Gold Coast Disabled Surfers Association featuring Ian Smith from Soul Arch Media on Vimeo.

The team from Soul Arch Media recently helped stage a fundraising evening that saw surfers and kindred spirits from as far afield as the Sunshine Coast and down to Lennox and Ballina converge on the Coolangatta Sands to support much-loved surf glasser Ian ‘Smithy’ Smith.

Ian became wheelchair bound after suffering a stroke last year while surfing out at Billinga. Luckily he managed to make it to shore where he was found by two passersby. For those who know how deserted Bilinga can get, this was beyond fortunate. However Ian suffered a second stroke while in hospital, and was left unable to walk and struggling with speech.

It’s meant a massive adjustment for Ian and his family. Until that point Ian’s life was heavily focused on surfing and glassing boards – there are probably very few surfers in the area who haven’t ridden a board glassed by Ian. From humble beginnings working under legendary Joe Larkin in Newcastle, Ian has work with many of Australia’s most respected board makers; Bob McTavish, San Juan, and Warren Cornish right through to DHD, JS and many more. Ian also opened one of the first surf shops in Byron Bay, East Cape, about 35 years ago.

Ian was working at surfboard factory Base just months before his stroke, and had just come home from a trip getting barreled in the Maldives. It was a huge shock; one minute Ian was happy, healthy & surfing, the next he’s wheelchair bound and in full time care.

Ian had occasionally volunteered at Disabled Surfers Association events before his stroke, and now found himself attending as a participant. The DSA’s amazing beach wheelchairs helped Ian get his first taste of the ocean after his accident, but the DSA only meets over Summer. To enable Ian and his family to be able to again enjoy the beach and ocean he loves all year round, a plan was hatched by  longtime family friend Kate McMahon and the team at Soul Arch Media to raise funds to buy Ian a beach wheelchair of his own.

A date during the Quiky Pro was set, and the evening’s MC and auctioneer was Ian’s friend and local surfing identity Andrew ‘Andy Mac’ McKinnon. The assembled crowd were also treated to a screening of Teahupoo Uncut and amazing live sounds of Dan Hannaford and The Core Vets.

A charity auction took up much of the night’s proceedings as the outpouring of donations from the surf community was extensive. The team from McTavish brought in a beautiful Noosa 66′, while John Harris shaped replica of Ian Smith’s gift from Warren Cornish especially for the night, with a Billy Maclean tinted glass job and blank kindly donated by Burford Blanks. FCS chipped in with board covers and fins for both long boards.

Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, Sally Fitzgibbons/DHD and Serena Brooke all donated boards from their quivers, and Firewire also came to the party with a brand new board. Joel Parkinson donated a contest vest from Trestles, and the amazing Volcom, Tallow, Triple X, Sol Bellow and Ransom all offered vouchers or goods. Revered surf photographersTed Grambeau and Scott Needham donated prints, surf artist Ozzie Wright, Jens Midson, Emma Sheldrake and Victoria Claxton all offered up masterpieces, while surf author Tim Baker donated a complete signed set of his extensive surf biographies and novels.

Local businesses also generously chipped in, with Cafe D’Bah, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Tweed Endevour Cruises, Happy Days Diary, Phat Rax and Summer Bright all heading the cause. Steve Foreman donated surf lessons, Mullumbimby Massage Clinic offered a massage and Bradley Stubbs donated Zinity boardgames. Gangsta Surf donated a stay at Gecko Inn in Ulluwatu, Keryn Noach donated a Bali villa stay, and vouchers for meals and drinks from Padang Sunset Bar and Grill, Edge Bar Uluwatu and Warung InSalt were also up for grabs.

CD and DVD bundles from Warner Music, a signed CD from INXS and a framed first edition of Gold Coast Surf Magazine also fetched heated bidding, and in total the night raised over $15,000 for Ian.

Most was raised through the raffle and auction, but some was contributed by attendees laying down cash donations on the spot as well as family friends who couldn’t attend. Mick Turner from Table of Knowledge/Kirramisu Cafe handed over $100, while Leigh Millar wired $1000 all the way from Sri Lanka.

