New LouTube: 5 Quick Tips for Making Your Videos Way Better
May 31, 2008
Check it out here: http://tinyurl.com/6h2lg6
GET YOUR VIDEO ON THE WEB – QUICK & EASY! by Lou Bortone
May 4, 2008
Online Video is here to stay, so it’s time for you to join the party! Fortunately, with the proliferation of free video hosting sites like YouTube, Blip.tv, iFilm and Veoh, today anyone with a camcorder and an Internet connection can produce a video and share it with the world. Best of all, you don’t need to be Martin Scorsese to create a video for the web! Online Video viewers are very forgiving…
Producing video for the Web can be a powerful marketing tool for your business. Some benefits include:
• Free or low-cost publicity and exposure for your company
• Instant access to a worldwide audience on the Web, 24/7
• The ability to use your video hosting site’s HTML code to add the video to your own Web site
Here are 4 simple steps for getting your video on the web:
1. Produce a short video “Short” is the key word here, for several reasons: First, online viewers have a much shorter attention span when watching video on the Web. Second, longer videos mean larger file sizes. Most free video hosting sites have a 100MB limit; some even less. For great, do-it-yourself, online video tools, visit Serious Magic and look at their inexpensive “Vlog It” software. You can use a webcam, an inexpensive camcorder or, my personal favorite, the ultra-cool Flipcam.
2. Output your video for online viewing
Once you’ve got your video, it still needs to be encoded and compressed to make it “Internet-friendly.” Video files can be enormous, but compression software shrinks the video file size so it plays more smoothly on the Web. Remember to save or export your file to an online-compatible size, which is 320 X 240 resolution; and compress it so it’s under 20MB, if possible. Be sure to save your video file in a format that most video sites accept, such as a Quicktime movie (.mov), a Windows movie (.wmv) or Flash (.flv) file. QuickTime Pro (for Windows or Mac) is ideal for compressing your video and transferring it to whatever file format you prefer (Windows, Flash, MPEG). Of course, if you’re using the aforementioned Flipcam, you just flip open the USB connector, and plug the videocamera directly into your computer.
3. Upload to several free video hosting sites
Now comes the fun part – You get to upload your video and share it with the world! Most of the popular video sites have relatively easy upload instructions: First, you’ll have to create an account for each site. The video hosting sites usually have a two or three step process that allows you to browse for your video file on your computer; add a title and description; and then click “upload” to post your video file. Most sites will also give you options for adding a thumbnail photo, selecting your genre or category or, in some cases, signing up for revenue sharing. I suggest that you go beyond the obvious sites like YouTube and Yahoo, and upload your video to some of the other, more feature-rich sites such as Revver, Brightcove and Stickam. Visit the individual sites for easy upload instructions.
4. Promote and share your new “online TV channel”
After you’ve uploaded your video, the video hosting sites provide the option of “sharing” your video by giving you a link/URL that you can e-mail to your contacts. Most sites also include a great feature that allows you to copy the HTML code and “embed” the video right into your own website or blog. Simply cut and paste the code provided into your own site.
Follow these four steps and you can have your own video on numerous video websites and on your own website or blog – quickly, easily and inexpensively!
Lou Bortone is an author and entrepreneur with over 20 years experience in marketing, branding and promotion. Before starting his own company, Lou was an award-winning marketing executive in the media industry. Lou served as National Promotion Manager for E! Entertainment Television, and later as Senior VP of Marketing and Advertising for Fox Family Worldwide, a division of Fox, in Los Angeles. Today, Lou helps entrepreneurs and solo professionals navigate their online businesses with services such as copywriting, video production and creative services. Sign up for Lou’s free mini audio course about using Online Video at http://www.TheOnlineVideoGuy.com.
Online Video: The Next Generation
April 25, 2008
As a former television producer and video editor, I’ve got some deep-seated beliefs about video quality. After 20 years in TV, old habits die hard. To me, a “jump-cut,” or video where the scene or frame “jumps” or cuts without a smooth transition, is the cardinal sin of video. In traditional television, jump cuts or bad transitions are simply unacceptable. That’s why we use devices like cut-aways and B-roll (background footage)
But online video is totally different. Anything goes. Quality takes a distant back seat to content. Even those dreaded jump cuts seem to be tolerated. I can’t fight back the tide any longer. I give up! I guess I was wrong to insist on broadcast quality when it comes to online video. After all, sometimes I just use a $35 web cam. And my only “real” video camera is a cool, little $150 “Flip” cam. (OK, so my video partner has a professional $15,000 camera!) Still, I’m finally willing to drop the quality argument and join the online video masses.
The thing about web video is that it’s easy and accessible – so anyone can play! The medium is the message, as sixties scholar Marshall McLuhan once said about traditional television. And when it comes to online video, only the message matters.
