa, his campaign released this video yesterday telling people to get their asses to New Hampshire.
Even the candidate himself hit the streets in the Granite State:
Just a week from the Caucus and the Edwards team is turning attention to state number two…are they confident of a win, or worried about a defeat?
Another Good Supporter Action Video from Edwards
The Edwards team dropped another nice video showing supporters in action today.
Big Opening Week: Edwards Works for Box Office Gold in Iowa Caucus
Don’t expect to see this before Sweeney Todd when you go catch it this weekend!
John Edwards campaign put out a “Trailer” today for the Iowa Caucus. It’s meant to draw attention to the Edwards Campaign Caucus Command Center.
I like the piece a lot – especially because it draws on the talents of one of their supporters who does voice work for “real” movie trailers.
The one thing I’m torn on is whether or not Edwards should be the “star.” If I were to go a slightly different direction with the story it’d be about the people rising up against powerful corporate interests, with Edwards leading the way. The American People would be the star.
Nonetheless, it’s another nice creative piece from the Edwards camp.
Presidential Debates and the Special Olympics…
…What are places where everyone is the winner, Alex?
Wait! Before you think Edwards ran away with the debate, here’s a clip saying how great Obama was:
And since everyone was the winner yesterday, here’s a clip that the Clinton campaign has put out:
So, in three clips from three campaigns – all culled from the same news segment – we have three winners. Rashomon, anyone?
BONUS!!! Here’s a clip from Fox News where Edwards is the winner!
Since he has clips from two networks, does that make Edwards the real winner here?
John Edwards’ Campaign (and Parents) Reaching Out And Touching Republicans
Today, John Edwards released a trio of videos featuring voter contact work in New Hampshire.
The second video sticks to the same formula. A phonebanker tells their story of talking with a Republican. It’s a positive reaction, resulting in good feelings for the volunteer.
Both of the clips are pulling triple duty. They hit some policy points: Iraq and Good Government. They hit some messaging: that Edwards is more electable in the general (as evidenced by these New Hampshire Republicans who are open to him). They create an opportunity for action, and one which will leave you feeling so good you’ll want to tell your own story of how well it went.
In fact, it’s such a good experience that even Edwards’ folks get in on the action…
Not content to trade her recipes for campaign contributions, Edwards mom brings along dad (the one whose job at the mill we’ve heard so much about) for a day of campaign work. I wonder if Hillary Clinton had her mom working the phones in the videos I posted earlier…
Shooting Your Ads on the Road – Edwards “Together” Ad
One advantage to having cameras on the road is an abundance of footage. With cost barriers to high image quality cameras evaporating, you can roll Hi-Def tape day after day after day and – provided your cameraperson has a good eye – have what you need for better commercials, when the time comes to go up on television.
I ran into Edwards’ videographer – Peter – at the debate in Vegas. We’d met here and there before, going back to the winter DNC meeting in Washington almost a year ago. One thing we chatted about was how his footage was providing a great deal of the material in Senator Edwards ads. Armed with a Sony HDV camera (I think he uses the HVR-Z1U), Pete’s strong lens work holds up to broadcast specs and provides Joe Trippi and company with an endless stream of footage for their ads.
The key point here is not the abundance of footage, though. It’s the realityof the footage. Watching this Edwards ad, it’s clear that it’s not a setup. This is a real campaign event. The crowd is a real crowd. What Edwards is saying is the same thing he’d say in a meeting hall or living room.
Most ads that feature the candidate speaking to a group of folks are completely forced. There is nothing real about them. A good videographer on the road, with a high-quality camera, gives you all the tape you’ll need to convey the authenticity of your candidate and campaign.
Edwards Hammers Away at Clinton (and in New Orleans)
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards launched his campaign from the 9th Ward of New Orleans. From time to time over the course of the campaign he has returned there to work in the community with supporters from One Corps – the citizen activism off-shoot of his campaign. While the Clinton campaign was offering debate watching parties with Bill, and the Obama team had “Dinner With Barack,” Edwards gave away the chance to join him in working up a sweat rebuilding homes in New Orleans.
Edwards has shown that he knows his way around a hammer. Perhaps that is why he received the endorsement of the Carpenters union, eh?
But, in the days and weeks that have now passed since the Democratic Debate in Philadelphia, Edwards has been doing other hammering as well – with rival Hillary Clinton held with tongs against the anvil.
