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May 2002 Product Development Technique
Video Tapes The good old VHS video
tape is still hanging in there. Blockbuster still has miles of shelves
filled with them and you can buy them all over the Internet. The DVD is
coming, but it's not even close to replacing your VCR.
Creating video is a lot easier, better quality and cheaper than it used
to be. It's still much more complex than creating audio products but
with the right kind of help you should have no trouble making VHS video
products. The reason it is so much cheaper now is because
of the digital camcorder. They are tiny in physical size, light in
weight and put out an extremely high quality picture.
Do it yourselfers
For those of you that are more industrious you can do entire video
productions yourself using a digital camera and your home computer. I
have to tell you though it's not as easy as the video editing software
people make it sound. To edit video on your home
computer takes a really big and really fast hard drive. These drives are
usually a step above the standard computer hard drive. You also need a
good video capture card. If your computer doesn't have one, then you'll
need to choose one (not very easy) pay for it and install it AND hope it
works. When it comes to video cameras, just about any
modern digital or mini DV camera is more than enough to create great
quality instructional videos. Don't forget the lights and
a good fluid head tripod. A terrible camera with great lighting will
most likely give you a better picture than a great camera with terrible
lighting. You can't really do great video with a standard
camera tripod either. A fluid head tripod allows you to move the camera
smoothly through pans (horizontal left/right movements) and tilts (up
and down movements). You better take some tutorials about
framing shots, zooming, panning and all the other good camera techniques
before you try to create a product. Most people that shoot their own
video make it look really bad because they don't know the techniques to
create interesting shots that don't make you nauseous from excessive
panning and zooming. Video is much more complex because
you've got audio that must make sense when matched to the video. You
can't believe how hard this can be doing it yourself. If you really want
to do it, here are some resources:
http://www.videoguys.com/
http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/
http://www.ulead.com/products/main_video/video.htm
http://www.sonicfoundry.com/productinfo.asp?product=videofactory
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/main.html
http://www.pcphotoreview.com/Video,Editing,Software/PLS_2670crx.aspx
A better way
Get a professional to shoot your instructional video product. I can tell
you after two failed attempts to shoot and edit myself (even after
having owned a video production company many years ago) I've given up
the do it yourself route. If I need good video done, I hire a
professional camera person and editor. This let's me concentrate on the
content so that I do a good job. This doesn't have to be
overly expensive. You can get some very small companies to shoot for a
couple hundred dollars a day. Many of them have small digital editing
systems that are more than adequate for instructional videos. The hourly
rates can start at 30 or 40 an hour and go up. In most
cases, using these people as long as they are reliable and half way
professional, will give you a much better finished product than you
could ever have done yourself. Video for free
A good way to get a free video production is to offer to do training for
a company or organization that either has it's own video production
department or is willing to pay for video production. You could make a
deal where they agree to do a professional production that you can keep
and use in exchange for the training or you may even get paid for the
training and still get a master copy of the tape. The deal you land will
depend on your negotiating skills. Video cheaper than
usual
Organize several people that want a video product and share the costs of
the shoot. If you can standardize the location, (like a hotel room) or
small studio, you can split the cost of the video shoot. Each one of the
group would be responsible for the cost of their editing, but you might
be able to arrange a package deal with the editing company by bringing
several jobs at once. Do you really need a video
product?
Before you jump into any of this, please contemplate the above question.
If you are simply going to be a talking head, I suggest your forget
about video. Why would people want to drop everything and watch you
talk? If you can't come up with a valid reason why they couldn't get the
same info in some type of audio format, forget the video project .
. .unless of course your're doing it for ego or for a lot of money.
The best video informational products are ones that actually show the
viewer how to do something while they are being told how to do it. I've
learned tons of magic from videos. So much that I'm planning a series of
magic tapes for speakers. What to wear on video
For this section I'm going to take a section from "Wake 'em Up Video
Professional Speaking System"
http://www.antion.com/speakervideo.htm TIPS FOR
TELEVISION, VIDEOTAPE, AND VIDEOCONFERENCING
Here are some things you should keep in mind when a television camera is
trained on you:
TELEVISION & VIDEOTAPE TIPS
Gestures should be smaller. Make sure clothing is "broken in" and comfortable
when you are sitting and standing. Prior to your performance, have instant photos or
video taken of you while sitting and standing. Make sure your clothes
look good in both positions. Find out the background color of the set if
possible. You don't want your clothing to blend in and make you
invisible. Ask the producer for wardrobe color suggestions.
Do not wear any clothing with tight patterns or
pin stripes. This causes an optical illusion called a moir‚ pattern
which makes you look bad. Avoid clothing with large patterns or geometric
shapes. The audience will watch your clothes instead of you. Avoid wearing black, white, or red on television
or video. Even the best of cameras have trouble with these colors.
Avoid flashy jewelry. It reflects light. Avoid jangly jewelry. It reflects light and makes
noise that will be picked up by your microphone (this applies whether
you are on TV or not). Wear your eyeglasses if you want, but avoid shiny
frames. Tip the bows of your eyeglasses up slightly off
your ears. This angles the lenses down to reduce glare from lights.
Wear makeup. It has the practical purpose of
reducing the glare of TV lights. Apply it to all exposed body parts,
like backs of hands, arms, neck, etc. Apply cover-up below eyes to mask bags and/or
wrinkles. Good studios are kept cool to negate the effect of
the hot TV lights. You may freeze for a while until the lights are
turned on, then you may burn up. Dress for the heat, but bring a
jacket or extra cover-up to be used while you are waiting to go on.
Bring a handkerchief or tissues to dab
perspiration during breaks Don't second guess the camera. Act as if you are
always on screen. Make sure your makeup, wardrobe, and hair are
consistent with your message.
MEN Wear knee-length socks. Always keep double breasted jackets buttoned.
Single breasted jackets can be opened, but not too
wide. I SAY AGAIN Wear Makeup. TV lights can penetrate
several layers of skin. You can't possibly shave close enough to
prevent whiskers from showing without makeup. Don't forget makeup on receding hairlines or bald
heads. Trick: Run the thin part of your tie through the
loop in the back of the main part of your tie then clip the thin part
to your shirt below the loop. This will keep your tie perfectly
centered without the tie clip showing.
WOMEN Don't wear vivid red lipstick or lip gloss. Stick
to softer tones and dab lips with a little powder. Consider dress shields if you perspire easily.
Make sure your hair will stay where you want it. You don't want to be
fooling with it while on the air. Make sure a lavaliere or lapel
microphone and transmitter can be attached to your clothing.
Lillian Brown has written the best resource I know of on the topic of
appearing on television. It's called Your Public Best: The
Complete Guide to Making Successful Public Appearances in the Meeting
Room, on the Platform and on TV (Newmarket Press: New York
1989).
VIDEOCONFERENCING If possible prior to the videoconference, send
remote location participants handouts, copies of agenda, and copies of
visuals. Try to get someone else to operate the camera and
other equipment. Have them shoot close up if possible. With more than
one presenter, if you leave the camera on wide angle, the viewers will
have trouble picking out who is talking. Periodically ask for feedback from the remote
sites. Your chances for misunderstanding multiply when communicating
electronically. Remember assume you are always on camera. Use the
mute button for your microphone if you must converse off the main
program.
Next issue we'll talk about
scripting your video product The issue after that we'll
talk about packaging and duplicating your video product
Other upcoming topics
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