Some commonly asked questions we receive regarding our multimedia production services are answered below. Each question listed links to the answer section, or you can browse all questions and answers by scrolling down the page.
Q: Why should I hire your company to create my web site rather than just build it myself or have a friend make it - web sites are pretty easy to create aren't they?
A: While it's true that there are many inexpensive ways to build web sites, you will find a vast difference between a site designed by professionally trained web designers with years of experience, and what you or a friend will be able to create. Like any other craft or skill, the best work will always be done by professionals who make their living producing excellent, high quality products. Look around the Internet at web sites and you'll see everything from really ugly and poorly designed sites all the way to "cutting edge," innovative and highly aesthetic sites with expert use of navigation tools, interactive elements and programming along with artistic use of color, layout and content. Perry Multimedia has been building professional quality web sites for years. Even if you need a very simple basic site, you will actually spend less money and have fewer headaches by having our expert designers and programmers do the work for you. You'll get what you really want, without compromise, and you'll find the result will more than justify the costs, as any of our satisfied clients will tell you.
Q: Can you build my web site so that it can be easily updated by non-technical personnel?
A: This is a question that is asked of us more often than most other questions. The answer is not an easy one. With all the "do it yourself web site" facilities available on the Internet, it would seem an easy request to make your web site "easy to update by non-technical people." Our answer is a practical one: The fact of the matter is that web design and web site development are actually forms of computer programming, and, while there are software solutions that make this area more accessible to people who are not programmers, it is still a highly technical area.
In most cases, people who are not specifically trained in the skills and technology of web programming and Internet Technology will have more headaches than they would care to experience when trying to update their own web sites. Five years of experience with actual clients has taught us the lesson to recommend to all our clients that they do one of two things:
1. Hire a trained web designer to do updates (not hard to find and most are skilled in other areas as well).
2. Use a qualified web design/development company to set up a regular update system to handle your updated for you. This is usually pretty inexpensive and will save you a lot of time. In most cases this is also a less expensive solution and a large amount of updating can be done in a short time frame.
Perry Multimedia offers a third option, which is to purchase our special service for setting up a "user friendly" web site update facility. The price varies depending on the size of your project, but this service will create a path for relatively non-technical people to have access to text and some images. This allows simple updates and minimizes potential errors that are likely when using non-technical people to access the site.
In general, web design is a highly technical area. We have found that for the most part, non-technical people cause errors when trying to work with web pages simply because they are not trained in how to handle the extremely detailed and technical aspects of programming, and even software solutions cannot prevent certain errors from occurring. It would be similar to trying to get your accountant to agree to have an office clerk in your office do "some of the simpler accounting tasks" so you could save money. Your accountant would probably laugh a bit and suggest that perhaps accounting should be left up to....ACCOUNTANTS!
At Perry Multimedia, we are always interested in helping our clients to learn what they need to make the most professional and cost-effective use of the projects and materials we handle for them. Please contact us for further discussion if you have more questions in this area.
Q: How can your company provide so many different technically advanced services while maintaining professional quality?
A: Multimedia production involves many areas that are all closely related. In years past, the technology of, say, video editing was so specialized that only dedicated editors or post-production facilities would have the equipment and skills to create a professional result. Modern technology and the computer age have provided a centralized way to produce all different forms of multimedia (audio, video, web, etc.) all in one production studio.
Actually, those who are able to master any of these areas will be able to get BETTER results if they are also skilled in the others because the technology of the digital age works on fundamentals that are common to every area, just as it becomes easier to learn new languages once a person has learned two or three.
At Perry Multimedia, a client can receive a full integrated approach to solving the problem of "packaging" a promotional idea or an artistic presentation, and have the advantages of all areas of presentation within one project.
As an example, an actor who wants a highly professional presentation via the web that offers a multi-format stream of his/her video reel can provide us with raw video material and have a demo edited with custom voice-over for the demo, a no-compromise professional web site created, any format conversions of the video, and even graphic design for printed materials created for one project price.