Entitled “The Politics of Parsing,” the video above is one of the most effective web videos of the campaign to date. While I evangelize day in, day out about using video to let voters get to know your candidate; there is also necessity the use it to help them get to know your opponent. Edwards campaign put this video out on the heels of the well-covered brouhaha near the end of the Philly debate. It makes their case with sound and titles and visually reinforces the point.
Feeling that they’d scored a hit, the campaign followed up with a flashback to the YearlyKos event a while back. On the 2008 candidate panel, Clinton raised a few electronic eyebrows among the Kossacs by stating – in no uncertain terms – that she would continue to take contributions from lobbyists, because they “represent real people.” That was a line perfectly teed up for both the populist Edwards and the reformer Obama.
After their initial hit on Clinton’s “positions” on the issue of drivers licenses for illegal immigrants, and the follow up with her clear defense of Washington lobbyists, Edwards campaign closed the circle with a video news clipping of Edwards concisely answering the question Clinton danced around.
This series of clips – which were woven into a fundraising push – demonstrate the power of narrative continuity across multiple pieces. While each stood up well as episodic clips, the story they told as a thought-out series was even stronger. And notice none of them included the candidate giving the stump speech for the umpteenth time!
Five Candidate Pile-Up: Hillary Clinton’s “Politics of Pile On” Video
Following up on last nights Democratic debate in Philadelphia, Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign released this video where a bunch of mean male Senators gang up on her. Not included in the video: the portion of the debate where the near-perfectly disciplined Clinton got banged around a little on the issue of drivers licenses for undocumented workers.
UPDATE: Hillary didn’t have her drivers license answer in that clip, but – staying mean – the Edwards campaign put it out there:
Not Just About Decorating and Dinners: Potential U.S. First Ladies sit down with Mrs. Governator
At her huge annual Women’s Conference, California First Lady Maria Shriver hosts a discussion with Elizabeth Edwards, Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain, Ann Romney, and Jeri Thompson. It’s a long piece, but – at least if you believe Shriver – it’s the first time anything like this has ever happened. So, if you’ve got an hour, take a look.
Despite being married to the man who bounced my old boss – Gray Davis – from office, I’ve never had a beef with Shriver. In fact, she sent the nicest gift basket the day after the Recall. Very classy.
Your Words, Your Supporters’ Mouths
After my frivolous post with the “Cooter” video, I felt I should pay respects to the great video work of the Edwards campaign by posting the clip you see above, instead of just being silly (and a little stir crazy).
Edwards folks have long done an excellent job of integrating real folks into their web video pieces. This video keeps up that tradition.
It’s not uncommon to see interviews with and testimonials from supporters in videos from most of the campaigns. Usually they’re talking about how great the candidate it. With this video (and the “We The People” project earlier in the campaign) Edwards has done things a little differently – using his supporters to carry his water in a more direct fashion.
The Obama campaign used this technique well not too long ago, putting the words of the Senator’s five-year-old speech denouncing the war in Iraq into the mouths of several supporters.
I like this clip, a lot – mostly because it is almost exactly how I would have made it. Or maybe I blacked out and made it – like Tyler Durden setting up franchises around the country. My dark side, at work! If I were to do anything differently, it would be to get more geographic diversity in the clip, and to share the peoples’ names and where they are from.
This is where ubiquitous use of video across your campaign’s many departments pays off. I’m guessing the Obama campaign knew long in advance that they were going to focus on this speech around the time of it’s anniversary. Whether it was Communications, Political…or whoever! Somebody knew this was coming.
Letting the BarackTV crew know ahead of time would allow them to grab a line or two in every city and town he stopped at in the few weeks prior. As it was release, most of the lines look like they were filmed in New York – where he made a big end-of-quarter stop in September. There are a few that look like Iowa. A few weeks notice could have turned this piece into a national chorus, singing in 50 part harmony to the tune of his speech.
Like any other department, campaign video outfits benefit from more prep time. Get them in early, and a better film will come out.
“Cooter” for Edwards
The Edwards campaign dropped a handful of videos from an October 16th stop in Iowa. Posting this one allows me to type the word “Cooter” – which just feels good.
No insight here. Just me. Typing “Cooter” over and over.
Cooter.
You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato: Edwards Supporter Provides Context for the Michelman Clip on HillaryHub.com
An oft-cited benefit of internet (and YouTube) politics is the ability for John and Jane Public to fact check what is coming from the campaigns.
Yesterday, HillaryHub.com (from the Clinton campaign) posted video of Kate Michelman talking about the importance of Hillary being in the race:
Nice things to say all around, from Michelman…
But’s it’s not all she said. An Edwards supporter posted the full clip:
In the full clip, Michelman makes it clear that she supports John Edwards.
