Kevin Daum

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-18-2022

Building your own home is an exciting and exacting process that can be daunting, as well. Make your home-building experience easier by first having a firm grasp on your financial picture. You also need to find the right contractor, prioritize design elements between must-have and would-like-to-have. And, you need to keep track of all the people who are helping making your dream home a reality. This Cheat Sheet shows you how!

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Making the decision to build your own home leads to a search for a contractor. To find the right person to oversee the building of your home, touch on the following topics with each contractor you interview. The contractor's responses can help you determine whether you'll work well together. References: Ask for the addresses of all the houses the contractor has built and ask several owners how satisfied they were with the contractor. If the current owner isn't the original homeowner, find out how the house is holding up after years of use. The older the house, the better to see the quality of construction. Previous experiences: Ask what the contractor's worst building experience was and whether the owner was responsible. Try to assess whether the contractor takes responsibility for problems or simply defers blame. Your involvement in the construction: If you're interested, ask whether the contractor minds you helping with the labor. Cash flow: Ask how the contractor prefers disbursing payments to subs and suppliers (for example, who will sign the checks). Communication: Ask how the contractor prefers keeping the lines of communication open — via phone, e-mail, physical meetings — and how often she'll check in. Decision making: Ask whether he wants you to be involved in every decision or whether he's comfortable making decisions when you're unavailable. Team spirit: Ask what steps the contractor takes to keep the workers, neighbors, and inspectors happy on the project. Pet peeves: Ask for a list of ten things that bother her most about customers. Hypothetically speaking: Ask what the contractor's first steps would be if he took over a project that was three months behind schedule. Also ask how he would handle a project that was 25 percent over budget.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Building your own home means you keep a close eye on the money flow. Determine finances before you start the process of building your home and review them periodically. Fill in the blanks in the following list, and keep this important info nearby for quick recall when you meet with your loan officer: Total cash available: __________ Amount of cash I'm willing to put toward the project: __________ Maximum monthly payment I'm comfortable making: __________ My payment can be increased by __________percent from income tax savings. This payment is __________ percent of my gross monthly income as reflected in my tax returns. Monthly credit card and installment loan payments: __________ Credit history or credit score: __________ Type of home I want to build (owner occupied versus secondary residence): __________ I intend to have this property or loan for __________ years. I plan to use a contractor, yes or no: __________ My home will be __________ compared to other homes in the neighborhood (similar, much larger, much smaller). It will take __________ months to build my home.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Whether you're buying an existing home or building your own, you'll have design needs and design wants. Design needs include number of bedrooms, size of your home (roomy for guests or small to encourage teenagers to move out), while design wants cover items like whirlpool tub, gourmet kitchen, romantic master bedroom. To keep these essentials in mind, make two lists: Five design elements my new home must have Five design elements I'd like my new home to include if my budget allows Keep both lists on hand when you review stock plans or meet with your architect or designer.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

If you're building your own home, you need to keep track of myriad details and the related contacts (people). Make a physical list of contacts and make copies to keep on-site, in your car, at your office, and anywhere else you can think of. People to put on the list include: Architect Contractor Loan officer Engineer Landscape designer