Better still, the goal for the chair had only been $5000. Soul Arch Media Video Production had donated time to film a video clip of Ian enjoying the DSA’s beach wheelchair to show on the night and add to the event’s Facebook page (see video this post). Beachwheels, the company that makes DSA’s wheelchairs, heard about the event through Facebook and offered a healthy discount on the chair, meaning well over $11,000 would be left over to help Ian and his family with their multitude of other expenses.

A big thanks to the driving forces behind event’s succes; Kate McMahon, Sally Paxton, John Harris and the legions of those who donated or helped on the night.
Jenny Smith, Ian’s wife, wrote a message of thanks to all who came along, donated or simply passed on the word:

“We can’t thank everyone enough for participating in Ian’s fundraiser. I am sure any of you that attended will agree it was an amazing night. The outpouring of love, friendship and generosity was both overwhelming and heartwarming. A big thank you to those who kindly donated auction items, their time and the outstanding organisation of the evening it was truly a fabulous night. You couldn’t wipe the smile off Ian’s face. Due to the generosity of the money raised we will be able to purchase the Beach wheelchair and a lifting device for the car. Any other monies will be used to make Ian’s life more enjoyable. This will not only add to Ian’s quality of life but his comfort. Such a simple thing as getting him back to the beach will bring an immense amount of pleasure back into our lives. Normal things like a stroll along the beach or a swim are possible again. Yes, Ian has had a devastating stroke but as a family we are committed to making his life as engaging and as stimulating as humanly possible. He is loved, cherished and valued and we all feel privileged to still have this amazing life force with us. For that we are blessed and you have all been a part of that blessing. Thank you again we are forever grateful.”
Jenny Smith

Claiming to be so much more than a regular mobile yoga app, the Exhale Yoga app offers a “holistic experience that brings mind, body and soul back into union and allows you to blossom from within.”

This app achieves this by equiping you with wonderful tools, ideas and inspiration to help you relax and stretch your body through yoga, soothe and still your mind with meditations, and uplift and awaken your soul with positive affirmations and inspirational wisdom.

There’s certainly lots of great content on this app making it awesome value: Soul Arch Media’s Gold Coast video production team filmed and edited 5 separate 25 minute yoga sessions for inclusion in this app, plus there’s hours of meditation practices and more included, all for just $1.99 from ITunes.

To see a review of the Exhale Yoga app on the Daily App Show, watch this video:

To purchase or find out more about the Exhale Yoga App, visit the Exhale Yoga website.

Need video content filmed for your next mobile app project? Call Soul Arch Media on 07 55595551

The video series will focus on just a handful of the area’s amazingly talented artisans, and the first edition of the series profiles Shelli Bankier, a female surf photographer who is also helping curate the festival’s artwork.

Bleach* Surfing The Fringe Festival Photographer Profile: Shelli Bankier from Bleach Festival on Vimeo.

Thanks to host Cassandra Nevin, Shelli for sharing her story, and Locus Wimple for sharing their tunes:)

We’ll post more  of these profiles as they are published – in the meantime make sure to visit www.bleachfestival.com.au for more details about Bleach*!

This offer is valid on any video production services- from promotional videos, commercials, and TVCs right through to freelance videography, weddings, real estate and holiday property videos. The only prerequisite is clients must spend over $500, and must mention the offer to receive their bonus. Also, the Guvera gift isn’t valid with any other offer.

Pretty cool huh? If you’ve been shopping for Gold Coast video production services and would like to take advantage of the $50 music card offer, call us on 07 55595551 or send us a message via the contact form on www.soularchmedia.com

Get in quick while stocks lasts!

Mayumba follows a crew of multicultural surfers as they explore the remote south coast of Gabon in West Africa. Throughout the adventures of this international team (Sam Bleakley, Erwan Simon, Emiliano Cataldi, surf photographer John Callahan and legendary Hawaiian surfer Randy Rarick) Mayumba documents their journey along the road less travelled to find a variety of deserted breaks and undiscovered waves. Shot on location,
the film allows the audience to explore West Africa and its wildlife, waves, people and stunning scenery. Stay tuned for updates on where you can watch the entire documentary as we’ll post links later, but in the meantime view the trailer below or go to http://youtu.be/JGbroz3iXPo

Make sure to follow SurfEXPLORE on their Vimeo Channel or become a fan of their Facebook page for all the latest news.