So there’s just a little example of a campaign trying to forward a message (Clinton pulling pro-Hillary lines from an interview) and the people pushing back with a little context (the Edwards supporter posting what Michelman really was trying to say).
There will be a lot more of this in all directions and from all sides.
Ps. To the Clinton campaign – you’ve mispelled Michelman’s name in your YouTubization of the Hardball segment.
While Michael Moore Breaks the Cuba Ebargo, Patrick Ruffini Breaks The Clinton YouTube Embargo (UPDATED)
UPDATE: OKAY, OKAY, OKAY!!! I TAKE IT ALL BACK…AT LEAST THE PART ABOUT HOARDING HILLCAM TO THEIR SITE. THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN POSTED THE HILLCAM STOPS ON THEIR YOUTUBE ACCOUNT. YOU CAN FIND THEM HERE, HERE, AND HERE.
Following up on this morning’s piece on the HillCam, I thought I’d drop in this post from Patrick Ruffini:
When I first posted the Clinton Sopranos parody video to YouTube, I could hardly imagine it would become the second most viewed video that day, with over 250,000 views. Other versions trailed narrowly behind, fetching at least 700,000 extra viewers. All told, over a million watched the video on YouTube.
That’s not what the Clinton campaign intended. They wanted to have this moment all to themselves, so they didn’t post it to their YouTube channel, instead roadblocking people to HillaryClinton.com where there would be no conversation, no comments, and no pesky video replies. While on the site, they also wanted people to sign up and donate.
You’d think only a Clinton supporter would post such a funny and flattering video of the two, but I saw this as an opportunity to divert traffic from the Clinton web site and perhaps reduce their online take from the video. It was successful, to the tune of a quarter million people who watched it on YouTube instead of HillaryClinton.com.
Now, they’ve done it again with their “HillCam†video of Hillary and Bill trekking through Iowa. And again, they’ve offered a high-res Quicktime download. And again, I’ve posted it to YouTube for them, so Democrats won’t have to go to Hillary’s site to get it. (Patrick Ruffini: Stop the Clinton YouTube Embargo)
I can understand why the Clinton campaign would try and drive traffic to their site using the excellent Sopranos video. They had something completely golden on their hands, and knew it. They leveraged it into something. It was a gimmick, not unlike the Edwards gimmick-video where Trippi and Prince baked a pie. This wasn’t about getting to know Hillary…it was novelty for novelty’s sake…or for the sake of getting email sign-ups.
Somehow, I feel the HillCam should be treated differently. If they really wanted to let people get to know Hillary, why hoard it all to their site? Wouldn’t they want as many people as possible to get to know her…on YouTube, Revver, Blip.tv, Brightcove and anywhere else?
It’s not about sharing the Clintons with you, it’s about what you will give them for it.
Edwards “Demand and Be Heard” Eventful.com Contest Video Reappears!
Yesterday, as a case for using systems other than YouTube as your primary web video outlet (post to all of them), I posted a disappearing video from the Edwards campaign about their contest on Eventful.com, called Demand and Be Heard. The video has been revived, and is posted above. I’ve cast my vote, and hope to see the former Senator on his way to Los Angeles – which is now in the lead. California’s newly minted “early” status has given me great chances to see more of these candidates than I have in past elections. I savor every visit!
In that same post, I also referenced a missing Edwards video featuring a call from the candidate to his wife Elizabeth. The video had popped up long enough to appear on PrezVid.com, and greetings to those of you finding your way here via that site’s generous link.
ReelPolitik notices that the Edwards campaign has taken down the video I wrote about the other day showing the candidate asking his wife permission to go to a basketball game under the proudly snarky headline, ‘Will he ask for permission to invade Iran?‘ Click on the video now and it’s “private.†Ah, but there is no private in a presidential campaign. ReelPolitik asks: “Did Jarvis’ snark drive this video into privacy?†Well, if so, that’d be silly. The Edwards video was the first spark I saw of a candidate being just a little loose on the little camera. If someone in the campaign tries to sanitize, script, and spin that, they’re missing the point of the medium. Put the video back up. What’s the harm in looking human? (PrezVid)
I don’t find Jeff Jarvis all that scary, and doubt Joe Trippi and the Edwards team do either. Yet Jarvis’ headline RE: Iran was an example of the “Gotcha Culture” Trippi has been taking to task in recent talks on candidate web videos.