It’s not easy for a former TV producer to say this, but don’t worry about the quality of your online video. Just fire up your web cam and join the party. Jump in. Upload to YouTube. Put your face on facebook. Online video is guerrilla marketing at its core: Fast. Easy. Inexpensive. And driven by imagination more than technology.
Want an even cooler, easier way to send and receive video postcards at the click of the mouse? Stay tuned and watch this space for a really big announcement about a new environment that leverages the best of Web 2.0 innovations like online video. It’s going to change the way we collaborate and communicate!
Lou Bortone is an author and entrepreneur with extensive experience in marketing, branding and promotion. Before starting his own company, Lou was an award-winning marketing executive in the media industry. Lou served as National Promotion Manager for E! Entertainment Television, and later as Senior VP of Marketing and Advertising for Fox Family Worldwide, a division of Fox, in Los Angeles. Today, Lou helps entrepreneurs and solo professionals navigate their online businesses with services such as copywriting, video production and creative services. Sign up for Lou’s free mini audio course about using Online Video at http://www.TheOnlineVideoGuy.com.
Cool Websites
January 18, 2008
Here are a few great websites you may want to check out:
GetEntrepreneurial.com - Online business newsletter with tips and trends.
Ubercool.com - Uber trends, marketing info, etc.
Trendwatching.com - Check out their 8 Consumer Trends for 2008
Basecamp.com - Project collaboration tool. I use it for my clients!
WebsiteGrader.com - See how your website stacks up!
52MotivationalInterviews.com - Just what it says. Brand new site from Wayne Kelly
2008: The Year Web Video Grows Up!
January 16, 2008
If you haven’t been able to jump on the online video trend, don’t fret. There’s still time to figure out how to use online video to stand out and get noticed! Most people just don’t know where to begin, or they think adding video to their marketing mix is going to be too complicated. Nonsense! I can make it easy for you to join the online video revolution.
I’ve got a low-priced “e-coaching” program that gives you 30 days of unlimited e-mail access to me, so I can help you, coach you and walk you, step-by-step, through the process of adding video to your marketing arsenal. It’s easier than you think, and the e-coaching program shows you how. Our winter special is just $150 for an entire month of e-support. That’s a fraction of my video coaching one-on-one fees!
To make this the year you conquer video, just click here.
If you’d rather go it alone, check out my article about “Putting the You in YouTube!” (scroll down to article)
Cool new device
January 7, 2008
Check it out!
Novelties
What This Gadget Can Do Is Up to You
By ANNE EISENBERG
Published: January 6, 2008
The creator of a new video recorder has invited skilled users to customize or “hack” its device and share the improvements with others.
You’d be amazed at how easy it is to add video to your website or blog!
January 2, 2008
Lou Bortone, The Online Video Guy, helps entrepreneurs create compelling video for the Internet. Click over to www.theonlinevideoguy.com now and grab your FR^EE Special Report “7 Secrets to Boosting Your Business Using Online Video!”
Click here for more info..
VIDEO GUY OFFERS NEW E-BOOK FOR GETTING VIDEO ONLINE (RELEASE)
December 27, 2007
Veteran television producer Lou Bortone, The Online Video Guy, has released several new products and services to help entrepreneurs produce online video for their websites or blogs.
The Online Video Guy’s signature products include a step-by-step e-course entitled “Maximizing Opportunities with Online Video,” as well as a new, low-cost e-book, the “Webcam Buying Guide and Videotaping Tips.” Both products are available online as PDF downloads at:
http://www.theonlinevideoguy.com/home/
In addition to Online Video “how-to” e-books and self-study e-courses, The Online Video Guy also offers video production and editing services, as well as design and production of full-motion video graphics. Samples are available at:
http://www.theonlinevideoguy.com/home/
For entrepreneurs who prefer one-on-one coaching and assistance in getting videos online, Lou offers monthly e-coaching programs. Visit the website or e-mail lou.bortone@gmail.com for more information.
Flip Video
December 8, 2007
Just ordered the new Flip Video mini video camera that’s been getting a lot of positive buzz.
Here’s a link to the WSJ article about the Flip:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118955080803924331.html?mod=technology_main_promo_left
I’ll post a review as soon as I receive my Flip!
LB
Video Post Production - Part 6
November 15, 2007
Here’s our final post-production tip in this series:
Once you’ve edited your video, it still needs to be encoded and compressed to make it “Internet-friendly.” Video files can be enormous, but compression software shrinks the video file size so it plays more smoothly on the Web. Remember to save or export your file to an online-compatible size, which is 320 X 240 resolution; and compress it so it’s under 20MB, if possible.
Be sure to save your video file in a format that most video sites accept, such as a Quicktime movie (.mov), a Windows movie (.wmv) or Flash (.flv) file. QuickTime Pro (for Windows or Mac) is ideal for compressing your video and transferring it to whatever file format you prefer (Windows, Flash, MPEG). If you think you’re going to be creating a lot of videos and uploading them to the Web, then the QuickTime software is the best $30 bucks you’ll ever spend!
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