As a video production company that specializes in online video, Soul Arch Media’s video production clients regularly enquire about Linkedin video integration. The answer? It’s pretty straight forward to post a Youtube video to your LinkedIn Company Profile page – if you’re stumped I’ll give you step by step instructions on how to do this later – but it gets a little trickier if you’d like to add video permanently to your personal LinkedIn profile. You can share a link to videos you’ve uploaded elsewhere on the web by adding the video’s URL into the status box on your LinkedIn Profile home page, but this goes in your “news feed” so isn’t visible to other users long term. Ditto for posting video to your blog, and then reposting your blog on LinkedIn via “blog feed” – it’s a short-term fix. Although the social networking world is abuzz with how powerful video can be for both business and networking, LinkedIn don’t have a single straightforward mechanism for adding a more permanent intro video to your personal profile – so luckily there’s lots of third party applications that can help!

If you have a company overview video, commercial or personal introduction you’d like to permanently add to your LinkedIn profile, here’s a number of apps that allow you to upload and share video files by placing them into a public folder on your profile. It’s not the most straightforward method, but it still comes in handy to display all your professional videos, screencasts, demos and webinars – or any video you’d like to share with your professional network. Here’s some of the better ones I’ve found:

Huddle Workspaces – Allows you to create a folder and upload a video file to share with your connections once they’ve been invited to your workspace. Huddle supports any type of file, but I haven’t tried this one personally as I’ve always wanted my videos to be public, not invite only. However Huddle could be great if you wanted to share a personal welcome video to a private group, for example.

Box.net Files – This allows you to display video if you create a public folder on LinkedIn and allow the video files in that folder to be visible to all viewers of your LinkedIn Profile. All other files and folders can be kept private, although you may share specific items with select individuals. This application will only stream or play .FLV (flash video) file types. I’ve used Box.net, and it does the job fine, but I found it a little tricky to ensure the display settings are all correct, plus it’s got a tendency to ‘warp’ videos so they seem a little stretched looking. But the upside? You can quickly and easily add virtually any type of file to your LinkedIn profile so visitors can not only view but also download them. I’ve left a video on my Box.net file on my LinkedIn profile if you’d like to see what I mean. Visit http://au.linkedin.com/in/cazsoularch and you’ll need to click through to “View Full Profile” to see it.

SlideShare App- If you have connected your LinkedIn account with a SlideShare account, any video files you upload will show up in both places. You can upload video to SlideShare either via your SlidesShare Account or directly from the LinkedIn app. Once the video is uploaded, you will be directed to a video page, from where you can share video not only on LinkedIn, but Twitter and other social networks too.

Google Presentations – Allows you to add Youtube videos to a presentation, then post that presentation to your LinkedIn profile. It’s a really nice looking application, but for video sharing it’s limited as the only compatible video platform is Youtube.  As above, it also allows you to share your presentation on Twitter and other social networks too.

Behance Creative Portfolio Display – Behance is an artistic online folio sharing site that allows you to add a wide range of files (from video to PDFs)  to showcase your work. You can also embed from Vimeo, SoundCloud, YouTube, and more. The LinkedIn Behance App is called Creative Portfolio Display and allows you sync your Behance displays with your LinkedIn profile once you’ve linked your accounts.  It’s another really slick looking App – read more about it here. It did seem to take a long time to load however, so I’ve left an example on my LinkedIn profile if you’d like to see what I mean. Visit  http://au.linkedin.com/in/cazsoularch and you’ll need to click through to “View Full Profile” to see it.

So now you’ve hopefully singled out a method you’d like to try, here’s the step by steps. Remember the apps update all the time, so let us know if any of these instructions become outdated.

How to Add Video to your LinkedIn Company Page

Not familiar with LinkedIn Company Pages? There’s more info on them here. If you don’t have a company product page yet, while you’re creating your page you’ll be given an option to add video about your product or service (Step 10) while you’re setting it up. If you do have an existing Company Page, here’s how to add a Youtube video.

1.Go to your company page and open the “Product & Services” tab.

2. Select  “Add a product or service”

3.  Go to the box marked, “Step 10: Add a YouTube video about this product or service,” and add a title that clearly describes your video’s content.

