These are my notes from the “How to start a video podcast” session from yesterday. These are my raw notes, unedited, so they may not make any sense. I wanted to get this information out since it was really good stuff. Without further ado, here are the notes:
Planning:
* Have a subject in mind
* Passion. Have a plan about how you’re going to distribute the podcast and get it out there.
* Can your passion go for any length of time or is it a “mini-series?” How long are you going to make it last? What is your goal, what is your final porduct? Looking to monetize, looking to get the word out about something?
* Have a basic format in mind. Ex. a News segment, a how to segment, a product segment. Have a format for every week, stick to it and don’t confuse them.
* Have a set in mind. Podcast viewers want small blocks of information. Give people a definitive angle. People tend to like smaller pieces over long rambling rants. They try to keep their segments to under 5 minutes in length, but it all depends on how long you want the show to be. There are studies that say you should stay under 2.5 minutes per clip. Ultimately, it depends on your audience and what it is that you’re going after. Little blurbs and gone.
* They use blip for distribution, no live streaming, yet.
Cameras:
* What type of camera to use? They use a Panasonic SDR-S7, approx $170. Think about how are you going to present the information and how will you distribute it. Audio input vs. not
* DV (tape) vs SD (Flash Memory) > SD cards are better since you can import directly from the camera.
* High Def vs Standard Def. They usually shoot 720×480, they also plan the lighting and shooting in advance. Want to plan about the lights and the dark. > Visual hub will convert the raw footage to a final cut friendly format.
* Firewire vs. USB.
* Don’t forget to white balance. If you have a camera that gives you the opportunity to white balance, please do and make sure it’s consistent across the board.
Lighting:
* How do you plan to light your subject?
* Poor lighting will kill a show. What to use? Natural light. 3-point lights. Screen Cast > FCP 10 has screen capture capabilities, think about what functionality you have to have on your computer.
Editing Software:
Macintosh
* iMovie
* Final Cut Express
* Final Cut Pro
Windows
* Movie maker
* Premier
The question is always, about functionality do you need to have the stuff that you have or do you need more. How far down do you have to go to get results.
Hosting:
* Streaming:
* usream.tv
* Stickam.com
* bitgravity.com
Posted video:
* blip.tv > Can also use tubmogul or wizardtv.com
* Youtube.com > limited to under 10 minutes
* Viddler.com
* Vimeo.com
Think about distribution, it’s all about the planning. The more effort you put into the show, the better it’ll be in the end.
They make no money from it. Be creative with lighting, with cameras, with mics
