Visionary is the celebration of extraordinary individuals, innovations, ideas and events that offer progressive or foretelling insights. Bendrix highlights his thoughts and other lunatic fringe thinking.
Michael Rubin is the author of “Droid Maker” a book about the digital video revolution. Rubin states that Francis Ford Coppola, Steve Jobs, and George Lucas were the pioneers of the movie making: special effects, gaming avatars and video editing. The innovations that were created has given tools to everyday people to create motion picture stories in their own homes. This video was created at Macworld in 2006 when Podcasting and video-sharing were just arriving on the scene. The following is a tribute to the pioneers who paved the way for all of us to be able to create movies using the digital format.
The following are basic tips, ideas, and solutions discussed in Carmina’s Small Business Internet Marketing Workshop on Tuesday September 30, 2008. The topic was on: “Online Video Basics - Part 1“.
We were going on the basis that there is minimal budget for this project. We were limited to the use of cell phones, digital cameras, webcams and a computer with an internet connection. In part II, we will discuss video editing and more video distribution options. So the question is how do we create an online video presence on a shoestring budget?
I. Whats the Purpose For Shooting the Video?
A. Tell us your story!
- distinguish if its for a business, a hobby, or if its personal
- know the audience and the tone of the story
- decide how often you will produce the video
- people have short attention spans, decide on a length below 10 minutes
B. Shoot your story!
- use an embedded computer cam, a webcam or a connected digital camera
- go mobile using a personal cell phone or digital camera
II. Once you know the story, figure out how you will produce it: What Is your Video Recording Tool?
A. Using a cell phone?
- Quality: be aware that the quality is generally of poor resolution.
- Record: the length of clip depends on the size of the memory car
D. Ask for memory upgrade
- Format: file format is usually 3GP.
- Audio: not very good but under minimal noise conditions you can capture it ok
- Examples: LG Vu CU920, Samsung SLM a747, T-Mobile Wing, Motorola RAZR2 V8
- Price: range from
B. Using a digital camera
- Quality: be aware that the quality is decent to superb depends on the camera’s sensor
- Record: the length of clip depends on the size of the memory car
D. 4GB is great
- Format: file format is usually AVI, MOV, MPG
- Audio: its solid as long as you are close enough to the subject with minimal background noise
- Examples: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS, Canon PowerShot SD20, Casio Exilim EX-Z750
- Price: range from
C. Using a webcam?
- Quality: anything over a 2-megapixel sensor is acceptable quality.
- Record: the amount of time you can record depends on the size of desktop or external hard drive
- Format: file format is only limited to the computers’ software usually its a native DV format
- Audio: some of the cheaper webcams do not have mic’s, if the internal mic is poor buy a USB mic
- Editing: comes with editing software out of the box
- Examples: Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, The HP Elite Autofocus, Creative Live! Cam Optia AF
- Price: range from $20 to $130
SHOOTING TIP: Be conscious of color contrasts, Lighting too much or little (dark-light) and minimize motion
III. Now that you have recorded the story, where do you put it?
A. Choose a web service and create a profile
- Youtube: its America’s most popular video sharing service the worlds fast growing site ever
- Blip: is a versatile video sharing service that has a huge google ranking and very flexible
B. Get the image from the recording device to the computer
- cellphone: message direct to online service or email to theself and download to the desktop.
- digital camera: download direct to the desktop using USB cable or memory card slot or device
- webcam: record direct to the online service or download direct to the desktop
C. Be aware of the mandatory video upload requirements
- the web video formats .avi, .qt, .dv, .mov, .mpeg, .mp4, H.264, .3gp, .asf, .wmv, .flv, .mpg
- the final video must be under 10 min and 100 MB
- make sure that the video is original content and not someone else’s copyright
D. Upload or Record the video clip up to the web-service
- make sure you provide a strong eye catchy title
- provide a detailed description about the video clip and make sure you type in the website URL
- when you tag the video clip, make sure you type in as many key words associated with the clip
- select the video category best associated with the video
- upload or record (if the site has recording capabilities) the video to the website
NOTE: even though its smart to test with Youtube and Blip first, it harms nothing to sign up for as many video sharing sites as possible. The more video sharing websites at you become a part of the better. Lastly after joining all the sites you can find, and exploiting them the best way possible, join Tubemogul.com. I suggest that this be your primary upload location. Tubemogul is the single most important video sharing submitter tool online today. Whatever sites that Tubmogul has on its list are the sites you must join to increase visibility.
These are the very bare very basic guidelines to creating an online video presence on a shoestring budget. Please go to my delicious bookmarks to find a list of more video sharing, online tools and resources. Also if you review the right side of the blog you will see the “Tools We Use” and the “Books We Use”. Every single item is a tool or a book that we have in our arsenal to get the job done. We highly recommend and stand by each of these products.
You may have heard of the power that viral videos can have on brands. The “Will it Blend?” and Smirnoff’s “Tea Partay” clips have received unbelievable traffic - (5.4 and 4.5 mill page views respectively!). And the good news is you don’t have to be a Hollywood producer to create a rockin’ 3-minute message for your business, whether it’s client testimonials, or product demos, or company news. Take advantage of free video applications that give your site’s visitors a much richer experience. It’s time to move from the printed word to the moving image!
Come to the Online Video Basics 2-part workshop and learn how to shoot & edit videos from your cellphone, camera or web cam to easily create compelling content for your website. Give your products and services added exposure on YouTube and other video sharing sites.