Other examples include a web site that sells music for a songwriter, high-tech promotional packages that include video, audio presentations, original "soundtrack" music as a background to the content of the web site, etc.
In summary, Perry Multimedia takes the various areas of multimedia production as parts of a "package" and we provide professional results in all the areas of service we provide. The result is a complete solution for our clients.
Q: Does Perry Multimedia provide marketing consulting as well as produce multimedia products?
A: Rex Perry, founder and CEO of Perry Multimedia Inc, has a personal background of over 15 years in sales, marketing and PR as well as the technical arts of music, digital audio, video, graphic design, web and Internet technology. Most of our clients are using our services to create an artistic product that promotes something, and a key aspect of our services include the knowledge that we are adding impact and effectiveness to whatever message or product the client wishes to promote. For instance, our services would definitely include helping our clients to create promotional products that will create interest and "reach" from the recipient of the promotional items, be it video, audio, web sites, or graphic artwork. Adding effective impact to the message is, after all, the whole point of creating our multimedia products!
With that said, Perry Multimedia is not a marketing company and we are not consultants. We do not sell marketing as a service. But we incorporate the knowledge of marketing and PR to all of the products we create. We also work closely with dedicated PR & marketing companies and business consultants. If a client needs help in these areas, Perry Multimedia will gladly assist in connecting them to the best services available in these areas.
Q: Once you create a graphic design, web site, video or other multimedia product for me, will it be a problem for me to get the master files later if I want to switch to another company or designer?
A: Perry Multimedia believes in mutually beneficial relationships with all clients, current, past or future. We do not "hold onto" materials we have made for clients to try to prevent them from using another company. It was surprising to us to learn that so many individuals and companies have experienced problems with design companies in this area. However, some clarification is appropriate as no competent artist or designer wishes to give away the means of creating materials to competitors.
We have simple and very agreeable Terms of Service that clarify the rights of ownership of any physical or intellectual products we create. In simple terms, anything Perry Multimedia creates for a client belongs to the client upon completion. Perry Multimedia retains the right to retain ownership of any design/production tools or materials used to create products for our clients, and these are understood to be the intellectual property of our company, as is the case with any means of production or trade secret. Any high resolution master art files created by Perry Multimedia that are proprietary to any company, artist or other entity will be rendered in a usable form and turned over on request of the client. Please contact us to discuss any questions in this area. We will gladly review all of our terms with any prospective client before executing any project agreement.
A: Yes, we can. As long as your DVD content is owned by you and is not copyrighted material, Perry Multimedia can extract any or all of the content and convert the content into other formats such as AVI, Windows Media, Quicktime, Real Media, Flash, etc.
Q: I have just shot basic footage to promote a TV show I want to pitch to various studios. How can you help me turn this into a professional presentation?
A: Most of the studios you will be presenting to will want a very short (around 5 minutes or so) edit that "tells the story" of the idea you are pitching. Perry Multimedia can take several hours of "random" video footage and artistically edit a promo video for you that will "sell" your project. This can include music, voice-over and titling. Promo videos of this type can be done very quickly and usually do not involve expensive processes, so please contact us to discuss your project.
Q: I have recently tracked a three song demo and it just doesn't sound all that great. How can your company help me with this?
A: Very simple. Perry Multimedia will take your raw tracks and assess their quality. In some cases, we may recommend re-recording parts if they have major errors, but assuming you are happy with that aspect, we will use post production tools to edit, mix and master your demo to a level of quality very close to a commercial release. Your demo will communicate a much more powerful rendition of your material than you would have thought possible.
The same applies if you have nothing but a stereo master. Perry Multimedia provides professional mastering services and can often do post production "magic" on a stereo master that was not recorded or mixed properly. You will wind up with a vastly improved recording that will fit your budget and exceed your expectations!
