This month’s Focus Feature is all about getting to know the locals and Tim Jones of Crickhowell TV has been helping the people of Crickhowell (and many others around the world) get to know the community in which they live a little better through the medium of video. Here he tells us a little more about the venture.
“That’s my town down there – Crickhowell – and I love it!” A beaming Kevin Walker – of Mountain Activities – is standing on Llangattock Hillside, pointing across the valley and repeating this sentence over and over. He’s doing it because I have asked him to and I am pointing a camera at him.
So began the first video I made for Crickhowell – to support the Totally Locally campaign. It featured smiling shopkeepers in Crickhowell High Street extolling the virtues of independent, local shops. It was seen thousands of times and shared around the world on social media.
The Totally Locally video gave the town a boost, got people talking and helped tell the world what a friendly and unique place Crickhowell is. And it was the start of Crickhowell TV – which has been viewed 23,000 times since February. It has 78 videos on it – made by me, by business people using mobile phones and tablets and a couple of “Crickhowell TV Young Filmmakers”. There are also hundreds of other videos, made by visitors to the area, and pulled into Crickhowell TV for all to see.
Tim Jones of ‘As You See It Productions’
Making videos is what I do. I am a Freelance Producer/Director and cameraman. I make films for the BBC – for X-Ray and The One Show. I also run As You See It Productions – which makes promotional videos for businesses like The Bear and The Dragon Inn.
Crickhowell TV is a way for me to give something back to the town that made me so welcome when I moved here 14 years ago. I film local events – like the Llangattock Allotments Open Day, or The Duck Race, or the Walking Festival Torchlight Procession, whenever I can. And I encourage others to do the same.
Recently, shopkeepers recorded themselves passing a ten pound note from shop to shop to promote Totally Locally’s Tenner Trail – the results were hilarious. Crickhowell Young Filmmaker, Jake Hawes, has made films about litter and the Llangattock Litter Pickers who clear it up. Crickhowell Rotary Club is now making videos about their work. And townspeople whipped out their phones to record the passing of the Tour of Britain through Crickhowell – the result was watched 500 times in a day.
Anyone who has a smart phone or tablet has a video camera. YouTube is an incredibly powerful marketing tool. Crickhowell TV is a great way to tell the world about the great place in which we live.
If you want any advice on how to use video to promote your club, hobby or event, drop me a line at crickhowelltv@gmail.com If you want me to make a video for your business – I can give you a quote.
But at the very least, please search for “Crickhowell TV YouTube” on the internet – and see what’s going on around you!
