Tips for shooting Digital Video

Over the past five years, digital video has taken the world by storm! Part of my job at World Hyundai Matteson is to create short videos of various events and happenings going on here at the dealership. And here in Joey's Corner, I'll share my ideas and tips with you.

YouTube, StupidVideos.com, MSN Videos, and Flickr

The past decade saw websites such as YouTube, StupidVideos.com, MSN Videos, and Flickr explode into massive public forums where anyone with a digital video camera could upload videos of anything that can be thought of. If you want to see a video about how to change your car's oil...there is a video for that. If you are interested in having a raccoon as a pet...there is a video for that. Millions of users login to YouTube everyday to browse videos. Some go to the sites to look for useful information and some go there to be entertained. Whatever your purpose may be, you have the ability to write, film, produce and distribute to an audience of millions all at the palm of your hands.

Determine your goal

For serious amateurs interested in posting videos online, you'll want to figure out what your overall goal for posting videos is. Are you selling something? Offering a service? Just want people to actually view a video of your dog doing tricks? How you set up your video is crucial and I will be discussing how to set up your produced video in a later blog. If your intention is to try and send a video viral, it's important to just have an idea to start. Sometimes the less scripted and thought out a video is, the more raw it appears. Viral videos (videos that get a large number of views from being passed on by other viewers) are a relatively new thing and there are no rules to determine what goes viral and what doesn't. If you are serious about making videos, I would suggest sitting down and doing your pre-production: planning, storyboarding, scripting, and arranging.

PSSA (Planning, Scripting, Storyboarding and Arranging)

Pre-production is crucial to those who are serious about making videos. If the video that you are about to create is a staged video, you may need to get release forms from anyone in the video itself, property releases if you are not working on your own property, and a number of other hurdles, including local permits and licenses, that may come up before you even take one minute of footage. You'll need to do a bit of planning for the other parties involved as well as for yourself! Write down everything that you'll need for the video shoot and have it ready. Have extra batteries or backup power options ready if needed. Script out your video as best as you can. Make sure to not only write the spoken words, but also the stage directions. This is important and will save time if you don't have to explain each video shot to your actors. Storyboard your script as best as you can so you can have an idea of the shots that you need. Remember...you don't need to draw out every single shot. Once you've got your planning, permits, scripting and storyboarding done, you're almost ready to go! I always go by the motto of "never underestimate the double-check", so once I have everything figured out, I double check and confirm everything so there are no unanticipated hurdles that I unknowingly need to jump. When you're all set, go out and get 'er done!

Digital Video Specifications

There have been a lot of terms and acronyms created in the past decade referring to digital video in one way or another.

* HD = High Definition
* LCD = Liquid Crystal Display
* LED = Light-emitting Diode
* 720p/1080p = Lines of resolution

When creating a video, the first thing to determine is what software you will use to create it. There are many software brands out there - most notably Final Cut Pro, Avid Express, iMovie, Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, and Windows Movie Maker, just to name a few. It is also important to determine how you will format your end product. Will you create your video in HD? Standard Definition? For a mobile device? The best way to determine what video format is best for you is to consider how the video will be used. Will it only be displayed on the computer? On websites? Are you burning it to DVD or Blue-Ray? Unless you plan to export the video and burn it to a Blue-Ray disk, creating a video in a standard format (NTSC 720x480 Widescreen) is your best bet. You can always shrink how the video exports later.

The video posted to the right is one of the first short productions that I created. I used Avid Pro Systems to do the editing (back when Avid Pro was considered the industry standard). I actually made it when I was in college, almost eight years ago. I added multiple camera clips, sound effects, and an audio soundtrack. The rabbit in the film was actually my pet dwarf rabbit, Buddy. He was my college roommate during my last three years of college.
Exporting Digital Video

When you have finished creating your digital video, you will need to export it from the time line. Before you export, determine how the video will be viewed. Is it going to be posted to YouTube? Emailed to a friend? You'll need to determine the best fit for you. Even if you only plan to make a small sized video to embed on a webpage, don't forget to also export a large version for you to hang on to! If you use a PC, exporting it as a high quality MPEG is probably the best. If you use a MAC, either DV

AVI or Quicktime MP4 might work best for you. Once you have your video exported, you are ready upload your video and display it to the world!