Video Business Advisors & Contributors

Take advantage of the diverse skills and
broad range of knowledge and experience
offered by our contributors and advisors.

They represent a true spectrum of video
professionals -from part-time to full-time,
from event videographers to corporate producers, from small towns to major metropolitan areas.

Steve Yankee
A working writer/director/video business owner for over 35 years, Steve Yankee has spent the last 15 years helping hundreds of video business owners and independent videographers succeed and prosper. As a former advertising agency owner and creative director, newspaper editor, columnist and the co-founder of two video production companies, Steve puts his uncommon knowledge of proven advertising techniques, real-world promotional and marketing skills to work for you in The Video Business Advisor. The author of the popular Master Video Marketing Course, and dozens of other books, videotapes, audios and booklets, Steve's work has earned him an international reputation as an innovator of highly-effective, results-oriented marketing tools. "My philosophy is simple," Steve states. "I provide no-nonsense, real-world help for building a profitable video business. There's no academic theory, no vague instructions on what to do to succeed, no fluff. There's just me, telling you exactly how to do what you've got to do to succeed." Steve is a member of Mensa, and served on their national public relations committee, as well as on the advisory committee of the Association of Professional Videographers. He's a frequent speaker at regional and national video association meetings, and writes the "Strictly Business" column for EventDV magazine.

Case Marsh and Phyllis Marsh
Case operates a home video studio in Easton, Maryland with his wife Phyllis. Phyllis has made wedding-event video her full time vocation since 1989. Case practiced video part time until he fully retired from his engineering career in 2000. Since the start of business, Phyllis has produced well over 800 wedding-event videos, while Case has completed around 200 industrial-corporate projects. Case's business philosophy stresses the importance of paying attention to the details of business as much as video production in order to be successful. His philosophy of video production is that 90 percent of the total video quality equation has nothing to do with hardware, software, or format. "Plan, and follow the plan. Sell yourself as much as your work. Satisfy your customer expectations. Simple!"

Randy Brown
With a broadcasting career that spans five decades, Randy Brown has been a radio disc jockey, program director, production director, and has done "just about every other job in radio." In 2001, Randy launched Brown Media, Inc., in suburban Atlanta. He is currently the "imaging voice" on 75 radio stations nationwide, including outlets in Chicago and Dallas. In 2003, Brown Media branched out beyond voice work and radio production to begin offering video production services. Today, Randy focuses most of his energies on voice work and video projects consisting of original content. Randy is a core instructors at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, where he teaches all skills pertaining to radio performance, as well as audio production using Pro Tools and Adobe Audition. He also teaches video editing on Avid. Randy serves as a moderator on two Avid.com User Forums, and has been a contributor to the Video Business Advisor since its inception.

Ed Wardyga
Ed Wardyga, owner of Keepsake Video & KVI Media in Rhode Island, has been producing event video since 1989, specializing in stage video productions. Ed's background includes almost 30 years of engineering and computers (in his former life). He has author of many technically based articles and is a columnist for Event DV as well as frequent contributor to numerous web forums, including the Video Business Advisor discussion boards. He is also the Director of Technology/Web Operations for the 4EVER Group, a national video association & educational resource. Ed is also the recipient of the Walter Bennett Service to Industry Award.

Nicole Yankee
Niki -yes, the daughter of Steve -has nearly 20 years experience in the video business and is the owner of a full-service video company in Western Michigan. Great Lakes Video Services specializes in small and mid-sized production, film transfers and archiving, live event videotaping and video and disc duplication. Best known for their ability to archive rare formats, Great Lakes Video Services is one of only a handful of transfer outlets in the world still able to transfer 9.5mm film. The company offers discounts to qualified video businesses that use Great Lakes Video as their transfer outlet.

Dave Summerson
David bought his first video camera in 1984 to tape his own wedding -and he was hooked. Dave has worked full-time with the same employer for the past 22, doing IM support and repair. He enjoys tinkering with all kinds of PC hardware and thus, he's a natural to host the Tuesday "Hardware Chat" live forum for VBA members. Part-time, Dave is "mainly a wedding and event videographer." He also does international video format conversions on tape as well as DVD, transfers film, slides and photos, produces photomontages and edits. Recently, he and his wife added still photographey to their expanding business offerings. "I enjoy giving back to others what I have learned, as it helps us all."