4. Go to “Step 11. Add your YouTube video URL.” Copy and paste the URL from any video on YouTube.

Pretty easy, but the problem with this is your videos are hidden away on a company service page, and tucked right down in the bottom right hand corner out of view. If you’d like to see what I mean click the below link to visit the Soul Arch Media company page to test if you can locate our video – kind of like playing Where’s Wally. http://www.linkedin.com/company/soul-arch-media-&-marketing/video-production-gold-coast-brisbane-tweed-coast-sunshine-coast-and-byron-bay-203518/product

How to Add Video to LinkedIn Via Slideshare

Adding Videos to LinkedIn via the LinkedIN SlideShare app.

1.Install LinkedIn’s SlideShare app. Sign into LinkedIn, scroll down the left-side menu titled “More” and click into “My Applications”, select “Get More Applications”  then look for the “SlideShare” app, set preferences, and click “Add application”.

2. Go to the Upload page. Once you hit upload, it will give a “converting” status – this takes a few minutes.

3. The video is ready to upload to LinkedIn but will not appear until you “Manage Your Presentations” on LinkedIn for SlideShare.

Adding Videos to LinkedIn via SlideShare4.

1. Click “Manage Your Presentations”, click on your video and to the right will appear a menu . Click “Show On Profile” LinkedIn

2.Once you click “Show on Profile” a “confirm” message will appear for you to confirm, then the video will be uploaded to  both SlideShare and also on your LinkedIn profile.

How to Add Video to LinkedIn Via Google Presentations

For this one you’ll need to have your video uploaded to Youtube first.

1. Add Google Presentations to your profile. Sign into LinkedIn, scroll down the left-side menu titled “More” and click into “My Applications”, select “Get More Applications”  and look for the “Google Presentations” app, set preferences, and click “Add application”.

2. If you don’t already have a Google Presentation created to add the video to, then click “Create a Presentation”.

3. Insert Video. Once you have your first slide, click Insert>Video. You’ll get a YouTube search window. Find the video you’d like to add and then select it. Scale the video to the right size to fit your presentation.

4. If you also want to insert a link, click on the “Text” button and add the text you want to add. Click the “Link” button and add your URL to the link.

5. Share Your Presentation by clicking on the “Share” button.

6. Select Your Presentation from the screen on the left.

7. Click “Post To Your Profile”and you’re done!

How to Add Video to LinkedIn Via Box.net

1. Sign into LinkedIn, scroll down the left-side menu titled “More” and click into “My Applications”, select “Get More Applications” then look for the “Box.net Files” app, set preferences, and click “Add application”.

2. Follow the prompts to set up a Box.net account (http://box.net) if you don’t have one, or link the LinkedIn box.net application to you existing account.

3. Use Box.net’s menu to “upload” each file you want to make available through LinkedIn.  A browse window will allow you to locate the video you want to upload from your hard drive.  The file will then automatically be listed in the Box.net window in your LinkedIn profile.

How to Add Video to LinkedIn Via Behance Creative Portfolio Display

1. Sign into LinkedIn, scroll down the left-side menu titled “More” and click into “My Applications”, select “Get More Applications” then click into the “Creative Portfolio Display” app, set preferences, and click “Add application”.

2. Follow the prompts to set up a Behance account if you don’t have one, or link the LinkedIn application to you existing account.

3. Got to “Projects”. You’ll be able to upload video or embed video from Vimeo, YouTube, Blip.tv, Veoh, Mevio, Yahoo Video, MySpace Video and more by using the “Embed” button. This site requires you add lots of additional information before you can publish. Tip- you’ll need to create a “Cover” first by adding a title and image. Make sure you set your video/folio preferences to public, and allow it to be viewed on LinkedIn when prompted.

So there you have it. Remember these sites update ALL the time, so let us know if any of these instructions become outdated! Need assistance filming or editing your video? Contact the team at Soul Arch Media Gold Coast Video Production on 07) 55595551

With the Gold Coast tourism sector experiencing a slow start to the year thanks to the high Aussie dollar and a string of tragic natural disasters affecting major tourism markets, local operators have had to get clever with their marketing.

At Soul Arch Media we’ve noticed a big upswing in the use of online video tours boost internet interest. It’s a natural fit for the tourism industry since most holiday-makers research their vacations online, so the more information they can find about a hotel or service, the more likely they are to book. According to YPartnerships survey, 98 percent of travelers use the Internet to help plan leisure travel, and almost two-thirds (62 percent) of reservations were reportedly booked online,  so standing out online is imperative.

