June 11, 2006
Real estate guru Inman tries hand at travel videos
Emeryville-based TurnHere Inc. this week launched an online video guide to travel and nightlife as it seeks to bring television-quality Internet travel video to consumers - and merchants.
The new site was started by Bradley J. Inman, founder of the real estate news provider Inman News, and HomeGain, an Internet real estate service.
The site features free video clips of entertainment and travel destinations, targeting tech-savvy 20- to 40-year-olds. Inman hopes the company will generate revenue through advertising, both with national companies such as Expedia Inc., which has flashy banners on the site, and with local merchants.
Inman said the twist is in the site's local-neighborhood videos, which showcase the flavor and character of neighborhoods such as San Francisco's Chinatown. In time, his goal is to have thousands of videos on destinations worldwide.
The company is focusing on quality content. With sites that rely on user-driven content, quality often is questionable and amateurish. TurnHere is aiming at a more professional standard. Its production team oversees a network of about 200 filmmakers, whom the company requires to be experienced and to use professional equipment and software. The company controls the quality along the way. Filmmakers are given artistic freedom, Inman said, especially with the narrative, "but the standards from the top are clear."
Videos posted on the site so far live up to this, with professional filming and postproduction.
The local-neighborhood approach is conducive for content angles, and for advertising. The neighborhood films can show an area's color - as Inman said, the diversity of the communities we live in, as opposed to the typical Hollywood ingredients.
Once a neighborhood film is completed, TurnHere plans to solicit area merchants for advertising. A 45-second advertisement will cost $750, which covers filming, production and three months' posting, and then $1,000 annually for posting it after that.
The new company is located in the same Emeryville building as Inman News, from which it spun off in January. Currently, TurnHere has about 20 employees.
© 2006 East Bay Business Times
Posted by John Sailors on June 11, 2006