John Easton
John Easton is a principal in Eastonsweb Multimedia, a Charlotte-based boutique video production and multimedia development firm. The company provides video production and website development services to businesses and non profit organizations and has served such clients as Bank of America, LendingTree, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, SPX Corporation, Wachovia among many. John has taught eBusiness strategy at the graduate level and is a frequent lecturer on the use of multimedia in business. John has become a recognized industry expert on trends and use of electronic media and has been highlighted in local and national publications including Black Enterprise, the Charlotte Observer, Pride Magazine, the Charlotte Post and others.

Duane Weed
Since 1984 Duane's video and media business has thrived in a small rural Michigan community. That's because Duane learned early on that multiple profit centers and agressive local marketing were the keys to the survival of his operation. Embracing new technology and providing new tools for his clients hasn’t hurt his business, either. From producing videos for the web with his company's growing online streaming service, to providing other services that include media transfers and duplication, "Using Today's Media to Market Your Business" is more than Duane's slogan; it's his way of life.

David Solberg
Owner of Passport Media Creations, a marketing solutions company dedicated to providing goal-oriented, cost effective communication solutions through video production, training, marketing, and advertising. Prior to forming PMC, David spent 15 years with Winnebago Industries in Warranty, Owner Relations, as Marketing Manager, and three years as Product Training Manager developing the Product Training Program, voted #1 by the RVDA Dealer Satisfaction Survey.PMC is located in Clear Lake, Iowa where David is a past VP of Technology for the Chamber of Commerce, At Large Representative on the City Council, Mayor Pro-Tem and PR Director for Clear Lake Forward Steering Committee. Recent projects include completion of a comprehensive RV Driving Safety program, Boat Safety program, and providing video production for the Food Channel and Animal Planet.

Kris Malandruccolo
The owner of Elegant Videos by Kris is an international award-winning professional videographer. Kris is a 2007 Wedding & Event Videography Association (WEVA) Hall of Fame inductee. Kris writes "The Reel Deal" column for EventDV magazine, and for other publications as well. In January 2006, EventDV magazine honored Kris as one of the Hottest/Most Influential Top 25 Videographers in the World for her profound influence in the industry. Kris is the only videographer to become a Master Wedding Vendor through the Association of Bridal Consultants. She is past-president of the Illinois Videographers association, the WEVA Public Relations Chairperson, and has traveled nationally and internationally to speak on The Power of Video.

Hal Slifer
In the past 25 years, Hal Slifer has produced more than 1,200 wedding, bar/bat mitzvahs, and other milestone event videos, as well as 2,500-plus "family histories" for clients throughout New England and across the country. "Originally I thought I would do event videos of weddings and bar mitzvahs on the side while I tried to get more involved in industrial video I did my share of industrial videos, but I found doing weddings every weekend to be more profitable than trying for one big industrial that would take months to produce." He also found he enjoyed the family camaraderie his work inspired, the memories of time and place and emotions it conjured for his clients and their guests. Hal s a sought-after speaker at national videographer conventions, and writes a column, "Making History," for EventDV magazine. As a VBA member and contributor, he participates in relevant forum discussions and teleseminars.

Don Lawler
Don Lawler is the founder and president of Storytellers USA. The award-winning producers at Storytellers USA use videography, photography, and new media as tools to tell and preserve important Life-Stories. Over the last few years, Don and his team have produced over 100 wedding stories, several biographies & tributes, 6 PBS documentaries, a number of segments for the PBS show "Southern Routes", and 20 local television programs for WYPL-TV 18. They also produce corporate films for companies that include FedEx, Pfizer, Trane, Glaxo Smith Kline, and have produced various projects for ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, The Golf Channel, and CNN Worldbeat. Don holds degrees in business, engineering, and broadcasting and is a past president of Columbia School of Broadcasting. A Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach, Don speaks at national videographer's conventions and event industry associations on the subject of Guerrilla Marketing. He currently is President of The Mid-South Professional Videographer's Association.