Returning Marines Find New Careers In Media

Posted on: May 24th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: Community Outreach , featured

With Memorial Day soon upon us, our thoughts go to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty to defend our country. I’ve also been thinking about those other brave individuals who fight in combat and are wounded but are able to make it home back to the U.S. What are they supposed to do when they get back … read the full article.

TIVA Talk: Monetizing Online Video And Creating a Video Network

Posted on: May 21st, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: featured , TIVA-DC

We here at Word Wizards, Inc. love social media because it provides us with a great way to reach out to our customers besides the traditional e-mails and phone—which is so 20th century.  One of its strengths is the ability to reach out to so many by giving professionals of all types, and especially video professionals, multiple outlets to show their work and … read the full article.

How To Talk Back On Social Media

Posted on: May 16th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: featured , Social Media

The Beauty Of Social Media As I’ve said quite a few times in this blog, one of the best things about social media and the way it’s changed the nature of business is the relationships that it sets up. Gone are the days where customers could only get messages to their favorite brands via old … read the full article.

48 Hour Film Project

Posted on: May 13th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: featured , Video Production

Just A Weekend As most of us know creating a film, even a short film, weather it’s a documentary or something more fictional, takes a lot of time. First you have come up with a concept, get funding somehow, get a crew, shoot the production and then edit and do the rest of post-production. This whole process usually takes a minimum of several … read the full article.

Comparing Affordable Cameras and Camera Rigs

Posted on: May 10th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: Equipment , featured

The Fab Five Since Word Wizards, Inc. often deals with new technology, we definitely know how it changes quickly, especially in the realm of video production. While the video production community in DC is incredibly talented and forms an amazingly supportive community, we are also dependent on the equipment we use. It’s not easy to … read the full article.

TIVA’s 3D Animation Panel

Posted on: May 8th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: featured , graphics

Talent on Hand Recently at Resolution Post, TIVA held an informative and interesting panel about 3D graphics and animation. The panel’s main speakers were Scott Stewart, owner and creative director at Resolution Post, Robert Cloutier from Digital History Studios,  and Christian Flores from Beatmap Animation. Some of the topics that were discussed included what types of … read the full article.

The Little Camera That Could

Posted on: May 6th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: featured , Technology

Built for Adventure While cameras are great at capturing a story for film and showcasing someone’s vision, they are not usually known for their durability and tend to be pretty fragile machines. It’s tough to take them under water, on a bike or car, or just any place where you’d be moving a lot and … read the full article.

Silverdocs No More

Posted on: May 2nd, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: featured , Media News

A New Partner Silverdocs, the premiere documentary festival in the Washington DC area, as well as a huge boon to the Silver Spring area, is getting some major changes. Its new iteration, which was announced just last week, will be known as AFI Docs Film Festival and will be backed by car manufacturer Audi instead of … read the full article.

TIVA’s Tapeless Workflow Panel

Posted on: April 26th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: featured , TIVA-DC

Recently TIVA, the television, internet and video association, held an incredibly informative panel at Henninger Media Services that was all about tapeless workflow and the pros/cons of going into the tapeless world. Henninger moderated the event and supplied the speakers for panelists Sam Crawford and Sue O’Hora. The areas covered included the three main stages of production and … read the full article.

3 Big Standouts from NAB 2013

Posted on: April 26th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: featured , Technology , Video Production

NAB 2013 Digital Media Industry Event While the National Association of Broadcasters early event in Las Vegas may not have quite the same buzz as the Consumer Electronics Show, its still a big deal in the production industry and a regular trek for many members of the local community. While Word Wizards, Inc  primarily focuses on transcription work, light … read the full article.

Insurance for Freelancer and Production Companies

Posted on: April 24th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: featured , Tips & Tricks

Recently at Interface Media Group, Women in Film and Video held a great presentation that was all about insurance for both freelancers and production groups. The main speakers were Kelly Ann Dixon-Nachodsky from GBS HR & Benefit Solutions and Richard Gottlieb from Woodhome Insurance Group, Inc. Some of the topics discussed included the effects of the … read the full article.

Social Justice and Web Series at Filmfest DC

Posted on: April 19th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: Documentary Film , featured

If your looking for a fun little excursion and have a hankering for a different kind of cinema, check out the Filmfest DC. They’re collection, which plays till Sunday the 21st, is pretty impressive with over 80 features, documentaries and shorts from all corners of the earth. Word Wizards, Inc. of course loves docs, since their … read the full article.

Marketing Documentaries to Academia: The Perfect Recipe

Posted on: April 5th, 2013 by Matt Harmelin

Categories: featured , Marketing

One of the obvious reasons why Word Wizards, Inc. loves Docs in Progress (DIP) http://docsinprogress.org/ is that they coach for projects with tons of interview footage.  We at “The Wiz” thrive on transcribing dozens of hours of talking head interviews per week. Transcription is very important to any documentary film maker, whether they use Word … read the full article.