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

A storyboard is a piece of paper with boxes drawn on it that show how every shot in a marketing video will be visually represented. Shots can be quite elaborate creations or simply rough sketches. The purpose is to outline each shot to see how to help the director, the camera person, and the editor put the video together. Sometimes, the storyboarding process is used to flesh out the concept into more tangible action shots before scripting. Sometimes storyboarding comes first, and sometimes scripting comes first. The storyboarding process may be easier for you to complete if you think more visually than just words on a page. It isn't the order in which you create the script or storyboard that's important — it's that both elements are fully complete and detailed so that you can create an effective schedule and budget for your video. Although software programs can help you create storyboards online, for speed and ease of use, the pen is often mightier than the computer. If you insist on using an electronic means or you simply can’t draw, the Celtx scripting software has a storyboarding feature and a free iPad app. Still, using software can be much more cumbersome and time-consuming than simply putting pen to paper and drawing some stick figures. The storyboard helps you detail these actions: Establish scenes and shots. Each box in the storyboard represents a shot in succession. The figure loosely represents the composition of the shot and shows the placement of items and actors. Determine action and dialogue. Below every box is a smaller box in which rough dialogue or action can be stated. Arrows or other markings can be used in the main box to communicate the action. Place graphics and voiceovers. A box is used to show slides in the video. Graphics can be shown in either the big box or the little box. A storyboard is a working document — a helpful way to quickly see how the parts of a video are assembled. Don't worry about making your storyboard a work of art. Just ensure that it accurately reflects what you want to shoot in the video in a way that other people can understand it. A storyboard is best completed in pencil so that you can make necessary changes throughout the production process. A whiteboard can be handy for storyboarding in large groups and then simply taking a photo on your camera phone so that you can share it with colleagues. Either way, you’ll make changes along the way, so use a method that can be easily modified. The back of the storyboard is a useful place to jot down the needs of your production team. The list gives your production manager the details needed to set up the budget and production schedule. Many of these items are already detailed in the script, but this list helps you easily identify every item and refer back to them during the production and editing phases. You may want to fill in this information after you have completed the script or at least update it and ensure that it's complete. The list should include cast, props, costume elements, music types, and sound effects.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

If your marketing video features a sit-down interview or a (mostly) stationary speaker, one mic makes the perfect accessory for your subject’s business attire: the lavalier microphone. This clip-on mic attaches easily to a tie or collar or lapel for close-up sound with hands-free operation. Placing the mic properly is important for the best sound quality. The lavalier (or “lav” or body mic) is a popular choice for segments featuring “talking heads.” Roughly the size of a paper clip, and sporting a small alligator clip, it can be attached close to the subject’s mouth to produce clear, uniform sound without picking up background noise. You can make the lavalier invisible by nestling it among the subject’s clothing and then easily shoot on your own, without other crew members present. If you’re traveling and have your camera and lavalier with you, you can easily set up a professional-looking — and professional-sounding — interview. The lavalier truly makes for a pocket-size video studio. You have two lavalier choices: Wired: A wired lavalier is the most affordable and the easiest type to use. A thin cable is typically attached to a 1/8-inch miniplug. After you attach the mic, simply run the cable to your camera and plug the cable into the mic jack. Most available cables are long enough to accommodate the correct distance between your camera and your subject. If not, extension cables are available from your local electronics store. Wireless: The mic itself is the same as the wired version, except that the cable runs into a small transmitter pack. The pack can be hidden on the subject, either in a pocket or attached to a belt. The transmitter sends the audio to a small receiver, which has a miniplug that connects to your camera. A wireless lavalier gives you more freedom from cables running across the floor but has its share of challenges also. The sound it provides isn’t always as good as sound from a wired lavalier, and sometimes the transmitter picks up outside interference, such as radio signals. Also, you should charge the transmitter batteries before every shooting day because the transmitter eats up battery power fast. Here’s the best way to place a lavalier mic: Place the subject where you want him positioned in the camera frame. Position the mic about six to eight inches from the subject’s mouth. A spot on the person’s chest usually works best. Attach the mic clip to an article of clothing. Make sure that the mic has a clear line to the subject’s mouth — that’s where the sound is coming from, after all. Check the audio level by having the subject speak normally while you’re using headphones. Check the volume level, and make sure that you hear no unwanted sound, such as the subject’s breathing or the rustle of clothing. Readjust the mic’s position, if necessary.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

