If you’re considering an iPad for shooting video for a publicity campaign, one of the most pressing questions is how to secure that valuable piece of equipment to the tripod.
You do it with a Caddie Buddy, a plastic contraption that, one one end, wraps around the iPad and secures it on all four corners. The other end screws onto the tripod.
It comes with a clamp that lets you attach the iPad to a table, desk or tray table and forego the tripod. This is ideal for close-up video that you’d like to shoot right at your desk.
The gooseneck has movable knobs that let you readjust the iPad and move it up, down or sideways while it’s on the tripod, and still keep it fastened securely. It even works well if you want to keep the cover on the iPad.
During the webinar I hosted with Mike Stewart recently on how to shoot video with the iPad and a $5 app, one of the most frequently asked questions was how to attach the iPad to the tripod, or how to keep it from wobbling if you hold it in your hands while shooting the video. The Caddie Buddy solves both problems.
Mike says shooting video has never been easier.
That’s because you can shoot the video, edit it, insert music, and add other special effects all on the iPad. You don’t need fancy editing software like Sony Vegas or Camtasia.
What a relief!
I’ve been using a Kodak zi8 camera but I found it difficult to use because it was too small. Shooting the video, then importing it into my desktop computer was a hassle. So was editing it using Sony Vegas or Camtasia.
No more struggling with a detachable microphone, either, if I’m close enough to the iPad for good audio quality. The detachable mic had an extra long cord that kept getting tangled in the wheels of my office chair.
Don’t Buy the Caddie Buddy
The Caddie Buddy sells for $49.95. It’s gotten great reviews from customers and from Mike Stewart. But I recommend you not spend the money until you watch the replay of the webinar I hosted with him. He’ll tell you how to get it for free.
The program, Table Video Training & The Social Media Quadfecta, will be rebroadcast six times over the next several days. Sign up for the time and date that’s most convenient for you:
- 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 23
- 6 p.m. Thursday, July 25
- 10 a.m. Friday, July 26
- 10 a.m. Saturday, July 27
- 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 30
- 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1
Everything you need to know about shooting video with the iPad is in the first 90 minutes. That’s how long we expected the webinar to last. But there were so many questions that Mike hung around for another 50 minutes to answer more questions.
How to Use Video to Self-Promote
If you want a crash course on how to promote a product or service using video, watch the Caddy Buddy video. I love the way the inventor demonstrates multiple uses for the device, inserts photos onto the screen, and explains in step-by-step detail how to assemble it. No confusion whatsoever about how the product works after watching this video.
These videos should be uploaded to your YouTube channel first. Then, take the embed code and embed the video onto a product page at your website, or into a blog post.
Other ways to use video in a publicity and PR campaign include:
- As a Welcome message on the homepage of your website.
- To offer valuable tips to your viewers.
- To promote an upcoming event you’re sponsoring.
- To read from a passage of your new book.
- To interview someone who can help your audience.
- To offer to journalists as “a little extra” to sweeten your pitch. Sometimes that’s as easy offering the extra when you pitch using a form right at the media outlet’s website.
The list is almost endless.
Send Me Your iPad Video
If you shoot video with your iPad, send me the link. I’d love to see it.
What tips can you pass along on how to best use the iPad to shoot video?