Video is big. Really big.

YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine on the planet. 24 hours of video is uploaded there every minute. Americans alone are watching, on average, about 95 videos each per month. Not only that, but more and more companies are integrating video with their online presence. Just have a browse through the web sites of Fortune 500 companies, and see how many of them have video on their sites.

It comes down to this. If you want to make the most of your online presence in the coming year, then you’d better be thinking about how you’re going to use video.

But there’s a big problem. Of all the media creation strategies out there today, video is the one that holds the most people back. The thing is, most of the stuff that people believe about video isn’t true. So, let’s explore some common myths and misconceptions about online video, and some ways you can get started easily.

1) It’s too expensive. Hey, I’m a TV producer. You don’t have to tell me how expensive video production can be. Professional crews, thousands of dollars in equipment, days and hours spent on set, feeding and watering (TV people eat a lot!). It all adds up. The most common question I get from people is, “how much does it cost to make a video?”. That’s like asking me “How much does a car cost?”. It completely, 100% depends on what you want to do. The good news is, we aren’t all trying to make feature length documentaries and high budget commercials. Many of us are just trying to post our take on things. And that doesn’t have to cost much at all.

There is a time and a place to spend good money on a professional quality production. I’m in the business, and I’m not going to lie about that. However, these days, producing video does NOT have to cost you a fortune, depending on what you want to do. Lots and lots of people put decent video content online using nothing more than a $99 FlipCam and free editing software. I’m all for it. Come up with an idea, sit down, and just start recording.

I would, however, recommend getting a few pointers before you start. There are thousands of tutorials on basic video production online. Check out these pointers from my friend Jim – he’s a professional camera guy, and definitely knows what he’s talking about.

2) It takes too much time/it’s too technical. Nothing could be further from the truth. People think that video is some long, drawn out process of shooting and editing because they hear feature film directors talking about how it took them 3 years to make their last movie. Yes, in certain cases, it can take a long time to make a video. But your average web video? It will take longer for YouTube to process it than it takes you to record it, I guarantee.

Here’s what you need to get started – a web cam and microphone (most laptops and netbooks have those built in these days), an internet connection, and a YouTube account. Log in to YouTube. Click on “Upload”. Click “Record Video From Webcam”. Start talking. Stop recording when you’re done. Click OK.

You can publish a video in under 5 minutes, and you need only to know how to click a button in a web browser. How long did it take for you to publish your last blog post? How long did it take for you to set up your WordPress Blog? I rest my case.

So, no more complaining about video being too technical or time consuming, ok?

3) I can’t stand looking at/hearing myself on video. I have one thing to say about this. Get over yourself. I know, it sounds harsh, but you know what? I hate hearing and seeing myself on video too. I can’t stand the way my voice sounds and I say “um” too much (I’m working on that). I think I look chubby, and my hair is too poofy.

But, I do it anyway. Because I know that as much as I’m critical of how I look and sound, it’s not nearly as bad as I think it is. It’s a fact that the first few time you see and hear yourself on video you will cringe. You won’t want to look. You certainly won’t want to hit “Publish”. But do it anyway, because the more you see and hear yourself, the more used to it you’ll get. I promise. And, you’ll never get any better or any more comfortable with it if you don’t keep trying.

So stop worrying about how you look or sound. Just be yourself. When you’re looking into that camera, pretend you’re talking to just one other person. The more you practice, the more natural you’ll become. Video is how we’re going to see each other, and ourselves in the future. So get over yourself, and get used to it!

Make 2011 the year you decided to take on video. I promise, it’s not that painful. And you just might find a voice you didn’t even know you had!

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One of my goals this year was to share more. I’ve been working in media for more than 20 years now, and I figure by this time I must have learned something worth passing along!

I’ve had this e-Book swimming around in my head for a while. I wanted to provide a useful, no-nonsense guide to creating better videos. I’m not going to tell you about the latest flashy tools here. I am going to tell you about some simple tips and techniques that you can use for little or no cost that will help you become a better video storyteller.

I would love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment, or better yet, send me links to your finished videos! And, you are welcome to share this e-Book with whoever you think could benefit from it.

Enjoy!