All hosting services provide embed codes that let you insert your marketing videos into your web pages. An embed code is simply a small piece of computer code that activates the video player and displays it in the context of your web page. An embed code can be as simple as this snippet of YouTube code: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SWguMqANFZ0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Embed codes from professional video hosting services tend to be longer because they often provide more sophisticated functionality. To insert an embed code, simply copy it to your computer’s clipboard (by choosing Edit→Copy), go to your website’s content management system, and then paste the code (by choosing Edit→Paste) into the correct spot in your web page. However, inserting an embed code is often easier said than done because you have to deal with certain technical details on your website. You paste embed codes (the pieces of HTML code) into the appropriate view in your content management system to make them work. Because you have many different ways to build a website, refer to the documentation of your site’s content management system to figure out exactly how to do it. To place an embed code from a video hosting service (such as Wistia) into a page in a content management system (such as Drupal), follow these steps: In your web browser, log in to your video hosting service. Find the video you want to embed, and click the video name. Click the Embed link below the player. On the next screen, select these options: Player size: The default size of 640 x 360 pixels may be too big for your page. Player options: Choose whether to show the Play button and other controls. Copy the embed code at the top by choosing the Edit@→Copy command from your browser’s menu. In your web browser, visit your website and log in as a user who has editing rights. Visit the page where you want to add the video. Click the Edit link below the page title. Scroll to the Body section of the page, and click the Source button (to paste HTML code). This step shows you the HTML version of your page. Find the spot where you want to place your video. If you’re unfamiliar with HTML, simply look at the page text to locate the spot. Choose Edit→Paste to paste the embed code. Scroll down and click Save. You should now see the video in your page. If the video doesn’t appear immediately, reload the page.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Unfortunately, no one has yet invented a robot that sets up YouTube video marketing ads for you. The process may sound somewhat complicated at first because the YouTube ad system is powerful, but it’s fairly easy to start your first campaign. To set up a new YouTube ad, follow these steps: Log in to your YouTube channel by using the Sign In link. Go to YouTube Ads and click the Get Started with AdWords for Video button. Select your time zone and your preferred currency, and then click the Continue button. Enter a name for your campaign in the Campaign Name field. On the confirmation page that appears, click the Sign In to Your AdWords Account link. Enter the username and password for your YouTube account again. Now you’re entering the AdWords for Video system, where you can set up your campaign. Enter the amount of your daily budget in the Budget field. It’s the amount you’re willing to spend per day on your ads. You can increase or decrease the budget at any time. Start with a small amount, such as $50, and increase it gradually as you start seeing the results you want. Click the Select Video button. Enter the name of your YouTube channel. YouTube shows you a list of your videos. Select the video that you want to use as an ad. Your YouTube ad may be the first thing that people see about your company, so use a video that’s short, catchy, and to the point. Write your ad text. This short bit of text appears next to the video thumbnail in your ads. You can write one headline with a maximum length of 25 characters, and you can write two lines of description text with 35 characters apiece. Attach a catchy title, and tell people why they should watch this video. Choose the thumbnail you want to use. Enter your website address in the Display URL field. If you want to direct viewers to a particular page other than your website’s home page, enter a web address in the Destination URL field. Click the Save and Continue button to create your ad. Now you need to tell YouTube where to show your ad. This target selection is a targeting group. Create a new targeting group by first giving the target group a name in the Name field. Choose a maximum cost per view (CPV) amount. This amount is the maximum you’re willing to pay every time a viewer watches your video. A good amount to start with is 80 cents. You can optimize the amount later. For in-search and in-display ads, you pay only if people click a Promoted Video ad, not for the ad simply showing up. In the case of in-stream ads, you’re charged only when the viewer watches at least 30 seconds of your video ad. For in-slate ads, you pay only when someone actively chooses to view your ad. This pay per view method makes YouTube ads highly cost-effective. Enter three or four of the most important keywords in the Search for Targeting Suggestions field, and click the Get Targeting Suggestions button. Click the Expand link next to each suggestion and click the Add button next to each keyword or placement you want to add. If you want to refine your targets further, click the Add YouTube Search Keywords and Add Targets button in the sidebar on the right to add additional keywords and placements. Click the Save and Enable Targeting button to start your campaign. If this is the first time you buy ads on Google or YouTube, you’re asked for your billing information. You can set up multiple targeting groups for your ads to optimize your results. For example, you can set up one target group only for search keywords, another one for topics, and a third one for specific channel placements.