Video Editing Production

I edited some Video Production Guide clips together and uploaded the video to TubeMogul in order to compare the quality of the results at different host sites.

In this test case I used Sony Vegas Pro 8 as the editor software. The reason I used this over MS MovieMaker was that I wanted to create an MP4 video file, which MovieMaker cannot do directly and which would require a separate conversion. This is no big deal but it does take time.

I took slides created in MS PowerPoint that were saved as TIF files and imported them into Vegas. Before doing the import step, I decided on 3 seconds as the viewing duration and set that in the editor options. The duration can be modified in the timeline but each slide has to be touched.

At a few points I added a transition cross fade, and a fade out at the end. I also placed an overlay text watermark at various periods.

Then I added an audio track of music, with a fade down at the end. The end result is a video of about 2 minutes 30 seconds.

Here is an image of the editor timeline.

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If you viewed the previous Video Editing and Production Tips you may have noticed that the opening graphics and closing credits are obviously crisper and in higher resolution than previous years of fuzzy YouTube videos. The other obvious feature is that the included video, although good resolution, reveals how important a good quality camera has become. Now a HD camera is a must. It should be capable of and set to record at a minimum 1280 x 720. Also note that good camera work, or lack of, becomes more obvious, but that’s another report.

So you should have good raw video footage, edited it and added your graphics, transitions, and audio tracks. And as covered previously, you have rendered the output to a MP4 file with H264 compression at a minimum 2 Megabits per second bitrate, and 1280 by 720 pixels for a wide screen 16 to 9 aspect ratio, and at a frame rate of 30 frames per second.

Now you are ready to publish your video to YouTube.

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Here we continue our discussion on creating a 5-part video series for a simple video production campaign.

Last time I mentioned using Microsoft MovieMaker to import images and render to a video. The biggest issue with MovieMaker is choosing the output options for file format and resolution quality. Microsoft likes its proprietary WMV format for Media Player, and most video hosting sites accept it for uploading, but the compression locally and conversion at the host site can result in poor quality. Opinion is that WMV files are good for high motion and makes for smaller-sized files. But the program does not offer rendering to MPEG4 or flash format, which can be played on all computers and at a high quality.

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At this point I want to summarize the steps involved in this video production campaign to promote a fictional product or service.

Traditional methods would include creating a blog or Web site, optimizing for on-page factors and promoting off-page, using link building with keywords, tags, and bookmarking. The goal is getting to the top of Google results for your product name or phrase keyword.

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There’s always some in the crowd who ask the ‘what-if’ questions. Can I use your product for this application, or in that environment? Maybe it can do your dream scheme, or perhaps it can be used for alchemy, or to reform congress.

They think that if you say your product can do so many ordinary things so effectively, then why not try to do fantastic things even more extraordinarily?

Watch this video to stimulate your creative mind into thinking outside the box. You creative types know who you are!
This is the fifth in a series of short video productions that demonstrate simple editing methods to create promotional videos for your product marketing online.

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How do you use a video production to present a products function? This is a presentation of “How do they work?” Use function to cover straight forward facts and specifications of features that provide a specific role. This is the step of how a feature becomes a benefit.

In this fourth episode in a series of promotional video productions we look at the functions of a products design, why they are included, and what do they accomplish.

If you want to understand the process behind a product, then watch this video to learn how to do the installation steps for a fictional product.

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What features should be included in a video production promotion?

If you are the curious and scholastic type of personality, you will be asking this question. You want to know the “what” of everything. In other words, “what” is a question that is answered by a list of features.

In this third episode in a series of promotional video productions we look at a product’s features that describe the details and design parameters.

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You may be wondering what video production can do for you. If you are a sales type personality then you know that you are always looking for benefits. In this second in a series of promotional videos we look at a presentation of a products benefits to a prospective customer.

“Why would I buy this?”

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Response to video production and editing has been encouraging. It is not hard to appreciate that such a complex yet easy strategy has created so much buzz.

While information has been limited, and interest so strong, there are few avenues to pursue that lead to solutions that are meaningful, helpful, or easy to follow.

Sure there are some experts out there but they keep their tips closely guarded, maybe feeding out a little here and there, but leaving the big picture blurry, and with a lot a gaps that are hard the bridge.

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After looking for video production and editing tips for awhile now I came to the conclusion that there was not a lot of good information available. I knew where to look but soon found out everyone else was saying similar things that just didn’t help me get far.

The techniques and strategies I found were often too simple, missing important steps, or just plain wrong froma marketing point of view.

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