My guest speaker will be Ben Williams, aka Bendrix, a 9-year veteran of the media/advertising world and expert video producer/podcaster. Here’s what we’ll cover:
1- How to use hardware - webcams, digital cameras and cellphones - and download tape
2- Basic video editing
3- Downloading and promoting your clips on YouTube
4- Podcasting
5- Case Studies: How companies are using viral video to promote their business
There will be hands-on instruction with take-home assignments. In Part II we’ll be giving feedback on videos created by class participants.
Details:
What: Online Video Basics: 2-Part Series
When: Part I - Tuesday, Sept. 30
Part II - Tuesday, Oct. 7
Yesterday we talked about the departure from FTP to the web browser. Today I want to discuss some free alternative dedicated media store and share websites that upload directly from the browser.
Rapidshare has a simple Google like interface, it an excellent upload feature, possibly the best that we tested thus far. Megaupload on the other hand is hella confusing. Once you catch your bearings you can navigate pretty easy. For the one time upload they are both solid services and neither require you to login, but you can set up a profile if you wish. On the receiving end; however, as the recipient attempts to download they are met with an obnoxious countdown and bombarding ads strategically posted on the download page. That alone is a HUGE turnoff and a terribly bad decision for their business.
Both FileFactory and Yousendit are also good services, they also offer a simple upload and share feature. The big let downs are that there is no resumed support if disconnected and there are both storage and bandwidth limitations. The biggest issue of all is expiration date of the media media. Yousendit only provides 7 days from the date of upload FileFactory has extended from 7 days to 90 days. Yousendit does have a ton of features for their subscription service along with the ability to create a custom branded download page.
To be fair, the above mentioned services work perfectly fine for most instances and they are free after all. But some clients and people not so tech savvy may find them each to be off putting.
The Codedsignal 1st Pick
There can only be ONE!!!! In the free web sharing market, Mediafire wins convincingly. It has no time limit for hosting uploaded medias. It provides unlimited storage capacity, unlimited simultaneous downloads (that resume if disconnected), unlimited bandwidth to serve any medias under 100MB, Public and private password protected medias, Public and private password protected folders. The interface is user friendly for both the sender and the recipient. Learn more.
The Codedsignal 2nd Pick
Our second choice is Box.net. First off it stands out because it works for mobile. Users can upload and view media medias directly from their mobile phone (if the media is supported). The second thing you notice is that its got one of the most simple utilitarian interfaces of all the hosts mentioned. The biggest obvious drawback is that there is a 10 MB upload capacity. This would be a service for people serving small media medias. It has some great offerings and it plays well with Web 2.0 services, we feel that this is the hosting service to watch out for.
Every media store and share need is different. People are at varied experience levels and each situation is not always met with the same solution. The point of this post is to inform people of the free alternatives to FTP. We suggest our recommendations above but please take the information found in this blog and form your own investigation. We always enjoy feedback and comparisons so feel free to join the discussion.
And not just Youtube, you can go to Myspace Video, Crackle, Veoh, Revver or a host of any FLV video sharing websites. This particular post is for Mac users. There are four installations needed.
5. Once it downloads and unzips double click the “Perian.prefPane” file. This is the application that will allow you to view FLV in Quicktime.
6. Once it downloads and unzips double click “MPEG Streamclip” file. This is the application that you will use to convert it to a MOV. (see recommended settings below)
7. Put converted MOV file in iMovie or Final Cut Pro.
HTTP Echoes is about insightful blog posts and web related ventures. We echo these insights and offer our thoughts on how it relates to web culture.
French Maid TV just posted a video clip on Youtube yesterday (6/26/07) and it was downloaded or viewed over 700,000+ times in less than 2 days. The clip titled “Sexy French Maid TV - How To Share Photos” is a 6:20 minute “provocammercial.” What I find utterly remarkable is how it was presented and how it craftily worked in a smart sales pitch for a new company called Tubes.
For those of you not familiar with French Maid TV, its a series of viral video “How To’s,” taught by sexy French maids. Its the type of entertainment that you pass along to friends and they to their friends’ friends. The video clips are reminiscent of Benny Hill skits minus the Benny and the lil old man. Tim Street the mastermind behind French Maid inspires the hell out of me; as a new media producer, I admire what he has done with his brand and his marketing tactics.
This particular clip was brilliant because the title “How To Share Photos” cleverly showed you how the photo feature of Tubes worked then went on to briefly mention how it was a personal sharing network “that lets you instantly and simply share photos, music, video and documents with everyone you know.”
There have been numerous advertising and marketing agencies that jump on the Youtube or Myspace bandwagon and believe that they are “in the know” with the online media space. They need to take notes because Tim and his team are leading the way and changing the rules of the game. I say give the man a Wikipedia slot already. Oh yeah… don’t tell anyone this, but its the first time that an online “video’mmercial” has actually convinced me to buy into its product… damn did I mention that its a PC product. It looks like a great lil filesharing app. Too bad because, there will be tons of mac users who would be interested in this product.
I’ve posted the clip on my blog so you can see for yourself.
May 1, 2007 Bendrix speaks at the Podcast Meetup. Its the New York City Podcasters monthly meetup hosted at Ariel Publicity 325 West 38 Street - Suite 505.
Its called “Using Video to Expand Your Audience!” This talk takes a look at the What, When, How and Where of video and portable media.
- Fun and effective uses.
- The various media outlets
- How to engage your audience read more…
Bendrix is the founder and Digital Media (Brand) Strategist for Codedsignal; a portable media network featuring; 1. Beneath the Beat: Hip Hop, 2. Beneath the Beat: Electronica, 3. Digital Media Tips N Tricks.
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January 10, 2009 5:49 pm | 
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