Creating Video for the Web: Tips, tricks and tools for telling amazing stories

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As some of you may know from reading my recent Tweets, I’ve been busy editing our television series, The House Healers (web site is close to being done). Season 2 is set to start airing on the local cable station in a couple of weeks.

We’re really excited about this season of the show – it’s not only a massive transformation of a couple of severely outdated homes, we’re also going green – doing our part to minimize waste and make the houses environmentally friendly.

I’ve been producing television shows and working in video for the better part of about 20 years now. Back in the old days when I worked at said cable station, I had at any given time 5 to 7 series I was responsible for. All of them required a certain amount of editing.

The Golden Days of Tape
When I started in this business, and for about the first 10 years, I was editing tape to tape, using an edit controller console like this. This type of linear editing had its limitations, to be sure, but I could control up to four Video Tape Recorder (VTR) machines, and run it through an effects switcher so I could do transitions, titles, etc. Audio was also controlled through a separate console. Linear editing was all about timing. There were no timelines, so everything had to be laid on the tape in sequence. Sure, you could go back and insert a shot or overlay some music, but it was no easy feat to remove or add entire sections of the show without costing yourself literally hours and hours of time.

As a result, the way I approached putting together a show was critical to a successful outcome. If I just walked into the edit suite with armfuls of tapes and sat down and started scanning through footage, not only would I be there for days, I’d probably end up with a final piece that was not exactly what I’d intended. Not having a plan going in was a sure fire way to end up with a crappy show.

Lazy is as Lazy Does
Times have changed a LOT since those days of linear editing. In the years I’ve been working in video, editing, from a technology standpoint, is the one thing that has changed the most. Now, assembling a video piece of any kind is simply a matter of dragging and dropping stuff into a timeline, moving things around at will and tweaking until you’re satisfied.

It’s a remarkable change and one that I’ve embraced wholeheartedly. My actual editing time has been reduced probably by half, and the ability for me to apply complex animations, effects, and transitions in an instant still astounds me every day.

There is a downside, however….digital, non-linear editing has made people lazy.

Did I just call you lazy? Well, I mean no disrespect. Let me clarify. Now that the time it takes to edit a piece is so much less, and the ability to slide things around in a project is so much simpler, it’s really easy to run out, capture everything in sight with your camera, then just sit down with hours and hours of footage and then proceed to hunt and peck out a story, right?

Wrong.

If it Ain’t Clear, it Just Ain’t Clear
Sure, anyone can grab a bunch of shots and throw them in a timeline, slap a voice over and some music on and call it a day. Unfortunately, this happens all too often, and ultimately all too often we see shoddy production, poor writing and unwatchable video. I see many examples of this kind of “hunt and peck” editing every day on the Web. The thing is, it’s an easy fix, and you don’t need to be a professional video producer to fix it.

Approaching a video project is like most things. Before you even consider shooting a second of tape, or editing a minute of footage, you need to have the end in mind. Remember that 80/20 rule? Well it applies to video production as much as anything else. 80 percent of your work on a production needs to happen before you even open Final Cut.

To be successful, really successful in what you are trying to accomplish, you must first know what you are trying to accomplish. Whether it’s a simple sit down interview at the local Starbucks, or  a feature length documentary, it’s essential that you know the focus of your piece first.

If you don’t do anything else, you need to do two things. Think hard about your audience. Think hard about the story you want to tell. Then write it all down. Pen and paper works for me. You’ll have plenty of questions, that’s normal. You won’t be able to answer them all right away, but that’s okay. Write them down.

It’s going to take you some time. It’s going to be kind of frustrating because you don’t have all the answers. But the end result of all this thinking and writing is that you will know what you are trying to do. You’ll have an idea of the story, and how you want to approach it. Of course, you want people to be able to tell their own story. Of course there are things that you don’t want to control, that you want to just let flow naturally when you get to your shoot. But having a plan is not about having control, it’s about having focus. It’s about making sure that you capture all of the moments you need to capture and leave the irrelevant stuff behind.

Focus. Know your story. Keep these things in mind as you go through the process of shooting, logging, scripting, then editing. I guarantee that once you get to the cutting room, you will have shot just what you need, and you’ll spend a lot less time figuring out what you’re trying to do.

Technology of all kinds has a tendency to make us want to take shortcuts. But there are some shortcuts you just shouldn’t take. Being a lazy editor is one of them.

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