NWA-PCUG Newsletter
Article, November 2009
Web Video: Making It Great, Getting It Noticed
Reviewed by Iris Yoffa, Member,
Tucson Computer Society, Arizona
May 2009 eJournal
http://www.aztcs.org
journal (at) aztcs.org
This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).
We seem to be living during the decade of the rise of video as the media of choice for self-expression. And where better to publish for maximum exposure than the web. In the beginning, just about any online moving picture was considered good and worth the wait, no matter how long it took to load and how poor the quality turned out. It was new, cutting edge and so exciting to be part of. However, the world-wide audience has become more discerning and has come to expect a touch of story, direction, and technical quality in the visual and audio. So, a book with the title of Web Video: Making It Great, Getting It Noticed, would seem to be the ticket to success.
The authors, Jennie Bourne and Dave Burstein, have done an admirable job of putting together an extensive array of basic to quite-involved information, tips, online resources, explanations of relevant technologies, and production techniques, approached in an entertaining format. There is a lot to be learned here for the individual involved in the bare bones to studio quality video. And, being totally new to the subject, I really enjoyed this unique insight into the world of video production. This is a vey different beast than using a video camera to record home and business inventories where no editing is required.
The book’s 321 pages are divided into nine chapters. “Making It Great” is the focus of chapters one through seven. Publishing to the web for a world-wide audience of varying technologies and viewing devices presents many issues to consider that film, TV and home movie enthusiasts and professionals don’t have to deal with, in addition to the challenges that they do have to take into consideration.
So to start you need to have a plan and a great idea, target an audience and keep it as simple as possible. Because of the heavy compression used in web video, the varying bandwidths for download, and the variety of hardware your viewers will be using to watch your movie, there is a lot that is out of your control for you to consider. You’ll learn about the pros and cons when making choices about equipment such as video camera, tripod, microphone, lighting, cables and connectors, recording media and backup options.
There are also a variety of techniques and approaches to consider for videoing events, interviews, how-to’s, and news. Editing is a much overlooked and underutilized part of the process, but is essential for refining your focus and message. There’s a lot to consider in addition to which video-editing software to use, such as shaping the story, adding transitions, titles, graphics, and sound, working with compression and selecting an encoding format.
“Getting It Noticed” is discussed in the last two chapters. This is a lot trickier than one might think and there is no sure formula to get you there. Going viral is usually the result of inspired marketing. There are a lot of ideas here and vignettes of success stories to get you going.
However, you must first make it great.
This book is packed with excellent ideas and resources to help you make a success of your production. The chapters end with projects for you to work on, based on what you’ve absorbed so far. Throughout there is a focus on techniques for improving your video skills and methods and to assist you in this are interviews with accomplished video folks which cover a broad range of topics. The information, interviews, and tips are interspersed with vignettes of web video success stories. This insight into a world unto itself was just fascinating to me.
About: Web Video: Making It Great, Getting It Noticed Authors: Jennie Bourne, Dave Burstein
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Publisher: Peachpit Press
http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321591585
ISBN-10: 0321552962
ISBN-13: 978-0321552969
Price: $39.99, $26.39 @ Amazon
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