Allen Lew's Thoughts » Videos

My mom on the news discussing Black Friday

Allen Lew — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:58:49 +0000

It’s an old news story, but ABC didn’t have embeds when this came out. My mom (lady with glasses at the left) is in the end of this piece doing Tai chi and asking people to not shop, but exercise.

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I talk a little about Watchmen on NBC 4 LA

Allen Lew — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:04:48 +0000

I was on the NBC 4 Los Angeles local news talking a little bit about the Watchmen film, which was pretty good, and got to show off my tickets over at Universal City Walk. I don’t know much about the original book, but it is considered the greatest graphic novel of all time. The characters look amazing and it seems like they captured all of the best parts of the novel. That being said, some scenes go on and are often overly violent. Still, even if you aren’t a fan of superhero movies, this is still a film to see.

Guides to Becoming a Superhero

Monetization Models for Video on the Internet

Allen Lew — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:38:09 +0000

I had a brief discussion with a friend about making money with Internet video. We looked at a couple of business models for a nonprofit to make money online and realized there were a couple of ways anybody could make some money with Internet video. Here are some suggestions for almost anybody to earn revenue from video on the web:

Take advertising on your site and/or videos. This probably isn’t feasible as a nonprofit (Update: this is possible with a nonprofit), but online advertising revenues will give you a somewhat decent amount of money for the amateur and is the most common video revenue model. In addition to ads on the producer’s website (generally provided by a third-party), most video hosting sites like Youtube or my personal favorite, Blip.tv, allow ads to be inserted before and after videos, and at designated times during the video.
Post the videos (or excerpts) on Youtube and Myspace. As a nonprofit, Youtube and Myspace will allow you to collect donations. For example, take a look at this page from the Anaheim Ballet. They have a donation button on the their page and on each of their video pages with Google Checkout integration. Also, having a Facebook Cause and/or Page as well, as they allow you to collect donations as well. Even if you are intending to sell the videos, having a small presence on these sites can at the very least draw some attention to your videos (and a random donation as well).
Creating an online video store- This is probably the most technically challenging option. It is possible to create an online store that sells video downloads using ecommerce software like Ubercart, a Drupal module for ecommerce, and others like Magento. You can also sell some of your stuff on iTunes and other services using a company like TuneCore.
Post videos online, but sell physical media (DVDs, booklets, etc.) – This is the model now for most television stations, including PBS. For example, the show Frontline on PBS is available online in its entirety, but is also sold as a DVD online, along with teachers guides, and other supplemental materials. You can even have these items made on demand via new websites like Lulu.com that print and make CD/DVDs and books when some one orders them.

So those are just some ideas I had about making money online with video. They are not mutually exculsive items (for example, 1 and 4 are completely complementary to each other). Feel free to also post a comment with any other ideas.

We Can Do This Video

Allen Lew — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:00:02 +0000

So the Los Angeles Urban League, my employer, put together a celebratory video called “We Can Do This.” If it seems familiar, it’s probably because it resembles the Will.I.Am “Yes We Can Video“. They then showed this video at the big event called the Whitney Young Dinner last week. I was also asked to be in the video, though my part is only about a second (from the 2:36 mark). You may however recognize some of the people who have bigger parts in the video.

Los Angeles Urban League Domestic Violence PSAs

Allen Lew — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:57:03 +0000

The domestic violence program at my workplace, the Los Angeles Urban League, put together these Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for the public. They’ll be shown today at the Pan African Film Festival.

What Colbert was Making Fun Off- The Morning News Edition

Allen Lew — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 01:24:18 +0000

This week Stephen Colbert made fun off the morning shows like Good Morning America and the Today Show for their coverage of his interview with Robert Wexler where they joked that Wexler enjoyed cocaine and prostitutes. Here’s a link to the Today show clip.

Lazy Sunday- The Chronicles of Narnia Rap – Google Video

Allen Lew — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 09:33:07 +0000

Just testing out the new Google video playback code with this humorous video almost everybody has seen already.

George Lucas in Love

Allen Lew — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 05:18:56 +0000

George Lucas in Love-Awesome short film parody of Shakespeare in Love. Yeah I know it’s old.

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JibJab.com presents 2-0-5

Allen Lew — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 09:41:39 +0000

JibJab, makers of those funny election flash animations, like This Land and It’s Great to Be in DC, come out with a new one for 2-0-5. Not nearly as funny as the others, though.

Thank You for Smoking

The Life of Larry

Allen Lew — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 20:01:04 +0000

The Life of Larry – Google Video- Seth MacFarlane (creator of Family Guy) made an early concept show that eventually became Family Guy. If you like Family Guy, you’ll definetly recognize the voices and several of the gags. (via Metafilter)