Brad Inman founded TurnHere/Emeryville, CA, the Internet video company in 2005 and in a short time it has moved to the forefront of the space. As video grows more and more popular on the Web, TurnHere provides companies with the opportunity to tell their own stories with short form videos in major campaigns that can involve over 100 videos focussing on local subjects, from individual hotels to book authors. Inman is also responsible for employing hundreds of young filmmakers who shot footage for TurnHere’s videos around the world. This week, iSPOT covers TurnHere’s new campaign for Simon & Schuster in a news story. Our iChat features a fascinating discussion with Inman about the video product TurnHere offers and how it is produced.
iSPOT: What kind of videos are you making?
Inman: It’s really short form, two to three minutes storytelling. We have a network of 2,000 videographers and all the creativity we do is driven by these filmmakers who are telling stories with real people, real characters. It’s a documentary form, with no actors or scripts or TV kind of glam. It’s telling stories about whoever it may be, book authors, neighborhoods, travel destinations or hotels. That’s our style and approach.
iSPOT: Is this style unique to TurnHere?
Inman: Documentary film is not new, nonfiction film is not new. The web was crying out for authenticity, believability and local character. The whole web 2.0 phenomenon works perfectly with this form, packed with useful relevant searchable information given to you by people who know the product. It’s not script, actors or the TV approach. We’re proud it’s our style but it was coming to the web and it’s a much better alternative than just converting TV to the Internet. It’s more about where the web was going, but we created a style here, there’s no doubt about it.
iSPOT: How did you develop your network of filmmakers?
Inman: There’s thousands coming out of film schools around the world every year and the technology is very inexpensive so young filmmakers can buy the equipment. We recruited them, screened them and vetted them. For one project for Citysearch we used 100 filmmakers. It’s a pretty exhaustive amount of video we’re being asked to create with our partners. The demand is there and the filmmakers will flock to where there’s opportunity.
iSPOT: Are they freelancers?
Inman: They’re all freelancers but they’re all trained and brought into our style and they understand rights agreements and music rights. It’s important they have the creativity and the ability to administratively manage what we need them to.
iSPOT: How many videos do you make for each client?
Inman: We’re doing lots. For Intercontinental it’s 140. The first set of videos for Citysearch was 350 and we’ll be upwards of 1,000 this summer. We started with 40 for Simon & Schuster and we’ll do a lot more. It’s about having a lot of video assets, not one for your company, whatever it may be. A movie about Simon & Schuster wouldn’t do much for anybody, but the authors have an audience, a loyal group of people and others who are curious and want to know about them so if you create micromedia that’s searchable on the web, qualified searchers will find it.
iSPOT: How do you work with clients to make the videos?
Inman: We do treatments to identify the elements. It doesn’t mean scripts. We get the three points they want to make and go over it with clients. The videographer goes out with the treatment and shoots it, it takes up to two days depending on how complex. They shoot, they edit, they electronically load up a rough cut. We have producers review the rough cuts and make changes and the client makes changes and it’s uploaded to the Internet. We help clients do all these things in terms of services.
iSPOT: Do all videos feature one person?
Inman: No, it can be more than one depending on the assignment. With Simon & Schuster it was individual authors and with Intercontinental it was individual concierges of the hotels, because they carry it and have great personalities. But videos for a restaurant featured the cook, the chef, the maitre d and the bartender for a full experience of all characters who run the restaurant. The video was shot on site at the restaurant for local character and vernacular.
iSPOT: Where do the videos run?
Inman: They go on partner websites and we put them up on Google Local and Google Earth and index them on YouTube, Yahoo, AOL and MSN. Video is the next big piece of Internet content. We’ve all learned you have to make content searchable and relevant so you have to get it properly indexed so people can find it. We’re creating branded pages on YouTube around customers and topics. We have them on small business and travel. We’re using Google maps to create searchable directories. There’s so many applications being built that exist out there for people who want to get their video out.
iSPOT: How do companies integrate the videos into their marketing?
Inman: They have value for companies if they think through it. They can be integrated into newsletters sent via e-mail, they can be integrated into web pages. We create video blogs for partners so they can get comments and use social networking. Thanks to YouTube we’ve learned how to copy and paste the code embedded onto blogs so it has a universal cross platform appeal. We’re doing stuff with Discovery that has cell phone applications. We’re making movies for their broadband applications. One is a movie about Alcatraz. Imagine you’re on a boat going to Alcatraz and you can open up your cell phone and see a two-minute video about Alcatraz. Video fits perfectly onto the cell phone device and PDAs.
iSPOT: What is your new project on the Chinese Olympics?
Inman: We’re doing travel videos in China in anticipation of the Olympics. We don’t know who the sponsor will be, we’re doing it on spec. We’re creating travel videos so people get an idea about China from Chinese filmmakers and narrators. It’s Chinese people talking about the experience, insider guides about where to go and what to do.
