Sami Ahmad

Joined January 2021

Certifications

They Ask, You Answer Videographer Certification Info

Certified Since March 2022
Hi all,Hope everyone is doing well and meeting their end of year goals.Had a few questions for folks who work with a dedicated video editor and animator:
  • When did you think it was right to add a team member(contract or full time) to edit all your video content? - I currently don't think we're ready, but am wondering if we'll be there in the next year or so.
  • Did you decide to hire someone full time, or hire a freelancer? What influenced your...
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I've found making templates for folders in Finder, and Premiere/AE templates have saved me a lot of set up time.I have a template folder that has all the parts of post production I need, along with a premiere file already loaded with commonly used assets.Do you guys have any other tricks for templates/repetitive tasks for post-production?
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Sami Ahmad
I usually have a LUT ready to go and sound presets for any spoken audio. I made it a while ago and just tweak the EQ and gain for each speaker. The LUT I just downloaded from Panasonic’s website. I’m still building my SFX library out though. 

I also make proxies beforehand. It usually takes up all my computer’s processing power. While that happens I usually write scripts, make a rough animation, etc. 

This is more of an editing style, but I always make a stringout sequence and then make highlighted selections from that. Then I take those into a select sequence, delete everything that isn't a select, parse that down more. I use the J and L keys to fast forward and rewind in Premiere. Then I add music, motion graphics. It saves more time that way instead of building a video from scratch. 
I took this course not to long ago and figured I'd spread the word! Audio is definitely my weakest skill, and this guy had some awesome tricks like automatically ducking the music to your speaker. He probably saved me like 10-20mins per video.Let me know if you guys check it out!
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Sami Ahmad
Thanks for tagging Kaitlyn, I've actually been consulting this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AlexKnickerbocker helped me better understand EQ, Compressors, etc.
I was listening to an Impact Plus group and found one new resource, and thought I'd ask for more here.I'm interested in
video creation and editing using Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects
social media for YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest - especially changes and improving what I do
anything to improve my course, community, or coaching
To make this beneficial to more people, perhaps you want to use a standard format so it is easily...
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Sami Ahmad
Thanks for the tag Connor DeLaney . Hey @ Pamela Pierce ,

Happy to hear you’re interested in learning more about video content & social media for business growth.

Here’s a few resources you can dive into:

https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinOdishoTV/playlists - this channel is something I always refer to for learning a specific effect, however his bread and butter is learning the basics of Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and After Effects.

https://www.amazon.com/Blink-Eye-Perspective-Film-Editing/dp/1879505622 This book is more of a philosophical take on video editing. If you’re REALLY interested in it, then I would recommend.

The HubSpot channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/hubspot - This dives into general business practice, social media, but each video they make is helpful.

The YouTube creators channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/youtubecreators/playlists A good resource right from YouTube about how to grow your channel.

And of course, the tutorials on Impact will help you create value heavy videos and change your thinking on how to use social media to grow your business.

Hope this is helpful!

Dear iMPACT Plus Team, I know this is a bit long and I apologize. I have decided to let you guys be the judge in how it turns out.
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Sami Ahmad
Thanks for the tag  Connor DeLaney  

  Jimmy Beasley , I second Connor's note about highlighting what it's like to work with you. I understand that sharing your favorite movie and cuisine is important for personality, but a lot of your personality is already being shown through your delivery of your lines so you can dedicate less time to that.

After you say my main advice is to never give up, you should follow up with an anecdote of your resiliency and how it relates to your business. How has your resiliency helped build up your business?

Your room is dark and you’re shooting towards windows. If you can, I would move your webcam so your body faces the windows. You’ll get better light. Try to also give yourself some more headroom as well and look directly into the camera. I would also not wear a hat, or anything with words or branding that isn't your own.

You should end with a strong CTA as Connor mentioned.

Great first attempt, I'm not a fan of being on camera (which is why I’m always behind it).
Hi!We've been making a lot of videos that require us to purchase voiceovers for each one - which can get expensive.Does anyone know of any voiceover websites that offer subscriptions (similar to what you can find for background music, photos, etc.)?Or, does anyone has experience finding one voiceover artist to become your company's voice? Or know where to look for one?We're open to any and all ideas if anyone has run into this same...
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Sami Ahmad
Thanks for the tag Connor DeLaney Lex Russell do you mind posting your videos in a link below? I have used Fiverr in the past for these two videos: http://videos.berryinsurance.com/watch/nyhSEsawz43WXGoGxc6moX? and http://videos.berryinsurance.com/watch/Cg6yeDHk6XPfiXJmL52zka? 

The lines were pretty short, and it each ran about $30 - $40 per video. When it comes to Fiverr, the better the VO artist, the more expensive it will be. For these projects I just focused on finding someone who could stay in the range we needed to be in.

I know if you have one VO artist on fiverr you can "subscribe" to them for discounts on projects in the future. I would only recommend this as a long term investment. 

Another suggestion I have is to use https://www.backstage.com/ and put out a casting call to hire one person to be your voice for all your videos. 

It will most likely be cheaper to hire someone for regular VO work and paying them an hourly rate if you think this is a long term investment. I would also suggest potentially using SME's for VO (depending on the project). There would be no cost for that (kind of) There are certain sections in video where we just use an SME for VO: https://youtu.be/SPbXZALNhGY?t=91

Hope this is helpful! Best of luck finding VO talent!


Hello!Lately I've been working on revamping some previously produced 80% videos and making them more personable to be sent by individual sales reps from my team. My biggest hurdle at the moment is the teaser and call to actions at the end.I'm curious if anyone else in this group has some examples or guidance when it comes to making them feel genuine and personable. I look forward to seeing what everyone has come up with.
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Sami Ahmad
Hi Andrew Brantley . I'm in the same boat you're in as I'm gearing up to shoot my first 80% video tomorrow and the day after.

Here's a video of my thoughts based off of where I'm at, hope it's helpful!

Thanks for the tag Lindsey Auten !

Personalizing 80% Videos
Hi all!

I'm Elle, a new member of the IMPACT+ community and the new digital marketing and content manager for Enrollment Builders. I made a short video introducing myself and sharing some tips that helped me during my recent onboarding experience. My supervisor is a member of the IMPACT+ community and this community shaped some of my onboarding experience. I can't thank everyone enough for helping to make my onboarding at Enrollment Builders...
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Sami Ahmad
Definitely something to check out this week. Thank you Elle and Kaitlyn!
Hi all,Excited to be a part of this community.Today was my first day at Berry Insurance as their Videographer(and my first day as part of this community!). Currently I am just learning more about the company's philosophy and how to best tailor video content to our overarching goals. They practice They Ask You Answer as their guiding principle. I am currently reading They Ask You Answer and will soon start The Visual Sale.My question for you...
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