December 21st, 2007
&&As I wrote in my previous entry, there is a huge shift in how video is published. During the past several months, I have been using my iPhone more and more to watch videos. This is true for video podcasts, news, television shows and much more.
Reels in Motion has been producing these types of videos for clients for quite some time and we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. Here are some things we’d like to share:
Keep it Short
Our audio-only podcasts have been averaging around one hour. This is a happy medium for several reasons. However, when producing content that will be delivered as video, the best time we’ve found is around 3 to 5 minutes. And even 5 minutes is pushing it a bit too long.
People (myself included) can listen to longer form audio only forms while driving, jogging, biking, etc. These activities lend themselves to longer blocks of time. This is why talk radio and long form radio shows like NPR work.
Video is a different beast. We watch video in short pauses in our day. While waiting in lines, quick breaks at lunch at work, etc. This is why most popular YouTube videos are in this shorter time frame. Anything longer takes much more commitment of time and we begin to ask, “is this video worth my time?” At three minutes long, we don’t think about it. We watch it.
So when you decide to make a video, keep the show to around 3 minutes.
Flash Me!
I entirely Mac based. I edit all my videos in Final Cut Studio and everything is in the Quicktime format. It is a great format. However, not everyone has the H.264 “flavor” of Quicktime on their machine. They can download it for free, but that’s an extra step.
So I post my videos as Flash videos so anyone can watch them on the website. However, I also advocate encoding the videos as H.264 Quicktime files. These files end in .m4v and can be played on portable players like iPods and iPhones.
And the bonus? With Flash’s newest player (version 9), you can play H.264 Quicktime files INSIDE a Flash player. What does this mean?
From a web visitor’s point of view, they appear to be watching a Flash video. 99% of all machines will play it. On the backend, you’ve got one Quicktime file (H.264) that can be fed into that Flash video and also be fed into an RSS feed for iTunes, iPhones and other players.
So you get twice the market penetration. You are now catering to the PC world and the Mac world.
Conclusion
These are just a few suggestions from what we have learned when producing video for the Internet. Broadcasting video online can be tricky to do correctly.
We’ll be posting more tips in this series as well as launching our new show, “Angie’s Phalangies” in the coming weeks. Stay tuned! In the meantime, please have a very Merry Christmas!
Scott
Categories: Distribution, Technology, Tutorials |
Tags: flash, h.264, internet video, podcast, tutorial, video production | No Comments
August 1st, 2007
I’d just like to say thank YOU for helping to make our Reels in Motion broadcast site a success (over at ReelsinMotion.tv).
We’ve been keeping track of the subscriptions and they have been growing steadily ever since our launch of the site.
Why is this important, though?
A company can react to what is going on in today’s world or a company can go where few others are going and be there as others catch up. It is similar to Wayne Gretzy’s quote:
“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
At Reels in Motion, we’ve built that infrastructure for the new media and are excited to offer it to you. What is involved with this new infrastructure at the Reels “central command”?
Over the course of the next few days, we’ll be posting several articles about this and how you can also move ahead to where “the puck is going to be.”
We’ll see you there!
Scott
Categories: Uncategorized |
Tags: podcast, reels in motion, video production | No Comments
June 18th, 2007
As you have probably noticed, we are upgrading Reels in Motion’s site considerably. This is due to several factors. One is the growth Reels in Motion has seen in the past several years. The other is the shifting trends in the video production world.
Reels in Motion has always tried to stay several years ahead of the curve so we can bring you the latest in video production. For example, for the past several years, we have been doing visual effects work for clients. This has ranged from adding computer generated characters to changing a sign in the video footage.
This highly specialized craft is being given its own section on the Reels in Motion site, which you can access via the new menu system we’ve built.
Also, I’d highly recommend you visit our broadcast site, Reels in Motion .tv to see some of our work “in the trenches.”
Enjoy!
Categories: Misc |
Tags: Asides, reels in motion, video production | No Comments
May 27th, 2007
The “New Media” is digital media. It is podcasting. It is video production and web video. It is exciting.
One of our podcasts, The Magic Lantern can be found at Reels in Motion .tv, and is a perfect example of the direction media has shifted.
We have buit up quite a pipeline for producing podcasts (both audio and web video) becuase of this demand. What sort of things have we learned? I’ll try and cover a few:
Video Production Isn’t Just Television Anymore
Constantly, we are producing high definition video for delivery on the web. Companies are realizing the power of being able to get something shot and then distributing their High Definition video to a worldwide audience later that day.
The show is shot in high definition, edited on-site using a Macbook Pro (editing High Definition video on a laptop has become much more common), uploaded to the server and is broadcast to the world instantly.
I’ll add more shortly. In the meantime, just remember that the ground is shifting under our feet. Will you be ready or will you be left behind?
In the coming days, I’ll descibe in more detail how you can use this new media to grow your business and reach clients faster, cheaper and further away than ever before.
Until then!
Scott
Categories: Uncategorized |
Tags: new media, podcast, podcasting, video production | No Comments