Happy New Year: Top 10 Stories From 2012

Posted on: January 2nd, 2013 by ben

Categories: featured , Media News

Congratulations, another year has come and gone. As we prepare ourselves for 2013, lets take a look at the top 10 most important stories from the year prior. #10: 2012 Faux-Pocalypse I remember many years ago when I heard that the world would be ending sometime in December of 2012. Now that we have passed … read the full article.

Transcription Services 101 – Communication and Organization

Posted on: December 3rd, 2012 by ben

Categories: featured , Transcription

A professional transcription business is about one thing, words on a page. It’s simple, right? Just plug a media file into your transcription software and bang… Well, as you might know, its a lot harder than that. In this brief article, I want to cover two basic components of the operation that separates the professional … read the full article.

Trade Show – GV Expo 2012 / GovComm12 Exhibition Recap

Posted on: November 30th, 2012 by ben

Categories: featured , Sponsors and Partners , Technology , TIVA-DC

As expected, The 2012 Government Video Expo was an all out success. The exhibition floor was teeming with top of the line tech and the biggest names pulled out all the stops to showcase the latest and greatest. I took a little time to document some of the stuff that caught my eye, so lets … read the full article.

Government Video Expo 2012 – Behind The Scenes First Look

Posted on: November 26th, 2012 by ben

Categories: featured , TIVA-DC

The time has come to take a first look at this year’s Government Video Expo (G.V. Expo) hosted at The Washington Convention Center from November 27th – 29th. It looks like this year is going to be bigger and better than ever before, thanks to a co-location deal between The GV Expo and GovComm 12. … read the full article.

2012 Peer Awards – Award Show Recap and Winners

Posted on: November 19th, 2012 by ben

Categories: featured , TIVA-DC

Last Saturday night at The National Press Club, TIVA members from all around the area descended upon the red carpet for a night full of food, fun, and award show dreams come true. TIVA-DC (Television Internet and Video Association of Washington D.C.) pulled out all the stops this year and put on another event to … read the full article.

TIVA-DC Peer Awards 2012: Hosted by Arch Campbell

Posted on: November 14th, 2012 by ben

Categories: Community Outreach , featured , TIVA-DC

Roll out the red carpet, the time has come for The 2012 TIVA-DC Peer Awards. Word Wizards Inc. has been a proud sponsor of TIVA-DC for over 15 years and we are happy to continue our support at this year’s Peer Awards. The stage is set for a media industry extravaganza, all in the spirit … read the full article.

New Website Launch – WordWizardsInc.com Gets a Facelift

Posted on: October 11th, 2012 by ben

Categories: featured , Graphic Design , graphics , Media News , Template , Web Design , Web Development

Just about a year ago, we launched a completely new design for our website. Our website development team decided to take wordwizardsinc.com and spice it up a bit,  focusing on ease of use, cleanliness, and simple functionality. Most of the structure and features are the same, but this time, our graphics design team has perfected … read the full article.

Red Bull Stratos – Leap of Faith

Posted on: October 9th, 2012 by ben

Categories: Extreme , featured , Media News , Technology

This time Red Bull has really taken the love of extreme sports promotion to the edge, of space! In an amazing combination of science and spectacle, Felix Baumgartner will risk life and limb to break two long standing records of human capability. 1st of all he will be free falling from 120,000 feet, higher than … read the full article.

Docs In Progress – Documentary Experts Check Out CloudScript

Posted on: September 20th, 2012 by ben

Categories: CloudScript , Community Outreach , featured , Transcription

Last night I had the pleasure of joining Docs In Progress for their Alumni Open House. It was an intimate gathering of some graduates of Docs In Progress courses. Docs In Progress teaches aspiring documentary producers and enthusiasts how to make documentaries the right way, offering a wide variety of courses related to documentary and … read the full article.

CloudScript – Optimize Your Media Workflow

Posted on: September 10th, 2012 by ben

Categories: featured , Transcription

The Future of Time Code Has Arrived! CloudScript is an innovative new tool that allows you to sync a transcript or b-roll log with a media player. Simply click on any time code and instantly jump to that point in the file. CloudScript is available in several versions to fit your specific budget and project … read the full article.

Word Wizards Update – New Website Sections and Features

Posted on: August 1st, 2012 by ben

Categories: featured , Web Design

Once again, we have given our website a slight facelift. This time we added some new sections, redesigned our blog, and improved the menus and overall design. Here’s a breakdown of the what and why behind the new and improved website features. Post Production Section On the home page you will now see an entirely … read the full article.

New Service Launch: CloudScript – Transcript Media Player

Posted on: June 15th, 2012 by ben

Categories: CloudScript , featured , Technology , Tips & Tricks , Transcription , Video Production

Early this month, Word Wizards began introducing our existing clients and friends to our new service, CloudScript. CloudScript is a simple tool that allows a user to sync a transcript with time code to a media player. In seconds you can have a transcript that allows you to click on any time code in the … read the full article.