Like many others, I hope for more of the behind the curtain looks like the Edwards campaign gave – however temporarily. But, it’s important for those of us who ask for them to not turn them into an opportunity to take pot shots…lest the access disappear.
In a way, I feel lucky to have seen the “Phone Call” clip…perhaps that is a potential strategy for campaign video creators such as myself. Put things up for just a limited time. Make interesting enough that when they disappear people post about it on their blogs…hmmmm….
While we’re talking Edwards the folks at the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights gave their big award of the year to Elizabeth Edwards. Here’s video of her speech (in two parts):
Disappearing Edwards Videos – One Case for Brightcove
On Technology Evangelist, Benjamin J. Higginbotham…
…which reminds me of a story – my only known encounter with the CIA!…
…but anyway…
Higginbotham writes on the value of using Brightcove as opposed to YouTube for your campaign’s primary video outlet. While rightly suggesting the use ofall of the social video sites (including Blip.tv, Revver and Ustream.TV), he sites one major strength of Brightcove…the ability to post your videos on a time-delayed basis:
Being able to pre-record a message and schedule it to go live at an exact time can give your campaign the extra edge it may need vs waiting for YouTube to convert your video whenever it darn well pleases. (Technology Evangelist)
He is absolutely right. Brightcove has better control and quality – and the simple convenience of choosing your own thumbnail (long overdue from YouTube). But, in a world where timing is so critical imagine the stress relief of uploading on Monday, knowing that the video will appear – as if by magic! – at a predetermined time on Thursday!
One campaign wishing it had this ability may be the Edwards campaign – who have been cranking out videos lately…with some of them disappearing after they pop to those of us using RSS to monitor their feeds.
If you click on the player above, you find that the video has been turned private. But not before it turned up in my feed reader – and on the blog of Jeff Jarvis, PrezVid. Did Jarvis’ snark drive this video into privacy?
Another example popped up in my reader not long ago, going hand in hand with a push email the Edwards camp is making today urging people to demand him on Eventful.com.
The video has now been removed, but the cat is out of the bag. When will the clip reappear?
I suppose the moral of the story is that while YouTube is the biggest microphone in the online video world it has it’s drawbacks. So, consider Brightcove (or Blip.tv – which the Obama campaign has recently added…you can get Obama on iTunes now!). You’ll get better quality, more control, the ability to choose your still – YouTube really needs to fix this! – and the restful knowledge that you will control when people see your clips…not the unreliable speed of YouTube’s upload system.
The New Hampshire Debate – Hitting the Angle Button
At the Democratic debate on Tuesday night, the CNN/WMUR crews weren’t the only ones toting video gear. In the midst of the YouTube primary, the campaigns were sporting crews of their own.
Throughout the day, the Dodd campaign was rolling tape in their signature cinéma vérité style. As a “pre-game show” they hosted a live video chat via ustream.tv. Even days before the debate they were generating debate-related clips, such as this one:
The Edwards campaign immediately followed the debate with a quick clip of the former Senator being marched into the hall by a drumline. Today they have a new release with an interesting film showing the Senator as he is given a walk-through of how the event will go down.
There’s a great deal to like here. I love the gentlemanly and impromptu meeting with Governor Richardson at the end. I would like to have seen footage from the debate worked into the piece – especially since CNN went to all the trouble of freeing up use of it for vLoggers and the ‘net.
Maybe it goes like this…
Open on the debate.
Show a great line from the candidate.
Then cut out.
TITLE: X Hours Earlier
Flashback to the walk through.
During the explanation of the first half, show a great line from the first half.
At the rundown on the second half, show a great line from the second half.
Wrap it up with the great hallway meeting, and a suggestion of where to find more substantive clips (captured from TV?).
I love the novelty of the piece, which taps into the exclusivity of having a campaign-controlled camera. It gives viewers a reason to watch. But, while you have them it is important to also deliver the message.
Supporting the Troops (Edwards “Care Packages” videos)
In the last few days, the Edwards for President campaign release a pair of videos showing the candidate (in Iowa) and the campaign staff (in North Carolina) making Memorial Day care packages for our men and women serving overseas.
These videos are exactly the sort of thing I think of when I talk about campaign videos getting away from public speeches and events and giving people glimpses of what the candidate/campaign is like “away from the cameras.” I especially like the the clip featuring John Edwards in Iowa, as it also features his family and captures him with his son, Jack.
Let’s see more of candidates in more lifelike situations – including with their family.