One cost effective way to increase visibility is by adding informative highlight videos to online listings and websites, and by using video on sites like Youtube and Facebook to act as advertisements driving traffic to online booking forms.

Our packages to suit resort complexes start from just $799-$1000, with the later including a 2-3 minute custom online video with professionally scripted voice over.

We strive to ensure we create videos to suit whatever style you’d like your resort to convey – from upmarket to cosy, or relaxing to action-packed.
For example, 19th Ave On The Beach Apartments in Palm Beach were aiming to give their property a really warm, friendly appeal with lots of ‘customer testimonials’ and a personal message of welcome from the managers. You can their video above.

For contrast, Aqaualine Apartments in Southport wanted a really fast-paced, upbeat video with lots of visuals – they were looking for a short and sharp video with dynamic shots to showcase the appeal of the area, slowing the pace down a little when showing the actual property to convey a sense of sanctuary amongst the action. You can view their video here:

Of course, video not only suits accommodation providers- it’s great for a whole range of tourism operators. Take a look at the video created for Gold Coast/Brisbane luxury transfers service Flashimos below.

At Soul Arch Media we also have a limited offer running at the moment where we throw in a distribution package too – meaning we’ll handle getting your finished video online via sites like Youtube and Metacafe, or can help you integrate video into Facebook and Twitter campaigns so your finished video not only assists clients visiting your website find out more about your resort, but also helps send traffic to your site from across the web as long as you’d like it to stay online at no additional cost.  Call Soul Arch Media today on 07 55595551 for more details!

Over the past two weeks on the Gold Coast the Heartwave Beach Walk and the Dot Wears A Dress Charity Silent Auction took place, and both aimed to raise funds for the QLD flood victims. The silent auction was a more intimate indoor event, while Heartwave was a fully-blown charity walk which culminated in around 500 guests forming a giant heart shape to send a visual message of love and support to those affected by flooding.

Soul Arch Media helped both events reach a wider audience through press release campaigns that saw both on the front cover of the Gold Coast Mail two weeks in a row!

A larger staggered State-wide campaign for Heartwave also saw the event profiled on radio stations ABC Gold Coast, Sea FM, 4BC, and make page three news in the Gold Coast Sun. Pre-event notices were aired on Channel 7’s beach report and NBN and ABC’s community noticeboards, and event listings were integrated across Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, with the event receiving major TV coverage on Channel 7, Channel 10, and nationwide on Channel 9 news.

Event sponsors like Billabong and Kelloggs included event info across their blogs, community sites like Connecting Southern Gold Coast, Creek to Creek Chamber of Commerce and Walking The Gold Coast all promoted the event beforehand, and surf media Surfers Village, ASB, Industry Surf and Gold Coast Surf did follow up stories. As the dust settles the media support is still continuing to roll in, but most importantly the event’s message reached it’s target audience when it was published in flood-affected areas covered by papers like the Ipswich Queensland Times and made national news – mission accomplished!

Soul Arch Media also created a video for Heartwave so that the event’s message could continue to be shared, check it out to see how the day unfolded.

Heading back to work/school/uni? Then we’ve got the perfect prize giveaway for you!

Swim into a world of blue cascades, open your eyes to the break of the day and jot down your hopes and dreams for the coming year with the Happy Days Diary 2011. The diary features 200+ pages of street and surf art alongside surf spot descriptions, shots by international photographers including Hilton Dawe, Ted Grambeau, and Steve Barolotti, feature stories on the marine environment, and plenty of space for notes and drawings, with weekly to do lists and holiday dates. The diary is a limited-edition run of 2000 copies, and was printed locally on Ecostar 100% recycled FSC certified paper with soy based inks. Happy Days Diary 2011 is available for purchase in select book stores, art galleries, surf and eco stores, and online at http://www.happydaysdiary.com.

Want to win a copy? We’ve got TEN to give away valued at $29.95 each. To be in the running simply sign up to follow us on Twitter, become a fan of our Facebook page, or sign up to receive our bi-monthly newsletter by the end of the week and you’ll be entered into the random draw. If you’re already signed up to one of the above, relax – existing fans are automatically included too! We’ll be mailing prizes to winners on Monday, so get cracking.